Disclaimer: I don't own neither Naruto nor Avatar. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Nickelodeon respectively.
A/N: Well, after several long months, I have finally completed a new chapter. I'm sorry that you had to wait so long for this, but I seriously had a lot of trouble writing this chapter for several different reasons. Sometimes to the point that it almost felt like I was putting together a puzzle.
With that said, I'd like to thank you for your patience and I hope that you'll be able to enjoy this chapter. Read and Review.
Chapter 03
A Moment of Peace and Quiet
Naruto slowly opened his eyes as he finally found himself returning to the land of the living. The young ninja remained lying on his back for a moment, allowing his head to clear and his memories to come back to him before he forced himself into a sitting position. This caused the blanket that had been covering his frame to pool over his lap, exposing his chest.
Raising a hand to his upper body, he touched the spot where Azula's lightning-attack had managed to hit him at the end of their fight. The skin was slightly sore compared to the surrounding tissue at the moment, but other than that, it was completely healed. He knew from previous experience that the soreness would pass before he'd even notice and despite the fact that the fox inside of him had made most of his life a living hell, Naruto couldn't help but to once again feel slightly grateful due to the amazing regenerative abilities that he possesed thanks to it.
He noticed that it was still sunny, although the sun itself seemed to now be closer to the ground than Naruto remembered it to have been, and after a quick look around he instantly saw that he was not at the same spot he had been when his lights went out. 'Damn, it seems like every time I close my eyes, I end up somewhere else,' he thought somewhat dryly as he took in his current surroundings.
He appeared to be in a clearing out in the woods, surrounded by tall oak-trees with thick branches that almost looked as if they were trying to reach for the sky above. The huge six-legged creature that had served as Naruto's bed when he'd been in the cave, who he remembered Aang had referred to as Appa, was currently enjoying himself with some bushes, as well as some of the younger tree-plants not too far away. The massive animal was chewing down leaves in large mouthfuls all the while humming contentedly to himself.
The giant saddle that had previously been covering the bison's back was now lying on the grass, right beside the various packs that the blonde had seen being placed in it before they were forced to face Azula and her companions.
Naruto frowned when he came to the conclusion that none of the people he'd met, and later also fought alongside with, seemed to be anywhere around. The fact that Appa, as well as their belongings were present managed to calm the Jinchuuriki's mind somewhat, but he still wanted to know where everyone could have gone to and if they were all okay.
He strongly considered the option of simply getting up and look for them himself rather than just wait and see if anyone showed up, but that train of thought was quickly halted when the blonde heard a faint chirp coming from above.
It was Momo, the little lemur thet he'd previously been introduced to, who was now sitting atop a branch in one of the trees and holding some sort of object in his small hands that seemed to interest him quite a bit.
At first Naruto was unable to figure out what exactly it could be, but soon his eyes lit up in recognition. The fact that he didn't feel a certain piece of cloth that would have normally been covering his forehead only served to further confirm his thoughts.
Up in the trees, Momo was carefully examining the forehead-protector he held in his paws. The lemur was immensely fascinated by his slightly distorted reflection that stared back at him from the metal, and by the fact that by turning the object around in different angles, the reflection would change into different shapes.
"Hey, that's mine! Give it back!" came a voice from below, urging the big-eared little animal to look down to find the source of it. He instantly spotted the human with the facial markings and strangely coloured hair that had managed to evoke his interest when the furry creature had first seen him.
The boy seemed to have just woken up from his sleep and noticed that his head-band was missing. Without hesitating for even a split second, Momo jumped down from the branch and unfolded his hidden bat-like wings before allowing gravity to swiftly carry him to the top of Naruto's head where he decided to land.
The blonde grinned, taking back the forehead-protector when the lemur offered it to him by holding it down right in front of his eyes. Once he finished wrapping it around his head, the young ninja reached up and scratched the funny little creature behind one of his big ears.
"I guess Aang was right. Momo does seem to have taken a liking to you."
Hearing the familiar voice, Naruto looked to his side to see Katara aproaching him with a kind smile on her face. She was holding onto a medium-sized pot that appeared to be almost filled to the brim with water, splashing from side to side with every step she took.
"I guess I just happen to have a way with animals," replied the blonde, giving her one of those fox-like grins only he seemed capable of. "How long was I out this time?"
"Not that long actually," answered the young Water Tribe girl as she put the pot aside before sitting down next to the slightly older boy. "We just got here a while ago after we managed to escape from Azula, so I think it shouldn't have been more than just a couple of hours at the most."
"How are the others?" asked Naruto suddenly. "Are they all right?"
"They're all fine. From what I could tell, Sokka was the only one who received any real damage. Nothing serious, just some flesh wounds, and they have already been taken care of," she said as she filled a cup with water and handed to Naruto, which he gratefully accepted.
While he was occupied with gulping down the cool liquid, the braided girl couldn't help but cast a glance at him, thinking back to her and her friends' shock when they couldn't find any visible trace of the attack that had struck him. She now also noticed that the tattoo-like markings she'd seen on his abdomen were once again nowhere to be seen.
Once Naruto had finished his drink, Katara quickly looked another way, hoping that he hadn't caught her staring she continued telling him about what was currently going on.
"He's fishing for dinner in a nearby lake just as we speak and Toph is out in the forest, searching for things that we can add to whatever it is that Sokka manages to catch. Aang, on the other hand, is out scouting the nearby area, but they should all be back soon so that we can all set up camp for the night."
