It was a very hot afternoon when Naruto and his friends, Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba decided to sneak out during their lunch break from the academy. None of them felt like sitting in a classroom in this hot weather, listening to Iruka-sensei giving them another boring history lesson. So they decided it would be more fun to swim in a branch of the river that made a smaller lake.
Since the lake was located a little deeper in the wooded part of Konoha, the chances of Iruka-sensei finding them were much smaller, so they could relax.
While Shikamaru was lying down in the shade of a tree looking at the clouds while, Kiba, Choji and Naruto were splashing around, jumping in the water and having fun. "Come on Shikamaru. Stop being lazy and join us, dattebayo." Naruto shouted as Choji and Kiba fought with water behind him. Not wanting to move from his place in the shade Shikamaru just waved his hand to leave him alone. Naruto just shrugged as he continued to play with his friends leaving Shikamaru to his cloud watching. Naruto enjoyed moments like this with his friends. Far from the boring academy, far from the cold hateful stares of the other villagers.
None of his friends judged him nor avoided him like the others peers who kept their distance from him for reasons still unknown. They often helped him with his fun pranks on the other ninjas, especially Kiba. Choji and Shikamaru would usually dig up information about the target from Ino, who despite being only seven years old, knew what happens anywhere in the village and with anyone. Even though Shikamaru was the smartest of all in his peers, gossip was not his specialty. But because of that he knew the status of almost every ninja in Konoha which was still useful to Naruto. Choji on the other hand was too nice and soft hearted to cause trouble and pranks around the village like Kiba and Naruto did. But whenever they got caught it was Choji who ended up trying to cheer them up with snacks.
But unfortunately they had already spent a lot of time in one place, and Naruto knew from his experience in avoiding Iruka-sensei that he should never stay too long in one place, no matter how hidden it was. "Let's go guys, if we don't move soon Iruka-sensei will find us, dattebayo." He yelled as he swam back to shore towards Shikamaru who was gathering their things to give them when they got out of the water. Kiba and Choji let out disappointed breaths, not wanting to get out of the cold water back into the hellish sun, especially when they were having so much fun. Kiba and Naruto were the first to dry off and get dressed while Choji was way behind them as usual.
,, Ahhh!" Choji screamed throwing his arms around his sepa gasping and trying to stay afloat. Terrified, Kiba and Naruto for their friend without thinking ran back towards the water when Shikamaru stopped them and threw a vine in front of them. "Idiots, he'll just pull you down when you get close to him." He said as he tied the other end of the vine around his waist and then jumping into the water swimming as fast as he could to Choji. Naruto and Kiba grabbed the vine and waited until Shikamaru reached a panicked and scared Choji, to pull them both back to safety. As Shikamaru reached Choji, in a panic Choji grabbed him without paying attention to him and suddenly they both began to sink below the surface as Kiba and Naruto tried to pull them up soon as possible. But since it was the dry season the vines were more brittle than they had expected and the force that was released by the shot threw Kiba and Naruto back a few steps.
But instead of hitting the solid rocky ground, they landed on the warm soft fur that suddenly formed behind them. Naruto and Kiba turned to identify what, or rather who, cushioned their fall, and Kiba shouted excitedly, "Tsuki!" While a splash was heard from the water, which attracted their attention and a few seconds later a kunoichi jumped out of the lake with Choji and Shikamaru in her arms. She lowered children to the ground, rubbing their backs from bottom to top, helping them cough up the water that had entered their shallows. "That's right, cough it all out." Don't try to stop yourself."
Naruto ran in front of his friends worried seeing them in such a state. Beside the coughing and theirs colors turned pale, shivering continuously not only from the coughing but also from the shock and the cold. On top of that Choji seemed to be in great pain as tears streamed down his face. When Naruto took a closer look at the kunoichi in front of him he didn't even seem to belong to a clan. Naruto knew almost every shinobi in the village thanks to his pranks, and it would be rare that the same person was chasing him, unless it was Iruka-sensei.
The woman in front of him had noticeable blood red hair in a choppy bob style, while her bangs were braided and hung next to her tanned face. She was wearing a classic price T-shirt with thicker straps, and underneath a metal mesh whose sleeves covered her elbows. On top of her brown ninja pants, a band with the Konoha insignia was tied on her right thigh and around her hip was a belt with a pouch of ninja gear attached to it.
