here's chapter 6. somewhat of a filler chapter. R&R
yatta - hooray, gomenasai - sorry, onegai - please, yakusoku - I promise, so deshu ne - I suppose, arigato - thank you, hai - yes, oyasumi - good night, daijobo deska - are you alright
Chapter 6: Peaceful Times
The morning sun bathed the homely buildings of Konoha. Many people were outside enjoying such a beautiful day. Adults conversed and several children were playing ninja. The clouds floated along without a worry in the world. But all Shikamaru could do was sulk and look on from the open office window. He was already extremely tired of being a temporary Hokage after a week of work and he wondered when Naruto would return so he could go back to doing nothing.
"Such a drag," he sighed.
Shikamaru made his way back to the chair and lazily turned around to the seemingly endless stacks of papers on the desk and around it. He cringed at the sight of them. Shikamaru reached over to pull one piece of paper off the mission requests pile. He looked it over somewhat intently but at the same time not caring what it said.
"How's it going there!?"
Startled by the voice, Shikamaru jumped clear off his seat crashing down onto the desk. The papers flew every which direction with a fumbling Shikamaru reaching for what he could only making it worse.
"Oh, sorry to scare you Shikamaru," Naruto chuckled.
"N-Naruto how did you get in here?"
"I saw the window was open so I thought I would surprise you, but I didn't think you would be a little scaredy-cat," he continued laughing.
"So this means everyone is back then," Shikamaru stood up dusting his clothes off, "what a relief, I don't have to do anymore work."
Shikamaru began heading for the door but was stopped by the sounds of Naruto clearing his throat.
"What now?" Shikamaru slowly turned drooping down from the idea of him having to do more work.
"I have just one more thing for you to do and then you can go back to your usual cloud gazing. Temari-san has returned with us and I need you to be her escort for the day. Show her around the village."
"I seriously have to spend the day with that girl. Ugh so troublesome."
"Aw come on Shikamaru it won't be that bad," Naruto toothily smiled. He approached Shikamaru and teasingly gave him an elbow nudge, "Besides I'm sure you'll enjoy it since you like her so much."
Shikamaru's eyes shot wide open, "No way!!! No, no, no!!! That girl you must be crazy!!"
Naruto laughed as Shikamaru protested his comment. It was obvious that he was in denial by all the head and hand shaking Shikamaru was making.
"Hahaha, right," Naruto winked at him.
Shikamaru moped his way out the door and left Naruto to his much needed duties. Naruto gathered the scattered papers back into their respective piles. After organizing things as best he could, he walked over to the open window.
"It's such a beautiful day. I only wish I didn't have this much work to do"
Suddenly a thought ran through Naruto's mind that brought a huge smile to his face, "I have an idea!"
The trees spread for miles along the soft beaten ground. Vibrant colors of green and brown filled the serene landscape. A small clearing slept comfortably in the forest. Among it was a lonesome cabin standing firm and well hidden from the outside world. Behind it ran a gentle river clear as the sky.
The peaceful silence was quickly interrupted by a loud crashing sound. In front of a few cut trees stood a shirtless and battered Kisame. His pants were ragged from the constant rigors of his daily training. He flung his trusty Samehada back up on his shoulder and proceeded to strike at another tree. The sword began digging into the tree but was quickly retracted as the struggling Kisame used it to hold himself up. His heavy panting barely reflected the exhaustion he felt on the inside.
"You shouldn't push it too much Kisame," echoed a voice behind him.
"Ha, just barely getting here Itachi and your already telling me to take a break."
"If you exhaust yourself too much you could kill yourself."
Kisame dropped his sword to the ground and straightened his posture, "Thanks for the concern but I'm fine."
He carefully walked his way past Itachi towards the house. He positioned himself against the wooden logged wall and gradually lowered himself to sit on the soft ground.
"If it wasn't for that damn Guy causing damage to some of my chakra lines I wouldn't be having such a difficult time," Kisame huffed.
"Shows what a determined sensei would do to save his student. Especially a person like Guy"
"That's in the past I guess; anyways, did you get to him?"
"I just missed Sasuke but had a run-in with Kabuto," Itachi answered blankly.
"That idiot is still out and about," he grunted, "I should have killed him when I had the chance."
"He isn't of importance. It would be a waste of time."
"Hmm, well what is the plan now then? Are you going to go see the Kyuubi kid?"
"Soon," he answered vaguely.
"You should at least turn off your sharingan and rest for now. You may try and hide it Itachi but I can see that you're drained of chakra."
