Hi everyone! Double update!

I wanted to thank my second reviewer(Wander of Souls and Light)for the review and the assorted chocolates! LOL! Thank you! It meant alot to me.

Here's chapter 3!

CHAPTER 3

Mysterious Necklace

Naruto and Nariko both enter the Ichiraku Ramen Shop and sat down so they can take their orders. Old man Teuchi and his daughter Ayame was just opening up for the day.

"Good morning, old man." Naruto greeted.

'Old man? That's just...rude.' Nariko thought.

"Oh! Good morning, Naruto!" Teuchi greets back and he notices Nariko sitting next to him. "Who is this charming young lady?"

"This is Nariko. She just arrived here today. I'm responsible for showing her around the village. It's an escort mission." Naruto explained. Even though he still hated the idea of this mission, he was happy nonetheless to have one.

"Oh, okay! Nice to meet you, Nariko-chan! Since you two are my first customers, your ramen is free!" Teuchi said.

"Really? Thanks old man! You're the best!"

"All right, Naruto-kun! What would you like to have?" Ayame followed as she dries her hands with a clean white towel. She seems just as bright and sweet as ever.

Naruto contemplates on what to eat and he finally decides on what he wants. "I'll have the-"

"Two super miso-pork ramen...with extra pork." Nariko answers and Naruto raises an eyebrow at her.

'How does she know what I was gonna order?' Nariko just smiles innocently at him and Naruto confirms the orders. "Ummm...yeah! That's what I want...and what she wants too, Ayame-chan!"

"Okay! Be right back!" Ayame said and she went to fix the orders.

Naruto had to know more about Nariko but it was still strange how she knew what he wanted to eat. He wants to be friends with her so decided to break the ice with some small talk.

"I want to know everything about you, Nariko."

"Everything?" Nariko questioned. "Like what?"

"Everything! You know, favorite color, hobbies, etc. Those kind of things. Like for example, how old are you?"

'Are you serious, Naruto? What is this? Kindergarten?' Nariko ignores her own thoughts and answers his question. "I'm 16."

"Oh! You're a year younger than me. Okay...Um...what's your favorite color?"

"Blue and black with a touch of red." she answered proudly.

'Blue, black and red, huh?' Naruto notices the colors of her clothing and realization hits him at full force. 'Of course! She's wearing her favorite colors and those are Sasuke's favorite colors too...Doesn't she like any other colors?'

Nariko suddenly glares at Naruto with resentment, "You have a problem with my favorite colors?" she asked with anger.

Naruto jumps from Nariko's sudden change in tone. This catches him completely off guard. "Umm...no! There's nothing wrong with blue and black...or red." he answered nervously.

'What the hell? How did she...but I didn't even...say anything.' Naruto thought.

"Of course you didn't say anything, Naruto." Nariko answers and she smirks at him again.

'There it is again. Can this girl read minds or something?' He thought.

Nariko smiles. "To answer your question, yes, I can read minds."

Naruto blinks twice but then he grins happily. "WHOA! That's so cool! What am I thinking of right now?"

"Hmm..." The only thing that she could hear in Naruto's mind were the sounds of crickets chirping. No one was home in there at the moment. "...absolutely nothing." Nariko answers casually and Naruto falls over out of his chair.

Nariko couldn't help but laugh from Naruto's actions. 'My dad is such an idiot.'

"Well, that sounds about right." a voice joked from outside.

Naruto and Nariko notice that it was Sakura and Sai coming in from behind the shop. The two stepped outside to greet them.

"Sakura-chan, what took you so long?" Naruto asked complete ignoring Sai's presence. "I've been waiting for you!"

"Well, hello to you too, Naruto-kun." Sai interrupted.

"Oh! Sorry, Sai." Naruto apologized and turn his attention to Nariko. "This is Nariko. Nariko, this is Sai." Naruto introduced.

Sai looks at Nariko and offers his hand. "Nice to meet you, Nariko." he replies in a respectful manner.

Nariko smiles at him, "Nice to meet you too, Sai-kun." and she shakes his hand with a firm grip.

'She is really cute. Although it's a shame she has to favor that jackass, Sasuke...' Sai thought bitterly.

