Hey there everyone, It's Ken. Thank you all for much for tuning into the last chapter I enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much. These chapters were also ones I was looking forward to as well, one thing you might have noticed is my appreciation for character driven story beats and these next couple of chapters focus on that while getting us set up for things to begin ramping up so I hope you are looking forward to it.
Now onto the reviews (Warning this section may be lengthy, we've got some good ones.)
Alexander4443: Thanks again for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed!
Jagsboy: Naruto and Kou's relationship was something that I found really important especially for moving further into the arc. Kou's circumstances allowed Naruto to be able to sort of right his own past in a way while bonding with this young man. These chapters were also important for Naruto and Kurotsuchi's relationship, both of these characters are closed off people in their own ways so they both are able to sort of confide in each other. It's nice I liked writing it. On the topic of Kurotsuchi finding out where Naruto is from, stay tuned.
Konoha POVs that's a really good question. To answer that, yes there will be more POVs from those characters as well. With every end to a significant arc, we'll get their POVs since they will be important later on.
The big love interest question, If I'm being honest, I'm struggling with pinning myself down on one. I have multiple characters and their interactions I wanna write but I think I may be leaning towards a particular person. Read and see.
I was hoping to wrap up this arc nicely since it is a small but significant one for Naruto's journey with these events acting to mold him going further into the future. Thank you for reading as always!
Dragonkeeper10: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! This part was one of my favorite scenes to write so far, the Jinchuriki always had a big game talked about them but I really wanted to display Naruto allowing himself to channel that strength and reveal to the Sound ninja what exactly it was they were facing.
I also liked writing the downside to this rampage, Naruto wanted to kill two birds with one stone so he managed to take care of the ninja while turning the hate of the village onto himself instead of Kou to protect him. I wanted to reveal how the banishment had been treating Naruto mentally and emotionally while things seemed good there are still lingering bits he's carrying with him that bleed into his actions to the point where he's accepted it in the worst way.
Taiga's story was another one of my favorite bits, one of the things that I wish was more prominent was the state of the ninja world outside of the few flashbacks we had to really emphasize the world they live in.
Thank you for reading as always!
Krieger Techpriest: Glad you enjoyed man, here's another!
Macrosries: I'm glad you found Kokai as well and are enjoying it, I'm doing my best to do better. Thank you so much for reading.
Spellbat: In the world of Naruto especially in the beginning, hate was a powerful driving force. It's depressing but until the issues can be faced and resolved its the nature of the world, however with the lessons that are learned from this you can count on our lad to make the world a better place. I felt something about these chapters two while writing it, I'm glad I did. Thanks for reading.
Demonkid: I'm glad you enjoyed! I'll do my best to stay on the Bi-weekly scheduling (And If I miss I'll make sure to make up for it.). Naruto is just unconciously making a great impression while he's just trying to find his own peace in the world, while I'm tempted to do something crazy, but I'll be good... for now lol. Thanks for reading!
Kanakire: Thank you! I'll keep doing my best!
Tigrezztail: It's nice really being able to explore Naruto's character including the bits where he's having fun and being a cool guy. The decision Naruto had to make was a tough one but it was the one he had to make to protect Kou, it was the only solution he could think of at that time and Kurotsuchi wasn't standing for that.
Naruto himself didn't even realize the amount of stress he was placing on himself was causing him to slip to the point where he was agreeing with Danzo's sentiment and his own self sacrificial one. Even with how positive he seems Naruto still has some scars that he needs to have pointed out so they don't break him and Kurotsuchi was that person for him. I love these two hypocrites. Thank you for reading as always!
Jatt1432: Thank you for reading!
As always I apperciate and read every review sent in so feel free to leave your thoughts and questions on the story here and I'm happy to respond.
One more little item I want to drop here is, one of the sub antagonists I have been waiting to write for finally arrives. Look forward to it.
Thank you all again for reading and I hope you enjoy.
-Ken
{...}
Chapter 12: The Artist
The sight was a horrible one.
The scent of smoke and the sound of crumbling rock echoed through the silence that held the village. A young girl looked on in horror not at just the sight of the destruction but the sight of a young man.
His blonde hair waved in the breeze while he looked at the destruction around him with a look that suggested pride.
Those blue eyes, she would never forget the spite that lived in them. She would never forget the way he looked down at the destruction.
She would never forget the day she lost one of the people she respected most in the world.
