The courtship of Naruto Uzumaki

XXXII. Finding Naomi

"Have you seen a blond girl about my age?"

"No."

"She has blue eyes, and she's a few centimeters shorter than me."

"No."

"She was wearing dark blue shorts, and a big shirt."

"No."

"Her hair was in a ponytail?

"No."

As Konohamaru followed the path Naomi would have taken from the ninja complex, asking everyone he passed if they'd seen Naomi, three Naruto's showed up to lend him a hand. He was grateful for the help, but was surprised by the fact that Naruto had been obviously more worried than he'd first admitted. If Naruto was willing to use up chakra on making clones for searching then Naomi's disappearance began to make him anxious, too. He shouldn't have let her go off on her own. He should have waited to speak to the Hokage. It hadn't been something urgent except in his own mind. He could have talked to her anytime, and gotten the same response.

In the daytime, he'd thought Konoha was fairly safe, but to a naïve, untrained girl who new to the village, and knowing only a few people, perhaps it could be a dangerous place. That wasn't a pleasant thought for someone who'd had the run of every corner of Konoha all his life. He'd felt safe in Konoha all his life, but he'd never been actually alone. There'd always been ninja around watching out for him. Until now he hadn't realized how protected he'd really been.

Konoha today was somewhat different than when he was younger. There were more strangers in the village now than there had been then. On the one hand that was good, because attracting outsiders for commerce and tourism made Konoha more prosperous. On the other hand, it brought a number of transients into village—pleasant and unpleasant like those monk bank robbers. It made generally Konoha less safe despite its usual ninja contingent. And at this time when Konoha's ninja resources were strained, it made the village a possibly very unsafe place.

With these thoughts, his search took on a new urgency.

"Have you seen a blonde, blue-eyed girl about my age, but shorter, wearing shorts and an oversized shirt?"

"Did she have a puppy?"

"What?!" He scratched his head. "No—I mean—she didn't when I last saw her."

"The girl I saw was walking down the street following a puppy—it looked like that anyway. That's the only girl like you described that I saw."

"Down the street past the business district?"

"Yeah, right, down the street."

Konohamaru stared down the street. Could that have been Naomi? Was she following a puppy? Why would she follow a puppy?

He shook his head. It didn't matter. This was his only lead, and he had to follow it. He started down the street. He'd add a puppy to his description, and see where that led him. If this lead turned out to be bogus, he hoped one of the Naruto clones had better luck.

He wouldn't want anything to happen to Naomi. Not only would it be devastating for Naruto to lose his only relative, but Konohamaru would be pretty upset himself to lose this new friend. Even without her Naruto connection, he really liked her.

As she swam into consciousness, Naomi felt something cold and hard beneath her cheek then she felt it beneath her hand, her chest, her hip, her leg. Putting the feelings together, she had the impression that she was lying down probably on the floor not actual ground. It felt too smooth to be dirt.

At first she felt frozen, as if she couldn't move, but it was an internal feeling not external. There didn't seem to be any physical reason for her inertia.

She tried to open her eyes, and the effort sent a wave of pain rippling across her head. She felt as if a hammer was being used on the inside of her skull to crack an opening.

This effort stilled any other thought of physical movements until the pain subsided, but meanwhile her mind was busily engaged in figuring out what had happened. Where was she? Why was she lying here? What did she remember of the events leading up to this moment?

Not very much to explain her present position, but a few other things came to mind.

She remembered Konohamaru and his friends, the possibly nice but very wimpy, Udon, and the bitch in need of an attitude adjustment, Moegi. Those were very vivid, but unpleasant memories. Mostly because of Moegi.

How could a nice guy like Konohamaru have such lame friends? She wondered what skills they could possibly have to make them valuable team mates for the grandson of a hokage. Maybe Konohamaru was right in thinking of quitting his team. Maybe he could do better than the likes of those two. Why couldn't he have cool team mates like Sakura or Hinata or Kiba or Lee? Naruto's friends were a lot more interesting, and nice than Konohamaru's. Why had Moegi been so bitchy?

