A/N: Gomenasai minna-san! I've been away for a while, but I have an RE, English, Maths and Biology exam to blame for that. And I've still got all the rest to do -sits in a depressed little corner- but I did go iceskating for the first time Saturday and didn't fall over! I screamed a lot and the wall was my best friend :) It was hot today and I didn't tan -sighs- I still look like a vampire. Ack, I want to get Tsunade into the fic so they can all go back to Konoha, I actually want to write Shippuuden but thats not until the sequel... Oh and I think the fanfiction Document editer thing hates me, I put in line breaks and everything will go centered, italicised or bold u.u
Disclaimer: If you don't know who Masashi Kishimoto-san is, you cannot call yourself a lover of Naruto.
Claimer: All things not in the original Naruto plot belong to me.
Watashino Kangaedeha
In My Thoughts
Despite the distance,
He lingered in her thoughts,
And she worried about him,
Hating herself for being absent from his side.
-----x-----
"Yatta!! It's rotating dattebayou!" Naruto declared joyously. Kari grumbled and stared at her balloon. "I think I'll be able to pop this easier than I thought dattebayou!"
"Then I'll rest for a while until you pop it," Jiraiya said simply, sitting against a tree and allowing Kita to fall asleep on his knee. "With this to accompany me," Jiraiya said pulling out an oddly shaped bottle.
"Oi! What is that?!" Naruto cried.
"I need it to kill time. Then I'll take a nap… Are?" Jiraiya looked to his hand to see the bottle gone. "Kari!!" he cried, snatching it back from her while she sniffed it curiously.
"Heh! At this rate you won't even have a chance to nap!" Naruto said confidently.
"Do you really think so? Wake me up when you pop it then," Jiraiya said simply. "Take it easy Kari-chan, you're still recovering from pretty nasty injuries."
"Che!"
"You just wait! I might be able to master the move today if I can keep this up," Naruto said, while Kari glared at her balloon, feeling it begin to spin.
-----x-----
Hours later, they were bathed in a golden glow as the sun came to the end of setting, just peeking out from behind the city. Jiraiya was snoring away three bottles on the ground, Kita fast asleep on his chest, having found the vibrations of his snoring funny. Kari and Naruto were exhausted, and had failed to pop the water balloons.
"Aah… Mou… WHY DOESN'T IT POP, DATTEBAYOU?!" Naruto shrieked.
"Huh? Oh? You were able to do it?" Jiraiya asked, waking up with a jolt and sitting up, Kita rolling back down to his knee.
"Eh… Well, how should I explain…? I didn't quite do it, demo…" Naruto said sheepishly.
"Well, looks like I had a nice long sleep instead of a short nap," Jiraiya said simply.
"Ano sa, ano sa! How do I do this so it will pop?" Naruto asked as Kari simply glared at her balloon, deciding her annoyance could pop it.
"I told you that I can't give you any details until the balloon pops!" Jiraiya reminded. "Heh, okay. Usually you're meant to find out the trick by trying different methods over and over and master the know-how of this technique on your own. But I'll give you a little tip for this technique. Try rotating the water."
"Hai!" Naruto cried, immediately following the instruction, Kari watching interested.
"Clockwise or counter clockwise? Which direction did you imagine rotating the water?
"Huh? Anou… Counter clockwise?"
"Come here for a second," Jiraiya said, grabbing Naruto's head and looking down at his head. "Yappari."
"Nani?" Naruto grumbled.
"You're a clockwise rotation type," Jiraiya said simply.
"Clockwise?"
"To mould Chakra you need to mix two energies, so everyone unconsciously rotates those energies and moulds Chakra. During that process, the direction of the rotation, clockwise or counter clockwise, differs amongst people. So, for this exercise, if you imagine the rotational direction opposite of what is within you inside the water balloon, the flow of Chakra will branch and repel, so the rotation doesn't speed up. You're supposed to figure that out from your senses normally."
"Demo sa, demo sa, how did you find out I was a clockwise type?" Naruto asked.
"The whorl of hair on your head!" Jiraiya said matter-of-factly. "If your whorl is clockwise, then you're a clockwise type, if it's counter clockwise you're a counter clockwise type. Easy, isn't it?"
"So my whorl is clockwise?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah! So when you imagine a rotation, imagine a clockwise rotation."
"I was never concerned about such a thing before, so…" Naruto said defensively.
"But this technique is very suited to you, you don't have to form any seals, you only need Chakra. So there's no need to remember any tedious seal formations. Even a baka can do this," Jiraiya said grinning.
"I'm not a baka, dattebayou!!" Naruto shouted offended. "I'm the man who's going to become Hokage someday! This is going to be easy now I know the trick! I can master this technique in three days now dattebayou!
"Three days eh?"
"This is a ninja technique that the Yondaime Hokage left. It took him three whole years for Yondaime to complete this technique. This technique's difficulty is ranked second highest out of six levels. It's an A-rank super-high ninja technique level. To master this technique you need to go through a three step training regimen. This water balloon popping exercise is the first step."
'The genius ninja, Yondaime, took… three years?' Naruto thought.
"But then again there's no point explaining any more to a guy who can't even complete the first step. You try on your own now, I'll go back to the city. I have to gather some information. What will you three do?" Jiraiya asked.
'A-rank difficulty to master… The ninja technique the Yondaime left…' Naruto thought. He grinned. "I won't go back yet!" Naruto cried.