The smile quickly faded away and turns into a glare from Sai's thoughts. Nariko slowly lets go of his hand and knowing what he said in his mind, she punches him in his jaw...hard. The gesture went from pleasant to ugly in 5 seconds flat.

Sakura notices this quickly and runs to Sai's side. "Whoa...Nariko-chan, what did you do that for?" she asked, clearly upset about what just happened.

"Yeah, I didn't do anything." Sai said.

"Liar! You insulted me!" Nariko snapped.

'Huh? I insulted her? I didn't say anything...' Sai thought.

Naruto chuckles, "Did I forget to mention that she can read minds?" he chimed in.

'Wow, Naruto. That's real helpful. To tell him that after he gets hit. You really need to work on your timing of warning people...'

"So, you can read minds, huh?" Sai rubs his face and gives Nariko a fake smile.

Nariko was even more insulted and she cracks her knuckles to emphasize her point. "Jackass!" She growled.

'What the hell, Sai!' Naruto looks down at him at he continues to use that fake smile to ease his way out of this situation. He almost felt sorry him. 'What did you think about that made her want to do that?'

"Naruto, let's just say the next time he thinks about something like that, he won't get off so easily." Nariko threatens. "That's a promise."

Naruto was gonna have to get use to that power that Nariko has otherwise it would scare him every time.

Sakura shakes her head and massages her temples. 'He meets someone new and in five seconds, he gets clobbered. Jesus Christ, Sai...You need to be more sensitive.'

"I couldn't agree with you more, Sakura-chan!" Nariko said subconsciously.

Sakura gasp knowing that Nariko read her thoughts. "She really can read minds!" she exclaimed while helping Sai stand up.

Really, Sakura? Wow.

After everything was settled, Ayame had soon brought the bowls of ramen for Naruto and Nariko and gang sat down on the stools to enjoy their meals. Sai and Sakura ordered their food as they sat down as well. Sai next to Sakura in order to avoid getting hit again by Nariko. She packed quite the punch for a young girl.

Naruto grabs a pair of chopsticks. "Man, this looks good! Time to chow down!" and start woofing down on his ramen. Sakura, Sai, and Nariko had sweat drops on the back of their heads.

"That's a pretty necklace. Where did you get it from?" Sakura asked after noticing the silver rope and pendant that rested on her...developed chest. Her chest wasn't really big but they were quite noticeable. Nariko noticed how Sakura was staring at her chest with both envy and admiration and she blushed a cute shade of pink.

'Why is she staring at my chest so hard? And why am I embarrassed? It's just Sakura-sensei as a kid.' She thought.

"What's wrong?" Nariko asked.

"Your...chest." Sakura said with a blank expression.

"What about my chest?" Nariko asked like this wasn't that big a deal. "You like what you see?" she teased, knowing that it will frustrate Sakura from her earlier observation.

"That is so unfair." Sakura said ignoring Nariko's joke and looking down at her own chest. "Your chest is bigger than mine...yet you seem younger than me." Sakura sighed sadly.

"My body started to developed at the age of 13. After eight months, I ended up having a full figure." Nariko explained. "I blame the ramen. I ate it for 4 years straight." Nariko said embarrassed.

Nariko was your average girl but her body was thicker than most. Just by observing her, Sakura figures that she is about a size 14.

"I wish I had your body and your chest..." Sakura wished and hugs herself.

'Hmph! After eight years, you won't be saying that.' Nariko thought and she start to giggle from her own thoughts.

Naruto looks over at Nariko while Sai...is still rubbing his face in pain. Yes, his bruise still hurt.

"What's so funny, Nariko?" asked Naruto.

"Oh, nothing! I thought something funny, that's all." She assured.

"Nariko, you never answered my question." Sakura said.

"Oh, right. What's up?"

"Where did you get the necklace?" Sakura asked again.

"My father gave it to me as a present." Nariko answered.

"That's so sweet of him. Your father seem like a nice person." Naruto asked.

"Yeah, he was..." she answers silently.

"He...was?" Sakura questioned curiously.

'Damn it...!' She cursed herself silently for slipping up so easily.

