The following morning found Naruto sleeping on the floor with a blanket over him. He opened his eyes slightly then yawned and was about to go back to sleep when he remembered the previous night. He jumped up to see Hikari in the kitchen cooking. He heard a growl. He turned to see an all white wolf standing a few feet from him with bared fangs
"Stop it Icee!" Hikari shouted. The wolf backed down and walked over to her but continued to watch Naruto.
"I don't remember a wolf here last night" Naruto grumbled then stood up
"That's because I let him in this morning. He's sort of protective of items/people he deems his"
"You have a pet wolf?"
"I wouldn't necessarily call it that, more of a mutual friendship" she went back to cooking. Naruto didn't press the issue, he'd seen weirder things. A knock sounded at the door. Without thinking Hikari went to answer it. She found a pink haired young woman standing there
"Hi"
"Ummm…hi" Sakura answered What the heck is this?! Naruto never told me he was dating! I didn't even think he'd have time for that. She's pretty though, gotta give him points there. I just wish he would've warned me "Is Naruto around?"
"Yep" Hikari stepped back to let her in. Naruto was resting against the wall, half sleep. Sakura frowned. She didn't want to wake him. Naruto sat up and opened his eyes
"Hey Sakura"
"Hey, you never told me you were dating"
"Im not" A confused look came over his face then he put it together "Oh! OH! You mean Hikari! We're not dating"
"Why's she here then?"
"Sort of a long story"
"Blu Im leaving" Hikari had gone back to the kitchen to finish cooking "There's enough food out here for you and your friend. See ya later" She walked out followed by Icee who turned back to give him a warning growl then bounded after Hikari.
"She's different" Sakura mumbled
"I know" Sakura held a hand out. He took it ,she helped him up "What are you doing here. You should still be resting"
"A body was found"
"When?"
"This morning. It was of a woman. The Hokage has partnered with the other villages in the Land of Fire except our capital. They refused for some reason. Anyway a reward is being offered for whoever can capture the killer. Thought it might give you something to do while you're cooped up in the village"
"I don't plan on being here that long" He stretched "Where are you going next?"
"To see Ino"
"I'm coming too" He raced to his bedroom. Sakura followed but stood to the side in the hallway
"She told me about your conversation" She leaned against the wall
"Not surprised"
"Are ready to finally let him go?" Naruto emerged from his room wearing black pants and an old shirt.
"Yes" He looked down at the floor "Its time to move on, he obviously has"
"Naruto we don't have to forget him. I know how much he meant to you…to me"
"We wont forget him but we can still leave him alone" He lifted his head up. "We've wasted too much time already, besides how am I to become Hokage if we're constantly chasing him around?" He smiled. Sakura knew the smile was fake. She had become good at determining when his smile was real or not, which most of the time it wasn't. She sighed
"You're not gonna be Hokage either if you're stuck in the village" she started for the door
"That's her fault not mine! Hey let me go on the next mission with you. I've thought of the perfect plan to sneak away"
"No way! Im not gonna get in trouble because of you and shouldn't you take a shower?" . He sniffed under his arm then shook his head
"Nope"
"That's disgusting Naruto" She turned away from him
"What did I do?"
"Be on guard Naruto" the fox warned. "That Hikari girl is dangerous"
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked Kyuubi who was pacing in his cage
"Just listen to me! I know what Im talking about! Especially that wolf of hers"
"Well thanks but if I need advice on which women to avoid I'll try someone human"
"Idiot, you have no idea of what she's capable…ARGH!"
"AHHHH!" Naruto collapsed outside of the Ino's flower shop.
"Naruto!" Sakura screamed "Whats wrong?!"
"Kyuubi" He panted
"Whats going on?" Ino raced out. Naruto was lying on his back and looked like he was in a lot of pain
"I don't know" Without thinking Sakura lifted up his shirt slightly to see the seal. It was gone
"No!" She gasped
"What?" Ino followed her gaze. She paled. By now a small group of curious onlookers had gathered around
"He's lost his seal!" Someone shouted
"The demon will return!" The people were becoming panic-stricken
"We have to get him out of here" Ino said as she stood then picked up one of Naruto's arms and put it around her shoulders. Sakura went to the other side and put his arm around her shoulder then the two darted for the Hokage's office.
"Two hundred" Hikari said as she did her push ups. The silver haired woman sat cross legged in a chair drinking tea while Icee slept peacefully near the door.
"Im tired of this look" The woman said then in a poof of smoke she became a dark haired woman with a long braid going down her back. She wore a plain yukata.
"Nice to see you back, the silver hair thing was getting old"
"Don't get too happy. I still have to use it when outside of here. So any progress on finding Sasuke?"