"I'll come back when he does," Kari said, picking up her balloon again.
"Ja ne, don't overwork yourself. Especially you Kari-chan."
It was much, much later when they finally returned to their hotel room, Jiraiya having not come back yet. They changed and Naruto immediately snuggled up to her and fell asleep. But Kari lay awake, looking out the window.
'Kashi… Sasuke… Do you still hurt as much as I do?'
That thought haunted her, and chased sleep away. She lay drowning in guilt that she wasn't there for them, staring ahead, as she tried to chase images from that jutsu out of her mind. It proved useless however, and she couldn't keep back her silent tears.
-----x-----
Naruto yawned and reached out so that he could pull Kari to him. He was met by bed sheets however and sat up groggily, looking around for her. Kita looked up sleepily, jumping onto Naruto's shoulder.
"Ohayo Naru, gomen I was in the shower," Kari said, she was still in her sleeping clothes of a tank top and shorts, not wanting to make noise searching for her clothes and wake up Naruto. Naruto nodded sleepily, his sleeping cap bobbing with the movement of his head. "Want to go get breakfast?" he perked up and stood, going to the door.
"Nya!" they were greeted by a tubby white and brown cat that curled itself around Kari's ankles before she picked it up.
"Oi! Shun! We're meant to be going down," A lady scolded the cat, which was making itself comfortable in Kari's arms. Kita huffed, slightly offended.
"Ne, ne, where's the toilet?" Naruto asked.
-----x-----
"We don't have time to waste three years," Naruto said. They had head out to the clearing they had trained in yesterday as soon as they were clean, fed and changed. "Yosha! I'm going to work hard on my training today!" Naruto cried.
"Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop!!" Naruto cried, making the water rotate inside the balloon. Kari concentrated on her own balloon, saying in her mind what Naruto was saying out loud. "Why isn't it popping dattebayou?" Naruto asked with a sigh as Kari glared at her balloon.
-----x-----
"Kuso! It's been three days already since we heard the trick from Ero-sennin. The rubber is stretching out a lot but why isn't it popping!" Naruto said through his pants. Kari had tried rotating it both ways, but couldn't really tell a difference, so decided to just stick with clockwise. "What am I doing differently than Ero-sennin dattebayou?"
-----x-----
Kari sighed silently, Jiraiya's snores filling the room. Their futons were all together in h small room, but Naruto was adamant that he slept between Kari and Jiraiya to 'protect' her. Kita usually slept on Jiraiya's chest. Kari had yet to sleep and would simply lay awake with Naruto tangled up to her, sleeping soundly with her near him. He would always either curl around her, or just curl up to her. He'd either sleep with his head on her chest, or sleep with her head on his chest, the top of her head under his jaw. But his arms would always be around her. That particular night, Naruto had slept on his back and pulled Kari partially on top of him, her head resting in the crook of his neck. There arms were around each other, Naruto peacefully in his dreams, while Kari's guilt and insomnia plagued her.
With a snore and a grunt, Jiraiya's arm stretched and landed on Naruto's gut startling him awake.
"Ugh… smells like alcohol," Naruto mumbled, sitting up and covering his nose. Kari sighed softly, having been brought into a sitting position when Naruto had moved. "You still look tired Kari-chan," Naruto said surprised.
"I'm fine," Kari said softly. "I'm going for a shower."
-----x-----
After their morning ritual of showering and dressing, Kari first, then Naruto, they woke Kita and headed to breakfast.
"Ittadekimasu!" Naruto said happily going to digging in. But when he tried to lift his chopsticks, his hand stiffened and he dropped them. "Are?" He tried twice more, unable to use them. "AA! Mou!!" Naruto whined. "Kuso, nande dattebayou?!" he looked up when Kari held out rice on chopsticks for him. Her hand was shaking but she'd managed to pick up her chopsticks. She supposed it was because she used her hands more.
"Eat up Naru-kun, I don't think I can hold them long," Kari said smiling. He opened his mouth and she placed the food in his mouth before drawing back and taking a mouthful of her own. Naruto glanced at her, seeing how her bowl was still on the table, her wrist still sore. His expression saddened and then lit with determination. 'We'll find that old doctor lady Kari-chan, and then you won't hurt anymore…'
-----x-----
After breakfast both headed to separate toilets, Kari coming out first and waiting patiently outside. She watched Shun the cat play with one of Naruto's water balloons.
"Hey that's not one of your toys," Naruto said to the cat that was rolling the balloon between its front paws. It meowed in alarm when the balloon burst shooting up into Kari's arms for protection. Kita huffed at the stupid cat, annoyed that it was bothering her mother. "That's it!" Naruto cried. Kari looked at him confused. "Listen Kari-chan, this is how you do it…"
-----x-----
"It's time to wake up. Oi, Ero-sennin," Naruto cried to the snoring man. "Good… good timing, bring me some water…"
"Mizu?" Naruto asked smirking. He pulled out a balloon and made it pop, the water splashing onto Jiraiya's face. "We've cleared the first step dattebayou."
"Cleared? Then show me," Jiraiya said sleepily, rubbing his face dry with a towel.
"Yosh, watch closely!" Naruto cried, holding the balloon out in front of him. Kari nodded and pulled out her own balloon and concentrated on it.
