Kei-Kei Yuki: Let me just say, thank you all for loving this story and my version of Naruko! I'm really trying to update more chapters, cause a part of me is itching to write Shippuden Naruko~!

Beta: Ana-DaughterofHades

Drabble Twenty-Three

Do or Die: Toad Summoning

Naruko mastered water walking from the old pervy sage, though not without his face almost meeting her fist when Naruko accused him of sexual harassment when she felt his hand on her stomach. Unaware that in reality, Jiraya was examining the seal that was placed there. After water walking, the old sage decided to teach the blonde how to summon toads, which sounded totally awesome to Naruko. Though the hot-tempered blonde was becoming more and angrier when each time she tried to summon a toad, all she got in return was a darn tadpole!

"A tadpole yet again! You haven't made progress, Chibi-chan!"

"Shut up, you old stinking perv, and don't call me Chibi-chan!" Naruko angrily retaliated, ready to pound her fist straight into Jiraya's face. Deciding to try out a new tactic, Jiraya brought her to a change of scenery. Though not before filling her tummy with delicious pork flavored ramen from Ichiraku. That should've been the first sign that the old man was up to something, but Naruko ignored her instincts in favor of ramen. Besides, it was nice seeing Teuchi, a.k.a the famous Ramen God, along with Ayame-nee; both were happy to see their favorite customer.

'Damn it, I should have gone with my instincts,' Naruko silently grumbled, standing in the middle of a forest as Jiraya turned to her and said,

"Go die and come back!"

"You die, you stinking old pervert!" rebuked Naruko.

"From within the dreadfulness of death, squeeze out that enormous chakra that lies inside of you. Experience it with your own body and grasp the technique of it! If you don't want to die then only you can do something about it, got it?" Jiraya said to her, before poking her forehead with a force that sent her flying back, shouting out a scream of,

"I'm going to kill you, you old perv! Ah!" Naruko screamed as she went falling down the abyss of a cliff. Peering over the edge, Jiraya sighed.

"She really does have her mother's temper. Now show me what you really got, kid."

While falling, Naruko summoned chakra to her hands, trying to grab onto the jutted edges of the cliff only for her hand to constantly slip off them. With no way to stabilize herself, Naruko began to panic, the thought of her death sent a wave of fear into her heart.

'If I really go on like this... I'll seriously die. Crap! Crap! Crap!' Naruko constantly chanted; tears filled those large azure eyes with the thought of leaving behind Ruka-nee and Hinata. Even the faces of Kakashi and Sakura flashed through her head.

'Is that really all you got, loser?'

For a fleeting second, Naruko could hear Sasuke's arrogant voice in her mind. His smug face flashed through her head, acting as if he was so much better than her. Just the sight of him sent Naruko's blood boiling, her fears suddenly vanishing!

"Like hell if I ever lose to that smug-faced, girly-teme! I'm not going to die! Especially not today!" screamed Naruko, only the next time she opened her eyes, she was standing inside of a sewer. Drops of water dripped from the ceiling and landed on her hair. Naruko didn't know why but this place felt familiar to her, walking forward until her feet stilled when she heard the sound of something growling. Walking towards the sound, Naruko ignored all the caution signs her instincts were screaming at her and continued on her path.

"This chakra... I have felt it before when that Mizuki bastard harmed Ruka-nee and again during the bridge incident with Haku. This sensation of anger and pain is something I'm familiar with..."

After continuing on her path, Naruko found herself standing in front of a massive caged door. The growling noise from earlier was much louder as Naruko knew that beyond those iron bars, something lied dormant. Eyes still on the door, Naruko noticed there was a seal placed on it.

"So you've finally come, brat," spoke a deep voice.

Naruko took a step back, legs trembling under the menacing glare the massive red-eyed beast gave her after finally showing itself to her. Naruko could feel the beast intentions of wanting to harm her, the strength in her legs had vanished. Leaving her rooted to the ground, staring face-to-face with the feared monster.

"Come closer, so that I can finally kill you! The only thing that is keeping you alive is this bloody seal that refuses to release me..." The beast banged his claws against the cage, expressing how much he loathed the seal that kept him caged. Though Naruko was overwhelmingly terrified, the blonde calmed herself by taking deep breaths. Regaining her ability to talk once again, she said,

"So I take it... that y-you... you are the Kyūbi no Yōko! That chakra that I felt during those two events, it was this guy's chakra all along. Tch, to think Ruka-nee still accepted me, even after knowing this guy was sealed in me. She really is a saint." Naruko softly smiled, thinking back to the sister-figure that not only helped raised her but showered her with kindness despite knowing such a monster was sealed inside of her. Just thinking of chunin academy teacher restored Naruko's fearlessness attitude.

"Oi, listen here, you big red furball! Don't forget whose body's being rented out to you, so in exchange, lend me some of your chakra!" demanded Naruko, glaring at the red-eyed beast beyond the iron bars that chuckled ominously at the blonde's spunky attitude.

