"Why aren't you running?" -Naruto

What Lies at the End of the Rainbow: Chapter 2

Minoku had toppled the orange-clad boy by accident.

A giant headache resided in Minoku's head. It hurt horribly, so bad she was having trouble thinking. She heard the rustling of branches and for a dazed moment thought, Where am I? But of course, a few moments later, only then was everything recollected. The bus (old habits die hard), the rainbow, the dress, paradise, the flower, the girls. Involuntary chills rose up in Minoku. She shivered as she opened her eyes weakly.

A tree. Minoku was in a tree, at least a few yards off the ground. Thick branches, heavy with leaves, surrounded her, her flower, she discovered, was now wrapped in her braided hair. She glanced back, her head pounding. She was no longer in the white dress, but was in a gray sweatshirt, black shorts, and fishnet to the knees and elbows. She sighed as she rested her head in the branch. Her pounding heart was really the only noise she could hear; not even the wind ruffling the branches made a sound.

Why hadn't I paid attention that night? she thought bitterly. I could be at home right now, drinking hot chocolate and watching T.V. I wouldn't have to deal with weird clearings, kidnappings, and the fact the General Six most likely rammed itself into a wall and that I'm- in reality- dead or in a coma. She sighed, the bitterness finding exit within herself. It didn't stop her from scolding herself. She wanted to think, Why me? but very well knew she couldn't, for then she'd think, Why not me?

Damn her twisted logical responses. Damn her for being too aware and smart for her age.

It was when Minoku glanced down that a hysterical chuckle escaped her lips.

Minoku was high; so high into the tree that the ground before her looked like she had to gaze through a telescope. The colors blurred for a second and she cursed; was she possibly loosing her sight again? She preferably liked not being "blind", as she called it. She was hoping it was the terror of looking so far down off the ground. After a moment, she shook her head and thought, No. I'd rather loose my vision again than be afraid of heights.

She carefully placed her feet on some stable branches, her breathing low and shallow as her heart raced. She knew she should have nothing to worry about: so what if she stumbled a bit? Her other foot would catch her.

Right?

"Steady, Minoku..." she muttered to herself. "Steady-"

Not steady enough.

Her foot slipped, along with the rest of her body as she and her flower tumbled down from the tree, screaming in fear at opposing death. Only... it never came. Minoku landed on something as she and the thing went crashing to the ground. It heaved with an, "Oof!" and instantly she leaped off the thing. It was a person, a boy to be exact.

He wore a scowl on his face as he glared down slightly at Minoku with his crystalline blue eyes, rubbing the back of his spikey blonde hair. He wore an orange jumpsuit, with blue and white accents, with a weird pouch attached to his leg with some bandages. He wore something Minoku had found on Ebay several times called 'ninja sandals' with a pair of goggles on his head. He had three whiskers marking the sides of his face as he continued glaring at the small girl.

She shifted uncomfortably as she mumbled, "Sorry about that. My foot... slipped." Wow, what a horrible excuse. He blinked for a second, confusion in his eyes. "Why aren't you running?" the boy asked. Minoku blinked herself, asking, "What do you mean?"

"I'm a monster, so aren't you going to go screaming to your parents about something I apparently did?"

Minoku scratched the back of her head. "Two things; one) I'm not even sure where I am, much less who you are and two) I... I don't have my family with me." The boy blinked at her response as she wiped her eyes, scowling at herself. "Damnit... I'm already crying..." she mumbled as the blonde boy took a step closer. "So you're... not going to try to hurt me?" he asked cautiously. She blinked in a sort of horror.

"Why would I do anything like that?"

The boy circled her, as if looking for weak points for if she attacked suddenly. She rose her eyebrows (she just couldn't seem to raise only one) as she asked, "What are you doing?"

"You don't have any weapon on you, do you?" he asked. She shook her head as she glanced down at herself. "If I do, please tell me. I'd like to know I'm armed next time I'm almost mugged (don't ask)," she stated as she glanced herself over. Nothing out of the ordinary... ish. Her clothes were always another mattered, along with where she was. She blinked. Where am I exactly anyways? she wondered. She decided to voice her opinion.

"Where are we?" she asked. The boy stopped and stared at her, as if asking, Are you serious? "We're in the forest outside the Hidden Leaf Village, Konohagakure," he answered in a Ah duh tone. Minoku chuckled weakly. "And where's that?" she asked. He blinked at her, before stating, "What do you mean 'Where is that?' It's here. Everyone's at least heard of Konoha. It may have a different name but it's the same basis."

Konoha...

