 
THE FOX AND THE FLUTE
Chapter 1

"Fuck." Only a few hours ago, Tayuya and her team had been making a mad dash towards Orochimaru's lair to deliver Konoha's precious Uchiha. Only an hour ago, she'd been just about to kill the pineapple-headed chuunin of the Leaf. That is until the sand bitch and her fucking weasel buried her under nearly an entire forest of trees.

"Fucking shit this hurts." Tayuya smiled grimly despite her pain, almost expecting Jirobou to chide her for her foul language. They were all dead. Sakon, Ukon, Kidomaru, Jirobou, Kimimarou; she'd felt it when each of them died. She didn't consider them friends, but they were all that the foul mouthed sound nin had. All for the precious Uchiha.

"Faggot ass prettyboy." She muttered. Her eyelids felt heavy all of a sudden, and she knew she'd be joining her team shortly in hell. "Too bad I have go out like a pussy." Tayuya's eyes slid shut, ready to accept the cold embrace of death.

"Oi, Kakashi." Pakkun glanced back to make sure his summoner was paying attention. The jounin was currently carrying Naruto on his back, followed by two Konoha medic nin. Naruto had failed to bring back his teammate, and his injuries were extensive; even for the demon vessel.

"Yes, Pakkun?" The summoned dog pointed a paw towards his right.

"There's someone still alive over there." Kakashi cast a lazy glance towards the dog.

"Is it one of ours?" Pakkun shook his head.

"I can't tell from here. We'll have to get closer." The copy-nin shrugged.

"We should at least check it out." He motioned for the medic nin to follow him towards the scent. Ten minutes later, they were standing in front of what used to be a fairly large area of forestry. It seemed as though something had leveled everything within a 100 yard radius of where they stood.

"Kakashi." The jounin nodded and jumped over to where his summon was sniffing around. "It's a girl." She was trapped under a large group of trees; one crushing her right arm, and several over her legs and torso. Kakashi crouched down next to Pakkun.

"She's with the Sound. Her clothes are similar to the ones Orochimaru wore when he attacked the village." The dog grunted.

"So do we just leave her here?"

"No, let's take her in. Maybe Ibiki can get something out of her about Orochimaru's next move." He trailed a lazy eye over the fallen trees. "Everyone stand back." He handed Naruto to one of the medic nin and made a few handseals. "Raikiri!" The jounin yelled, thrusting his chakra infused palm into the trees. They were quickly split and tossed aside, allowing them to reach the fallen kunoichi. One of the medic nin performed a quick examination on the unconscious girl.

"She's still alive, but we have to hurry up and get her back to Konoha. There's not much we can do for her here." Sighing loudly, Kakashi picked the girl up bridal style.

"Let's Go."

'It's freaking cold in here.' That's the first thought that went through Uzumaki Naruto's head as he awoke from his slumber. He groggily rolled out of bed to adjust the thermostat, only for his feet to touch the cold, hard tile of the hospital room instead of the warm, soft carpet of his bedroom. "What the hell?" He yelped, quickly jumping back onto his bed. After a few seconds of panic, he quickly realized where he was. White, impersonal ceilings? Check. Cold, hard tile floors? Check. The constant buzzing and whirring of hospital machinery? Check.

He was in the Konoha General Hospital.

The genin sighed and cautiously stepped back onto the floor. 'No use sticking around here, the bastard fox has already healed everything.' he thought to himself. Naruto poked his head out of the door to see if anyone was around before stepping out of the room and making his way down the hall. Before he could reach the staircase that led to his freedom, a small cough was heard from behind him. He nervously turned around to see the Godaime Hokage staring darkly down at him.

"Naruto-kun? What are you doing out of your room?" She questioned in a falsely sweet voice.

"I was...er...gotta go!" The genin yelled before attempting to dash down the stairs and out of the hospital. Unfortunately, he didn't count on a masked ANBU suddenly appearing in front of him and knocking him onto his backside. Tsunade grinned evilly before gripping the boy by the back of his hospital gown and dragging him down the hallway...in the opposite direction of his room. Naruto gulped nervously. "Wh-where are we going?"

"Someplace where I can be sure you'll never escape." She answered with a small bit of evil joy in her voice. Stopping suddenly, she threw open the door to an ANBU guarded room and tossed him inside. The Hokage then turned to the ANBU stationed at the door. "Make sure he stays in this room unless I or Shizune say otherwise. Got it?" The ANBU nodded as Tsunade turned on her heel and walked away. "Have fun with your new roommate, Naruto!" She yelled over her shoulder. The blond grumbled as he picked himself off the floor.

