Greetings once again True Believers! My sincerest apologies for the long delay with this chapter, but communication between myself and my beta-reader/editor have been somewhat strained over then past few weeks and I haven't been able to churn this out as quickly as I had hoped. There was also a lot going on with my last few weeks for my Senior year of high school too, so I had even more stuff getting in my way! However, I'm now back and ready to try and do as much as I can to bring more to this story before I start college in the fall. So, enough jawing, let's get to the real reason that you came here: the latest chapter in the adventures of Idenshi-X! And boy, is it a doozy! Naruto and company are about to get a few surprise guests in time for the Chunin Exams, but how will Sasuke and Sakura take to meeting some of Naruto's family? Well, why the heck are you askin' me? Read on to find out...
Chapter 17: East meets West.
"ACK! Naruto, slow down already!" shrieked Sakura indignantly as her teammate continued to drag both her and Sasuke through the crowded streets of Konohagakure's bustling shopping district at break-neck speeds, a twinging pain in her arm growing as he continued to sprint forward. "We'd move a lot faster if you'd let us run on our own for Kami's sake! You're gonna pull our arms out at this rate as it is, baka!" The sense behind her words finally sinking in, Naruto swiftly released both her and Sasuke from his now iron-like grip, allowing them to catch up with him at their own pace.
"Sorry 'bout that Sakura," apologized Naruto deeply in-between breathes as he kept on running towards the general direction of the Namikaze Estate, swiftly darting this way and that through the throngs of shoppers and pedestrians that wandered the miles of shops and stores that lined the district. "I just knew you guys wanted to meet my family and we were gonna be late if we didn't hurry."
As they neared the center of the shopping plaza, they noticed that the crowds were much thicker up ahead, and it would eat up a huge amount of their already shrinking window of time. Thinking quickly, Naruto took a brief glance upwards at the rooftops and signaled silently to his teammates, who both nodded in recognition of his plan. Concentrating a steady stream of chakra into the soles of his feet, the flame-haired mutant skidded to a stop, coiled his legs under him and then launched himself into the air, landing gracefully on the roof of a nearby kiosk only to leap once more to the top of the building it had come to rest before. Upon reaching the apex of his jump, Naruto landed on the balls of his feet in a perfect, cat-like crouch. Seconds later, he was off and running again, Sasuke and Sakura not to far behind as they caught up to him. As they proceeded to bound over the rooftops of the village, their destination began to come into view and Naruto's hope of beating his family home was renewed. There was no sign of the X-Jet in the front lawn at all.
'Alright!' thought Naruto triumphantly as they came closer and closer to the sprawling mansion estate. 'They aren't there yet. We're gonna make it!'
"Hey, dobe," said Sasuke abruptly, causing the blonde to direct his attention back to him for a moment. "Who all from the X-Men are coming again? Besides the guy you called "Cyclops" I mean?" Hearing him ask this also got Sakura interested too. She had wondered what the X-Men would be like for the past couple of days and, now that they were finally going to meet them, she found it hard to contain her excitement.
"Yeah, Naruto," she interjected curiously, an edgy hint of enthusiasm in her voice, "and what are they like? Are they nice? Do they look human like you do?"
Her answer came in the form of Naruto's trademark foxy grin, his eyes glistening with mischief as they neared their destination. "You'll just have to wait and see," he smirked knowingly, his eyebrows waggling somewhat mockingly as he spoke. Before either of them could ask their flame-haired teammate anything more, they found themselves nearing the last rooftop and beyond it, the front gate to the Namikaze Estate. With one last burst of energy, they leapt to the final rooftop and jumped over the side of the building, nimbly landing on the stone windowsills that dotted its face on the way down to slow their descent. The second their feet hit the ground, all three of them rushed across the vacant avenue to the security terminal at the front gate and paused for a moment, waiting anxiously as Naruto punched in this password on the keypad. With the shrill creak of the huge metal gates opening, the three Genin dashed eagerly through the gothic archway and up the cobblestone walkway, the front doors only a few yards away.
As they neared the wooden doors, both Sasuke and Sakura wondered what meeting Naruto's family would really be like. Of course, they had listened to and believed every bit of the stories that Naruto had told them about his family's exploits, but seeing them in reality was something far more monumental. In her mind, Sakura was imagining them as something similar to what she'd heard about the Sannin of legend, great heroes of mythical proportions and powers beyond comprehension. She poured over the mental list she had put together of questions she'd wanted to ask them. Sasuke on the other hand, was more curious about how strong they where, and what they could teach him that he could use to better himself. From what he'd heard from Naruto, they were powerful fighters who had years of experience and wisdom to offer. Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from them.