When Shikamaru and Choji started breathing more or less normally and not expelling water, the kunoichi turned towards Naruto and with a worried look she first scanned from head to toe and then asked. "Is everyone present?" To which he just nodded his head in surprise. Usually they would look at him with a cold look, full of hatred. And when he did something stupid, they would all shout at him blaming him for something he wasn't even guilty of, beating him up or trying to beat him up calling him a fox, a demon, a monster. Even Iruka-sensei was deceptive around him at first. But the kunoichi in front of him just showed a sign of relief by shrugging her shoulders as the panic left her eyes.
Pick up two of his nearly drowned friends kunoichi spoke to him in a calm voice, "You and Kiba can ride Tsuki on the way back and I'll carry these two. Sound good?" she asked him what he agreed to and Tsuki grabbed him by his orange shirt and climbed onto his back next to Kiba while she secured Shikamaru and Choji on her back. "Arigato One-san." Choji spoke with his shy and hoarse voice from crying and coughing. "It's okay, you don't have to thank me. You can call me Maxi by the way." She farted as they headed back to Konoha.
The first thing they did when they arrived at Maxi's home was that she made all four of them take hot baths, without exception, after which she wrapped them in blankets and placed them in her room upstairs. All four of them sat snuggled up against Tsuki who was looking grumpy as Maxi made him stay with the kids while she prepared medicine. There wasn't much talking along the way other than basic introductions, as Tsuki and Maxi jumped from treetop to treetop at full speed until they reached her back yard where she hung their wet clothes to dry.
There was more or less an awkward silence between them, except for Kiba who was the only one who dared to run his fingers through Tsuki's fur. No matter how grateful they were for the rescue, Shikamaru didn't dare let his guard down and with him Choji who knew there was a good reason why Shikamaru was suspicious. It wasn't uncommon for a blood thief to infiltrate a village for a few days as their shinobi for a long time until he got close to the target and then tried to escape with it. Taking into account that three of them are the heirs of the clans made the situation much more serious.
Naruto on the other hand felt welcome in someone's home for the first time. Maxi treated him like the others and had not shown a single sign of discomfort since they met. Kiba was acting like he was at home, trying somehow to get Tsuki to play with him but to no avail. ,, Hey, Kiba." Shikamaru addressed him as he caught his attention and left the wolf alone for once. Kiba just let out a ,, Ya?", as if asking him what he wants. ,, Seems like you know this one kunoichi quite well."
Kiba wasn't stupid enough not to notice the nervousness and determination that was felt in Shikamaru's scent. He was sure that Shikamaru had hundreds of theories about who Maxi really was, and as tempting as it was to toy with his lazy friend, his mother would beat him up if his nonsense caused a problem for her friend. Maxi somehow got his mom good side and besides that she became a mentor to his older sister, who adored her. Every time she came back from the lecture, she couldn't wait to share with her mother what she had learned, as well as to ask for help with the homework that her mentor had left for her. A person that making his sister as happy as after a successful hunt surely was not bad.
He also saw her almost every other morning when he left for the academy and Maxi and Tsuki would come to the clan compound for training. Those who knew her in the clan didn't have anything bad for her except for a couple of broken prides when she kicked their asses. And as a bonus, almost every dog in the clan would run up to her to say hello and get a pet from her. "Are ya going to chill a little with so much paranoia? Maxi-nee is my sister's mentor and almost a member of the clan. Not to mention she saved our asses there a moment ago." Kiba told him as he tried to get Tsuki's attention but the wolf kept turning his head away from him.
If nothing else Shikamaru was calmer knowing that Maxi was clean. But he was still bothered by the fact that the body still hadn't recovered from the shock despite being suffocated, and he could only imagine the state Choji was in. "Alright kids, it's time for medicine." Maxi announced in her singing voice, coming into the room with a tray on which were four mugs steaming from the heat as well as a plate of unusual lilac mochi cakes. Kiba and Naruto both showed disgust at the mere mention of the medicine while Choji wrapped himself in the blanket even more and Shikamaru just looked at her and said,, What a drag." But all the same he accepted the cup of dark golden liquid that had a pleasant smell of mixed of which the cinnamon smelled the most.
Kiba and Naruto wanting to protest felt the sweet smell of their teas, which this time contained a red liquid. Choji took his medicine with trembling hands, which was dark green and quite thicker than the other teas. Without thinking, Kiba drank the whole thing and immediately settled into Maxi's lap, who showed no discomfort but brushed her hand over the now cheerful Tsuki, literally treating her like a member of his clan as his mother had told him . Usually people were careful who they let into their personal space, nor were they something found of frequent contact and touching. With his clan it was a different story. It was even more than normal for them to invade each other's personal space, because How else would you smell someone, sleeping in a pile with relatives, cuddling, sometimes biting... Simply, the pack always showed affection towards all its members.
