"Come one, come all!" called out Honey Pie Pony as she galloped down the road leading into the small quaint town of the land. "Everyone! Good news for all!"
She was galloping as fast as possible, passing by some of the trees and buildings as she was in search of her friends to tell them of their brand new guests. Or to be more precise, new friends and neighbors. "For all to hear, I have good news!"
Coming towards her from the opposite way was a young boy of average looks. He had brown hair, light skin, and a blue backwards baseball cap. He wore on his body frame a button-up shirt, a green vest, and blue cargo pants with blue sneakers. He was riding on a red skateboard with a smile before spotting Honey Pie and skidded to a stop. "Woah there Honey Pie, what's going on?"
"Good news, good news Huckleberry Pie!" she came to a stop with a smile. "Where are the others? There's some wondrous news I must tell them."
"What is it?" he asked curiously.
"We have two new neighbors that just arrived. A boy and a girl around the same age as everyone."
"Really?" He looked amazed. Not just at the idea of new faces, but another boy too? Given he was the only boy around, it tended to stick out when he'd occasionally wish for another male companion to get down and dirty with. Most of the time the other girls weren't up to some of the things he was into. "That's awesome!"
"Indeed, now we must make haste. Where are the others?"
"They said they were going to Blueberry Muffin's house."
"Then off we go!" she reared back her front legs before she went galloping in the direction with Huckleberry following behind on his board. They made their way down the path with part of it branching up towards a cottage that resembled a blueberry muffin with a fence around it. Honey Pie herself got ahead of Huckleberry and started galloping around the front lawn. "Come one, come all! Come hear the news!"
Huckleberry himself put his fingers in his mouth and blew, letting out a loud whistle that caught the attention of the ones inside. "Hey girls! Come on out! We've got big news!"
The door opened and out came five girls of varying degrees of different styles.
"What's going on you two?" asked the first, a preteen girl who had messy auburn hair. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt with red stripes. with a pair of blue jeans as a red sweater was tied to her waist. On her head, she wore a pink sun hat with a strawberry design and a red band with a strawberry on a green and white striped ribbon with brown loafers.
"Big big big news!" cheered Honey Pot, who kept on galloping around in excitement, leaving Huckleberry as the one to give it to the girls straight."
"Huckleberry Pie? What's going on?" asked the next girl, who had dark brown skin and dark, curly hair, separated into two afro puffs. She wore a hat with a reddish-orange brim and a white stitched pattern on the edge; the top of the hat was a lighter yellow-orange, and had an orange-and-yellow flower on it. She also wore a long-sleeved orange shirt with a yellow flower design on the front, long khaki cargo pants, and plain brown shoes.
"Honey Pie told me that we've got new neighbors coming to town." he smiled, making the girls gasp as their faces lit up.
"That's great news." smiled the next one, a fair-skinned girl with long curly natural brown hair with azure blue eyes. She wore a long-sleeved pastel blue blouse with the top half divided by a lavender ribbon, the top fabric was pastel blue with lighter polka dots with that pattern also on the cuffs. She wore regular boot-cut jeans with pastel blue buttons on the bottom with lavender, Mary Janes and white socks. Her hat was an oversized newsboy cap that was dark blue with lighter polka dots and had a plastic blueberry button on top.
"And she said one of them is another boy! Isn't that awesome?" he let out, throwing his arms out for emphasis.
"It sounds like you're already planning on being best friends." giggled the girl who had fair skin and pale blue eyes, with short curly blonde hair that had bangs and tied in two low pigtails, secured with pastel purple ribbons tied in bows. She wore a pastel purple hat with white ruffles along the brim and decorated with various flowers on one side. She also wore a pair of blue overalls and a pastel purple sweatshirt with a tiny rose below the collar underneath and purple flats.
"Oh boy! I wonder if they like inventions." piped up the second to last girl, brown skin, brown eyes, and medium-length black hair with framed bangs. Her hair was tied into short pigtails with pink scrunchies. She had a blue hat with a design of a gingerbread man on the front, alongside a pink ribbon tied around it. She wore a pink jacket with a white undershirt underneath, alongside blue jeans designed with pink waves and a leather belt with blue Mary Janes and pink socks.
"Where are they right now?" asked the first."
"Over at Punch Bowl Pond." replied Honey.
"Well then, we better go say hello and welcome them." smiled the first girl.
"No time like the present." piped up Honey, causing the girl to perk up and snapped her finger.
"That's it! Presents. If we're gonna welcome them, what better way than with some gifts? We should each find something for them."
"Good idea Strawberry; let's all go and find something and meet back together here."
With that in mind, all of them went their separate ways to find something their new neighbors might like.
(Later)
The group of girls, mare, and boy, all walked together in line with Honey Pie leading them, and Huckleberry taking up the rear.
"So Ginger Snap? What'd you pick?"
"Nothing says welcome like a ball peen hammer." she smiled while holding the hammer with a ribbon tied around it. "What about you Angel Cake?"
"A new paintbrush of course." smiled the blonde giving the tool a flick with her wrist. "Blueberry Muffin?"
"A book, who wouldn't be happy to have something to read in their free time?" she smiled while holding it to her chest as she turned to Orange Blossom with a butterfly net; swinging it around at some butterflies. "Orange? That net seems to be missing something."
"Oh, I'm not trying to actually catch them, I just wanna pretend." replied the girl as Strawberry Shortcake followed behind with a smile and basket full of strawberries in hand.
"Well I've got the perfect present." smiled Huckleberry, carrying a blue skateboard under his arm while riding his own.
"How do you know that?" she asked with amusement.
"What boy wouldn't like a skateboard?"
As the ground made their way, they stopped however when another girl came up to them. She had strawberry blonde hair and pale skin with a cool undertone, which was lighter than Strawberry's. Her hair was a short fluffy bob with bangs. She wore a red long-sleeved shirt with one white stripe with white pants and pink shoes with red soles. She sported a wide-brimmed hat that was red with a red-and-white-striped trim and a peppermint symbol on it with green eyes.
"Hey, what's going on?" she asked in a blunt tone with her hands on her hips.
"We're off to say hi to our new neighbors." smiled Blueberry.
"Neighbors? Why didn't anyone tell me?" she asked with indignation and slight hurt.
"You weren't around." Huckleberry remarked bluntly.
"Why don't you come with Peppermint Fizz?" Strawberry suggested with a smile. "We can all meet them together. I'll bet they'd be really happy to see us all at once."
"Just WHO are these new neighbors?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We don't know, we haven't met them yet." answered Orange with a smile.
