_._

The Story of Us

'For those who never gave up'

Naruto x OC

Friendship, Adventure, Romance

Chapter 18: Envy

Do not envy others until you've stepped into their shoes.

"Lovely"- Billie Eilish

The days following our return to the village were rough. However, slowly but surely, things did start to return to their regular rhythm.

I still woke up and trained for a few hours solo, went home to wake Naruto, then proceeded to prepare properly for the day and meet my team. Normally we trained for a few hours, then did some small D-ranked missions. I would normally be done in the late afternoon, in which I would spend time tending to my garden or other chores. That double mission earned us enough money that we could afford to treat ourselves a bit more, but I was adamant not to over-indulge, because if one of us was injured and laid off there wouldn't be enough money to make up for it.

Since becoming ninja we had stopped getting allowances, and were expected to pay rent and find our own means of survival. It wasn't bad, in fact at the rate we did missions we were making a lot more. I went and bought a rice cooker and better quality foods for us, along with several books to teach me how to save money and grow food in the winter.

Of course, I also bought higher end ramen.

I got to know Reiji a little bit better over the past couple of days too. Sometimes I went with him to the Hyuga compound to hang with Hinata when she didn't have missions. Reiji was always a very polite boy with a quick wit, but there was something about him that made me think I was missing something about him. Regardless, I really liked him. He was kind and gentle, and despite being initially quite strange to observe, his company was always appreciated. He didn't pull his punches in training and took me seriously even on days that I wasn't giving the best performance. Reiji was beginning to feel like a big brother for me to look up to, both literally and figuratively.

Akira, on the other hand…..

He was working on my last nerve, and I didn't know what to do about him. His mood swings were getting frustrating, because sometimes I thought we were getting along, and then suddenly he was upset at something and wouldn't tell me why. I tried just talking to him, but he would escape and not come back for hours even when we were on a mission. Daisuke didn't react, which seemed to bring him back faster than if we made a big deal about it.

I was on the roof one afternoon, snipping dead pieces off my plants to help them grow, with the slightly less moody Nara taking a nap on the bench behind me as I ranted.

"I just don't get it, why is he always so upset?" I muttered clipping a leaf a bit harshly. Shikamaru groaned behind me, I heard him shift around.

"What are you going on about now?" He yawned, I looked back at him over my shoulder. He had turned to his side so he could look at me, his head propped up on an arm.

"Akira Nara. He's perpetually in a bad mood, and it's like there's nothing I can do to fix it." I stared at him, blowing some loose hairs out of my face before turning back to work.

"Oh, that guy? Yeah he's a drag. Though, I can't really blame him."

I paused, turning in my crouched position completely to instead kneel in front of Shikamaru. He looked a bit surprised by my sudden movement, but didn't make any effort to move away.

"Explain." I gently requested. This was the first time someone had given me an answer other than 'the kid has mood swings.' In a while and I was eager to hear more.

"His dad's a bit much is all. He was one of those guys who was super talented but was injured badly during the last war and had to retire early." Shikamaru yawned and laid back down, though his eyes remained on me briefly. I sat back too, thinking on this new information, wondering how it fit in the grand scheme of things.

Maybe Akira's dad put pressure on him? Maybe he just needed to have little reminders that he was doing great?

"Seriously," Shikamaru cut through my thoughts. "I wouldn't waste your time. There are much better things you could be doing."

I giggled.

"Like what, watching clouds drift by?" A small hum of approval left the Nara's lips as he closed his eyes. I smiled, before laying on the ground next to the bench. The clouds did look extra fluffy today.

"I think I see a dog in that one." I pointed to said cloud. Shikamaru groaned.

"That's just a circle with bumps." He argued back. I chuckled.

"Clearly you've never met Pakkun."

I tried to be more kind to Akira, figuring he might be under a lot of pressure. The guy was tough getting along with though, and often times I was just gritting my teeth instead of saying anything at all. I took out most of that frustration in my training with Kakashi-sensei and Tenzo.

The wood release was quickly becoming a favourite of mine due to it's diversity and handiness, however I wasn't allowed to us that release front of others yet. Tenzo made it abundantly clear to me that this wasn't something just anybody could do, and I silently began to wonder why I could do it.