When he scented her, Maxi affectionately rubbed her cheek against his head getting a giggle from Kiba who was enjoying the attention while the others looked at him in surprise. They used to hear Kiba barking or growling, but not acting like a cuddly puppy. Naruto was a bit jealous watching Kiba get attention from Maxi.
Something stupid came to his mind but Naruto wanted to try anyway. He was sure it couldn't be worse than anything the villagers would do to him. Naruto quickly finished his cup and then whit his blanket, standing in front of Maxi with puppy-dog eyes unsure of how to state what he wanted. Maxi looked at him with adoration as Naruto tried to say what he wanted and at the same time acted a little shy, with sparkling eyes and hungry for affectionate touches. Feeling momentarily even more insecure with his hasty decision, his ears and cheeks bushed as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other.
The woman didn't need to be told anything, she understood what Naruto was trying to say even though no words came out of his mouth. Quick as lightning she grabbed him with her free hand pulling him into her lap next to Kiba in a mama bear hug, to which Naruto let out a surprised squeal and then giggled uncontrollably as Maxi nuzzled her cheek against his hair. For the first time since Naruto could remember someone hugged him. And not just any hug, but a big, warm, slightly overwhelming but safe hug. Her tight grip around his small form as she ran her fingers through his wild hair combined with her pleasant, warm scent made him feel welcome. , It smelled like home, Naruto thought not wanting his happy moment to ever end.
"My cramps have stopped. I can move without any problem." Choji said in surprise, rubbing his temples enthusiastically while rubbing his belly at the same time. The other kids looked at Choji happily and with relief as only twenty minutes ago he was sitting next to them shaking with tear marks in his eyes. Even when Maxi brought the cups and placed them in their hands, Choji could barely hold it without dropping it or spilling it from the weakness and trembling he felt, "What did you put in his cup, Maxi- can?" asked Shikamaru who seemed a little surprised by his friend's quick recovery.
Usually, the drugs that adults would give them would take longer to start working, not to mention that the smell was so disgusting that it's a wonder Choji drank it so quickly despite his initial reluctance. ,, Nothing in particular. Just a blend of mint, ginger, lavender and honey for muscle relaxation. Lavender also has a calming effect which Choji needed quite a bit." Maxi replied trying to somehow balance the two children on her lap as Tsuki tried to make room for him to get some of her attention. "But can you explain what you doing this far away from academy."
All four followed in an instant, not daring to move from the surprise her question produced. Only then did they realize how much trouble they were actually in for sneaking out of the academy, invading the already used training ground, and in addition, almost two of them would not have been hurt if it hadn't been for Maxi. They looked at each other awkwardly until one of them didn't want to start, knowing there was no way they were going to get out of this mess. "It's my fault dattebayo." Naruto said looking at the floor as he clenched his fist that was stuffed with Max's shirt. "It was my idea to sneak out of class and hide from Sensei in the forest. It's my fault Choji almost drowned together with Shikamaru.. I'm sorry." Naruto spoke as his voice trembled and then slowly turned into sobbing and crying as tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.
Trouble always followed him wherever he went, and now it started to spread to his friends as well. He never wanted anything to happen to his friends since he only had a couple and without them he would be completely alone. The others tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault. Even Shikamaru dropped his lazy and "what a drag" character for the second time today. "Hey, hey sunshine, look at me." Maxi turned him so that Naruto was looking straight into her eyes as she spoke, while he was still trying to stop the tears from falling from his eyes. "Did you force them to participate in your escape?" To which he shook his head while the others said no. ,, Did you know that Choji will get cramps while swimming in the cold lake?" to what Naruto this time I answered with a low voice, "Nnn-no." A small smile slowly appeared on Maxi's face as she asked him one last question. ,, Did you want any of your friends to get hurt?" this time Naruto wasn't quiet but yelled as he wiped away the rest of the tears with his hand.
"No, of course I didn't want any of them to get hurt. I Uzumaki Naruto the future Hokage, I would never put my friends u dander on purpose." Naruto exclaimed as Maxi patted his head with a soft smile as he smiled brightly. The others also had small smiles on their faces as Naruto and Maxi resolved the situation. .,, Ok. Now that you've all taken your medicine and sweetened up it's time for me to walk you home." To which they left almost muttering and whining because they knew once they got home and their parents found out what happened, they would be in deep trouble.
