Naruto: Dream of Dragons

by MoonlightWolf16

Some people say that death is like falling asleep. I'm here to tell you that all of that is absolute nonsense. Death is painful, frightening, and lonely. I should know. I died. And for some absurd reason, I was given a second chance. This is the story of how I became Akina Morimoto, Kunoichi of Konoha. Naruto OC Reincarnation fic.

13. Those Who are Precious

Chapter 12 – Those Who are Precious

I ran through a crowded marketplace, trying to avoid looking at everyone and anyone who might recognize me. I knew that this was dangerous. I could be caught at any moment, and then it would be all over for me. I didn't want to be here.

Suddenly, I tripped over someone's feet, crashing to the ground by a fruit seller. I quickly tried to get up, but something caused me to freeze in fear. I could tell that the seller was yelling at me, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from something behind the seller of the stand.

It was a poster.

A wanted poster with my face on it.

Stumbling to my feet, I ran even faster than I knew I could run. I had to get away from the Hidden Mist. FAST!

I pushed people left and right to get out of here, but I didn't even know if I was going in the right direction. I had never been here before, and for very good reason too. If I was caught by anyone who recognized me, then I would be executed.

At the edge of my sensory field, I could feel a large chakra source making its way towards me, and I grew even more frightened. From the size of the chakra, it could easily be a Jonin who was on my tail. And no sooner had I thought that, and I heard something that made a shiver go down my back.

"Stop that girl!"

I pumped my arms faster, willing my legs to go for all they were worth. I can't be caught here! I don't want to die!

Suddenly, I was yanked from the left side by someone and pulled into a small alley just beyond yet another market stand. Not a second later, I saw a shinobi race by the entrance of the alley and keep going, probably assuming I had disappeared in the crowd ahead. I waited until I could no longer feel the chakra signature in the area before I sighed in relief and turned to see who had saved me.

Before me was a kid. A young boy who had shoulder-length raven hair, and the biggest brown eyes set in a face that was pretty enough to belong to a girl. He had on a faded blue kimono shirt, dark pinstriped pants, and simple sandals. He didn't look super impressive, and not much older than me, but he was my savior.

"Thank you."

Smiling softly at me, he ruffled my white hair a little. "It was my pleasure. I couldn't let those mean, old shinobi get a beautiful princess."

I blushed at the compliment. I didn't think that I was beautiful, and I most certainly wasn't a princess, but I would take the compliment. Looking up at him, I was hesitant to ask for more help, but something about his face made me want to trust him.

"Do you know how to get out of the village?"

"You mean to the old Morimoto estate?"

I tensed, thinking that he might just turn me in. He chuckled a little and placed a reassuring hand on my small shoulder. "I won't hurt you, little one. Nor will I turn you in, that would be hypocritical of me."

I wondered what he meant, but before I could ask, he had turned around and was walking away from me. I was confused at first until he stopped to look back and beckon me to follow. Thinking he was helping me find my way home, I followed.

Over time, I relaxed as he talked to me more along the way. We talked about small things like our favorite foods until we made it out of the village's borders. That was when we really talked about who we were. The boy told me that he and his mother were reported to have Kekkei Genkai when he was younger, and the Hidden Mist tried to kill them both for it. He was the only survivor of that encounter, and now he was staying with someone who looked after him and kept his Kekkei Genkai secret. I grew to appreciate the boy a bit more, since I understood his pain a bit.

"So why were you in the village in the first place," he asked me. "I would think that you would stay as far away from here as possible."

Looking down in sadness, I remembered why I was here. "It was a prank. Where I'm staying right now, some of the grownups and their kids don't like me very much. I was walking home after having dinner at a family friend's house when some bullies caught me. Simply because of what day it was, I was shoved around and I hit my head at one point. I must have passed out because when I woke up again, I was in the village to find that it was now morning."

"Well, yesterday was September 8th, so why was that day so special?"

"It's the anniversary of the day my clan was slaughtered, and it's been one year since many of us were attacked while we came to honor the Morimoto clan at the estate."

"Is this the first time you will have been here since it happened?"

I nodded, unable to trust my voice at the moment. We were quiet for a little while after that. I didn't want this boy to think I was a baby, but I couldn't hold in my tears as they spilled over my cheeks.

"It's my fault," I muttered.

"What is?" he asked.

