Captain Blues: A new chapter is upon us so let's cut the foreplay and let's get to it!
Champion of the Dark Moon
Chapter Four: Challenge beneath the Moonlight Alter
The sounds of something tapping against his window woke Naruto up.
Naruto slowly opened his eyes and found himself beside Fū, who slept with a peaceful expression on her face. It had been one day since their heartfelt talk on the Hokage Monument, and Naruto had decided that he would no longer try and fight Fū and just be her friend.
They both knew that eventually, she would have to return to Taki, but they would take it easy and spend time with one another for now.
Naruto watched Fū's face as she smiled and nestled deeper into the pillow beneath her head. It felt different having a friend like Fū. It was so easy to like her and it made him feel guilty for allowing her to be close to him so soon after Haku's death.
No.
He shouldn't think about Haku right now unless he was looking for sorrow to swallow him whole today. Naruto leaned up from the bed and sleepily looked around Fū's hotel room until he noticed the messenger hawk standing outside the window.
Naruto got out of bed, shuffled over to the window, then opened it to remove the scroll tied around the bird's foot. Naruto walked back to the bed and sat down as he unraveled the scroll.
"A mission?" Fū sleepily asked as she snuck up behind him, her head resting against his right shoulder as her arms wrapped around his waist.
Naruto flushed a little at this, and from the corner of his eye, he could see a slight blush on Fū's face as well. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she grinned. "What? I did not get my hug this morning," Fū defended with a soft yawn.
"I bet it is…" Naruto jokingly remarked, only to frown and look away. Why was it so easy to forget with Fū? For a second, he didn't feel like the mourning boyfriend/lover/whatever. He had felt like himself. And it made him feel guilty.
Taking his mind off of that, Naruto glanced at the mission scroll. "But to answer your question, it looks like it is. Damn, at least I got to enjoy being home for a little bit," Naruto said as he opened the scroll and started to read. "Uzumaki Naruto. You and your team report to the Hokage Tower at 10: 45 A.M for a mission assignment. Do not be late…."
"So, it is a mission…I hope you do not have to leave right away," Fū softly said. "I do not want to miss spending time with you before I leave tomorrow…."
Naruto frowned at this thought.
He did not want to think about Fū being gone from his life.
"Let's not worry about that…." Naruto told her before he glanced at the clock.
10:15 A.M.
"Why don't you go back to sleep, Fū-chan? I'll tell you about the mission when I get back, okay?" Naruto asked her.
Fū nodded with another yawn and got back under the covers, which made Naruto smile before he summoned the energy to get ready for this meeting.
At 10:45 A.M on the dot, Naruto ran into the Hokage's office and saw that his team, along with Team Eight, were there.
"Sorry I'm late," Naruto said with a smile."Just a quick heads up, right before I came in, I nearly slipped on a roof tile on the building next door. You should have someone take a look at that. Someone could slip and get hurt."
"That is quite alright," Sandaime said with a small smile. "And I will be sure to have someone look into that."
"Well, we are all here, Hokage-sama," Yūhi Kurenai announced.
"We are," Kakashi sighed. Naruto noticed that his sensei looked exhausted, and his visible eye was bloodshot red.
"Alright, I already told Kakashi about this mission, but today, I wanted to formally announce that Teams Seven and Eight, you two, will have a joint mission. The mission is simple. You are to escort Shibuki and his bodyguard back to Takigakure no Sato."
"An escort mission?" Kurenai asked. "Typically, only one team is needed for that…Why assign him two?"
"The Village Leader of Taki strongly recommended two teams," Sandaime said.
"Hey, JiJi," Naruto started with a raise of his hand. "How many people from Taki are here?"
"Just Shibuki and his bodyguard. Why do you ask?" The Sandaime questioned.
Naruto felt a smile start to form on his face as he shook his head.
Fū was going to be so stoked.
"No reason. I just happened to see some girl from Taki roaming around and was curious," Naruto replied, trying to keep the happiness from his voice.
"Very well. You two will be escorting them tomorrow morning. This journey can take 2-3 weeks, so prepare accordingly," Sandaime told them.