While Sasuke and Sakura mulled over their thoughts, Naruto mounted the stone steps that led to the front door, pausing for a moment to breathe a sigh of relief as he rested his hand against the wooden frame. "(pant) Heh, heh, we made it," exclaimed the blonde triumphantly as his teammates caught up with him. Once they had all three managed to catch their breath, Naruto took hold of the doorknob and started to open the door, a satisfactory grin on his face as he did so. "Now, all we gotta do is be ready for them when they get he-ACK!"
Sadly, Naruto never got to finish his sentence, because the second the door was fully opened, two multicolored blurs tackled him and they went tumbling onto the fresh grass of the front lawn. Surprised at first, Sakura quickly realized that they had been ambushed and readied herself to help Naruto. Just as she was about to call up her beta-energy orbs, Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder to gently restrain her.
"You might want to rethink that," he advised her with a grin, pointing towards Naruto, who had been pinned to the ground and appeared to be crying for help. However, upon taking a second glance, Sakura realized that Naruto wasn't crying out in pain. He was laughing uncontrollably. Rightly confused by this behavior, she walked closer to get a better look and saw that Naruto's assailant was sitting on his stomach as her fingers mercilessly tickled him in every sensitive spot on his upper body. It was then that she realized who the attacker was.
The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, her long brown hair hung unbound around her beautifully sculpted face, and her green eyes were twinkling as she laughed at Naruto's reaction. She wore a pair Nike sneakers, a navy blue jacket with the symbol of the Yoshimuri (Tokyo) Giants emblazoned in gold on the back and a pair of tight, faded-blue jeans that showed off her feminine curves. However, what gave away her identity was the gunmetal gray wristwatch she wore, which bore a red "X" over the face of the timepiece. The second figure amazed Sakura even more the appearance of the woman. Incredible as it was, she was looking at a small, bonefied dragon, pink no less! The little creature was no bigger than an average housecat, and sat on top of Naruto's chest as it proceeded to lick his face happily, a shrill chirp escaping its beak.
"Okay, what the heck's going on?!" exclaimed Sakura in exasperation, the sound of her voice causing the woman to stop tickling Naruto and stare at her in confusion. The dragon also ceased licking the blonde's face as the boy began to catch his breath, cocking 's head to stare at her for a moment before flapping its wings as it circled around the woman and landed comfortably on her shoulder as though it were a parrot. However, the dragon's flight didn't deter Sakura from her demands as she turned to Naruto for answers, pointing at the woman as she spoke. "Naruto, who is she?"
"Sakura, I'd like you to meet Shadowcat," panted Naruto with a jovial chuckle, still gasping for air after being attacked as he gestured towards the woman, who gave them a cheery smile. There was a slight difference in his voice as he introduced her, a sort of familiarity and affection that identified them as family. Having finally caught his breath, he turned his attention to the little beast perched on her shoulder. "And this is-"
"Lockheed," interjected the dragon in a native New Yorker accent, quickly cutting off Naruto and earning a few blinks of surprise from Sakura and Sasuke. As if suddenly knowing that dragons actually existed wasn't enough, now they knew that they could talk too? Still, Lockheed didn't really seem to take much notice of their confusion. "Nice ta meet 'cha."
"Ah-Ha!" cried Naruto triumphantly, a huge grin plastering itself on his face as he pointed at the dragon. "I knew I'd finally get to see you talk!" Naturally, the three X-Men got a good laugh out of that, with Naruto groping for his sides where they still ached from the tickling that Shadowcat had subjected him to. Sasuke and Sakura just looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what was going on. Sure, they knew that Naruto was a goofball, but it was times like this where they failed to see the humor in what he'd just said. After they'd managed to get a hold of themselves, both Naruto and Shadowcat got to their feet and approached his befuddled teammates.
"Please, call me Kitty," insisted Shadowcat warmly after Naruto introduced them as she shook their hands. "Believe me, it's a lot easier to remember than Shadowcat, and everyone calls me that anyway. I'm one of Naruto's sisters." Now, that came as a shock to them. Immediately, Sasuke and Sakura began to look back and forth between Naruto and Kitty, trying to find any similarities between them that would identify them as being related. However, they were two completely different people.
"Seriously?" queried Sasuke skeptically, still eyeing Kitty in disbelief. Everything about this girl screamed "American", so how in the world could the two of them be even remotely related having come from two completely different continents?
"Actually, that's only half true, I guess," admitted Naruto with a mischievous grin as he massaged the back of his next, Kitty snickering playfully as Lockheed curled his tail around one of her fingers, a smirk of his own plastered on his beak. "When Dad adopted me, Kitty agreed to be one of my foster sisters along with a couple of the other girls in the X-Men. Still-," he turned and gave Kitty a sincere smile,"- a guy can dream, can't he?"