Itachi released his red eyes to their original black hollowness. He fumbled his hands around at the blurry shapes around him trying to find a rock to lean on. Slowly he was able to find one to position himself on. He leaned back on it letting out a soft sigh.
"Should we even continue doing this even with the condition of your eye sight?" Kisame asked.
"It can't be helped. I may not have the sight I use to but we still must precede on," Itachi softly said, "Do you remember what you have to do?"
"Hehe, yeah I do but I'll leave after you…It's weird to say but I think I'll miss this little place after being here for a year," he said tapping his hand on the little shack, "How long is it going to take for you?"
"A few months, until then we won't be in contact. Once we're finished we will meet at the Valley of the End."
"Hm, seems fitting. After all…That's where this all began."
"Yattaa!!!"
Naruto soared off of the top of the Hokage's mansion. The wind blew through his blonde hair. His white jacket with flamed edges at the bottom rustled in the cool breeze. The closer he got to the ground the more spins and flips he did in mid-air. Naruto hit the ground with a soft thud to see hoards of papers fly all around him.
"What are you doing Naruto-sama!!!?," Shizune shrilled.
"Gomenasai Shizune, I was just going out to enjoy this beautiful day," leaning back and scratching his head.
"You should be inside doing your work," she scolded him while she picked up the papers, "I swear sometimes you could be just as lazy with your work as Tsunade-sama would be."
"Hehehe, I'm still doing my work it's just that I wanted to enjoy the day also," he chuckled.
"And how would you be doing that?" she irritatingly asked.
"Just take a look up there."
Shizune stopped picking up the papers for a second and looked up towards Naruto's office. From the window she could see another Naruto smiling and waving at her. An angered look fell across her face.
"You're using a shadow clone to do your work. You shouldn't be using your skills like that."
"Onegai!!! Just this once. Yakusoku, I'll never do it again," he pleaded by giving her a little pouty face and putting his hands together.
"So deshou ne," she sighed, "you deserve at least one day of rest after all that you've done."
"OH ARIGATO!!!" Naruto hugged her making her drop the papers again.
Naruto kicked up a storm of dust as he zoomed off into the village. After the dust cleared Shizune proceeded to picking up the rest of the papers. 'It's really good to still see him have that energy' she thought to herself. Naruto's happy face brought a soft smile to hers.
Shikamaru and Temari walked side-by-side along the stoned-floor street. One or two trees slightly hung over the wooden fences. A slow cool breeze danced across the smooth walkway and played with the lively green leaves.
"You know this town isn't half bad," said Temari.
"I say it can be very troublesome at times," Shikamaru commented dully.
"That's because your too lazy to do anything crybaby," she teased, "But you can't tell me that you haven't enjoyed showing me around the village."
"Ugh…" he quietly said.
Shikamaru changed his focus from the conversation to being dragged into a daydream. Clouds don't have to focus their time on these kinds of things. Yet he knew that he was having a good time with Temari but he would never admit to it. It's not his style to do so. As they walked farther, Shikamaru had a weird feeling that someone was looking over them.
"How's it going?"
Temari and Shikamaru came to a stop. Shikamaru slowly raised his head up to see where the voice came from. Not a few inches from his face was the grinning Naruto hanging off a tree branch.
"Whhhhaaaa!" as Shikamaru shouted falling back onto the ground.
"Hehehe, that's twice today Shikamaru!" Naruto laughed.
"It's not funny," Shikamaru groaned rubbing the sore spot on his bottom as he stood up.
"I thought it was pretty funny," Temari giggled
"So how has the day been for you two lovebirds?" teased Naruto.
Temari blushed at the question while Shikamaru waved his hands no to them being lovebirds.
"Not lovebirds huh then why are you blushing Shikamaru?"
"I'm not blushing it's just…um…uh…hot out here."
Temari and Naruto both laughed at the lame excuse. It was quite obvious that Shikamaru was lying. The way he fidgeted made it even more evident.
"You know Naruto speaking of lovebirds we heard about you and Hinata-san," Temari commented, "So where you planning on taking her for the first date?"
Slightly blushing Naruto responded, "Hehehe, um I actually never thought about that. Now that you think of it we should as least have our first date tonight."
"You could take her to go eat ramen," Shikamaru unexcitingly joked.
"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA SHIKAMARU!" yelled Naruto releasing his chakra held feet from the tree, "I should go see her and ask right away!"
"I wasn't being…," Shikamaru paused to see Naruto had already taken off, "…serious."
