Disclaimer: Nope don't own Naruto, and I never will. I'm only saying this because I'm at gunpoint. I do own Naruto…I mean I don't!
Story: Fem!Naru Minato tells Kushina to flee to Suna, if something were to go wrong in Konoha after his death. Because of this, somehow Naruto is raised in the Sand.
Set as an AU.
Spoilers: …Probably?
Warnings: The usual stuff? I mean, most people who read my stuff are repeated readers, so they should know…otherwise…eh…
Pairings: Yondy!Kazekage/Fem!Naru
Suna no Hoshi
Chapter Twelve: Sand Storm
Of course, being a clone and all, he knew he was just a reflection of Sabaku no Rasa. He wasn't actually him. He wasn't real at all.
But clone or not, he had opportunities and he had transient feelings that last so long as he existed.
Her hair was like spun gold…
The clone blinked tiredly, but stayed where he was. He was in no hurry to move, much less leave. He was quite content where he was, thank you very much.
That being lying by a sleeping Naruto's side. He retracted his hand, from where he'd been combing it through her hair, but he still didn't leave her. He was happy enough to just lie beside her simply, watching her sleep and wondering to himself.
Slowly, he moved that hand across her and had that arm gently rest against her abdomen, loosely hugging her. If his original had been there, not only would he be upset and most probably infuriated with him, but he wouldn't have even be able to be near Naruto, much less be in this position and lying next to her in the first place.
His original still couldn't see things clearly.
At the thought of the original Rasa, the clone frowned as he carefully brushed back some of her hair out of her eyes. It was getting long…
The original Rasa was blind and clueless. But then again, the clone had specifically taken on those qualities, hence why he knew more expressively about the truth when the original was still oblivious.
Which made things more torturous for "himself."
To know deep down how he really felt, and be so close and yet so far away. Even more so because he was a clone. Truly, what a bad hand he was dealt with, compared to most clones.
Then there was that sooner or later, he would be gone anyway. Dispelled, lack of energy, a hit that packed too much punch for him to be able to sustain himself…He had no real existence. And that hurt even more because his feelings about her didn't matter. They practically constituted as not real because he was not real. To truly feel for someone and not be able to exist in their eyes…Then the knowledge of soon to not exist, and yet having felt so much in the time he had.
Why was it so cruel to be a clone in this matter?
He'd rather be cannon fodder, a sparring partner, a training technique, just anything than what he was now. A clone filled and revolving around certain feelings…feelings that were not truly his in the first place. He was just a clone after all.
A clone whose sole true purpose was to quietly love a girl, and yet never be acknowledged.
He could feel the energy he had left still depleting. He had been existing for a long time now. Maybe that's why he was so despondent and cynical right then –he could feel himself "dying."
He heard the door slide open and he looked up to see his creator's younger son enter. Gaara stopped short at the sight of him and Naruto, but he still wasn't moving away from the spot.
"You should move away from her," Gaara glared.
"Oh? Why should I? You really shouldn't talk that way to your father, Gaara," the clone briefly smirked.
"You are not my father," Gaara scowled. "You are just a clone."
Ouch. But conceded, the clone acknowledged.
"And what are you going to do about it?" the clone murmured, slowly getting up. But he didn't move away, instead moving to go above Naruto and hover above her. "Going to fight me on behalf of your father?"
Gaara's face darkened and he inwardly let a bitter smirk appear in his head.
Clone suicide by provoking creator's son enough to want to kill him.
But before Gaara's sand could reach him and finish him off, they heard Baki calling for them. The two traded long looks, but they both left and let Naruto sleep in. It was just a quick round up, with Baki just telling them what was needed to be looked over before they were ready to leave, and then the clone was quietly trekking back up to the top floor.
He decided he'd go to the bathroom. Technically, he didn't have to as a clone. However, it was best to keep up with appearances and at least pretend to not be a clone.
He had been so lost in thought as he went into the bathroom, that he hadn't realized someone was already there. And taking a shower. And that it was Naruto.