"All of those that lost their lives a year ago… it's my fault… the Hidden Mist was after me…"

For a moment, the boy didn't say anything. Then he asked me to tell him the story. So I told him everything. I told him all of it. I told him how our ceremony was interrupted, how many of the elders died that day, how my family got in the way of some of the ninja, how more of those there died trying to help us get to safety, and of how I was helpless to do anything. I was the one they had wanted dead, and it was my fault so many died instead of me.

"I was the monster that the Hidden Mist wanted to exterminate. Instead, I was the monster that lived while so many didn't make it home to their families… I should have died that day…"

Silence echoed for what seemed to be forever. I kept my head down, not wanting to see eyes filled with hate for being weak. I did not want to see that in his eyes.

"You survived."

Surprise hit me hard, and I locked onto his eyes without meaning to. Empathy, sadness, understanding, and hope were in the brown irises of this boy. All of that was directed my way.

"It isn't something to be ashamed of."

I suddenly grew angry at this statement. "Then what am I supposed to do!? Be happy that I'm alive while they are DEAD!?"

Despite my anger, this boy just smiled at me. "Then live on for them. Take on the spirit of those who died for you, and continue to live because they wanted you to live on. It was what they died for, so you must make it your mission to live a good life. Live on, and protect what is precious to you so that it doesn't happen again. Get stronger! Learn to protect everyone you love with your own strength!"

He placed his hand on my shoulder once more, and gazed at me with determination in his eyes. I could almost feel him peering into my soul as he gave me his final thoughts.

"No amount of guilt can change the past, so don't let it crush your beautiful spirit. Instead, wear your tragedies as armor so that you will be stronger when you need to protect those who are precious to you."

This boy…

I had no words for how thankful I was to him.

His words were something that I would keep in close to my heart. This was what I wanted and would choose to believe in. I would live on for them and continue to honor them with my life that they protected. And I would never let someone who was precious to me die, never again.

"Thank you…"

The boy's smile only grew as he ruffled my hair one last time. "You will be a strong warrior, princess. I can tell."

I was about to tell him I'm not a princess again when I realized that the scenery around us was familiar. We were right before the gates of the Morimoto estate. Just ahead, I could see the large seal that brought me here the last time and I ran towards it. In theory, I could flare my chakra into the seal and Mom would be able to sense it on Mount Ryuumoto since she was the one who drew this particular seal. She could then reverse-summon me from this seal since I had yet to sign the Summoning Contract of the Dragons.

"Is this how you will get home?"

I peered over my shoulder to see the boy curiously gazing at the seals within this circle. I will admit, even without knowing what it all meant, it was beautiful to look at. I could see why it might pique the curiosity of some.

"I just have to channel some chakra into it, and someone from the other side will help me get home," I said as I filtered my chakra in, watching as it gently glided across the lettering of the seals, turning it blue in color. When I saw a white light streaming in through the seals, I knew that Mom had gotten my message and she would reverse-summon me shortly.

Turning around, I smiled to the boy I had grown to like over the time he had helped me. "I guess I have to say good-bye…"

Searching in my head, I realize that I had been so rude. Here this boy knew my name, but I had neglected to ask for his. "My name is Akina Morimoto. Thank you for saving me! Can I ask for your name?"

With the light growing more intense around the seal, I knew that time was short. The boy must have realized this as well because he skipped the teasing that I was sure he wanted to say. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Akina. I was happy to save you and meet a new friend. My name is…"

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Opening my eyes suddenly, I saw the wooden ceiling of Tazuna's home. Something wet was on my cheek, and I went to wipe it. That was when I realized that it was a tear rolling down my face. I smiled though despite the tear.

I hadn't dreamed about that boy in a long time. Seeing that memory was much better than the nightmares I had been having, so I was thankful for it. I would always be thankful to the boy who saved me as well. He gave me a dream to strive for, and he gave it to me when I needed it most: at a time when I thought I had no reason to be here in this world.

I would protect everyone precious to me.

Thinking along those lines, I looked around the room. I could see that Sasuke and Sensei had gotten up already. Sasuke's sleeping bag was nicely rolled up and sitting in the corner while Kakashi-sensei's was rolled up messily and seemed to have been tossed in the general direction of the corner. I had no doubt that he would fix it later, but I looked to the last sleeping bag was still out.

Naruto's sleeping bag.

