It was now 7:00 in the morning. Rayne sat in the same tree she was in with Sasuke around 2:00. Since the "incident" between the two had occurred, Rayne had trouble laying still. So, when Sakura awoke to take her shift, Rayne volunteered to take it for her, along with her own. Sakura was confused, but didn't protest, and thanked Rayne as she went back to sleep.
A wild gust of wind suddenly came behind Rayne and blew all her hair forward, tangling and knotting it as it fell into her face. She blew a few strands from her mouth, and pulled the rest back with her fingers.
"Mother Nature, you're such a bitch."
Her eyes shifted back down to their camp site when she saw a mass of green flip around; it was Sakura's tent. Rayne's eyebrow rose as she noticed that Sakura was still asleep. The tent tumbled into the other, causing it to collapse, which obviously woke at least one male up.
"AHA! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! OH MY GOD I CAN'T SEE! HELP! HELP! KAKASHI SENSEI, HELP ME!" Naruto whaled as his figure whipped around restlessly, causing the tent to rise and sink with his movements. "That's it! If no one can help me, I'll help myself! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
'Oh dear God,' Rayne thought as she sweat dropped, watching the green material of the tent suddenly bulk up. Eventually, the number of Naruto's increased, all to the point where they piled up, holding the tents up off the ground. Kakashi and Sasuke were on the bottom of the pile.
"N-Naruto…call…back the…clones you…you're crus…crushing us," Kakashi desperately tried to say as he barely breathed.
The actual Naruto looked down in the middle of the pile, "Oh! Hey Kakashi Sensei! I see that this tent was what attacked me! Hah, imagine that!" He released the jutsu, and all the clones disappeared; he then fell on top of his team mates who growled at him.
"Naruto, why are you such an idiot?" Sasuke asked.
"What'd you say, Sasuke?! You're the one that can't tell when people are asleep or awake!"
Rayne screamed at Naruto's remark as she flipped a shit, and fell off of the tree limb she was in. Sasuke tackled Naruto to the ground, covering his mouth.
"What the hell are you talking about, loser?!"
Naruto smiled under his palm. "Eeeduntenken-"
Sasuke's hand came off of his mouth.
"-saw? You and Rayne were-"
This time Rayne's hand covered Naruto's mouth.
"Shut up right now, Naruto, you peeping tom!" she quickly spat.
Naruto made an "hmph" sound under her palm, and Rayne raised her head to look at Sasuke. Once their eyes connected, they stared for a moment, and then looked away.
"Sasuke…its cold…share the blanket…"
Sasuke slowly turned his head in Sakura's direction. She was still asleep, rolling over to her right, facing them, as she grabbed the pillow.
"And you wondered why I couldn't sleep last night?" Rayne taunted Sasuke who just scoffed.
"WHY THE HELL IS IT ALWAYS SASUKE, HUH?! SAKURA'S IN LOVE WITH SASUKE! RAYNE AND SASUKE ARE CUDDLING IN A TREE! WHY THE HELL CAN'T I GE-!" Naruto, who had stood up to scream, was quickly pulled down to the ground and wrestled by Rayne.
"NARUTO! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP YOU BAKA!"
Kakashi sighed as he lazily opened his eye and watched his team members roll around on the ground, creating clouds of dust around them. The ruckus had awakened Sakura as well; she blushed when she realized Sasuke was staring at her as she dreamed.
"Alright guys," Kakashi started, "I'm not even going to ask what's happened…let's just pack up and get to the village, okay?"
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"Just a few more steps, Rayne! Then, you can open your eyes!"
Naruto had decided it would be a good idea to blindfold Rayne before they got close to the village gates so she could be surprised instead of just walking up to it in a regular manner. He didn't think of guiding her at first, thinking she could figure where to go, and Rayne tripped over a rock and nearly tumbled down a hill, but Kakashi quickly rescued her before she could do any damage. After that little episode, Naruto vowed to guide her by holding her hand the whole way.
Without warning, Naruto and the rest of them stopped, leaving Rayne to continue walking, bumping into Sakura who was in front of her, standing next to Sasuke, of course.
"Alright, ready for the blindfold to come off?!" Naruto asked Rayne a little too excitedly for the other's liking.