My focus couldn't remain on the subject though, as Kakashi-sensei decided I was ready to learn a new jutsu.

Raikiri.

When I saw sensei hold the lightning chakra in his hands I stood in silent awe. The sheer level of chakra was far greater than anything I could currently perform, but it was something I would likely work my way up to. Sensei expected me to learn Raikiri within the month, which meant adding more to my training.

So my days became busier, I spent most of it training now with little time for breaks. I felt eager to learn the one technique sensei made himself, to the point of possibly detriment. More than once did I pass out training, only to be woken by sensei as he carried me back home with a mild warning to take care of myself.

The days were growing hotter as summer hit it's peak too. I invested in a good fan and also fussed with attempting to combine wind and water elements. No deadly jutsu came from it, but I did learn how to create ice cubes, so that was a win.

With the days growing longer I also found my desire to stay up increasing. I would find myself starting training earlier and finishing later, but my one day off was slowly turning into a full day of sleep to make up for the missed rest. Kakashi-sensei eventually put a stop to it, threatening to take away my wood release training if I wasn't taking better care of myself. I know he did it out of concern, but it made everything so much further out of reach.

During one training session with my team, I let slip that Kakashi-sensei was teaching me Raikiri, but Daisuke didn't seem overly surprised at. Reiji congratulated me, taunting that perhaps I could take him on now. Akira, on the other hand, became very quiet. I could see the gears turning and was waiting for the explosion. It came shortly after Daisuke praised me for learning such an advanced jutsu.

"Oh piss off."

"Akira." Daisuke sighed, but the boy just glared at me from where he stood. Reiji even turned to him, a feature not necessary considering the boy was technically blind. It was done purposefully to show Akira that Reiji was paying full attention to what he did next.

"Oh come on! Aren't any of you just a little bit pissed? She gets everything! She's being trained by Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Cat ninja! One of the strongest ninja in our village, in the five nations! She was fast tracked to our team despite hers failing! She knows clan leaders and famous people and she acts like it's no big deal, and now she's learning Kakashi's famous attack and you're both not even a little pissed that some punk just gets this stuff handed to her?"

His eyes narrowed further, but I didn't react immediately to his insults. I stood silently and listened as his breathing got heavier with his frustration, his nostrils flared, he looked ready to fight. For a second I thought he would, and Reiji must've sensed it as well since he took a step between us to slightly guard me. An unnecessary move, but I appreciated the back up. Akira grunted, his hands balled into fists.

"It's not fair!" He shouted, then ran off. We stayed quiet for a moment after he had gone, then Daisuke sighed.

"Jeez, he's becoming more angry every day, I swear….." Our Sensei muttered under his breath. He looked to the two of us. "I guess we're done for the day. Both of you should head home early."

With that, he vanished. Not long after I heard Reiji scoff.

"What a brat, acting like he's got all the problems in the world on his shoulders." Reiji was frowning at the direction Akira ran off in, likely still seeing him. I looked to the Hyuga for a moment, then off in the same direction.

"It's…. It's frustrating." I confessed. Reiji let out a breath and, without looking at me, patted my shoulder. I looked up to him, but he was still staring off into the distance.

"Daisuke is right, we should go home early. It's supposed to rain soon."

I looked over to the east where thunderclouds were rolling in and begrudgingly agreed.

I arrived home just as the rain began to fall, dampening my hair just enough to warrant towering the excess water out after I changed into my evening wear. This mostly consisted of a sweatshirt and fleecy pants to keep me warm. My hair was brushed out and loose as I made supper. Naruto came home about an hour later drenched and pouting. From the smell it seemed more likely he fell into pond than was rained on to get that wet.

"You stink, take a bath." Was all I said, to which Naruto pouted further.

"Aw c'mon Kari! I've had a bad day, y'know." He rung out his jacket out the front door while calling to me over his shoulder. "That Sasuke! I slipped in the river and he let me float all the ay down stream before he helped me!"

I paused in my stirring of our soup.

"Naruto…. You know how to walk on water…."

….

"Oh, right."

I giggled, Naruto hung up his jacket and narrowed his eyes at me. I looked over to him fully and raised a brow.

