Hello everyone I'm back once again to bring you another chapter of my story; if you are enjoying this please keep on supporting me and my other stories. Now with nothing else to say lets begin.
Stitched Kitsune: Chapter 43
Kiri streets: With Naruto and his group
Naruto, Hinata, Fubuki, Tsunade, Utakata and Hotaru were all walking through the streets of Kiri which were still being reconstructed; Utakata was looking around at the buildings as people were moving around and working.
The feeling in the air wasn't like how he remembered it; Utakata remembered the constant feeling of dread and gloom that was a permanent fixture of the village. Now he felt a sense of warmth and hope around as he saw people both ninja and civilian move about rebuilding their homes.
Naruto looked at Utakata and spoke "anything on your mind" he said and Utakata nodded.
"This place feels different than I remembered it" Utakata said and everyone looked at him; he then saw a group of children with ages ranging from five to ten run past them "I'd never thought I'd see that". Utakata looked to Naruto and spoke "happy children; not worrying about war" he said.
Naruto smiled at this and spoke "wait until you meet the Mizukage; she's definitely a breath of fresh air compared to your last one" he said. Naruto and his group kept walking down the road as the Mizukage tower came into sight.
Mizukage tower: With Kakuzu, Haku, Mei and Ao
Kakuzu and Haku were both sitting on a couch waiting patiently as Ao and Mei were working on paperwork.
Kakuzu was waiting in the Mizukage office with Haku as the both of them waited for Naruto and the others to return; Ao was standing next to Mei and he looked over to Kakuzu and spoke.
"How much longer are we going to have to wait mercenary" Ao said catching Kakuzu's attention "it's been over a week now and your 'apprentice' has yet to return; was it wise to put a child in charge of a mission like that".
Kakuzu looked at Ao before turning away not wanting to waste his breath making Ao scowl; Haku seeing the tension spoke up.
"Naruto is a very capable shinobi Mr. Ao" Haku said "he may not have the best education… or any formal education in that case; but he's very experienced and always gets the job done to the best of his abilities".
Ao looked at her and spoke "excuse me for not being ecstatic; but mercenaries are only loyal to coins not countries" he said "I don't know that boy".
"Ao, shut up" Mei said not looking up from her paper work "Naruto may be a mercenary, but I can tell he's not one to just abandon a mission". "He'll be back; I know it" Mei said and Ao scoffed.
"How about we make a bet" Kakuzu said speaking up for the first time in days "if he gets here within the next day, you must pay me ten thousand Ryo". Kakuzu looked at Ao "unless you don't have the stones" he said and Ao began to growl.
"Very well you money grubbing bastard" Ao said scowling at the chuckling Kakuzu "just watch your apprentice won't-"; as soon as he said that there was a knock at the door and it opened up revealing Naruto.
"Hey Mei, hows it going; I found Utakata for you" Naruto greeted proudly as he marched in with Utakata and his group in tow; Naruto looked to the side and saw Haku and Kakuzu sitting on the couch "hey Haku; glad to see you". Naruto walked over and gave Haku a kiss on the lips before looking over to Mei and Ao who was slack jawed "what" he asked.
Ao looked at Naruto and Kakuzu began to chuckle even louder getting his attention "the first heart I implanted in Naruto was one of mine; I can still sense it when it's close, i sensed it when he entered the building" he said as he got up. Ao began to shake in anger as Kakuzu had swindled him out of his money but Kakuzu didn't care "So you found the six tails boy; took you a while" he said.
Naruto looked towards him with an annoyed look "Oh yeah, and how about your search; I bet it was difficult looking for a biju that's been hiding for the better part of a decade" Naruto said and Kakuzu chuckled.
"Not exactly" Kakuzu said.
Flashback (six days ago); 1 day from leaving Kiri: With Kakuzu
Kakuzu was currently marching through uncharted hills trying to reach a hidden lake; according to a local who's been this way he witnessed a monster emerge from the water before fleeing in fear.
Kakuzu had his doubts on the mans claims but decided to check it out anyways; he was 300 miles east of Kiri in the middle of nowhere. As Kakuzu climbed up he groaned.
'I don't even know how creditable this information is and yet I'm hiking up a hill to look at a lake that might not even exist' Kakuzu thought; with one final stride Kakuzu stood at the top of the hill and took a breath 'this is probably going to be a dead-'.
Kakuzu paused in his tracks as he looked out into the lake and went wide eyed; in the middle of the lake was a giant turtle floating at the top swimming slowly from one side of the lake to another. The turtle had 3 shrimp like tails, a shell that was grey and spiky and red flesh poking out from the gaps in the armor.