Now that she thought of it, the name did have a ring to it. Something about ninjas... She felt herself freeze over as the realization hit her. Spirited Away, as stupid and unbelievable as it sounded, had happened to her. She'd some how ended up in Naruto via pool drain! Or in this case rainbow! She chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry. Sometimes that'll happen," she excused lamely. "My brain will go dead and I'll forgot the basic stuff I should know." After a moment, she added, "Like how to climb a tree."

Against what Naruto seemed to want, he still cracked a smile at the comment. "So you aren't from around here then?" he asked. Minoku shifted her weight slightly as she shook her head. She was telling the truth, in terms. It was just... probably not going to be the truth he was looking for. "I'm from..." She furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance as she tried to think of all the possible lands in Naruto. "The Land of Iron," she finished as she sighed with relief on the inside. The Land of Iron had no ninjas, she knew that much, so she'd be able to explain her minimal to none chakra size if it ever came up. She was also lucky her father had made her take the basics of kendo.

"I was supposed to check in with the..." Crap! What was his name? Something Age... um... A Cage? No... Kage? A Ho... kage? "...with the Hokage, but I lost track of time and ended up falling asleep there. I should probably go and see him." She shifted around. As much (and little) as she knew about Naruto she'd prided herself in remembering where everything in the Leaf Village was. Than again, that had been three years ago when she'd loved the show and it'd been all she could talk about.

"And since I'm new here... could you show me to the Hokage's office?" It came out more like a question, which she didn't mind see as Naruto had gained a slightly hostile look. "What're you doing here from the Land of Iron?" he asked as he took a slight step forward. She chuckled weakly as she mirrored him and took a small step back. "I'm here to... um..." What can I do that'll give me a good reason to help out here!? she thought in a slight panic. All I was ever really good at was kendo... She grinned in triumph. That's it! "I'm here to give the Academy students basic sword training," she finally answered, full of confidence.

Naruto's eyes lit up slightly, and he grinned as he said, "Really? Well then, I guess you can follow me! I'll take you to Grandpa!" On that note, Naruto grinned and turned around and started walking, causing Minoku to call out a "Wait!" and rush up to him, panting out, "I-I never got... y-your name..." He blinked slightly, narrowing his eyes, as if deciding on whether or not to tell her.

"Tell me your's first," he stated instead. She glanced up at him as she straightened herself, hoping that she mimicked a well-trained samurai, and answered, "Minoku Susuki of the Land of Iron." Naruto frowned for a brief second, before grinning widely as he said, "My name's Naruto Uzumaki! And I'm going to be the future Hokage!" Minoku rose her eyebrows (she couldn't seem to raise only one).

"Isn't that the highest position in the... Leaf Village?" Man, she really needed to jog her memory, it was failing on her and she was barely an hour into her old favorite show. Naruto nodded as they began walking, soon exiting from the forest into the busy and crowded streets of Leave Village. "Yep! And I'm going to be the best Hokage there ever was too!" he stated proudly.

"Better than even the..." Um... who died sealing... something into someone? The... the fourth one right? God I hope so. "Fourth Hokage?" I finished late. He nodded, not bothered at all by my slow replies. "Better than the Fourth himself, believe it! And he even saved the village from the Nine-Tailed fox!" Nine-Tailed fox? At the mere mention of the beast's name, the whole street got quiet as they murmured among themselves. Minoku only caught snippets, such as, "There it is!" or "Why's she with the demon?" It? Minoku glanced around, and noticed that Naruto's shoulders seem to drop slightly as his hands clenched together.

Was... was Naruto that sealing container for it? she wondered as the villagers glared at them. In an unreasonably, but purposeful, loud voice, she practically yelled, "Wow, Naruto! I'm sure you'll be able to be the best Hokage ever!" The blonde stopped short as he turned to stare at her with wide, sky blue eyes. She blinked in confusion as she stopped walking and slowed to a stop a few feet in front of Naruto. "Naruto? Come on, the Hokage's going to mad if we arrive any later," she pointed out falsely, biting the inside of her cheek. The blonde snapped out of his daze as he grinned, and starting running full-out ahead of Minoku, causing her to gap at him.

"Hurry up, Minoku-chan!" She took off after him, crying, "NARUTO-KUN! SLOOOW DOOWN!"

Minoku had never liked lying, but now she had to.

It was a few minutes later that she and Naruto arrived at the Hokage Tower, it being about midday. Birds chirped as Naruto proudly grinned up at the building. "There it is!" he stated. "The Hokage Tower! The Hokage works at the top in the large office! Be careful though, he usually smokes a pipe up there!" She smiled at him and nodded. "Thanks Naruto. I guess you've got to go though right? Don't you have..." Shit... um... "Missions...?" Naruto slumped slightly.