Once the meeting concluded and both teams left, Inuzuka Kiba shouted, "Woo! This is going to be exciting. Our first mission out of the village."
"It should be quite the adventure…." Aburame Shino said as he adjusted his glasses.
"Hopefully, it will be tamer than our last mission," Sakura sighed.
"And less emotionally charged," Sasuke noted as he glanced at Naruto, who narrowed his eyes but turned away.
He was not going to let the bastard ruin his good mood.
"U-Um Naruto-kun?" A soft voice said beside him. Naruto turned to see Hyūga Hinata beside him, poking her index fingers together. "I-I look forward to being on this mission with you…" She shyly said with reddened cheeks, which made Naruto smile.
"It'll be an awesome one, Hinata-chan," Naruto chirped.
"A-And, I'm sorry about what happened d-during your mission," Hinata apologized with a genuinely sad expression. "I-If you need someone to talk to….I-I'll be happy to talk to you, okay?"
Naruto's gaze softened.
Naruto didn't know much about Hinata. He knew her, of course. He could never forget the girl he saw trying to run away from home during one of the heaviest snow days of Konoha or the girl he had saved from those bullies, at the cost of the only gift he had of his mother.
But other than the Hyūga threatening his life if he was ever seen with her, what he did know was that she didn't hate him. She was/is one of the few people that's sincerely nice to him. He wondered if it weren't for Hyūga Kō, would they be friends instead of friendly strangers?
"I appreciate it, Hinata-chan," Naruto told her with a small smile.
But that did beg the question. How did she find out about what happened to Haku?
"I better head back home. Catch you later," Naruto said to Hinata as he turned and ran off.
He had to hurry and tell Fū.
Unfortunately, fate was once again, unkind, to Naruto as opened the door that led outside of the Hokage's tower and attempted to jump onto a roof, only for the roof's tile to slip from beneath his feet upon landing.
With a surprised scream, Naruto sailed backward to the ground, where the back of his head collided with something before it all went black.
"Low!"
Ino twisted her body while swinging her right leg to deliver a low reverse roundhouse kick to the punching bag her father, Yamanaka Inochi was holding.
"Middle!"
Ino snapped up from her kneeling position as she twisted her body and used her right leg once again to land a middle reverse roundhouse kick to the punching bag.
"High!"
Keeping with her momentum, Ino then leaped into the air to deliver a high reverse roundhouse kick with her right leg.
"Hook!"
Ino landed on the ground just to twist her body as she jumped from the ground and landed a hard kick to the top of the bag with her left leg.
"Multi then switch!"
Ino took a step back and used her right leg to deliver a low side kick then followed up with a medium side kick then ended it with an upper side kick before she twisted her body and kicked the bag with a hard middle side kick but without warning, her right leg gave out, which caused her to fall to the ground in pain.
Inoichi smiled and lowered the bag and held out his hand, which she took gratefully. "Thanks, Otou-san," Ino said as she stood up on shaky legs, which were completely bruised from the amount she had been kicking at the stupid sand-filled bag.
"You are doing great sweetheart," Inoichi encouraged as he affectionately patted her head. "We'll have you to kunoichi standards yet."
Ino glowered at her father and replied, "But I'm already a kunoichi. Iruka-sensei gave me my hiate-ite so I must be at the standard. I don't see why I have to train like this."
"Iruka, did a good job teaching you many things but he taught you how to be a kunoichi in a time of peace. I have to keep you as strong as possible because you never know when a new enemy can appear," her father explained.
Ino nodded slightly and said, "I understand, Daddy, but I don't want to get super muscular, you know? I do wanna look nice and slim for Sasuke-kun. He wouldn't want to go out with a bodybuilder for a girlfriend."
Inoichi grumbled to himself then said, "I don't care about Sasuke. I will train you to the ground a hundred times more to make sure you're well protected. And what was my rule by the way?"
Ino grumbled to herself then drawled, "Never talk about Sasuke in your presence."
"And since you broke that rule, what does that mean?" Inoichi asked.
Ino swallowed heavily and said, "A jog around the village..."