"Damn hag, sticking me in a hospital room with..." His eyes trailed over to the other occupant of the room, curious as to who he'd be spending the next few days or so with. The boy's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he got a good look at his roommate. Her long red hair was almost impossible to see under the bandages covering her head, and the large cast encasing her right arm and legs made her look almost like a mummy. However, it was hard to forget the scowl that seemed to permanently mar the girl's face.

"YOU!" He yelled, pointing an accusing finger at his roommate. The girl in question turned away from the window to glare at the loudmouthed blond. What he saw stunned him. Her face was still scrunched up into a scowl, but it lacked any of the fire or malice that was present when they first met in the forest. Calming down a bit, Naruto shook his head in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?" Instead of answering, the girl turned back to the window. Naruto narrowed his eyes and took a step closer.

"Oi! Say something!" The girl continued to ignore the genin, much to his chagrin. Fed up, he hopped onto her bed and straddled her bandaged legs. "What the hell's your problem?" The girl snapped her head away from the window and leaned forward to get into his face.

"You want to know what my fucking problem is? Huh?" Tayuya screamed, struggling against the cast covering her lower body. "I was beaten by a pineapple-headed faggot and his whore of a girlfriend, buried under fifty fucking tons of forestry, told I'd never fucking walk again, and now I have to deal with a loud mouthed shithead who thinks orange is a normal color for a ninja!" Her breathing was labored by the time she finished her rant, and her good arm was grabbing the front of Naruto's hospital gown for emphasis. Unfortunately for both of them, the Hokage chose that moment to slam open the door and stroll inside.

"What the hell is going on in here? I can hear you two screaming all the way down the hall!" Tsunade yelled, her face pink with rage. Her expression gradually changed from anger to one of mild amusement. "You work fast, don't you kiddo?" Her grin widened as she watched the genin yelp in horror and fall headfirst onto the floor. Tayuya snorted in mild amusement.

"Baka."

"Y-you shut up! It's your fault I fell in the first place!" Naruto growled, rubbing the growing lump on his head. The sound nin's eyes widened in disbelief.

"My fault? Don't fucking blame me for your utter lack of coordination, dipshit!"

"Says the cripple..."

"WHAT?"

Throughout the exchange, the hokage's grin grew into a full blown smile. Before she'd been thrown into a room with Naruto, the girl had barely spoken more than two words to anyone. Those two words were 'Fuck' and 'You.' Amazingly enough, she was willingly speaking to the number one surprising ninja. Granted, she was screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs, but it was better than the weak glares she usually sent towards everyone. A plan began to form in her mind as she watched Tayuya bop the genin upside his head with her good hand. If things went the way she planned, she might even be able to kill two birds with one stone! Smiling triumphantly, she schooled her face into an angry expression.

"QUIET!"

Both teens quickly shut their mouths. Satisfied, she continued.

"I don't care who started what, or what the hell happened. You." She said, pointing at Naruto. "Get in bed." The genin quickly scrambled to his own bed, shooting a quick glare to his roommate. "You. Don't talk him." She said, pointing at the glaring red head.

"I ain't one of your damn grunts, Hokage-sama," Tayuya snarled, adding sarcastic emphasis to her title. "I'll do whatever I damn well please, and there ain't shit you can do about it." The older woman grinned mischievously.

"Oh? Well, as of now, you are hereby instated as a genin of the Leaf. Congratulations." Tayuya's eyes widened in disbelief.

"W-what the fuck?" She sputtered, jaw nearly reaching the bed. Naruto had a similar look on his face.

"Have you finally gone senile, Baa-chan?"

"My legs are fucked up! How can I be a ninja with fucked up legs?"

"She's the enemy! This bitch was one of the bastards who tried to kidnap Sasuke!"

"I won't do it! There's no way I'll join you shitty rats or live in your faggot-infested village! I'd rather die first!"

Grinning on the inside, Tsunade slammed her foot down onto the floor. The whole hospital seemed to shake, and a few screams of bloody murder were heard from the floor below. "Listen up, brats!" She growled, screwing her face up into the angriest face she could manage. "What I say goes! Besides, you don't need legs to work at the Academy."

The room went dead silent.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?"