"That's good to hear," said the ninja as he let out a small sigh of relief, before allowing himself to form a smile. Being finally able to hear that they were all safe and sound managed to remove that weight from his shoulders. "So I take it everything turned out okay then?"
"You could say that," answered the young Water Bender as she recalled the events that had lead to their succesful escape. "Aang and Toph managed to outsmart Azula in the end, but I think much of it was thanks to you wearing her out. She's one of the toughest and most ruthless Benders I've ever had to face, but I have never seen anyone take her on the way you did. Come to think of it, I have never even seen anything like what you were doing back there. It was amazing!"
Naruto couldn't help but blush slightly at the praise, scratching the back of his head in mild embarrassment as he turned to look another way. Three years ago, any form of compliment would have surely gotten to the blonde's head, causing him to loudly brag about his own awesomeness until someone finally had enough and bopped him on the head. He guessed much of the way he'd been acting was because of his less than ideal childhood. But during the time that had passed since his graduation from Konoha's ninja academy, after which people had finally started accepting him, the notorious prankster had actually managed to gradually mature.
Well, to a certain extent at least.
"I don't know if I'd go as far as calling it 'amazing'," the genin finally said after a short moment of silence. "I mean, I lost in the end, didn't I?"
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You did save my life back there and that's got to count for something, right?" Katara said with a warm smile.
The girl's friendly expression proved to be infectious, bringing Naruto's grin back to his face where it belonged.
"I guess you're right," he chuckled in reply.
Their conversation was interrupted when they heard a rustling in the bushes at the other side of the clearing. This caused the two teenagers to turn their heads just in time to see Toph emerging from the lush vegetation, carrying a filled bag over her left shoulder as she headed straight towards them.
The black haired girl was currently in the middle of wolfing down an apple, spreading crumbs all over the lower part of her face as she seemed to nearly shove the fruit down her throat. Once nothing but the apple-core remained, she nonchalantly threw it over her shoulder before letting out an audible burp.
Katara could practically feel one of her eyebrows twitch in irritation as she witnessed the display of the young Earth Bender's lack of manners. Seriously, sometimes it was almost impossible to believe that she actually came from a very noble and prestigious family.
"Very nice, Toph," commented the Water Tribe girl dryly as her friend leisurely seated herself on the grassy ground.
"What? I was hungry!" Toph retorted defensively as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "It's not exactly my fault that we had to skip dinner," she muttered grumpily before turning her attention to Naruto, who had remained silent during the girls' brief exchange.
Out of all the people in the gang that Naruto had found himself in, Toph was the only one he hadn't spoken directly to. As far as he'd seen to this point, she seemed to be a fairly tomboyish and brash young girl who clearly wasn't afraid to speak her mind. But what had shocked the blonde the most was when he witnessed her apparent great efficiency with Doton, and the fact that she, just like Azula, had been perfectly able to execute her techniques without even using a single hand seal.
He also idly wondered how she could pinpoint people the way she did despite her blindness, remembering how she was the first person to know that Azula and her companions had been about to attack, way before they had even seen them.
"So it seems like sleepy-head finally decided to wake up... Again," said Toph as her lips turned into a toothy grin.
"Yeah, I guess you could say it's starting to become a bit of a habit," replied Naruto with a grin of his own, scratching the back of his head as they shared a laugh at his own expense.
"By the way, Katara. I managed to find the stuff you wanted me to get," the Earthbender suddenly said as she turned the bag she was holding upside-down, spilling its contents onto the ground.
All of it were things a hungry person might hope to find in a forest. There were apples, nuts, berries and mushrooms, all of which looked to be perfectly edible save for a few exceptions in the last category.
Some of the mushrooms were suspiciously colourful and could have practically had tags saying "poison" attached to them. Katara was thankfully fast enough to snatch a particularly red and spotty one from Momo's paws before the lemur even had a chance to stuff it into his mouth, puttting it away along with the rest so that no one would have to suffer from any painful stomach-problems (or worse).
After a few minutes of silence, Naruto let out a yawn before he decided that he'd had enough rest for the moment and raised himself onto his feet, causing Momo to jump down from his new favorite sitting-spot atop the blonde's head.
"Naruto, I don't think you should be up so soon after what happened," said Katara with a slight frown as she looked up at the boy who had just started to do some light stretching movements.
"Don't worry about me, I feel fine," he replied as he rolled a shoulder that had gotten a light stiffness in it.
"Yeah, Katara. Don't be such a mother hen," said Toph as she lay on the ground, allowing one of her feet to dangle over a knee while she had her arms comfortably folded behind her head. "Didn't you say it yourself that you couldn't find anything wrong with him?"
Katara looked like she wanted to object, but was interrupted when she caught sight of something in the sky. The Waterbender's face lit up when she realized that it was the Avatar with his glider who was coming in for a landing.
"Aang is back," she exclaimed, causing Naruto to turn his head in the direction she was looking.
The blue eyes of the shinobi widened in surprised shock as he took in the sight of the young monk. The reason was that said monk was flying unhindered through the air, performing a perfect loop before finally landing softly on the ground, as if he'd created an invisible cushion to soften his descent.
With that done, the boy simply tapped the bottom of the glider to the ground, causing its orange, fan-like wings to instantly retract into a wooden staff that had served as the glider's base.
