Chapter 2
Thrust into the Fray
"Well?" the blonde Hokage demanded impatiently waiting as the trio remained silent. "I'm waiting."
Tension filled the air as the blonde stared down the Toad Sage, dirty novel in hand. The seconds dragged on slowly.
This is like waiting for a king cobra to strike, Setsuna thought as she waited under the stifling silence. As her eyes wandered over the novel, Setsuna glanced at the woman on the cover and the woman behind the desk. She blinked. Oh, crap.
"Jiraiya-sensei, please tell me you didn't," the teenager murmured slowly, as if unable to process the new information. Suddenly, the girl's demeanor changed as her hand curled into a fist. Must control temper. Must not kill sensei.
Jiraiya turned his head rapidly as he looked to and fro from the extremely pissed off blonde woman to the about-to-become-pissed-off blue-haired teenage girl. His forehead started to sweat. He didn't know who he should be afraid of more.
"Please, Tsunade-princess, let me explain," he pleaded as left hand scratched the back of his neck while he waved his right arm in a pacifying manner.
"Explain?" Tsunade parroted in disbelief. "I told you to destroy that picture years ago! What is it doing on the front cover of this…this…this smut?"
"I, uh,…." Jiraiya began. Before he could explain himself, the ground shook as a thunderous boom could be heard from a distance.
"What the hell was that?" Setsuna cried. Before anyone could answer her, alarms blared throughout the village.
"Oh, shit." She heard the blonde Hokage, Tsunade, mutter as she sprung from her desk and started running outside. The others followed after her, knowing there was something horribly wrong.
They reached outside and were met with a state of chaos. Blood was everywhere as ninjas with blue forehead protectors fought against ninjas wearing a black cloak with red clouds and other ninjas with scratched forehead protectors but without the black cloaks.
Setsuna grimaced. Lackeys, she inferred from their outfits. She surveyed the scene before her. "So, the non-black cloaks, are they lackeys?" she asked her sensei for confirmation. At her peripheral vision, she saw a nod.
"Which organization? And, what's their agenda?" she asked curiously as she fell into step with Jiraiya, who was running as if his life depended on it.
"Akatsuki. They're after Naruto." His expression no longer carefree, Jiraiya held his palm out and blue chakra started to gather. He turned to his apprentice. "I think it's time for you to start learning the fine art of fighting."
Before she could reply, he joined the fray and the little blue ball of chakra violently pushed back one of the black-cloak ninjas. Setsuna followed after her sensei, dodging and weaving in and out of the fighting crowds as she went and kicking and punching any cloak-less enemy in her way. For some reason, the lackeys think I'm weak, she noted as she elbowed a random enemy ninja and continued making her way through the barrage of cloak-less minions. She snuck a quick glance and noticed the other more experienced Konoha ninjas were extremely busy with at least one black-cloaked enemy. Either they think I am really young or I'm more popular among the civilians. Eh, it's just as well.
By the time she cleared her way through the never-ending minions, she found herself surrounded by the three lackeys she previously kicked and punched. Her right eye involuntarily twitched as she gave an annoyed grunt.
"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" she absently asked. "You couldn't stay down?"
"We're not that easy," one lackey said.
"Oh, poo," Setsuna pouted. "It's never like how they show fight scenes in the movies. Usually, it takes one awesome punch for the villain to be knocked unconscious."
Another lackey snorted. "This is real life, sweet cheeks. You shouldn't base real life on action movies."
Cerulean eyes glared and changed to a dark teal. She shrugged, putting her hands together as if in prayer. "I guess I'm going to have to kill you, then."
Before they could react, the girl's hands rapidly formed signs as she shouted, "Etoku no jikan!" The air rippled and the minions remained frozen in their positions. Automatically, she reached into her weapons holster on her right thigh and took out a tantō. With swift, precise movements, she killed them, slicing their torsos, their throats, or any of their unprotected vital areas. By the time the minions finally registered what happened, they were lying in a pool of their own blood.
Setsuna stood over their bodies, handkerchief in hand as she wiped the blood from her weapon. "Definitely been a while," she murmured, putting the weapon in her holster. "Now to catch up to the master pervert and find the blond."