"What?" I asked, seeing the gears turn in his head. Naruto walked closer, until he was just a short distance away.

"Dunno, you just seem, upset again," he said, his eyes roaming my face. I felt surprised, not thinking he would catch it. "I didn't notice it last time, y'know, so…. I wanted to make sure. And today you don't look quite yourself."

"Oh, that, I'm just having trouble with Akira again, I guess." I explained quickly, also retelling the situation to him. Naruto narrowed his eyes, looking pretty pissed off by the end of it.

"That bastard! I'm gunna smash his head in! Believe it!" He growled, surprising me. I reached over with my none stirring hand and touched his arm.

"Hey, he just said stuff, it's not a big deal. He was probably just grumpy again." I tried to play peacekeeper, even though Akira was beginning to get on my nerves as well.

"Doesn't matter! Kari you work way too hard to get talked about like that y'know!" He looked over to the soup I was still slowly stirring to keep it from burning. "I mean you practically raised both of us…. And you train so hard…. Kari you-"

A sharp knock cut him off. We both turned to look at the door before Naruto mumbled under his breath and stomped over to it. I returned to my stirring, but halted quickly when I saw who was in the doorway.

It had been a long time since I had seen him, but the leader of the Nara clan looked almost identical to the memory. Shikaku stood tall and looming in the doorway, and even while drenched from the torrential downpour the man was intimidating enough with the scars on his face to make Naruto nervous. Even though I couldn't see his face I could see the tension in his shoulders.

"Pardon my intrusion. I was hoping to speak to Hikari." Shikaku said politely to Naruto. The Uzumaki looked over his shoulder to me, I stopped my stirring and made my way to the door after turning to the heat down.

"Hello Mr. Shikaku Nara," I bowed, to which he chuckled and nodded to me.

"Shikaku is more than enough." He said politely. "I actually came here on behalf of a clansmen. His son has been missing and with the storm he's been concerned for him. I've contacted your sensei and he says Akira left hours ago. Do you know where he might be?"

I hesitated, remembering the way Akira ran off, and how he took off to where I knew the Nara Compound to be.

"Unfortunately, I don't. He looked like he was going home last I saw him." I explained. Shikaku frowned, but nodded.

"Alright. Sorry for the disturbance." He said before making his way back out the door. Thankfully the overhang left him in shelter too, but the pounding rain could be heard picking up, along with the occasional blast of thunder and lightning. I briefly thought back to Akira's face as he ran away, and how Reiji watched him go.

"My teammate Reiji Hyuga might know where he is." I added just before he shut the door. Shikaku looked back at me, nodding once with a ghost of a smile.

"Alright then, take care."

He shut the door, leaving us standing there for a moment.

"Well, that was weird," Naruto glanced at me then, raising a brow. "You okay Kari?"

I felt jolted, not realizing I was frowning the entire time that I had been staring at the door.

"Oh, sorry, yeah I'm okay." I forced my feet to carry me back to the kitchen to continue with our soup. We sat down with the hot soup in front of us; Naruto was chattering away about something I couldn't quite hear. I took slow sips of my hot soup, glancing out the window now and again to gauge how bad the weather was.

Akira wouldn't be out in that weather, would he? He wasn't the sharpest stick in the pile, but he had more sense than to freeze in a storm, right? And why did I care in the first place? The guy would yell at me to piss off if I came to get him anyway, so why bother worrying about him?

I glanced at the window again.

Naruto abruptly stood, surprising me. He slapped his hands on the table.

"That's it, we better get out there! Believe it!" He quickly walked around the table to the closet where our umbrellas were hidden. Very rarely did we go out in this sort of weather, but I always liked to be prepared for when things did go wrong.

"What are you doing?" I asked as Naruto dug further into the closet past the umbrellas. He tossed me one of his jackets.

"What does it look like? We're going to find that jerk teammate of yours and knock some sense into him, y'know." My eyes widened slightly, but I pulled on the oversized jacket anyway. It hung loosely, falling past my hips and instantly making me feel warmer. Once Naruto had his own matching jacket on he tossed me an umbrella and dragged me to the door. Our soup would lay forgotten for now, and instead I tried to rack my brain for any possible locations to find Akira.