I had unrolled it last night, hoping that Naruto would use it, but I see that he never made it back to Tazuna's house like I had. Typical Naruto, always working harder than everyone else…

But he wouldn't be Naruto if he didn't.

Instead of laying down, I decided to get up so that I could go see everyone else. I quickly put on my ninja gear instead of my pajamas and went downstairs.

"Good morning, everyone," I greeted those who were at the table to have breakfast. I couldn't help but yawn loudly as I stretched my hands above my head as I made my way to an empty seat at the table. I looked up to see Tsunami setting some food in front of me, so I thanked her quietly.

"Naruto is not here," Tazuna interrupted my thoughts. "Looks like he was out all night again."

I nodded in response. Naruto and I had spent the last two nights training so that we could prove to Inari that heroes really did exist. We were determined that we were going to defeat Gato and help restore the hope that the Land of Waves had lost. Last night, I had decided that I wanted to sleep on a real bed instead of the forest floor like I did the night before. So I told Naruto that we should head in before we both fell asleep again, but he refused.

"I tried to get him to come back with me to sleep in a real bed, but he said that he had to train some more before he did that," I replied to Tazuna's unspoken question as he gave me a curious look. "He told me to go ahead of him and that he would be back shortly, but I guess he never did return to sleep."

"Well, I certainly hope that he's okay," Tsunami voiced her concern. "A child spending the night in the woods alone…"

Kakashi-sensei interrupted her train of thought. "There's nothing to worry about. Naruto is a goofy-kid, but he's also a full-fledged ninja. He can handle himself."

"Naruto is such a loser." I looked over to Sasuke with a displeased look directed at him. He knew that I didn't like it when he was insulting Naruto. "He's probably lying out there dead somewhere."

"Sasuke," I warned him.

Scoffing, Sasuke got up from his chair. He was almost to the door before he stopped. "I'm going for a walk." He then closed the door behind him, and the room was quiet until everyone went back to eating breakfast.

After seeing that Sasuke had finished his meal, I couldn't help but smirk at his behavior.

You big softy, you're finally warming up to Naruto.

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Naruto POV

Akina's not going to be happy.

I slept in the woods again.

At least, that's what I realized had happened when I felt a hand shake my shoulder. The person was trying to get me to wake up, but I was so sleepy. Oh, well.

I blearily opened my eyes. Hearing the sounds of the forest, I became aware of the world around me as I saw a blurry outline of a person wearing pink. Deciding that I couldn't put it off anymore, I sat up. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I glanced at the person next to me without really looking.

"Who the heck are you?" I asked. I was startled when my vision finally cleared and I say that I was actually talking to a beautiful girl. She smiled at me, despite my question. "Uh, uh, I mean, hi there."

I blushed at my stumbled words. Try to not be weird in front of a pretty lady!

"Where did you come from? You know, what are you doing out here and all that?"

"I'm collecting herbs," she answered simply.

"Herbs?" I wasn't expecting that.

Again, the lady smiled at me. "Yes, that's right. They're for treating illnesses and healing wounds."

I smiled a little, thinking of Akina and of how she must do things like collecting herbs as well near the Leaf Village. So I decided to help her out a bit, thinking that this must take a lot of time to do alone. In response, the lady smiled and thanked me for offering to help.

After helping her pick some flowers for about 30 minutes or so, I decided to talk to this mysterious lady again. "You start work early, huh, sis?"

"I like it early. It's calm," she replied. I guess I can understand that. "But I didn't think I'd find anyone sleeping out here in the woods."

Chuckling a little, I smiled really big at her. I knew that Akina would be proud of how far I've come, but she wouldn't have wanted me to sleep in the woods. She just didn't think it was the best idea, which is what this lady seemed to think as well.

"I'm training!"

The lady seemed surprised. "So are you a ninja? Because I noticed that headband you're wearing… Or are you just making a fashion statement?"

Blushing a little more at the fact that someone noticed I was wearing my headband, I was also impressed with her noticing. "You noticed that? Only super cool ninja can wear these."

"Oh, really. I see," she answered, seeming to be interested. "That's very impressive."

I laughed at her compliment, happy to get it from someone who didn't look down at me with hatred. Akina would do that too, but she was my best friend, it was a little different. I always knew that she would have my back and give me compliments when I did something cool.

"But does that mean you're training for something dangerous?" the lady wanted to know.