Even if she had to carve it into herself.
It was a reminder that not even for a single moment can she falter.
As long as she could move.
She would never let her weakness cost her anything again.
{...}
"Move!"
A sound ninja yelled while an explosion blasted apart the wall behind him sending him flying forward.
The shinobi rolled while three more got into their formation, "Grab as much as you can and evacuate! We'll hold them here!" The sound ninja yelled to another who started to run.
The trio of ninja looked through toward the smoke as a silhouette approached them, the shadow of a blade was seen while the ninja pulled out kunai.
One of the ninja was suddenly hit by a rock pillar causing the other two to jump away from their position.
"Wind Style: Great-"
The ninja was cut off by a foot kicking him in the stomach, he took another spinning kick to the face sending him crashing into the wall. Naruto let out a sigh while Kurotsuchi dashed out from the smoke toward the last of the ninja with her blade brandished.
The ninja tried to swipe at her with his kunai but the girl leaned to avoid the strike, she then swiped with her sword cutting the kunai into multiple pieces. The ninja started forming hand signs but stopped before he fell to his knees, Kurotsuchi whipped her sword through the air clearing the fresh blood off of it.
The ninja fell into a puddle of his own blood while Kurotsuchi glared toward the stairwell where the other shinobi had gone.
"There."
Kurotsuchi growled while Naruto watched the girl walk ahead of him, "Wait hold on." The blonde said while the pink eyed girl looked toward him.
"That could easily be a trap, we need to move carefully."
The blonde tried to warn while Kurotsuchi shrugged him off, "We have to keep pushing our offensive, the minute we lose traction they can escape." The girl said darkly while the blonde followed her.
"That doesn't mean just rush in, you practically announced our presence with that entrance back there."
Naruto chided while Kurotsuchi kept walking down the stairs, the girl paused for a moment before she looked toward the blonde with narrowed eyes.
"There's no need for sneaking in when we clearly have the advantage. The mission is to completely and utterly destroy any lingering Sound hideouts."
The girl said before she turned back toward the bottom of the stairs.
"What if we run into that snake bastard Orochimaru? That guy's a Sannin and one of the most twisted ninja I've met."
Naruto said while Kurotsuchi kept walking with her blade brandished as the door came into her vision.
"Then I'll kill him too."
The girl said while Naruto groaned, this chick has gone crazy during this mission of hers. Casually talking about killing a guy like that.
"Regardless we have to do this with some sort of caution don't we? We're not trying to get killed."
Naruto said while Kurotsuchi paused on the stairs, "Death is the life of a shinobi, those who kill are destined to be killed. If I die then so be it but I won't stop until it is done." The girl said while she kept her eyes ahead.
"That's my ninja way. My life is dedicated to my home and I would gladly die for it, it's all that matters…"
Naruto listened while he spotted a single eye looking back at him while Kurotsuchi partially turned her head to look toward the teen.
"And I will complete the mission no matter what."
Kurotsuchi said while Naruto flinched at the look that was in her eyes, she was like a woman possessed.
Words were no longer enough to stop her.
Multiple sound ninja were grabbing multiple files that were scattered throughout the lab area they were in. "Don't leave a single file behind!" One of the sound ninjas yelled while the others kept gathering papers, another one of the ninja who kept his eyes closed standing in the front of the room flinched.
"They're here!"
The sensor ninja yelled while the shinobi looked toward the door that suddenly blasted off its hinges smashing directly into the sensor. Kurotsuchi immediately dashed in through the now open doorway while one of the ninja yelled rushing toward her.
He pulled out his own short sword and swiped toward Kurotsuchi who avoided both swipes before she swung her sword, slashing both of the man's legs before she kneed him underneath his chin.
The ninja's back slammed against the ground before a sword stabbed through his chest all the way through him till the tip of her blade hit the ground. The ninja coughed out blood while another ninja swung his fist at her using taijutsu, the girl dodged the attack kicking his arm to knock off his balance before she slashed his back twice.
She then slashed the back of his knees causing him to drop to the ground before she formed hand signs.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!"
Kurotsuchi yelled while she stomped a foot to the ground sending out spikes of rock taking out the multiple shinobi on the left side of the room.
"Die!"
A sound kunoichi yelled while she threw multiple shuriken at the black-haired teen, Kurotsuchi glared while she twisted her blade slicing the neck of the ninja on his knees in front of her before she used her sword to deflect the projectiles.