Of course, the only place I could think of was the training grounds. But there were so many of them it might take hours to search them all. Even leaping over the buildings in the rain to save time didn't help since it forced us to shut our umbrellas and get wet.

We made it to training grounds one and didn't see anyone at all despite the thorough search we conducted. That search costed us twenty minutes out in the rain. I felt every drop as it drenched me to the bone. I was shivering and cold and wet and miserable and so angry at Akira for making me come out here. Even worse was I was so worried for him now. No one in their right mind would stay out here, right?

A loud crack of thunder interrupted us overhead. Naruto looked over to me, a deep frown on his face.

"W-What?" My teeth were chattering.

"You should go back Kari, it's too cold for you, y'know." Naruto insisted, but I shook my head.

"N-No! We came out h-here for Aki-Akira and I'm n-not leaving without-t him!" I fought back, Naruto frowned again.

"I'll look for him, you go back! You'll freeze out here, believe it!" I looked around, trying to think of a solution for this answer, before I came up with one.

"How about we do this. We each split the training grounds. I'll take the four and five, you take two and three? We meet back here in an hour?" I offered. Naruto hesitated, but after another crack of thunder went off he grumbled something to himself before shouting "DEAL" and taking off in the opposite direction. I took my time to slowly turn around and look at my surroundings.

If I was Akira…. Where would I go? Probably somewhere that would cast shadows to work on my shadow possession jutsu…..There was a cave on the far end of training grounds five….. I would have to start there and work my way back.

The ground was slick now, pushing chakra into my feet required extra precision. The speed I was moving at kicked up so much mud my legs were coated firmly in a fine layer of splatter. My breath felt cold and shaky, and I as beginning to regret coming out when I saw the faintest amount of movement from my right.

Sure enough, at the back of the shallow cave was Akira. He sat with his head on his knees, rain pouring through his hair and down his back. I stood away from him for a moment, gauging whether the jerk would be in a fighting mood or not. However, the freezing cold made me push forward and shelter him with my umbrella. The rain hit my back, and after a few moments Akira seemed to realize he was no longer getting pelted by the rain. He looked up at me, his eyes betraying exhaustion as surprise shone over his face.

Lightning flashed, thunder rolled overhead.

"Y-You're soaked!" I said, my own knees shaking. Akira scowled, I prepared for him to try and push me away, but he didn't move a muscle. He just stared at me, a glare hiding the fatigue in his eyes.

"Just go away." He said, burying his head back into his knees. I swallowed, feeling a slight burn as I did. That soup would taste amazing right about now…..

"Sh-Shikaku came looking-g for you." I explained, trying again. Akira groaned, looking up at me with the same scowl. I waited, he stared, before finally he grunted in annoyance and stood up.

"Look at you! You're freezing!" He stood too much taller than me, making me hold the umbrella higher over his head. It tapped him in my shaking hands and he quickly slapped it away. I was a bit taken aback by the action. Akira used his height to glower at me.

"Go home, I really don't need you sticking your nose in my business." He said this, yet made no move to get away from me. I wanted to leave, wanted to turn around and go home to cuddle with Naruto for the evening. I wanted to feel my toes too.

But I saw it.

In his eyes, it was just a look, but it was a look that spoke volumes to me. Because it was a look I had worn as well.

"I don't know what to do!"

"Do you hate me, Hikari?"

I remembered telling Naruto when my parents died, how lost I felt, how desperately I clung to him as if he would vanish too before my eyes. I had been so scared back then, and nothing had really changed. I was still afraid everyday would be the last.

Akira had a similar look, the look of being so lost and confused. Why didn't I see it before? Was it because he was too tired to hide it? Whatever the reason, I had a good idea how to help.

I reached out quickly, grabbing a fistful of his vest. The movement caught him off guard.

"T-Too bad," I stared right into his eyes, feeling fire in my belly despite the cold. "You're my t-teammat-te. You're stuck with m-me."

Akira growled, and tried to pull my hand away. It was a half-hearted attempt though, as my hand remained fixed.

"Let go!" He yanked a bit harder. I snickered.