"Aw, thanks 'Whiskers'," Kitty blushed delightedly as she gave her friend a quick hug, referring to him by his nickname for added effect. That being said, she then grabbed him by the hand and gestured towards the open front door with a sly grin of her own. "Well, come on guys! Everyone's already inside waiting for you!" Turning to beam at one another excitedly, all three Genin nodded simultaneously and raced after her. With her and Lockheed leading the way, they sped through the foyer towards one of the adjoining corridors. Having gone through this way before, Naruto knew instinctively that they were headed for the entertainment room, seeing as he'd usually go there to would unwind from a hard day's training by plopping heavily onto one of the large couches and firing up a video-game and an anime DVD. However, today the room held something far better than anything on those shelves could ever offer. As soon as they entered the room, Naruto's face lit up instantly as he saw how many of his family had come to visit him. He wanted to run to them and embrace them as if they had been apart for more than just a year. Instead, just as Sasuke, Sakura and Kitty crossed the room's threshold, they were welcomed by a slight whoosh and the sight of Naruto being hoisted high into the air.
Embracing the flame-haired mutant in a spine-snapping bear-hug was another woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties as well... and she was hovering above their heads as she held Naruto in her arms, a slight gurgling sound coming from his gritted teeth as his eyes widened and threatened to pop out of his head at any moment. The woman was beautiful to say the least, and had long, auburn hair that ran down to the base of her spine, contrasted by a dramatic, white streak that rose from the peak of her forehead. As she miraculously floated above them, both Sasuke and Sakura noticed that she wore a pair of denim jeans, a black t-shirt, dark brown gloves, a long flowing trenchcoat that covered her arms, and a pair of jet-black combat boots. Like Kitty, she also wore a wristwatch as well, signifying her allegiance with the X-Men.
"Oh, sugah," cried the woman lovingly as she nuzzled her cheek against Naruto's, a thick Southern accent resonating in her voice as she spoke. Heartwarming as the embrace was, Kitty caught a glimpse of a single teardrop as it streamed out the side of the woman's eye. Smiling to herself, she remembered how much her friend had missed having Naruto around the Institute. Saying goodbye to someone that was the closest thing she'd had to a little brother had been the hardest thing for the woman to do, and now they were together again. "You wouldn't believe how much ah missed you!"
"Gee, thanks Rogue," Naruto managed to say in exasperation, a weak smile sprouting on his face even as his eyes practically bugging out of his head. "I missed you too." In response, he felt the Southern Belle's grip begin to tighten, the sound of slowly cracking ribs reaching his ears as they began to painfully submit to the superhuman force in her muscles. "Uh, Rogue?" he squeaked in a high-pitched voice as she proceeded to squeeze him even tighter, multi-colored spots appearing behind his eyes as he slowly began to black-out. "Marie... you're... crushing me!"
"Oh!" exclaimed Rogue in realization of what she was doing, lessening her hug on Naruto enough so that he could breath normally again. "Sorry sugah, 'guess ah don't know mah own strength any mo'." Even though he was gasping for breath, Naruto still managed to wheeze out a good-natured laugh at such an obvious joke in-between coughs, praying that Kyuubi's healing factor would fix anything that was broken. However, Sasuke and Sakura's attention had shifted from the reuniting X-Men, to the room's other occupants. Needless to say, they were both rightly speechless at what they saw. Gathered around the room were some of the strangest people they had ever seen in their lives. One would think that after hearing Naruto's stories about his family would've prepared them for such a meeting, but this was far beyond anything they'd ever expected.
"Oh, that's right," Naruto remembered as he and Rogue touched down, working out the kinks in his arms by rotating them slightly. Upon landing and cracking his neck once, he gestured to the girl and began making introductions. "Sasuke, Sakura, this is one of my other 'sisters', Rogue."
"The pleasure's all mahn," said Marie sincerely as she took both their hands and shook them firmly, surprising the Genin with how strong she was. Remembering their manners, both Genin said hello and gave her a quick bow to be respectful. However, they found themselves drawn back to the others in the room, still intrigued by their presence.
The first person they're eyes settled on was a tall, muscular man leaning against one of the tall, oak bookcases that lined the far wall of the entertainment room. To Sasuke and Sakura, Zabuza had been pretty tall, but this man was practically a giant! He must have been at least 6 feet tall or more, and his arms were practically as thick as logs! His size notwithstanding, the man was surprisingly quiet, only glancing up from the sketchpad he'd been silently leafing through to cast a pleasant smile in their direction before going back to the drawings in his hands. Like the rest of the X-Men present, he wore a gunmetal-gray wristwatch inscribed with the team's insignia and was dressed for the vacation that awaited him. He wore a black leather jacket over a white muscle shirt, a pair of denim jeans, a set of dog-tags around his neck that glistened sharply in the dim light, and a pair of red and white Air Jordan's.