Wanting to look even cooler to this lady, I bragged a little. "I'm just developing my skills, so I can get stronger!"

"You seem very strong now. Isn't that enough?"

"No, no. I need to get stronger and stronger. I have to keep practicing."

Narrowing her eyes at me in what seemed to be curiosity, the lady asked me a question. "Oh, so why is it so important?"

"So I can become the best ninja in my village, and everyone will know who I am. And they'll all respect me. Plus, I made a promise to someone that I would get stronger with them. There's also a certain person, a kid, that I have something to prove something to."

"So are you doing it for these certain people? Or are you doing all this training for yourself?"

"Uh… huh?" I didn't get what she was asking.

My confused face must have been hilarious, because the lady started to chuckle at me. I couldn't let someone laugh at me though. "What are you laughing about? What's so funny?"

Chuckling some more, she calmed herself before looking at me again. "Is there someone who's precious to you?"

"Someone who…" Akina, I immediately thought, but then I backtracked. "What are you saying, sis? What do you mean 'precious'?"

My question seemed to make the lady think a bit. She got this far out look in her eyes, like as if she was pulling up a memory from her head. It made me wonder though at her thoughtful look.

What's she thinking?

"You see, when a person has something precious that they want to protect, then they become genuinely strong."

Her answer startled me. But I had to admit, it made me think a little.

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Flashback…

"A flood had threatened the village and we could not get the flood gates to close. The only way to do so would have been to have someone swim to the opposite side with a line so that the gates could be pulled closed, despite the flood waters creating a very strong current to rush by the gates. Kaiza volunteered to be that man. He swam through the current with strength and determination until he finally reached the gates and he tied the line until everyone was able to close the flood gates, saving the lower district from flooding. From that time on, Kaiza was considered a hero in this land," Tazuna told us of Kaiza.

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"I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me." Kakashi-sensei looked back at us with his signature eye smile, telling us that everything would be okay in the end.

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Ducking my head in at Iruka-sensei's cry, I heard a loud sound that made my stomach twist and turn. Not feeling any pain, I looked back to see my sensei. He had protected me from the large shuriken, allowing himself to be hit by it in the back instead.

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"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei or best friend again, I'll kill you!" I growled at Mizuki.

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"I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY BEST FRIEND!"

I glanced up after a rock had hit just above my eye to see the silhouette of someone familiar to me. White hair that was kept in high pig tails let me know immediately that it was Akina. Her arms were spread wide as she stood in front of me, with what I assumed to be a glare of untold power since the kids who were bullying me went extremely pale in the face.

I couldn't help but think that she was so cool and strong.

End Flashback

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I nodded my head to the lady. "Yeah, I hear you. I know exactly what you're saying."

Smiling at me some more, the lady picked up her basket of herbs we had collected and stood up from the ground we had been seated on. It looked like she was about to walk away, but then she waited for a moment. "You will get strong, very strong."

I smiled and chuckled a little as my response, thankful for her compliment.

"Good-bye. We'll meet again some time." She started walking away this time, and I thought she would just keep walking, but she didn't. She stopped short at one point, at the edge of the clearing, but didn't turn around.

"Oh! By the way… I'm a boy."

My mind was blank for a few seconds…

WAH! NO WAY! HE'S ALMOST AS PRETTY AS AKINA!

I kept trying to wrap my head around it as I folded my arms in front of me. By this time, I knew that the la—I mean boy—was long gone, but I was still so confused right now. I groaned a little at how much this was making my head hurt. "Oh, I've seen a lot of weird things in my life before, but this one takes the cake."

BONK!

Holding my now hurting head, I looked up to see Sasuke with a disgruntled look on his smug little face. "Hey! What did you do that for?!"

"You twerp."

"Cut it out!"

Folding his arms, Sasuke replied, "Did you just forget about breakfast? Akina's worried because of you. You're such a loser."

Oops! Sorry, Akina.

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Akina POV

"Naruto?"

Kakashi-sensei and I were looking for the two idiots who decided to not come back for lunch, and worry all of us. After breakfast, I thought I would whip up some herbs that Tsunami had lying around and some from my own pack as well. Together, they would make some revitalizing tea that would help the boys regain some of their strength as well as promote the regeneration of their chakra stores. Then as an added bonus, Tsunami and I made lunch only to see that neither Sasuke nor Naruto came back to have any of the food we made.