"Well you d-did say I got things hand-ded to me," I continued to stare right at him. He ceased his pulls and looked directly back at me. We stared for a while, the thunder and lightning drowned out my chattering teeth.

"Why are you so stubborn?" Akira sounded defeated, a torn look in his eyes. I grinned in response.

"You're my team-m-mate. S-So as long as y-you are…" I gripped tightly to his vest. "It doesn't m-matter what we face…. I w-won't let go….. got it?"

"But why? Why would you want to…." He looked away. I waited, and he whipped his head back to look at me. "Why would you want to be on my team?"

Well, I hadn't been expecting that one.

"I can see Reiji, you two work well together. But me? I'm not smart like the other Nara men, I'm not very talented, and I-" his face was so red now, he cut himself off and covered his eyes. I watched this boy unravel in front of me.

"You couldn't possibly understand, what it means to be so useless and be reminded everyday that you're a failure!"

Another piece clicked into place. Akira was jealous of mine and Reiji's progress. It was true, he hadn't progressed as far as us training wise, but I assumed it was because of his own stubbornness. A quick glance at his hands showed fresh cuts and bruises. He'd been training before I had arrived, was this a regular occurrence? Akira was slowly unravelling in front of me, and I was at a loss for what to do. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"A fish climbing a tree!"

Akira revealed his tear soaked eyes. Confusion flitting across them. I felt a little sheepish, ducking my head down.

"My Dad used to tell me I was a fish climbing a tree when I tried to chop wood with him. He told me I was too small to do that, the axe practically weighed as much as I did then. And I think- I think he had a point. We're all fish climbing trees in some part of our lives." I took a breath and looked up to Akira.

"There are… there are a lot of times I feel like that. Where I feel so useless, like I haven't progressed at all despite how long I've been training." The waterworks were starting up, I could feel them welling behind my eyes.

"Sometimes I think I'm wasting Kakashi-sensei's time. I mean he was a jonin by this age! Why am I going so slowly with training? And-And I keep thinking I'm behind you and Reiji. You've got way more experience and cool jutsu, and I'm doing everything I can to keep up sometimes!"

I wiped my eyes with my free hand, still clutching to his vest with the other.

"You really feel like that?" I looked over to Akira, who was furiously wiping his own face while trying to hide his tears. "You're not just yanking my chain right? You actually feel like that?"

I just looked to him, he looked back at me, and no words needed to be exchanged for him to see and understand it. We remained silent for several more moments.

"Kari!"

We both turned to see Naruto racing up to us. He was covered in mud and looked every bit a swamp monster. My guess was he wiped out in the muddy terrain and just tried to roll with it. His broken umbrella hinted to that at least. I waved, but the Uzumaki slid right up to me until he was barely a foot away.

"Look at you! You're freezing!" He whipped his head to Akira. "Hey asshole! Next time you better not go running off! Kari was worried about you y'know! Maybe I'll be the one to find you next time."

Naruto looked back down to me and froze. I was about to ask what was wrong, when he gently wiped a tear off my cheek. Somehow it had survived the downpour of water and was slowly gliding down of it's own accord.

"He made you cry?" Naruto was growling, and my mind immediately raced back to the bridge and the red chakra of the fox. I placed a hand on his chest, Naruto settled some.

"No, we had a talk Naruto….. but….. I'm really cold." I only half lied, but it was enough to get his attention again. Something fell across my shoulders, Akira's vest. I looked over to him, seeing he was still red faced.

"You two love birds go home. I'm fi-ACHOO!"

As if in response, I coughed. The wind howled and the storm continued.

Naruto dried off his hair as he sat at the table in his apartment. Akira stared numbly at a corner of the room, wearing one of Naruto's shirts as his jacket and shirt hung by the door. He had stayed just to let the storm pass before he would go home. It was starting to let up, but he couldn't find it in himself to leave.

Hikari was still in the bath, blissfully unaware of Naruto's tension towards Akira. The Nara had only just cottoned on to it too.

"Got something to say?" He was being snappy, but that was tone expected with how embarrassed he was. He broke in front of Hikari, spilled his guts and now he had to face her everyday.

