Disclaimer: You know the drill… I don't own Naruto or Avatar: The last Airbender…
Chapter 3 –
Aang was in deep thought about what had happened and had tried to find answers from his former lives, but none had ever been able to manipulate the energies of another, so he had set out a few years ago to try to figure out what had happened and find the Lion-Turtle that had shown him how to bend energies. After years of searching with Katara and receiving notices from the three nations, Fire, Water and Earth navies, they had finally found the roving island.
Aang landed in front of the island and the massive head came out of the water. He then heard the voice in his head from the lion-turtle, 'You seek what was lost, but there is no way to return it. It has lost something, but still retains its life. It also took a little part of you with it, so if you look hard enough you will find what you're looking for.'
Aang looked confused, but then asked, "So if I look within myself for my missing piece then I will find her?"
'You have grown young one. I will go on my way, now that you have your answer,' the lion-turtle said telepathically.
Aang flew up to the air ship that was waiting and yelled back to the turtle, "Thank you again!"
He found Zuko, Mai, Toph, Sokka and Katara waiting for him on the landing pad. "So did you get the answer you've been looking for about my sister, Aang?" Zuko asked expectantly.
"You'll need to give me a minute to see if what the lion-turtle told me makes any sense or not," Aang replied and then sat down in a meditative pose. The others watched, as his tattoos began to glow and a slight wind kicked up around them.
Aang found himself in the spirit world near the monkey who seemed to like to meditate. Aang slowly walked over to the monkey and took up a similar pose. "What are you doing back child? I thought I had gotten rid of you… I mean you found your answer," the monkey said, while his eyes were closed.
Aang took several minutes to answer, but then said, "Yes… I did find what I was looking for at the time, the ocean and moon spirits in the mortal world, but now I'm looking for another part of myself and someone else. I'm sorry if I'm disturbing your meditation."
"This time you are not. I expected this to come, so I will work with you. You must seek your inner self and find the piece of you that is missing. Without knowledge of where it went you will never be whole," the monkey explained.
Aang nodded and both continued to meditate. Aang suddenly felt a slight glimmer from far away, but fought the urge to immediately look for it. "Good, you have found it and have not gone off blindly to find it. You must determine where it is. Can you do that, young Avatar?" the monkey asked.
Aang concentrated harder and then felt the rifts between the spirit world and several other worlds. He mentally searched the rifts for residual energy from himself. On the seventh rift he felt the glimmer and felt a familiar energy coming from the rift. He then asked, "Can I speak with her?"
"No, she is not enlightened enough to speak with you, but she will, over time become enlightened, because of who she has come to be with. When they reach enlightenment you will be able to speak with them. Until then you will have to live with the fact that they are alive and are safe," the monkey explained.
"You keep on saying 'they', but I'm only looking for Azula," Aang tried to explain.
"Like I said, the one who she has cast her destiny with will also be able to talk with you eventually, young Avatar. Now it is time to leave and take that insufferable panda with you," the monkey said with little anger in his voice, but also didn't open his eyes.
Aang opened his eyes and saw a familiar panda waiting for him outside the meditation area. "Hi, Habai. Time to go back," Aang explained, as he got up on the panda's back. They went to an archway and Aang dismounted the panda. "By old friend, I'll visit you when I get a chance," Aang said while he began to disappear.
Those gathered around the Avatar watched, as the glow from his tattoos began to subside. Aang took a deep breath and then said, "Azula is alive, but she isn't here on this world, but she will eventually be able to contact us. We will have to give it time."
Zuko sighed in relief and Mai hugged him in an attempt to console him. He smiled wearily, but nodded acknowledgement to the Avatar.
Naruto and Azula felt a presence at the back of their consciousness, but it was gone soon after it came. They shared a look, but continued to eat dinner. They conversed about how they were going to take on being genin, but Azula wasn't so sure about the test being all that it took to become a shinobi. "Naruto, why do you think that we will be put on teams, but also I'm sure that not all the teams become actual genin right away? Why is that?" she asked.