Naruto immediately began laughing at the grief-stricken face of the former sound nin. Predicting this, Tsunade grinned.

"And you will be her escort."

This time, Naruto's face paled in disbelief. "Nani? But I have to train to bring Sasuke back!" The hokage shrugged with indifference.

"Oh well. Looks like the Uchiha is screwed, then." Sighed the older blonde. Tayuya cracked a small smile.

"Literally." Her smile became a giggle, and before long, she was cackling wildly at the vivid images that passed through her mind. The blonde genin looked confused for a few seconds before his face contorted in horror.

"EWWWWW!" While both genin were occupied with their own amusing/sickening thoughts, Tsunade took the chance to slowly slip out of the room. Not long after, Tayuya stopped laughing long enough to wipe a stray tear from the corner of her eye. She looked around the room and noticed the missing presence of the hokage.

"Oi, where'd the bimbo go?"

Outside of the genins' room, the hokage hummed a happy tune to herself. Just as she was about to head down the stairs, a blur of pink appeared from her right.

"Tsunade-sama! Naruto's gone! He's-"

"In room 223. You should pay him a visit. He needs all the support he can get right now." She said, chuckling lightly. The genin tilted her head in curiosity before nodding and running off toward her teammate's new room. Oh, this was going to be good.

"NARUTO! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Sakura yelled, throwing the door open. Both occupants stared in surprise at the pink-haired genin.

"S...Sakura-chan..." Naruto stammered, lowering his head to stare at his hands. He bit his lip before speaking again. "I'm sorry. I didn't keep my promise. I couldn't bring Sasuke back." His teammate shook her head and smiled weakly.

"Don't worry about it, okay Naruto? Next time...next time we'll do it together!" Naruto snapped his head up in shock before a small smile stretched his way on to his face. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined by the other occupant of the small hospital room.

"Pfft. There's no way you fuckwads could ever hope to match Orochimaru in battle. That bastard's freakin' invincible!" Sakura glared at the girl, just now noticing that there was someone else in the room with them.

"Oh? And how would you know that?" Tayuya chuckled pitifully to herself.

"I used to se-" Naruto sprang up and clamped his hand over the former sound nin's mouth. Shortly after, she took a large bite out of the offending appendage.

"Ouch! That hurt!" Tayuya snorted in indignation.

"Serves you right, bastard." While the blond nursed his currently throbbing hand, his teammate shook her head and turned towards the door.

"I don't know who you are, but Naruto and I will bring Sasuke-kun back." She glanced back at the foulmouthed genin with contempt. "Believe it." She slammed the door on her way out, leaving both patients in mild shock. Tayuya blinked a few times before turning back to the window. The sun would be setting soon, and she'd finally be able to get some sleep after a somewhat stressful day.

"Oi!" Of course, she spoke too soon.

"What the hell do you want?" Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. In all of the chaos that had ensued within the last couple of hours, he'd forgotten to ask.

"Ah...er...what's your name?" Tayuya narrowed her eyes.

"Why the fuck should I tell you?"

"Hey, I don't care either, but if I'm going to be wheeling you around all day I'd at least like to know the name of the person who's stopping me from training!" Tayuya snorted and turned back towards the window. After a few seconds of silence, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"...Tayuya." The blond genin smirked a bit at his roommate.

"Uzumaki Naruto. The man who's going to become the Hokage."

Tsunade sat at her desk, furiously signing and stamping her approval on a large stack of forms sitting on the edge of her desk. It was well past ten, and she'd usually be passed out in a drunken stupor by now. However, thanks to her 'genius' plan, she was stuck alone in the brightly illuminated office, working harder than she ever had in her two months of being the hokage. 'Kami, what the hell was I thinking?' she thought, sighing as she signed off on another release form. 'Turning a ninja from an enemy village into one of our own? I must be losing my mind.' Most of her complaining was due to the paperwork required to perform such an action. Not only did she have to instate Tayuya as a genin of the Leaf, but she also had to drop all charges against her for the attempted kidnap of Sasuke and the assisted murder of the Sandaime Hokage. She could only hope that the council would see her reasoning. Surely a ninja of the Leaf would give up information if their home was in danger of attack, right? Pairing the girl up with Naruto would only speed up the process. He had a certain knack for getting people to see things his way.

"Tsunade-sama! I thought you finished all of your paperwork for the week?" Shizune asked, startling the older woman out of her thoughts.