Naruto held in a shout, not wanting to disrupt his friend who remained quiet in the bath. She insisted he go first considering how grossly covered in mud he was. Despite her shivering Hikari was adamant he go, so he bolted to the bathroom to take the fastest shower possible before running the water for her. In that time Hikari had reheated the soup, placing two bowls on the table for the boys.

Naruto stared down at his soup, his reflection gleaming from the oils forming on the surface. Through the steam he could see his face, saw the frustration in his own eyes.

Akira crossed his arms, expecting some sort of huge lash out from the Uzumaki. Back in the training grounds Akira could see the animosity he brought whenever Hikari was involved. Without a doubt, if someone ever hurt Hikari there would be hell to pay. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel a slight shiver at the look the boy gave.

Always quick to jump in and protect her…

Yet all Hikari had to do was put a hand on his chest and he quieted. It was obvious the duo had been together for a long time. They seemed very in tune with one another even if they didn't realize.

Hikari would bite the left side of her lower lip, Naruto would tell her not to worry about things. Naruto's shoulders would tense and Hikari would give him a big smile and tell him everything was okay.

"Y'know, I don't get it either," Naruto began, surprising the Nara. "I don't get why she tries so hard. For everyone."

And he didn't. Naruto couldn't even begin to fathom what someone like Hikari was doing associating with a freak like him. He feared the day Hikari learned what he was, what he held inside of him.

When he was with Hikari, everything felt perfect. There wasn't any worries, or fears, there was just him and Hikari and whatever they were doing at that point in time. He felt normal, loved, and so damn lucky.

"But once Hikari thinks you're family, you're family, believe it."

Naruto looked up to the stunned Akira, a small smile breaking across the blond's lips.

"So, I would give up trying to run away, because you can't." Naruto said just as the door to the bathroom opened up. Hikari came out bundled in one of Naruto's sweaters and warm looking pants. She yawned, her hair long and wet down her back.

"Hey guys, sorry I took so long," she walked over to the pot and began to pour her own soup. "What are we talking about?"

An awkward silence dragged on as Naruto stared down Akira, and the Nara realized what Naruto said really was the truth.

"I just noticed, you both are so short." Akira blurted out. Naruto looked ready for a fight again while Hikari turned red. This surprised him, as the girl was always so cool and collected like her sensei. Was this an uncomfortable subject for her?

"Yeah, I am really small…." She said softly. Naruto turned to Hikari, and Akira watched with fascination as the duo silently interacted. Hikari sat down in the rarely used stool on an end of the square table. Naruto made eye contact with her, and Hikari smiled. The Uzumaki didn't seem satisfied with it, probably knowing it was a forced smile. Akira took a spoonful of his own soup as it had cooled enough to eat. He was taken aback by the taste, it was delicious. Was that apple? He had never tasted apple in a soup before. He quietly observed the duo again, fascinated at the silent communication.

Naruto pulled some beef slices and vegetables from his bowl and plopped them down into hers. They locked eyes, and it was like a full conversation had passed before Hikari gave a genuine smile and poked his cheek with her chopsticks. She ate her whole bowl quietly, but when she turned back to him Akira saw an immediate difference from earlier.

Hikari was a strange girl, but that was to be expected considering her upbringing of virtually raising herself. It wasn't just her stature, or lack thereof. It wasn't in her pale blonde hair that was almost always in a fishtail braid. It wasn't her strangely tanned skin that was barely a shade lighter than those in Lightning.

Her eyes were always the strangeness feature. They were very expressive, cunning, always thinking. He could see why people always commented on them, even if they didn't comment to her face he heard people talk about 'those eyes'.

Fox eyes, is what someone called them once. They weren't round and warm like a pretty girl's should be. They were big, but always half-lidded like her sensei's. He imagined at one point in time they might've been wide-eyed, but after the things she had seen? He tried to picture a wide eyed Hikari and it didn't quite fit.

Docile, she looked docile when she had a blank face, her eyes were a deep gold, but when that Uzumaki looked at her they were liquid flames. Dare he say she looked pretty, but he'd never say that one out loud. There was something about how she smiled that changed her eyes from scary to warm, and only for Naruto. He'd never seen her smile like that for anyone else. He'd never noticed Naruto sense physical cues from someone like he did Hikari. Even when they were in the Waves, ten people in the room, those two reacted in sync to each other.