"I don't know. I would guess that the teams lack something," he replied thoughtfully.
"So if you were on a team with, Kami forbid, the Uchiha boy… What would you do?" she asked pointedly.
Naruto snickered and replied, "Probably the same thing you would do if Kiba was on your team. Put up with him and try to work with him, but also keep him in line."
Azula smirked and put out her hand across the table which Naruto quickly took and smiled back. "I don't know if it is love or just latent affection, but I do care about you Naruto," she said sincerely.
Naruto blushed and replied, "Being with you for the last few years has taught me some things, but also taught me that there is a lot I don't know. As for love, I think Hinata is teaching us about it, but I'm not sure how a trio fits in. I mean, I feel very strongly about both of you, but don't really know if I could pick between the two you and I think that people will have more of a problem if I'm dating and eventually marrying two girls instead of just one."
Azula blushed, but then said, "What if you don't have to choose?" Naruto gasped at the question, but she continued, "I've talked to Hinata and we agreed that if she still feels the same when she is older then… you can marry both of us. I have talked to the Hokage and Hiashi about this, they don't see too much of a problem with it. Other than the councils throwing up a fit, but if you're strong enough, you shouldn't have to worry about it."
Naruto looked at the girl in front of him and was both confused and he thought he understood what was going on. Azula for all of her bravado was insecure when it came to her feelings towards Naruto and thus she wanted the help of Hinata who was by now her closest friend. While the three shared everything budding teenagers could, they didn't share their bodies, at least not yet. Both Naruto and Hinata knew about how Azula was and how she had changed thanks to both the Avatar and Hinata, but mostly due to Naruto.
All three knew that mentally that Azula was about 6 years older than the others, but she took her younger body to be a sign that she had a chance to start over and didn't want to repeat the mistakes that caused Mai and Ty Lee to turn on her like they did. This was a sore spot for her and both Naruto and Hinata went a long ways in healing this wound. She now knew that she was at fault for this and that her friends did do the right thing.
She had to also grudgingly admit that the Uchiha boy had also helped in showing her how she had acted before she had come to this world of shinobi and Samurai. While Naruto was more for the training than the book learning portion of the schooling, Azula dug right in and had Naruto help her, both for her to learn and also to help bring him up to speed. Her favorite subject was history, but also she had learned that it was colored by the author and how they wanted to present the history. The best example was the Kyuubi attack. While the history books were sort of right. It took a lot of digging, but she had found out that Eddy village was where the Uzumaki clan hailed from and that they were great seal masters, also that an Uzumaki married the First Hokage.
What really surprised her was that the hidden facts around her death and the bringing of Uzumaki Kushina from the Eddy village just before it fell. The Third Hokage had tried to forbid her to do any more research into the subject, but Naruto had run interference on the subject and got him to accidently spill that Kushina was his mother and thus he allowed her to continue her research. While Naruto knew that Azula had figured out who his father was, she wasn't telling him just yet, so he was bided his time.
They finished dinner and cleaned up the dishes. They had made it a habit of having dinner together since she had gotten her apartment next to his. They would trade off where they would eat, that also included Ichiraku ramen, which Naruto seemed to have an affliction for the stuff. While she had to admit it was good. She didn't think it was that good for him until she and the chief had a talk about what they did with the ingredients. She found out that he would put vegetables in the ramen and other items that would help him with his nutrition and with growing. She also knew that he hungered for the extra carbohydrates, to keep up his energy reserves.
The funny thing was that she had finally broken him of his habit of shying away from touch and would it would be to lie down beside her when she needed his touch and he needed hers. She also found out that he wasn't shy, just unused to human touch. This had struck a cord in her. She and Hinata had decided to try to fix this in the boy, but Hinata had a similar problem with close contact with Naruto, but Azula fixed that by tying Hinata to Naruto for a whole day, while splashing water on her when ever she would pass out. Her reasoning was that if they were to be married, it wouldn't do for her to pass out when she got close to Naruto. I wouldn't be any fun for her for them to try to have children. She giggled at the memory. She even made it worse by having Naruto in a swim suit and Hinata in a one-piece suit. Azula knew that Hinata was developing and she was sure that it would also break Naruto of his problems with close contact.
