"Suki! I'll race you to the swings!" the blonde boy yelled excitedly. He broke into a run, leaving his friend to smile at him.
"I'm gonna win!" Suki yelled back as she started running to chase him down. She caught up to him quickly, and as the swing set came into view, she put on a burst of speed and beat him to the nearest swing. "Yes! I told you I'd win!"
"Oh my god! How do you do that?" Naruto panted. "You were flying across that field!"
Suki shrugged. "I don't know. I've always been pretty fast."
"Yeesh… that's a little scary," Naruto smiled as he sat down in one of the swings.
Suki followed suit and sat down on the swing beside her friend. She let her silver eyes stare up at the light blue sky. It was such a lovely Saturday afternoon, and her father had allowed her to go out to the park with her best friend. It had been two weeks since the first day of school, and she and Naruto were already the best of friends. They could relate to each other in more ways than other children could.
They grew up alone, and there were certain things that kept a lot of people from taking the time to truly understand them. But the two children understood each other.
"Hey, earth to Suki!" Naruto said, waving his hand in front of the girl's face.
Suki shook her head in surprise and looked to her left to look into Naruto's cerulean eyes. "What?"
"You were staring at the sky," Naruto said pointedly.
"Oh… I didn't realize," Suki blushed lightly.
"What were you thinking about?" the blonde inquired.
The black-haired girl smiled at her best friend. "Just thinking about how you're a great friend."
Naruto grinned widely at her words. "And you're an awesome person!" Suki smiled at his words.
The boy stood up and held his hand out to her. Reaching out, she let him pull her to her feet. He took her right hand and pulled her up. By grasping her hand, he slightly pulled the black glove down a few inches. A few black markings could be seen. Suki inwardly gasped and without her friend looking, she pulled the glove back up to cover her wrist. Naruto didn't even notice anything, which she was very glad for.
She didn't want him to know about her being the Guardian. While he didn't seem like the judging type, she still didn't want anyone else to know. It was a secret that she couldn't even tell her best friend.
"Let's go for a walk," Naruto suggested, and Suki nodded her head.
The two walked through the park side by side. Children were playing on the multitude of jungle gyms and see-saws. Parents were watching intently, making sure that their children didn't injure themselves. A few woodland creatures were running about, trying to avoid the humans at all costs.
The two children walked on, conversing about random things. They then started playing Twenty Questions, asking each other random stuff.
"What color do you think the sky should be?" Naruto asked.
"What kind of a question is that?" Suki laughed.
"Just answer it!" Naruto ordered with a giant grin on his face.
"Purple," Suki replied.
"Why?" Naruto laughed.
"Sometimes at night, the sky is purple. I think it's a really pretty color," Suki commented.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Naruto said, shaking his head.
"That's because you fall asleep once your head hits the pillow," Suki said.
"True," Naruto said, nodding. "Okay, your turn."
"What would you consider the ultimate prank?" Suki inquired with a sly smile.
Naruto fingered his chin in thought. Then he snapped his fingers once he got an idea. "This one's for Iruka-sensei! I would completely vandalize his desk."
"How so?" Suki asked.
"In one drawer, I would put a bunch of cockroaches. The second drawer would have frogs. And all his important documents and stuff would be in the corner of the room, where I would get a very fat cat to do his business on them," Naruto smirked.
"Wow, you're evil," Suki grinned. "Okay, your turn."
"What's under your dad's mask?" Naruto asked.
"Why do you want to know that?" Suki asked.
"Because he's always wearing that mask! I want to know what he's hiding!" Naruto said.
"His face is under his mask," Suki said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"You know what I mean, Suki," Naruto said seriously.
"Fine, fine," Suki said, shaking her head with a small smile. "He says he wears his mask because he's too handsome. He was tired of all the ladies flirting with him, so he chose to cover up his face."
Naruto stared at his friend with a raised eyebrow. "That's it? What kind of an excuse is that?"
"That's what he told me," Suki shrugged. "Okay, my turn. What's up with you and orange all the time?" Suki said, trying to suppress a smile and failing miserably.
"Orange is an awesome color!" Naruto said defensively.
"That's not a real answer," Suki countered. "I wanted to know your personal reason."