"You know what I'm pretty hunger right no so how about we go on a date to get something to eat," asked the blushing Temari.
"Ughhh…alright let's go."
"Aaachoo," Hinata softly sneezed.
"Looks like someone is talking about you Hinata-san," Ino commented.
Hinata, Ino, and Sakura were spending their lunch time at the much frequented barbecue restaurant, mostly by Choji. Each of them already had their fill and were spending the rest of their lunch chitchatting about things that were going on in life which was mainly about the whole Hinata and Naruto thing.
"I still can't believe he actually told you. I never would have guessed that Naruto liked you Hinata," Ino commented.
"I was surprised too," responded Hinata.
"Well I'm glad for you two. You've liked Naruto for so long and it looks like it was worth the wait," smiled Sakura.
Just as Sakura had finished speaking, an ecstatic Naruto burst into the restaurant. He joyfully trotted over to the table where the girls were. A huge grin was on his face while he stood by the sitting Hinata. He gently reached down and held Hinata's hands in his.
"I had the most perfect idea today and I wanted to see if you would be up for it," Naruto cheerfully said as Hinata looked up at him with her pearly eyes, "How about we go out on our first date today?"
Hinata's face grew a bright red. The sound of a first date made her extremely excited, "O-ok Naruto-kun I would like that very much," she smiled back up at him.
"Yattaa! Then it's settled. We will have our first date today. I'll come by to get you tonight alright Hinata," and in a dash Naruto was gone.
Hinata sat there still a bright red while she played with her fingers. Sakura and Ino giggled at the joyous display of Naruto and the bashful reaction by Hinata.
"Just think he is going to have to meet your dad now," Ino joked.
Hinata's face reacted with a nervous look to the comment. Naruto would have to meet her father and that made her a little scared to how he would react. Hinata quickly jumped from her seat and bowed goodbye as she rushed on home to get ready for everything.
"She was off in a hurry…was it something I said?"
Night began to fall on the little shack in the forest. The sun could barely be seen on the horizon. Kisame closed the wooden door as he walked outside. His black cloak gently waved in the breeze. Itachi, who was already outside, watched on with his blood red sharingan eyes as Kisame secured his sword on his back.
"Be discrete when you reach Mizu no Kuni. Don't do anything that is unnecessary," Itachi said flatly.
"I guess that means I can't kill anyone can I?" retorted Kisame.
"If you're going to go to Kirigakure and get inside to see the Mizukage then you should hold back on killing anybody. We cannot let anyone be aware of us."
"Humph, fine I understand," Kisame sulked.
"I'm off to see Uzumaki Naruto," and just like that Itachi was gone into the dark of the night.
Kisame took a few steps into the forest and came to a stop. He turned to face the little shack he spent a year in for the last time. He heaved a sigh of relief and began performing a few hand signs. Once he was done with the sequence of hand signs, Kisame placed his hands on the ground. Suddenly the gentle river became a monstrous tower of water. The tower rose up in the air and came crashing down onto the shack. The water went back to its original flowing river taking pieces of the shack with it. The now barren patch of ground lay wet and quiet. Kisame stood back up and rushed off into the night forest.
Naruto made his way up the stone pathway to the Hyuuga mansion. It was one of the most beautiful houses in the whole village. It was a simple yet majestic abode that stretched across a good patch of land. It was the biggest house in the village. It was a noble family's home after all. The white walls showed no speck of dirt and the wood looked brand new like the house had just been built.
Just as Naruto approached the entryway, the sliding doors slid open. Out walked the beautiful ink-blue haired Hinata. She stood in front of Naruto wearing her purple and white jacket and dark shade of purple pants. Naruto was dressed in his old-fashioned orange and black jumpsuit. He had also made changes to his jacket which was now orange with black flames running the bottom of the jacket and the sleeves. Both of them showed a blush of red as they greeted each other.
"So…uh do I have to meet your dad?" asked a nervous Naruto.
"Not today. He is out on business but he apologizes for not being here to meet you," she spoke softly.
Naruto looked over Hinata's face and placed a hand on her forehead making Hinata confused.
"What is it Naruto-kun?"
"You didn't stutter at all. I was just checking to see if you weren't sick," Naruto joked.
"Oh, I didn't notice it. I guess I don't feel as nervous talking to you now that we're together."
"Great!!! So then let's be off," Naruto latched onto Hinata's hand and they were off.
They talked non-stop while they walked the streets of Konoha. People who were watching smiled as the beautiful couple passed by. As they turned the corner, a toothy smile spread across Naruto's place. Sitting peacefully in its spot was the Ichiraku Ramen Bar.