"No" Hikari stood then cracked her knuckles. "He's harder to find than I thought it'd be" Just as she took one step she slipped and fell on her back "OWWWWWWW!!"
"You are the clumsiest person in the whole universe. You didn't even slip on anything" She shook her head
"Leave me alone" Hikari turned on her side. Her friend threw an apple at her head "Ouch! What was that for?"
"Get up and come see this" She stood at the window looking down over the street. Hikari joined her
"What is it?" She rubbed her head. Down on the street she saw a commotion. Tsunade was screaming over a blonde haired boy who'd been laid on the ground. She squinted
"Blu"
"Who?"
"Blu, the guy I was with yesterday"
"That's his real name?"
"No that's just what I call him cuz I don't remember his name. I wonder what happened" She walked away from the window
"Where you going?"
"To check it out" Icee jumped up and followed her
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed louder. Sakura and Ino hadn't made it far when Naruto had started to struggle against them. They'd laid him on the ground again and Ino had run to get the Hokage.
"Where the hell is Jiraiya when I need him?!" She yelled. The villagers were staying away from Naruto because they were scared so there weren't many people around him. Hinata and Neji had come to help as did all of Naruto's friends including Kakashi and Iruka but no one knew what to do. Suddenly he sat up and looked around.
"His eyes!" someone shouted. True enough Naruto's eyes had turned a reddish orange. The whisker marks on his face had become more dominant. Fangs started to appear.
"Not now, not like this!" Tsunade started to walk to him, thinking that maybe she could bring him back
"No Hokage!" Shizune grabbed her "You don't know what he'll do"
"Let go of me!" Tsunade had become hysterical. As she struggled Kakashi was able to knock her out
"Im sorry Hokage" He mumbled then picked her up
"Whats the plan?" Guy asked as a tail appeared on Naruto
"The Hokage should be gotten to safety" Shizune said "We'll have to stay and defend the village"
"Naruto" Sakura whispered but prepared herself. Just as everyone was getting ready they heard
"Blu I didn't know you could do that" They turned to see a young woman with a white wolf walking behind her.
"Get out of here!" Lee shouted "This is dangerous"
"Give me a minute" She continued walking to Naruto who by this time had grown three tails.
"You'll get killed, this isn't a joke" Iruka said
"Who's laughing?" Hikari gave him a stern look then kept walking. Naruto eyed her but didn't do anything. She walked closer until she was directly in front of him. He growled. She calmly began to whisper to him. No one could hear what she said but suddenly Naruto began to revert from his fox form until he was himself again. Amazingly he looked fine. Sakura was shocked. The last time he'd gone back from his fox form he'd been bloody and beat up but now he appeared as if nothing had happened. He'd fallen unconscious to the ground; well almost except Hikari caught him. There was a stunned silence
"You're not the only one who knows some tricks Kyuubi" Hikari mumbled.
An hour later found Naruto in the hospital. He wasn't unconscious but still sleeping. Sakura, Sai, Kakashi and Yamato were in his room while the Hokage paced outside. She'd woken up a few minutes before. Kakashi had thought she would've been angry with him but she wasn't. She'd understood why he did it. She hadn't been thinking straight. Naruto was like the son she never had but always wanted. There was no way she was going to allow anything to happen to him.
"Where is she?" She asked the shinobi who appeared in front of her
"We don't know" As soon as she thought he was ok, Hikari had disappeared. Normally this wouldn't have been a big deal. Someone could just track her down but she apparently didn't want to be found and had done an excellent job of hiding herself.
"She has to be a shinobi of some sort in order to hide this well" Tsunade said "Well don't stop searching until she's found"
"Yes Hokage" He bowed then left
"You four out of the room. He needs rest" She yelled into the room They hesitated but one by one they left. A few minutes later a breeze came through the open window. He stirred then looked around to see an older gray haired woman standing over the bed. She smiled at him then in a poof of smoke became Hikari
"They've been looking for you" He said softly
"How would you know? You're supposed to be sleep"
"Its hard to do that when you're worried about something taking over your body"
"Its not going to, trust me" She pulled up a chair then sat down. Naruto heard a growl. Icee had jumped on the bed and was sniffing him. Finally after walking around in a circle she laid down at his feet
"He's starting to like me" He managed a small smile
"Get some rest Blu"
"Naruto" He whispered
"Naruto" She smiled "And don't worry, I promise nothing's going to happen to you"
"Sure" He closed his eyes, eventually falling asleep
"Are you going to explain how you did that?" Tsunade asked standing in the doorway
"Family secret"
"How long are you in town?"