2
The girl continued to run through the village, searching for her sensei and Naruto. Time seemed to stop as she passed by ninjas of varying rank fight the Akatsuki or its lackeys. She couldn't tell if it had been five minutes or an hour. As she turned a corner, she came to a halt as a line of six minions formed a wall before her, barring her from the others. The tallest of them grinned maliciously.
Damn that Akatsuki! Don't they ever run out of minions? Setsuna thought as she waited for the new set of minions to strike. They're like gnats.
"End of the line, sweetheart," he said.
"Oh, please," Setsuna snorted, taking out her tantō. "Come up with something more original."
Without a second thought, she launched herself at the wall of minions. Punch, stab, kick were the only thoughts on her mind as she continued to fight the lackeys. Still, even when they were down, they still kept on coming like mosquitoes on a humid day. Six became seven, seven became eight, and eight became twelve. Setsuna found herself stepping back as the ever-growing number of lackeys continued to step forward, effectively backing her into a corner.
Oh, crap, she thought. Panic bubbled in her gut as she fought to school her features to a somewhat bored expression. Just as she was about to brace herself for the onslaught of attacks, loud shouts were heard as a large, oddly-looking lion attacked the minions that were herded in the middle, creating chaos in its wake. Not one to miss an opportunity, Setsuna stabbed the minion in front of her and continued to fight her way through the chaos as she made her way to the odd-looking lion. She was met with the sight of a pale boy her age fighting the rest of the minions with a kunai in hand.
The boy paused in his fighting to notice her. He gave a blank smile as he gave her a quick once over.
Setsuna shifted under the boy's stare. "Uh, thanks," she said. "My name's Setsuna."
"I'm Sai," the boy replied. He moved to fight. "Toy swords are good for playtime. But, when it comes to the real battles, they won't do much good."
"Jerk!" Setsuna moved to block the minion's attack and countered with a roundhouse kick to the abdomen and sent him flying. "At least I'm not the one who had the poor taste to have my fashion statement be a total rip off from a girl."
"What are you talking about?" Sai asked in an even tone.
Setsuna snuck a glance at the pale ninja. He was busy fighting three enemies in an outfit similar to hers. She snorted as she brought her attention back to her own set of enemies. "Oh, please, as if you don't know. The bare midriff?" She rolled her eyes. "You look like you're a wounded soldier from afar. One could mistake the bare expanse of skin as bandages. And those sleeves? Asymmetrical sleeves are so passé."
She found herself facing three enemies. Perfect, she grinned. She stepped forward, brought her knee up and kicked the enemy in front of her. Then, without stopping, she brought her knee down and kicked the enemy next to her behind his left knee. After, she delivered a roundhouse kick to the last enemy. When she finished, she looked around to see the lackeys lying in a pile beaten, unconscious, and some of them were bloody.
She turned to Sai and said, "I'm pretty sure I missed the vital parts."
Sai looked at her and Setsuna had a feeling that the smile of his was superficial and almost doll-like. After a moment that felt like hours and with that fake smile, he pointed at her chest and said, "Those steamed buns you used to stuff them look realistic. I almost couldn't tell the difference."
Setsuna looked down at her chest and looked back to the blankly-smiling teenager. Her right eye twitched as her right hand tightened its grip over the tantō. Do they really look like it? She asked herself, feeling a brief moment of insecurity. She shook off the feeling and briefly considered castrating the anemic-looking boy. But then, she thought better of it. If I did, I might get sent to prison for attempted murder, she considered.
Instead, she glared at the teenage boy. "I'll have you know that I'm not stuffing anything, jerk." The blue-haired girl huffed. "But, that's beside the point. I have to find Naruto."
At the mention of the blonde's name, the duo took off at a run with Sai taking the lead.
"How do you know Dickless?" Sai asked.
"Are you referring to Naruto?" He nodded. "He travelled with me and Jiraiya-sensei. Now, answer me this question. Why are the Akatsuki after Naruto?"
"They want something that he has."
"Can you be more specific?" Setsuna asked, frustrated.
"I'm not allowed to say." The two lapsed into silence as they continued looking for the elusive blond ninja.
3
It took some time for the duo to find the blond ninja dressed in orange and black, fighting alongside a pink-haired teenage girl, and a green spandex-wearing teenage boy. The trio was busy with, what looked to be, more experienced lackeys, judging by the amount of perspiration radiating from the three ninjas.