"Oh, well why didn't you just say that?" Naruto asked.
"Hey, it's not your turn to ask questions yet!" the girl laughed.
"Fine, fine," the boy replied. "I like orange… because it's a real attention-getter. You can't help but notice it."
Attention-getter… Suki understood her friend's meaning. Growing up alone brought little attention. No one was around to give any form of notice to her and Naruto. It sort of figured that he would wear an obnoxious color to get people to notice him.
"Plus, it gets people to smile," Naruto added.
"Smile?" Suki repeated confusedly.
"Yeah, look at this!" Naruto said, pointing to his short-sleeved orange jacket. "You cannot tell me that this jacket doesn't make you smile."
"It doesn't make me smile," Suki said seriously. There was no sign of humor on her face.
Naruto leaned closer and squinted as he stared into her eyes, trying to decipher her facial features. Then he smiled evilly at her. "You're lying."
Suki tried to suppress her smile. "No I'm not."
"Suki, you're a terrible liar," Naruto said, shaking his head.
The girl bit her lip, trying to hold back her giggle. But she couldn't help it, and her laugh slipped out by accident. "Okay, you caught me. Now it's your turn."
"Why do you always wear a braid?" Naruto pointed to Suki's hair, which was indeed, in a full braid that reached down past her shoulder.
"You know why," Suki said, raising an eyebrow at him.
"But I still don't understand why!" Naruto exclaimed.
"My hair is way too bushy. It looks weird. I braid it so people won't stare at it," Suki replied.
"I still don't get it," Naruto said, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"Well, you let your hair stay all spiky and crazy like that," Suki pointed to Naruto's head. "You obviously don't care about trying to make it tame."
"Nope! And I'm proud of it!" Naruto said happily. "Your turn."
"Okay… what are your dreams for the future?" Suki asked.
"Easy!" Naruto said excitedly. "My dream is to become Hokage!"
Suki raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. "What?"
"I want to become Hokage so that people will respect me," Naruto explained in a proud tone. "You know that people don't treat me well. I want to change that by becoming an awesome shinobi and being greater than any other Hokage that has ever lived! That way, people will look up to me rather than look down on me."
Suki's eyes went wide at his explanation. She let a small smile form on her lips. "That's… that's amazing, Naruto."
"Thanks," Naruto smiled back. "Okay, my turn. I'll ask the same question. What are your dreams for the future?"
Suki shrugged as she thought about it. "I want… I want to protect those who are precious to me. Everyone who I hold dear… I want to become stronger so I can keep them safe."
Naruto smiled kindly at her. "You'll do it. You're gonna be amazingly strong, and I know you'll be a great protector."
Protector? That… that was what the Guardian was supposed to be. Did he know or something? No, he couldn't know. Suki had never told him. The girl was wondering if his words meant something bigger than what he had intended.
Suki quickly shook her head to get that thought out of her head. She turned back to look at her friend. "And you're going to be a great Hokage one day, Naruto. And I'll be right there by your side to support you."
The two smiled at each other. The sun was about to set behind the horizon, so they decided to turn around and leave the park. As the neared the exit, they decided to each give one more question.
"Cats or dogs?" Suki asked with a slight smirk.
Naruto scrunched his nose. "Neither. I don't think I'm a big animal fan."
"What?" Suki laughed. "I love animals. What don't you like about them?"
"They're just so… smelly," Naruto said.
"You do realize that some animals tend to be cleaner than humans, don't you?" Suki asked.
"The key word in that answer is 'some', Suki. Besides, I tried to pet a cat once. It ended with me running and screaming for my life with the little monster clinging to my butt," Naruto remarked.
Suki couldn't help but laugh. It was just so typical Naruto. Her friend glared at her.
"It was quite painful, I'll have you know!" Naruto shouted defensively.
"I know… I'm sorry…" Suki managed to say between her laughter. It took her a couple moments to calm herself. "Okay, you're turn to ask the last question."
"Alright… what's your favorite color?" Naruto asked.
Suki raised an eyebrow. "Why do you wanna know that?"
"Well, you know that I like orange. But I don't know what you like," Naruto explained. "Is it black or white or silver?"