Of course, there was no way to convince Max to stay longer, because she thought that the longer they waited, the more the others would worry about where they had disappeared to. "Come on, come on, there's no need for whining. Your parents will worry where you are so far. They've probably already heard that you're missing and they're looking for you everywhere." This edifice sent Naruto into a shock. While the others at home were waiting for their parents and clan, there was no one to wait for him in his small, ramshackle apartment. Only the Hokage would see him from time to time and mainly to give him money, bills and food, which was often not enough because almost everyone in the village overcharged him, although no matter how hard he tried to hide his hurt and disappointment that he had to leave the only place that welcomed him with open arms like the others saw the sadness in his eyes and Shikamaru decided to whisper to Max about Naruto being an orphan and living alone to which she just nodded, fully understanding the situation..
,, Hey Naruto.. How about you stay the night me tonight? After what the four of you have been through today, you shouldn't be left alone, especially tonight." Naruto was suddenly filled with joy and happiness and began to bounce around Maxi and then down the stairs as the others followed. As they went down to the living room, Maxi gave them their dried clothes and told them to change out of her in theirs own, which she had temporarily lent them. It seemed that the only benefit of this heat was that the laundry, no matter how wet and large, would dry in the blink of an eye.
Tsuki took this opportunity while the kids were changing and got all of Max's attention all to himself. As Tookie tried to rub his body against Max, pushing his head into her stomach, she just giggled at his childish reaction as if she didn't already give him immense attention and affection every day. she hugged him tightly from above putting her hands on his neck and placed it right under his chin kissing him and rubbing her cheek against his head with alternating "you're a good boy Tsuki" and "I love you Tsuki" to which he happily wiggled tail wagging and purring like a happy little puppy. In the past three weeks, Tsuki has gained a lot of weight and size. He was so big that he could sit next to Maxi and his head could fall directly on her shoulder. What surprised Maxi at that moment was how the children were not afraid of Tsuki. His paws were almost the size of their faces, with one swing he could kill them on the spot. Of course, Kiba, growing up next to ridiculously large dogs, had no fear of them, and he recognized them from the clan during training, so he was sure that Tsuki would not harm him.
Soon all four ran out of the bathroom changing into their clothes getting ready to leave. She hastily prepared her bag, checking that it was inside, before starting with the keys, wallet, scrolls, as well as the pendant with the seal painted on it, which is the only entrance through the barrier that protects her. Shikamaru and Choji informed Maxi that she could drop them off at the restaurant that was owned by the Akimichi clan, so she wouldn't have to take them to the other side of the village where their clans compound was. And since was also Friday, when their fathers gather at Akimichi together with them. This plan suits Max as well, because she was just on the way to buy a few provisions for dinner and tomorrow's meals, especially since she will have a small guest for the sleepover.
Maxi lifted Kiba and Choji onto Tsuki who let out a slightly disgruntled growl not liking loud people and Kiba was anything but quiet. On the other side, Naruto and Shikamaru on the other side solved the problem by holding Maxi's hand. Although at the beginning Shikamaru pretended to be bothered and troublesome, he actually didn't mind at all. Naruto on the other hand held on tight not daring to loosen his grip, as if he was afraid that at any moment Maxi would change her mind.
As we reached the central district, I could hear how people started whispering around us as if we were deaf and not to unnoticed. And the main theme was, "Demon",how he somehow tricked me into caring for him, how he's only going to bring me misfortune, how I'm as good as dead. The worst part of it all was that Naruto heard all of it too. I was constantly having to restraint and remind myself that I shouldn't lower myself to their level or turn to them and say what I have on my mind.
And the rest of the day wasn't easier at all, constantly testing my nerves as well as the heart. First, I was chased in the morning, one Chunin and one Jonin, demanding that I show them my kung fu as well as the sparring match that of course I didn't agree. I barely shook them off in the nearby forestry through which I regularly jog together with Tsuki every morning hoping to avoid unwanted attention.
Then after I was far away from them, I tried my newly made seals that I was eager to test . The storage seal worked as charm as well as explosive ones. Unfortunately, seals for dazzling and for barriers formation did not work as they should be, instead they constantly electroshocked me. And that wasn't fun at all. By analyzing the seal, I realized that I was written in the symbol in the formula's lighting in the formula instead of light, so that the whole bunch of seals could be thrown away.