"Setsu!" Naruto greeted happily as he punched a burly man in the eye. "I didn't know you were coming. When did you arrive?"
"Just before the alarms went off," Setsuna answered as she sidestepped an oncoming enemy ninja. "Jiraiya-sensei got a get-out-of-jail-free card from the Hokage because of that."
"What'd he do?" Naruto asked, interested. Blue eyes gleamed in delight as he pictured various scenarios of the Perverted Hermit running from the busty blonde Hokage.
"From what I can tell, he used the Hokage's picture for the cover of his newest book…and he used her picture throughout the whole novel." Setsuna paused to look at the others glancing at her as they continued to fight. "So, who are your friends?"
"The pink-haired girl is my teammate, Sakura. And the guy in the green spandex is Rock Lee," Naruto said as he continued to fight. With another kick to a stray lackey, he took a look at the blue-haired teenager. "But, never mind that. What the hell are you doing here? You shouldn't be here. It's not safe for you."
Setsuna heartily laughed. "Ah, good one. I haven't heard that in a while." She pivoted on her right foot and punched an approaching enemy ninja while she absently lifted her knee to kick another lackey that was about to attack her at her side. Then, without pausing, she lifted her knee and delivered a swift back kick to the enemy ninja about to attack her from behind. She turned back to Naruto who looked on with his mouth open. She arched an eyebrow at the whiskered-blond. "I can take care of myself."
Naruto, Setsuna, Sai, and the others continued to fight the onslaught of enemy lackeys approaching them from all sides. The five fought with such skill and determination and had fallen into a rhythm as the lackeys kept approaching. When Naruto punched the last of their set of lackeys into the unconscious world of dreams, Setsuna noticed there were no longer any enemies around.
"The Akatsuki must be gone," Sakura said.
Setsuna rubbed her forehead as the fight began to take its toll on her body. Soreness and exhaustion settled over her as the desire to find the nearest bed to lie in shifted her mood from neutral to snappish. She shook her head to stir herself from the exhaustion and to restrain herself from making a snappy remark. "Okay, from what I heard, the Akatsuki are after Naruto. And given that they actually infiltrated Konoha and Naruto is still here, maybe there's something else going on."
"Steamed-buns is right," Sai said his face serious.
"Who the hell are you to call me steamed-buns?"
"Who the hell are you to call her that?" The questions were shouted in unison.
"You guys, stop fighting!" Lee shouted as he stood between Naruto and Setsuna and Sai. "It's not youthful!"
Setsuna flashed a perplexed look at her blond friend.
Naruto shrugged in answer. He turned to his comrades and friends. "Setsu's right, guys. We need to find granny-Tsunade or Ero-Sanin."
The five set off in the direction of the Hokage Tower to find the blonde woman. An awkward silence hung above the quintet; neither of the five knew what to say to fill the void. They continued to walk on in silence until a thought popped into Setsuna's mind.
"Um, Naruto? Can I ask you a question?"
"Okay."
"Why are Akatsuki after you?"
Setsuna could see the others' shoulders tense at her question and an even more uncomfortable silence settled over the quintet.
Naruto sighed and smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Setsuna. I can't say."
"That's what Sai said too," the blue-haired girl mused. "Can I come up with any possible suggestions as to why Akatsuki might want to kidnap you? You don't have to confirm or deny any of my theories."
"Sure, knock yourself out."
Setsuna grinned as if her birthday came early. She always loved getting new information, especially if they were about the people she knew. "You have something Akatsuki wants, but the village isn't willing to give you up without a fight," Setsuna guessed. "And whatever it is, you guys can't talk about it. Hm, it must be a very big secret."
Before anyone could say anything to refute her statement, the blue-haired teenager walked away from the others as soon as she saw a familiar shock of shaggy gray hair. When she reached Jiraiya, she found the Toad Sage standing over five black-cloaked ninjas and talking with a man who had two distinctive scars on his face and a blue bandana on his head.
"Jiraiya-sensei," she greeted. She made a gesture to the pile of defeated black-cloaked ninjas. "Members of Akatsuki?"