The young Air Bender's eyes instantly lit up when he saw that Naruto had finally woken up from his slumber, and by the looks of it appeared to be perfectly fine.
"You're alright!" happily exclaimed the Avatar as he rushed forward to greet the blonde. The difference in their height forced him to look up at the older boy, who was quite a bit taller than him. "When Azula hit you, I thought you were a goner for sure but boy, am I glad I was wrong."
"Er...Thanks... I guess," replied Naruto as he scratched the back of his head, unsure on how to answer the enthusiastic boy who grinned at him. He oddly reminded the teenaged shinobi of a younger version of himself.
"Aang, did you see anything special when you were out?" asked Katara, anxious to hear if her young friend had managed to gain any new information during the time he'd spent scouting from the clouds.
"Oh, right," started Aang as he thought back to what he had seen from the clouds. "Well, I have some good news. I happened to spot a village that isn't that very far away from here. It's not very big, but we should at least be able to stock up on supplies once we head there."
"That's great, Aang. But I think it would be for the best if we do as we said before and stay here for the night and head out early in the morning. After all, the sun should set soon and I bet we're all pretty hungry after such a long and eventfull day," spoke Katara.
As if directly on que, Naruto's stomach decided that it was time to let itself be heard. Letting out a loud growl that everyone was able to hear, causing them to burst out in laughter.
"Sokka's on his way," Toph yawned on her back once everyone had calmed down, and true to her words, the young warrior soon emerged from the bushes, coming from the same direction that Katara had previously done.
"Behold! The great hunter returns!" exclaimed Sokka triumphantly in an overly dramatic fashion as he marched into the clearing. The fishing-trip had obviously gone well and the young Water Tribe warrior proudly carried his catch. Four trouts that were pierced through the neck atop his spear, dangling lifelessly from side to side with each step that he took.
"Nice, Sokka. I'm impressed," said his sister truthfully. "That sure was fast. I mean, you've only been away for a little while and have already managed to catch four of them."
"Well, I guess some of it was due to luck since we seem to have arrived right in the middle of their mating season," the pony-tailed teenager confessed as he handed her the spear along with their upcoming dinner. "There were so much fish that all I had to do was basically pick and choose the four fattest ones. One for each and... every... one of us..."
Sokka's voice started to trail off as the words of that last sentence passed his lips, suddenly remembering that they weren't just four anymore.
He hadn't really forgotten that Naruto was among them, far from it. It was just that he sometimes seemed to overlook certain things when his mind began to wander, and this time he'd had alot of things to think through.
First there was the matter regarding all the incredibly mind-boggling things the blonde had done at the battlefield. Stuff that Sokka's logical mind couldn't even begin to wrap itself around. He had tried to come up with a lot of different theories in order to explain what he had seen, but any way he tried to look at it, it just didn't make any sense!
Secondly, and far more importantly, was that he had really started to think through the way he had been acting towards the strange fighter when they first found him. Just like when they had first met Aang that fateful day at the South Pole, he had accused him of being an enemy that they all should stay as far away from as possible.
And then said 'enemy' went and saved his sister from certain death.
That, and the fact that he then decided to take on Azula in a one on one battle (something he actually managed to pull of rather well all things considered), certainly convinced the Water Tribe boy that the guy was neither bounty hunter that the Fire Nation had sent in order to collect their heads, nor a person that they should fear.
It had also convinced him that he had managed to make a complete ass of himself.
Again.
He knew he should try to apologize for the way he had been acting, but a small part of himself wished to rather pretend that it had never even happened, hoping for everything to turn out okay completely on its own. But as things were going now, that wasn't very likely to happen.
Aang looked from one of the older boys to the other. He didn't want things to end up like they had in the cave, with his friends being angry and screaming at each other. But thankfully, Sokka seemed to have forgotten about another thing, something that had happened a couple of times before, and the Avatar thought he could use that to avert a social catastrophe from repeating itself.
"Great, you finally remembered that I'm a vegetarian. I had almost started giving up hope that you would ever learn," said Aang, hoping to sound as happy as possible and added a huge smile just to be on the safe side. Judging by the look on Sokka's face, he had indeed forgotten about that little detail again, but he instantly caught on to what it was that his friend was trying to do and played along.
"Yeah, well you know me. I'd hate to see a humble monk suffer from having a nice and juicy fish's life on his conscience," he said, silently thanking Aang as he lied through his teeth, trying to look anywhere but at Naruto who eyed him sceptically with his arms folded over his chest.
Despite Aang's attempt of easing the mood, the air surrounding their little group still remained pretty tense and that, frankly, was starting to get on Katara's nerves. She looked from her brother to Naruto, her pretty features slightly contorted into a scowl as she contemplated on how to end this silliness once and for all.
"Sokka, would you please gather some firewood. I don't think anyone would fancy eating raw fish for supper, do you?," she asked, feigning innocence as she started to remove their meal from the spear, smiling inwardly at the plan that had formed in her mind.
"Sure thing, sis," said Sokka with a grin as he immediately started to walk towards the trees, glad that he would be able to postpone this whole mess until he'd have an idea on how to properly deal with it. "I'll just head out and be back in--"
"And bring Naruto with you," she continued in a sugar-sweet tone, causing her ponytailed brother to stop dead in his tracks and Naruto's eyebrows to rise in surprise.