Oh hell –
He turned and tried to rush out quickly, only to forget he'd shut the door and therefore he had run into it full force. Before he dispelled, he ironically thought that of all his attempts to get himself dispelled, it just took him running into a door…
Hearing the thud, Naruto peeked her head around the shower curtain and blinked curiously at the empty bathroom.
"Huh. Wonder what that was."
She shrugged and went to finish up in the shower, and then afterwards trudged down to see her team, Tsunami, and Inari all puttering about the lower level of the house. When Inari saw her, he grinned widely and ran over to her, tugging excitedly at her pants.
"Naru-neechan! Come and go fishing with me! Please?"
Aw, he was so adorable. Especially that cheesy grin…
Naruto caved easily and gave a soft smile as she fondly patted his head. "Oh, alright. You win. Lead the way, huh?"
She gave her team a head's up, with Inari being pushed by her to tell his mother, and then the two trotted out cheerily.
"So the Chuunin Exam is coming soon, isn't it?" Kankuro interrupted, asking Baki. "And obviously you're gonna put us in. Like duh."
Baki looked thoughtful. "Pretty soon, yeah. It's the end of January right now and it'll be in the beginning of July. Your dad's birthday comes first. And with our lifestyle, that time will be quickly gone anyway."
"Should someone tell Naruto about the Chuunin Exam so she'd get all prepared for it? I mean, we'll be working as a team, but she would want to work on some individual stuff. And obviously she can't use the Rasengan," Kankuro continued, while Gaara nodded in agreement.
Baki winced. "Oh definitely not. It's being hosted in Konoha this year. Then again, with her looks…" he added, getting rather suspicious at the same time. He didn't further explain that, so they reluctantly let that trail off. "This is an obvious statement. Of course she's going to be told. Why not? And as her teacher, of course I'll tell her."
The two genin traded looks and Baki narrowed his eyes at them.
"What?"
Gaara awkwardly cleared his throat. "We were just thinking…maybe Dad should do it."
Baki blinked at them in confusion. "Your dad? But why?"
Kankuro grinned. "Oh come on. Wouldn't it be hilarious to watch him go all awkward, trying to tell her about the exam?"
Baki tutted disapprovingly. "Now you two, don't tease your dad."
"He does claim, at least his clone did," Gaara scowled, briefly recalling the clone and that specific encounter, "to be Naruto's best friend. So he'd want to be the one to tell her everything, wouldn't he? And he's Kazekage. Kazekage easily trumps sensei, so you don't have to worry about her wondering why he's telling her and not you. And she'll know about that part of him soon. Hopefully."
"He'd better tell her," Kankuro muttered.
Baki thought on it, imagining it a little. A small grin crept onto his face. It would be rather amusing, and especially since he could just imagine Rasa floundering, when the red head would obviously prefer her not to go into the Chuunin Exam so soon…and especially not just so far away, but in Konoha.
"Okay," Baki nodded. "But someone's going to have to tell her about his birthday, because he would never tell her about that."
Kankuro and Gaara grinned (which looked really creepy on Gaara's usually stoic face, and when they did it in unison).
"Done," they both said.
'By the way, have you two seen that clone of your father? Usually it's skulking about, shadowing or following Naruto around," Baki asked them.
The two looked at each other. Kankuro shrugged. "Nope. Haven't seen it at all."
"The last time I saw it was just before you called us earlier," Gaara scowled. "Then it went up and nothing else."
"Huh. Wonder what it's up to."
Though, as they talked about that, Naruto and Inari had already set up and were sitting back, enjoying the sunny day.
"Hey, Naru-neechan?" Inari spoke up suddenly.
"Un? What's up, Inari-kun?"
"I was wondering…I heard Grandpa and Mom talking, and they think you have a crush on the Kazekage," Naruto's eyes widened and she was going to vehemently deny that, when Inari continued. "But I was just thinking…sometimes, I catch you and Tenoh-san looking at each other the way my mom and my dad used to look at each other, so I thought you might have a crush or something on him instead."
"WHAT?!"
But Naruto had sat up so abruptly and was freaking out and flailing about so much that she managed to get herself tossed off of the dock, and fall into the waters. Inari gaped and rushed over to the edge.
"Naru-neechan?!"
She came sputtering up to the surface, hair logged down to her head and her clothes drenched.