A soft mumble drew their attention to the next occupant in the room, who was apparently situated directly above their heads! Shifting their gaze upwards, Sasuke and Sakura could only gawk in disbelief as they took in the sight of a blue-furred man sitting upside-down on the ceiling, the claws of his right foot planted deep within the rafters to support him as he stared right back at them with a look of scientific curiosity on his face. From his head to his toes he was covered in a thick coat of navy blue fur, even his hair was blue! Odd as that was, he had the face and muzzle of a lion, the pupils of his golden eyes slit like a cat's behind a pair of reading-glasses as he poured over a leather-bound book in one of his hands, the claws on his fingers allowing him to turn the pages deftly. As he had an eye for detail, Sasuke noticed offhand that the title read The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which he knew from experience was penned by a number of Chinese authors. For his attire, the man had chosen a cliché Hawaiian-print, button-up shirt, a pair of khaki shorts, and two tan sandals that he held by the loops between the index and middle fingers of his left hand as he read with his right.
"Looks like you guys have noticed the rest of our little family," chuckled Naruto humorously at his friend's reactions to the two. However, he remembered a second later that not everyone was there, thanks to the trouble brewing in the Middle East, mentally smacking himself upside the head for forgetting. "At least, the ones that came along that is."
"It is a pleasure to meet you at last, comrades Sasuke and Sakura," said the tall man warmly in a husky Russian accent, carefully setting the sketchpad in his hands aside and striding over to greet them. When he finally stopped in front of them, both Genin were amazed at how much taller he looked now than he did when he was standing by the bookcase! Seeing the shocked look in their eyes, the large man smiled reassuringly and held out one of his oversized hands. "Don't worry, I'm used to people staring."
"Oh!" exclaimed Sakura with a start, embarrassed with herself for staring, and immediately shook the man's hand. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare, honest." As she held the large man's hand in her own, she was amazed by how gentle his touch was for someone so large. She'd half expected him to have a grip like Rogue's!
"Like I said, is okay," replied the Russian with a smile, switching hands to Sasuke, who relaxed a bit after seeing how friendly the man was. "I'm glad to make your acquaintances."
"Likewise, um...?" began the Uchiha heir warily, not quite remembering the man's name from Naruto's stories of their escapades.
"You may call me, Colossus," replied Piotr Rasputin, recognizing a spark of realization in their eyes at the mention of his codename. Obviously, Naruto had been telling them about his adventures with them, and thankfully had left out his civilian name. As much as Piotr cared about his friends in the X-Men, he still had to think about his parents and little sister, Illyana, back in Siberia. "You will vorgive me iv I'm not as open as Shadowcat, but-"
"It's okay Colossus, we understand," Sasuke said sincerely, his eyes speaking the truth of his words. He knew that the X-Men wouldn't all be as open as Kitty had been, and was willing to accept that.
"My, my, such an astute young man," said the furred reader from the ceiling, releasing his grip on the oak to back-flip nimbly onto the back of the couch before Sasuke, his weight barely shifting the furniture an inch. The man looked Sasuke over for a moment, and then turned his gaze to Naruto, a playful look in his eyes. "This doesn't sound like the 'brooding teme' you talked about in your calls Naruto." Needless to say, that earned Naruto a seething glare from the Uchiha, one that said "Naruto, you told them what now!?".
"Yeah, nice to see you to Bea-GAK!" grumbled the blonde in annoyance before being pulled into a firm headlock by the man's furred arm, roaring with laughter as his cranium was assaulted by a well-placed noogie.
"I should hope so, you little troublemaker, you!" laughed Beast jovially as he released Naruto from his iron-like grasp. His fun having past, he extended a hand to the black-haired boy welcomingly. "Doctor Henry McCoy, at your service," greeted the man warmly, not bothering to give his codename instead, seeing as he'd left his old life open to the public after his brief stint with the Avengers. "However, if you prefer codenames instead, you may call me, 'Beast'."
"The pleasure's all mine, Dr. McCoy," said Sasuke with an earnest smile as he shook the man's hand. "I am Uchiha, Sasuke."
"Good to know you Sasuke-san," replied Beast, inclining his head slightly to show his respect to the boy. He remembered Logan's briefing before they'd left, and thought it proper that he recognize the young Uchiha for his proud heritage. Having shaken his hand, the furred genius turned his attention to Sakura, who had been watching his interaction with Sasuke silently. "There's no need to be shy Miss Haruno," said Hank with a chuckle as she jumped at the sudden attention. "I've heard a lot about you already."
"Y-y-You have?" Sakura stammered in surprise as she stepped forward to take the blue man's hand, surprised at how soft his fur felt against her skin. It was so warm to the touch, and it felt almost like down.