"How do you pick those colors?" Suki asked in confusion.
"You're always wearing white and black. And your eyes are silver, which is a pretty neat eye color," Naruto commented. "Is your favorite color any of those?"
"No. I wear black and white just because I don't think any other color suits me very well," Suki answered. "As for silver… I don't know, it's a nice color, I guess. But… it… it reminds me too much of my old home…"
Naruto turned to his friend, and when he saw the forlorn look in her eyes, he felt a pang of sympathy. Kagayaku Village in the Land of Silver held a lot of painful memories for Suki, and he knew it. She had told him plenty of stories about her terrible life in her old home, and he had been enraged to find out that his friend had been treated so shamefully. He had offered to go and kick some butts for her, but she had smiled and told him not to.
"Okay, so no silver," Naruto said. "So what is your favorite color?"
"I guess… I guess it would be gold," Suki said. "Probably because it's the opposite of silver."
Naruto nodded. "Alright. I'll have to remember."
"Why do you have to remember?" Suki asked.
"Well, not only are you my friend, but you're also like my sister. And when a guy comes over and asks if he can date you, I'll have to tell him not to buy any silver jewelry," Naruto said with a smirk on his face.
Suki's eyebrows rose. "What? Why… How can you even say something like that?" the poor girl started blushing like crazy.
"Haha, I'm only looking out for you!" Naruto exclaimed as he dodged a smack to the arm that she tried to land on him.
"That's so… I don't even know what to call that!" Suki sputtered frantically.
"You know you'll appreciate it when the time comes," Naruto said, throwing his arm around Suki's shoulders.
"Right… sure…" Suki muttered sarcastically as she gently punched him in the abs.
Deciding to be overly dramatic, Naruto fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. "Ow! Ouch! Suki! You killed me!"
"Oh please…" Suki laughed. "Naruto, what happened to being a greater shinobi than any other Hokage that ever lived?"
Immediately, Naruto bounced up onto his feet. "I will be the greatest Hokage to ever walk this earth!"
"There's the Naruto I know," Suki smiled at her best friend.
Naruto grinned back and threw his arm back over her shoulder. The two walked toward the exit of the park. The sun was barely showing at this point. The stars were starting to litter the dark sky as the orange sun began to hide behind the tree lines. As the main road appeared, the two children turned to each other.
"Do you want me to walk you home?" Naruto asked.
"Naruto, you live on the other side of town," Suki said.
"What's your point?"
The raven-haired girl sighed. "That's really sweet of you, but it's too much trouble."
"But it's getting dark out. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't come with you to protect you?" Naruto asked.
"You're still my best friend, Naruto," Suki said in reassurance. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." He seemed to doubt her words, but she gently nudged him in comfort. "It's really not that far to my house, Naruto. I'll be okay."
"Okay… if you're sure," Naruto said. He turned to head in the other direction and waved at her as he left. "See you later!"
"Bye, Naruto!" Suki replied. She turned around and headed back to her own home.
The sun was now completely gone, and the stars shined like glitter amongst the black blanket that was the night sky. The street lights had turned on, creating a path of light to lead Suki home. She walked in the middle of the road. She passed some shops and homes. The stores were closing, and families were gathering in their houses to have supper.
It was just about dinnertime, so Suki hoped that Kakashi was home. He was sometimes on ANBU missions that lasted days on end. When she had left earlier that day to go play with Naruto, he had said that he had a small delivery mission. He didn't mention when he'd be back; he just said soon.
Suki walked along the dark streets, humming to herself. After just a few more streets, she would be home.
"Is that her?" a voice whispered.
"Yeah, that's her," a female voice replied.
"Don't worry, Babe. We'll take care of the brat," a third voice said.
"Oh yeah…" a fourth voice added in excitement.
On top of a three story building, four figures stood in the darkness. They were peering down at the street, staring at a little girl with braided black hair.
"The last thing we need is a killer like that in this village," the first voice said. He stepped forward, looking down at the little girl with hatred. He had ocean blue hair and coal black eyes.
"Ooh, I can't wait to slice her up and throw her remains to the dogs," the fourth voice said. He revealed himself to be a scrawny man with a weasel-like appearance. He had greasy black hair and green eyes.