Dark brown eyes lit up at the sight of the teenager. "Setsuna!" He waved cheerfully. "I didn't think you'd make it." His face turned serious. "How's Naruto?"
Setsuna shrugged. "Same as ever." Her face turned serious. "He took out several of the lackeys. When I met up with him, I didn't notice any of the major dark-cloak villains making a play for him."
"You may be right. I haven't seen any of the retreating Akatsuki members leaving with Naruto and they didn't look disappointed."
The blue-haired teenager gazed at her sensei. "But, they are after something. Right?" Jiraiya nodded. She sighed. "Of course they are."
"Who are you?" the scar-faced man asked. Setsuna looked at him in surprise, having forgotten that he was standing next to her sensei as they talked.
"Jiraiya's apprentice," she answered as pleasantly as she could, despite her grumpy behavior. "The name's Setsuna. And you are?"
"Ibiki Morino," the man answered. He turned to the white-haired male. "You took on another apprentice besides Naruto? I didn't think you would actually train anyone else after Naruto."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Setsuna demanded, getting defensive.
"Now, Setsuna, I'm sure he means nothing by it," Jiraiya placated. He paused. "Just that he doesn't expect me to take on a ninja apprentice."
The teenager deflated. "Oh." She took a moment to process her sensei's words. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, what do you mean ninja apprentice?" Jiraiya-sensei could have another ninja apprentice?
"Well, what other apprentice could you be?"
"I'm his literary apprentice."
Ibiki gave Jiraiya a puzzled look. "Literary apprentice?"
"Who do you think edits my novels and helps me with my research when I am busy?" Jiraiya shrugged. "She's been very helpful."
"I see." Ibiki glanced at the girl and then turned to the Sannin. "I should get going. I'm sure there would be someone I can interrogate."
"Good luck with that." Setsuna waved. The scarred ninja walked in the direction of the Hokage Tower. She turned to the older male. "So, what does he do?"
"He's a ninja specialized in information gathering." Jiraiya gave his apprentice a significant look. "And how'd you do?"
"What do you mean?"
"How'd you fare during the course of the fight?" he clarified.
"Okay, I guess. I've managed to take out a couple of lackeys." She paused to think. "I had help."
"Are you sure about that?"
Setsuna quizzically looked at her teacher. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Several ninjas asked about you, wondering how you could fight like that. Some speculate that you're from a different village and possibly with some fighting skills."
She snorted. Well, that part's true.
Jiraiya mischievously grinned at her. "And I know certain people are considering asking you to officially join the village as a Konoha ninja."
Setsuna's eyes widened. "Really?" Delight showed in her voice as her earlier exhaustion appeared to fade away with that single remark.
Jiraiya shrugged. "Well, I still have to ask the Hokage about it and you still have to take some tests and some other things. But, it's doable."
"Oh, okay." She waited a beat before becoming impatient. "So, when are you going to go talk to her?"
"I'll go look for her now." Jiraiya gave Setsuna a pat on the back. "You should go have a look around and familiarize yourself with the village. I still want you to do some research for me."
She nodded in understanding. "Okay. I still have to get Naruto to teach me sexy no jutsu."
With that last statement, she walked off, searching for the loud spiky-haired sunny blond. As she walked around the village, her eyes drank in the sights as she noted the shops and other places of interest and committed them to memory.
Hm. If I were Naruto, where would I be? Setsuna wondered. Oh, duh. He'd either be training or getting ramen. So, training grounds or ramen place, which one is closer?
She looked around and spotted three teenagers her age, two boys and a girl, sitting in a stand that had the name, Ichiraku Ramen. The lone girl had long, indigo hair. One of the boys wore a long, hooded trench coat that covered him from head to toe. The other boy had an enormous white dog. Shrugging, she made her way to the trio and the ramen stand.
"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen!" the girl in a white apron greeted to Setsuna as soon as she took a seat. "What would you like today?"
The blue-haired girl waved her hand apologetically. "I'm sorry. But, I don't have any money on me right now. Maybe some other time." She paused to sniff the aroma of ramen noodles. She drooled at the mouth-watering scent. "Definitely sometime this week. Anyway, I'm looking for a blond sixteen-year-old guy who likes to wear orange and black." She leaned closer to the girl standing behind the ramen stand to loudly whisper conspiratorially. "It's definitely a step up from the bright orange and blue, I'll tell you."