He felt like a third wheel, and it sucked.

Then Hikari smiled at him and it threw him for a loop.

"How's your soup?" She asked, and he realized he had eaten the entire bowl.

"Uh, it was good…. I guess." Naruto was pissed off at that comment.

"You guess?! Hikari is a genius!" He shouted. Hikari seemed pretty immune to these outbursts, giving a gentle giggle that sounded to girlish coming from her. She was feminine, but never girlish. Well, except when a certain blond kid was around. He wondered briefly if either of them knew they did this.

"Pretty sure your girlfriend can defend herself." Gosh he loved to jab at their relationship. Naruto turned red, but shut his mouth. Hikari grinned, reaching without even looking over to scratch Naruto's head.

"Jeez, you don't need to say that all the time. People might start taking you seriously." Hikari said with an almost embarrassed tone.

Oh man, those two had no idea, did they?

"Oh, I was thinking, if you didn't want to go home tonight you could sleep in my apartment." Hikari offered. She hesitated for a moment, then added on. "Shikamaru…. May have mentioned some stuff about your dad and…. Well, there's always a place to stay. Just so you're not soaked to the bone every time."

Akira wanted to be insulted by the offer, by the insinuation that she knew what he was going through, but he couldn't be. He hated that he couldn't, because his Father always taught him that even teammates were tools meant to be used. He was told to get as far as he could as fast as he could, but with Hikari it wasn't that simple. She cut him off at every curve and threw her own twist by simply being kind. He didn't doubt for a second that she had no ulterior motive, and deep in his gut he knew she was trustable, and that frustrated him every time.

How did someone deal with her shit and act so calm?

Nobody comes out that well adjusted….. Unless she really wasn't.

Akira realized he'd been staring for a while, and felt heat creep up his neck.

"No, I should go home." He said quickly, looking away. Hikari nodded, not at all offended. He cleaned up his dishes before heading to the door. He stopped halfway, then turned around.

"About…. About what we talked about….." He scratched the back of his neck, looking everywhere but at Hikari.

"Akira," she called, and he found himself dazzled for a split second as the girl gave him a gentle smile. "I won't let go."

His eyes widened, and instinctually he looked to her hands. She clutched one into a fist and pointed it at him. Akira sighed, but the corners of his mouth were fighting to raise. He spun on his heel and made for the door.

"Whatever, your funeral." He shrugged out of Naruto's shirt and redressed in his own clothing. They were still damp but not nearly as wet as before. He sighed, before folding the t-shirt he had been wearing and placing it on the shelf by the door. He looked back to see a pleased Hikari and a confused Naruto. He waved, over his shoulder as he left.

"Thanks, see you tomorrow." He called.

"You bet!" She called back as he shut the door. He stood there for a brief moment on the other side, trying to collect himself. He took a breath, and finally let it out.

A smile graced his lips.

"Dammit." He muttered, but he wasn't at all mad about it. Instead of dwelling on it, the Nara started the long walk home.

Wow, ok hi?

This came out early because I got very sick and took a week off work (I was actually quite sick when I last posted but didn't want to mention it until i had my test results). Ironically I never got covid, but I got strep, an ear infection, and a lung infection. So there's that. I had nothing left to do but go stir crazy and delirious from the lack of proper sleep. I'm almost better so don't worry, just an ear infection left. So I decided to post this. Not entirely happy with it but y'all have been very patient, and tbh I should probably re-read it since I did write it on six different meds but I'm tired and don't have the will. Anyone want to be my betta? I actually wanted to try and make the characters 3 dimensional, so here's a little tidbit of Akira. He's actually an extremely insecure boy and I think he and Reiji have a corner of my heart now.

Next chapter we start the Chuunin exam arc! I am so excited, y'all get to meet someone I really think you'll like!

I know I said you'll meet Hikari's summons, but I was a little trigger happy and couldn't get it in this chapter properly. They show up soon! I think they're pretty cool btw.