"What are you laughing at, Azula?" Naruto asked.
"Just remembering the weekend I tied you and Hinata together," she replied and then whistled happily.
"That wasn't fair for Hinata-chan. You know she has a delicate condition," Naruto said, but the blush on his face betrayed that he actually liked the experience.
"Who knew that Hinata was so developed for an eleven year old?" Azula asked with a smirk that betrayed her knowledge.
Naruto wore a smirk of his own and replied, "You're not too far behind her, you know."
Azula covered her chest for a second and glared at the blonde. "You peaked, didn't you?"
"Why would I have to peak, since we take a shower together at least once a week?" Naruto asked with a serious look on his face.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Azula replied with a blush. She then got a wry grin and asked, "So are you going to take advantage of me? Since we sleep and shower together?"
Naruto took a thinking pose and then replied, "Only if you want me too, but aren't we a little young to be playing those types of games? Wouldn't you get pregnant?"
Azula shook her head and replied, "Not necessarily, since we have been taught techniques that can avert that possibility. Is that all you're worried about?"
Naruto shook his head and said, "No, but I don't think I'm ready just yet for that. I mean even though I have these urges, I don't have to go with them do I?"
Azula shook her head and replied, "No, but it might be fun…" She let her answer linger in the air for a moment and saw that Naruto was actually contemplating them doing something risqué, but then she saw him steel himself and she smiled warmly at this. Knowing that he would do what she wanted and try to make her happy, while she knew that she would try to make him happy. Then an idea crossed her mind. "Hey Naruto… you still have the instructions on that jounin clone technique?"
Naruto nodded his head, got up and pulled a scroll for the shelf on the wall. He had made it a habit to keep important things in Azula's apartment instead of his own. Nobody would break into her apartment for fear of being burnt to a crisp, jounin or not. He opened the scroll, sat down and began reading. Some of the techniques on the page down right scared him. Some required sacrifices, from the user's life to other's life, not what he wanted, so he skipped to a particular technique that was the first in the scroll. 'Shadow clone technique' was the name. Azula read over his shoulder, but her eyes widened in surprise at the description: A jounin level technique that required you to have at least high Chuunin level of chakra, but also would divide the remaining chakra evenly over the clones and yourself.
They both followed the instructions, but Azula had to abandon her attempts after about ten minutes, even though she was actually really close. She was feeling the pull on her chakra and she could tell how little remained and thus gave up trying until her reserves had returned to their normal levels. She watched as Naruto shed his coat and continued to try to do the technique. Suddenly a second Naruto appeared, but both seemed to be breathing hard.
Azula smirked, got up and kissed one, much to the annoyance of the other. The one who wasn't kissed growled and said, "Hey you keep your mitts off my Azula-chan!" He jumped at the other Naruto, but was tapped on the chest by Azula and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. She smiled and said happily, "You got it, Naruto!" She then kissed him deeply. She broke the kiss and then smirked. "I didn't know that you were the jealous type, Naruto. That was a solid clone… hm… that has possibilities. I'm sure that Hinata and I could come up with a few possibilities," she said with a wry grin.
"Not yet… If I know what is going through that perverted mind of yours Azula-chan. I really do think that Hinata-chan has corrupted you," he said offhandedly.
She gave him a side-long glance and replied, "Maybe it was me who corrupted her… given my past, Naruto-kun."
Naruto laughed at the statement, but then kissed her gently and asked, "Or is it just maybe I just got two perverts for girl friends and fiancés."
Azula chuckled darkly and pulled him into the bedroom. "You want to see just how perverted I can be, the former ruler of the Fire Nation?" she asked wryly, as she finished pulling him into the bedroom and then slammed the door shut.