"We'll get rid of her before anyone ever realizes that she's gone," the third voice said. He had blonde hair and smoky gray eyes. He had a very muscular build compared to the other guys in his group. He pulled the girl over to his side to give her a long passionate kiss. When they finally pulled apart, he smirked down at her. "Hmm, I needed your touch to fuel me up."
The girl smirked back up at him. "Heh, don't you have such a way with words…" In the light, the woman's red hair gleamed in the night sky. Her nurse's outfit still clung tightly to her body.
"C'mon, let's do this already!" the weasel man hissed impatiently.
"Alright, alright," the blonde man replied. He gave his girlfriend one last kiss and then turned to his team. "Let's go."
All that could be heard was the patting of Suki's feet on the ground. She continued to hum to herself, her thoughts occupying her mind. A light breeze blew against her face, and she closed her eyes, welcoming the cool wind as it kissed her cheeks.
Suddenly, the quick sound of movement caught Suki's attention. Her eyes flew open, and her head whipped around to look around. There was nothing behind her except for the buildings she had already passed. She furrowed her eyebrows, not seeing any sudden danger, yet something was telling her that she was not safe.
*Above,* a voice whispered inside her mind.
It almost sounded like her consciousness was speaking to her; this voice didn't sound familiar to her at all. But she listened to it, and her eyes looked up to the sky. Her eyes widened in fear, and she jumped to the side, landing on her stomach. A loud thud sounded as three strange men landed on the ground. Suki turned around and gawked at them all.
The three men glared down at her form. One was of average built and had blue hair and black eyes. The second one looked like a rat; he was very bony and thin. The third man towered over his teammates by a good six inches. All three of the men had a katana strapped to their belts.
Suki's mouth fell open in trepidation. The scrawny man began to chuckle. "Aw, isn't that cute?" he asked sarcastically.
The little girl stared up at the three me in fear. "W-What do you all want?"
The big bulky man smirked down at her. "We want you dead… Guardian," he whispered the last part in an eerie and evil tone.
Suki froze. They knew. They weren't supposed to know. But they knew. How had they figured it out? She had worked so hard to keep it a secret over the past year that she had lived in this village. No one was supposed to know except the Third Hokage and her father. How could they possibly…?
"How do you know?" Suki squeaked.
"Does that really matter? You're going to die anyway," the scrawny man sneered as he jumped from one foot to the other in an evilly excited manner.
"Let's just do this," the blue-haired man said impatiently.
He whipped out his sword and held it high above Suki's head. Her eyes went wide at the sight of the long gleaming blade. As the man swung down, the girl screamed loudly. Her body moved on impulse, and she jumped out of the way and scrambled to her feet. The other two men unsheathed their own swords, and the three goons circled around Suki, trapping her between them.
"Nowhere to go now, monster," the large man said as he circled around the small girl.
Suki felt as if she was growing smaller and smaller. She was so scared for her life. Back in her old home, there had been multiple attempts to take her life. But they had never been this… intimidating. Kagayaku citizens usually tried feeding her to the dogs, but animals could never hurt her. They always wanted to play with her instead. People usually threw stuff at her, but the cuts and bruises had always healed. Then there were the beatings and whippings. Those had been horrible.
But this… three men, each wielding a katana… this was new, and it was terrifying.
"Say goodbye, filthy wretch," the large man said.
Simultaneously, the three men raised their blades in the air. And moving as one, they brought their swords down. Suki closed her eyes tightly, awaiting the pain. It was over for her.
"Hey, you disgusting farts!" a loud voice shouted.
Immediately, the three men halted in their movements, and their swords stopped inches away from Suki's form.
Upon recognizing the obnoxious voice, Suki's eyes flew open. Through the men's forms that were circling around her, Suki could see spiky blonde hair and an orange jacket. The three thugs turned around to glare at the keeper of the voice.
"What the heck? It's a freaking little kid!" the scrawny man wheezed angrily.
"Hey! I'm gonna be the future Hokage! So I would watch my mouth if I were you, you rat man!" Naruto yelled back.
"What did he call me?" the weasel-looking man yelled angrily.
"You heard me!" Naruto replied back. "And I want you to stay away from my friend!"