'He's using his left hand?' Jiraiya thought to himself unimpressed. Preparing Chakra with his right hand, Naruto then rapidly pawed at the balloon like the cat had done, making the rubber stretch in all directions before bursting. Kari was restricted to using one hand due to her healing left wrist, but she too managed to make it stretch before bursting.
"See?! See?!" Naruto cried in delight looking over at his sensei. "AAH?! He's sleeping?!"
-----x-----
"Sumimasen, sumimasen, I'm tired from the information gathering I've been doing these last few days and nights."
'That's really doubtful, he still smells like alcohol,' Naruto thought.
'But I'm surprised he came up with the idea of holding the water balloon in his left hand and hitting it with his right hand multiple times to rotate the water inside. It's a weird idea, but interesting. Kari managed to do it too, but in the original way.' Jiraiya thought with an impressed smile.
"Yes, yes… Good job for coming up with the idea. It's all thanks to me," Jiraiya said simply.
"It's thanks to him actually!" Naruto said as Shun the cat jumped onto Kari's lap next to Kita. The wolf eyed him sceptically but was taken by surprise when shun rubbed his face against hers purring. "I saw him playing with the water balloon and noticed something. Since he hit it with his front legs so many times, the water inside was rotating in multiple directions. Then an idea struck me."
"What kind of idea?" Jiraiya asked.
"I remembered that when you first popped the balloon for me, the balloon had a lot of bumps on it. Until now, I've been rotating the water in only one direction. I realised that your water balloon became bumpy because you were rotating the water inside in many directions, Ero-sennin. So after thinking up some ideas, me and Kari-chan got it to pop!" Naruto cried slinging an arm around her shoulders in a one-armed hug.
'It looks like he still can't make his Chakra rotate randomly with one hand, but Kari can. But he came up with a good idea.'
"We rule, dattebayou," Naruto said grinning.
"You've both completed the first step for now," Jiraiya congratulated.
"Yosha!" Naruto cried jumping to his feet. "Do you want me to show you again? Again?" Naruto paused and winced, Kari flinching as well.
'Overuse of Chakra must be hurting their Chakra circulatory system now. But the next step won't be so easy…' Jiraiya thought.
-----x-----
"Okay, now we'll start with the second step," Jiraiya said unenthusiastically. After he'd eaten his breakfast and dressed, an impatient Naruto dragged him out to begin training, Kari and Kita following behind.
"Yatta! Finally some real training dattebayou!" Naruto cheered.
"Here," Jiraiya said tossing them a rubber ball each. Kita immediately started playing with it, absolutely fascinated. It was so much better than those exploding water balloons.
"A rubber ball?" Naruto asked. "Uhh! Another boring exercise?"
"This time, you have to pop this," Jiraiya said, holding up his own rubber ball while Kari turned hers in her hands trying to figure out how thick the rubber was. Jiraiya easily burst it. "it's about a hundred times tougher than the water balloon," Jiraiya explained making Kari's eye twitch in annoyance. Both she and Naruto immediately tried out the techniques they'd used on the water balloon but found it barely stretched out at all.
"It is tough…" Naruto murmured.
"The first step is emphasised rotation, the second step is emphasised power, since there's no water inside, it's difficult to imagine the rotation of Chakra so it's difficult to rotate your Chakra," Jiraiya explained. "So keep that in mind."
"We have to find out the trick for it again?" Naruto mumbled to himself while Kari sighed slightly. The sleepless nights were really taking their toll.
"Now then, I'll go gather some information!" Jiraiya said perkily, turning to leave.
"Ha?! Matte, matte, matte!" Naruto cried. "Let's train together dattebayou, we haven't done that in a while! You can take a nap here!"
"Don't demand attention like that" Jiraiya said rather coldly. "Maybe you have the wrong idea here, I said I would teach you a technique, but I have no obligation to teach you one on one. If you can't do it yourself, that's it for you. Stop acting like a kid, and act more like a professional ninja!"
"Then… Then… Can you at least teach me the trick like you did before?" Naruto asked.
"Money," Jiraiya said, holding his hand out.
"'Act more like a professional ninja'?!" Naruto shrieked. "You're just a dirty and greedy grown-up yourself! You're not a professional ninja at all!!" Kari dissolved into fits of hysterical giggles as Jiraiya walked off in a huff.
-----x-----
Night fell and neither Naruto nor Kari had managed to pop the ball. Both were exhausted, hands aching. Kita was fast asleep having been tossing the ball about and practicing hitting it with various points of her body like her tail. Kari sighed slightly, wishing she could use her other hand, but her wrist was still sore, even if the swelling had gone down for the most part.
"This is way harder than when we did it with the water balloon," Naruto said watching as Kari nodded in agreement. "My hands and arms hurt…" Naruto said in frustration unable to lift them.
"Me too Naru," Kari admitted. "Me too…"
-----x-----
Two full days passed, and still they had no success. Kita had improved her reaction speed and her paw-eye co-ordination. Naruto dropped his ball and fell backwards into a sitting position.
"Chikusho, how many days have we been doing the same thing, over and over?" Naruto asked through his heavy breathing.
"Too many…" Kari replied, struggling to hold onto the ball with her shaking hand.
'This technique's difficulty is ranked second highest out of six levels.'
'Don't demand attention like that. Maybe you have the wrong idea here.'
"Kuso," Naruto grunted, standing back up.
"Oi, Naruto, Kari, Kita!" Jiraiya greeted.