Naruto let out an 'Eep' and the said "Be gentle…"
In the Hokage's tower there was a meeting with the Hokage and several Jounin instructors. He took a long drag on his pipe and then began, "I have several dilemmas with this year's genin. Now, no questions until we iron this out, especially you Kakashi." He gave the jounin with his headband over his left eye a glare to stave off any arguments. He then continued, "As of yesterday we had a full class of twenty-seven graduating genin." This caused several to chuckle darkly. "Seeing as how Naruto was able to do a small job for me and show that he was skilled enough to be a shinobi, I am allowing him to also be in the graduating class. This will throw off our teams. Added to that is certain jounin have asked for certain genin to be on their teams. Asuma, you requested the Nara, Akamichi and Yamanaka genin for your team. Kurenai, you requested the Aburame, Inuzuka and the Hyuuga on your team. Kakashi you requested the Uchiha and Naruto, but didn't care who else you got. Genma you requested Ami, Azula, and Kouta."
He let out a deep sigh and looked around the room. "All in all, I was hoping to put Naruto, Azula and Hyuuga Hinata on the same team, but until last night I couldn't. I was going to give you all what you wanted, but with Naruto being odd man out, we have a problem. He now knows the Shadow clone technique. With this in his arsenal he will be a power to contend with," Hiruzen explained.
"But Hokage-sama, the boy failed to pass the exams or so I heard," a jounin exclaimed.
"I talked to Iruka and he was pained about what happened and what Naruto said before he left the testing room. Naruto was right. He was able to make nine passable clones, but going by the letter of the rules he couldn't pass since there was no way he could control his chakra to such a fine extent to make just three of them and make them passable. Iruka also told me that Naruto dismissed a genjutsu when he entered the room. We put so much in on being able to do the basics we lost sight of what a good shinobi should be able to do. Naruto, Azula and Hinata were able to capture a Chuunin, unaided." This brought several gasps to the group.
Kakashi then spoke up and asked, "They surprised Mizuki, didn't they?"
"Yes and no, but also they worked together to defeat a Chuunin and also protected another Chuunin from injury. No matter what the decision on other genin they will be passed. Am I understood?" he asked, but it was more of an order and the jounin nodded.
"So who did you assign to me in the first place?" Kakashi asked.
"Yakatori Shinji and Haruno Sakura, while she lacks practical skills she has the academic background," Hurizen replied.
Kakashi took a thinking pose and then said, "While she might have the basics for book knowledge, I'm afraid of her attitude and her practical abilities."
"That is your job as teacher, to teach all three genin how to work as a team, but there must initially be a connection, so that they will learn it as a skill and a way of being a shinobi of the leaf. We need to figure out what the teams should be and we won't leave until it is decided," Hurizen explained.
"But if Naruto was odd man out who is he displacing?" Asuma asked.
Azula sighed, as she looked at the sleeping boy next to her, while they didn't 'go all the way'. She sure did try to push it. If it was her earlier life she would have pushed it and made the boy hers, but she found it cute that he wanted to wait for a little while longer until their relationship made it to that level. She smirked at the frogs on his boxers and her in lace panties. They were opposites. Then there was Hinata whom she knew wanted to be with Naruto. An even larger smirk came across her face, while thinking of her pale eyed friend. 'I'll have to get her involved in these festivities,' she thought to herself.
Naruto lay there with a content smile on his face, while sleeping with Azula on his chest, only in lace panties. They had changed the sheet and showered to remove the bodily fluids that they had let loose while 'playing' with each other. She let out a content sigh and was happy to have found a new life with people who accepted her. She curled up to Naruto and pulled the sheet over them both. She then quickly fell asleep.
A/N: SpartanCommando: Naruto and Hinata are both 12, nearly 13, Azula is mentally around 18, but has regressed because of her change of heart and what Naruto and Hinata did for her.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Merry Christmas…