"Oh, is that so?" the bulky man asked.
"Yeah, that's right! You big gorilla!" Naruto answered.
The large man's eye and head twitched. He glared evilly at the blonde child. "Kill the brat," he ordered.
The other two men nodded and sped toward Naruto. As they neared, the seven-year-old braced himself. The men brought their swords up, and moving quickly, Naruto did a tumble roll forward, avoiding the blades coming down on him. He ran forward, away from the two men who were now behind him. The blonde ran straight for his friend, but the gorilla man was guarding her.
Once Naruto was near enough, the man raised his blade to strike. Smirking, Naruto dodged the sword by sliding across the dirt, through the man's spread legs. The thug stared at the spot where Naruto had hit the ground, confused. It took him a few moments to realize that Naruto was now behind him. When he finally did snap out of his confusion, he turned around to see that Naruto was dragging Suki away.
The gorilla man shook his head and turned to his comrades, who were running up to him. "C'mon!" The three men took off quickly. It was time for the chase.
Naruto dragged Suki down a dark alley and brought her to hide behind a building. The two children threw their backs up against the wall to hide themselves in the darkness. Naruto peeked around the corner. There was no sign of the goons. They were safe… for the time being.
The blonde turned back to her friend. She was breathing deeply, almost hyperventilating. No, not almost. She was hyperventilating.
"Suki, calm down, alright? We're safe now," Naruto said.
"They… they almost… killed me," Suki managed to say through her quick and unsteady breathing. She turned to look into her friend's comforting blue eyes. If possible, her breathing quickened as she stared at him in fear. "They almost killed you!"
Naruto grabbed a hold of her shoulders to keep her from shivering and shaking. "Suki," he said in a firm voice, bringing her out of her mental panic. "I'm fine. You're fine. We're both fine. Now, take a deep breath."
Suki tried to obey. But when she sucked in air, it only made her hyperventilating worse. She could barely exhale due to the panic and fright building up inside of her. She tried breathing a couple of times, but they came out as sobs. Tears pricked her eyes.
"Suki!" Naruto yelled, shaking her shoulders.
The tears disappeared from her eyes as she stared at him in surprise. This was the first time he had ever raised his voice at her.
"Get a hold of yourself!" Naruto ordered, still grasping her shoulders. "We're both here right now, so I need you to be strong. I'm here to protect you. I won't let anything happen to you. Alright?"
Suki's eyes widened at him. Then she looked down at the ground in sorrow. She was weak. She couldn't even control her feelings in a serious situation. Why not? She had been through these kinds of things in Kagayaku. This shouldn't have been new to her.
But it was. This was the first attempt on her life in Konoha. It was startling and scary. She had hoped to start over in this place. But somehow, it was almost as if she was still living in the Land of Silver.
"No!" she told herself. "This isn't like Kagayaku. You have people who care about you here. Daddy and Naruto are there for you. So I will be strong for them."
She brought her silver eyes to look into Naruto's azure ones. Any sign of fear was no longer shown on her face. She wasn't going to let herself be the helpless little girl. She was training to be a ninja, and ninja did not panic.
Naruto smiled as he looked in Suki's determined eyes. "There we go."
Suki smiled back at her friend. She reached out to him with both arms, and he leaned to hug her. The two children clung closely to each other, relishing in the comfort that the other brought to them.
The sound of voices brought the two out of their embrace. "Let's check this area," the gorilla man's voice said. The children could hear footsteps at the front of the alley.
"Darn it," Naruto hissed. "We have to get out of here." He peeked one blue eye out to look around the corner and then quickly retreated. "That's the only exit, and they're gonna come down here soon."
Suki started looking around frantically. Indeed, there was no way of escape. They were done for.
*Climb the ladder.* Suki froze. It was that voice again. That same voice who had alerted her of the goons.
"What ladder?" the girl wondered. As far as her eyes could tell, there was no ladder.
A flash of gold caught Suki's eye. She quickly turned to her left and saw the blur of gold disappear as it flew quickly up the side of the building and into the night. Suki let her eyes slowly drift back down, and then she saw it. The ladder.
On the side of the building was a fire escape. The steps were pulled up, so the kids would have to try to bring them down if they wanted to escape. But at least it was something.