The kunoichi got into close quarters with the black-haired teen, taking the short sword of the fallen ninja in front of her. Their blades crossed multiple times with the kunoichi striking Kurotsuchi's sword aggressively to break her guard. Kurotsuchi deflected several more blows before she noticed another ninja preparing a jutsu to launch at her.
The girl deflected two more aggressive strikes, before she parried. Kurotsuchi then swung her sword down on the kunoichi's planting it into the ground. She then followed up with a heavy kick into the solar plexus of her attacker causing the woman to clutch her body.
"Wind Style: Air Wave!"
Another sound ninja yelled as he released the technique, Kurotsuchi spun to avoid it before she threw her own kunai causing it to stick into the ninja's shoulder.
Kurotsuchi started weaving her own hand signs while the kunoichi next to her growled while finishing her own hand signs.
"Water Style: Gunshot!"
The kunoichi yelled while she shot water from her mouth point blank at Kurotsuchi's head, the black-haired girl glared before turning toward the water. She instantly shot out fire from her own mouth blasting it against the water shots turning them into steam as she pushed the stream of shots back to the kunoichi.
The woman was quickly overwhelmed by the flames from Kurotsuchi's technique and was set alight from the fire.
The kunoichi screamed while Kurotsuchi turned and slashed the woman with her sword, cutting her down before she dashed toward the wounded ninja ahead of her.
The black-haired teen plunged her sword into the ninja straight through him before she lifted him on her blade using him like a shield and rushed toward the other two ninja in the back waiting for her.
The two shinobi looked at the girl in horror, while they threw multiple kunai at her while she used their comrade's body to block the weapons. The black-haired teen wrenched her weapon from the body before she jumped into the air and spun, she threw her katana into the shinobi on the right before she landed and dashed toward the shinobi on the left.
She engaged the shinobi in Taijutsu while the ninja threw multiple strikes, the girl deflected two of them before she caught the third one. She balled up her fist only allowing two of her knuckles to stay outward while she punched into the ninja's shoulder twice with it.
A crack was heard before the ninja yelled while his arm hung limply, he yelled and tried to swing with the other but Kurotsuchi punched into his shoulder again causing it to go limp. The ninja groaned while Kurotsuchi grabbed the front of his shirt before punching the center of his chest causing another cracking noise before the man hit the ground limp.
The girl quickly turned and walked toward the other ninja who was still trying to pull her sword out of himself. She grabbed her sword and snatched it out of him before she plunged the blade into his neck silencing him.
She turned her head toward the last of the sound ninja who had the folders in his hands, he tried to run but two kunai were thrown into the back of his legs. The shinobi hit the ground yelling while Kurotsuchi approached him, he tried to say something but was quickly silenced by the girl's blade.
The room fell silent while Naruto looked at her from the doorway at the front, Kurotsuchi swiped her blade cleaning the blood from it before she weaved hand signs.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu."
The girl spoke while she spat out flames from her mouth setting the documents on fire as well as the rest of the room.
The girl's pink eyes seemed to gleam while she walked toward Naruto, "Come on." The boy looked toward her before he looked at the room again.
"Was this really necessary?"
Naruto asked while Kurotsuchi gave him a look, "They were my enemies. I already told you that this is a ninja kill ninja world. That's just how it is." The girl said while she walked past him.
Naruto kept his eyes on the burning room, before he looked at the blood covered Kurotsuchi.
He tended to forget how far from his old home he was, the further he got away from it the more the world reminded him that he was in it.
This was the reality of shinobi.
"Come on already…"
Kurotsuchi said while Naruto blinked refocusing his vision at the girl making brief eye contact with her before she turned.
"We're burning daylight."
{...}
"Rise young Kurotsuchi."
A voice from an older man spoke while she slowly opened her pink eyes, she slowly stood up from her kneel to her full height keeping her head facing toward the floor.
"I have to say, official items aside. I'm proud of your growth, compared to other shinobi your age you're excelling. You should remember that."
The older man spoke while the black-haired teen kept her eyes toward the ground not attempting to make eye contact with the man that was addressing her, "I'll see to it that we assemble you a team to work with moving forward toward your promotion to Jonin." the man chuckled while Kurotsuchi finally looked up at the older man sitting in front of her.
"With all due respect, there's no need for that. I'll continue working as is."