"From what they told me, one is the captain, and the other is a ninja." spoke up Honey Pie, making Peppermint Fizz cross her arms.
"A ninja? Yeah right."
"Well we won't know unless we see them first." spoke Angel as the group started their trek again.
"Well…I guess." Peppermint followed along with them, begrudgingly mind you. "But what if they're not like us, then what? If they're not like us, how can we like them?"
The group didn't answer as the scene cut back to the pond itself, the group reaching it and in awe at seeing the ship docked, but what really caught their attention was the orange clad figure beside it.
"Wow!"
"Hey! Are they-"
"Standing on the water?!"
"No way!"
Naruto was scrubbing around the sides with a towel, unaware of the bystanders, but Rainbow took note.
"Ahoy there!" she called out with a smile, snapping them out of their stupor as they ran down to the shore. "Hey Naruto, we've got guests!"
He looked up before turning his head and spotted them, giving a wave without flinching from their staring. "Hey there!"
"Hi!" Strawberry waved with a smile. "Are you the new neighbors?"
"That we are." Rainbow spoke as she jumped down from the roof to the deck. "Welcome to the Rainbow Float, care to come aboard?"
The group, minus Peppermint, all smiled and made their way over, taking in the shape and color of it while still looking at Naruto who casually climbed up the side without missing a beat.
"Hi, my name is Rainbow Sherbert, and this is Naruto." Rainbow introduced them with Naruto flashing his trademark grin.
"Nice to meet ya."
"My name is Angel Cake, and I got this for you." Angel introduced herself while presenting Rainbow the paintbrush.
"This is for you too, the name's Ginger Snap. greeted Ginger while giving Rainbow the hammer.
"I'm Blueberry Muffin, and I hope you like this." smiled Blueberry, handing her the book.
"My name's Orange Blossom, and I brought you this." Orange handed Rainbow the netless butterfly net.
"Hi there, I'm Strawberry Shortcake, and I wanna welcome you two to Strawberryland." smiled Strawberry, hanging Naruto the basket of strawberries who looked a bit confused.
"What are these?"
"Strawberries, duh." Peppermint remarked following the other girls who had passed Rainbow to look around the bridge.
"And this is Peppermint Fizz." Strawberry introduced the blunt girl with Naruto raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, right, hi." she threw back a half-hearted greeting with Naruto looking at Strawberry.
"Is she always this way?"
"She didn't mean anything by it, that's just the way she is." she replied while Huckleberry joined in.
"She means stubborn; the name's Huckleberry Pie." he smiled before holding his hand out to Naruto. "Nice to meet you."
"Uh, you too." Naruto shook the boy's hand who seemed to stare at him even as they lowered their hands. "Is…something wrong?"
"Oh! Sorry, didn't mean to seem weird, it's just…well it's nice to see another boy around here." he replied with a chuckle.
"What do you mean?" he asked, handing the basket of strawberries to Rainbow to set them with all the other gifts.
"Well before you showed up, I was the only guy around all of Strawberryland." he informed, making Naruto's eyes widen.
"Wait…you mean…"
"Yup, all girls."
Naruto's mind tried to envision his own village with nothing but girls and women, making him feel unsure how to react to that. On one hand it'd mean no Sasuke, but on the other that'd mean no old man to keep Ayame safe and sound. Hmm, would that mean he'd get promoted to Chunin then without other guys around to fill in the roles? Oh! Maybe he'd-
"Anyways, I wanted to give you this." Huckleberry cut off his thoughts.
Oh yeah! Can't get distracted right now. Looking, he saw Huckleberry hold out the skateboard, confusing him as he accepted it in his hands. "Thanks, for….um….whatever it is."
"Wait, you've NEVER seen a skateboard before?" Huckleberry spoke in shock and wide eyes.
"Not really." he shrugged casually, not seeing the big deal.
"Oh you are missing out." he put his own on the deck and stood on it. "It's really easy, watch." he kicked the back part, lifting the front part of the board up before he spun on the back wheels right there, keeping balance entirely. After a few more spins he lifted the board up into the air and angled himself down to hold his body up with one hand and his feet still on the board, right before he flipped and landed on the board without missing a beat.
"Woah." Naruto let out, impressed on how easy he made that look. "How'd you do that?"
"Practice, and skill." he boasted at the end with his chest puffed out. "If you want I could show you later; they're pretty easy when you get the hang of it."
"Count me in, dattebayo!" he let out, excited to pull off even more insane tricks like that. Wonder what he could do if he used his chakra?
"Easy Naruto, remember you need to take it easy." Rainbow piped up, making the blonde pout and deflate.
"Way to ruin my fun…" he grumbled, making the girl chuckle. "Maybe I'll do it later, Rain-chan." he threw back with a huff.
"Rain-chan? But I thought your name is Rainbow?" spoke up Orange in confusion.
"It is."
"But then why did he-"
"Oh! It's part of his culture." she clarified with Naruto nodding. "It's just a shorter way of calling my name in his own way."
"So like a nickname."
"Bingo."
"Can we get ones too?" asked Ginger with intrigue.
"Sure." he held a hand to his chin in thought and started pointing to each one as he responded. "You're Ginger-chan, Blue-chan, Strawberry-chan, and…" he looked at Huckleberry who held up his hands.
"Don't worry about me, I already got one; just call me Huck." he smiled.
"Gotcha," turning to the rest, he pointed to Angel. "You can be Tenshi-chan."
"Oooh." she put her hands on her cheeks. "That sounds pretty."
"Wait, wouldn't it be Angel-chan?" asked Strawberry in confusion.
"Figured this would be more fancy." he replied bluntly and casually like it made perfect sense, which to him it did. "You can be Orenji-chan." he pointed to Orange who giggled before he looked at Peppermint who crossed her arms. "And you? Kosho-chan."
"No way, forget it." she replied back with a shake of her head. "I don't need some dumb nickname, my normal name is just fine."
Naruto frowned, feeling like her attitude was a reminder of how Ino and Sakura were like back in the academy. He put his hands behind his head and turned away. "Fine by me."
"So Naruto, are you really a ninja?" asked Blueberry with intrigue. "The kind who can appear and disappear? Who can run all over the place and do amazing moves?"
"Of course, that's part of being a shinobi." he gave a proud grin, getting awed looks from all of them, minus Peppermint who rolled her eyes.
"I thought ninjas were supposed to be all dark and mysterious. Since when does a ninja wear bright orange like that?" she pointed to his clothes, making him frown.
"Hey! Don't diss my outfit, dattebayo!"