Inoichi grinned and said, "Well then, get to it."
Ino grumbled, "Yes Daddy..." before she dragged herself to the open gate then turned to her father to give him a puppy dog look to her father. Inoichi smiled before he shook his head and motioned for her to go with an upward jerk of the head.
Ino stuck out her tongue at her father and then jogged out from the gate and away from the training ground.
Ino just didn't understand.
Ever since the day she graduated, her father had forced this training onto her and trained her to the ground every single day. Perhaps he saw something in her that made him concerned enough to make her suffer by putting her through this hellish training.
Hell if she knew.
Ino shrugged off her thoughts and began her punishment, but as she jogged past an alleyway near the Hokage tower, she caught a hint of orange out of the corner of her eye. At first, she didn't think anything of it until she also caught the blob of orange rising and falling.
Ino paused.
There was literally only one person who would wear orange as easily as breathing. Ino made her way into the alleyway and just like she thought, it was Naruto and he was unconscious.
"Holy shit! Naruto!" Ino shouted, finally finding her voice as she ran to him and knelt by his side. "Wake up you baka!"
But as much as she shook, Naruto didn't wake up.
Ino frowned and grabbed his arm and placed it around her shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I'll get you some help."
Naruto found himself in front of Haku's grave again.
He didn't remember how he got himself here, but there was. Except, something was different about Haku's grave, and his location.
Hovering above Haku's grave was a beautiful shard of glowing pale-blue aura of light, that had tiny motes of frost-blue tendrils of light that seemed to become visible the closer they were to the soft aura above Haku's grave.
The second thing Naruto noticed was his location. The last time he was in Wave, it was firmly on the ground and not situated on a large plateau bathed in the lunar rays of the very clear and close full moon that loomed above him. Nor were there black ruins that were tall enough for him to see in the distance.
Weirdly enough, with the beams of light that stretched from random areas around the plateau that then faded away toward the dark, moonlit sky, along with the light mist around him, Naruto had to admit that this place, wherever he was, was hauntingly beautiful.
But the questions that weighed heavily on Naruto's mind were where was he and how did he get here?
"Naruto-kun,"A familiar voice whispered in his right ear. He turned, only to see….nothing.
Nothing at all.
And yet, he could feel that familiar presence around him. "Welcome to the Moonlight Altar…" The voice whispered to his left, which caused him to turn once again, only to see nothing but air. "Go to the Cathedral of Manus Celes," The voice whispered in his right ear. "Lady Ranni awaits you…Please hurry."
"Haku? Is that you?!" Naruto exclaimed as he looked all around him, trying to find the owner of the voice. As Naruto turned his attention back to Haku's grave, his heart stopped.
Past Haku's grave and down the trail that lead to the largest ruins in this strange location, he saw her. Bathed in a gentle white light was her….
Haku wore an extremely thin and sheer gray dress with a thin white silk high-neck caplet that had a small frost-blue gem in the middle of her neck, and silver metal armbands. Haku turned her head and motioned to the ruins in the distance, turned around, and continued down the path.
"Hey! Wait!" Naruto exclaimed as he moved to the left of Haku's grave and ran after her down the trail that, he assumed, would lead him to this Cathedral.
As he chased down Haku, who seemed to fade in and out of reality further down the trail, the Cathedral of Manus Celes began to loom over him until he was close enough to see inside the entrance, where he saw Haku's form fade into existence in the doorway.
He had to catch her, he just had to—
"Thou hast arrived."
From behind Haku, the familiar sight of Renna appeared in a flourish of blue particles and dark mist. "You," Naruto breathed in realization. "What are you doing here?"
"'twere not I that bought thou hither," Renna answered.
"What?" Naruto questioned. "Are you saying I bought myself here? Where am I anyway? How did I get on this so-called Moonlight Alter?"
"'twere thy will that bought thou to me," Renna answered. "Art thou persuaded to my cause? If so, then again I shall bid, wilt thou enter into mine office and be mine champion?"
"You keep asking me that!" Naruto exclaimed. "I didn't come here to be your champion. I don't even know why I was brought here at all. But now that I see Haku, all I want is her back!"