"Time for Ramen!!!"
"This is where we're going to go for our first date?" Hinata asked a little perplexed.
"Hai, Is that alright with you Hinata?" giving her his best pouty face.
"It's perfect," she smiled back at him.
They quickly walked into the Ramen Bar, sat down, and ordered miso ramen.
"If it isn't my favorite customer Naruto-sama and you're here with Hinata-san. What is the occasion?" Teuchi asked.
"It's our first date," Naruto blushed.
"Well, well, well. Naruto has a girlfriend," he smiled, "Did you hear that Ayame-chan?"
"Congratulations you two that's wonderful."
Naruto and Hinata turned bright red. The whole night it looked as if many people were happy that they were together. Several people had also been congratulating them. The couple talked throughout the night as Naruto went through several bowls of ramen while Hinata was only able to eat one bowl. Teuchi and Ayame watched joyfully at how good they looked together and how much fun they were having. When they were finished Naruto pulled out his gama-chan wallet only to have Teuchi wave it off saying it was on the house for such a special occasion.
They both slowly walked hand-in-hand back to Hinata's house as their date came to a close. Neither of them wanted the night to end. The closer they got the more Hinata noticed Naruto was getting a little more jittery and anxious. She was afraid to ask him and figured he would end up telling her. When they reached the front door it appeared that Naruto would burst from his nerves.
"T-this…was the greatest day I've ever had," Naruto stumbled while speaking.
"Me too," smiled Hinata.
"Um uh…well…heh…O-oyasumi Hinata," and with that he hugged her and began walking home.
Hinata proceeded to walk inside and looked back to see Naruto taking tiny little steps away from her. She knew he wasn't going to say why he was acting funny so she decided she would ask him.
"Daijobu deska Naruto?"
Naruto froze in his spot. Something was on his mind but he didn't want Hinata to think that something bad was bothering him. 'Just do it Naruto and stop being so nervous' he said to himself. Slowly he turned around to look at Hinata while keeping his face hidden. Naruto gently kicked some dirt off the ground while he shifted closer and closer to Hinata. He lifted his head up to show Hinata a bright tint of red on it.
"Everything is fine I was just trying to get enough nerve to do this."
Before Hinata could have a chance of responding Naruto embraced her in his arms and gently laid a kiss on her tender lips. Hinata's eyes grew wide open surprised by the kiss but she quickly let go of her surprise and lost herself in the passionate kiss.
When they finally released the kiss after what seemed forever Hinata jokingly said, "What took you so long Naruto?"
The trees zipped by the speedy Itachi. The night wasn't going to last forever and he needed to cover as much ground since it would not be safe to travel during the day. He leaped off of a branch and landed into a little meadow. The flowers were sleeping pleasantly and butterflies danced across the ground. Itachi continued walking on but came to an abrupt stop. The butterflies that were floating around were actually origami ones. A normal person probably wouldn't have noticed but Itachi's sharingan had picked up on it quickly.
"Konan-san you can show yourself," he stood unwavering.
From ever corner of the meadow rushed a swarm of paper butterflies. They came to a single spot in front of Itachi and formed into the blue-haired kunoichi. She stood in front of Itachi in the same black cloak as him and lying comfortably on her head was a paper flower.
"How long did you know I was following you?" she asked.
"I've know for awhile. What do you want?"
"I recall you told me to do something so I came to report to you. I've kept a close eye on Sasuke and found the main locations he frequents."
"Good. Now I need you to do something else?" he asked flatly.
"You want me to continue doing what I'm doing?"
"No, could you back up Kisame-san? I've already informed him that I'll be sending you when you were finished."
"Fine I can do that," she responded, "but I've wanted to ask for awhile why you chose to work with just Kisame and I."
"The three of us are the last living members of the former Akatsuki. That is the reason," he answered coldly.
"There is more to it than that. I can see it in your eyes."
"I trust the two of you," he answered blankly.
"Huh, I didn't think you would answer so quickly. Alright then I'll head towards Kirigakure then," she said as her body began forming into pieces of paper, "Just make sure Naruto is ready."
Itachi stood motionless as the papers folded into butterflies and flew off in the direction of Mizu no Kuni. He knew well enough that Naruto needed to be ready. There was no more time to waste.
Hope you enjoyed it. Working on the next chapter so it will be up as soon as I'm finished.
If anyone was wondering:
Mizu no Kuni (Land of Water)
Kirigakure (Village Hidden in the Mist)