"Yeah! I think orange is perfect." spoke up Orange with her hands on her hips, defending Naruto and getting a smile from him.
"And what's with the weird words? I've never heard anything so weird before." Peppermint continued, turning away with crossed arms with Naruto's eyebrow twitching.
'Definitely like Ino.'
"Since you're all here, how about some good ol' fashion grub?" offered Rainbow as she moved over behind the countertop, filling up some glasses with some frosting of some kind before popping in straws for each and some cherries on top. She went around handing one to each, but Peppermint held her hands up.
"No way, there's no way I'm eating any grubs." she clarified with disgust, making Naruto feel irked and annoyed.
"Oi! What's wrong with them?" he asked as Rainbow handed one to him as well.
"I don't see what's the big deal about eating grubs."
"Oh they're not real grubs, that's just sailor slang." clarified Rainbow with a smile.
"Well I think it's cool." Strawberry spoke before holding her glass up. "I'd like to make a toast and invite everyone to a celebration party at my house, with Rainbow Sherbet and Naruto as the guests of honor."
"Wow." Rainbow smiled in excitement, with Naruto himself taking a sip from the sugary treat, but just as excited, although that might have been due to the sugar.
"And I wanna show you my house, Naruto." Huck tossed in.
"Sounds good to me." he smiled, touched by the gesture before all of them tipped the glasses back and enjoyed the sweetness, minus Peppermint who rolled her eyes.
"Just be careful Naruto." Rainbow advised, setting her glass aside.
"Relax Rain-chan, I will."
After emptying his glass, Naruto and Huck made their way off ship with Huckleberry skating and Naruto jogging after him with his body feeling better than before, albeit still a little sore, but nothing that could stop him.
"So Naruto, what's it like being a ninja?" asked Huck.
"The best obviously." he replied with a grin. "There's nothing better than going on missions, using jutsu, and taking on jerks! Except ramen."
"What's ramen?"
Naruto looked at Huck like he grew a second head and shuddered. "That's just wrong."
"What? What'd I say?"
After ten minutes, Huck came to a stop with Naruto slowly stopping and looking up ahead. "Here we are."
"This is your house?" Naruto looked at the tree fort with numerous odds and ends to it that really felt like something a kid would live in. "Wow, Konohamaru would love this."
The young boy's name immediately made him think back to the grandson of the old man, making his mood drop at the reminder that he might never see him again. With him up and vanishing, it also meant he'd never get to find out his 'big bro' had wound up in a land where it was an all you could eat sweets buffet.
Huck looked at Naruto and saw him looking down and grew concerned. "Naruto? You alright?"
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, sure." Naruto shook his head to snap out of it. "Lead the way."
Huck walked over and pushed open a wooden door that rotated inward, giving them a way inside before it shut behind them, blending in with the rest of the wood without any cracks. Naruto looked around and noted a spiraling slide with a second floor that had a railing, alongside numerous toys and items spread out around the first floor. "Here we are, home sweet home."
"Wow, way bigger than my place." remarked Naruto, taking in all the open space and let out a whistle. "You live on your own?"
"Not really. Hey Shoofly!" he called out before a green frog wearing a backwards blue baseball cap came hopping over before Huck picked him up. "This is my pet Shoofly."
Seeing the frog smiling at him made Naruto's mind think back on the toads Jiraiya taught him to summon. Holding a hand to his chin, he looked upwards. "Hey, that gives me an idea."
"What's that?" asked Huck before Naruto bit his thumb, drawing blood before he began going through several complex hand signs, all of which confused the boy and his frog before Naruto brought his palm down to the floor. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he declared, expecting a cloud of smoke to pop up with Gamakichi waiting there for him.
Only to see no smoke rise up, and no toad following it.
"...eh?" he blinked in confusion at the spot with Huck himself looking lost.
"Uh…what are you doing?"
"I….I!"
'Aw come on! I can't summon anything here?! What a rip-off!' he thought in annoyance, running his hands through his hair in frustration before his eyes noticed something off to the side, catching his attention. "Hey, what's that?"
"What's what?" Huck saw Naruto raise his finger, making Huck turn to see the TV. "You mean the TV?"
"TV?" Naruto repeated, walking over to it, looking it over with curiosity. "What's it do?"
"You've NEVER seen a TV before?!" Huck was blown away and in disbelief.
"Not really." he remarked as Huck walked over to it, picking up the remote and clicked a button. The screen lit up, making Naruto jump back with wide eyes as it began to show random cartoons. "Woah! What's going on?!"
"Relax, it's meant to be show all sorts of cool stuff when you wanna stay inside and not think."
"How…are they moving?" Naruto tilted his head, watching the cartoon characters moving and doing things that seemed out of the realm of normal, even by his standards.
"No idea really, but hey, if you ever wanna sit back and watch a movie, you know where to go." smirked Huck before turning it off, Naruto blinking as he felt slightly disappointed it was already over. "Since you're new, you might need some help finding your way around."
"Huh? I guess, but it can't be that hard, right?" he asked before he followed Huck who walked over to a table with a map spread out across it. It had various icons on it with names scribbled beside them in crayon. It had drawings of the various sweets across the land with a large amount of land farther out from the small spot, icons drawn that looked like other houses.
"If you wanna go out of town and travel? Kinda. See, Strawberryland is bigger than you think. Our group of friends are pretty close and don't live that far apart, so getting used to where everyone stays at won't be much of a problem. We're happy sticking with each other and get by pretty good."
"What about those?" Naruto pointed at the houses farther away from the community.
"Those are towns way out there, usually they have things we can't get here, so every once in a while we gotta go and make trips. Some of us actually have family there too."
"Wait, hang on. If that's the case, why live so far away?" Naruto asked with Huck rubbing the back of his head.
"Well, I live here because my grandpa was the one who made this fort, and I got it from him after he passed away. I'd feel like a jerk if I straight up ditched it and let it go to rot on it's own. For the girls? No idea, you'd have to ask them."
Naruto picked up the brief sad look to pass Huck's face, making him feel like he ran his mouth again. Looking at the map, he quickly decided to change the subject. "Well the map looks easy enough, I'll probably get it memorized in a flash," boasted Naruto.
"You sure? It took me a few days."
"Of course, my mind's as solid as a rock, dattebayo!"
Huck looked at him, silent, before raising a finger. "I have a question."
"What is it?"
"What does that word mean?"
"Oh! That's just my own personal catchphrase." he replied back like it made total sense before holding up the board. "So, you gonna show me some tricks?"
"Not yet." he replied, making Naruto look at him lost.