Kakuzu was looking wide eyed at the giant beast 'it's… actually here' he thought in surprise 'wow, I never expected to to be this easy' he thought. Kakuzu took out his map which had a crudely drawn trail that he took into the largely blank area on the map; Kakuzu marked down his estimated coordinates and folded the map back up before turning around.
"Mission accomplished" Kakuzu said.
Flashback ends
"I spent more time hiking to and from the area than actually looking for the damn thing" Kakuzu said and Naruto ground his teeth in frustration.
'And yet I had to go to different towns, save a village and walk my happy ass back' Naruto thought "bah screw it"; Naruto turned to Mei and spoke. "I got him here and that's what matters" Naruto said and Mei nodded.
"Yes it is" Mei said as she got up and walked in front of Utakata "hello Lord Utakata, I am Mei Terumi; I am the fifth Mizukage, it's a pleasure to meet you"; Mei smiled at Utakata who got a slight blush on his face.
'SHE'S the Mizukage' Utakata thought with wide eyed 'wow this place really has changed'; Utakata cleared his throat and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lady Mizukage; I am honored to be back" Utakata said and Mei chuckled.
"Please, call me Mei" Mei said and Utakata nodded as he got back up "I must ask you Utakata; are you willing to come back to Kiri, I'm not going to force you". "But with your power and expertise we could strengthen our defenses and be more prepared" Mei said "along with that it'll be a real boost for morale if we have a distinguished war hero on our side".
Utakata smiled and nodded "I'd be honored to join Kiri again" he said "I was not going to come back but Naruto here convinced me"; Mei looked to Naruto who smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Also before we came here we had a run in with Yagura's renegades" Utakata said with anger in his voice and Mei got a frown "I'll join you if you allow me to go and exterminate them; they've been attacking villages and harming farmers".
"I can arrange that; we are reforming an anbu in order to handle such problems" Mei said "with you're help we can get them trained and out in the field as soon as possible". Mei looked to Utakata's side and saw Hotaru looking at her wide eyed "and who it this" she asked with a smile and Hotaru shied away.
"I'm Hotaru; I'm Lord Utakata's apprentice" Hotaru said and Mei smiled.
"Well I'm sure he taught you a lot; but you still need more training" Mei said and Hotaru nodded "I can enroll you in the Kiri academy; we have a new class starting in a month". Hotaru went wide eyed and spoke.
"Really, you can" Hotaru said with excitement and Mei nodded; Hotaru turned and looked to Naruto "did you hear that Naruto; I'm going to go to the academy to become a real ninja". Naruto smiled at this and spoke.
"Well that's great, and maybe next time when you punch me in the face you won't break your hand" Naruto said and Hotaru huffed in annoyance.
"Jerk" Hotaru said with a blush on her face and Naruto chuckled.
Hinata, Haku and Fubuki looked at the interaction and saw Hotaru's body language and mannerisms; they saw that she talked specifically to Naruto not Utakata, like she was excited to tell him and also she was comfortable around him.
'Oh great another one' Haku thought while rolling her eyes.
'Seriously; they've only known each other for like three days' Fubuki thought in annoyance.
'Hotaru now too' Hinata thought as she swallowed hard 'I-I-I have to tell him soon before it's too late'.
"Alright then; now onto our next order of business" Mei said gaining everyone's attention before looking at Naruto "Naruto, as part of out deal I will pay you the money that's owed and I will speak to this Gato for our future business dealings".
Naruto let out a sigh of relief "Oh dear Kami thank you" Naruto said relieved "now I can finally get that gangster off my ass".
Mei chuckled before looking at Utakata "but first you and me need to talk about the three tails; Kakuzu here found where it was hiding at" Mei said pointing to Kakuzu. Utakata looked at Kakuzu gauging his power.
'He's quite strong; his chakra in immense' Utakata thought 'if I were to face him I'm not sure who'd come out on top'.
Kakuzu looking at Utakata was analyzing him as well 'from what I've heard he's very in control of his biju; if it was just me and my hearts… I'm not sure if I could win unscathed'.
"Kakuzu here found the location; and at some point I would like to go there with you and explain the situation to it" Mei said and Utakata looked at her "just to warn it about the Akatsuki and that we are going to be putting security around it; of your choosing of course".
"Very well then" Utakata said.
"Alright, the mission is done" Naruto said relieved "lets take a few days off before we head back"; Naruto looked to Hinata, Haku and Fubuki. "You girls wanna go and get something to eat" Naruto asked.