"I'm not a ninja yet; just a plain, old academy student," he stated glumly. He suddenly froze at some newly-realized information as someone screamed, "NAARUUTOO!"

"Ah crap!"

Naruto tried running for it, but wasn't fast enough seeing as the man grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his color and held him up like a puppy. "NARUTO! YOU'RE TRYING TO SKIP CLASS, AREN'T YOU!?" Minoku yelped loudly as she stumbled back, causing the man to turn to her and for his eyes to soften slightly. "Who are you?" he asked.

"M-M-Minoku S-Susuki!" she stuttered.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Minoku. If you'll excuse me, I'll be taking Naruto to class now-"

"You can't do that!" she interrupted, causing Naruto and the nose-scarred man to glance at her in confusion. "I-I mean... Naruto-kun was... um..."

"Showing her to the Hokage!" Naruto finished with a grin of triumph. The man sighed as he glanced at her. "Was he really?" he asked. She nodded. "He was showing me all the greatest food places too! You see, I'm going to be here for a while and, um... well... you know..." The man-who Minoku swore she knew-sighed and set the orange Academy student down. "I want you at the academy the moment you're down escorting Minoku to Lord Hokage's, do you understand?" the man growled. Naruto bobbed his head with a grin. With that, the man sighed again as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Minoku blinked as Naruto gave her a small, thankful smile. "Thanks, Min-chan. Iruka-sensei can be a real pain sometimes," Naruto thanked. Minoku smiled herself. Iruka-sensei! I knew I knew him! she couldn't help but think. "Min-chan?" she questioned instead. He nodded. "I think it's a cute nickname for you!" he stated, a light tinge of blush on his face as he thought was what he'd just said. She blushed too, turning her gaze away. "W-well..." she started. "W-we better go see the Hokage..." Naruto nodded, going back to his usual energetic self as he practically skipped into the building, calling, "Hurry, Min-chan!"

Said girl raced after him, a fond smile on her face as she traveled up all the stairs Naruto had begun climbing. Her legs would kill her for it later, but she didn't care at the moment. She was just happy that Naruto was happy. The vague notes she remembered of Naruto as an academy student were-in fact-vague, but she remembered he had zero-to-none friends and practically everyone hated him. Expect that man-Iruka-sensei-and the Hokage. Wow, Minoku's memory was really failing.

She barely made it to the Hokage's door, she was so tired. "Naruto-kun... please don't run so fast!" she begged. He grinned sheepishly as he scratched behind his head. "Sorry, Min-chan. But Iruka-sensei'll kill me if I'm any more late than I already am! Then I won't get to have ramen!" His face took on a look of pure terror at the thought. "I-I've gotta' go before he limits my ramen rights! See you, Min-chan!"

With that, Naruto seemed to run in a panic as he raced down the hallway and down the millions of stairs again. Minoku sighed heavily as she bit her lip. Crap... he's probably busy... How am I supposed to do this? "You can come in," an ancient voice called. Minoku froze as she mechanically opened the door and poked her head in. "S-sorry! I'll come back la-"

"No, no. Come in."

Minoku gulped as she stepped in. "I-I'm sorry," she muttered miserably. "But can I talk to you in private, please?" The man smiled slightly as he nodded, and the moment Minoku stepped into the room, she could tell whatever she said would never be heard outside these walls. "Well, you clearly aren't a child of Konoha, so, how did you get past the guards?" he asked, though Minoku could hear the strain in his voice.

"W-well... you see..." So then she explained everything to him. The General Six bus, the rainbow, paradise, what the voice said to her, waking up in a tree, her flower, falling on Naruto, him bringing her here (after she lied about her origins and what she was doing in Konoha in the first place), and lying-yet-telling-the-truth to Umino Iruka. The whole time, the Hokage didn't even twitch. "And I'm not sure how to get home..." she thought, close to tears. "I had a whole family... friends... a life..." The Hokage's brow furrowed in thought as he tried to think up a solution.

"Well... if I can get the Land of Iron to agree, we can get you a traveler's pass and a citizen's card, and make fake birth records..." he muttered. Minoku glanced up at him, hope clear in her eyes. He looked up at her. "What's your last name, child?" he asked. "S-Susuki!" she stuttered, as she straightened out. "Susuki... You could always be the last of the Susuki..." Minoku felt like she was about to cry again.