Of course a couple of them who were smaller, ie. For blinding opponents, they could be used for electroshocking opponents, but there would be few changes if there were extended and stronger effects and that of course they wouldn't harm the owner a.k.a. me!.
Of course it wasn't enough but I was terrified when I heard children's bloody screaming and the scene of two children who were drowning right in front of me. Fortunately, I quickly noticed them and pulled them out, with further examination not shown long lasting consequences, of course beside that they almost droened! And as cherry on the top, it was a problematic foursome Shikamaeu Nara, Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzaka and one and only Naro Uzumaki.
If I remember well, there were no strangers to skipping classes and constantly fall into detention for various stupidity. Although I never thought that they could end up in this type of trouble that they almost die, Where were the ambu that were keeping eye on Naruta? Why didn't they intervene, for God's sake?! '.
What was first on my mind is to drag all the four back to my house warm them up as much as possible and make sure that they are okay. Of course, the young Nara watched me with caution, as much as he could with show the symptoms of the cold water shock. And from all, Naruto is showing the most worries for what happened on the lake. The miserable little boy blamed himself for the fact that his friends were almost died.
He was really small, too much for someone who would soon recover for seven years, as when she first put him down off Tsuki, he was too light for the child of his age. It slapped my heart when I saw how broken and scared, thinking he was all guilty and probably thought he would end up whitout only friends he had. Of course I had to make more or less oblivius for his situation he would do not pretending to know anything. Fortunately Shikamar, thanks Kiba, was more open to me and told me a couple of important things for which I can say that I pulled out the conclusion as well as the whole story.
And what was most painful to see is insecure and sultry look that Naruto had as he stood in front of me and Kiba who placed my lap and cuddled about my shoulder. It seemed a little envied Kiba, trying to decide whether it was worthy of questions and effort at all as he had almost everyone suffered to see him just wanted for a little worry and love. In addition to all this and its blue sad eyes and marks on cheeks like cats whiskers, I could not but give him the greatest possible hug. At first he was surprised, but soon he relaxed and started cuddling back. Who could such a lovely creature call a monster. What we more closely preferred the restaurant, gossip was increasingly aggressive, so much that even Naruto couldn't ignore them more and acted as if she wanted to just disappear from the face of the earth.
"If you have something to say, tell me that in your face behind my back." I shouted turning behind me, looking at the direction where the voices came from the most. Almost everyone on the street turned to me some looking at me cold and Judge me, while others seemed surprised with my outburst.
I know I didn't behave in the most mature way, but that's enough. I could no longer listen to Naruto being abused, even though it was only verbal at the time. I knew how words could hurt and how much they could hurt. Sometimes it's even worse from blows and broken bones. This time I was the center of their attention not Naruto or the others.
They could judge me, disgust, anger, fear, none of that was the first time for me. Their looks could do nothing for me, and neither could their words. From the lager group not far away, an older man dared to approach me, getting in my face, shouting, "I'm going to tell you what I have. What are you thinking, allowing other children to approach a monster like him. It was because of him that the misery that befell us happened..." The man screamed literally for a few minutes, calling Naruto all sorts of names and figuratively mentioning the Nine-Tails' attack, knowing that if he mentioned something specific, the ambu would stop him immediately.
,, Good story old man, but in which chapter do you shut up?" I asked him in a monotonous disinterested and unimpressed tone, making him look ridiculous in front of people making surprising noises while out of the corner of my eye I could see Kiba and Naruto hesitate to not burst out laughing. The man didn't like my answer, so he decided to threaten me. "Be careful young lady, even if I don't usually hit girls that doesn't mean I won't make an exception!" This just struck me as comical. An idiot who I can send to hell with just one slap, found himself threatening me. None of them seemed to noticed my band on my thigh because a civilian would never dare to address a ninja like that. "If you were a man, I might even shit myself."
It seems that it struck a nerve because the next moment he tried to punch me, but I dodged easily like it was slow motion for me and just tripped him and he fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. This time he noticed my ninja band from the ground and shock mixed with fear totally took over him, not daring to look me directly in the eyes trying to form the next sentence and that taxingly. ,, I will report you. ninjas have no right to attack civilians." This one really can't take a hint.
Some people really have too much free time when they can interfere in other people's lives trying to make trouble for them.,, And say what, you tripped over your own feet, assaulted children, tried to attack a kunoichi for no good reason and threatened?" I asked him as he looked at me defeated looking around because no matter how much people hated and feared Naruto, no one wanted to have trouble with the shinobi especially when the jerk first started it. "Are you causing trouble again?"