Sokka quickly turned around, looking as if he wanted to form some sort of objection to Katara's instruction, but the stern look on his sister's face had him remain silent. The look in her ocean blue eyes clearly told him that this subject wasn't up for discussion and he could do nothing more than slump his shoulders in defeat and accept it.
"Fine," he muttered as he once again started to head for the forest, this time with much less enthusiasm than before.
Naruto remained still for a moment before he finally decided that it would probably for the best if he did as Katara said and simply follow Sokka. He knew perfectly well from first hand experience that it was not at all wise to try a woman's patience, having suffered dearly for such mistakes in the past.
Once the two teenaged boys had dissapeared among the trees, Aang hesitantly aproached Katara with a slightly worried look on his face.
"Er... Katara. Do you really think this is such a good idea? Leaving the two of them alone I mean."
"It was the best thing I could come up with at the moment, Aang," she replied as she sat on her knees and began preparing the fish without looking up at him. She tossed her braid over her shoulder so that it wouldn't be in the way before she continued. "Sokka has always had a problem when it comes to apologizing to people or admit when he's been wrong or stupid, especially when other people are watching. This way he'll be able to say he's sorry and we can all have some peace again."
"What if they don't settle things then?" asked Toph as she raised herself onto her feet. Momo, who had been sitting next to her, climbed up her tunic and took a seat on her shoulder, looking to be far more interested in the food than in their conversation.
"Then I will settle things," she declared, punctuating her words by cutting of the head of one of the trouts with her brother's machete in a single swift chop.
OoOoOoO
To say that the situation was awkward for the two teenaged boys, was a big understatement.
They were doing what Katara had asked them to do, searching for any fuel that could serve as firewood. But that wasn't really all that simple, considering the fact that everything had gotten completely drenched during the storm.
They both walked under a rather tense silence, neither saying a word to the other as they searched for anything that was dry enough to actually burn. One could have very well been able to hear a needle fall to the ground and the tension was so thick that it could have been cut with a knife.
However, Sokka would occasionally open his mouth, only to close it again a couple of seconds later. It was as if he wanted to say something, but decided against it at the last moment before any words could get the chance to pass his lips.
He would continue with this for some time, until Naruto had finally gotten fed up with it.
"Is there something you want to tell me, or something?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice.
The blonde's sudden question managed to catch Sokka completely off guard, nearly causing him to trip on a small rock in the process. The troubled young warrior had silently been trying to formulate a way in which he could properly say everything that was on his mind, but all of his careful planning had practically been blown out the window when he was finally forced to speak.
"Er... Well...Thats is... Your hair... is it a natural colour?" was what he finally said, making him want to punch himself when he realized what he had said.
The ponytailed boy's unexpected words caused Naruto to stop and slightly tilt his head as his eyes squinted in that fox-like fashion of his, clearly confused by what he had just heard.
"You want to know about my hair?" he asked incredulously, not sure if he had heard right.
"Well, it's just that I haven't seen anyone with yellow hair before. Although I did know this one girl at the North Pole who had completely white hair, but she wasn't an old lady or anything--"
Sokka continued to ramble like this for a while, only stopping when he noticed that Naruto was looking at him as if he had a couple of squids sticking out of his ears.
The ponytailed boy let out a tired sigh, deciding that it would probably be for the best if he just got everything over and done with.
"No. That wasn't at all what I wanted to say," he started in a somewhat sheepish tone as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I want to – damn why is this so hard! What I meant to say is that I think we started off on the wrong foot."
"Yeah, if I remember correctly, I think it was something about you saying that I was some kind of threat that shouldn't be trusted," Naruto deadpanned with his arms folded over his chest. One of the things the blonde genin really didn't like was when people slandered him for things he would never do.
Sokka cringed at that remark, but continued on.
"I know," he said, letting out a deep sigh before fixing his eyes on a nearby bush that suddenly seemed to be one of the most interesting things in the whole world.. "That was wrong of me, and I want to... apologize for it. I shouldn't have accused you for those things and I'm sorry for what I said. I guess my sister is right, that I am a little too paranoid and that I ought to trust people a little more often. You've certainly earned it," he added, the last part barely audible.
"It might be a little too much to ask for, but if you'd be willing, I'd like to start things over," he finally said as he turned to face the blonde and extended a hand in front of him, hoping that the strange fighter would accept his apology and take it. "I'm Sokka, son of Hakoda, and warrior of the Southern Water Tribe."
Naruto eyed the offered hand for a second as he quickly thought things through.
The guy appeared to actually be genuinly sorry for the way he had been acting, and Naruto had never really been capable of holding a grudge against anyone for an extended period of time in the first place. As a matter of fact, many of the people who he at first had wanted as little to do with as possible, were now some of his dearest friends who he wouldn't hesitate to protect with his own life.
'Ah, what the heck,' he thought with a shrug before a grin formed on his face and he grabbed onto the other boy's hand in a firm handshake.
"Uzumaki Naruto. Shinobi of Konoha and future Hokage."
Sokka blinked at that declaration, not having the slightest idea what a shinobi or a Hokage could possibly be, but decided to not ask anything about it at the moment. He was just relieved that he had been let off the hook so easily and didn't want to screw it up by asking to many stupid questions.
This time the stupid questions could wait for later.