"Oh, you must mean Naruto," the girl said. "I haven't seen Naruto since this morning. But, if I see him, I'll tell him you were looking for him. I'm Ayame, by the way." Without another word, she left the blue-haired girl to tend to a new customer.
"Um, excuse me," the indigo-haired girl said. "But, um, how do you know Naruto?"
Setsuna smiled amiably. "We're friends. I figured he'd be here at least once." She paused to rethink her statement. "Or twice, maybe three times."
"Obviously, you don't know him as well as you think," trench-coat guy said. His dark shades gleamed.
Setsuna shrugged. "Eh. It's a toss-up between that or training. I figured that since he and I got separated after the fight that he would have already talked to the Hokage while I spoke with my sensei. And, usually, after meetings or whatever mission he did with sensei, he'd get some ramen as a pick-me-up." She wrinkled her forehead to think. "Then again, maybe some is an understatement." She shook her head to clear her mind. "Anyway, that's beside the point. I need to see him."
"Can you give us your name?" dog-guy asked.
Setsuna shrugged. "Sure. Why not? The name's Setsuna."
"Hinata Hyuga," the girl replied.
"Shino Aburame." Dark shades gleamed. Setsuna briefly noted how attractive he was, glasses and all, and wondered if Jiraiya would mind if she used him as inspiration for a character in one of the Make Out novels.
"Kiba Inuzuka." The teenager with the dog pointed at his dog. "And this is Akamaru." Akamaru barked in greeting.
"Oh, sweet. Good to meet you."
"So, what do you want Naruto for?" Kiba asked.
"Oh, well, my sensei wants me to do some research once I'm familiar with the village. And, since Naruto is the second person I know who came from this village, I thought I'd ask him to give me a tour."
"Who was the first person?" Hinata asked, curiously.
"Jiraiya-sensei."
"Jiraiya!?"
"Yup," Setsuna chirped in confirmation. "Jiraiya."
"What the hell?" Kiba asked. "Are you even aware of what he writes?"
"She obviously would, Kiba, if she's willing to do research for him." Dark shades turned to the girl in question. "If you know what's good for you, you better not peep on Hinata."
Setsuna blinked at the threat. So, if you're bothered by me peeping on Hinata, would you mind if I peep on you? She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. It is a fair tradeoff. Hm, maybe I should think about that later.
The trio stared at the girl in shock. At their looks, Setsuna grinned sheepishly as she realized what she had done.
"Did I just say that out loud?" she asked. Before they could answer, Setsuna snapped out of her thoughts.
"Anyway, I best be off. Places to see, people to find, research to do." She stood up. With one last look, she said, "Oh, and by the way, you can sleep easy. While Hinata has a lovely chest and a nice figure, I won't spy on her or write about her. I doubt Jiraiya-sensei is the Lolita type and I'm sure Naruto would kill me and Jiraiya-sensei if I, or he, did. And, frankly, I'm more afraid of Naruto than I am of you. I have yet to see you two in action." She paused. "Although, I'm sure the consequences would be more painful coming from you than if it came from Naruto, considering your relationship to Hinata." She raised an eyebrow. "You three did come from the same cell with Kurenai Yuuhi as your jounin leader, right?"
Without waiting to see their reaction, she continued to walk off in search of the training grounds.
4
Setsuna spent the better part of her afternoon looking for the training grounds. By the time she found them, the sun was getting ready to set and she was met with one man, or woman, in a white mask. She frowned.
"Um, no offense, but I don't think it's time to go around wearing masks. Halloween isn't for another couple of months." She eyed the masked figure up and down. "So, what are you? No, wait, let me guess. You're some average citizen who likes to moonlight as a caped crusader and right the wrongs of evil doers."
The figure remained indifferent to her words. "What I am is of no concern to you. I am here to relay a message." The person paused. "You are to report to the Hokage's office immediately."
Setsuna nodded, unsure of what to do. "Okay. Good to know." She started sprinting in the opposite direction of the training grounds; her curiosity piqued. The sooner she'd get there, the sooner she would know. "I wonder what that is all about."
When she arrived at the Hokage's office, she made it in record time—Jiraiya and Tsunade were talking in hushed voices. Jiraiya gave her a surprised look.