"Yeah!" Rayne replied just as excited.
"You're going to love the village, Rayne! I just know you will!" Sakura squealed.
Naruto undid the knot of the blindfold behind Rayne's head, and pulled the ties out to the side of her head, hanging the cloth before her eyes to build up the suspense. After five seconds, Naruto dropped the blindfold and let it fall to the ground. Rayne opened her eyes and squint against the sun light, instantly blinding her since she was in the dark for such a prolonged amount of time.
Once her eyes adjusted, she looked before her and saw a long winding road with hundreds of people walking along it with shops lining both sides. Far away and straight ahead she could see a huge rock with what appeared to be carvings in it, but from her distance, she couldn't exactly tell what it was.
'Trees…lots and lots of trees…definitely different than the Cloud Village. This place has a whole different feel to it' Rayne thought as she stared down the road, mesmerized.
"Come on, Rayne!" Naruto shouted, grabbing her hand in the process of him walking forward, "I'll take you on a village tour!"
Kakashi quickly rid Naruto of his idiotic smile. "We have to go to the Hokage first, Naruto."
At first Naruto scowled, but then his smile returned. "Aw, that's no biggie! You'll still get somewhat of a tour as we head that way! SO LET'S GO! NO WASTING TIME!"
"W-wait, Naruto!" He tugged on Rayne's arm and instantly sped away, "NARUTO! NARUTO HOLD ON! STOP GOING SO FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAST."
The others watched Naruto drag Rayne along the ground as he ran.
"Man, why is he such a loser?" Sasuke sighed.
"Hyperactive knuckle head," Sakura added on. She looked at Sasuke.
"CHA! NOW THAT RAYNE AND NARUTO ARE GONE TO THE HOKAGE, SASUKE AND I CAN SPEND SOME TIME TOGETHER! CHA CHING!" Inner Sakura roared.
"H-hey Sasuke…now that Naruto is taking Rayne to the Hokage, we're going to have some free time so…would you like to-"
"Don't even think about it, Sakura. We have to go to the Hokage too," Kakashi said, quickly shooting down her plot to spend time with Sasuke, not that he would have said yes anyway.
"Oh…right…" Sakura said in a defeated tone.
Half way down the road, Naruto was still dragging Rayne along.
"Naruto, would you please slow down? I'm excited too but ple-"
Suddenly he stopped and she slammed into his back, causing her to fall backward onto the ground with an "oof". She looked to her sides and saw a few villagers staring, whispering as they walked by, carrying on with their daily lives. She just smiled awkwardly.
"This here, this is Konoha Stadium! Once a year we hold the Annual Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival here in August! Now you'll be able to compete with us! Haha, isn't that awesome?!"
"Y-yeah, Naruto…now le-"
He grabbed a hold on her arm and pulled h
er back up to him. "I'll show you my favorite place next!"
"But don't you think that we shou-"
"THIS WAY!" And with that he pulled her up the road, made a sharp left, and then made a quick right before stopping again. This time, Rayne was prepared to slam into him, and brought her body weight against his, causing him to fall on the ground with her on top.
"AND THAT'S FOR PULLING ME AROUND LIKE A SACK OF WHEAT, NARUTO!" Rayne screamed into his face after she rolled off of him and pulled him to her, shaking him by his shoulders.
He had a dazed expression on his face until he looked up and smirked. "THIS! This…this is heaven…" He got up and walked past her, hugging the side of the hut they had come to.
Rayne looked up at the sign. "Ichiraku…Ramen Shop."
"The best ramen in town, little lady!" A man, who Rayne presumed to be the owner, said as he walked to the front. "Naruto here is our best customer! So, Naruto, is this your girlfriend?"
Naruto instantly turned red, and the man gave him a wink.
"N-no…this isn't…she's…she's…my friend. Her…her name is Rayne," he quietly explained as he kicked the dirt around beneath his sandals.
"Well then, it's very nice to meet you, Miss Rayne. Naruto, you'd better bring her here on dates, you got that?"
"SHE ISN'T MY GIRLFRIEND!" Naruto denied once more. Rayne's face had an evil expression coat it. She pushed herself off of the ground and threw herself on top of him.