The girl spoke while the older man gave her a look, "Kurotsuchi while I respect your strength and will there are benefits to working with others as a unit. Everyone needs someone they can trust to have their backs on the battlefield." the older man spoke again while Kurotsuchi found the urge to scoff at the words of the man.
"Why, to allow them to stab you in the back instead? I'm all that I need out there. A team would end up slowing me down."
The girl spoke while the facial features of the older man softened gently at the girl before he sighed, "Kurotsuchi, while I don't necessarily express it outwardly. You are still my granddaughter, shinobi aside your wellbeing is something I find myself concerned with. You can speak to me about the matters that bother you... including that day." The older man spoke while Kurotsuchi suppressed the growl in her throat.
"That day has nothing to do with anything, Grandfather all I am is a shinobi. There is no aside to it, I'll continue to fight into it is done and I'll do that on my own. I have no need for a team or anyone else on the battlefield. Your word is my bond."
Kurotsuchi spoke while the Tsuchikage looked at his grandaughter grimly before he sighed, "That was the one thing I could never forget about your mother, her strength of will was almost unrivaled. I understand but a shinobi is only as good as their motives, if your motivation is death then you will only be good when you're dead. Remember that." The Tsuchikage spoke while Kurotsuchi looked away.
"I'll take point on the Sound Dispersement mission."
Kurotsuchi spoke ignoring the words of her grandfather who nodded his head, "So be it, You'll be squad leader for the ninja sent out for the task." The old man said while Kurotsuchi gave him a look.
"Don't even think of soloing the entire mission, the land of Sound is vast and filled with dangerous enemies. One wrong move and I'll be burying you next to the people we've lost. This operation will be handled by a squad, end of conversation."
The older man said while the black-haired teen huffed, "You sound scared of the Sound, Grandfather. Are you worried that they have some powerful shinobi working with them?" Kurotsuchi asked almost arrogantly while the older man's eyes darkened.
"Kurotsuchi, I fear no man. Throughout the many wars I have seen in my lifetime I have faced almost all types of opponents you could even dream of. However, that's not the reason I fear no man... I fear no man because all the men that I feared are beyond this world now. Even now calling them men is understatment, this world is filled with monsters as well..."
The Tsuchikage trailed off with the image of a blonde man holding a three-pronged kunai came to his mind, nearly making him shiver. The older man shook off the image while he looked at the girl.
"That said, those monsters still linger in this world to this day. As long as they exist then it doesn't matter how skilled you are untill the day you become a monster in your own right you need someone to have your back. You are acting as squad leader for the execution division. You are to destroy all enemies in your way and return triumphantly."
The Tsuchikage spoke while Kurotsuchi nodded her head at the orders. "Yes sir." she responded calmly before she turned to leave. "Kurotsuchi." The sound of her grandfather's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"You are to return home in one piece."
The older man said while Kurotsuchi looked at her grandfather for a few more moments for she nodded.
"Understood."
That was the last thing the girl said before she turned leaving the room and her grandfather in it, she couldn't see the look on his face while she wasted no time before returning to the battlefield.
A blond man was a visage in her head as well, the image made her fist clench before she looked toward the sky with determined pink eyes.
"Destroy all of my enemies and make it back home."
{...}
A fire crackled in a small fire pit in the middle of a small campsite that Naruto and Kurotsuchi finished setting up.
It had been three days since they were at Jasmine Village and they had already taken care of seven Sound Village strongholds.
Mostly due to Kurotsuchi driving them both to keep moving after each destroyed strong hold, Naruto was glad to have good stamina. If not then this would have been impossible.
Not that he himself wasn't driven, he wanted to make sure anyone that knew about Kou or the village was taken care of so they could keep their peace.
The blonde boy grew a small smile on his face while his nose was in his book, chapter 12 of Make Out Paradise.
The hero was a gutsy young man who tended to be hardheaded and got into multiple difficult situations trying too hard to please the heroine. Meanwhile the heroine was sweet but tough, pining for the affections of her significant other but always having to deal with the aftermath of his recklessness usually leading to a beatdown or two.
The two young lovers were new to love and had multiple obstacles to go through not only with the world but with each other in order to cherish what they had.
Sometime ago Naruto would have cringed at the first sentence, but something had recently changed in the boy. While he picked up the book originally to feel closer to home and to try to understand both of his teachers there was also a slightly different motive as well. Recently Naruto had accepted his fate as a forever single man leaving his one true love back in the Hidden Leaf.