"What do you want?" Naruto grumbled.
"Go buy me some food down at the city," Jiraiya said simply.
"Eh? Nande ore wa?" Naruto asked annoyed.
"You're trainees learning a technique from me, you know," Jiraiya reminded.
"Hmph!" Naruto scoffed while Kari sighed and tied the ribbon around her ears.
-----x-----
"Here you go!"
"Arigatou Ojiichan," Naruto said grumpily. Kita had stayed behind with Jiraiya and Kari had come along with Naruto.
"He teaches us nothing but he acts like a teacher at times like this," Naruto mumbled. Kari smiled sadly and looped her arm with his.
"Otouchan, Otouchan please buy me ice-cream!" The little boys request caught Naruto's attention. "I want this one, the one that breaks in two!" Naruto felt the familiar pang of loneliness as he watched the scene, that ever constant reminder that he was an orphan.
"Here," the father said, breaking it in half and handing his son half of it.
"Eh? I can eat all of it!" The boy insisted.
"No, Okaasan is waiting at home with the meal she made," the father reminded.
"Hai!" they held hands and walked away talking and laughing happily. Kari looked sadly at Naruto, seeing he was upset. Her hand found his and their fingers laced together. Her head rested against his and she smiled softly.
"We've got each other Naru-kun," she reminded gently, causing him to grip her hand and smile slightly.
"And we always will."
-----x-----
"Ano sa, Ero-sennin," Naruto asked when they got back with Jiraiya's food. Kita was asleep under the shade of a tree. "Can you supervise our training, just a bit today?"
"I don't have time for that, I have to head for the city right after this," Jiraiya said, taking his food. "If you can't think and grasp the trick on your own you'll never master this." Kari looked down, knowing Naruto was hurt. She knew that she meant a lot to him, but she couldn't fill the empty space of a father. A sister perhaps, maybe on some occasions a mother somewhat. But she could never be a father. "I told you before; don't seek attention like a kid. You're a ninja." Kari was about to speak up and tell Jiraiya just how much of a selfish ignorant pig he was being but Naruto gave her hand a light squeeze and forced out a laugh.
"I don't need you to remind me I already know dattebayou! I just asked on a whim! Leave already, Ero-sennin" Naruto said in fake cheeriness. And seeing him have to pretend to be happy, it hurt Kari more than she could explain… He shouldn't have to pretend…
-----x-----
When Jiraiya got back, it was to find Naruto's arms wrapped in cold, wet towels, grimacing in pain as he slept. He wasn't able to hold Kari as his arms hurt so much, and it seemed to make him uneasy in his sleep. Kari was still awake and obviously sore, though did nothing for her own arms. She was holding Naruto gently, her arms wrapped around him. There was a bowl with two more towels not too far from the bed. No doubt she'd been taking care of him. She didn't look up as Jiraiya walked over, but then again she usually didn't. She always pretended she was sleeping. He guessed she was still bothered by the psychological attack on Sasuke and Kakashi, and that was why she couldn't sleep.
-----x-----
"Damn it! It won't pop no matter how hard I try!" Naruto cried, the ball once again on the floor as he fell to his knees next to it. Kari's arms were extremely stiff and sore, from a lack of taking care of her self and could barely curl her hand around the ball. She'd been trying with her fractured arm, but wasn't getting far. Kita had been noticing their frustration lately, and felt down because she couldn't help. Her Okaasan was also clearly depressed, especially at night when she thought no one knew. But if Kita would wake in the night, which she sometimes would, she couldn't ignore the moonlight catching on her Okaasan's wet eyes. "I'm only leaking out Chakra like this dattebayou!"
'Also… the more Chakra I transfer into the ball, the more pain I feel,' Naruto thought staring at his shaking hands. 'Which just doubles Kari-chan's pain… All because of one of those stupid things inside of her.'
"The thing won't pop unless I make my Chakra explode in the blink of an eye," Naruto said to himself. "I get it now!" Naruto cried jumping to his feet. "Kari-chan! I can tell how much Chakra is flowing because of the pain. Then I'll bear with the pain until it's unbearable and make it…" Kari looked at him and nodded as they both grasped a rubber ball. Both began to build up their Chakra, doing their best to ignore their pain.
"Not yet… Not yet… Not yet…" Naruto grit his teeth against his pain as Kari struggled against hers. "Build up the Chakra… NOW!" Both began rotating, Kari with one hand as Naruto pawed at the ball with one of his hands. "This hurts like hell!!" Naruto shouted but was distracted at the sound of air being released from the ball.
"Oh? Looks like you made some progress," Jiraiya commented.
"I only made a hole in it, and it didn't pop like a balloon!" Naruto said looking at the puncture. Kari's rubber ball had a large tear in it, but also hadn't popped like a balloon.
"Don't act so tough, here," Jiraiya said, handing Naruto one of those ice-creams that broke in two. "Good job coming this far on your own." Naruto broke his ice cream in half and handed one to Kari while Jiraiya lost against Kita's puppy eyes and broke his in half to share with her.
"This is good!" Naruto cried happily, eating his in an incredibly short amount of time. Kari giggled at him, and happily shared hers with him, being a rather slow eater. They accidentally bumped noses and both burst into laughter Jiraiya smiling at their innocence and placing a hand on Kita's head.