"Oh, uhm...just catching up on a few things I missed last week. Go on home, I'll be there soon." Shizune narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the Godaime Hokage. She never willingly did paperwork, and judging by her disheveled appearance, she'd be working for Kami knows how long. Shuffling closer to her mentor, she attempted to take a look at the large stack of papers strewn about on the large oak desk.

"What's this? You're adding a new ninja to the ranks? Who?" She asked, trying to read the name haphazardly scribbled on the form. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she realized who it was. "Tsunada-sama! You can't be serious! Are you aware of what you're trying to do?" The hokage rubbed her temples, absentmindedly reaching for her hidden bottle of sake.

"Yes, I'm serious, and yes, I know what I'm doing. You have to trust me." Her apprentice stared at her with doubt. Sighing, she continued. "I paired her up with Naruto-kun. You've seen what he can do for people; I doubt this girl will be any different. She knows the location, layout, and overall population of the Sound village, how strong their shinobi as a whole are, and maybe even what Orochimaru has planned in the near future. Can we really afford to pass this chance up?" Shizune hung her head in defeat.

"I...I guess not. I still don't like it, though. What if it doesn't work? What if she hurts Naruto-kun in the process?" Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. It was just like her apprentice to look for the bad in everything.

"Don't be so pessimistic. Everything will work out in the end, you'll see." The young medic-nin bit her lip in worry.

"I hope you're right, Tsunade-sama."

"Naruto?" A young man poked his head into the room. A large scar was visible across his nose, and his long brown hair was bound into a tight ponytail on the top of his head. Umino Iruka had just returned from his mission early that morning and arrived at the hospital just as visiting hours began. Of course, he made a quick stop at a certain ramen stand; a fact that didn't go unnoticed by the genin in question.

"Iruka-sensei!" A yellow blur tackled him around the waist, nearly spilling the contents of the small brown bag in his hand. "Is that for me?" He asked, eyes wide and shining. His former teacher couldn't help but to laugh at his childish antics.

"Sure is! I figured you'd be tired of the hospital food by now. Though it's gotten better since Tsunade-sama arrived, it still has a slightly chalky taste." A snort was heard from the other side of the hospital curtain.

"You can say that again." Iruka lifted an eyebrow in confusion.

"Naruto, you have a roommate?" The genin stopped drooling and glanced towards the curtain separating him from the recently instated genin.

"Oh, yeah. That's just Tayuya. Me and her are gonna be helping out at the Academy for awhile." Iruka shook his head.

"She and I. I swear, they should add an extra year to teach you all more than basic math and grammar. You never know when it could come in handy on a mission." The man gave the bag to an eager Naruto, watching as he immediately pulled the plastic cover off of the container and dug in with the wooden chopsticks provided. After inhaling a sizable amount, he sighed and grinned widely.

"Ahh, I forgot just how good Ichiraku's could be!" Iruka chuckled and patted the boy on the head. The teacher's face suddenly turned deathly serious as he seated himself on a stray chair sitting near the bed.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Noticing his serious tone, the blonde stopped slurping the noodles long enough to crack a wide foxy grin.

"I'm fine, Iruka-sensei. I heal really fast, so I should be out of here by tomorrow." Iruka nodded, satisfied with his answer.

"I'm glad. I'd better get going, I have quite a few tests to grade before class tomorrow. See you soon!" He said, waving on his way out. Naruto simply nodded and finished drinking down the ramen's broth.

"So who was that fucker? Your jounin-sensei or somethin? Sounds like a weakass." She asked, pulling back the curtain with her good arm. Naruto scowled at her.

"Take that back! Iruka-sensei's stronger than you'll ever be!" He yelled, dropping the empty bowl onto the white tiled floor below. Tayuya's normal scowl deepened in response.

"The fuck I will! What're you gonna do, kick my ass and make me take it back?" She snarled. 'Who the hell does this guy think he is, ordering me around like I'm some punkass Leaf shinobi.'

"You're just jealous because you don't have anyone who cares about you at all!" He shouted, the words flying out of his mouth before he could think. As soon as he said them, he immediately regretted it. Tayuya's eyes were wide with shock, and her jaw hung limply at the hinges. She soon recovered and turned her head away from him.

"At least you're not the spineless fucker I thought you were." Tayuya joked, her voice carrying a slight waver. 'Damnit! Why the hell am I showing weakness? It must be this shit they're feeding me; it's bad enough to make anyone cry' she reasoned to herself. Naruto stared at her for a few more minutes before settling down into his bed. He was still a bit tired from his fight with Sasuke, even if he did heal faster than humanly possible. He'd apologize later; as soon as he woke up.