"Oh come on now, Naru~ You don't have to lie about it~"
Naruto got increasingly red, almost to the point where Rayne thought he was going to explode. She pressed her cheek against his and moved her head up and down, nuzzling him.
"Aw, I don't blame him for being shy. He hasn't ever brought a girl with him before. The only person he's ever come here with was Iruka…hey, Naruto, maybe you should take Rayne here down to the hot springs," the man suggested.
"Oh yes!" cooed a female as she randomly popped into the scene from behind the counter. "The hot springs are right down the road, a block away. And let me tell you, they are SO refreshing!"
"Hm…I would like that, Naruto. Come on, just for me?" Rayne purred as she pressed her chest against Naruto's arm, and his head snapped in her direction. By this time he had broken out into a sweat.
"It's nice to see that you two are getting to…uh, know…each other, but right now isn't the time for it."
Rayne turned herself around, which forced Naruto to turn as well, and faced Kakashi Sensei; Sakura and Sasuke were behind him with wide eyes.
"Oh, hey guys! Naruto was just-"
"Taking you to the Hokage's Office," Naruto said, cutting her off. Rayne tried to take a look at his face, but frowned when he turned away from her.
'Eh…maybe I went a little too far…'
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Kakashi led the others up the stair case in the direction of the Hokage's Office. Numerous leaf shinobi cast their glances at Rayne, probably wondering who the hell she was since they hadn't ever seen her face before. Rayne noticed Naruto walking next to her, and she tried to break the silence.
"Hey, Naruto? …I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
"For clinging to you like that! I shouldn't have…I was just teasing you…it was like a joke."
Naruto looked at her with a frown. "It's just…pretty girls don't give me attention…not many people do. So, when you did that…it just caught me off guard. It's not like I'm mad or anything. I know you didn't mean it."
Rayne sighed in relief.
"I know it's because you like Sasuke."
Sasuke head turned slightly and Rayne felt as though an anvil had hit her on the head.
"Would you stop concluding that?!" Rayne growled. "Buzzkill doesn't have anything to do wi-"
"I thought I told you to stop calling me that."
Rayne glared at the back of Sasuke's head, "I don't recall inviting you into this conversation."
"I don't need an invitation," he said with a smirk, causing Rayne to grumble.
Naruto and Rayne looked at each other. When their eyes connected, they instantly smiled the same goofy smile, because they knew they were thinking the same thing about Sasuke.
The group had reached the top of the stair case and walked down a hallway, stopped at the first door on the left. Kakashi knocked on it three times, and it slowly opened.
'Oh, because that isn't creepy,' Rayne thought.
The others walked into the room before her, and Rayne soon followed. The room only had three windows in it, all behind the huge desk before them. There sat three people: two Jounnin on the left and right of the figure in the center, the Hokage.
"I've been expecting you for quite a while, Kakashi."
Kakshi grabbed the back of his head, "Yes well…we got a little distracted. Naruto went a little over board and took off with Rayne when we got here, attempting to give her a tour of the village."
I see. The man before them lit his pipe, taking a few puffs. "Rayne, why are you hiding? Let me see how well you've grown. The only picture we have of you on file is of one when you were eight."
'Creeper.' Rayne went to step between Sasuke and Sakura, and although Sakura moved, Sasuke didn't. Rayne shot a glare in his direction, to which he replied with a smirk. She felt her eyebrow twitch as she suddenly shoved her left hip into him, bumping him into Kakashi, clearing her path. Triumphantly, Rayne stood before the Hokage.
Age hadn't been too kind to him. He had a bounty of wrinkles, a major case of crow's feet, and a couple of age spots. Nonetheless, he took another puff of his pipe whilst looking Rayne up and down.
"You have grown quite a bit, Rayne. How is the Raikage, eh?"
"The usual," Rayne said with a shrug, "Annoying, loud, cocky, all that jazz."
The Hokage smirked, "I can't imagine how a man such as he can retain the title of Raikage. Loud, hot headed, trust issues-"
"Hey! Don't go insulting the old man, old man! I'll take that pipe and shove it up your-"
Sakura clamped her hand over Rayne's mouth as Rayne struggled in her grasp. "Are you insane?! You may be able to get away with that back in your village, but you can't do that here!"
"You really are just like him."