Needless to say, I was very disgruntled with this outcome. So I decided to bring them some lunch in a basket and Kakashi-sensei said he would follow and see how far the two of them had come in their training. He had already seen how far I had progressed in my own training just after breakfast. I was glad that Kakashi-sensei knew that what I was training for was a clan secret and therefore didn't ask too many questions. However, considering the fact that Mom said I could trust him with those secrets, I let him know exactly what I was working on, and he was able to provide some useful tips on manipulating water.

After I mastered this, I could become the ninja version of a waterbender.

By this time, both Kakashi-sensei and I had made it back to the clearing where we originally started our training in, only to find that neither of the boys was here. I was beginning to grow worried again.

"Knowing those two, they could be anywhere," I voiced my thoughts to Sensei. "I wonder where they are."

I wasn't able to sense their chakra at the moment either. This could be due to the fact that Naruto had exhausted his chakra stores, in which case, I wouldn't be able to sense him at his current state. I was still not up to a level where I could fully sense those who were hiding their chakra on purpose or those who had little of it left. So I was beginning to hope that Naruto was not dying somewhere, and that Sasuke was only hiding his chakra.

A quiet whistling through the air alerted both Kakashi-sensei and I that there was something coming towards us. I reached for a kunai knife and prepared myself, but I didn't need to bother since it wasn't even close enough to hurt us. It only let us know that someone was here. So I glanced up towards the tree that the kunai had to of come from, only to see a spot of orange against the green of the leaves from the high branches. Lazily laying out on one of those branches was Naruto with his goofy grin that I both loved and hated in this moment.

"So, it looks like Naruto has been improving," I remarked in a slightly cheeky tone. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to see that Naruto was okay, but I wish he wouldn't worry me so much sometimes.

Naruto seemed to be satisfied with the impressed expressions on our faces, so he popped up onto his branch and placed his hands on his hips in a triumphant manner. Almost immediately, before he could make a sarcastic remark, Naruto's foot slipped and he lost his balance on the branch.

"Naruto!" I exclaimed, suddenly panicking. A fall from that distance could really hurt him if he couldn't catch himself.

"Uh, oh!" That's all Kakashi-sensei had to say!?

I readied myself to launch myself off the ground, thinking I would catch him and we could ricochet off of the tree. But before I could, Naruto appeared to suddenly hang upside down from one foot as he brought his other foot back to the tree's surface. He looked down at us with his grin that I had just decided that I hated right now, and laughed.

"Just kidding. You guys really fell for it!" he laughed at us.

I was frustrated now, and a little embarrassed that I had fallen for such a simple prank. "Why don't you come down here and I'll show you what I think of that prank?!"

Damn it, I was worried about you!

"Why do I think this is going to end badly?" Kakashi-sensei sighed.

That phrase seemed to be the Pandora box to an unfortunate event as Naruto chuckled at us some more before something else happened. Suddenly, Naruto's feet didn't have enough chakra in them to stick to the tree, and this caused his feet to pop off of the bark as he began falling!

Despite myself, I screamed Naruto's name a little, surprised by the turn of events.

Luckily, I could now see that Sasuke was already moving up a tree. He moved up just far enough and pushed off of his tree which was not far from the one Naruto had just fallen from. Sasuke's momentum took him to the other tree and he caught Naruto's ankle in his hand. Now they looked like a bad case of monkeys in a barrel that decided to hang out on the tree instead, but I didn't care as I heaved a sigh of relief.

"You really are a total loser, Naruto."

Naruto growled at his savior, "Sasuke!"

"If I make it out of this without having a heart attack, it'll be a miracle…" I thought aloud.

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With the end of the twilight, night was now rolling in and encasing the world in darkness, hindered only by the sparkling stars. By this time, I would have expected all of us to be present for dinner, but there were still some of our party missing. I set the rest of the plates and bowls while Tsunami got the last food dish from the kitchen and set it on the table. As she did so, with my hands now empty, I sat down in my own chair and sighed a little.

I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

"Now both Naruto and Sasuke are late to a meal," I stated, concern for the boys clouding my tone. I looked over to Kakashi-sensei, about to ask if we should go search for them when I was interrupted by the squeak of a door opening.