"But you said you would later!"
"Well yeah, and I meant later AFTER you're all better." he clarified. "I don't wanna get on Rainbow's bad side if you got hurt even worse."
"Aw come on! I'm not some baby, I'm feeling fine." he huffed Naruto, crossing his arms.
"Better safe than sorry, I've learned that a few times." he shrugged before smirking. "Gotta say, must be fun going out on a boat with just you and your girlfriend."
"EH!?" Naruto gaped at the boy who snickered before pointing at him. "S-S-She's not my girlfriend! We literally just met the other day!"
"Y-You sure? You two sure look cute together." he couldn't stifle his laughter, making Naruto's eye twitch.
"I'm sure." Naruto huffed, grumbling under his breath as he waited till Huck finished snickering as he looked at the map, more importantly on the other house icons. "So…..what can you tell me about the others?"
"Oh, well they're not too hard. Strawberry is real nice and has a tomboyish side to her when we're ready to play some sports, Orange likes to make everyone smile and be pretty uplifting when someone's feeling down, Blueberry is a huge fan of books and is all about reading, Ginger's a pretty good inventor and has a machine that can make tons of great cookies, Angel is kinda like a perfectionist who likes things neat and tidy, and Peppermint? Well…you already got an idea before."
"Unfortunately," he grumbled, rolling his eyes. "She reminds me of some of the people I knew back home."
"She can be a bit hard at first, but she's not too bad."
"Heard that before too."
"Well….oh! We might not be able to do some tricks today, but let me show you some other cool stuff I got. Ever played baseball?"
"What's baseball?" Naruto tilted his head as Huck let out a horrified gasp. "Is it fun?"
"Is it fun? Is it fun?! Let me show you."
(Later)
"Man, who knew throwing a ball around would be that fun?" Naruto chuckled to himself, wiping sweat from his brow as he made his way back to the boat. Thanks to Huck's map, he managed to find the right direction and almost got distracted by a few signs. Seeing the boat, he sped up his pace and spotted Rainbow on the deck wiping the tables. "Yo Rain-chan!"
"Naruto!" she smiled, watching him rush up the ramp. "I take it you had a fun time?"
"You betcha! Huck had all kinds of great stuff in his house, which was an epic tree fort! We played a game called baseball, which I had never played before, showed me a map of the place, and get this! He has this thing called a 'TV' that has all kinds of moving pictures on it!"
"Sounds like fun; I got a chance to really know the girls while you were gone. They're really excited on the welcoming party tomorrow, and so am I!" she gushed. "I didn't imagine something like that when arriving at a new place, kinda makes me feel like a celebrity."
"Oh yeah! One thing though," Naruto held up a finger, "Huck couldn't show me any tricks on this board because he didn't want you to get mad because I'm still injured, so can you PLEASE just let it go? I'm feeling just fine and can do it!"
"Well…you do seem to be moving around better." she admitted, hand on chin.
"Yeah! I heal up in no time!" he chuckled. "So come on, let him show me, I REALLY wanna learn how he does it."
"Mmmm….ok." she replied, making him pump his fists up with a cheer, "but you need to be careful, alright?"
"Relax Rain-chan, I'm not gonna get hurt over a few tricks, trust me." he gave a thumbs up with a smile.
"Well you can let Huck know tomorrow at the party, right now we need to get some rest for the night."
Without another word, the two headed down below to their rooms, both looking forward to what the party had to offer.
(Next day)
After waking up and grabbing a light breakfast, Naruto and Rainbow were on their way to Strawberry Shortcake's home, thankfully due to Naruto's memory of the map and due to the directions Rainbow had gotten from Strawberry.
In no time flat, they came across the dwelling, which was in the shape of , you guessed it; a large strawberry that had smaller ones sticking out from the sides.
"Huh, wonder if you can eat that." remarked Naruto, both him and Rainbow walking up to the door with Rainbow knocking.
"Try not to, I don't think that's good manners." she joked.
"Not my fault everything looks edible…" he muttered right as the door opened up by Strawberry herself with a smile.
"Hi Rainbow, hi Naruto, glad you could make it."
"We were excited all night and couldn't miss this." Rainbow smiled as they stepped inside with Naruto sniffing the air.
'How is this place not rotting? Sure smells like a real fruit.'
"Do you wanna see the backyard? We're already getting things set up for the party." Strawberry offered.
"I'd love to." smiled Rainbow with eagerness.
"I might just hang back, don't wanna spoil the sur-WAAH!" he let out, suddenly feeling something run past his leg and sending him falling on his face with a thump. "Ow…"
"Oh no! Pupcake, be careful." Strawberry chastised a small white and blue spotted puppy that ran around Rainbow, panting with his tail wagging in excitement. "You need to watch it when we have guests."
"That sucked." Naruto pulled his face back up with an eye twitch before noting a pink cat walk by with stripes going across its tail, body, and head, with a green ribbon-like collar tied around its neck that had a strawberry clip on the front.
"That's just the way he is." sighed the cat, rolling its eyes with Naruto perking up.
"Hey, you can talk?"
"Of course I can, can't you?" it answered back with a feminine tone.
"Rainbow, Naruto, meet my pets; the little guy whose excited is Pupcake, and this is my cat Custard."
"Nice to meet you." Rainbow greeted Custard who gave a curt nod before Pupcake ran over to try and hop on Rainbow's leg. "Aww, aren't you a cutie."
"Be careful, he slobbers."
Naruto pushed back on his feet, dusting his pants before noting a small figure crawling over from the living room. It was a small child who had the same ginger hair, more spikey and wispy, as Strawberry's hair. She had green eyes and round pink cheeks while wearing a dress that was similar to a Victorian-era baby dress. It was yellow with an apple pattern and had a green collar with a red ribbon tie, red sleeves, and green gingham ruffle trim. On her legs were white lacey socks with little red Mary-Janes. She also had a hat that was pale yellow with apples, an apple blossom flower on top, and the brim being white.
"Hi there Apple, did you come to say hi to our guests?" Strawberry smiled as she crouched down and picked the child up in her arms. "Rainbow? Naruto? Meet Apple Dumplin', she's my sister."
Apple looked at the two with curiosity and confusion, not recognizing the two people as Rainbow gave a little wave and smile with Naruto unable to keep from sharing his own. She caught sight of Naruto's whiskers and looked curious; reaching out to him.
"Looks like Apple wants you to hold her."
"Me? Oh no, I don't think-" he got cut off from Strawberry handing Apple to him, causing him to adjust his grip as she reached up and ran her hands across the whiskers. He felt mortified as she cooed with the girls giggling. 'What am I, a house pet?'