The thought of Moegi's distain gave her the determination to open her eyes. She could picture Moegi looking down her nose with a superior look in her eyes. She could almost hear her calling Naomi a wimp and a coward, and unworthy of being Konohamaru's friend or Naruto's cousin. She couldn't have that even in her imagination. She wretched her eyes open almost gasping at the pain, and gagging as her vision blurred and twirled making her dizzy.

She must have hit her head. That was why she was lying on the ground. That was why her head hurt so badly. That was why her vision was skewed. Her brain had to recover somewhat from its injuries. Luckily, she had come to, and not lain here in a coma where no one would find her. That was an interesting thought. She must be someplace unusual for her unconscious to recognize that she might not be quickly found.

She reached up to gently feel the back of her head.

Her hair was matted at the place where she felt the most pain. Gingerly, she felt a lump on her head through the clump of her hair. It felt wet, and sticky. She brought her hand down to stick in front of her face, and through the dim light saw the streaks of dark red blood smearing her fingers.

Not only was she hit, but she had an open wound as well. She remembered Aunt Yukari telling her that head wounds often appeared more serious then they actually were because they bled so readily. She also remembered hearing that the blow itself which caused internal bleeding was more serious than an external wound. She appeared to have both. Was this just bad or really bad?

She lay still calming her sudden panicky thoughts. She had to get over her dizziness, stand up, and find out where exactly she was.

As she lay quietly, slowing the beat of her heart which had been pounding in her ears drowning out any other sound, she became aware of a new sound. It sounded like a muted whimper. Slowly, she opened her eyes again, and turned her head towards the sound.

Lying beside her trussed up, and muzzled was a squirming, panicky puppy.

What was a puppy doing here?

Before giving that thought the attention it deserved, she stretched out carefully so as not to jar her head, and attempted to untie the wriggling puppy. She started with the muzzle first. It looked to be the simplest binding to handle. She didn't have to untie it, she only had to push it off. It should have been an easy task, but with her aching head, trembling fingers, and the anxious wriggling of the puppy eyeing her with wide, fearful eyes, it took her more effort than anything she'd ever done in her life.

Her efforts were finally rewarded with a steady, strident barking which jarred her head even further. How she wished she'd started with the ties on the puppies feet first! Listening to toenails clacking against the ground would have been less wearing than the constant barking. The puppy just couldn't settle down. He had to complain loudly about her treatment.

"Shush, little boy! Shush! It's okay now. I'm going to free you. Just give me a few minutes," she tried to reassure him. "Please, be quiet. Please."

But the puppy was still scared at being tied up. He couldn't stop yapping. Naomi relaxed herself as much as possible before reaching over to free the puppy completely. As it turned out, she was able to push the rope off the puppy's feet instead of untying them which would have been harder to do. Whoever had tied up the puppy had done so humanely. He wouldn't have gotten hurt with bindings that cut off circulation, but he wouldn't have gotten himself loose very easily either.

Once the puppy was completely freed, he scrambled to his feet then came over to Naomi, and tried to lick her face. Naomi held up her hands, and turned her head giving a little laugh then a groan as her head vibrated with pain. She had to sit up or the puppy would lick her to death. Puppies were sweet, but she really didn't want to be kissed on the mouth by one. She'd rather her first kiss be with a human boy.

She put her hands on her head to hold it steady, braced her feet, counted to three, then threw herself forward into a sitting position.

She closed her eyes quickly to squelch the sudden dizziness. It wasn't as bad as it had been when she'd first woken, but she still felt some dizziness and queasiness from her head injury.

The puppy tried to jump in her sort of lap, but she nudged him away with her elbows. She still held onto her head. It felt better that way.

After a short time, she opened her eyes, slowly turned her head, and looked around.

She was in a darkened room. There were shades on the windows, but daylight outlined the window frames. She couldn't see anything in the small room except herself and the puppy. Where was she? Was she locked in? How did she get here? Why couldn't she remember the puppy?

Maybe she hadn't even seen the puppy before. Maybe she'd heard it whimpering, and came in to rescue it. Maybe the person who'd trussed up the puppy had hit her on the head. What if that person were still around? She had to get up, and get out of here.

She drew up her knees, took one hand from her head to brace the floor, and stood up

This was almost worse than sitting up. She reached forward, and stumbled to the wall to brace herself so she didn't fall down again. If she could just stay upright, the dizziness would pass, and she could find a way out.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the wave of dizziness to pass. For a moment the circles behind her eyelids blackened, and she thought she might pass out, but then the circles lightened, and she was able to open her eyes.