"Setsuna," Jiraiya said, surprise evident in his tone, "you're here early."
Instead of replying, Setsuna stood next to Jiraiya and shrugged. "I got curious and I got impatient. So, what's this all about?"
"Now, now. Patience is a virtue," Jiraiya chided. He gestured toward Tsunade. "Setsuna, I'd like to introduce you to the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. Tsunade-hime, I'd like to introduce you to Setsuna, my apprentice."
"Nice to meet you," Setsuna said politely. She turned impatiently to her sensei. "So, what's this all about?"
"Setsuna, you were right." If it were at another time, Setsuna would have rejoiced upon hearing those four magical words. However, she saw the serious expression on her sensei's face and knew it was not the right time to rejoice.
"Which part was I right about?" Setsuna asked, dreading to hear the answer.
"The Akatsuki were after something and it wasn't Naruto." Setsuna waited with bated breath. "At least, not this time."
"The archives room was ransacked," Tsunade explained. "We can only assume that Akatsuki took a scroll from the archives. And until every scroll is catalogued and accounted for, we don't know which scroll was taken."
"Well, that answers my next question," Setsuna muttered. Hopefully, the scroll they stole was a recipe for some noodle soup and not something that would help them get one step closer to world domination, the girl idly thought. "So, what's going to happen until then?"
"Until then, you will be attending the Academy and when you are ready, you will take the test to become a ninja for this village." The blonde leaned back in her chair. "Unless, you have something else to do while you're staying here."
Setsuna shook her head. "Not really, no. Although, I know that I will have to do some research for Jiraiya-sensei." She turned to her teacher. "Which reminds me, where will we be staying?"
Jiraiya smiled awkwardly, trying to ignore the piercing glare of his former teammate as soon as she heard about Setsuna's "research." "Don't worry about it, I have a place here."
Setsuna flashed the two Sannin a smile. "Okay, then. So, I have research, Academy training, and then taking a test to become a ninja." The teenager paused over her mental list of plans. "Do I get to use sharp, pointy instruments of death?"
Jiraiya waited a moment to think of his answer. "Yeah, most likely. If you get lucky, you get to clean bloodstains."
The young girl beamed. "Oh, sweet. Anyway, I got to go. I need to get Naruto to teach me sexy no jutsu." She started for the door. "It was nice to finally meet you, Tsunade-sama."
When she closed the door, the blue-haired teenager heard a large thwack and a thud coming from the office. Setsuna smiled. That serves him right, she thought.
5
The girl made her way out of the Hokage Tower and walked around the village as the sun began to set. She neared the ramen stand and saw a familiar blonde-hair, blue-eyed male with the girl with pink hair and another girl with platinum blonde hair and a purple outfit. She walked over to the trio.
"Naruto!" Setsuna called out in mock anger. "Where the hell were you? I've been looking everywhere."
The teenage boy in question was busy with his fifth bowl of ramen as he heard the familiar angry voice. He looked up from his bowl. "Setsu!" Naruto cried with a mouth full of ramen.
"Naruto." Setsuna took a seat next to the blonde boy. She frowned in disgust at her friend's table manners. "You need to swallow before you talk. People die that way, you know."
"Aw, Setsuna, I didn't know you cared." Naruto set his finished bowl down and wiped his mouth with his long sleeve.
"It's a semi-painful way to die. And I wouldn't wish that on you." Setsuna glanced at the two girls. "So, who's the blonde girl?"
"Her name's Ino," Sakura answered before Naruto could open his mouth.
"And, she is standing right here," the blonde girl, Ino, said in irritation. "Ino Yamanaka."
"Nice to meet you." Setsuna nodded her head in greeting.
"So, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.
"I need you to teach me something."
"Really? What do you need my help with?" he asked, curious.
"I need you to teach me your sexy no jutsu."
Naruto looked at her in surprise. "Well, that depends. What do you need it for?"
Setsuna looked at the two girls warily before leaning closer to her friend's ear. "I'm going to the men's hot springs," she whispered.
Naruto's face split into a fox-like grin. He rubbed his chin. "Oh. Why do you want to know?"
"I'm doing research for Jiraiya-sensei and we both know that I can't cross-dress as a guy," she pointed out.