-----x-----
The birds chirped as usual, making music and bringing life to the light breeze. Sakura sat loyally at Sasuke's bedside, her sinking heart becoming heavier with each passing second. He hadn't woken and she had been here, day after day, being with him at any possible opportunity.
He had stirred a few times, mumbling something about Naruto, but mostly Kari's name would pass through his lips and his fingers would twitch, before any consciousness would leave him and he'd return to being silent and still.
"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered, her eyes burning when he didn't respond. "Kari-chan will be back soon. She'll find a way to make you better…" Sakura had also been worried about the other kunoichi on her squad. She knew Kari well enough to know if Sasuke was hurt, she wouldn't be in much better shape. But she'd heard Kari had gone on a mission with Jiraiya, Naruto and Kita.
Sakura had never realised before how much she depended on her team. They had a bond, like a family and they always seemed to be there when she was in need. But now she felt so utterly alone she wanted to cry. Sasuke and Kakashi were in hospital unconscious, and Naruto, Kari and Kita were away on a mission for who knows how long. It was tiles like this she regretted pushing Ino away.
"Kari…" It could have been her tired mind playing tricks, but she could've sworn that Sasuke had called for Kari again. She smiled despite the increasing burn in her eyes. Kari really was a wonderful person, loyal, friendly, strong and normally positive. She had that childish innocence that most lost quickly on the path of the shinobi. Kari had a way of befriending people with her charming personality, innocent curiosity and fierce determination. She was like a toned down, more sensitive female Naruto in a way. No wonder she had been able to break through Sasuke's shell where others had failed. But she still wished it had been her that Sasuke had let in. Wished it was her that Sasuke trusted. Wished it was her that Sasuke cared for.
"She'll be back soon Sasuke-kun," Sakura reassured. 'I hope…'
-----x-----
"I know, let's try something," Jiraiya said once they'd finished.
"Eh? Nani? Nani?" Naruto asked.
"Show me your right hand," Jiraiya said, taking Naruto's hand and then Kari's hand and painting a comma in the middle of their chakra rotating palms.
"What's this?" Naruto asked curiously while also glancing at Kari's hand and the identical comma mark. It was funny how it looked so much bigger on her tiny hands. Jiraiya removed his hand guards to show them the same symbol painted on his own hand. "It's the same mark, but how's it going to help?"
"You're the type of guy who got scolded for not being able to concentrate right?" Jiraiya asked, looking pointedly at Naruto.
"That doesn't matter now," Naruto huffed while Kari smiled fondly at him, knowing Jiraiya was completely right.
"Look at this piece of paper," Jiraiya instructed pulling out a small, blank piece of paper.
"I looked at it," Naruto said puzzled.
"Look at it again," Jiraiya said, turning it over to show a comma mark in the middle.
"What about it?" Naruto asked.
"It's not something I should go to great lengths explaining, but when you glanced at the plain white piece of paper you just glanced at the entire sheet right?" Jiraiya asked.
"Probably," Naruto said uninterested.
"Then where did you look when I showed you this?" Jiraiya asked, holding the piece with the swirly comma shape on it. "You most likely stared at the dot there. When humans look at a plain white sheet, they don't know where to look and their eyes wander. But if you put a dot in the middle, a person concentrates on that area. It's called focusing on a dot. When a person concentrates on something his mind stabilizes and he is able to extract unimaginable power."
"That makes sense," Kari agreed.
"When you opened a hole in that rubber ball you should have been desperately accumulating as much Chakra as possible in your right hand," Jiraiya continued when Naruto and Kari both nodded. "When you concentrate, you extract more power. But it's hard to concentrate without some sort of mark. This is where this thing comes in. Listen up you two. When you try to accumulate Chakra in your palm try to concentrate your mind on that mark
"Concentrate… Yosh dattebayou!" Naruto cried confidently.
"Ne, Naru your tongues gone blue," Kari said surprised. Jiraiya was torn whether to be annoyed at the distraction or amused by how childish she was.
"Hontou?" Naruto asked surprised trying to look at his tongue. Kari giggled at his serious cross-eyed expression. "Kari-chan your tongues blue too!"
"It was the ice-cream…" Jiraiya said, but alas he was ignored. Kari pulled the same face as Naruto, but she too was unable to see her tongue. Naruto grinned and licked her tongue causing her to squeak and blush.
"You taste like that ice-cream!" Naruto cried and Kari's embarrassment was overridden by the intense need to laugh. Jiraiya grumbled realising they weren't listening to him and bid his goodbyes to Kita, who was also trying to see whether her tongue was blue.
-----x-----
"Concentrate…!" Naruto cried focusing and grimacing through the pain but once again only managed to make a puncture. "This won't do dattebayou…" Naruto sighed while Kari inspected her own with multiple tears before grimacing, flinging it over her shoulder and grabbing another one, throwing one to Kita in the process who was doing her own training to build up stamina. "It needs to go 'pop'!" Naruto said before throwing it on top of Kari's discarded ball, punctured and torn rubber balls littering the clearing.
-----x-----
They finished late once again, sore and tired. Naruto immediately fell asleep, tangling his limbs with Kari and snuggling so close it was like they were the same person. Kita was asleep on Kari's other side, light puppy snores coming from her as she was laying on her back but it was nothing compared to Naruto's snores. Kari smiled, glad he was there and glad he was the way he was. Naruto was the only person she felt truly comfortable letting her weakness show in front of. But she always waited until he was asleep, not wanting to upset him. Just being close to him kept her tears behind her lashes and stopped them from being able to fall.