Suki grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him over to the fire escape. "What?" Naruto asked.
"Look," the girl said as she pointed up at the metal stairs.
Naruto's eyes widened. "How did you see that? It's too dark to see anything."
Suki bit her lip. What could she possibly say so that she didn't seem strange? She could tell the truth and say that a voice was talking to her inside her head. Nah that would be weird. She could lie and say she had really good eyesight. Yeah right; she didn't have night vision.
She shook her head. "That's not important right now. We have to get the stairs down fast!"
The blonde nodded. He quickly grabbed a garbage can and set it under the ladder. "I'll stand on this, and you can stand on my shoulders."
The raven-haired girl nodded. Naruto climbed up onto the metal can, and then he helped Suki climb onto it. Then she grasped his shoulders and pulled herself up so that she was sitting on them. She reached up to try and grab the metal ladder, but she wasn't tall enough.
"Stand," Naruto ordered.
"But…" Suki started to say. She didn't want to hurt him.
"Do it. I'm fine," Naruto said, trying to keep his balance on the trash can.
Suki nodded as she took a shaky breath. She placed her hands on his shoulders again and used them as leverage to push herself up. She gently placed her feet on his shoulders and tried to stand. Naruto was holding her ankles, trying to make sure she didn't fall. Of course, he was having a hard time keeping steady on the garbage can while supporting extra weight.
Suki held her hands to balance herself. Satisfied that she wouldn't fall, she reached up and grabbed the first metal bar on the ladder. She carefully pulled it down, but it stopped halfway. The first bar only came down Suki's chest.
"It's stuck," Suki whispered.
"Climb anyway," Naruto said.
The girl pulled herself off of her friend's shoulders and climbed up the ladder. She scrambled onto the first platform and looked down at Naruto, who was still standing on the trash can.
"C'mon," Suki encouraged.
Naruto stared up at the ladder. It was a good three feet away from his head, if not, more. But he could hear the men's voices coming down the alley, so he took a chance. He jumped off the trash can and grabbed the first metal bar. The garbage can fell backwards, and a loud metal clang echoed through the area.
"Hey, that must be them!" the blue-haired man yelled. The sound of running footsteps could be heard, coming closer and closer.
"C'mon!" Suki repeated, more frantically this time. Naruto quickly rushed up the ladder and joined Suki on the platform.
"Hey, they're up there!" the weasel man said, pointing a long skinny finger at the kids.
"Get them!" the large bulky man ordered.
Instantly, the two children continued on upwards, climbing the fire escape toward the top. The men were occupied with trying to bring the first ladder down so they could climb up as well.
Naruto and Suki made it to the top of the fire escape, and they ended up on the roof of the building. They looked around for another way to escape, but there was nowhere else to go unless they dared to jump onto the next building.
"Crap," Naruto muttered under his breath. Suki bit her lip in thought, trying to come up with an idea.
All of a sudden, a shooting pain erupted in Suki's temple. She grasped her throbbing head and involuntarily let out a moan of pain.
"Suki? Suki!" Naruto exclaimed, running over to his friend. He tried to take her hands away from her head so he could see her face, but her hands were practically glue to her head from the pain that was splitting her brain.
As the pain grew stronger, Suki's eyes flew open, and she stared at the ground. But instead of seeing the ground, she was looking at another alley. And she was looking at it from a bird's eye view. She was having some kind of… vision. It wasn't exactly a memory because she knew she had never seen that kind of view before. But the way the image was playing in her mind made her think that she had seen it before, even though she knew she hadn't. And somehow, she knew exactly where this alley was.
"Naruto, follow me," Suki said, grabbing his hand and leading him over to the edge of the roof.
"Suki… what are you planning?" Naruto asked cautiously.
"Just trust me," Suki said. Still holding his hand, she took a deep breath and jumped off the roof, bringing Naruto with her.
"WWWHHHAAATTT?" Naruto screamed loudly as he and Suki fell through the air.
Splat!
Naruto could feel himself surrounded by something mushy. And squishy. And icky. He brought his head up to the surface of whatever he was trapped in. He looked around to find that he was in a dumpster.