"Of course my dear," Beast said reassuringly, glancing over his shoulder at Naruto with an impish twinkle in his eye. "After all, Naruto could hardly contain the excitement he felt when he told us he'd found someone like him here in Konohagakure. It was all I could do to quiet him down when he called!"
Again, Naruto felt a slight amount of killer intent radiating from Sakura as Hank told her about his embarrassingly over-enthusiastic reaction to his discovery of their powers. Sure, he'd been excited at the time, but who wouldn't be?! He had just found out that his teammates were just like him! "Well," he said with a wary tone, careful with his wording in case it provoked her into doing something rash, "I'll admit that I got a little carried away, but that was only because-"
"Can you blame 'em, ma petite?" queried a suave, debonair voice from behind the pink-haired girl, causing her to jump in alarm and drawing the attention of the others. "What home wouldn't get all e'cited ov'r a pretty lil' thang like you?"
As she turned around, Sakura found herself staring up at the most handsome adult she'd ever laid eyes on! His face was like that of a model's, his medium length, chestnut brown hair falling loose over the mask that covered the back of his head, yet left his face completely exposed. His eyes were as black as ebony, save for his pupils, which were a bright shade of crimson and seemed to glow as she stared at them. Like the others, he had opted for a more civilian attire, garbed in a pair of hiking boots, a tan trenchcoat, a pair of denim jeans, a black shirt with a red "X" emblazoned in a circle over his heart, and a pair of fingerless gloves. Beneath the seemingly harmless garb, one could tell there was a physical build to rival that of a shinobi, lean muscles coiled and ready for action.
'Who the heck is this guy?' wondered Sasuke silently as he stared at the newcomer in a hushed awe. He hadn't felt anything from this man, not even the slightest amount of chakra! Before he could ponder the matter any further, the man did something that sparked a seed of something that felt an awful lot like jealousy in the Uchiha's heart. He reached into his coat… and produced a single red rose from one of its inner pockets, then placed it gingerly in Sakura's open hands, tenderly closing her fingers around the stem.
"Remy LeBeau, at your service, ma petite," said the man as he took a step back and dipped his head low with a dramatic bow, his Cajun accent adding to his overall flair. "Though when I'm workin', mos' folks call me Gambit."
Now, a couple of things happened after the Cajun had finished his over-the-top entrance. First off, Sasuke's right eye began to twitch ever so slightly, even as a vein popped into view on his forehead. Second, the resounding krik! of cracking knuckles could be heard as Rogue prepared to pound her favorite swamp-rat into a pulp for his womanizing ways. And thirdly, Naruto started slowly edging behind one of the nearby couches, sensing that if Rogue didn't make things ugly, Sakura would indefinitely. His jaw still ached from the last time he'd asked the pink-haired kunoichi out on a date, the fat-lip that followed serving as a painful reminder of the encounter and Sakura's feelings to anyone but Sasuke as far as dating went. In fact, if he was inside her mind at the moment, his ears would've been burnt to a crisp at the sheer intensity of swearing Inner-Sakura was spouting in response to the Cajun's bravado. However, what happened next came as a shock to the blonde.
"Um, thanks Remy-san," said Sakura calmly, taking a step towards Gambit as she spoke, a small bead of sweat on her brow barely visible as she swallowed her embarrassment and growing impulse to smack the saucy grin on his face. Then, without the slightest hint of malicious intent, she took the rose he had given her and placed it securely in the front pocket of his trenchcoat. "But, I'm kinda already spoken for and... I actually like younger guys, truth be told." Emphasizing her point with a firm pat on the pocket she'd placed the rose, she then smiled innocently at the thief and walked back to where the rest of them stood, her surprising display of self-control amazing both Naruto and Sasuke, who had half-expected her to go postal on Remy. Seconds later, that same surprise turned to raucous outbursts of laughter as Naruto, Kitty, and Rogue mocked the Cajun playfully.
"Damn, Remy-neesan," Naruto managed to say inbetween chuckles and attempts at breathing. "Need some ice for that burn?"
"Yeah," snickered Kitty coyly as she nudged the blonde in the arm. "Too bad Bobby's not around for that little bit, huh?" On that not, Naruto couldn't help but give his 'sister' props and give the girl a well-met high-five.
"Ha-ha-ha, laugh all you want home," replied Gambit with a good-natured grin. Once the trio had quit their stentorian guffaws, he strode calmly over to the flame-haired Genin and bumped fists with his 'younger brother', who smiled like a Cheshire cat at seeing him once again. Feeling a bit nostalgic at the sight, the Ragin' Cajun couldn't help but stoop to ruffle the boy's hair playfully, having missed teasing him in his absence. "Jus' rememb'a, I could'a stayed in New Or'leans."