-----x-----
"Kuso…" Kari and Naruto both grumbled, picking up yet another rubber ball. They trained all day while Jiraiya went into the city to gather information. Kita would train hard, taking random naps through the day so not to overwork herself. Naruto tried again but still only managed a puncture. He fell to his behind as kari fell to her side, both exhausted.
"Ne, ne! Daijoubu ka?!" Kita cried in alarm when they collapsed but knew it was the way ninja's were, and they would be fine after a short rest. Both nodded and panted.
"It's not working…" Naruto said disappointed. Kari crawled over and flopped next to him, resting against him. He rested his head against hers, feeling a dull thud at the contact. He looked at his sore hands and sighed sadly. Kari threaded her fingers through his, offering her comfort despite the pain she felt just by moving her hands. "Your hands are bleeding," he pointed out gently, but she ignored him, knowing he was stubborn when it came to being concerned for her. She wished he wouldn't worry, but it was his nature, and she loved him for it. "Kuso… What does it mean to concentrate?"
"A headache," Kari answered as Kita stretched out on their laps, wanting to join in their short break.
-----x-----
"I'll be going now, I have to go gather information again," Jiraiya said the next morning.
"But you just got here," Naruto pointed out.
"I don't have time to waste," Jiraiya replied, walking away.
"Oi! Oi! Isn't there going to be master apprentice bonding over a game of catchball?!" Naruto cried in frustration in Jiraiya's lack of interest. "Kuso!" Naruto cried picking up a ball and flinging it at his sensei. A gleam shone in Jiraiya's eye and he turned and caught the ball effortlessly… between his teeth. He laughed with the ball still in his mouth.
"Hahahahaaaa! Strike!" Jiraiya said and then spat the ball out. "There catchball is over, ja ne" Jiraiya said laughing and walking away again. Naruto and Kari looked at each other, then back to Jiraiya's retreating back.
"Hn, we'll just forget about Ero-sennin and work hard on our own!" Naruto said huffily. And so they did, without success. Naruto was laying on his front the ground hot and tired Kari's head leaning on his back. She sat up with a sigh and he followed suit. "We have to concentrate more…" They concentrated as hard as they could, and an image popped into their head. They glanced at each other, seeing if they were thinking the same thing and then burst into hysterical laughter, tears running down their faces as they held their stomachs.
Strike!
Strike!
Strike!
Strike!
The image of Jiraiya with a rubber ball in his mouth. It was… beyond hilarious.
"The baka ero face keeps coming up! I can't concentrate!!" Naruto shrieked through his mad laughter. Even Kita had dissolved into giggles, her laugh like that of a five year old girl. Naruto fell on his back kicking his legs as he cackled, Kari holding her sides.
"Strike!!" they both cried before laughing even harder.
They eventually stopped laughing, with sighs and chuckles at the end. They were laying on their backs looking up at the sky, waiting as their hears slowed to a steady pace once more.
"Ne, Kari-chan your tears are clear," Naruto said, brushing one away wit hisfingertips and glancing at his fingers to make sure.
"I guess it's because I'm happy," she said simply, smiling at him.
"Then I don't mind these tears," Naruto said with a big grin and Kari smile widened.
-----x-----
"We have to do this…" Naruto said after they'd flopped down from exhaustion again. He went to sit up. "Ite-e!" He cried falling to his side, Kari immediately catching him from where she sat. "Ite-e… I can't mould Chakra with this pain…" Naruto said his head resting against her shoulder, her cheek pressed into his golden hair.
"I hurt too Naru…" she said softly, feeling tears prickle her eyes knowing he was in as much pain as she was. She laid him back down and he pulled her into his side, pulling his hitai-ate off to cool himself down. The wind unhinged some leaves from the trees, making them dance through the air. Both Kari and Naruto closed their eyes, enjoying the feel of the wind on their warm skin. They closed their eyes, relaxing. A leaf landed on Naruto's head and he looked up at it surprised.
"Hey Kari-chan I just thought of something…" Naruto said, sitting up.
"Hm?" she answered.
"I should've listened to Iruka-sensei more…" Naruto said and Kari giggled and sat up so she was beside him. "I'm such an idiot, but reflecting on my actions wont get me anywhere." He licked his thumb and smudged the comma slightly, before taking Kari's hand and doing the same. The blinked seeing he had turned the comma into a leaf symbol similar to that on the plates of their hitai-ate's. "It reminded me of something Iruka-sensei told me. Yosh! Let's do this Kari-chan!
"Hai!" Kari cried with the same determination as they each picked up a ball. Sensing Jiraiya watching them, Kita bounded over to his hiding place to see what he was up to. Closing their eyes Naruto and Kari concentrated as hard as they could building up their Chakra. One point. Concentrate… Concentrate… Concentrate!
"NOW!" Naruto cried as she immediately began rotating their Chakra so fast both rubber balls began to glow white. With a BOOM! They both exploded sending Naruto and Kari flying backwards. Dust and rocks flew around them as they skidded across the ground leaving a furrow where they slid. Finally, something stopped their slide and Naruto looked round to see Jiraiya, Kita on his shoulder.