"I'm fine. I'm just…shocked. Yes, shocked," she blinked water from her eyes. "I didn't…I didn't expect that from you. Or to hear that at all," she admitted.
Inari looked sheepish. "Sorry, Naru-neechan. It's just…I just noticed it."
Naruto laughed awkwardly and soon enough Inari joined her in awkwardly laughing. They just pushed it aside and conveniently forgot about it. Or as forgot about as Naruto could.
But she worried about it incessantly the entire time with Inari, and going back to the house. And the rest of the day, while she was at it. And yet…
"Where's Tenoh?" she asked in confusion and a bit of worry to the others.
The other three exchanged looks.
"Haven't seen him," Kankuro shrugged.
Naruto straightened up in concern, but Baki caught that quickly and interrupted.
"He's probably got some side thing to do, that Kazekage-sama ordered," Baki reassured her.
She was only a little bit, but it was enough for then. The rest of the night, though she kept that in mind, Naruto still worried about Tenoh's disappearance and if he was okay.
The next morning dawned early, and they heard Tsunami cheerfully greeting Rasa and his guard back. They awoke quickly and headed down, and though Naruto turned odd around the Kazekage again, she was still anxious about Tenoh.
"Kazekage-sama," Baki greeted, and did a quick dart of his eyes over to Naruto and then gave a meaningful look over to Rasa.
Rasa cleared his throat and spoke. "Everything is a success then? Good job, everyone. Seeing Tenoh's absence, then he must have cleared things around here and went off to do the next errand I'd asked of him."
Though normal eyes wouldn't have caught it, shinobi eyes would have clearly seen the infinitely fraction of movements indicating Naruto's body relaxing at hearing that.
"Good then. We'll be leaving soon, after we finish up here. Is that alright with you, Tazuna-san?" Rasa directed his attention to the bridge builder.
Tazuna raised a glass to him, grinning. "Great. Almost finished with the bridge too, thanks to that talented blonde over there!"
Naruto gave him a salute.
And so they'd quickly finished up whatever last minute things they had to do there, before they started setting off for their journey back to Suna. On the way out, they heard the citizens of Wave discussing what to name the bridge and deciding on "The Great Uzumaki Bridge."
Kankuro gaped at her. "What? They're naming the bridge after you? No fair!"
"Technically, aside from her part helping bring down Gato, which had been almost a bigger part than either of ours…she did practically help build a lot of the bridge," Gaara said dryly.
"Bah! Clones…I want a clone jutsu now. Baki-sensei! You're gonna be teaching me and Gaara some type of clone jutsu, aren't you?"
Baki dug his pinky into his ear. "Hm? What was that?"
Kankuro and even Gaara glared at him, while Naruto snickered (and naturally drifted to travel by Rasa's side –the others didn't note it, but he did).
"Oh yeah! I'm going to make the Uzumaki name great again!" Naruto crowed triumphantly.
Rasa inwardly froze and wondered if it was too late to go back and beg the citizens of Wave to change the bridge's name. He could imagine the reaction of Iwa and Kumo hearing the resurrection of that infamous clan name.
Salivating to eliminate whoever it was, kidnapping attempts definitely by Kumo (or odd worshipping), terrified Kiri-nin…
He had all of Naruto's files under lock and key and buried under his bed (no, that was not weird), and there really was no other evidence existing of her that he had not taken and hid. After finding about most of her past, anywhere and everywhere she had been in Suna, he'd gone around and made sure any evidence of her had been swept up. Anyone else talking and knowing of her, especially the Academy, addressed her loyally and only as "The Desert Prince" (sadly enough).
He encouraged it because it was useful and because it was funny as hell.
But then she did go around and addressed herself as "Uzumaki Naruto" though, so something should be done about that. Maybe he should give her his name somehow too…
No, not like that!
Rasa mentally pulled his hair, twitching a bit.
"Are you okay, Kazekage-sama?" Naruto whispered worriedly from his side.
"F-fine." 'Having a mental relapse, is all.'
"You know what? We should have a competition! We should see which of us can get the largest amount of and most impressive stuff named after us," Kankuro announced, getting all excited.