"An' miss out on a vacation?" questioned Rogue in mock disbelief as she sauntered over to her man and wrapped her arms around his shoulders lovingly. "Get real, 'Swamp-Rat'. 'Sides, you know how much ah've been waitin' for some down-tahme so we can do some... relaxin'. Upon saying that, a playful, teasing look came to the Southern Belle's eyes, her immensely strong fingers daintily tracing circles along the Cajun's chest as she taunted him.
"Ah know that chere," admitted Gambit with a smirk, leaning down to give her a quick peck on the cheek as he wrapped an arm around her waist comfortably, prompting a slight squeal from his amore. "An' let me be da firs' ta say, I'm lookin' forward ta that lil' part'a the trip."
"Yeah, yeah, save it for after hours, lovebirds," joked Naruto with a sly wink in Remy's direction, to which the Cajun responded with a slight, yet understanding nod. No matter how wild things got between him and Rogue, and it did get wild, Remy always tried to downplay their more aggressive displays of affection around his little brother. No sense in scarring the poor kid for life after all. As Remy pondered this for a moment, Marie noticed that Naruto had begun looking around the room intently, as if he were waiting for something to happen.
"What's the matter, sugah?" Rogue asked curiously, a slight hint of motherly concern in her voice as she watched the boy she considered her younger brother in such an anxious state.
"I'm just wondering when Cyclops' gonna show up is all," admitted the flame-haired Genin honestly as he turned his attention back to the others around him. "Dad said that Xavier-Oij-Sama told him to take this vacation for his own good, right? You know, to get a chance to unwind after everything that's happened with Jean and all?"
Upon mentioning the late Mrs. Grey, the mood in the room dropped for a moment, and for good reason. Jean had been there for them since the beginning, seen them grow up and become the heroes they were now. Seeing her leave with the Phoenix Force like that, claiming it was for the best, had really done a number on all of them, especially Scott. She was his one-and-only, a kindred spirit. This trip was to help him try and let go of some of the emotions he'd been keeping bottled up inside him, and maybe those bottled up within everyone else too.
"Don't worry about him, kiddo," said a calm voice to their right, startling the group noticeably. "He's just checking things out with Cerebra right now in the backyard, but he'll be in soon, give or take." Sasuke and Sakura both visibly jumped at the sound and snapped their heads in the direction of the voice, still a bit apprehensive in the knowledge that this day of surprises was far from over. However, a welcomed grin that appeared on the faces around them gave the two cause for relaxation of their own, as this newcomer was undoubtedly one of their number.
With a strong gust of wind and the distinct scent of down, the newest arrival flew into the room... literally, through an open window near the back. To Sakura, if Gambit was a model in appearance, then this man was... an angel! He was handsome to a fault, sandy blonde hair sweeping back over his head as his light blue eyes sparked lively. He was dressed in more formal attire than the others, wearing a pair of grey slacks, black wingtip shoes, and a white business shirt with gilded cufflinks on either sleeve. Like Rogue, Sasuk and Sakura could clearly see that his abilities included the power of flight, but the way he achieved this phenomena was far more visible than her's. Sticking out through a pair of neatly cut slits in his shirt, linked to his shoulder blades, as a pair of large, majestic wings, their white shade nearly blinding in the lighting of the room.
"Always one for the dramatics, eh Warren?" said Naruto in feigned exasperation, grinning up at the winged man with a similar glimmer in his cerulean eyes.
"What can I say, kid?" shrugged Warren nonchalantly as he circled over their heads lazily. "First impressions are everyth-ACK!" Sadly, the awe of the moment was ruined as Warren had become too distracted by his conversation with Naruto to notice the wall looming before him until he ran into it head first, causing him to fall into a crumpled, feathery heap on one of the couches in the room. Slowly sitting up, the winged mutant did his best to shake himself from his self-inflicted daze. The stars finally passing from his eyes, he gazed up and the group of fellow mutants around him and, aware that he'd screwed up his entrance, did the next best thing he could think of to try and save face. "Um... ta-da?"
Naturally, everyone in the room, even Sasuke, burst out laughing at this. Sure, Warren's failed landing was hilarious, but his failed attempt to make it look good was what really stole the moment and had Naruto rolling on the floor with laughter with laughter. Finally gaining enough control of himself to breathe properly, Naruto propped himself up against the couch next to Warren and gestured towards the man with a foxy grin.
"Guys," said the blonde to his friends in between gasps for breath, "meet Warren Worthington III. Original X-Man and original fly-boy."