"Now, I think we'd better start looking for that firewood that Katara wanted. I know she might not look like it, but believe me when I say that you do not want to get on her bad side. It simply wouldn't be healthy," he said, shivering slightly as he recalled the event that had led up to the two of them finding Aang in that iceberg he had been floating around in for the past century.
"Well, that's something I can relate to," laughed the blonde as they went back to their given task, now with much higher spirits than when they set out.
OoOoOoO
However, this was something that pretty soon proved to be easier said than done.
"Man, it's impossible to find anything dry around here," growled Naruto. They had now been searching for almost half an hour without finding anything that hadn't managed to avoid being hit by the raindrops, and the young ninja was growing increasingly more irritated after each passing second.
"I know," replied Sokka who had become just as agitated during their fruitless search. "If only there were some kind of way to..."
The Water Tribe boy then turned silent for a second as the gears started turning in his head. He then slammed a hand over his face as he let out a loud groan of exasperation.
"Why didn't I think of this from the start?" he muttered to himself. "Come on, let's just grab wathever we can find and then have Aang and Katara take care of it when were back. I don't know about you, but I'd rather relax around camp than spend another second trying to find a single dry twig in a soaked forest."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at his walking companion's sudden declaration. He was just about to ask how they would manage to do something like that, when another growl from his stomach convinced the blonde Jinchuuriki to keep his mouth shut.
The sooner they returned to the others, the sooner he would be able to stuff his face with grilled fish. Sokka probably knew what he was doing, so with a shrug he bent down and started to collect all the wood he could find, although he couldn't imagine anyone being able of making a fire with fuel as sour as this.
Once they'd finally gattered enough of it, they headed back for the clearing where everyone was waiting for them.
The walk back was definately more pleasant than when they first had set out. Where before there had only been tense silence between the two teenaged boys, they were now both openly chatting and joking amongst themselves and this didn't pass unnoticed when they were finally back at camp.
Aang and Toph had just finished putting up the tents when they all noticed that Sokka and Naruto had returned, thankfully without tearing each others' throats out. This caused the young Airbender and his friends to let out a shared sigh of relief once they realized that Katara's plan had worked like a charm.
With a wide smile on his face, Aang brought himself up onto his feet and went to meet them.
"So, how did things go?" he asked as he eyed the fuel that the two older boys were carrying.
"Well, we couldn't really find anything dry, but I thought you could do something about that," grinned the Water Tribe boy before dropping his share of the cut-off-branches at the ground, urging Naruto to mimic his actions.
"Sure, no problem. I'll get right to it," replied the Avatar happily as he squatted down and brought his hands in front of his mouth. He then proceeded with partially closing one of them into a fist, before taking a deep breath that filled his lungs almost to the brink of their capacity.
When Aang finally let his breath out, it was as if a powerful gust of wind had been released. It was so intense that it managed to cause their clothes and hair to flutter in the miniaturized hurricane.
After a few more seconds, it finally died down and Aang reached out to touch the largest piece of wood in the heap. Just as he had expected, it was now completely dry and the young monk couldn't help but smile as he beheld his handiwork.
"As good as new," he said before standing up.
"How the heck did you do that?" exclaimed Naruto.
"Just some simple Airbending," replied Aang with a wide grin. Although it greatly pained the boy to know that he was the last living Airbender, getting surprised reactions like these from people always managed to bring a smile to his face.
"Air-what-you-called-it?" asked the Jinchuuriki confusedly. He remembered hearing the term 'Bender' a couple of times already, but he still had no idea what exactly it entailed. "How does it work? Is it some kind of special technique or something?"
"Well, it allows me to control and manipulate the air-currents around me to a certain extent. I guess you could say it's a technicue, but it's more like an ancient, mystical art that has been passed down through the generations of my people," answered the young monk after a couple of seconds while scratching his shaved head. Although he knew no one had witnessed Airbending during his one-hundred-year-long hibernation, making some puzzled reactions to it something to be expected, he was slightly taken aback by Naruto's reaction. It was almost as if he hadn't even heard of it at all.
The blonde genin was completely oblivious to what was going through Aang's head, but this new piece of information managed to convince him that whatever this Bending-stuff was, it was clearly not ninjutsu. He faintly remembered something Jiraiya had told him once during their travels, that ninjutsu wasn't the only powerful form of combat in the world and that there were people who drew their strength from other sources than just chakra.
"What about Toph and that fire-chic? Are they Benders as well?" he then asked, having had a couple of seconds to try and think things through. Just like Aang, neither of the two had used any hand-seals as far as he had been able to see.
Aang glanced at Sokka, who just shrugged back at him, not knowing what to say, before answering.
"Yeah, they are," the monk said hesitantly. Thinking that the answer to that question was pretty obvious. "Azula is a Firebender, Toph is an Earthbender and Katara, although you may not have seen it, is a Waterbender."
"Speaking of which, if it's okay with you, I'll just take the firewood and bring it over to her," Sokka injected as he nodded in the direction of where his sister was preparing the food.
"Oh, let me give you a hand with that," Naruto offered quickly, bringing his hands together in front of him and formed the seal of his most used technique. After silently whispering the name of the jutsu, a perfect clone of himself poofed into existence right beside him.
If it had been anatomically possible, both Aang's and Sokka's jaws would have been dropped to the ground because of what they had just seen. Sure, they had all witnessed the blonde when he had created copies of himself in the battle with Azula, but it was just as mind-boggling as it had been the first time around, and seeing it happen up close, with a mind clear from adrenaline, just seemed to add to the experience.