"Ooh, I'm game," Naruto grinned in just as much excitement.
"I want the desert named after me," Gaara said suddenly.
"No, you are not getting the desert named after you," Rasa deadpanned.
Gaara uncharacteristically pouted.
"What are you complaining about?" Naruto rolled her eyes. "Your name literally means 'Gaara of the Desert.'"
"But then so does Kankuro and Otou-san's. Kankuro of the Desert, Rasa of the Desert," Gaara sighed, playing up the dramatics.
"Eh, but your name sounds more cooler," Naruto shrugged.
"Hey!" both Rasa and Kankuro shouted, with Rasa breaking his cool and composed leader persona.
Rasa scooped up Naruto and hung her over his shoulder, with her letting out a squeal, and Kankuro gave his younger brother a noogie for agreeing and complaining in the first place. Baki was just quietly snickering. It was great to not be the victim this time.
Once again, they had a stop at that same village before they would continue on to Suna. Naruto was again eating her noodles, and in déjà vu, the Kazekage approached her. Only, this time Rasa was…well, Rasa.
"You seemed a little tense during the journey," Rasa mentioned, taking a seat by her side. "May I ask why, as I ask if I may sit here?"
"Of course you can. On both counts, Kazekage-sama," Naruto flushed red. "I'm just…worried about Tenoh. Jerk didn't even tell me he was going to go off somewhere. He just disappeared," she pouted, though she tried to hide how upset she really was about that.
Rasa tried not to fidget.
"I know that he would have told you otherwise. He must've been in a hurry. If you don't know, he truly cares for you," Rasa definitely knew that as soon as they reached Suna, the first thing he did after they were all settled down would be to tell Naruto the truth.
"Yeah, so do I," she said fondly, and there was a weird twist in Rasa's stomach. She looked up from her bowl of noodles, giving him a happy grin. "Thanks a lot, Kazekage-sama!"
She suddenly turned an even brighter red than before and after glancing at him shyly, she leaned over and pecked his cheek. He, absolutely stunned, could feel her soft lips through the veil he wore, before they were gone and she was practically fluttering away like a butterfly.
He was still staring after her, numb in shock.
Baki was quick to appear, throwing an arm around his best friend and grinning slyly.
"So…you going to tell her about your birthday and that you're turning 34?"
Baki dodged the sucker punch aimed at his nose and darted away, cackling, as Rasa violently threw his kage hat at him.
"NO WAY IN HELL!"
After that mess, Rasa was quick to rush everyone out of there, and on the way back home. Thankfully no further problems erupted, and they had actually managed to reach Suna in one piece. The day they arrived, they took the rest of it off to rest and settled down in the village. The next day, Rasa had planned on visiting Naruto and explaining things to her.
Only a sand storm was on its way and quickly converging on the sandy village.
The bad thing about living in a place made up of sand and surrounded by sand of the desert? Those came very frequently. And as it was, Rasa had learned that the drought they'd been having had worsened while he'd been gone, as well as the wind in the area having picked up pace. Those effects resulted in the creation of sand storms, which was not something the village lacked of –they lived in a desert, lack of water was a given; wind was a no brainer –the Land of Wind, of course.
"Make sure the whole house is sealed," Rasa ordered, making sure his kids heard the importance in his voice about the matter. "If it's sealed, the inside will make it completely fine."
'We won't be drowning in sand, otherwise. Or at best, cleaning up a ton of sand in the house.'
Then he remembered his plans that day and hesitated.
"I…" he cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm going to check on Naruto. I don't know if she'll be alright. You three can handle yourselves, right?"
Temari impatiently gestured at him to leave. "Go, go! Hurry it up, and bring her back here. The storm looks like it's coming in quick."
"And don't you get her and you stuck out there!" Kankuro hollered.
Gaara merely gave him a look that he rolled his eyes at.
"I'll be back! Probably," Rasa called back, while slipping out the door.
He rushed over to her place, seeing the rest of the village hurrying to prepare for the sand storm and everyone quickly going to stay firmly inside their homes. He reached Naruto's place quickly, knocking urgently on her door.