"We'll just leave you two here," teased Rainbow before she and Strawberry headed to the backyard with Naruto grumbling.
"At least I'm not a cat."
"I'm still here, you know." remarked Custard, curled up on the floor with a huff. "Rude."
"I didn't-ah forget it."
Apple let out a giggle, fascinated with the cheek marks with Naruto unwilling to really stop her. He just had to push down the urge to let out a happy sound that happened whenever someone couldn't help themselves. It was a VERY small list and he did not intend to let just anybody find out his secret weakness.
That's when there was a knock at the door. Seeing as he was the only one there who could actually open it, and because Custard probably couldn't be bothered if she tried, he walked over and opened it. There he saw Orange, Angel, Blueberry, and Huck. "Oh, what's up?"
"Wow Naruto, you really couldn't wait." remarked Orange with a chuckle. "We haven't even decorated silly."
"Heh, yeah, Rain-chan wanted us to come by sooner since she couldn't wait." he stepped aside and let them in. "They're in the backyard."
"Well, since we're all early, why don't we take this time to get a head start?" suggested Blueberry with a smile. "We could talk and get to know each other even more."
"Like what?" he asked, trying to ignore Apple now squeezing his cheek and pushing down the urge to let out a sound he might regret having to explain.
"Well, what's it like being a ninja back home? Are there others like you? Do they wear orange too or come in other colors? Oh! And can you run up walls?" Blueberry started firing off question after question.
"Well it's pretty awesome, especially when I get to go on missions. If you mean have a sense of humor, then not really. Nah, this is mostly me, and yeah." he answered in order, getting awed reactions.
"Can we see?" asked Orange.
Seeing their eager faces made him feel a bit smug. With a nod, he handed Apple to Huck to hold before moving near a wall. "Watch." he lifted one foot and set it against it, his chakra sticking it there before he did the same with the other, standing on the wall perpendicular to the group whose mouths dropped. "Tada!"
"Wow! That's amazing!" Orange let out, the group all clapping together.
"Yeah, it is pretty sweet." boasted Naruto while crossing his arms.
"What else can you do?"
"I….actually, I better keep that to myself, no sense spilling the beans already." he snickered while dropping back down to the floor. 'If I show off everything I can do now, they might not be so impressed in the future.'
"What else can you do?" asked Blueberry with eagerness.
"Easy, you know more about me then I do about all of you. Besides Huck I mean."
Said boy beamed with pride while Orange perked up.
"Well, what do you wanna know?"
"Anything really."
"Well, one thing about me is my family owns a whole orange orchard. It's been part of our family for generations, but right now I'm the only one running it."
"On your own? Isn't that a lot of work?"
"Maybe for others, but I can handle it no problem."
"That's pretty impressive, I'd probably make a huge mess out of it." he remarked bluntly.
"Well, I don't know if Huck told you this, but I'm a BIG fan of books and literature." Blueberry jumped in with joy. "Nothing beats a good, long book on a sunny day in my eyes."
"I can think of a dozen." Huck remarked, getting a playful glare from Blueberry who smiled and looked at Naruto.
"And the truth is, I was the last new girl before you and Rainbow came along. I'm still getting used to everything, but if you have any questions, just know you can count on us to help."
"Heh, thanks." he smiled at the genuine tone in her voice, making him relax a little.
"Well, for me, I love baking all sorts of cakes. I run my own bakery and can whip up any cake you can think of." informed Angel with a finger to her chin, looking up in thought. "Say, since you like giving out nicknames for us, how about I give you one?"
"Like what?" he asked, tilting his head.
"What about ... .oh! Fishcakes." she smiled, making Naruto give a grumpy expression in response, making the others snicker. "I've heard about them, but I never really learned how to make one, would you happen to know?"
"Well they're not the kind of cakes you're thinking of. It's this sorta….I think Teuchi told me…oh yeah! He said it was cured fish cut up into slices and put into ramen. It's not made with the stuff you put in a cake, but they sure do taste great no matter what."
"Fish?" she looked surprised and a bit disappointed, but held a smile instead. "Can you show me how to make it? I love cakes, no matter what, but I've been meaning to branch out and make other things. It never hurts to learn something new after all."
"Mmmmm, maybe, I never really made much of it myself, I usually just get it when I drop by for ramen. I might have an idea, but I can't make any promise."
"Thank you, that's good enough for me." she gave a dazzling smile, making Naruto rub the back of his head with a chuckle.
"Heh, well…uh…hey! Let's head out back and see if they need help setting things up." he quickly changed the subject, getting nods from each of them. They all followed Naruto as he went to open the door, only to spot Rainbow herself running away through the arch to the backyard, Strawberry and Peppermint Fizz watching her. "Eh? Hey Rain-chan! Wait!"
Without a word, he started jogging off after her, passing by the two girls without giving them a look and saw Rainbow herself taking the path that led back to the pond. His body had plenty of energy to keep up pace, but she had a good head start on him.
After catching up to Rainbow who had reached her boat, he took a moment to catch his breath while noting Rainbow looking upset as she looked down at the ground. "What…What happened? Why were you running away like that?"
"It's…It's….nothing." she muttered, making Naruto immediately stare at her and frown.
"Bull." he replied, making her turn her head to him as he crossed his arms. "I've been around and seen a lot of things Rainbow, and something's going on here. Trying to hide it or lie won't work on me. I'm asking because I wanna help."
"It's…well….it's….Peppermint." she replied, looking back away as Naruto gripped his arms hearing that and felt anger rising up.
"What did she say?"
"She said there was something wrong with me because of how different I am. From where I live, to how I talk, she even made the same remark on you. I was under the table getting a balloon when she told this to Strawberry, but at that point I just didn't want to stick around anymore and ran."
Naruto gritted his teeth hearing that. His mind flashed back to images of him getting mocked or yelled at by the villagers popped up, the pain and hurt with them, and how alone it made him feel constantly. All because of something he didn't want and because he wasn't like them. So to hear that be directed to a friend of his? Who was pushed to tears because of some minor differences? He swore he could feel his teeth grow before turning away from her as she wiped at her eye.
"Naruto?" she saw him start to walk away down the ramp, making her stand up and watch. "Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go show that girl what the hell happens when you make my friend cry." he let out in a cold tone that actually worried and made Rainbow feel scared as he cracked his knuckles.
"WAIT!" she ran down after him, grabbing his right arm and making him turn to her. "Please, don't do anything rash Naruto!"