"Pleasure's all mine," remarked Warren sincerely with his award winning smile as he shook Sasuke and Sakura's hands enthusiastically. As he shook the winged mutant's hand, Sasuke couldn't help but notice that firmness of the gesture, as if he had done this many times before. The man had a professional aire about him that the Uchiha couldn't really place. "However," began Warren casually as Sasuke was slightly lost in thought, "if you prefer, I also answer to my codename: Angel."
"He also went by Archangel for a while too, but that's another story for another time," added Naruto helpfully as he got to his feet, hoping Warren wouldn't be too upset with him sharing that knowledge. Warren didn't really like to remember his days as the Horseman of Death, but if he was truly going to enjoy this vacation, Naruto knew he needed to learn to let things go and enjoy himself for once. "Now," he said in mock criticism as he surveyed all who were present. "Warren makes six, and Cyclops is outside... so where's the eighth member of this little tourist cavalcade?"
"Oh, nowhere in particular," said a voice from the entrance to room, prompting everyone to turn in that direction. "Just hangin' around." However, they were a fraction of a second too slow, and barely registered the slightly audible thump of a man-sized object hitting the ground. Everyone else immediately recognized this 'new face', but Sasuke and Sakura, still trying to keep everyone's names and codenames right, were puzzled by the appearance of this person who, in light of those who had come before him, looked... well, normal.
"Peter, my man!" exclaimed an elated Naruto as he weaved through the others to greet his old pal. "What's happening buddy?!" As he approached his friend, Sasuke and Sakura were still intrigued by his appearance. The man looked as though he was the a few years older than Kitty, and had eyes and hair of a chestnut brown with a gaze that seemed to see the beauty in all around him. Like Shadowcat, he had chosen a more casual attire for this vacation. He was dressed in a brown leather jacket, blue denim jeans, a pair of black tennis shoes, and a black undershirt with a high-powered camera hanging by a strap about his neck.
"Not much Naruto," said Peter with a smile as he and the aforementioned blonde bumped fists. "Just looking forward to a month's long vacation. You won't believe how long I've been waiting for an assignment from Jonah that doesn't involve me chasing after some supervillain or something."
"I hear that Pete, ol' J.J.'s a real slave driver, huh?" agreed Naruto with a grin, turning to introduce the reporter to his friends. "Guys, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine. Sasuke, Sakura, this is Peter Parker. He's a photographer for a newspaper in New York City called "the Daily Bugle", but my family and I know him better as Sp-!" Suddenly, before Naruto could even utter the following word, both Peter and Beast's hands shot out and covered his mouth to silence him.
"What did he say?" asked Sakura curiously as she watched the two Americans try and restrain a protesting Naruto.
"Nothing!" said Peter quickly, a slight bead of sweat forming on his brow as he knew this was a lie, but felt the truth was best kept for another time. Some things were best left unsaid, especially in a village populated by ninja. "Nothing at all. He was just about to tell you guys the X-Men's nickname for me, which is pretty embarrassing to tell the truth."
"Yep that's right," interjected Hank, tactfully playing along with Peter's little cover-up, knowing the reasoning behind his wanting to keep the true 'nickname' a secret. Turning to Naruto, Beast put on a jokingly scolding demeanor so to set things back to the task at hand. "Remember Naruto, you promised never to call him that after he and Mary Jane got married, right?" Silently, he added, "Icksnay on the Ider-Manspay!"
Nodding slightly, to show he understood, Naruto took in a deep breath as his uncle and best friend let go of him, careful to spit out the few stray blue hairs that had stuck to his lips. As he did so, he took a look at Sasuke and Sakura to see if they were at all suspicious of what all had happened, kicking himself for what he'd almost said. Pete was one of his best friends, someone he'd shared countless adventures with. He should've remembered that he had some secrets that weren't really open for discussion with total strangers, especially ninja. Still, it looked as if no harm was done. Sakura seemed to have believed Peter and Beast's cover-up and simply dismissed it. However, he could tell that Sasuke still wasn't buying it.
'First he shows up out of nowhere and acts like he just walked in the room, and now he and Beast keep Naruto from sharing something as trivial as an old nickname with us,' thought the Uchiha heir carefully to himself as he sized up Peter, blockading his doubt with the training he'd picked up from Kurenai in case one of them possessed a mind-reading ability like her or the Yamanaka Clan did. 'Something's up with this guy, but what? I just may have to keep an eye on you, Peter Parker.'
"Well," said Naruto abruptly, drawing Sasuke out of his thoughts like he had hoped as he folded his hands behind his head and faced the group, his eyes looking behind them at the open window to the backyard outside. "Not that it hasn't been fun seeing you guys like this, but there's just one more person here that I need to see, someone who I think needs to lighten up a bit if he's really going to listen to Xavier-Oij-Sama and enjoy this vacation." As soon as he said this, all of the X-Men present gave him a look that spoke of mixed emotions, mainly one that reminded Sakura of her parents when they were about to advise her not to do something.