Renna turned to lay her gaze on Haku and murmured, "I see…" She then turned her attention back to Naruto and he felt a chill go up his spine at the look she was giving him. It reminded him of a cat right after they caught the mouse. It was a subtle smugness to it. "Say to me, didst thou warrant thy heart to her?"
"I did," Naruto warily confirmed.
"And would I return her to thee, shall thou become mine champion?" Renna asked.
"I'm so sick of that question," Naruto growled. "How about you answer me this. Champion of what?!"
Renna chuckled and Naruto suddenly felt foolish in snapping the way he did. But there was so much he didn't know. About Haku being here, about Renna. About this place. About all of it. He needed answers.
"Quite the stubborn one, aren't we? Most well...It is quoth that long since, the Greater Will sent a golden star bearing a beast into the Lands Between," Renna answered. "Mine parents slayed that beast and set about the age of stars. By the word of mine parents, I returned from the stars and created those whom would combat The beast should it, or its ilk, ever return. I stand before you because I can feel that the beast hath returned and those I graced mine power to were slain, with their ring 'i thy possession."
Renna reached up and caressed the side of Haku's face as she concluded with, "And the soul of their last living heir 'i mine. To do with whatever I please."
Naruto felt a chill enter him as he asked, "Her soul?"
"Doth that bother thou?" Renna questioned.
"Why wouldn't it?!" Naruto shouted. "You have the soul of the girl I love!"
"Then I leave thou a choice. Become mine champion to free her soul to the eternal night, or I shall brand her a tarnished, and cast her away from the Lands Between," Renna offered. "And doth receive me, piece of the golden star, that is something thou nor she shall desire."
"What did you call me?" Naruto asked with a confused expression. "Piece of the golden star? Why do you call me that? What do you know about me?! Actually, the hell with that! I don't know what being a tarnished entails, but there is no way I'm going to let you turn her into that!" Naruto pulled out a kunai and poised himself for combat.
Renna remained silent for a moment as she stared at Naruto. Finally, she lowered her head and asked, "Thou would fight me? for thy love's soul?"
"If I have to, I will," Naruto answered.
A small, amused, smile formed on Renna's face. "Thy soul burns as bright as the moon above," Renna commended, sounding strangely pleased to Naruto's ears.
Without warning, a shroud of blue particles flowed into existence in front of the cathedral, where it then took shape and solidified, until a creature that Naruto had only seen in fairytales.
A dragon.
A full-blown, two-legged, two-horned aqua-blue dragon that bore strange dark-blue stones that stretched from the top of its head down to the tip of its tail, and two large wings that could blot out the sun, in Naruto's opinion.
"My mother once tested the one who would become my parent with an assignment to investigate a fallen star to test her," Renna informed. "If thou wishes to attain thy heart, thee might not but conquer this foe 'i Adula, mine glintstone dragon. 'i three days' time. Should'st thou accomplish this task, I shall free thy heart from her servitude and be forward with any information thou may want"
The dragon reared its head back and let out a powerful roar, which caused the ground to tremble beneath Naruto's feet while the world began to glow a bright white.
"Ah, it seems our time is up. I hope thou decide to become mine champion the next time we speak. I have high hopes for thee."
"I cannot believe Daddy decided I was suitable to watch you, baka," an annoyed Ino muttered to herself as she sat on the loveseat in her living room, currently reading her favorite magazine.
After she had bought Naruto home to her father, Inoichi had left her in charge of watching the blond Uzumaki while he left to inform the Hokage of what happened, and with her mother being gone, she was the only one there to watch him.
And that had been one hour ago.
She was halfway through her Shinobi Magazine when she heard Naruto snapped up as he screamed, "Renna, Wait!"
Startled, Ino launched her magazine at Naruto while she shouted, "You scared the shit out of me, Baka!" The magazine exploded against Naruto's face, sending papers fluttering around them as Ino panted.
She then noticed something weird.
Naruto's irises…They weren't the ocean blue she was used to. Instead, they were a darker shade of blue. A shade she had never seen before, while the outline of his iris was a glowing frost blue.