"Sure" Haku said getting up.
"Hell yeah I would" Fubuki said.
"T-That sounds great" Hinata said.
Naruto nodded before looking at Hotaru "what about you Hotaru; wanna join us" he asked; Kakuzu, Tsunade, Mei, Ao and Utakta all looked on as Hinata, Haku and Fubuki all looked at Naruto wide eyed.
"Really? I'd love too, but I don't have any money" Hotaru said sadly but Naruto scoffed.
"No problem; I got enough, come on" Naruto said as he grabbed Hotaru's hand and began to walk out with her; Hotaru blushed as she walked with Naruto and the 3 other girls got looks on their faces, although they couldn't tell with Hinata due to the helmet.
"Is he doing this shit on purpose" Fubuki said to Haku "I swear he's doing this on purpose".
"Maybe he's doing it subconsciously" Haku said "but it's still annoying".
Hinata didn't say anything as she was fuming internally. Just then they all heard chuckling from Mei and they all turned.
Mei was smiling mischievously and she spoke "you girls jealous" she said. None of them said anything as they all got up and ran after Naruto.
Tsunade looked to Kakuzu and spoke "I bet you ten thousand Ryo Hotaru falls in love with Naruto" she said and Kakuzu chuckled.
"Your on; I just found some lying around" Kakuzu said before looking at Ao "right"; Ao scowled as he took out his wallet and took out a 10,000 Ryo bill.
"Fuck you" Ao said as he handed Kakuzu the money.
4 days later; Kiri docks: With Naruto and his group
Naruto, Kakuzu, Hinata, Haku, Tsunade and Fubuki were all standing on the dock ready to board a ship to head back to the land of snow; Naruto was looking at Mei, Utakata, Hotaru and Ao saying his goodbyes.
"Well this is where we part ways for now" Naruto said with a hint of sadness "even though I came here to bury Zabuza and strike a deal, I'm glad to have met you all". Naruto looked to Mei and smiled "Mei, I really enjoyed meeting you; I hope Kiri gets back on it's feet soon, I'd love to come back for a vacation" he said.
Mei smiled and walked up to Naruto before giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek; Naruto blushed and Mei looked at him.
"Thank you for all your help Naruto; you have done me and Kiri a great service" Mei said before reaching behind her and pulling out a scroll "here".
"What is it" Naruto asked and Mei smiled.
"Zabuza's sword" Mei said making both him and Haku's eyes widen "we don't have anyone here willing to wield it and I don't want it to collect dust; so you should have it, thanks for bringing it back though".
Naruto looked at the scroll and turned around "here you go Haku; Zabuza would want you to have it" Naruto said and Haku's jaw dropped.
"Really Naruto, but it's yours and-" Haku began but Naruto stopped her.
"I got no use for a sword; take it" Naruto said; Haku reached out and grabbed the scroll before leaning over and giving Naruto a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you Naruto" Haku said and Naruto kissed her back before Haku looked at Mei "and thank you Lady Mei"; Mei smiled politely and back up.
Utakata walked up next and spoke "well this has been an interesting few days" he said and Naruto nodded with a chuckle "but not necessarily bad; I'm glad to meet a fellow jinchuriki".
"And I'm glad you didn't try to kill me… or fall in love with me" Naruto said making a joke about the difference between meeting Fu and meeting Gaara and Yugito "you're a cool guy Utakata; I hope to see you again soon, be safe".
"I will, with the Akatsuki out there, I have to be" Utakata said and he back up.
Naruto looked to Ao who spoke "you cost me ten thousand Ryo boy" he said in a bitter tone; Mei slapped him on the back of the head and he spoke again "save travels".
Hotaru was the last one to walk up and she looked nervous "Umm… Naruto" she said nervously; Haku, Hinata and Fubuki were all behind Naruto and looked like they were about to blow a fuse. "I was wondering, can we still be friends even though we're going to be far apart" Hotaru asked and Naruto smiled.
"Of course we can" Naruto said "I mean just because we're apart doesn't mean we stop being friends". Hotaru smiled and pulled out a stack of envelopes and handed them to Naruto; Naruto took them and read them seeing that they all had Hotaru's name and address on them.
"I wrote my new address on them; if we can write each other letters" Hotaru said and Naruto beamed at this.
"That sounds great" Naruto said as he handed the envelopes to Tsunade before taking out a piece of paper himself and quickly writing something down "here you go; my address".
Hotaru took the piece of paper and got a curious look "Rasuto Shakkurufodo" (Rusty Shackleford- Dale Gribble/ King of the hill) she said making the entire Kiri delegation confused "who's that".