Swiveling around in my chair, my gaze locked onto the doorway to see two forms coming in from the dark. Walking slowly into the warmth of the home were my two boys: Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto must have exhausted himself severely since he was letting Sasuke tow him into the house by having one arm slung over his shoulder. Sasuke also had a tired demeanor to him as he lugged in his teammate.

"What have you been up to? You look like something the cat dragged in," Tazuna questioned. I had to agree they looked a bit scuffed up and dirty from all of their hard work, but I wasn't going to tease them for trying to get stronger through training.

Naruto chuckled in response as he held his head up. "We both made it. We climbed all the way to the top."

I smirked at the two of them. Having the two of them training together was a great way to motivate them to push themselves and get stronger. While I knew they acted like they hated each other, I could see the wonderful beginnings of a friendship I would never be able to understand fully (given that I am not a boy). I really hoped that one day they would be able to become the best of friends, or even brothers.

"Good," Kakashi-sensei replied. "Akina has also completed as much training as she can with her water style. So now, we move on. Starting tomorrow, you're both bodyguards for Tazuna along with Akina."

Laughter rang out from Naruto in his excitement which couldn't be contained, even in his exhausted state. He yelled out in triumph and was so happy that he accidently knocked himself and Sasuke over to the ground, making them both land on their butts.

"Ugh," Sasuke complained. "You are such a loser."

Their childish behavior made everyone else in the room laugh. These two were just so fun to watch as they were almost trying to not be friends, and were definitely not succeeding. It made me smile even wider.

It didn't take long, once we all sat down, to finish dinner. As always, there were many compliments from the boys to both Tsunami and I about how good our cooking was. But I tried to get them to compliment Tsunami more. I don't think she had many opportunities to see her food appreciated by this many people, so I wanted her to be able to drink it all in.

Once we were all done though, Tazuna started to update everyone on how the bridge was going. Thanks to my clones, the bridge was right on schedule despite the few people who had quit on Tazuna. "In a few days, the bridge will be finished. I have you to thank for that."

So he can actually say thank you. Go figure.

"You've all done great," Tsunami agreed as she cleared away some dishes. "But you've still got to be careful."

We all nodded to reassure her that we would be. Tazuna, however, had a curious expression on his aged face. "I've been meaning to ask you this, but I haven't had the chance until now. Why did you stay and protect me even after you found out I lied to bring you here?"

Sensei was the one to answer him. "'Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage, but under the wing of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive'."

Everyone except me seemed to be confused on this. I decided to help out Kakashi-sensei a little since no one else understood. "It's a quote from the First Hokage Hashirama Senju. It basically means that if we would be cowards if we didn't want to help you get justice for your land. We ninja from the Hidden Leaf do know the difference between right and wrong, despite the reputation ninja have of being mercenaries who only care about getting a pay day. We won't abandon you to be oppressed by someone like Gato."

Receiving nods of agreement from my comrades, I knew that they all felt the same as I did on this matter. We would protect the people of this village. Tazuna and Tsunami seemed to understand our conviction for this mission and both smiled in thanks to us.

The sound of something dripping onto the table startled me into looking up at Inari. There was a wet spot below his head, and even though he covered his eyes with his bangs and hat, I could tell he was crying.

"But why?" he muttered dejectedly.

Naruto turned his gaze onto Inari. "Hm? What did you say?"

The boy slammed his hands onto the table as he rose from his seat. His eyes shone with anger and sadness. "All this stupid training is just a waste of time. Gato's got a whole army. They'll beat you down, and they'll destroy you!"

Throughout the room, we all were surprised at this outburst. Inari had always been quiet around us except for a moment here or there, but it was never like this.

"These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything. No matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose!"

Facing away from the boy slightly, Naruto disagreed. "Just speak for yourself. It won't be like that for me. You got that?"

"Why don't you be quiet?!" Inari yelled at him. "Just looking at you makes me sick! You don't know anything about this country. You're just butting in! Always laughing and playing around, you don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt!"

I tensed at what Inari said. This kid…

"Listen to yourself whining and complaining like some sorry little victim!" Naruto surprised Inari by what he said. "You can whimper all day for all I care. You're nothing but a COWARD!"

"Naruto," Kakashi-sensei warned quietly.

Standing up with a grunt, Naruto began walking away from the table in anger. Inari was left standing there sobbing, while everyone else tried to diffuse the situation. I, however, couldn't stand it any longer, so I got up as well.