Chapter 2

The next day, Naruto and Tayuya stood in front of the Hokage's desk. Or rather, Naruto stood and Tayuya sat in a wheelchair next to him. He played with the zipper on his orange jumpsuit, struggling to zip it up to his chin. He only had two more at home, and they all felt a bit tight since his fight with his former teammate. Tayuya wore simple black ninja pants and a dark blue long sleeved shirt. The bandages on her head and left arm were still present, but she'd been able to get out of her leg casts in favor of a couple of small metal braces. The hokage finished signing off on one last sheet of paper before leaning back in her chair.

"Finally! That's the last of them." She reached into her drawer and tossed a Leaf hitai-ate to Tayuya, who deftly caught it with her left hand. "Congratulations, you're an official genin of Konoha. By wearing this headband, you acknowledge that you will protect this village and the people in it with your life, blah, blah, blah. Do you accept?" Tayuya cocked an eyebrow at the blonde.

"Do I have a choice?" She asked, fingering the thick cloth of the headband. Tsunade nodded.

"Actually, you do. You can either become a Konoha ninja or I can turn you over to Morino Ibiki for interrogation." She smirked inwardly. She was bluffing, but they didn't need to know that. Naruto's face visibly paled in recognition of the name. Though he hated to admit it, the scarred special jounin had quite an effect on him.

"Ah...Tayuya, I think you should just accept." He whispered. The girl eyed him strangely, noticing the slightly nervous look on his face. "He's...he's a really scary guy." Instead of arguing, she turned back to the godaime and nodded.

"Fine, but I ain't gonna like it." She lifted the headband towards her escort expectantly. He stared at the headband in confusion, an action which quickly annoyed his red haired companion. "Put it on me dipshit! I only got one arm!"

"Shut up! I'm not psychic, geez." He grabbed the headband and move to put it on her forehead before pausing. "Where do you want it?" She titled her head in thought.

"Tie it around my neck." The blond grunted and tied the cloth into a loose knot around her neck.

"Happy?"

"Fuck no."

"Tch, not even a thank you..." The fifth slammed her fist down onto the desk, effectively quieting the teens down.

"Listen up!" She bellowed, causing Naruto to flinch. "Both of you are to report to room 23 at the Academy. I've arranged for one of the chuunin teachers there to assign you a few tasks to keep you busy." Tayuya frowned deeply in response.

"Yeah, one problem blondie. My. Fucking. Legs. Don't. WORK." Tsunade smirked.

"I've informed them of your condition, so whatever they set up won't require a whole lot of movement. If there's nothing else, get out of my sight." She drawled, waving them off. Grudgingly, Naruto grabbed the handles of his new teammate's wheelchair and began to push her towards the door. He accidentally pushed her legs into the door frame, earning himself a hard elbow in the side.

"Watch where you're going, dipshit!"

"Yes, Tayuya-hime."

"S-Shut up and push!" Lucky for her, neither of the genin turned around to see the mile wide grin Tsunade had on her face.

'Part one of operation "Skin Orochimaru's scrawny ass" complete.'

They were everywhere. Laughing, taunting, torturing. Little horns protruded from their large melon-shaped heads, and large globs of blood clung to their faces as if they had just eaten twenty shinobi alive right before they had arrived. At least that's what Tayuya saw when nearly a dozen Kindergartners swarmed her as soon she had appeared through the door of room 23.

"Read us a story!"

"Wanna play dress up?"

"Hey! What's wrong with your legs?"

"Can I sit in your lap?"

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Tayuya sat mortified amongst the large group of five year olds. When the hokage mentioned they would be working at the Academy, she assumed they would be filing papers or showing ten year olds how to throw a kunai. Never in a million years would she have expected something as inhumane as this. She glanced up at Naruto and was glad to see that he was equally shocked. At least she could be sure that he wasn't in on this. The chuunin who had shown them the room snickered slightly at their expressions before turning and making a mad dash down the hallway.

"Have fun! They really like stories!" He yelled over his shoulder, turning a corner at record breaking speed.

'That has to be some kind of escape jutsu...' Naruto thought as he watched the shinobi flee from the classroom. A slight tug of his pants snapped him from his thoughts.