Nariko plays with her chopsticks, not straying her eyes away from them to look at Sai, Sakura, and Naruto. Nariko's eyes soon filled with sorrow and pain not even realizing that the chopsticks slipped from her hands. Naruto easily recognized the look she was giving the members of Team Kakashi and had a feeling why she became so sad.

Sai pressed on about the subject. "Nariko-san?"

"He's...he's dead." She said plainly without a hint of emotion in her voice.

Sakura gasps, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to-" she tried to apologize.

Nariko shakes her head, "It's all right. Really it is..." she assured them but Naruto was having doubts about her answer.

Something was not right. Was this girl really okay with not having a parent in her life?

"Nariko, I hope you you don't mind me asking this but what about your mother?" Sai asked.

"I don't have a mother." Nariko answers again with no emotion.

The members of Team 7 grew even more silent. Was she serious? Was both of her parents...

'My god...she doesn't have any parents...or any other family members?' Naruto thought.

"To answer your string of thoughts Naruto, I do have a younger sister."

Naruto forgot just that quick that Nariko can read minds but he was happy to know that she still has family members. "Well, what's her name?" he asked.

"Her name is Miyuki."

"What does she look like?" Sai asked.

"Why? So you can insult her, too?" She glared at him, remembering what he had thought about her earlier and Sai winced.

"I'm pretty curious what she looks like myself." answered Sakura, trying to calm her down.

"Well she's a little shorter me, has cerulean blue eyes, her hair is similar to mine but her hair is blonde and has a more tame look." Nariko explained.

"Where is she now?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know...That's another why reason I came to Konohagakure..." Nariko's voice trailed off...

"So...you're here because..." Sakura started.

"I need your help to find my sister...She must be worried sick about me." Nariko answered.

"What happened before you got here?" Sai managed to ask without insulting her anymore than he already did.

"Me and Miyuki somehow got...separated and we loss all contact with each other." She lied. Nariko didn't want to give them the real reason why she and her sister was here. Not just yet.

"How awful..." Sakura responded sadly.

"Naruto, I was wondering...would you...help me find my sister? I know I'm asking a lot but-"

Naruto smiled at her and he responds, "Say no more. I will help you."

Nariko's eyes widen with hope."Y-You will?"

"You will?" Sakura and Sai questioned but in a different tone.

"Yes. I will help her find her sister." Naruto said again.

"Naruto, you can't just up and say you'll help her without knowing where she is or without the Hokage's permission." Sakura pointed out.

"Sakura-chan, we can just ask baa-chan if we could help Nariko find her sister." Naruto said back.

"But aren't you two on a mission right now? You're suppose to show Nariko around the village." Sai reminded them.

"He's right, Naruto...we can't just abandoned the mission." Sakura exclaimed.

"Or we can ask baa-chan if helping Nariko find her sister can be a part of the mission that we're doing right now. Nariko is our responsibility, right? The least we can do is continue to help the best way we can. Think about it. Doing this will be killing two birds with one stone." Naruto suggested.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. Since when you start using his head? You never did before. You usually fly off the handle so easily when you don't get your way and end up paying for it later." Sakura said.

Naruto is offended by the comment. "Sakura-chan, that's cruel..."

Sakura couldn't help but smile as Naruto. He was actually being mature, rational, and calm about the situation, which impressed her and Sai. Ayame returns with their orders and they happily accept them as they each grab a pair of chopsticks.

"Don't worry, Nariko...I never go back on my word...that's my way of the ninja." Naruto grinned.

A small smile of hope form on her face from his words. "Thank you, Naruto, Sakura-chan, Sai-kun..."

"But before that, I have to introduce you to some more friends!" Naruto said excitedly.

"You have...more friends?" Nariko questioned.

"I sure do! You'll love them!"

'I hope they're not like Sai-kun...he need to work on his people skills or he's gonna get himself killed around here...' Nariko shrugged.

"First thing tomorrow, we'll meet more people and ask baa-chan about looking for your sister." Naruto declared.

Everyone nods in agreement and finish up on their meals.

'Miyuki, I hope you're okay...' Nariko thought as she continued to eat her bowl of ramen.

* * *NEXT CHAPTER SYNOPSIS* * *

The next chapter of Changing Fate is:
Face to Face

Under convenient circumstances, Miyuki finally meets the person she was searching for...Sasuke Uchiha...