"That's my mail alias; I'm a wanted man, I can't just give out my name to everybody" Naruto said and they all nodded "i have one for everything; my mail, my comic subscriptions, my phone and electric bill, heck I don't even use my real name for my bank account". 'Hehe; Yasai Gasukunai' (Less Vegetables- Ron Swanson/ Parks and Recreations) Naruto thought with a chuckle as he remembered his other alias.
"Well then 'Rasuto', I'll be waiting for your letter, write me when you get back" Hotaru said jokingly and Naruto nodded.
"You bet" Naruto said; Hotaru went in and gave Naruto a hug which Naruto returned before they both pulled away "take care ok, and good luck in the academy". Hotaru nodded and Naruto and the others all began to walk up the walkway to board the ship.
That night; on the deck of the ship: With Naruto
Naruto was on the top deck of the ship looking up at the stars 'well this job took longer than I expected but I guess alls wells that ends well' Naruto thought 'Now I got some time to relax, time to think and no one is coming to me to speak about-'.
"Um Naruto, can we talk" Hinata said out of the blue and Naruto jumped back in fright and shouted.
"GAH…Hinata don't scare me like that" Naruto shouted clutching his chest "jeez, you nearly gave me five heart attacks; I should put a bell on you like a cat".
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you" Hinata said apologizing; Naruto took a deep breath and spoke.
"It's fine, just caught me off guard" Naruto said before clearing his throat "so, what do you want to talk about". Hinata took off her helmet and Naruto said the nervous look and blush on her face.
"Since we're alone; I want to talk… about us" Hinata said and Naruto's hearts began to beat faster in his chest as he looked at Hinata.
Unseen by Naruto and Hinata they had 3 guests who were looking on intently.
Haku, Fubuki and Tsunade were all hiding in different locations looking in on Hinata and Naruto; Tsunade was hiding behind a corner trying to listen to the conversation, Haku was above them using her ice mirror staying out of sight and Fubuki was using the wall walking jutsu to hold onto the side of the ship just a few feet away from them.
"What about us" Naruto said as he tried to keep calm but his hearts and his mind were going a million miles an hour.
"Naruto, I don't know how to say this" Hinata said as she began to poke her fingers together "so I'm just going to say it… I love you"; Naruto's jaw dropped and his eyes widened at this. Even though he already knew Hinata loved him, hearing it come out of her mouth felt like he heard it for the first time. "When we met you were the only person who ever treated me kindly; and didn't call me a failure or a waste of time" Hinata said "when I thought you died… my world shattered and I was in a dark place; it wasn't until I found out you were alive that i escaped it". "When we reunited and I found out you were with Fu, Karin and Haku I thought I missed my chance; but they told me they would welcome me with open arms if I asked you" Hinata said "so Naruto, will you let me be your girlfriend".
Hinata looked at Naruto who was stunned into silence until Naruto swallowed hard "Hinata… I love you too" he said making Hinata's heart skip a beat "all those years I spent out in the world and with Kakuzu, I thought about you all the time; I regretted leaving you behind all by yourself, if I had the ability to go and get you I would've". "When I saw you in Wave country I knew I was scared of you seeing me; seeing what I've become" Naruto said sadly "but I knew that I had to get you out of Konoha; so I can give you a better life".
Naruto reached out and grabbed her hand making Hinata blush harder "you were the first girl I ever loved; and I'd be happy if you became my girlfriend" he said. Naruto leaned in and gave Hinata a kiss making her go wide eyed before she gave him a kiss back.
Tsunade was fist pumping the air as Naruto and Hinata finally made it official 'finally' she thought.
Haku had her hands over her mouth and was internally cheering 'this is better than a soap opera' she thought.
Naruto and Hinata broke the kiss and looked into each others eyes and smiled; after years of being separated and months of holding in their feelings they were finally official.
"I never thought this would happen" Hinata said as she wiped a tear from her eyes "I'm so happy right now".
"I'm happy to Hinata" Naruto said with a smile "I promise that i- ARE YOU FUCKING FILMING US" Naruto shouted; Hinata spun around and they saw Fubuki standing on the side of the ship holding a cam corner.
"Hey don't stop now; things were just getting good" Fubuki said with a smile "I gotta show this to Fu and Karin when we get back".
Hinata blushed harder than she ever had before and ran away in embarrassment "Hinata wait" Naruto shouted as he ran after her; Fubuki laughed as she walked up the side of the ship and onto the deck. Tsunade came out of her hiding place and Haku dropped down from her ice mirror and landed next to them.