"Alright, now help Sokka carry the firewood," ordered the young shinobi, pointing at the now dry pile of tree-based fuel that lay by their feet.
"Why the heck do I have to do it?" asked the bunshin with a scowl as it crossed its arms over its chest in a slightly rebellious fashion.
"Because I'm the original, and whatever I say goes," declared Naruto sternly, starting a short staring contest between himself and his clone before it finally gave up, muttering about slave-drivers and clones' rights as it began collecting its burden.
"Hold on a minute here," said Sokka as he aproached the shadow clone, intending to find out the secret behind this obvious crime agains the laws of physics. He circled around it, poking it a couple of times, something that greatly annoyed the clone. This at least proved that it was a physical manifestation and not just some hallucination, but he still wondered...
"Wow...! How do you do that?" asked Aang, an awed expression on the young Avatar's face.
"Pretty cool, huh?" replied Naruto with a wide grin. "It's amazing what you can do with just a little bit of chakra."
The Airbender tilted his head slightly to the side, a confused look on his face, while Sokka massaged his temples. "Alright, this is seriously starting to give me a headache," he said. "Let's just get this stuff to Katara so that we can finally have something to eat. I'm starving here."
While the real Naruto tried his best with explaining the basic concepts of chakra for Aang, his clone and Sokka headed towards the centre of their campsite. Appa was now lying on his side, chewing the cud of his meal while Toph was sitting crosslegged, leaning against the large animal while she chewed lazily on a piece of straw.
"Here you go Katara", said Sokka as he put down his share of the load in front of his sister. "I hope it's enough for you."
"Don't worry about it. I think all of this could very well last throughout the entire night if used properly," replied the young Waterbender with a reassuring smile.
With its work done, the clone asked the two siblings if there was anything else that needed to be done. Receiving a shook of the head from the girl as a response, it excused itself and promptly dissappeared in a poof of smoke.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing that," stated Katara as she watched the last remains of the white smoke dissipate into the air with wide eyes.
"Couldn't agree more," replied Sokka with a nod. "But just think about the possibilities!" he exclaimed, suddenly becoming visibly excited. "I mean, just think about it. If Naruto stays with us, I wouldn't have to lift a finger to do a single chore for the rest of this journey! As long as he keeps making those copies of his, I could just sit back and relax until...!"
At this point, the young warrior finally took notice of the stern look his sister was giving him and decided it was time to shut up.
After a couple of seconds, Katara couldn't help but smirk at her older brother. "Look who's had a change of heart. I take it things went well?" was all she said.
"Well, I guess so," Sokka replied as he rubbed the back of his neck before letting out a deep sigh. "Come on. Just say it." Seing his waterbending sister blink in confusion at what he had just said, he decided to elaborate. "We both know that you're just dying to say 'I told you so', so spare me the agony and just get it over with."
"Oh, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Sokka," she said in a sugar-sweet tone, feigning a look of complete ignorance when she caught onto what her hot-headed brother was saying. This, of course, caused said hot-headed brother to pull at his own hair in frustration.
Katara couldn't help but laugh at her brother's antics as she allowed her gaze to wander to Aang and Naruto. The young Airbender seemed to have been in the process of introducing the blonde to Appa, who was now covering his new human acquaintance in a thick layer of bison-slobber, much to the displeasure of the ninja.
"So, did you ask him where he came from?" asked Sokka suddenly, bringing Katara out of her reverie.
"No. No, I didn't." The female Waterbender let out a sigh as she continued. "It's not that I'm not curious, I just didn't really get the chance to do it."
"Fair enough. We could always give it a shot during supper," replied the young warrior.
"Do you think he'll stay with us?" wondered the girl, not taking her eyes away from the scene before them where Aang and Naruto were now laughing together.
Sokka remained silent for a moment, watching as the object of their conversation had now suddenly started chasing a certain lemur who had once again stolen his headband. "I don't know. But I'm starting to hope that he will," he admitted truthfully. "The way he handled Azula back there could sure come in handy where we are going."
"Sokka?"
"Yeah, Katara?"
"... I told you so."
OoOoOoO
"Man, this is good stuff," exclaimed Naruto heartily after swallowing yet another bite of his portion of freshly roasted fish.
"I second that," said Toph as she dug into her own serving with equal gusto.
The sun had finally set, casting the area in a dark blanket that was only held at bay by the small campfire that the group was now sitting around. They leaned against the snoring frame of Appa, the Sky Bison's furry hide acting as a comfortable pillow as they savored their supper while listening to the crickets that played their usual music. This day had truly been an eventful one, but now everyone felt as if they could finally let go of their worries and simply enjoy each other's company.
"Thank you, Naruto," smiled Katara as she gave another nut to Momo. "I'm sorry if the taste is a little bland, but we're almost completely out of spices at the moment. I'll have to see if they have any for sale in town tomorrow."
"Don't worry about it," he replied, waving her off. "Compared to the stuff that Ero-sennin used to cook up back when we were on the road, this is definitely five-star-material."
After having mentioned Jiraiya, Naruto couldn't help but feel the familiar sense of sadness as he thought about the now deceased Toad Sage. The death of his mentor was still fresh on the young Konoha ninja's mind and he could barely believe that he was actually gone.