Naruto instantly grimaced. "Ew…" Suki finally came to the surface, and she shook her head of the scum that was now residing in her hair. Naruto glared at her. "What is wrong with you? You could have killed us!"
Suki quirked an eyebrow. "Are you dead?"
"No, but-"
"Then you can thank me later," Suki interrupted. "Right now, I'm pretty sure those guys are coming after us."
Naruto looked up to the spot where they had jumped. Even in the dark night, he could vaguely make out figures looking down at them. "Good point. Let's go."
He dragged himself out of the filth of the dumpster and then proceeded to help his friend. Once both were out, they made a mad dash down the road. They didn't even stop to wipe the dirt and scum off of themselves; they just kept running. After a few moments, they could hear footsteps behind them. Naruto glanced back and scowled.
"They're gaining fast," he said.
She bit her lip in worry. Those guys were three grown men, and they were two small children. Naruto and she couldn't run forever, and she knew the thugs would catch up eventually. But she just kept telling her legs to move faster.
*Suki, look up,* that mysterious voice whispered in her mind.
Surprised, Suki obeyed and looked up. Contrasting against the dark sky and glittering stars, a golden shadow was flying above the two running children. Upon closer inspection, Suki realized that it was a bird. A bird with gold feathers.
An instant memory came back to her as she ran, staring at the bird.
She was running away…
Running for her life…
It started to rain…
The bird appeared…
It led her to a safe place…
It led her to Kakashi…
It led her to her new home…
Everything started to make sense. Well, sort of. From what Suki could manage to understand, this bird was helping her. That entire time, when she had heard that mysterious voice in her head, it was this bird. It had talked to her in her mind. It had sent her the vision of the alley. It was helping her.
It was saving her again.
The bird cawed loudly, and Naruto looked up at it as well. "Hey, a bird!"
"Naruto, follow it!" Suki ordered.
Naruto nodded, and the two children changed direction as the bird flew off. The bird was flying in all different directions, but the children continued to follow it. And the men continued to follow their prey.
After so many twists and turns, the bird took another turn down an alley. The kids followed it and ran quickly down the pathway. Then Naruto and Suki skidded to a stop.
A giant wall was blocking their path.
"Crap!" Naruto shouted angrily.
Suki gawked. Her mouth hung open in confusion, and her eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment. "I thought the bird was supposed to help us! But it led us to a dead end."
The girl turned around. The three men had finally caught up to them. And they were not happy for being led on a giant run around the village. "You brats have caused us a lot of trouble," the bulky man growled loudly.
"Yeah. You brats are gonna pay!" the rat man piped up.
"Finally… time to kill these pests," the blue-haired man scowled.
The three men unsheathed their swords. The alleyway was very narrow, so there was no way for the kids to escape without getting slashed at. And with this dead end, they were done for.
Naruto stepped in front of Suki in a protective manner. The men sneered down at him. They raised their katanas, and the children closed their eyes, waiting for the sharp blades to pierce their flesh.
It never came.
After a few moments of nothing happening, Naruto and Suki slowly opened their eyes. Then their eyes widened in surprise at what they saw.
A certain silver-haired ANBU was standing between the men and the children. His arms were crossed, and the blades of the three katanas were halted by his iron guard gloves. The ANBU member lifted his head, his fierce cat mask hiding the terrible snarl on his face.
"I don't appreciate it when people try to harm innocent children," the man growled. The three men shivered at the intensity and disgust in the ANBU man's voice.
The man in the mask suddenly pushed his arms forward, shoving the katanas backwards. Then he used a roundhouse kick to knock the swords from the men's grasps. Before the thugs could even think of how to react, the ANBU member appeared behind them all, delivering forceful blows to their necks and craniums, rendering them useless and unconscious.
Naruto and Suki stared at the scene in shock. Then Naruto grinned widely. "That was totally awesome! I've never seen something that incredible!" He ran over to stand over the three fallen men. "In your faces!" he yelled excitedly and mockingly.
The ANBU man removed his cat mask, revealing a familiar masked face. "Are you kids alright?" Kakashi asked worriedly.
"What? Kakashi?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. "That was you?"
Despite the tense situation, Kakashi smiled through his black mask. "Who else would I be?"