"Ne, Onee-chan, are you our new sensei?" The genin glanced down to see a sickly brown haired boy staring up at him with large, hopeful eyes.

"I...uh...y-yes?" A large chorus of cheers went throughout the room. A few of the toddlers darted off to grab books, blankets, and pillows, much to the genin's confusion. It wasn't until the same little boy held up a large book to Tayuya that they understood. Her eyes widened and she began to shake her head ferociously.

"No! Not a fucking chance in hell!" She screamed, attempting to hop out of her chair and crawl towards the door. Unfortunately, a little girl had somehow made her way into the genin's lap, foiling her escape plan. Her escort snickered and waved an admonishing finger in front of her face.

"Watch your language, Tayuya-sensei. There are children in the room." She growled and practically snatched the book from the little boy, only further amusing the blond; who was suspiciously three steps closer to the door. Tayuya narrowed her eyes and smirked.

"Where are you going, Naruto-sensei? I'm going to need someone to turn the pages for me. I only have one arm, after all." She asked in a sickeningly sweet voice, using his own sarcasm against him. Realizing he'd been caught, Naruto groaned and sat down in the empty chair closest to her. Grinning to herself at the small victory, she turned to read the title of the book in her hand.

"The Princess and the Fox." The girl glanced up to see that every set of eyes in the classroom was watching her intently. Though it was a little unnerving, she was happy to see that they were at least being quiet. When they were quiet, she didn't have the incredibly powerful urge to roast them over a large flaming pit of charcoal. Alive. Naruto reached over and turned the cover so that she could continue. "Once upon a time, there was a Princess who lived in a beautiful castle. Many of the animals loved her, but none of them loved her more than her friend the fox." She picked the book up to show the children the pictures before turning to the next page herself.

"Hey! You don't need me to turn the pages for you!" Naruto yelped, shooting up from his chair. Tayuya grinned.

"Deception is one of the tricks to being a ninja, isn't it? Now sit down and let me continue." Looking back down at the book, she continued. "One day, the Princess decided to visit her friend the Wizard." The girl glanced up to make sure that Naruto was still in the room. She noticed with some surprise that he wasn't in his seat anymore; he was sitting on the large blanket with the toddlers, a few of them leaning against him as they listened to the story.

"What happened next, Tayuya-sensei?" the girl in her lap asked, snuggling back against her.

'What the fuck?' The genin asked herself, blinking in surprise at the foreign feeling. Deciding it wasn't completely uncomfortable, she continued on with the story. "The forest was thick and dangerous, with giant weasels, frogs, and snakes at every turn. But the princess wasn't afraid; she knew her friend the fox was watching her."

Tayuya snorted. 'Who writes this shit?' "After walking for awhile, she came upon a giant white snake. 'Where are you going, little girl?' The snake boomed, staring with big yellow eyes at the princess." A shudder went through her as she absentmindedly fingered her cursed seal, an action which didn't go unnoticed by Naruto. "But the princess wasn't afraid; She knew her friend the fox was watching her. The princess stood up straight and looked the snake in the eye. 'I'm going to visit my friend the Wizard, Orochi-san.' She said, unaware that she was being hypnotized by the snake's big yellow eyes."

A gasp went through the crowd of toddlers, the loudest of all coming from her escort. She fought to keep a smirk from breaking out onto her face at their expressions. Even she had to admit that she was really starting to enjoy having all of the attention focused on herself for once. "The big white snaked smiled evilly and slithered his way over to the princess. 'Well, princessss...' the snake hissed, wrapping himself around her. 'Allow me to esssscort you there.' With the princess wrapped in his slimy skin, the big white snake headed for his lair. Just as he was about to enter his home, a golden fox appeared and..." Tayuya trailed off, glancing up at the clock. "...that's the end of storytime!" The children all stared at her in disbelief.

"NANI?"

"You can't just end it there!"

"What happened to the princess?"

"Did the giant snake eat her?"

"C'mon Tayuya-sensei, finish the story!"

Tayuya grinned maliciously to herself. Though it wasn't quite as entertaining as watching the little demons roast, it would have to do; for now. Naruto stood up and grinned. "She's right, guys. It's snack time!" Their disappointment forgotten, the toddlers all hopped up and ran to their little plastic tables and chairs. After setting down a few cookies and a carton of milk in front of each of the children, the genin inched their way towards the door; only to back into the same sickly little boy from before. His eyes were wide and his lips were puffed up into a small pout.