Ino felt her heart stop at the breathtaking sight of his eyes. She always found that Naruto's eyes were quite beautiful, even though he was a bratty, mischievous prankster but seeing his eyes like this was a different type of beautiful.
It was more serene to her.
She felt at peace gazing into the eyes that Naruto had.
'But how did he get these eyes?' Ino asked herself. But then, Naruto blinked, and his ocean-blue eyes returned. Ino blinked. Had she imagined it?
"Wait a minute….Where am I? This is not where I slept last," Naruto commented as he looked around.
"Of course not baka," Ino replied as she shut her magazine and sat it on the table beside her chair. "This is my place. I took you here after I found you unconscious in an alleyway."
"Ah..." Naruto replied as he leaned up from the couch and stretched out his limbs. "Well, thanks for bringing me here. I don't think it would have been a good thing if someone else saw me passed out."
"Why is that?" Ino asked him.
Naruto gave her a small grin before he shook his head and said, "Eh, don't worry about it."
Ino let a frown appear on her face at the hesitance in Naruto's eyes that showed for a moment before it was snuffed out, replaced by the familiar easing-going look Naruto normally had. "Alright..." Ino replied. "I'll let it slide for now. In the meantime, why were you unconscious anyway? And who is Renna?"
Ino watched as the light-heartedness faded from Naruto's eyes at the question. But once again, Naruto blinked, and it was gone. "What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.
"Don't play dumb with me," Ino remarked with a sneer. "You screamed out that name when you woke up. And not to mention your eyes! When you woke up, they weren't normal! They w-were..." Ino drifted off when a memory of those piercing yet serene icy blue eyes appeared in her mind.
"Beautiful..." she whispered, unaware that she had just spoken out loud instead of within her mind. When Ino did realize this, her eyes widened in horror and said, "N-Not that your normal eyes aren't freaking gorgeous. I-I meant...More b-beautiful than usual...O-Oh..." Ino stammered out, flustered heavily over both of her mistakes but that's when she saw Naruto.
He was laughing.
Not the loud, boisterous laughing she was used to. But it was more subdued. More genuine to her ears. "Stop laughing at me, jerk," Ino said with a pout, and to her surprise, Naruto did stop but he had this small smile on his face.
"Thanks for the compliment," Naruto told her, his eyes sparkling in amusement.
"Baka...Stop trying to change the subject," Ino said, her face becoming serious. "Why did your eyes change? Who is Renna?"
Instead of answering her, Naruto responded, "Look...I get that you need to know because you're stuck in "nosy mode" and honestly, I'm not sure about my eyes but as for who Renna is, why should I tell you?"
Ino blinked in surprise.
She wasn't expecting to be asked that question so bluntly like that.
Also, when did Naruto get so blunt?
"I mean...Yeah, you helped me but this is the first time we've talked like normal people. Usually, it's you and Sakura yelling at me and putting me down, especially when Sasuke is in view. Hell, I'm even surprised you know my real name, considering you call me "Baka" all of the time. So tell me Ino, why should I tell you anything about what is going on in my life when you never cared up until a mystery appeared within it?"
Ino opened her mouth to respond but then she closed it, and her lips turned into a frown.
She couldn't answer.
"That's what I thought," Naruto told her with a sigh. "You only care about what happened to me. Not about me as the person. Then again, you never did. You made that painfully clear throughout the years. You, Sakura, and many others. The only ones who didn't were Hinata and Iruka-sensei. All anyone else saw was the outcast prankster in orange..."
Naruto then stood up and said, "But I've sat around enough. I have to get going. I have someone that I need to go see and I can only hope they aren't thinking I ran from them again."
"But I will leave you with this. Instead of trying to get some juicy gossip out of me and what I know, why don't you try being an actual, genuine friend to me? Maybe then you might get somewhere. Thanks for helping me Ino but let's not make that a habit," Naruto said before he turned and walk out of her house, leaving Ino there to sit in her living room.
When Naruto stepped into his apartment, the first thing that he smelled was the scent of cooking bacon.