"Not sure yet, I told mom that I'd find Sasuke before coming home"
"He's not the same as you remember him, he almost killed his best friend. What makes you think that he wouldn't do the same to you?"
"Sasuke couldn't kill me if his life depended on it"
"You have that same cocky attitude that your family is known for" Tsunade gave a soft laugh "We'll talk later" She walked away
"What have I gotten myself into Icee?" She glanced at the wolf who gave her a "Don't ask me" look then went to sleep. She sighed and watched Naruto
"Leave me alone!" A brown haired girl screamed. Two boys continued to walk toward her. The older of the two pushed her down. She didn't understand why people treated her like that. In town she was looked upon with fear. She didn't have many friends and would sometimes cry herself to sleep. Her sister and brother weren't treated this way.
"Youre just a big baby, I don't know why everybody's so scared of you" The younger one pushed her again then laughed. Tears started to form in her eyes. She didn't understand why life was like it was and she was only five.
"Cry baby!" he repeated, getting ready to kick her when he was punched in the face. A boy around the girl's age stood in front of her protectively.
"You guys need to get a life"
"Uchiha!" The older boy said "Get otta here! This isn't your business"
"Yes it is" Sasuke smiled "She's my cousin and if you two don't leave her alone Im gonna beat the crap out of you then go and get my brother". On hearing that the boys paled
"We were only jokin anyways" One said shakily then ran off followed by his friend. Sasuke relaxed then turned to face his cousin who had tears running down her cheeks
"I wish I were as brave as you" She fidgeted "I am a big baby"
"No you're not" He helped her up "They're dumb for messing with you since youre much younger than them"
"Sasuke why is everyone so afraid of me?! I don't get it!" She started crying
"Don't cry, one day Im sure you'll be the brave one and I'll be the cry baby" He smiled "Lets go find my Dad so we can get some ice cream"
"Ok" She wiped away her tears
"I'll always be there for you Hikari" Sasuke grinned.
"Hikari wake up!" She'd fallen asleep in the chair. Someone kept shaking her. She finally opened her eyes to see her friend kneeling next to her. She glanced over to see Naruto still sleep with Icee on the bed.
"Miya what do you want?" She rubbed her eyes.
"While you were getting your beauty sleep I took the liberty of doing some research"
"Of what?"
"A friend". Hikari understood the meaning. She got up and snapped a finger at her wolf who jumped off the bed.
"Alright show me". Miya led her out of the room.
"Bye Naruto, I'll bring you a souvenir!" Sakura yelled as she, Yamato and Sai walked away. Naruto had been allowed out of the hospital, where he'd been for two days, to watch them off. "Take care of him Hikari!"
"I will!" She grinned waving. Naruto didn't know why but Hikari and Sakura had become fast friends since his hospital stay. Hikari had been staying with him there and built up a friendly relationship with Sakura who was there just as much. He stayed at the gate until he couldn't see them anymore.
"Ready to go?" she asked. He nodded. The Fifth had ordered that he stay with Hikari and her friend until a way to restore the seal was found. He still wasn't sure how she was able to settle the Kyuubi, in fact no one was. He followed her as she walked to her home. After walking up two flights of stairs she stopped at the door at the end of the hallway. She unlocked the door to reveal a small apartment that was modestly furnished. The kitchen and front room shared the same space though the kitchen area was off to the left and had a long counter plus stools to sit on. To his right there was a short hallway which he guessed led to the bedrooms
"Ok this is my home" She grinned "I share it with my si…uh roommate who isn't here now but you'll meet her later. He nodded again noticing that there were no pictures hanging up or much of anything to make the apartment seem 'homey'. At his place his clothes were everywhere, he had pictures and it looked like someone lived there but this one seemed like Hikari was only there temporary, not intending to stay "Hello?" Hikari snapped her fingers
"You in there?"
"Huh? Yeah, sorry" He gave a sheepish grin "Sorta zoned out"
"No kidding, I was asking you if you were hungry?" At that point his stomach decided to make noises which she said "I'll take that as a yes. Your room is the first door down the hall on your right. You can check it out while I whip up something". He picked up his stuff and walked to his room. Walking inside he saw a plain bed in the corner, a window across from him, a dresser, a closet and a small table with a light on it near the bed. He dropped his bags and collapsed on the bed, turning to face the wall
"Naruto this will be for the best, you'll see" Tsunade told him as he sat up in his hospital bed
"I barely know her"
"True but she is able to control the fox somehow. We need her here. I'd feel more comfortable with you staying with her. The seal is completely gone now. There's no reason for the Kyuubi to NOT take over". Naruto silently thought all of it over
"How do you know her?" She raised an eyebrow at the question "I heard you two talking. She seemed to know Sasuke"
"Hmm…lets just say her mother was well known around here"
"Fine I'll do this but for how long?"