GUYS WE CRACKED 100,000 WORDS! I'm crying I'm so happy. Dawned on me I will be at a loss for how to cram the next two arcs into 27 chapters, so I'm thinking this story will be around 55? We shall see. Thank you for reading this far, 2,700 have read through this story, and that just makes me smile so much!

Review Responses For Chapters 17 and 18.

Lupe Rouge: Yeah, yeah I'm not gunna lie, if you don't actually cry at some point you might be heartless. But I am going to be straight forward and say I'm not heartless myself, I'm just a sadist.

AcexDeuce: Yeah, I feel that. I couldn't find a Naruto x OC fanfic I liked, so I made one. It's funny, because I actually expected this one to be the most common fanfic, but it's so rare I'm pleased to have found a niche.

Simmaris: Yeah, ironically as I got sick everyone else got better so it worked out very well, but it still sucks because I either have no time or nothing to do...

Guest: I'll be honest, I don't think I'll cover all the movies, though Road to Ninja was in mind for a coverage... Frankly speaking I again don't enjoy fanfics that are too long. You just don't get that rush of excitement after a while and I want to keep that alive. Hikari also has an entire backstory, and I plan to flesh out Naruto's a lot more too when the time comes. These two have quite a story! I'm also super happy with the Sasuke interactions. I think Kishimoto was going for a vibe of sasuke only had Naruto and vice versa, but it also meant Sasuke was already way too far gone to save at that point. I plan to have a much better plot for him, because I'm not a fan of his original story arc. it just... wasn't satisfying with how Kishi handled it? And to change the plot we gotta have him interacting! Hikari and her team will start getting closer, I promise, but like real friends it takes time. Akira is not a super friendly type, and Reiji is a polite individual. Both don't really want new friends and are happy alone for their own reasons (though we got a glimpse of Akira now). I'm still trying to decide how i want the chuunin exams to play out since I'm still on the fence with one idea. But the next few chapters should be pretty textbook. Shikamaru fanfic coming soon... when I have time...And yes, I consider Hikari to not think of herself all that important, she's just herself, a side character in her own story, but she considers Naruto the one that will change the world.

PS: there is a lot of guest reviews, so apologies but I will be lumping some together just to make less writing.

Guest: Let me just say, if you want Gaara to have a friend... read the next chapter ;) Gunna really throw a wrench in there next chapter.

The Smart One: K so, this is really tough to answer without giving stuff away. I can guarantee that Hikari is gunna be a badass kunoichi, but it's gunna be a rocky road to get there. Hikari has these really cool abilities, but there's something underlying that has been mentioned a lot that hinders her. I will say, if Hashirama and Hikari ever met, he'd be miffed. Probably excited too. Keep in mind Kakashi had Tenzo train Hikari with the intent of her one day controlling the nine-tails (should the seal ever break) so she does have chakra, but not quite yet.

Crimson G: Yes, I think Hikari is doing her best to tell herself that Naruto and Kyuubi are two different entities, and she's redirecting a lot of that fear and frustration back on the village for making Naruto's (and by association) and her life a living hell. They had a shitty upbringing but they did the best they could. As for the Chuunin exams, well, I've got a whole other plotline planned for it and am approaching the exam with a 'how can I fuck shit up' mentality.

lovinurbuks: Thank you! Yeah I havent gotten enough time to post it. Working on the outline still, will probably be a cute slice of life with a few chapters of action. Gosh I love Shikamaru, cant you tell?

TheBuzzyBee: Haha yes I know how you feel... there is this batman fanfc that hasnt been updated in three years... but it was just so...good. I wasn't planning to do all movies, but I could probably make a few spin-offs. I did consider the shipuuden ones especially, the one where Naruto goes back in time being one, the one where he agrees to help that priestess procreate (Genuinely want him to say that in front of Hikari and think up the reaction of everyone else thinking he's a dead man). It would probably be posted separately, and only after that portion of the story had been covered. Was thinking it could be a halloween treat, a christmas treat, etc because I am not a fan when people just write christmas get togethers with the characters (cringe). Also I love long reviews, my heart flutters at them.

Thank you so much to all the reviews! It means so much to me. Please let me know what you think of this chapter as well, hopefully it came as an early treat for y'all.