The aged Sannin had taught him so much during their travels together, not just about ninjutsu, but about other things as well. True, he'd had his fair share of faults, but during the time they'd spent together, Naruto had come to view the older, and much more experienced shinobi, as something of a father-figure. Even though the boy had often talked badly about him, and enjoyed to poke fun at his bad habits, he had always held a sense of admiration for the wise old ninja.
The young Jinchuuriki knew that death was a natural part of a shinobi's life, but to him the old man had seemed almost invincible, like an unshakable pillar of strength who would always be there to guide him when he was lost. He had almost taken him for granted and the news of his death had shaken him just as much as the Third's had.
Although Naruto didn't know it, one of the major reasons why Tsunade had given his team such an easy mission, plus a couple of days off in Lotus Country, a famous tourist resort, was so that he would get some time to take his mind off Jiraiya's death, even if it was for just a little while.
"Naruto, is there something wrong?" asked Aang in a concerned tone.
"Hm? No, I'm fine. I guess I just zoned out there for a moment" replied the genin as he tried to shake the depressing thoughts off his mind, forcing a grin to appear on his face. Although he rarely ever had to fake his emotions anymore, the practice he'd gotten as a child came in handy when he didn't want anyone to unnecessarily worry about him.
The Avatar and the two Water Tribe siblings seemed to accept it, but Toph was clearly not convinced by his act. The young Earthbender's ability to sense the vibrations through the earth was one of her greatest assets. Not only did it allow her to take in her surroundings in a way that no one else could, giving the blind girl a great advantage in battle, but she could also use this "sense" in other situations as well.
She was capable of feeling even the faintest change in the vibrations of a persons heartbeat and breathing patterns, essentially making her a human lie-detector. Toph had no idea why the older boy would lie over such a trivial thing as whether he was fine or not, but she made a mental note of it for later use. It was probably nothing, but still...
Sokka glanced at his friends, but when no one else seemed inclined to to start asking the questions they all wanted answered by their strange, new friend, he decided that it was up to him to move things along.
"So, Naruto. Could you perhaps explain to us how you ended up in those caves?" he asked. This was probably one of the things that the science-interested boy wanted to know the most, apart from the secret behind the blonde's mysterious techniques. He still hadn't managed to come up with a logical explenation that would answer how he had been able to seemingly materialize out of thin air, and what the heck had those weird signs – or letters – been that had almost blinded them?
"I thought you guys brought me there," replied Naruto with a greatly puzzled look on his face.
This revelation caused the Avatar and his friends to look at each other in bewilderment. They had all hoped that Naruto would be able to at least shed some light over the strange phenomenon that they had witnessed, but he seemed to be just as ignorant about it as they were.
Naruto had been told several times that he wasn't one of the most perceptive people you could find, but he would have to be as dense as a rock to not see that there was something that they weren't telling him.
"Alright, what exactly is going on here?" he finally asked, a frown on his face as he put what was left of his food away. "You said before that you would tell me once everything had calmed down, so spill it. For starters, why were those girls after you in the first place?"
Aang remained silent for a moment, having been slightly taken aback by Naruto's unexpected response. In just a matter of seconds the tables had been turned and now they were the ones who were being questioned. But then again, they did promise him...
Aang let out a sigh before he began to speak.
"I am the Avatar," stated the young Airbender, his tone becoming serious. A sharp contrast compared to the boy's usual happy-go-lucky demeanor. "I'm currently on an important quest to master all four elements so that I can fulfill my destiny of restoring the balance of this world after an entire century of war and suffering."
"The Fire Nation, for obvious reasons, doesn't want Aang to succed with his task and has sent numerous people to eliminate the threat that he pose to their plans," interjected Katara. "Azula and her companions are merely the last in a long line of enemies we've had to face on our journey."
"But if I'm not able to master the elements before the end of the summer and defeat the Fire Lord, Sozin's Comet will arrive and grant him and his Firebenders enough power to finally win the war and take complete control of the world," Aang finished gravely. He now had a deep frown on his face that was only all the more highlighted due to the shadows created by the flames of their campfire. He was holding onto his staff in an unsteady grip, perfectly mirroring his state of mind at the moment. He knew what he had to do, but whenever he thought about this great burden that had been bestowed upon him, he doubted if he could ever succed.
The responsibility just seemed too much for a twelve-year old boy.
Katara could practically feel how troubled her friend was at the moment and reached out, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. She didn't think she could ever truly realize just how hard this whole thing must be for Aang, knowing that the entire world depended on him, and what would happen if he failed.
She was just about to say some words of encouragement , when someone else spoke.
"Excuse me but... what the heck are you guys talking about?" asked Naruto. Confusion was clearly written all over the shinobi's face and the question managed to snap everyone to attention, causing them to look directly at him. "I mean, what war are you talking about? And what's the deal with this 'Avatar-stuff' everyone keeps bringing up?"
"You've gotta be kidding, right?" was all Sokka managed to say after a few seconds of silence, perfectly summing up the group's thoughts in a single sentence.
"Should I be?" replied the blonde hesitantly with a quizzical eyebrow raised.
"Unless you've lived you're whole life under a rock, then yes, you should," deadpanned Toph. Naruto merely blinked at her, unsure on how to respond to what had just been said to him, but he didn't really need to. The young Earthbender was already picking up on the vibrations he was emanating, trying to sense the familiar feeling of a person lying, but she couldn't help but have her unseeing eyes widen when she didn't find it. "You really don't have a clue, do you?"