"Sugah, Cyclops jus' needs 'is space rahght now," reasoned Rogue in a motherly tone, her eyes seemingly pleading with Naruto to rethink what she knew he was about to do. "Think about it for a second, would you wanna be barged in on when you'd deliberately gone somewhere ta be alone?"
"Done," responded Naruto with an impish smirk as he teleported away with a barely audible bamf! and a cloud of black, sulfurous smoke.
Outside in the backyard of the Namikaze Estate, the ever vigilante Scott Summers quietly surveyed the lush, green space as he leaned against a towering oak tree, the shade further veiling his critical gaze that was hidden behind his glistening gold visor. Dressed in a short-sleeved blue t-shirt, khaki jeans, brown boots, and sporting the X-Men's signature signal watch, Cyclops looked like a typical tourist as he rested in the shade, the soft breeze brushing against his brown locks. Amidst so much serene nature and artistic beauty one would think his soul would be at ease and his troubles a million miles away. However, there was no such luck of him, not for Cyclops. This time, and for what seemed like the last time, she was gone. She'd slipped through his fingers yet again, and no amount of vacation-time and relaxation would cure that.
'Why?' he thought to himself morosely as he closed his eyes and attempted to hold back the tears at the pain of her memory. 'Why did you have to leave us again? We could've stopped it. We could've found a way to keep this from happening... but why?' All of a sudden, as it seemed he couldn't sink any lower, a strange and familiar scent wafted along the breeze, causing him to snap his eyes open in disbelief. It smelled like fresh cherry blossoms in the spring... and something else, something that wasn't of this Earth. '... Jeanie?'
Bamf!
"Look out below!!!" came a familiar voice from overhead, snapping Cyclops to his senses and giving him only a second's warning before being tackled to the ground hard by the very person he had come there to off his 'uncle' and onto the soft grass that he'd just knocked them both to, Naruto flashed Scott his usual foxy grin and looked at him with an innocent (yet mischievous) gleam in his eyes."So, you miss me or what?"
"Not as much as I missed doin' this, you little nut!" exclaimed Scott with hearty laugh as he pulled the flame-haired boy into a headlock rivaling that of Beast's and proceeded to give him the biggest noogie of his life. Laughing as Naruto wailed in mock agony at this, even though he was happy to see the formerly broody mutant was back to some semblance of his old self, Cyclops couldn't help but think his own problems inconsequential for the time being. Something about Naruto always did that to him, made him forget about his worries and focus more on his responsibilities as the boy's foster uncle. He had this air about him that made everyone want to believe in him, to believe that things would be better in the long run.
Distracted by these thoughts, he barely had time to register Naruto's escape from his arms as the blonde fell back laughing. After the both of them had finally gotten a hold of themselves to breathe properly, Naruto sat up and shook the grass from his hair, smiling jovially as he saw that his ploy to snap Scott out of the funk he'd been in had worked. True, he was as bummed as Cyclops was about what had happened with his aunt Jean, but he knew that dwelling on the past for too long was more harmful than anything else. "So, you ready to come back inside Scott?" he asked inquisitively, cocking his head to one side as he did so. "Everyone's waiting and my friends really want to meet you, especially Sasuke."
Giving the flame-haired mutant a warm grin, Scott nodded and conceded to his request, taking the boy's hand as he pulled the both of them to their feet with a swift jerk. As they turned towards the Estate and headed out at a comfortable pace, a slight grumbling sound caught their attention, drawing Cyclops eyes to his rumbling stomach. "Heh," chuckled Scott in amusement as he gave Naruto a sideways glance. "Don't suppose you know any good restaurants around here? I mean, Piotr is a good cook and so's Kitty, but I'm kinda in the mood for something... different."
"Hmmm," thought Naruto in mock perplexion as he tapped his index finger against his chin, a smirk forming on his lips. "You know Uncle Scott? I may have just the place."
Well, we all know where he's talking, don't we? Now, just because I've been out of the game for a while, doesn't mean I've lost my touch. So keep it right here, True Believers. Next up will be a tour of Konohagakure for our visting X-Men, as well as the appearance of the much anticipated Sand Siblings! Thrills, chills, twists, turns, and more superpowers than you could shake a web at are all just around the corner, so stay tuned, and remember to R&R as you see fit (please be gentle though). Also, on a side note for all my fans in the Oklahoma area (or near there), I'll be attending this year's Tokyo in Tulsa (TnT), so if you want to meet with me and share your opinion of AgendaX (or any other works of mine), I'd be more than happy to talk with you. Just look for someone dressed as Sven Vollfied from Black Cat wearing an ID badge with my penname on it. Well, I hope to see you there and until next time, EXCELCIOR!