"You may not be a redhead, but you definitely act a lot like her. I will do as asked since after all if you die, I die as well, and neither of us can have that. You got some balls, kid, for making such a demand from me." From underneath the cage, red chakra spilled out to wrap around Naruko like a cacoon. Right before Naruko awakened back in the present, the last words she said to the Kyūbi no Yōko were,

"Your eyes... are really sad, ya know..." Her words stunned the beast, though Naruko was unaware, seeing how she was back in the present. Standing on the edge of the cliff, Jiraya watched as red chakra spilled from Naruko hand and an enormous cloud of smoke appeared.

"You two really created quite the kid," smirked Jiraya, feeling quite proud of Naruko's accomplishment.

Inside her room, Sakura picked up the frame that held a picture of when Team 7 was first formed. "Both Sasuke-kun and Naruko are training, while I'm at home moping around. I can't continue on like this. I can't become a burden to them any longer." Just recalling all the things they went through during the Second Exam brought shivers down Sakura's spine.

The agonizing pain of Sasuke's ordeal when Orichmaru placed that mark on his neck and the painful scream that Naruko released when that same villain knocked the small blonde unconscious. Not to mention when Sasuke finally awoke, he was not the same. That boy who brutally disabled that sound ninja's arms was not the Sasuke-kun that Sakura had fallen in love with. Even though the Second Exam was finally over, the whole ordeal still gave Sakura nightmares.

"I want to become more than just a Sasuke-kun fangirl..." Sakura expressed her deepest desire, placing the picture frame back to where it belonged. After contemplating over ways she wished to get stronger, Sakura finally left the house to pick up some flowers to give to Lee who was in the hospital. It was the least she could do after everything he did for her, such as coming to her rescue during the Second Exam.

"Ah, look at who stumbled in," said a certain blonde Yamanaka; Sakura had forgotten that the flower shop she just wandered into belonged to Ino's family.

'Crap!'

"I see Naru-baka is not with you today."

"Of course not, she's off training," Sakura remembered that before going to the hospital to visit Sasuke she was going to ask Naruko to accompany her, only to not find the blonde anywhere. When she asked Kakashi-sensei, he responded by saying that she was off training, preparing herself for the upcoming Third Exam.

"Still can't believe that idiot passed. Ah, I can still recall the time when Naruko could barely do a henge, and don't get me started on Bunshin no Jutsu! Now look at her, still loud and annoying, yet also strong. She is no longer the idiot that everyone used to pick on back in the academy anymore." Ino walked over to Sakura; the two girls were thinking along the same lines as each other, recalling their past memories as academy students.

"Naruko is really amazing, ya know. Yeah, she is a knucklehead and got a lot of flaws, but I get jealous of her. The way she never backs down, her courage and bravery, and the way... she is able to interact with Sasuke-kun. You know, he always did treat the rest of us girls differently from the way he treats Naruko." Sakura stared down at a batch of sunflowers her eyes were drawn towards. A hint of sadness escaped from her voice.

"What are you talking about? Those two are always fighting with each other! If anything Sasuke-kun is annoyed with Naruko constantly trying to compete with him. Trust me, there is no way those two are ever going to become a thing! Like hell, if I ever lose Sasuke-kun to Naruko of all people!" Ino quickly became vexed with the idea of losing her handsome and cool Sasuke-kun to the likes of Naruko.

Sakura found her old friend's vexed expression amusing, silently thinking to herself, 'You haven't observed them as I have, Ino. There has always been something between those two; we just chose to ignore it. Thinking of ourselves as better than Naruko, when all along she had the one thing that all of us competed so hard to win: Sasuke-kun acknowledgment.'

Elsewhere, Sasuke was currently training with Kakashi, trying to catch his breath before asking, "Where is Naruko? I heard she passed and will be participating in the Third Exam."

"Maa, our darling little Naru-chan is currently training with Ebisu. Don't worry, she is in perfect hands," said Kakashi, watching how Sasuke's cheeks flushed with color, shooting him the infamous 'Uchiha' glare.

"Who the heck says that I'm worried about her? That idiot can do whatever she wants." Sasuke was just disappointed that he would just have to wait a little longer before he could get his reward. He was not worried about that knucklehead, though a quick flashback to what happened in the Second Exam caused him to reexamine his feelings.

"Uh-huh. Though I am a little worried after Naruko called Ebisu a pervert, but it shouldn't be too bad. After all, he is an elite jonin-Ah, Sasuke-kun, lightning is coming from your hand." Kakashi peeked away from his Icha Icha Paradise, only to see Sasuke in a familiar crouching stance, sparks of lightning coming from his hand.

"You left that dobe alone in the hands of a pervert..."

"S-Sasuke, let me explain-"

"Chidori!"

End of Drabble Twenty-Three