Naruto nodded in understanding. "Too true, too true. Okay, I'll teach you. But, you need to do something for me."
"Well, depending on what it is, I might do it," Setsuna said, remembering the last time she had to do something for the hyperactive blond boy. She shuddered at the memory. It ended with her being stuck on the border of the Sand Village with a house full of cats that smelled like natto beans.
"It's nothing that bad," Naruto hurried to explain, clearly remembering the unpleasant memory. "Ino and Sakura came to tell me that there's going to be a get-together at the park with our nakama since it's been a long time since we got together and nobody's away on a mission right now."
Setsuna wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "What does that have to do with me?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to invite you so you could meet more people and make some new friends," he continued to say. "I'll cash in that favor later. So, are you going to go?"
"Eh. What do I have to lose?" Setsuna wondered aloud.
6
By the time it got dark, Setsuna began to reconsider her question. She had found Jiraiya at a furnished house only to discover that the house belonged to him. After being shown to a guest bedroom, she opted to take a nap before she had to meet with Naruto and his friends. Unfortunately, for her, she wasn't able to get more than thirty minutes of pure sleep before Jiraiya loudly woke her to remind her of the party. How he knew about the party was beyond her.
By then, she realized she was late.
Stupid blond and his outgoing personality. I could be in a comfy bed right now getting more sleep. The girl seethed as she walked to the park. I ought to kick his ass!
Setsuna arrived at the park just as she finished her internal rant. She scanned the area for a familiar loud blonde. The blonde in question was stuffing his face with various amounts of food as the others watched on and talked amongst them. When she spotted him, she approached the blonde teenager with slow and purposeful steps, intending to sneak up on him.
She slapped him upside the head. "Yo, glutton, save some for the rest of us," she said as she stood behind the teenage boy.
"Setsuna!" Naruto greeted with a mouth full of food. "You're late."
She smiled apologetically, the walk and her internal rant having dissipated her irritation toward the blonde male. "Sorry about that. I took a very short nap and my alarm clock didn't go off until later." She scanned the area before her to see a lot of unfamiliar faces. She asked cheerfully, "So, are you going to introduce me to your friends? Or, should I start giving them nicknames?"
Before he could answer her question, a familiar blonde girl spoke up.
"I'm Ino." Platinum-blonde girl in revealing purple clothes, Setsuna noted.
"Sakura." Pink-haired chick with red clothes.
"Hinata." Long, blue-black hair girl with a nice figure and overprotective teammates.
"Tenten." Brunette girl with two buns on her head and an awesome outfit.
"Shino." Cute, dark, and brooding guy with glasses and too many layers. Overprotective Teammate Number One to Hinata.
"Kiba." Brunette boy with a giant dog. Overprotective Teammate Number Two. "Akamaru."
"Shikamaru." Tall, dark, and brunette guy with a ponytail shaped like a pineapple. Setsuna observed how close he stood to Ino. Hm, that's interesting.
"Chouji." Chubby guy with a red outfit. Most likely friends with Shikamaru, she surmised as she saw them sitting side-by-side.
"Neji." Pale-face guy with girlishly-long hair who may be related to Hinata, judging by the eyes. I wonder what shampoo he uses to get his hair that way. Does his outfit come in my size?
"Lee." Bowl-cut brunette guy with very fast reflexes. Can stand to get his eyebrows plucked. Very youth-obsessed.
"Sai." Setsuna frowned. The anemic-looking guy with that plastic smile and the outfit that's a total knock-off from mine.
Setsuna nodded in greeting. "Setsuna. Good to meet you all." She stood silent, trying to find something to say. "So, how goes it?" she asked, awkwardly.
Before anyone could answer, Shizune appeared, looking haggard and anxious. "Oh, good, you guys are all here," she said as she spotted the Rookie Nine and Setsuna. "That means one less trip for me."
"Shizune-san, is there something wrong?" Naruto asked.
"Tsunade wants everyone, except Setsuna, to meet her at her office." She turned to Setsuna, as if to not hurt her feelings. "It's ninja business."
"Okay," Setsuna slowly said, unsure how to react at that last statement. "And what about me?"
"You have to go to the hospital," Shizune said, her voice urgent.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"It's Jiraiya."
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.