Rayne and Sakura looked up at the Hokage.
"You really are a spitting image of the Raikage…I recall our first meeting. I said one thing that he didn't like and he called me an old man. Just the other week when he and I had arranged this deal he called me an old man. He's quite a character, and I see you have adapted some of his qualities, Rayne. As he raised you, his personality must have rubbed off."
"YOU'RE THE DAUGHTER OF THE RAIKAGE?!" Naruto and Sakura shouted in union.
Rayne scowled and took a hold of Sakura's hand, ripping it away from her mouth as she shot them all a dirty look. "No, I am not."
"Then how come he raised you?" Naruto innocently questioned.
"My parents…" Rayne's eyes concentrated on a floor board.
"They left her in the Raikage's care," the Hokage spoke, finishing her sentence.
Naruto's clenched fist hit his open left palm softly. "Oh, I se-"
"That isn't true."
They all focused on Rayne.
"Don't go lying to them…you're a leader of a village, what the hell kind of leader lies to his people?"
She raised her eyes to look into the Hokage's. Something about Rayne's eyes had changed; they were glazed over with hatred.
"Don't go talking about my life as if you know what's going on. And even if you do know what's happened, don't go twisting my story, you got that? You have no right."
"Rayne?" Sakura placed her hand on Rayne's shoulder.
The Hokage sighed. 'This isn't good.'
"My parents didn't leave me to the Raikage…my parents abandoned me. They couldn't care less what happened to me; I was too much of a hassle for them. They probably never even wanted a child…I was a mistake." She clenched her fists as she bit her lip. "I should have been the stain on the fucking mattress."
Sakura withdrew her hand and covered her mouth. Naruto simply breathed her name, and instead of going to her, he hung his head, eyes fixated on the floor as questions buzzed through his mind. Both his and even Sasuke's heart sank as they thought about their own parents.
"My apologies," the Hokage started, "On another note, we have an issue that we need to discuss."
Rayne's eye twitched as she stared at the man, "And what is that?"
The Hokage placed his pipe on his desk, folding his hands in front of his face. "There is the matter of where you're going to be staying. Rather than purchase your own apartment, I suggest you stay at the house of a teammate. In my eyes, the best bet would be to stay with Sakura."
Naruto hung his head.
"Lord Hokage, I'd be more than happy to have Rayne stay with me, but…my parents…" Sakura trailed off. What a bad time to mention parents, but she had no other choice. There was no way that her parents were going to house another person, even if the Hokage asked them in person.
"She can stay with me," Kakashi offered. "I only have a one room apartment, but I do have an extra mattress under my bed that you can sleep on."
Naruto's head hung further.
Rayne turned and smiled at her Sensei's hospitality. "I don't want to be a bother to you, Sensei. I don't want to take up the room you barely have as it is."
"I have room in my apartment."
They all turned to Naruto.
The Hokage placed his hand on his forehead. "Naruto…is it even a sanitary living space? I recall paying a visit to your house and you had nothing but ramen and expired milk to live on."
"Maybe he just has a low budget because you give him shitty missions," Rayne growled. She hated when Naruto got insulted, which seemed to be constantly. He was the first to instantly warm up to her when she met the group, and that was something she appreciated.
"Yeah! If we had better missions, I'd get more money to support myself with! Between food and bills, I barely keep myself alive!" Naruto agreed.
His words caught Rayne's attention. "Wait…you live alone?"
His bright blue eyes connected with her bright grey ones. "The parent thing…it's just something else we have in common."
Rayne smiled. It may have sounded sick if she had told him, but she felt the fact that they had something like that only brought them closer.
'There really is a lot that I'm going to have to learn about him…Sasuke…even Sakura. Maybe those two have their own secrets.' Rayne turned and looked at her other teammates. Her thoughts were then interrupted.
"Rayne, would you have any objection to living with Naruto? The only reason we are concerned is…well, not only because it wouldn't be the most sanitary environment…but (insert Naruto's anime tears/fall) wouldn't you prefer being with a female?" the Hokage questioned.
"No, not really!" Rayne hooked her arm around Naruto's neck. "You see, Lord Hokage, Naruto and I…well, we're already like brother and sister!"
And in that moment, everyone in the room had the same thought: oh dear God.