The puppy danced around her feet still yapping, but not as loudly or insistently.

She hugged the wall, and made her way to the door. She was prepared for it to be locked, but it opened easily. She went through to the outside, shielding her eyes from the bright light.

Blinded by the light, she fell down the three steps leading to street level, falling to her knees. More pain reverberated through her head, but she didn't pass out. She held herself still until the pain subsided to a heavy throb. Putting a hand on the stairs, she pulled herself up, and leaning against the wall of the building, she walked carefully down the alley she seemed to be in towards the light end, and hopefully people and safety.

Konohamaru looked down every alley for signs of Naomi or even a puppy as he walked away from the busy market district. It was still just early afternoon. He passed a bar which didn't open until evening. He passed the closed and deserted theater now that the theater troupe had left. He was just heading into the warehouse district when he saw Naomi stagger out of an alley ahead of him.

"Naomi!" he called, and ran towards her. His alarm grew as he saw the red streaks of blood drying down the side of her face, with splatters staining her clothes. He barely noticed the puppy yipping at her heels.

"Konohamaru!" she cried in return collapsing in his arms. "You found me! I was praying someone would be close by. I thought I might pass out again."

"Pass out! Damn, you're bleeding!"

She put a hand up to her head, but dropped it before touching the mat of blood on the back of her head. "I know. I think I hit my head or something." She turned her had a little to show him.

Konohamaru winced at what he saw there. "You need a medic like now. I'm going to call for help. I still have my radio." He leaned against the building next to them for added support and held her against him so she wouldn't fall to the ground. She didn't need another blow to the already nasty looking wound on her head.

"Lady Tsunade's going to be mad at me," she worried.

"Don't worry. She won't yell at you while you're hurt," he promised. He and Naruto would see to that. He called Naruto at the front gate who promised to send more clones to help him get Naomi to the hospital. He sounded really worried. Konohamaru tried to reassure him, but he didn't know anything about head wounds. He'd seen injuries before, though, worse looking than Naomi's. However, head wounds could be bad. He had to keep Naomi conscious, that much he did know.

He finished his call for help, then turned his gaze back to her peering down into her face. "Don't close your eyes, Naomi! You have to stay awake. You might have a concussion. Walk with me. I'll support you, but I can't let you go to sleep." He put his arm around her shoulders, and guided her back down the street. It would be quicker if they went back through the market district even though they might run into a lot of curious people.

"I know. Aunt Yukari taught me all about the nature and treatment of wounds. I was unconscious, but I haven't passed out again since I woke up."

"Where were you? What happened?"

"I can't remember anything since I left you and your friends, and I woke up in that building next to the alley where you found me. I wasn't locked in or anything, but the puppy had been tied up."

"Yeah, the puppy," he frowned down at the little dog yipping at their feet. "What were you doing with a puppy?"

"I don't know! I don't remember!" she cried in frustration.

"Okay. Calm down. It'll come back to you later."

"I thought maybe I'd heard him whimpering or something."

"No, that's not the case. Someone in the market told me they'd seen you following the puppy."

"Was I? I wonder why?"

"We'll worry about that later. Let's just get you to the hospital."

Four Naruto clones showed up as they reached the market district. Konohamaru quickly explained the situation. Two of them went immediately to search the building Naomi told them she'd woken up in. The other two of tried to push him aside, but he insisted on staying by her side. One of the clones took her other side, and they lifted her legs so it appeared she was sitting. The other clone drew her arms across their shoulders, and stayed behind them for support, and they walked as quickly as possible to the hospital only slowing down when Naomi groaned if they jarred her. The puppy followed them, its yipping growing more sporadic.

The bleeding of her head had slowed to a trickle that dried quickly under the heat of the early fall sun. It still felt like summer not fall, but leaves were falling as the days shortened. Cool weather was just around the corner.

Lady Tsunade was waiting for them at the hospital with the real Naruto. A nurse waited with her, and the two of them took custody of Naomi ordering Naruto and Konohamaru to wait outside the examination room.

"What happened?" Naruto asked tersely while he paced outside the room.