I know that my actions surprised a few people as I started to leave without a word. Before I was completely gone though, I stopped. An internal debate went on for a moment in my head on whether I should yell at the kid or be gentle with him. But I decided to go with the third option instead.

"Inari."

His sobbing stopped for a moment, and I could hear some holding their breath. They probably thought I was going to yell at him too.

"You're not the only one in pain right now," I could hear him gasp lightly. "And you're not the only one in this world who has suffered. Every single person in this house has suffered and lost someone precious to them, your Mother and Grandfather included. So the next time you want to place your pain above everyone else's, just remember that you will not get any sympathy from me for your disregard for other people."

With that said, I exited the room and didn't look back.

I went to go after Naruto, and I knew exactly where to look.

As I went upstairs, I went to the room all of Team 7 had been staying in to see that it was completely empty. Although, I knew this would be the case. I knew that whenever Naruto was upset or stressed, he always went somewhere high up. In Konoha, he had places like the water tower on top of his apartment building, the balcony from my apartment room, or on top of the Hokage faces in the mountain. No matter where he went, he liked high places.

So I moved to open the sliding glass door that lead to the balcony just outside of our room and looked up. I could see part of someone's feet jutting out from the edges of the rooftop. I hopped up to the roof to see Naruto sitting with his hands behind him as he leaned on them and gazed up at the stars. His face was hard and, at the same time, vacant of all emotion. I knew that he never wanted to cry about his past anymore.

But I refused to leave him like this.

There wasn't anything to say. I just sat down beside him, and leaned my head onto his shoulder, letting him physically know that I was there with him. It took a few seconds, but I soon felt him lean his own head against mine, silently thanking me for being there.

We didn't need to say anything. We both knew that we had each other's backs not only on the battlefield, but in life as well. No matter what life threw at us.

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"Can I talk to you?"

Kakashi-sensei's voice startled me awake. I was about to speak, when I remembered where I was, which happened to be the roof still. Gazing down beside me, I see that Naruto was snoozing away as if nothing had happened. We must have fallen asleep instead of going back down to the room.

But then, where was Kakashi-sensei?

I looked over the side of the roof to see Kakashi-sensei and Inari sitting at the edge of the dock surrounding the house. Now, I am not normally a person who likes to eavesdrop on people, but I was curious on what Kakashi-sensei had to say to this little kid, so I listened in.

"Naruto can be a little harsh sometimes," Sensei began. "But he doesn't hate you. Your Grandfather told us what happened to your father. You probably don't know this, but Naruto also grew up without a Father. In fact, he never knew either of his parents. And he didn't have a single friend in our village until Akina came into his life. And Akina also never had a proper friend her age since many of those her age were killed before she came to our village. One of the ninja we faced to protect your Grandfather was one of the people responsible for that."

Inari made a noise that told me he was surprised by this fact.

"Before Akina came to the village, Naruto had no one. Still, I've never seen him cry, sulk, or give up. He's always eager to jump in. He wants to be respected. That's his dream, and he'll put his life on the line for that—in a heartbeat. However, Akina is usually there to have his back now. My guess is he just got tired of crying and decided to do something about it. He began to lean on his best friend for support, and with her, he became stronger."

Kakashi-sensei's observational skills were always top notch, but even I never knew that Naruto counted on me so much. I always thought it was the other way around.

"Even though they're young and still learning, they both know what it means to be strong, like your father did. I think they both know better than any of us what you are going through. What Naruto told you earlier, as cruel as it sounded, he's probably told himself that a thousand times before. As far as what Akina told you, I think it was something she had told herself as well so that she could learn to appreciate those precious people she did have left. They both mean well."

From the silence, I could tell that their conversation was over. As quietly as I could, I scooped up Naruto and brought him back into the room so I could carefully put him in his sleeping bag. I gazed down at my best friend and could not contain the smile that made its way onto my face as I felt tears at the corner of my eyes.

I would always be there for him, just like he has been for me.

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Author's Note

Were you all expecting the POV switch? I hope I surprised you! :3

Also, special shoutout to one of my favorite characters, Kushina Uzumaki! It was her birthday on the 10th. I would have loved to have been able to post this on that day, but it just wasn't ready. But Happy Belated Birthday to her!

Hope you all liked the chapter ;)

Let me know with some reviews, please.