Hi, everyone. I'm back with second chapter!
lindon2, thank you!
chm01, well, Tamaki is a cute girl. Why can't she have any sroties where she is with Naruto?
FFwatchdog, no this story starts around ch. 355-356 (i think, two days after Sasuke visited Soraku town/Yonbi was extracted from Rooshi.) so Naruto isn't sage yet. But he will be.
Disclaimer: i DO NOT own Naruto or its characters
"speaking"
'thinking'
"speaking of higher beings / Naruto while using Kyuubi's power / jutsus"
'thinking of higher beings / Kyuubi talking to Naruto through mental link'
Two
chapter 2: Soraku town - departure.
Naruto woke up. First thing he noticed - he was lying on mattress in unknown room. Or better say basement section turned into living space. By orange light coming from the sun through small window near the ceiling, Naruto could say that it was about five in the mourning, dawn time. His body was still a bit numb from those poisonous senbons - Kyuubi hadn't finished it's work yet. Naruto tried to sit up, but failed and fell back on the mattress with a damped thud. Several seconds later door into this 'room' opened and unfamiliar red nin-cat walked in. Cat looked at Naruto for two or three seconds, before disappearing from the 'room'.
Naruto sighed. He didn't know where he was and right now wasn't able even to sit up... He was completely defenseless right now and could only hope that people who brought him here weren't working for Akatsuki of any other Konoha enemies...
Door opened wider and girl from yesterday, if that battle was yesterday, walked in. She looked like just woke up, being dress only in simple white nightgown. Yawning, she sat on the edge of mattress and stared at Naruto... For ten seconds... Twenty... Girl looked like was falling asleep. Naruto waved his hand in front of her face and she snapped back to reality.
"Sorry..." She yawned. "...Never was morning person..." Pause. "Nekoru told me that you woke up... I didn't believe him, but..." She yawned again. "...But now i see that this is true..."
"Sorry, but who are you? And where we are?" Naruto asked. He was more interested in where he was and who this girl worked for.
"...Oh. I'm Tamaki. Sorry, forgo-o-o-o-ot..." Tamaki tried to suppress another yawn, but failed. "...'bout manners... And we're at my grandma's house and shop..." Girl yawned once more. "And... Thank you, you saved me..."
"And I'm Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf, future Hokage!" He paused for a second. "Ah, why were you surprised, when that Nekoru said i woke up? And who are you working for?"
"We work for..." Tamaki yawned. Again. "Ourselves at ninja supply shop. And i was surprised 'cause Baa-sama said you took almost lethal dose of poison. That should have you knocked..." One more yawn... "Out for at least several days." Naruto smiled.
"Huh... I think they forgot to say that to me, that is why." He tried to joke...
***
At Tanboson village three shinobi were already up, making plans for new day.
"OK, Shino, you'll guard this village, while me and Hinata will search for Naruto." Captian Yamato said. Bug user only nodded. "Good... Hinata, let's go." After that two ninja sped towards Soraku town, leaving Shino alone with his kikai swarm. Boy waited for a minute and then started patrolling village...
***
Twenty or so minutes after Tamaki left his 'room', Naruto drifted to sleep. Just because there was nothing else to do... Well, not really to sleep, more like he was only dozing... Suddenly he heard people arguing. Then there was girl's loud scream followed by loud crash next sound. All the time with angry meowing in the background... Deciding that he should go and see what was going on, Naruto picked himself from the mattress. This time he was able to move decently on his own.
He exited his 'room' and found himself in old corridor with two a bit rusty pipes on the opposite wall. He walked in the direction of sound and soon entered hall. There he saw something he really never was looking forward to see. In the middle of the hall there was old lady, looking like she was cosplaying cat, lying on the floor dead with slash on her neck. Near her he could see four smashed into bloody puddle nin-cats. Behind them there were broken table and bench. Many papers were thrown on the floor. Looking left Naruto saw three nin-cats he already knew hiding and Tamaki pressed to the wall by ninja with Oto hitae-ate. Sound-nin had kunai pointed to girls neck.
"Hey, you!" Naruto shouted at enemy ninja. "Get your dirty hands off that girl!" Sound-nin laughed.
"Looks like you'll have to wait, cutie, there is punk who wants to die. Can i not grunt his wish?" Naruto moved his hand behind his back and created rasengen. When Sound-nin jumped into attack, clearly underestimating blond shinobi, Naruto slammed his jutsu into man's chast, sending him into the wall. Old building couldn't take that damage and part of tie-beam fell down. Killing Sound-nin in the process.