"Wha… But… I've never seen you so awesome before!" Naruto shouted.
Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at the boy. "That's because you've never seen me in action before."
"Can you do that again?" Naruto asked excitedly.
"Sorry, Naruto. Right now, I have to bring these three thugs to the Hokage. And you two need to get home," Kakashi said. Then he looked at the two suspiciously. "Which brings me to my question… why are you two still out here? It's well past a suitable curfew for seven-year-olds."
"We might've stayed at the park a little long," Suki admitted sheepishly. "But when we left, these guys started attacking me. Naruto showed up, and we had to try and run away from them."
Kakashi nodded at Suki's explanation, and he turned his gaze back to the fallen men to glare at them. He then used a simple hand sign, and a copy of himself appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Whoa! There are two of you!" Naruto yelled excitedly as he pointed to the clone and then the original.
"My Shadow Clone will take care of these goons. I'll take you two home. Naruto, since it's late, I'll let you stay in our home for the night, if you would like," Kakashi said.
Naruto grinned excitedly. "Heck yeah! That'd be so cool!"
Kakashi smiled. "C'mon, let's head on out of here."
Once the group of three had arrived in Kakashi and Suki's home, the jounin gave the children a small and quick dinner. Afterwards, he sent the two to bed. Naruto was to stay in the guest room. Kakashi and Suki both bid him goodnight, and he smiled widely at them. He had never been to a sleepover before, and this was very exciting for him.
Once Naruto had settled, Kakashi led Suki to her own bedroom. She jumped into bed, and he tucked her in.
"You know Suki, I was very worried about you tonight," Kakashi said as he sat beside her in the bed.
"Really?" Suki asked, surprised.
"Of course. You're my daughter, and I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt," Kakashi admitted. "When you told me what happened, I was very scared about what might've happened to you."
"I'm sorry…" Suki said, feeling immensely guilty.
Kakashi smiled kindly. "It's alright. Just make sure you're careful next time. You should never wander the streets alone."
"Okay…" Suki replied.
Kakashi pulled down his black mask, revealing his face. A light scar marked his face. It ran from the left side of his collarbone all the way up across his nose. He leaned down and kissed Suki on the forehead. Then he covered his face back up.
His daughter giggled. "You know, Naruto and I were playing Twenty Questions today. He asked me what was under your mask."
Kakashi smiled. "And what did you say?"
"I said what you told me to. That all the ladies find you attractive, so you have to hide your face from them," Suki laughed.
"Good," Kakashi grinned. "Let's just let that rumor keep spreading, alright?"
"Okay," Suki smiled.
Her father stood up to leave when he remembered something. "Hey Suki, since Naruto is staying across the hall… don't let him in here," he said seriously.
Suki rolled her eyes. "Daddy… I'm seven."
"I don't care how old you are," Kakashi said in a serious tone, though Suki could see the smile through his mask. "As long as you live in my home, no boy is ever allowed to be in a bedroom with you."
"Okay, Daddy," Suki snickered. Kakashi nodded at her and then headed to the door. Then she realized something. "Hey… Daddy?"
"Yes?" he said, turning to stare at her from the doorway.
"How… how did you find me and Naruto before?" Suki asked.
Kakashi quirked his eyebrow at her. Then he smiled kindly at her. "A little gold birdie told me." Suki's eyes went wide. Still smiling, he turned the light off. "Goodnight, Suki."
"Goodnight, Daddy."
As he left, Suki started to wonder about what her father had just said. A gold bird… It was that same bird that had saved her in Kagayaku and tonight.
Suki smiled to herself. Tomorrow, she would have to remember to tell Naruto that another reason why gold was her favorite color was because it had saved her life two times already.
Meanwhile, Kakashi was in his room, preparing for bed. As he sat down on the comforter, a sudden flash of visions and memories overcame him. His Shadow Clone had released himself. As the flood of memories came to him, Kakashi nodded.
The Hokage was now informed of everything that had happened that night. And the Third wanted to discuss things further with Kakashi the following day.
Kakashi removed his ANBU uniform and went to bed. As he lay in his bed, he couldn't help but think of everything that had happened that night. Yes, certain things had to be discussed with the Hokage.