"Are you kidding?! She made you cry! For what? Being different?! That's bullshit and you know it!" he spat. "So what if you're different? I don't see how she's in any spot to judge someone she barely knows."
"I know, it hurts, I won't lie, but causing trouble isn't the way to go about it. It might be better if I just leave, but you can still stay." she replied, letting go as he looked at her like she was nuts. "I mean, you and Huck are already getting along so well, and I'll bet the others would love to have you stick around with how amazing you are. I can find somewhere else to call my own, I'm not someone to just quit."
He stared at her in silence before shaking his head, his memory of what happened between him and Sasuke and the work he and the others went through to save him popped up. "No way! Naruto Uzumaki doesn't turn his back on his friends, no matter what. You were the first one I met in this new world, who helped me get back to health, and who fed me, so you're crazy if you think I'm gonna ditch you like that."
Rainbow looked at him with relief in her eyes, giving a small smile before he started walking away. "Naruto, wait!"
"But I'm not gonna let her judge us like that. I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind no matter what." he let out with a stubborn tone that showed he wasn't gonna drop it.
Rainbow held a hand out, wanting to stop him, but the look in his eyes were those of someone who was dead serious on a goal.
Naruto took off running down the path, reaching Strawberry's home and ran around the back of it, seeing her gathering balloons from their high post. "Strawberry!"
"Oh! Hey Naruto, is Rainbow alright?" she asked with concern.
"No, she feels like she should leave because of what Peppermint said." he growled, making Strawberry gasp.
"What?! That's awful!"
"Yeah, so I'm gonna give Peppermint a piece of my mind. Where'd she go?" he looked around as Strawberry tied the balloons down to a rock.
"She left after Rainbow did, back to her own home."
"Point me in the direction, I'll find her." he fumed, something that made her walk over with concern.
"Easy Naruto, maybe you should try and calm down first."
"Oh I'll be calm, after I tell that stuck up pain in my neck off for making Rain-chan cry!"
Strawberry ran over and got in front, hands on his chest while trying to push back, but he was stronger than she expected. "Wait Naruto! Please! Fighting isn't the answer!"
"Yelling at her isn't my kind of fighting. If I wanted to really fight her, it'd be over in no time."
"Please! Let me try to talk to her! She knows me more and might be willing to listen! I don't like what she did anymore than you or Rainbow!" she tried pushing harder, Naruto slowly stopping as she panted from the exertion. "Please….let me….try and get through to her."
Naruto wanted to REALLY keep going, but Strawberry's pleading look to him made his heart clench up. Her genuine tone and well being was sincere and made him let out a heavy sigh. "Even if you talked to her, it might not be enough. Rainbow's planning on leaving any time, and I'm going with her. I'm not gonna ditch my first friend after coming here, even if the welcoming was pretty nice."
Strawberry felt both sad at the idea of them leaving so soon, but happy about Naruto willing to stand by her to the end. She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Let me get through to Peppermint, I'm sure I can get her to come around."
"Yeah well, it'll have to be pretty fast."
"I'll do my best." she took off running past him with Naruto letting out a heavy sigh.
'Man, this just isn't my day. Better talk to Rainbow and see when she wants to head off.'
He headed back to the boat where Rainbow was trying to busy herself by tidying up the deck right as he climbed up the side and front flipped back on.
"So, any specific time you wanna go, Rain-chan?"
"Before the day's over, I figured it'd give us a good headstart on the sea." she answered while setting the broom aside. "I've got some maps on other places that would be nice to check out, so we won't need to worry about sailing blindly."
"Do we need any supplies?"
"It couldn't hurt since we might be out there for who knows how long." she answered with a hand on her chin, before her eyes caught notice of something. Turning her head, her expression turned to surprise with Naruto following her gaze and spotted Huck, Blueberry, Angel,Orange, and Ginger; all of them coming to the boat with concerned faces.
"Rainbow? Naruto? Can we talk?" Orange called up from the bottom of the ramp.
The two shared a look before heading down to meet with the group. "What is it?"
"We learned what happened with Peppermint, and we wanted to tell you that we're sorry for her harsh words." spoke Angel.
"It's uncalled for and something nobody around here agrees with." frowned Blueberry.
"Nobody here wants to see you two go." Ginger let out with a pout. "You just got here!"
"Can't we convince you to stay?" Huck requested, not wanting to pass up the chance for him and Naruto to hang out more. Can't blame him after all, you tend to really need company from the same gender to cut loose.
"Sorry, but I don't wanna cause conflict with everyone. If Peppermint Fizz is uncomfortable with me, then it might be best if I go." Rainbow shook her head with Huck turning to Naruto.
"What about you?"
"I said it once, and I'll say it again; I'm not gonna turn my back on Rain-chan. I'm sticking with her if she's going back out to sea."
Hearing that made the lone male member disappointed and sad, but a part of him could respect Naruto on sticking by his first friend.
"If you're sure, at least let us get you some stuff for the trip." Angel offered.
"Well, we were just talking about that."
"We can split up and make it easier on you two." spoke Ginger Snap. "Me and Angel can help Rainbow; while Huck, Orange, and Blueberry help Naruto, sound fair?"
All of them gave nods with smiles, the group splitting up to get the supplies and items.
Rainbow was given some new forks, spoons, knives, pots, pans, and baking sheets from the two girls, along with a small basket of fresh cookies for the trip.
Naruto got a big basket of oranges with Blueberry adding in a few books on storytelling and literature, with Huck assisting Naruto in carrying it given how he figured maybe they could slow down on the way back for extra time.
"Man, this sucks." Huck let out, the two of them slowly walking the way back as per Huck's suggestion.
"I know, believe me I wouldn't mind sticking around, but if I just leave Rain-chan alone, I'd feel like a jerk." Naruto let out, looking ahead with a distant look in his eyes. "Abandoning my friends is something I don't wanna be told to do."
"Well….I mean who knows, maybe Peppermint will realize she was being a jerk and apologize." Huck tried to sound confident.
"Like that'll happen." Naruto huffed with doubt. "If she's gonna be that rude to people she barely knows, I'd hate to see what she'd say if we DID stick around."
"Strawberry might get through to her, she's really great with words."
"Unless she can make it happen in less than an hour? That's pretty much all the time we got."
"Strawberry could pull it off, easy." he reassured Naruto, who had doubts, but at the same time hoped he might be right in the back of his head.
"Yeah well I'll believe it when I see it."
The two soon spotted the ship in the distance, the dreading feeling for both getting bigger with each step. When they got halfway there they could spot Rainbow already back on the boat with the other girls watching her from the ramp as she was cranking the anchor up from the pond.