"But I have no proof of which you are telling the truth," the Hokage stated suddenly. Minoku's hope shattered. "You could easily be a spy from another land. We did just end a war with Iwa a decade ago, and that we still have bitter feelings with the Hidden Lightning. How do I know you're telling the truth?" Minoku paled. I-I should have known... It was only expected... How would anyone know I was telling the truth? She slumped down. "I-I'm sorry to disturb you, Hokage-sama," she muttered. "I'll be leaving... now." Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry!

"Wait, child." Minoku stopped at the door, her hand shaking horribly. "I will believe you, but you have to prove you will not do anything, and we have to prove it, by having you go through an interrogation." She froze, her whole body locking up. W-what's w-wrong with a li-little in-in-in-int-t-terroga-gation? W-why am I so-so-so-so-so...

Scared?

A knock at the door forced Minoku to open it. There they both stood, a platinum blonde man and a man with a headband covering his whole head. She felt faint suddenly. W-w-wasn't Konoha f-famous for their interrogation methods? It was black after that.

Minoku had never felt more afraid.

"If you don't let me into your mind, then it will hurt," Inoichi Yamanaka (as he had introduced himself earlier as) stated, slight hesitance in his voice. Minoku gulped. She'd been in the cell the moment she woke up-Inoichi had said it was the best one they had. Now she was gripping the chair her wrists were tied to in absolute fright. "O-o-okay," she forced out, her knuckles snow white. He chuckled weakly as he put her hands on her hand and-

Where was she?

"Neh, Papa!" a voice called. The sound of tapping feet against floorboards. "Why can't you stay a little longer?"

A sad smile of a blurred face.

"Because, who else can save those we love?"

Minoku woke up sweating heavily.

"W-w-w-w-" Her voice trembled as she shakily sat up. "It was incomplete, there was nothing." Incomplete?! she thought. She launched up at the thought and gazed at the blonde in pure terror. She glanced from the corner of her eyes at her surroundings. The hospital. She was at the hospital. An IV was dripping into her arm as a heart monitor sped up at her fear.

"Y-y-you're n-not going to-to-to do it... again?" The last word came out as a pitiful squeak. Iniochi shook his head with a weak chuckle. "To do it again could probably kill you-" Minoku paled. "-whether you know it or not your mind was fighting against my jutsu. But that wasn't the reason it was incomplete," he stated. "You have so little chakra, and it's so spread out as to keep you alive that it didn't have the time to keep all of your memories in place. It just stored them somewhere far past my reach. I only caught little snipets of conversations and images. Nothing that I've ever seen, that's for sure."

"Does... that mean?" she whispered. Inoichi nodded. "We have no reason not to believe your statement, nor do we have the proper evidence as to believe it either, entirely anyways. In all terms, your safe. Lord Hokage contacted the Land of Iron and they agreed to say you are one of their own. You now have birth records, a traveler's ID, and citizenship here in the Hidden Leaves." Iniochi smiled. "Welcome to the Hidden Leaf Village, Minoku-chan!" Minoku blushed slightly and nodded.

"P-please just call me Minoku, Inoichi-san," she mumbled. She blinked as he laughed. Wait... it would take days to get all these-

"How long have I been out for?"

He stopped laughing and glanced down sheepishly. "Um... about... a week and a half..." he muttered quietly, causing her to stiffen. What? She stopped dead. "A week... and a half?" she breathed as the last word rose an octave.

"The Uzumaki boy visited everyday, though he has yet to come today. I think he's cleaning up the graffiti from earlier."

Naruto has been coming...? Minoku thought in slight shock. She smiled sadly. What a boy. I need to thank him... What does he like again? She shook her head and sighed to herself. "When will I be allowed to leave?" she questioned. Inoichi grinned. "That's why I'm here. Once the doctor checks you out you'll be set to go. Lord Hokage has already bought you a house in the eastern sector of town, which you'll have to pay off once you begin your job at the academy-"

"My what?!"

He blinked. "Well that was what you told the Uzumaki boy, so we'll have to stick to it. Don't worry, the job pays pretty well, Iruka-san said so."

I've never had a job... Minoku thought as Inoichi called in the doctor, leaving the room himself. After a few minutes of the basic checkup, the doctor smiled and said she was good to go, though not to strain herself. She nodded as she walked out, a bit wobbly, to meet Inoichi. The man grinned and nodded himself as he said, "Come on, you're place is near my own. I've got a daughter your age you know?"

Something about that didn't seem to give Minoku a positive feeling.

I wonder why?

Anyways, how was it? Good? Too cliche? Yes, she's the same age as Naruto, ignore the high school comment in the previous chapter. Took a while but I updated! Alright right? Chapter 3 is up next! Believe- *bricked*