'What kids… They accumulated their Chakra so much it burned their hands…' Jiraiya thought looking at Naruto's hand. 'They're full of surprises…'
"It popped," Naruto said with a smirk as he looked around.
"Okay, it looks like the second step is complete," Jiraiya said happily.
"Great, let's start the third step…" Naruto said tiredly.
"That will have to wait, we're going to meet Tsunade now," Jiraiya said firmly.
"Kari-chan…" Naruto said looking at her worriedly. She was in front of him, her back pressed into his stomach. Jiraiya frowned slightly as he remembered clearly how she had darted in front of Naruto to protect him from the explosion on the blast. He was amazed how quickly she'd moved considering she'd been concentrating on the jutsu. But from the look of it, she'd been knocked out, but he couldn't tell with her hair falling over her face.
"Come on kiddo, easy does it," Jiraiya said pulling both into a sitting position. Kari shuddered from the movement, that long skid must have hurt her still tender sides. Jiraiya took her small hand in his own, to see the damage and was surprised to see her burns were worse and she hat cuts along her palm. 'Her Chakra must be a lot more concentrated…' "We'll go back to the hotel so you can get your things, then we're heading out."
-----x-----
"Yosh! Let's go!" Jiraiya said perkily, pointing at the city they'd walked all the way to. Both Naruto and Kari were still quite sore and Kita was happily on Jiraiya's broad shoulder.
"Don't act like a child shouting 'let's go!'" Naruto grumbled.
"Are? You seem in a bad mood," Jiraiya said looking back at him.
"Because, because… We're still in the middle of my training!" Naruto shouted. "There are three steps in the training right? Me and Kari-chan have only completed two dattebayou!"
"Heh! You can do the third step as we walk," Jiraiya said pulling something out of his yukata.
"Are? Hontou?!" Naruto cried excitedly but his expression fell when he saw Jiraiya blowing up two balloons. He threw a green one to Naruto and a red stripy one to Kari before blowing up a third balloon. "It's just a balloon…"
"The first step was rotation. The second step was power. And finally, the third step is this." Jiraiya explained holding the balloon.
"What do you mean by 'this' dattebayou?!" Naruto cried, losing patience after two minutes of nothing happening.
"It looks like im just holding the balloon, but…" Jiraiya said with a grin.
"But what?! Nothing's happening!" Naruto shrieked. Kari's eyes narrowed her ears detecting a whirring sound.
"Then I'll do the same thing with my left hand," Jiraiya said simply. "Let's see what's happening inside the balloon."
"Sugoii," Naruto and Kari both gasped while Kita looked on amazed. "The Chakra's rotating randomly and it's getting faster dattebayou. But it's retaining a nice spherical shape."
"It looks like a small typhoon doesn't it," Jiraiya said with a smirk, glad he was impressing them.
"So the same thing is happening in your right hand?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, that's what's happening!" Jiraiya said happily.
'Sugoii… he's rotating that much Chakra but the balloon isn't moving at all,' Kari thought amazed.
'There's more power than when I popped the rubber ball and the rotation is also incredibly fast dattebayou.' Naruto thought.
"Listen up. In this third step, you must use 100 percent of the ability you learnt in the first two steps and retain it. In other words, you have to keep your Chakra's power and rotation at a maximum, create a thin layer within the balloon and create an image that your compressing Chakra into that layer.
"Wakatta dattebayou!" Naruto cried happily. "So this exercise is to keep the power of the rotation we learnt in the other two steps and not pop the soft balloon right?"
"Oho! You're sharper than ever."
"Matte, but why do you have to do that?" Naruto asked looking puzzled. Jiraiya threw his balloon to Kita who jumped and caught it in her paws before toppling over and rolling around giggling.
"This is why. Watch," Jiraiya said walking up to a tree. "If you do this after you've only completed two steps…" swirling his chakra into his palm he thrust it into the tree leaving a spiral shaped cut about half an inch deep. "Now this is what happens after you've mastered the third step." He rotated his chakra into his palm but a lot faster and stronger than before. When he thrust it into the tree trunk it acted like a drill, drilling into the thick trunk. He pulled back, leaving a huge whole, as if some gigantic caterpillar had taken a big bight out of it. "If you can retain this small typhoon in your hand the power will not disperse. The rotation will become faster and the effect will become more concentrated and its destructive powers will become ultimate." Jiraiya grinned. "And that's how it is."
'Yosh! I can do this too dattebayou!' Naruto thought grinning. He focused his Chakra and then pawed rapidly at the balloon. 'I have to retain it now! Retain it… Retain!' Naruto's balloon then popped, the Chakra leaking out.
"You can't holdback the power," Jiraiya said. "You have to use 100 percent of its power and rotation and maintain it."
'You've got to be kidding. This is impossible unless I can control 100 percent of my power. I understand now… this third step is way more difficult than the others were…'
"Kari you give it a go," Jiraiya said, nodding at her balloon. She immediately did so, controlling her chakra and forcing it to rotate while trying to compress it. She grimaced through the pain and then yelped when it blue up in her face. Jiraiya sighed shaking his head. "Your Chakra doesn't like being forced into such a small shape…"
"Mm," Kari smiled sheepishly and spat out her tongue..
"I told you both, this is an A-rank, super-high-level ninja technique that's difficult to master. Now, I'm done with the explanation. You can practice while we walk."