"Tenoh? What are you doing here?" she asked in panic. Then she socked his shoulder. "That's for disappearing on me last time. I was worried, you know!"
"Yes, yes, I know," he rushed out. "We'll talk about that later. Right now you have to come with me. We can go somewhere safe for the storm."
She grimaced. "I think it's a little too late for that. Get in here! That storm is coming in like seconds! Quickly now," she yanked him in and slammed the door shut. "I have to close the door to activate the seals after all."
And then she placed her hand against the door and charged her chakra into it. A huge seal on it lit up and then escalated to the rest of the walls in her apartment. Rasa watched in fascination.
"We wouldn't have time going wherever you wanted to go," she started to turn sheepish and apologetic. "You were just standing outside and I really needed the door closed. You know, by principle just to keep sand out. But the seal I made for these storms won't work unless everything's closed, you see?"
"Yeah," it was his turn to be sheepish. "Sorry I was just standing there."
"Nah, whatever. Want some tea? Or ramen?" she grinned laughingly at him.
"Tea is great. No ramen right now," he said wryly.
She started to set that up. "So, where were you at the end of the Wave mission? I really was worried, Tenoh."
"About that, Naruto," he started out nervously. "There's something I have to tell you."
Well, he could just as well tell her there as he could have at his home.
"Naruto, I'm the Kazekage," he flat out revealed.
She laughed at him. "Very funny, Tenoh. Now really, what is it you have to say to me?"
Rasa sighed and then he began telling her from the beginning about his deception, though he hadn't meant for it to be like that for her. The more he talked, the more closed off Naruto's expression became, until it was so unreadable that not even he could read it. And he had a very brilliant poker face, thank you very much.
She slowly pulled out a chair from her kitchen table, and was even slower sitting down on it. So far, she'd not looked at him and had avoided having her eyes stare anywhere near him. But then she looked up, and her sapphire eyes were heartbreakingly confused and hurt, and he really felt like an asshole right then.
"Why would…why…why would you pretend like that with me?" He inwardly winced, hearing the tremble in her voice.
"Why would you do that to me?" He winced outwardly that time.
"Naruto, believe when I say that there was never any pretending when I was with you," he said gently. "Other than lying about who I was, everything had been completely genuinely. As to why I would pretend to be Tenoh, to lying to you…it had only been meant to be that first meeting. I wanted to check up on you, see how you were doing and not bother you. If you needed help or anything, I would have tried to offer it in any way, even if it had to mean revealing who I was right back then. It was supposed to be just that meeting and I would carefully watch over you in the background and in secret, to make sure that who you really were was never revealed until the right time, in case of enemies and spies.
"But then we got along so well, and then you disappeared and I couldn't help meeting you again. And then by then, it was quickly established that I was Tenoh and who I was, and we kept talking and I enjoyed having this friendship with you. And you knew me as him and liked Tenoh, and I couldn't take him from you either. And you were so comfortable and friendly with Tenoh, which was part of why I lied in the first place too, because you would be too uncomfortable and tense if you had known I was the Kazekage at the time. And…I guess it was just largely selfish that I wanted to keep talking to you as him, and I knew things would change if you knew the truth," he admitted.
Naruto inhaled sharply, looking shakily at the top of her kitchen table.
"This…will take awhile to get used to," she quietly said. "I understand and in the end, I actually don't feel too bothered by it. And to be so angry at you about such a thing, when the whole situation brought up how I had come upon and met you in the first place is ridiculous, because I could never regret meeting you, you know? And getting all angry isn't me at all. So that means I forgive you too."
He gave her a small smile, happy and relieved about that, though lamented on how easily she was to forgive. But then that was okay. In the future, she could forgive all she wanted to, and he'll burn bridges for her.
"Oh Kami…" he heard her say as he tuned back from his thoughts.
She smacked a hand against her forehead and rushed away from him and into her room, locking it behind her.
"Naruto?!"
"G-go away!"
"Wait, what? What's wrong now? I thought you were okay," Rasa rushed to her door and spoke to her through it.
"Okay?! After all those things I said to you about…well, YOU! Oh Kami-sama…the time I mentioned my real favorite color having to do with your hair...and about me trying to see you every morning! And all those other things…"
"It…doesn't bother me," Rasa winced. "Really! I got a little awkward and unsure what to do at those times, but I was really flattered and touched by your concern and care."