"Ah, you're back," Fū happily said as she stood in front of his stove, only wearing a black shirt that barely hid the black shorts she had on beneath it.
"You're up. You were so tired when I left two hours ago," Naruto said as he walked into the kitchen and saw that she was cooking bacon, eggs, and toast.
"I really was. I just woke up twenty minutes ago. I figured since this hotel room has a kitchen, I decided to make some breakfast for us when you got back," Fū explained with a smile.
"Wow…You didn't have to do that at all…Thank you," Naruto told her with a smile, which made Fū give him a breathtaking smile in return.
"No need to thank me. I was hungry," Fū replied. "And I figured you would be too when you got back."
While Fū continued to cook, Naruto grabbed two plates from the kitchen pantry and sat beside the stove on the counter so Fū could prepare the food. "So, what happened at the mission assignment meeting?" Fū asked him.
"Well, you'll never believe it, but another team and I were assigned to escort someone back to their village," Naruto said, deciding not to spring a surprise on her just yet.
"Oh…When do you guys leave?" Fū asked.
"Tomorrow morning, so I have to do some shopping for supplies today," Naruto answered as Fū finished the plates, which allowed him to take them both and sit them at the room's dining room table.
"I also have to gather some supplies for my trip back home to Taki," Fū said with a sigh.
"Well, why don't we make a day of it? We can shop for supplies while I take you on a tour of the village. I doubt you probably saw much, and this place is kind of big then afterward, we go to Ichikaru's. They have the best ramen in the world," Naruto suggested with a grin.
"Oh, a shopping trip with an official tour followed by some delicious ramen. Count me in!" Fū excitedly exclaimed before she snapped her fingers. "We should get the ramen after I check in with Shibuki. I haven't bothered to reach out to him since the day before yesterday."
"Why don't we go check in with him now, Fū-chan?" Naruto asked.
He saw a brief frown appear on Fū's face before a smile took its place. "He's probably busy with village leader stuff with your Hokage. Besides, I would rather not start my day looking at his crusty face," Fū joked with a grin.
Not wanting to make her uncomfortable, Naruto snorted and said, "Alright. After the tour, we will go check in with your leader. I do have that mission assignment, after all. You can check in then."
Fū nodded, and together, the two began to eat while talking about their plans for the day. But all throughout the meal, his mind was stuck on that dream. Or whatever it is.
Haku, Renna had her soul somehow and there seemed to be more to her wanting him to be her champion than just the ring that hung around his neck.
But what?
And as Naruto promised, he and Fū spent most of the day traveling around the village, gathering supplies for their trip while also showing her some of the various fun spots that the town had to offer. But as the pair continued to walk, Naruto heard, "Yo, Naruto!"
The duo turned around to see two of the three members of Team Ten, consisting of the future heirs of the Nara, and Akimichi clans, heading toward them. Fū looked to Naruto and whispered, "Friends of yours?"
"We went to the academy together," Naruto said. "I guess if you count that, then yeah."
Once Team Ten was in front of them, Shikamaru said, "Good to see you back in the village. I heard your mission in Wave went rough. Sorry to hear…."
Naruto's shoulders slumped a bit, but Fū grabbed his hand, which made him glance at her with a smile. "It did, but I'm getting somewhat better…Though, how did you hear that?" Naruto asked.
Shikamaru pointed a thumb to Ino, who had her eyes on Fū, making the other girl sweat a little. "This gossiping girl told us from Sakura. Gave us the whole play by play of what went down."
"Damn it," Naruto grumbled.
"Look, Naruto-san, we may not have hung out much at the academy, but if you need anything," Chōji said with a friendly smile. "We're always available to chat or eat. Or both."
"Yeah. It must have been terrible losing someone you loved that way. We're here to listen if you need it," Shikamaru said.
"That would be a good idea," Fū suggested to Naruto in a whisper. "I mean, I'll be gone soon. It would be better if you have some support after we s-separate tomorrow…."
Naruto could hear the sadness in her voice, and while he knew he was her escort, he did not want to spill the beans just yet. Instead, Naruto nodded and said to Team Eight, "Thanks, guys."