His road was the lonely one in his eyes.
Yet.
He kissed a girl.
For the first time in his life, he had kissed a girl that actually kissed him first, suddenly it felt like the world opened up to him. Pervy Sage was worthy of his moniker, but the guy only sometimes knew what he was talking about when it came to girls.
It was amazing and Naruto was genuinely a lot more curious about the concept than he thought he would be. Looking back on it, Temari was even prettier after the kiss, not to mention he's also traveling around with a pretty kunoichi.
He felt like he had suddenly become more aware of the opposite sex even more so than before and this book was part entertainment and part research. Was it always the best frame of reference? Definitely not but it at least gave the teen a little context.
Maybe… just maybe he could make this whole romance thing work out. He'll have to take out sometime after this mission to visit the Hidden Sand again.
For science.
"Reading your pervy book again?"
Kurotsuchi voiced while Naruto looked toward the girl, "Yeah, I am. Also it's pervy but not super pervy so it should be fine!" The blonde yelled, causing a slightly amused expression to grow on Kurotsuchi's face.
"It's fine if you like pervy stuff, you are a guy after all."
Kurotsuchi said while Naruto raised an eyebrow, "You say that yet… you sure do like to point it out? You curious?" The blonde asked while Kurotsuchi shook her head.
"Of course not, that garbage is for perverts and horny teens."
Kurotsuchi said while Naruto gave her a false offended look, "I'm not a pervert or a… whatever that means teen. I'm perfectly normal unlike Captain Denial over here." The boy teased while Kurotsuchi huffed.
"I'm not in denial, that's just what it is so I'm not lying."
Kurotsuchi said while Naruto eyed her over his book before a smirk grew on his face.
"You know… this moonlight really reminds me of how beautiful you are."
Naruto said, causing Kurotsuchi to give the boy a look while she felt her ears burn slightly, "The hell are you talking about?" The girl said while Naruto looked at his book again.
"I do… I know that I ain't that best at all times but… I truly do mean it."
Naruto spoke, causing Kurotsuchi's expression to soften while looking at the blonde teen.
"Now then… take off your clothes."
Naruto spoke suddenly while Kurotsuchi's face turned red, "What?!" The girl yelled out causing the blonde to fall to the ground laughing.
"Why the hell are you laughing, you perv?!"
"Did you see the look on your face? You looked so interested! I bet your head filled with dirty thoughts with how red your face was! Now who's the horny teen?"
Naruto laughed while the girl slowly realized he had been reading from his book causing her to become even redder. Naruto braced for impact while nothing ever came to hit him, instead the sound of laughter came from where the girl was sitting.
Kurotsuchi was laughing.
Naruto looked at the girl with awe while she laughed, "You jerk!" The girl laughed again while the blonde chuckled.
"I like it when you laugh."
Naruto said while pink eyes looked toward him, "Are you still reading cheesy lines from that book?" Kurotsuchi asked while Naruto shook his head.
"I'm being serious about that one… so why don't you allow yourself to do it more often?"
The blonde asked while Kurotsuchi took a breath, calming down, "I'm a shinobi, laughter and jokes in enemy territory are distractions." The girl said while Naruto blinked at her.
"The Hidden Stone sounds like oodles of fun listening to you. You are allowed to laugh y'know and have a little fun."
The blonde said while Kurotsuchi looked at the fire crackling in front of them, "Fun… in our line of work? Naruto, you and I are murderers for a mission. We are weapons built for a mission; we can't let petty emotions get in the way of that mission. The minute we do that's when we lose the things that are important to us." The girl said while Naruto nodded his head.
"Isn't that just human though?"
Naruto said while Kurotsuchi gave the blonde boy a look as he stood up.
"Human?"
Kurotsuchi asked while Naruto nodded, "Yeah, we can't help laughing and having fun. Those are natural things beside why have something you want to protect if you can't enjoy it?" The blonde said while the black-haired teen kept looking at him.
"Enjoy it? How can you enjoy it if it's gone?"
Kurotsuchi asked while Naruto gave her a reassuring smile.
"But it's not gone."
"It almost was."
"But it isn't."
Naruto argued against the kunoichi while she looked to the side, "That's because I won't allow it, no matter what it takes." The girl said while Naruto chuckled.
"There you go again, being super dark."