"YOU'RE NOT BOTHERED?" she screamed at him. "Even when I practically admitted to that little treason thing with that enemy guy against Daimyo-baka, and I told you not to tell you? And all those times I was insubordinate without knowing I actually was? Like earlier when I punched your shoulder, or all those times I'm overly playful and too informal than I really should have been all this time?"
"It's okay, Naruto! I'm fine with all that! I like you being so casual and relaxed with me! And that treason thing…actually, I still don't know what to think of it, so let's just keep ignoring it for now, okay?! Plus it's over and done with, and we really don't need to think about it anymore and the Daimyo really is a baka, so who cares!"
And Rasa said to hell with it, he'd buy her a new one later, and broke the lock on her bedroom door and stormed in.
"Y-you can't do that!" she shrieked at him, still panicking over all the things she said and done to him.
"Yeah, well, I'm your Kazekage, aren't I?" he scowled heavily. "And you keep emphasizing that so much right now."
She stared dumbfounded at him, before she pouted completely unhappily, and yet it was so adorable that it made him calm and break down all the tension. He smiled exasperatedly and ruffled her hair fondly, keeping his hand there, even as she looked up at him in dissatisfaction and confusion.
"Well, I wasn't always your Kazekage," he let his hand fall from her head. She looked at him in more confusion now. "Just as Tenoh…I was supposed to be your best friend, right? Aren't I still?" he started to feel a little unsure.
She blinked before beginning to look ashamed. She nodded vehemently.
"Yes! Of course! Always," she promised at the end, looking at him apologetically.
He sighed in relief and gave her another small smile.
"Why don't we go back out there and I can tell you more?" he suggested. "We can finish tea."
She agreed hesitantly and let him pull her gently back out, and he reheated the hot water for a fresh batch of tea. All the while, as he did that, he quietly told her how he knew her parents (that he had known who they were in the first place), how and why she got to Suna (he promised her he'd show her where her mother's grave was), and that he'd been looking for her all these years (and that he'd embarrassingly missed her because of her overlooked gender –she teased him relentlessly about that, though she was still a bit cautious). And then he told her why he'd been looking for her (all those promises he held sacred –even private ones he'd given and held to himself, how much he'd worried, how he'd wanted her to grow up cared for and with his family, that he'd just wanted her safe and alive and under his protection), and a little more on why he kept himself a secret until then, besides what he had already said about the matter.
"I'd always said I'd tell you, kept saying 'soon,'" he murmured, pushing his almost drained cup away. "But then I kept postponing it and saying 'I will' or 'later,' and then there were other stuff that kept getting in the way and delaying it…I was going to tell you today, first by visiting you here, and then the sand storm came. I was going to bring you home, get you in a safe place from the storm, and then I'd tell you there. And then we get trapped here. Well. I wasn't going to postpone it anymore, you know? I couldn't let you not know any longer…"
She hummed an agreement, starting to feel tired after the tea. A soft song played in the background, with her having turned on the player in her home to keep it from being too silent in the apartment.
"You think the storm died yet?" she asked.
"Don't think so. Sand storms around here can last for days, and that one looked like a real strong one," Rasa sighed, sitting back in his seat and slumping a little. "Do you wanna move in with me?'
She energized a bit at that, and stared at him wide-eyed. "What?"
He coughed. "I mean, do you want to move in with my family and I? I've been wanting to offer it since I found and met you, but you seem happy and fine and I didn't want to encroach. But…I'd always wanted you to live in my home, even before I officially met you. I just wanted…to give you that home, security, care and protection I promised and wanted you to have all these years, and failed to when I couldn't even find you…"
Her face softened and she was reaching out to him before realizing she had. Her hand retracted and her face flushed slightly.
"You know…that would be nice."
Rasa grinned goofily at her, kind of sleepy himself, and he lay back with half-lidded eyes, humming to the song.