"I'm not sure Naruto, I'm waiting for Jiraiya to return. I sent teams to find him but its proving very difficult" She rose from the chair she'd been sitting in, walking over to his bed then kissed him on the forehead "Everything will be fine Naruto. I wont lose you without a fight"
The sun had long since set as Naruto, Hikari and her friend Miya sat at the counter eating. All three were silent, wrapped up in their own thoughts. Naruto had thought Miya was the shortest tempered person he'd ever met. She was tall, had long silver hair and was tanned. She looked like an innocent young woman but that was before Naruto accidentally called her Maya. She'd blown her top, calling him every name in the book and making up new ones. It took Hikari a few minutes to settle her down. Now she appeared to want nothing to do with Naruto
"So Naruto what are you gonna do since you're stuck in the village?" Hikari asked, breaking the silence
"Not sure, maybe I'll help the Fifth with looking into that woman that was killed"
"Awwww, isn't that cute. Little blonde boy is a detective now" Miya's voice dripped with sarcasm
"Ignore her, what made you decide on that?"
"Sakura told me…" He stopped the jumped up "I SAW HER!"
"Who?" Hikari and Miya asked
"The death woman who attacked my team. I think she's here!"
"And how do you know?" Miya rolled her eyes
"Something I saw a few days ago, be back" He disappeared in a poof of smoke.
"This'll be fun" She snorted
"Depends on what your definition of fun is" Hikari returned to eating her rice.
Sasuke's team sat in a small clearing. He'd stopped then walked off somewhere by himself. Suigetsu was getting annoyed
"I wish he wouldn't leave like this, we could've been to our destination by now"
"Calm down, he just needs some breathing space" Karin said
"He always does, why are we even going to the capital? Itachi isn't there"
"Guess he'll tell us when he's ready"
"This is ridiculous, if anything they'll have been notified by Konoha of his departure a few years back. They'll no doubt try and capture him. The shinobi that guard that city are much more skilled"
"Speaking from experience?" Karin raised an eyebrow.
"Whatever" He turned away
"Jugo you've been quiet, what do you think?" She asked
"This is something different. His demeanor is being affected"
"Maybe he's having second thoughts" Suigetsu said quietly
"Maybe…" Karin looked off into the direction Sasuke had left
Sasuke wasn't having second thoughts about Itachi. He knew what he had to do it or his family wouldn't be at peace, he wouldn't be at peace. He sat in a tall tree with one leg hanging over the side. That wasn't what he was worried about. He was close to killing his dear brother, he felt it. The question was what he would do after that. He closed his eyes and felt the breeze blow pass. He'd been threw so much and it was almost over but he didn't think he could go back to Konoha, back to Naruto. Things wouldn't be the same They probably wouldn't allow me into the village anyway. Itd be a waste of time. I need to plan for after Itachi's death. I couldn't go with Suigetsu, he annoys me too much. Not with Karin, she annoys me more. Jugo but I'm not sure about that either. I probably couldn't stay in the Land of Fire at all. Too many villages know who I am. Its hard enough as it is covering my tracks. He stirred out of his thoughts when he felt a weight on the branch. Directly in front of him was the woman his team had encountered not too long before. She wore the same hairstyle with the white mask. Her black kimono still had the long sleeves.
"Can I help you?" Sasuke asked with a hint of annoyance
"Uchiha Sasuke its nice to see you again" A calm voice replied back
"What do you want? Are you another shinobi the leaf village has sent after me?" He already knew the answer
"No"
"Then who are you?"
"A gentle breeze or a raging storm. Take your pick". Sasuke was trying hard not to loose his calm. Normally he wouldn't have let this get to him, normally but he wasn't in the mood
"I don't have time for games"
"Nor do I" He stood up and intended to kill her but she said "This is a warning, you will stop your hunt for your brother or I will stop you". Akatsuki, that's who she worked for. Though he'd never heard of her and was sure he knew all of the members. He smirked
"I'll stop once he's dead"
"I will give you time to think about what I just said. Your great dream of a glorious revenge can only be a fuel for so long" She turned to leave "Your continued hunt hurts others and also puts the lives of them in danger. For that you must be stopped, I've also visited Itachi myself. He didn't take my warning so serious though" Sasuke frowned "Actually I've visited each remaining Akatsuki member. They all weren't as nice as you. Also you should visit the Wind Country sometime, very beautiful place" She jumped and was gone. Saskuke blinked Who is she?