The boy said while the girl stood up, "You saw what I did, it disturbed you. It's the truth, they would have been threats if they had lived. You know that. For my home that's what I'd do." Kurotsuchi said while Naruto tilted his head.
"Why?"
Naruto asked while Kurotsuchi narrowed her eyes at him, "It's orders from the Tsuchikage. I live and die for my home by his order" Kurotsuchi said while the blonde shook his head.
"Try again."
"Try again? Try again for what? That's my only reason, my only purpose."
"You can't say that to me and sound like you're trying to convince yourself."
They went back and forth again while Kurotsuchi looked toward the ground, "Any other reason would be dumb." The girl said while Naruto gave her a smile.
"Then give me the dumbest reason you have; it doesn't matter if someone else thinks it's dumb. It's important to you."
Naruto said while Kurotsuchi looked at the ground a little longer before she looked back toward the blonde.
"The rice bowls…"
Kurotsuchi said in an embarrassed tone while Naruto looked toward her for a few beats before he snickered.
"Oi."
The girl spoke up while Naruto waved his hand, "I never said I wouldn't laugh but it's nice. Why Rice Bowls?" Naruto asked while the girl paused for a moment.
She thought back to when she was eating them together with her old team, the three of them looked happy laughing and enjoying the food.
"...Because they are the best Rice Bowls in the world."
Kurotsuchi said while Naruto gave her a big smile, "There she is." The blonde said while she looked toward him.
"We are ninja, we will have to do some things we have no choice but to do. That's why we have to enjoy our lives while we have them, no matter how dumb that enjoyment is. Being a ninja isn't about what we are, but why we do it. You're still a person too."
The blonde said while Kurotsuchi looked at her hands for a moment, "Do you really believe that's still true?" The girl asked while she heard the sound of a chuckle.
"Of course I do."
The boy said while Kurotsuchi looked back up toward him, if you would have told her just a few days ago this same guy was going through something similar that she helped him through she might have not believed you.
The amount of energy that he managed to have and that almost impossible positive outlook he had for everything was almost contagious. Despite everything that he's been through, Naruto still manages to push forward without letting it all tear him apart.
Did that make him stronger than her?
And if he was…
Could she rely on him?
"Y'know I'm somewhat of a writer myself, that's why I get this kind of stuff. It also explains my intellect."
Naruto said, rubbing the bottom of his nose almostly smugly while the girl gave him a look.
"Oh yeah?"
Kurotsuchi said while Naruto nodded his head with a giant grin on his face. "Yep, I once did some writing for Make-Out Paradise." Naruto declared with pride while Kurotsuchi raised an eyebrow at the blonde who was glowing with pride.
"What, like fanfiction? Doesn't that make you a pervert too?"
"Huh?! No, I had a reason for writing it!"
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
"So I could convince Pervy Sage to train me."
Naruto spoke while Kurotsuchi tilted her head, "Pervy Sage?" The girl asked while the blonde teen nodded his head.
"Yeah, he's one of the legendary Sannin. Anyway-"
Naruto was about to continue but the sound of a light gasp came from the girl, "You trained with one of the legendary Sannin?!" The girl yelled while Naruto nodded his head nonchalantly.
"He taught me a few cool things but he was mostly trying to teach me pervy stuff."
The boy said while Kurotsuchi blinked, that must be the other reason why he's so strong.
"Anyway, my writing was so good. I heard it stopped a war in another country, so I know a thing or two about appreciating art."
The boy said while Kurotsuchi held back a snicker, "Your writing stopped a war?" The girl asked, trying not to laugh while Naruto nodded his head. "Yep in the Land of Fangs when they were fighting against the Land of Claws." Naruto said before Kurotsuchi paused for a minute and looked at him with slowly widening eyes.
Now that she recalls their affairs were minor but still heard about in the Hidden Stone, they once came to the village for support in the war but before the village could provide any the war was suddenly over. The girl stared at Naruto for a few more moments before she snickered which turned into bursting out into laughter.
This guy, he was truly something else.
Naruto smiled at the laughing girl before he joined her, the two teens laughed under the stars while the fire continued to burn between them.
"You feeling better?"
Naruto asked while Kurotsuchi wiped a tear from her face while she took multiple breaths to calm down from her laughing fit.
"Yeah…"
The girl said while Naruto gently smiled back at her, the fire illuminated his smile making it seem even brighter.