"Oh, I do believe, in all the things you see. What comes is better than what came before~" he sung tiredly to the song playing
Naruto stared at him, mouth slightly agape. Hearing his kids, it was hard to imagine that he could sing so well, and it was kind of a shame that it seemed none of his kids had inherited his singing voice. With that thought, she stumbled tiredly over to him, and tugged at his sleeve. She got him to get up and then she slipped her hands over his ribs and up his back, clasping them together as she stepped forward and leaned her head on his torso. He quickly got the hint and leaned on her also, tentatively wrapping his arms around her waist.
"And you'd better come, come, come, come to me," she muttered the line into his shoulder.
They sleepily swayed to the song, and slipping well into more exhaustion.
"You'd better run~"
There were things in life he'd come to expect, many he'd wish he didn't have to. And then there were unexpected things that came and more than anything, he felt he was blessed for it.
This was one of those times.
Still, he didn't know what he was thinking. He was pretty sure this was one of those things that would bring Minato from his grave to come after him with a sharp Hiraishin kunai knife. And he was pretty sure this wasn't what Kushina meant when she'd asked him to look after Naruto.
He squeezed the girl in his arms happily and thought it was rather fortunate for his sake that both Konoha-nin were dead. Not that just simply dancing with her was anything wrong though…
"Rasa-kun," Naruto muttered sleepily, and he grinned widely. He'd been trying so hard to get her to call him his name, since she was starting to call him "Kazekage-sama" and she really didn't know what to call him (and didn't want to call him by name).
He comfortingly threaded his hand through her hair.
"Naruto," he murmured tenderly.
"Maybe silly Inari was right. I…rea…lly…like you…a…lot," she murmured, falling asleep at last in his arms.
He stood stock frozen, holding onto her still.
He had avoided looking deeply into his clone's thoughts, beyond skimming the memories he'd gleaned. The echoes of feelings he had felt and managed to analyze along with the other information the clone dispelling had dumped into his head, the despair, tenderness, care and love…Rasa had shoved it into the back of his head determinedly. Every odd feeling he felt when in Naruto's presence, he pushed down and ignored or dismissed.
B-bmp~
There was a strange ache in his heart and he realized the bitter truth he kept denying.
Stupid. So stupid. How much of an idiot was he really?
You don't go falling in love with sixteen year old best friends.
In the now silence he was drowning with, he smiled grimly at the epiphany that he was in love, holding onto that girl as he continued to stay frozen like statues with her there, in the middle of her kitchen and bowing his head next to hers, his wine-red hair overshadowing his face.
Wasn't there a special level of Hell for his kind of person?
Started 9/2/13 – Completed 9/5/13
A/n: Eek, from being sick and miserable, I'm sorry this was late! A long chapter with lots of omakes! make up for it, I hope? Anyway, if you go on my profile, the link to the Suna no Hoshi page is now up there –I'll be adding some more stuff, but most importantly for that, a playlist is up! So check that out, if you want. So that's it, hope you all enjoyed everything! Please review!
Omake! (The Scapegoat or That Poor Unfortunate Soul…From Chapter 10)
"It's him!"
"Oh no, him."
The whispers abounded and he felt irritation and shame fill him.
It wasn't his bloody fault the damn bases kept exploding! It was just his freakin' luck that he was always in the one base that decides to blow up at the time!
First it was the first. Oh my Kami! Poor guy. Freak accident with the oven in the kitchens. Blew the base up, few survivors.
Transferred. Next base.
Second it was the second. Coincidence. Motor in the basement just happened to be faulty.
Third it was the third. Again?! This guy must have some luck to survive once more, this time from an electrical wiring being overloaded and causing a fire. That spread. Everywhere. Even outside of the base.
Now the fourth time…something was fishy.
By the end of it, the others didn't know if he was the one behind the stuff, or (seeing as dimwitted and naïve he kinda was) he just had the worse luck in the entire world (and carried it with him and infected the entire area while he was at it).
When a very heavy and very solid block of gold (what the?!) smacked him straight in the face, right before he blacked out he thought he was completely sure that he really did have the worse luck ever.
Started 9/9/13 – Completed 9/9/13
Omake! (Side-story: "The Best Friend Entitlement")
"You two should stop being so sulky and combatant. I'm Daddy Dearest," the clone smirked lazily at the two.