It was more a statement than a question, and Naruto was growing increasingly more uncomfortable by each passing second. There were obviously something they expected him to now, something they thought were of common knowledge, but he just had no idea what that could possibly be.
"How do you fail to notice a war that has been going on for the last one hundred years and that has affected the entire world?" asked Sokka.
"Hey, I know that things aren't exactly the most peaceful in the world today, especially with Akatsuki messing things upp, but I think I would have at least heard about a war that had been raging across the globe for as long as you claim it to to have been," huffed Naruto in annoyance before a thought struck him. "By the way, where are we exactly?"
"We're in the southern part of the Earth Kingdom's mainland," replied Katara hesitantly after a couple of seconds.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the name. "You wouldn't happen to have a map, would you?" he asked.
"I have one, just hold on for a second," replied Aang as reached into his clothes, finding the piece of paper which he then handed over to Naruto.
The blonde shinobi looked over the map for a brief second, but what he saw caused his eyes to nearly bulge out of their sockets.
During his travels with Jiraiya, Naruto had often gotten stuck with the task of reading the map. It wasn't that the Toad Sage couldn't do it himself, on the contrary, he could practically find his way in the world as if it had been his own pocket, but he'd thought it would do his young apprentice good to learn how to properly orientate.
It had been tedious and just overall boring. But if there was one thing the blonde had managed to learn, then that was how the world looked like.
However, the map that he was currently holding in his hand didn't look remotely like anyone he had ever seen before.
Naruto looked at the map for a couple of more seconds before letting out a sigh of exasperation. "Alright. I just know I'm going to regret asking this, but what exactly does this map show?"
"Er... well, it's a map of the world," said Aang, scratching his shaved head in confusion.
"If that's so, then where the hell are all the Shinobi Nations?!" he snapped, holding up the map for them to see while he pointed angrily at it.
"Hey, take it easy, man! You're not making any sense," frowned Sokka.
"I'm not making any sense? You're the ones who aren't making any sense!" growled the ninja back at them as he suddenly stood up. "You all keep talking about Benders, Avatars, wars and now you expect me to believe that the world concists of just four nations?!"
"Naruto, please calm down. Why are you getting so upset?" spoke Aang as he held up his hands in a what he hoped to be calmative manner.
But Naruto wasn't listening anymore. The young Jinchuuriki clutched his head in his hands as his thoughts raged inside his head. "What the hell did that damn snake-freak do to me?!" he roared before storming off into the woods.
"Naruto, wait!" called Katara, trying to reach out to him, but he was already too far away to even hear her.
An uneasy silence followed the blonde's hasty departure. The young travelers just looked at each other, no one really knowing what to say in this situation.
After a moment, Sokka finally opened his mouth. "Now what the heck was that all about?"
"I have no idea," said Aang. "It must have been something we said. I just don't have the slightest clue of what it could have been." The young Avatar wondered what could have caused the older boy to act this way. One minute he'd been laughing alongside them as if he had no care in the world, the next he'd been absolutely livid. "And what in the world was he talking about?"
"Well, he didn't tell a single lie. He was truthful throughout all that rambling," said Toph. The blind Earthbender didn'need to see in order to know that all eyes were fixed on her right now, waiting for her to explain herself. Before anyone had time to say anything, she continued. "Or more likely what he believes to be the truth. I don't know how to say it, but I think Azula scrambled his brains pretty bad back there."
"That would certainly explain things," muttered Sokka as he rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "But still. He was acting pretty weird even before that happened."
"Whatever the cause might be, we can't just leave him here," said Aang. The young monk raised himself onto his feet, looking his friends in their eyes. "I'll go after him. Maybe is I talked to him I could find out what's troubling him."
"Actually, Aang. I think I should do it," said Katara suddenly, causing all heads to turn to her this time. "I might be wrong... but I think I might have a better chance of reaching him than you."
"Let me guess. You're going to expose him to that naive optimism of yours, aren't you?" said Sokka with a smirk.
The young Waterbender glared at her brother for a second until she noticed the playful glint in his eyes, causing her pretty features to soften. "Well, it's worked so far, hasn't it?" she chuckled lightly. With that said, Momo once again made his prescence known by quickly climbing up Katara's clothes before taking a comfotable seat atop her left shoulder. "You want to come too, Momo?" she asked, earning a couple of chirps in reply.
"I don't know, Katara. Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" asked Aang as he watched her take a hold of a torch that Sokka had just fished out from one of their packs.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine," she said with a smile. "I'll be back with Naruto before you've even noticed that we were gone."
Having said those words, the girl turned around and with confident steps headed off in the direction of which Naruto had just gone.
OoOoOoO
A/N: I had originally intended to make this chapter longer and include the part where Katara catches up to Naruto and have a talk with him, but since you've all been waiting so long I decided to save it for the next chapter.
Considering this chapter was more or less a breather for the characters, there weren't really any action in it. However, if everything goes as planned, the next chapter will have some more of that.
I've realized that I need to plan ahed a lot more when it comes to my writing, if only for the fact that there won't take half a freaking year between each update. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you have any questions related to the story, feel free to let me know.
Until the next time, this is ChaosGhidorah who's signing off.