"Meanwhile…" Chōji started with a friendly smile toward Fū. "Who is your friend, Naruto?"
"Her name is Fū," Naruto replied with a smile. "She's on a mission from Taki and my new friend. I am escorting her home tomorrow."
"Nice to meet you, Fū-san," Chōji said with a smile.
Shikamaru nodded.
"Nice to meet you guys," Fū said with a bright smile.
"Well, anyway, we're heading down from some BBQ. You guys want to join us?" Chōji asked.
Fū and Naruto exchanged a look before the two said, "Sure, we're down."
"Come on, let's head out then," Shikamaru said with a bored tone.
As the group started to walk, Fū suddenly stopped and looked behind her curiously, which made the group pause ahead of her. "Everything alright?" Naruto asked.
"Hm…I just feel like someone is watching us," Fū said before she shrugged. "Must be my imagination. Let us G-O."
After twenty minutes of walking and talking, the group found themselves at the Akimichi Beef Bowl. And while Naruto and Fū did not have an excellent first time in this place, primarily due to the lack of service and Naruto breaking down, were having a great time with the two members of Team Ten.
They were seated in a nice place; the waiters served their food promptly, and everything was going smoothly.
And the food was good too.
"So, Naruto, how did you and Fū-san meet?" Chōji asked after Fū had left for the bathroom, which left Naruto alone with Team Eight.
"Well, it's nothing special …" Naruto said. "She found me in an alleyway. She then took me two this restaurant where we talked, and we went back to her place."
"Back to her place?" Chōji asked suggestively with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"Not like that," Naruto said with a slight blush. "I was feeling down about what happened in Wave, and Fū has been helping me cheer up about it. She's been a great friend to me in helping me face this thing."
"Yeah, she seems pretty great," Shikamaru said.
"She is," Naruto said with a small smile. "She's a wonderful person, and I'm grateful I got a chance to meet her before she leaves…."
"Well, even though she's going to be gone soon, you're not alone," Shikamaru seriously said. "I mean, I know our parents didn't want us to hang out with you back then and it's something Chōji and I have regretted"
"Darn right!" Chōji remarked. "And despite that, Shika and I still consider you our friend, and I speak for the two of us when I say that we don't want to see you so down. So, if you want, of course, we'd like to be there for you. Anytime you need us, we're there."
There was a lot Naruto wanted to say in this situation to all three of them. Shikamaru and Chōji, he could understand on some level why they were forced to be distant from him when he was younger. His family didn't want him to taint them in some way.
"Thanks," Naruto said, deciding to offer them the olive branch."Both of you…"
"No problem Naruto," Shikamaru said with a smile.
"I am back," Fū happily said as she sat beside Naruto with a smile. "Sorry, that took so long."
"No worries," Naruto said.
"So, what were you guys doing before we saw you?" Shikamaru asked.
"We were gathering supplies. Fū is heading back home, and I have a joint escort mission with Team Eight tomorrow," Naruto explained.
"Oh, an escort mission. Where are you and Team Eight going?" Chōji asked.
"Oh, we're going to Takigakure no Sato," Naruto said before he started to eat his food.
"Wait…Aren't you from Taki, Fū-san?" Chōji asked.
Naruto smiled as Fū's head whipped over to him in stunned silence, which made him smile. "Whoops, did I forget to tell you?" Naruto asked with a teasing smile.
"Y-You're escorting Shibuki and me back to Taki?" Fū softly asked.
"Yeah," Naruto confirmed. "Looks like you won't be rid of me just yet."
"You ass!" Fū screamed happily as a broad smile formed on her face before she enveloped him in a tight hug, making him laugh.
Seeing her smile after holding that little secret it was worth the wait.
But even in this happy moment, Naruto couldn't quell the thoughts that plagued his mind over the events he went through on the Moonlight Alter.
Just who was this Renna and how would he defeat a dragon to save Haku's soul from her?
Captain Blues: So, a few reveals have happened as to why she's there but the Snow Witch seems to be holding back on some information. This also confirms that Renna is not Ranni those from Elden Ring know. Or is she? Until the next chapter!