"WAIT!" came a loud voice.
"Eh?" Naruto and Huck spotted Strawberry running towards the boat. Both of them picked up the pace to hear what seemed to be going on as the girl now had everyone's undivided attention.
"Strawberry, what's wrong?" asked Orange with concern.
"I…just got…done…talking to…Peppermint."
"Did she apologize for her rudeness?" asked Angel with hope, only to lose it when Strawberry shook her head. "Oh…"
"Knew it." Naruto whispered to Huck with annoyance.
After taking a second to get it together, Strawberry explained how her talk with Peppermint with, much to their expectations from those who knew her.
"So nothings changed?" spoke Orange with sadness.
"Actually, it has, because I've got a plan." smiled Strawberry with confidence. "I was thinking we set up another party, a costume one."
"How's that gonna help?" asked Naruto.
"Simple, if we can use it to help show Peppermint that being the same isn't all it's cracked up to be, she'll come around to the idea of you two sticking around."
"That sounds like a great idea!" smiled Ginger.
"It might just work." Blueberry piped in.
"But how is it gonna work?" questioned Naruto scratching his head. "You mean start acting as annoying as her?"
"Nope. If we all dress the same, enjoy the same stuff as her, to where it bothers her, then it'll work, I'm positive." informed Strawberry. "We already know what Peppermint likes to dress up as, we just need to make more of it."
"Sounds kinda weird, but if it helps with Rain-chan? I'll do it." he remarked before his prankster mind began to pop up, making him slowly give a wide foxy grin along with a low chuckle. 'And I've got an idea to really make it work!'
The others noted the grin and felt a bit wary of it, the sight of it making them feel a chill down their backs, but they put it to the back of their minds for the time being.
"Alright girls, let's get to work."
"Don't forget me." Huck interjected. "If you're gonna do it, so am I."
"Really Huck? You do realize you'd have to wear a dress, right?" Blueberry pointed out.
"Yeah, I do, but it can't hurt to have one more to get it to work, am I right?" he asked, an inner fire lit in him. Determined to do what he could if it meant helping not just Rainbow, but Naruto.
"That's the spirit." smiled Strawberry before turning to Rainbow. "What do you say Rainbow?"
"I say; let's get started." she smiled with eagerness.
"Alright, I'll get to work on sending out a flier so Peppermint gets it."
"We'll work on getting the material needed for the dresses."
"And the food."
With a plan in mind, all of them spread out to get things together.
(Later)
"This is going to be perfect." Peppermint Fizz smiled as she was making her way to Strawberry's house. She had gotten a flier about a celebration costume party, so she decided to go with her favorite one. It had bright colors of red, yellow, and orange, with the mask looking similar to a flower with a butterfly brooch in front of the collar to it, a long skirt, with a pair of yellow butterfly wings on the back. "A going away party to celebrate those two weirdos leaving is just what I need."
Making her way to the backyard, she passed by the numerous strawberry plants that bordered around it, before stopping and was caught off guard when she came across someone wearing the exact same costume as her own.
"I'm so glad you came." they spoke with a smile.
"Your costume, it's the same as mine." Peppermint let out, the girl not phased at the obvious remark.
"Come on, join the fun." she gestured to the backyard.
"Strawberry? Why are you wearing the same thing as me?" Peppermint questioned.
"Oh, this costume? It's my costume, and exactly like yours, isn't it great?" she smiled.
"Uh, yeah, sure." Peppermint replied, letting the girl lead her while trying to smile, which she promptly lost when they made it to the party area. There were lanterns, balloons, and various kinds of treats set up, but the glaring thing? All the party guests were wearing the exact same costume. Hers. "What the…"
Huck and Ginger took notice of her arriving, mindful not to show they were looking, and winked to the other.
"Time for the real fun to start." whispered Ginger.
"This is gonna be great." Huck whispered back, with his eyes drifting to the party guests and felt something was a bit off. "Hey, doesn't it seem like there's more people here? Like, more than there should?"
"Now that you mention it…yeah, which is really weird. Did you invite some of them?"
"No, I figured you girls did."
"Well I sure didn't invite anyone else for this plan."
"Oh, that'd be me." Naruto chimed in, making the two turn to him with said blonde feeling the costume wasn't really him. Must have been the flower motif. "I found some other people and got them to join in."
"Really? Who are they?"
"Oh, nobody big, just a few friendly faces that popped up." he gave a low snicker, the same kind that made the two get a bad feeling in their guts. "They're more than happy to help out with the plan."
"Well….if you're sure…" Ginger and Huck shared a look, deciding to go with it as their guts told them there was something fishy.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Peppermint asked, gaining the attention of them as she walked up and pointed around. "You, and you, and you are also wearing my costume."
"We thought about the reason you didn't like our friend, and you were right?" Angel spoke up behind her mask.
"What? Who?" Peppermint questioned back, completely lost.
"Her house and clothes were different." Orange piped up, before Angel took over.
"So we all decided to be the same, so we could all be happy too." she clarified with her arms spread out. "Isn't that wonderful?"
"Oh…right, that's great. Exactly." Peppermint was getting a stronger sensation that this was off, but kept up a smile as she went along with what they were saying.
"Would you like some peppermint tea?" one asked, peaking Peppermint's interest.
"That sounds great." she smiled, following the duplicate to a table with a tea set resting. Taking it and a cup, she tipped it over, but found barely a drop was left. "Huh?"
"We're all out, guess we all love peppermint tea." spoke one holding her own cup as several others came over. "Exactly the same."
"Yeah, sure, exactly…" Peppermint repeated as she set the set down, disappointed and irked at the lack of a good drink.
"How about peppermint ice cream?" offered the one who she knew had to be Strawberry.
"I love peppermint ice cream." hearing the desert perked the girl right up, giving a smile back. "Where is it?"
"All gone, guess we all like it too." another spoke up, eating the treat from a small dish and dashing Peppermint Fizz's hope.
'Because of course you do.' she thought, getting annoyed now before another girl came over.
"How about peppermint cake?"
"Do you have some?"
"Not anymore."
"Uh, what about peppermint pie?" she tried, only to be met with another girl biting into a slice.
"Mmmm, my favorite." she hummed with delight, which pushed the real Peppermint overboard as she let out a groan.
"What's going on?!" she spread out her arms and looked around them. "What's everybody doing? Why are you acting like this, Angel Cake?" she questioned the nearest girl, who was looking up at the sky without a care in the world.