Gaara and Kankuro glared.
"No way. You suck. And you're not Dad," the two of them said childishly.
"And stay away from Naruto," Kankuro piped up. "Dad –Real Dad –has a claim on her."
"Even though Father doesn't know he does," Gaara sighed in exasperation.
"And what gives you the right to be so righteous and tell me to stay away from Naruto?" it drawled in boredom.
"We're her best friends," Kankuro scoffed. "Of course we do."
A thunderous expression overcame the clone's face. "You two her best friends? As if! I am her best friend, you two little brats!"
And the two, scared of the ferocity and extreme fury off of the other (plus, despite what they said, the clone was an exact copy of their father and looked eerily like him and had his temper when he got angry –though obviously their father's anger was never anything like this towards them), didn't disclaim that or reject the clone's claim as The Best Friend. Period.
Started 9/9/13 – Completed 9/9/13
Omake! (Er, Omake! of the Omake! Eh?!)
"No, I'm her best friend!"
"No, I am!"
"NO, I AM!"
Baki popped popcorn into his mouth, watching in amusement. Tazuna came up beside him.
"What's going on?" the bridge builder asked gapingly, watching the three arguing vehemently about something about 'best friend.'
"It is an apocalyptical war of epic proportions –the fight to the title of who is Uzumaki Naruto's best friend!" Baki announced dramatically before snickering.
"That's it!" and the clone got fed up and just summoned a large amount of Gold Dust, grasping the two's ankles (nullifying Gaara's sand while he was at it) and shaking them in the air.
"AHHHHH!"
"Careful, you," Baki grabbed a handful of popcorn and munched on it. "Listen out for Naruto. Rasa's known for his Gold Dust and if she sees you with it…"
"Then I'll just say I'm the motherfucking brother!" the clone tossed them into the air and caught them, kept doing that.
The boys screamed and the clone laughed maniacally.
"Uncle, Uncle!" the boys pleaded surrender.
"Epic pun," Baki smirked in entertainment.
Tazuna stared at him.
"I'M HER BEST FRIEND! ADMIT IT!"
"YOU'RE HER BEST FRIEND!"
The clone cackled triumphantly.
Started 9/9/13 – Completed 9/9/13
Omake! (The Genjutsu Tales: Part VI)
"Oo, oo, ah, ah!"
They cursed. This was not going their way at all.
For being from Iwa, Roshi was pretty adept at moving around the trees.
They twitched and glared at the jinchuuriki. Whose bright idea was it to cast a stupid genjutsu on the guy?! Because right now, for some reason, the jinchuuriki had become like an actual monkey, like his tailed beast counterpart. Jumping around in the trees, screaming at them, throwing –
Another banana hit his partner in the head.
"I'm gonna kill him!"
"Oo, oo, ah, ah!"
And bananas. Tons and tons of bananas, and lots of them were being thrown their way.
"Why you!"
And then they slipped on some peeled skins of some bananas, and their heads collided with each other, knocking each other out.
"Oo, oo, ah, ah!"
Roshi beat his fists on his chest victoriously, got another banana, and then started to aggressively chomp on it.
Started 9/9/13 – Completed 9/9/13
To Montypie: And you get both how the clone dispersed and Nagi's talk with Naruto in this chapter. You like? :D And thank YOU!
To ksecc1: Thank you! Yes, it was a funny switch, eh? Hoped you like the reveal. And yes, this is definitely going to go to the Chuunin Exams.
Citations:
1. The two lines Nagi and Naruko sing at the end and then the radio's one line: "Oh, I do believe [...] And you'd better come [...] You'd better run" from "I Found a Reason" by Cat Powers.
2. The "Special Hell" line at the end is a reference to a line said by Shepherd Book to Mal in the episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds" from the show "Firefly."
3. The alternate title of the omake! "The Scapegoat -"That Poor Unfortunate Soul" references/is from "The Little Mermaid" by Disney. (Actually I hadn't realized that until now (10/6, 12:51 am). Must've been my obsessive subconscious desire to watch "The Little Mermaid" again, after impatiently waiting for its re-release for three freakin' years.)