Naruto hobbled to the crying girl and tried to comfort her...
***
Captain Yamato and Hinata entered Soraku town. It was old rusty and completely desolated. Or not. Near city center there was one building that looked a bit more well-groomed than the rest. But before they could check what was there, group of rogue nins appeared and engaged combat.
'Be OK Naruto-kun, i'll be there soon...'
Thirty minutes later fight was over. Even with all the training Hinata undergone, she still felt weak. And the reason was that she was wounded. That much that Yamato said they should fall back to Tanboson.
"But why, Yamato-taicho? We can continue our search!"
"No, Hinata. You are injured and tired. It would be the best if we rest and heal your wound. Naruto is strong, he'll be OK." Hinata hung her head but complied and followed captain Yamato. For today, their searches were finished...
***
Tamaki cried herself to sleep. Naruto didn't know what to do with girl now sleeping in his hands so he just summoned eight shadow clones to clear the hall while he carried poor Tamaki to his 'room', accompanied by three nin-cats... When Naruto laid Tamaki on mattress there, she immediately curled around his left arm, so he was forced to stay by her side. He took most comfortable position and waited... While she was asleep, Naruto took a better look at her. Tamaki had platinum blond hair that reached middle of her back, pretty, even if tear-stained, face. Her body was slim and tender with curves in right places. Well, in one thing that Sound-nin was right: she was cute. No, she was beautiful!..
Girl slept till the dawn of next day, never letting Naruto's arm go. When she finally woke up, it took her a good minute to understand where she was and what was going on. Tamaki was about to start crying again, but Naruto soothed her.
"Shh. Everything will be good..." Naruto clasped her to his chest. He didn't knew why he did that, but it worked and girl calmed down a bit.
"What will i do now? I'm the last citizen of this town... And i don't want to stay there anymore... Where will i go?.." Tamaki mumbled between sobs.
"You always can go to Konoha with me and my squad. Baa-chan will find a place for you there."
"Baa-chan?" Girl looked at him with question in her green eyes.
"That's nickname i gave to Hokage." Naruto smiled. Tamaki thought for more than two minutes, before saying anything.
"I'll go to Konoha. But i don't want to just abandon Baa-sama's shop."
"No problems there. I think, i had enough empty scrolls and ink." Naruto replied.
At noon Naruto and Tamaki with three nin-cats already stood outside the town gates. Girl had three scrolls in her backpack. One had weapons shop sold. Other contained clothes, wires, ropes and other supplementary staff. Final scroll was for Tamaki's personal belongings sealed as several parcels. Not long time ago Naruto fixed 'Permanently moved' sign on shop's doors while Tamaki visited fresh graves...
While Naruto was sealing things into the scrolls, he found that his jacked was torn apart. Tamaki forced him to replace it with shirt, dark blue one. And his orange pants for dark blue shinobi-style ones too, 'cause as she said, otherwise colors weren't harmonizing with each other.
"OK, let's move!" Naruto summoned two shadow clones and sent them to nearby villages. Then he seated Tamaki on his back, cats jumped onto their shoulders, and set off.
***
Yamato and Shino just exited Tanboson village, when they spotted someone with blond hair in dark blue shinobi clothes running towards them. And he had Leaf hitae-ate on his head.
"Yondaime-sama?" Asked mokuton user, before he spotted six whisker marks on man's cheeks. "Naruto?" Boy nodded. "Is that you? Say something only you know." Captain ordered. Boy thought for several seconds.
"You were the one who said that i wounded Sakura during my fight with Orochimaru." Yamato nodded.
"Are you OK. We couldn't find you for two days. And what happened to your clothes?"
"Was forced to change them." 'Naruto' replied. "And i'm OK. Boss sent me to say that he is escorting last citizen of Soraku to Konoha." Before captain Yamato or Shino could say anything, 'Naruto' poofed out of existence.
"Shadow clone." Yamato said. "What shall we do now?" Shino remained quiet.
***
Another clone of Naruto entered Denmura village and was by Kakashi. The moment silverhaired jounin saw him, he dropped his 'Icha-icha' book and stared at him with only two words coming from his mouth:
"Minato-sensei?"
"Nope, Kakashi-sen..." Clone couldn't finish, as Sakura, who appeared seemingly out of nowhere, destroyed it.
~~~***~~~
Should i change pairing from Naruto/Tamaki to Tamaki/Naruto/Hinata? poll will be in my profile from 15 may. vote till 25 june 2009, i want to know your opinion.