"Good."
The boy said simply while Kurotsuchi looked back at the boy trying to ignore the sound of the walls she placed within herself cracking. There was no such thing as a guard when it came to Naruto. At times it was frustrating but times like this it was kind of nice.
Maybe… maybe having her guard down around this guy wouldn't be so bad.
"Thanks Naruto."
The girl said while Naruto looked at her with surprise for a few moments before he nodded his head.
"Anytime."
The boy said simply while they both listened to the sounds of the fire continuing to crackle.
She could try to be a person too possibly, like how Naruto was trying to be happy.
Maybe that could be possible for her to accomplish too.
{...}
The duo walked side by side while Kurotsuchi held the map out in front of her, "Looks like that's about it for my mission." The girl said looking at all of the X's on the map.
"Awesome! We got that knocked out kind of fast didn't we?" Welp there's nothing we can't do if we try."
Naruto cheered while Kurotsuchi smiled toward the boy, she looked at her hair moving a hand to stroke it. "You said my hair was pretty right?" The girl asked while Naruto gave the girl a look before scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah."
The blonde's ears reddened slightly while Kurotsuchi nodded her head, "Do you think I should get it cut?" The girl asked while the blonde looked toward her.
"Hmmm, I don't know. I've only seen you with long hair but from my experience short hair isn't all that bad. It could be pretty awesome on you."
Naruto spoke while Kurotsuchi narrowed her eyes at the boy slightly, "In your experience?" The girl asked while the blonde nodded his head.
"Yup! There was this girl in my village with long awesome pink hair but she cut it during the Chunin Exams. Recently it was short, but she made it look really pretty."
The boy rambled while Kurotsuchi gave the boy an unamused look, "Sounds like you're quite the ladies man. I'm guessing the rouge idiot charms their socks off" The girl said almost amused while Naruto paused for a moment.
"I wouldn't say that as a matter of fact I was the complete opposite. There wasn't a single girl there that paid me much attention... well maybe there was one but I'm pretty sure she just wanted to be friends, either way I can't really blame them."
The blonde said while Kurotsuchi looked toward him, "I can, girls can be pains in the ass. I like to keep things simple and straightforward; I never was a fan of the dancing around object of your affections. Just say how you feel." The girl said while Naruto nodded his head.
"You totally get me! At the same time, they definitely have their upsides too."
Naruto spoke before Kurotsuchi gave the boy a mini glare before she watched his face crack into a smile. "Like when they smile at something that makes them happy." The blonde spoke while Kurotsuchi's glare faded, she almost forgot for a moment that Naruto was an idiot.
Though his love life is none of her business she did felt a faint pang of discomfort hearing the teen next to her talk about his experience with girls. She had spoken with guys before but never really in that sort of sense, she spent her time focusing on getting stronger instead of romance.
It was a weird sensation.
There was a brief moment where she did consider it.
When they were fishing back at Jasmine Village, the moment she was struggling with catching a fish. Naruto immediately move to help her and got super close in the process; he was close enough for her to make some kind of move but she ended up deciding against it.
Rouge hormones that's all it was at that moment.
However, since they would be traveling together for a while wouldn't that be something she could at least explore just a tiny bit? Would it even be worth it? Naruto was a wandering ninja, who could say he would even stay?
These things were a lot more complicated than she thought.
Yet curiosity never failed to kill the cat.
"Hey Naruto I-"
The words died in her mouth as she turned to look toward the boy, Naruto gave her a look while he stopped walking.
"Kurotsuchi? Hey what's wrong?"
The girl's breathing began to speed up while she kept looking toward the blonde teen's direction, Naruto meanwhile looked around. Kurotsuchi fell to the ground while she looked, the strength left her body while Naruto kept looking around.
Then he spotted it.
There was a fist sized white bug staring at the both of them, Naruto's eyes widened while Kurotsuchi looked toward the blonde.
"NARUTO!"
Kurotsuchi screamed while an explosion blasted the area apart, the two teens were already in the air while Naruto looked down at the crater.
"The hell was that?!"
Naruto yelled while holding Kurotsuchi in his arms, "No…. No…No." The girl uttered while the blue-eyed boy looked toward her. They both landed back on the ground while Naruto kept the girl held in his arms.
"Kurotsuchi…"
The boy said while the dirt around them revealed more small white bugs, Naruto quickly dashed as soon as they detonated. Naruto landed a little further ahead, but more bugs crawled from the trees revealing themselves before detonating.