"What did you get" Tsunade asked and Fubuki smiled.
"The entire thing" Fubuki said with a smile.
"Lets see it from the beginning" Haku said and all 3 of them gathered around the camera to watch a play back.
4 days later; Spring country: Outside Naruto's house
Naruto, Hinata, Haku and Fubuki were all walking to Naruto's house to see Fu, Karin and Sakura to tell them they were finally back; Naruto was currently holding Hinata's hand as they walked down the walkway to the front door.
"Home sweet home" Naruto said looking at Hinata who was smiling; Naruto knocked on the door and he heard Sakura's voice.
"I'm coming" Sakura said as the locks on the door unlocked and she opened the door; upon opening the door she saw a smiling Naruto and Hinata holding hands "oh my god, you finally did it". Sakura spun around and shouted "Fu, Karin; Naruto and Hinata finally got together" she said.
"About time; I swear if they didn't get together soon I was going to have an aneurism" Fu said from inside.
"Well come in you guys" Sakura said as she opened the door completely and everyone walked in; Fu and Karin were both sitting on the couch and Fu got up and jogged over.
"You guys are back" Fu said giving both Naruto and Hinata a hug "you guys are finally a couple now; we've been waiting for a few months wondering if you were going to do it".
Naruto and Hinata chuckled and Naruto spoke up "not just me and Hinata; me and Fubuki made it official too" he said and Fu looked over to Fubuki who smiled.
"That's right girls, I'm part of the group now; looks like I'm going to be Fu's sister in both spirit and family" Fubuki said.
"Oh my god this is great news" Karin said as she got up slowly while using some crutches and slowly walking over "I'm so happy to hear that".
Naruto leaned in and gave both Fu and Karin a kiss each before speaking "how are you two doing; are you girls healing ok" he asked and both nodded.
Fu nodded and lifted her shirt showing where she got hit by the chidori and a six inch scar on her abdomen "I got a scar but other than that I'm fine" Fu said.
Karin frowned as spoke "my back is healing slowly but surely; it might take a few more months of physical therapy From what Shizune told me" she said.
"Don't worry Karin; you'll make a full recovery, I know it" Naruto said making Karin smile; Naruto turned to Sakura and spoke "how about you Sakura; how you been doing since the mission".
"I'm doing good, getting settled in here; I really like my room in the attic" Sakura said; Naruto gave Sakura the attic to his house to live in since the other rooms were taken by Hinata, Fu, Haku and Tsunade "it's pretty roomy up there".
"Yeah because we didn't have anything up there before you moved in" Naruto said "how about your training".
"Me, Fu and Toka are all training with Kurenai sensei and Anko sensei; they've been keeping us busy" Sakura said and Naruto smiled.
"Well I'm glad to hear everything is going great over here" Naruto said "oh yeah, by the way; I brought back souvenirs from Kiri"; Naruto pulled out a scroll from his back pack. "Let divide them up and get dinner started" Naruto said as he led the others to the living room to hand out his gifts.
Meanwhile in Oto: With Orochimaru, Kabuto and Kimimaro
Orochimaru was sitting in his throne flexing his arms as the feeling was returning to them slowly; ever since Tsunade healed them Orochimaru's arms have been regenerating at a steady pace.
Orochimaru chuckled to himself as his arms healed "this is good, in another two weeks my arms should be fully healed" he said and Kabuto nodded.
"And what to you intend to do then Lord Orochimaru" Kabuto asked and Orochimaru looked towards him with a sinister smile.
"Oh, I see no reason to wait Kabuto; how about we speed things along now" Orochimaru said and Kabuto raised and eyebrow; Orochimaru looked at Kimimaro and spoke "how are you recovering Kimimaro".
"I am doing well Lord Orochimaru" Kimimaro said with a nod "my lungs feel lighter, he head feels clearer and I have not coughed up blood since Lady Tsunade healed me". Orochimaru smiled at this and spoke.
"Well then, could you go and get Tayuya for me; I have a task for you" Orochimaru said.
"I'm already here Lord Orochimaru" Tayuya said walking in to the throne room "I just got the reports about Konoha's defenses like you requested".
"Excellent; this is coming together nicely" Orochimaru said "Kimimaru, Tayuya; I have a mission for the both of you"; both Kimimaro and Tayuya stood at attention and Orochimaru continued. "I wish for you to go to snow country and make contact with Naruto and his comrades" Orochimaru said "I think I have a job opportunity he cannot resist".
Ok another chapter done; I hope you all enjoyed it. If you did please like, comment and share with your friends; and until next time bye.