"Who? I'm not her, and she's not me." she replied back, pointing to the girl right beside her.
"Ginger Snap?"
"Over here." came a voice from the crowd, throwing Peppermint for an even bigger loop as she tried to walk away from them and look around.
"Blueberry Muffin?"
"Over there."
"Ugh, my brain is gonna explode." she grabbed at her head, seeing the same image all around her was driving her up the wall. She spotted one girl a bit away from the others, who was leaning down to rub the top of Pupcake who barked in joy. She had a good idea on this one's identity. "Strawberry?"
The girl looked at her, which she took as a sign she hit the nail on the head.
"Strawberry, this is insane! I can't tell who is who, which is which, or why!"
The girl stared at her without a word, so Peppermint took that to keep going.
"Seeing everyone look the same, and like the same things is so…so…so…much! It's like looking at copies of myself and….it's overbearing." she admitted, sounding tired while her arms dropped to her sides. "I know I complained about Rainbow and Naruto for being so different than everybody else, but that was because I was scared. Scared that them being so different might make everybody change and not wanna hang out anymore."
The girl looked surprised as the other costumed guests walked over, but didn't say anything.
"I guess I just didn't wanna give them a chance because I didn't know how to." she let out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. "I never meant to hurt anybody, but it's too late. They're gone and I won't get a chance to apologize for being such a jerk."
"I wouldn't say that." remarked 'Strawberry' before removing their mask to show Rainbow's smiling face.
"Rainbow?!" Peppermint let out in surprise. "You didn't leave yet!"
"And miss out on a party like this? I never did get that welcoming one." she joked as the girls around began taking their own masks off, with Peppermint caught off guard when Huck showed his face.
"Wait, Huck? You were in on this too?"
"Well I had to help out my pal Naruto, even if I did have to wear a dress." he shrugged, getting some giggles around him. He did not care though, his name buddy Naruto is stay!
"Speaking of which, where is he?" asked Strawberry as the others were all revealed, leaving several other girls still masked who all looked at each other with smirks.
"And who are they?" asked Peppermint curiously while having a sense of dread building up, not liking the smirks.
"We don't know, Naruto said he just found others." replied Huck, the rest just as confused and lost.
"Isn't it obvious?" One asked while trying not to laugh.
"What is?" asked Angel before they all took their masks off.
Everyone's eyes widen in shock as each one was shown to be an exact copy of Peppermint herself, from her face, to her hair, and even her facial expression was all the same as the real Peppermint Fizz.
"We're her!" they said together, making the original Peppermint let out a scream and jump back, landing in Ginger Snap's arms and making said girl stumble back and almost fall over.
Peppermint hugged Ginger in shiver as she averted her eyes.
"I regret wanting everyone to be like me! It's terrifying! Make it go away!"
"W-W-W-What's going on?!" Blueberry let out before all the copies of Peppermint burst out laughing before one of them stepped forward.
"Got ya!"
Instantly she and the other copies all were covered in several clouds that obscured them for a moment. What stood in the spots were all now copies of Naruto, all laughing together and still clad in the dresses, and almost falling over each other.
"Naruto!?" everyone cried out together now, even more blown away.
"Bingo." One gave a thumbs up as another held his stomach laughing.
"W-W-We got you good!"
"Oh man! So worth it!" One wiped a tear from his eye.
"But….how?!" Angel got out with Huck's surprise turning to awe.
"No way! You can copy yourself!"
"Yup." smiled Rainbow, the only one not phased. "It's pretty handy when cleaning."
"With a little henge, it was easy to look like her." Another Naruto pointed to Peppermint who realized her position and quickly got back on her feet, dusting off her dress with a blush on her cheeks. The Naruto clone chuckled before explaining, "Strawberry's plan was a pretty good prank, so I figured I'd go ahead and toss in my own little twist."
"Hey! This was not a prank." Strawberry put her hands on her hips with a frown. She was never one to pull a mean act against someone without a good reason, which there was none in her opinion. "It was meant to help teach Peppermint a lesson."
"Yeah, a prank." another commented plainly. "That's pretty much what happens when we prank someone, teach them a lesson."
"And laugh our butts off."
"That too."
"It's NOT a prank." Strawberry said adamantly. She turned to her friends. "Right?"
To her dismay, not one of them stepped up to back her claim.
"Still turned out like one." One Naruto clone rubbed the bottom of their nose with all of them giving the same grin, making the girl give a pout with her arms crossed.
"So…which one is the real Naruto?" asked Orange.
All of them turned to each other before pointing to them. "He is!"
"She's serious, which one?" Angel asked. Her perfectionism has to admit, though she has barely knows Naruto, she can tell these copies were perfect imitations to the original.
"That's for us to know and you to guess."
"But you all look the exact same." Ginger pointed out with Angel nodding. "How are we supposed to tell?"
Each of them chuckled, but stopped when they heard a small voice.
"Oh~"
All eyes turned to the ground and saw Apple herself, dressed in a smaller version of Peppermint's costume, with the toddler looking at them with curiosity.
"Wait…is that your sister?" Peppermint asked Strawberry. "Did you get her involved too?"
"I mostly wanted to bring her with me so she wasn't alone. She was near the food so she wouldn't get hungry."
'How did I miss that?' Peppermint questioned in her mind given how ridiculous it would REALLY been if she had seen Apple sooner.
Said child kept looking at the Naruto clones with a look on her face that seemed like she was trying to concentrate. She started crawling towards them, the blondes watching her as she moved around their ankles before stopping in front of one; the one in the very back before smiling and clapped her hands.
Huck and the girls all looked at the Naruto who tried averting his eyes before Orange smiled.
"Are YOU the real Naruto?"
"Uh…well…ah man! No fair." he let out, crouching down to look Apple in the eye who giggled. "How'd you figure it out?"
Apple didn't respond with words, all she did was reach out and touch his cheek and try rubbing the whisker marks again like before.
Peppermint stepped up to Naruto. "Well, I owe you an apology too. For the same reasons I mentioned about Rainbow." The blonde girl spoke while removing her mask. "I was a big jerk and-"
"Eh, don't worry about it too much, I forgive ya. Besides, now you got an idea on what I can REALLY do. And believe me, I can do much worse than Strawberry's prank and you would not even see it coming," he snickered, getting a warning look from Strawberry with Peppermint gulping nervously. He looked at Rainbow who walked over beside him. "So? Does this mean you wanna stick around?"
"Absolutely!"
The others all cheered out together in relief and happiness, getting Strawberry to smile.
"In that case, we can consider this a full on friendship party!"