Kurotsuchi kept her eyes shut tightly while Natuto dashed through the trees flipping and avoiding the exploding insects before he blasted them both into the air.
Naruto looked around at the area below them, "Those things are everywhere!" The blonde yelled while Kurotsuchi shook her head.
This is impossible.
This shouldn't be happening.
He shouldn't be here.
On the way back down to the ground Naruto noticed a bug fall directly in front of his face, the blonde's eyes widened before he kicked the bug higher into the air causing it to explode above them.
Naruto and Kurotsuchi were sent flying forward, the blonde moved quickly to brace them both for impact. They both hit the ground causing them to roll out of the mouth of the woods into a large clearing.
"Kurotsuchi! Are you ok?!"
Naruto yelled while the girl slowly got up and looked toward Naruto with the same horrified expression in her eyes. The blonde gently placed his hands on her cheeks making direct eye contact with her.
"Talk to me."
The blonde asked while Kurotsuchi's breathing slowed down briefly looking toward him. She was about to speak but a foot hitting the grass stopped her.
"Ah and here I thought I could get you in one shot."
The voice rang through her ears as she turned her head to look at the owner of the voice, her horrified expression returned as she looked toward the man.
"So you're Naruto Uzumaki. The bingo book said that you were a rookie piece of crap ninja. You seem to have some moves, remind me to tell the authors to update that."
The blonde man spoke while Naruto glared at him, "Who the hell are you?" The teen growled while Kurotsuchi spoke quietly.
"Big bro Deidara…"
The girl spoke quietly while the man's one visible eye widened slightly, "Looks like you brought some dead weight. Why don't you put that down and we have a quick chat?" Deidara said while Naruto glared at him.
"I asked you who the hell you are!"
Naruto yelled while Deidara chuckled, "I'm a mere wandering artist in constant search of a proper canvas to display my vision. I'm also here to capture you alive hopefully but I suppose we can make do." The blonde man chuckled while Naruto gently put down Kurotsuchi before he took a step forward.
The girl grabbed the back of Naruto's pant leg, stopping him.
"We… We need to run… we can't stay here."
Kurotsuchi practically begged while Naruto gave her a look, "Kurotsuchi-" Naruto was cut off by the look in the girl's eyes.
"We can't fight him! We need to leave!"
Kurotsuchi yelled while Naruto looked at her with shock, "She's got a point you know, I really don't want to have to kill you. Unfortunately, my employers want you breathing to protect the cargo you're holding. A pain in the ass? Yeah, I agree." The older blonde asked while Naruto turned his glare back toward him.
"What cargo?"
Naruto asked while Deidara sighed, "Look, are we going to play 20 questions or are you going to let me talk? Keeping it real nice and simple for you. You are a Jinchuriki and my boss collects you to seal into a statue or whatever, I'm here to take you there. Good so far?" Deidara said while Naruto took another step forward.
"So basically that means you're the guy whose ass I gotta kick?"
Naruto fired back while Deidara chuckled, "Cute, listen here's the deal. You seem like a good guy so I'll make an offer. You come with me and the girl lives, classic and simple." Deidara offered unenthusiastically.
"Really wish you would have came earlier with a deal like that. I might have actually gone with you, but nah. I've got a life I'm trying to do things with now."
Naruto said while Kurotsuchi blinked at the blonde teen standing in front of her, "Naruto. Don't." The girl practically begged while he narrowed his eyes at the cloaked man.
"Alright, you wanted this. If the girl gets caught in the crossfire try not to get too mad…"
Deidara said while he revealed his palm, the mouth that was on it opened to reveal a white clay bird.
"This is your fault after all."
The blonde man said while Naruto started forming hand signs ready to begin the confrontation.
Meanwhile Kurotsuchi felt like that same young girl again.
Looking at that terrible sight.
The sounds and the scent of smoke, while she looked at one of her oldest friends and the person she admired being responsible for the destruction of most of her home.
He still had that same look on his face.
Marked with pride over his work, like a twisted artist.
She would never forget the way he looked down at the destruction. She would never forget the day she lost one of the people she respected most in the world. She had craved that into herself, however that same fear had craved itself into her as well.
Her black hair was blown back by the wind that blasted Naruto forward toward his opponent, for some reason…
She couldn't see the boy winning.