"I don't know. I found her coming out of an alley."

"What? Where?"

"The first building in the warehouse district. Your clones are checking it out now."

"Good. What did she tell you?"

"Not much. She couldn't remember anything."

They stood quietly, the only sound in the hall was the scratching of nails against wood as the puppy tried to get into the room that housed Naomi.

Naruto's attention was drawn to the noise. "What's that?"

"A puppy. Naomi said it was tied up next to her in the room she woke up in. Someone in the market said they'd seen her walking down the street following the puppy."

Naruto picked the puppy up, and stroked it quiet. "What was she doing with a puppy?"

He shrugged. "She doesn't remember."

"Damn! If she doesn't remember anything how are we going to find out what happened?"

"Maybe your clones have found out something in the building she was in," he said hopefully.

But when they finally showed up, they had nothing to report. They found evidence of Naomi's presence in the room she claimed to have woken in, but nothing else. There was no sign of habitation in that virtually empty warehouse except for the signs that Naomi and the puppy had left.

Once Naruto and Konohamaru were allowed into Naomi's room, they found out a little more.

"What do you remember now?" Tsunade asked once the others were in the room.

Naomi had been cleaned up, bandaged and dressed in a hospital gown. She looked pale and very young as she lay in the large hospital bed.

She'd been thinking of nothing else as Tsunade had tended her wounds with nary a scold or question until this minute. Slowly, her immediate past had begun to take shape in her mind. By leaving her to her thoughts, Tsunade had enabled them to clarify. "I remember being in the marketplace. I just wanted to look around a little before I went to the front gate to wait for Konohamaru. I saw a puppy. He seemed to be following something, but I couldn't see what it was so I followed him. He led me to a building. The door seemed to be open. The puppy went in, and I followed. Once I got through the door, something hit me in the back of the head. I 

went down, but I didn't pass out immediately. I heard the puppy being tied up. Then I heard a man laugh and say something before I finally passed out."

"A man? What did he say?"

"He said 'You're no good for my purposes, little one. I'm going to have to throw you back.'"

Naruto frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Think about it, Naruto. The only ones attacked so far have been men. If blood is what this man needs, the bigger the source, the more blood he can draw. Fortunately, he decided not to drain Naomi, although a blow on the head could have been just as deadly," Tsunade explained patiently.

Naruto punched one hand into the palm of the other. "Damn him! Did you see or hear anything else that would give us some clue to the identity of this man, Naomi?"

She almost shook her head, but caught herself just in time from a world of pain. "No. I didn't see anyone or anything except the puppy until I heard the man's voice."

He looked down at the puppy standing on his hind legs with the other two braced against the bed to try to see Naomi. "Too bad, dogs can't talk."

"Dogs can talk—to each other, and some can talk to ninja. Maybe Kiba can help us with this. Naruto, why don't you go find Kiba and Akamaru. Konohamaru isn't it time you were getting some rest?" Tsunade forcibly suggested.

"I can't leave now!" he protested. "I've got to know what happened."

She stared at him a moment, but he didn't back down. "Fine. Wait here then. Keep watch over Naomi. I don't want her sleeping yet. Get going, Naruto. I'll be back when you've returned with Kiba and Akamaru."

Tsunade and Naruto purposefully left the room on individual missions.

Konhamaru bent down to pick up the puppy who was still trying to see Naomi. "See boy, she's fine." He kept the puppy in his lap, and calmed his excitement with scratching under his ear.

"Am not," she denied with a smile.

"Are too—fine enough for now anyway."

"I have a major headache, and I feel really tired, Konohamaru. I just want to close my eyes, and go to sleep."

"You can't!"

"I know. So talk to me about something to keep me awake."

"You should do the talking. That would really keep you awake."

"It hurts my head to talk," she complained. "You."

"Okay, okay. But, I don't know what to talk about. What do you want to know?"

She folded her hands over her stomach, and looked at him expectantly. "Tell me about you and Naruto. When did you first meet and become friends?"

He laughed, and settled back comfortably in his chair. "That's a hard one to answer. We weren't friends at first. We were rivals. You see, we both planned to be the next hokage," he said, then began the story of the first time he'd met Naruto Uzumaki.