"Eh? Ano sa, ano sa!" Naruto cried. "You don't need to hurry like that. We can spend a little more time and…"
"Even if we wanted to we wasted a lot of time waiting for you to heal. There is no guarantee Tsunade is going to stay in that city much longer."
"Eh-Eh! But! But!" Naruto protested as Jiraiya started walking away.
"It's not like she's going to meet someone she knows and have a long talk about old times," Jiraiya said, not bothering to look back.
"Fine…" Naruto scoffed. Kari smiled and linked her arm with his giving him a tug so that he would follow Jiraiya and Kita.
"Don't worry Naru, we'll have that jutsu down in no time," Kari said encouragingly. He grinned at her, but didn't miss the darkness underneath her eyes, the paleness of her face, or the weight she'd slowly begin to lose.
'She's worried dattebayou…'
-----x-----
"Tsunade is short tempered and impatient you know," Jiraiya said as they looked up at the sign saying 'Tanzaku City'. Naruto tried to retain his Chakra but the balloon burst sending Naruto to his behind. "Oi Naruto, you don't have time to lie on the ground, we have to hurry or we won't know where that bad tempered woman is going to go," Jiraiya said while Kita giggled softly.
Kari sighed, she hoped they would find Tsunade here, she still had that strange bond, and until Kakashi and Sasuke were healed she would be in a weakened state and these headaches would continue to plague her.
"Oi! Ero-senin!" Naruto cried jumping to his feet and pointing accusingly at Jiraiya. "Is that appropriate to say to an apprentice that is working hard? Me and Kari-chan are training dattebayou!"
"Urusai, Tsunade comes first right now," Jiraiya said simply. "Kari, you should take a break, you look like the walking dead."
"Geez, what's up with him?" Naruto asked. "What kind of kunoichi is this Tsunade...? The Ero-sennin himself is trying to find her," Naruto mused looking to Kari who just shrugged. He blew up another balloon and Kari did the same, choosing to ignore Jiraiya's advice.
-----x-----
"Aa, I know the woman," the man said as Jiraiya showed him the photo of Tsunade.
"Really?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yeah, she said she was going to head 'there' to win back her losses," the man said.
"Rotation… power… use them to their fullest and retain them…" Naruto mumbled to himself, holding yet another balloon. Kari glared at hers, the edges of the balloon blurring and her head feeling heavy.
"Oi kid," Naruto and Kari looked round. "Do you want to play?" the man asked tossing a pair of dice up and down with one hand.
"What do you mean by there?" Jiraiya asked.
"Listen up," the man said shuffling over to Naruto and Kari. "If you add the numbers on the dice and it's even that's a Chou. If it's odd, that's a Han."
"Urusai na! I'm training right now dattebayou, don't bother me," Naruto grumbled.
"What are you talking about, this is a gambling place. Stop playing with that balloon and let's play with these."
"No! I don't have time to play with those dice dattebayou," Naruto said stubbornly.
"Che! What a boring kid!" the man complained.
"Han," Kari said figuring it was the only way to stop the man's whining.
"Hey, hey! Not bad kid!" the man said grinning.
"So where's this place?" Jiraiya asked.
"I can't give out free stuff in a gambling place you know," the man said with a smirk, holding up two dice. He put them in a pot and shuffled them before slamming the pot down. "Let's make a trade. I'll give you the information for free if you win. If you lose you have to pay 1,000 ryou for it. How about it?"
"Yosh!" Jiraiya cried confidently.
"Now then, choose Chou or Han."
"Yosh!" Jiraiya said. 'Right, I'm exactly fifty right now so…' "Chou!"
"I win if it's Han," the man reminded.
"You've gotta be cheating at this!"
"Han," Kari said in a bored voice as she forced her Chakra to rotate. The man lifted the pot causing Jiraiya to inwardly shriek.
'Crap! It's a 2-5 Han!!'
"Eep!" Kari cried as her balloon burst sending the man next to her toppling over and managing to make one of the dice roll over.
'Nice Kari-chan!'
"Hee hee! Looks like I win!" Jiraiya said with glee.
-----x-----
But sadly their source ended up a dead end.
"Where am I supposed to look now?" Jiraiya grumbled as he came out of another gambling place, only this time with mainly pinball machines. They searched around town, a few more balloons being ruined along the way. "Geez, she isn't anywhere."
"Ara?" Kari said as she noticed an old woman beckoning her from a stall. Naruto looked around and pointed to them and then they both headed over, filled with curiosity.
"Adults and children love fortune slips," the old woman said chirpily. "There's one that tells you the result right away so how about it?"
"Hai! Ichi, ni, or san Kari-chan?"
-----x-----
"Hee hee! You're kawaii when your fat dattebayou!" Naruto said, rubbing his face against his frog wallet. "Kari-chan you're my lucky charm dattebayou!"
'I didn't expect them to win on one slip…' Jiraiya thought irritated. 'Maybe they have some talent in this field… Naruto's talent for techniques isn't very good though… Forget about that for now. Where did Tsunade go? She shouldn't have been able to travel far guessing from the time. I guess I'm low on choices… I'll have to look from high ground. There should be a castle somewhere…'
"This way you two!" Jiraiya called.
"Ano sa, ano sa, where's the castle?" Naruto asked looking around as they walked.
"It's not here…" Jiraiya said surprised.
Kari felt a shiver run through her, as the hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention. A slight growl rumbled in her throat as she caught the scent of something foul in the air.