"You'll come back and finish the story, won't you Tayuya-sensei?"

The girl blinked and forced a small smile onto her face. "Uhm.. sure..."

"Jin!"

"...Jin." Seemingly satisfied, the boy bounced off towards the others. Not wanting to risk being stopped again, Naruto grabbed her wheelchair and practically raced down the hall and out of the academy, not stopping until he was well into the residential district of Konoha. After receiving another sharp jab in the ribs from Tayuya, he finally slowed his pace down to a walk.

"So...did you enjoy storytime?" Naruto asked, stepping back far enough to avoid another jab from the irate redhead.

"What the fuck do you think, Blondie? Those little fuckwits almost drove me mad!"

"Looked like you were getting into it to me."

"I was not!"

"Are you sure, Princessss?" He asked, imitating a voice she'd done previously. The girl blushed and stared forward.

"Just shut up and push, dipshit." The blond genin laughed and continued on down the street. They walked on in silence until she cleared her throat. "Hey, Naruto..."

"Eh?"

"I uh...wanted to apologize. For the shit I said about your teacher yesterday." Naruto blinked in surprise. He'd only known her for a couple of days, but he didn't think the word 'apologize' was even in her vocabulary.

"Oh..." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I have to say I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. It...it wasn't right." She nodded and shrugged.

"Fine, we're even then. Don't get all sentimental and shit on me. So where the hell're we going now?"

"Well, you're going back to the hospital. I'm going to train so that I can bring Sasuke back."

"What? Oh, fuck no! You're taking me with you!" He stopped in surprise.

"Nani? For what! You'll just get in my way!"

"There ain't no way in hell I'm gonna stay cooped up in that shithole of a hospital all day while you get to run around in the motherfucking sun!" By this time, a small crowd of civilians had gathered around the teens, whispering amongst themselves. "And just what the fuck are you cocksuckers looking at?" The crowd quickly dispersed, though there was no shortage of glares or snide comments thrown her way.

"Geez, you guys are making a scene." A lazy voice said from behind them. Naruto turned in surprise.

"Shikamaru! How's Chouji? Neji? Kiba? Lee?" He asked, reprimanding himself for not asking about them earlier. Though, he couldn't be blamed when all of his thoughts were focused on his temporary teammate and Sasuke.

"They're all fine. Chouji and Neji got the worst of it, though." He said, grimacing slightly.

"It wasn't your fault. You did the best you could." Shikamaru nodded and glanced at the girl currently glaring at him from her wheelchair.

"Oi, you lived, huh? I have to admit, I'm more than a little surprised. I didn't think anyone could survive a blast like that." Tayuya glowered dangerously at the chuunin.

"I ain't weak like you shitty Leaf ninja."

"But aren't you one too?" He asked, taking notice of her headband. "How did you become a Leaf ninja anyway?"

"Tch, easy. You faggots are so fucking weak that the hokage herself had me instated to help you all out. Watch your back, bitch, 'cause I'm coming for your ass." She smirked up at him, practically daring him to reply.

"...even though you can't use your legs. Right." He continued on past Naruto and a fuming Tayuya. "Later, Naruto, Troublesome woman." Naruto snickered at her expression.

"He's right, you know. You can't use your legs. Back to the hospital!"

"Fuck. You."

Naruto took a deep breath, focusing himself on the log in front of him. It slowly began to distort and shape into Orochimaru; the perfect target to take his anger out on. Lashing out with right hook, he rolled to his left and followed it up with a perfectly executed roundhouse. He then flipped over his target and gave it a strong donkey kick. The wood splintered slightly under the pressure, much to his delight. Punching the log a dozen times in succession, he performed a perfect back hand spring and landed thirty feet away, taking deep breaths of air. All of this happened in a span of around five seconds.

"You suck!" A voice yelled from behind him. The blond turned around and flipped the person off.

"Shut up! Can't you see I'm training!"

"Oh, is that what you're doing? I thought you were doing the fucking chicken dance or something." Naruto's eye twitched in anger. He was already regretting not leaving her at the hospital.

"Okay, Tayuya-sensei, why don't you give me a few pointers?" He snapped his fingers in mock realization. "Ooh, that's right! You can't because you're stuck in a fucking wheelchair!" Naruto yelled, feeling a bit of the Kyuubi's chakra trying to slip out of him. Tayuya blinked. Just when she thought he was incapable of getting truly upset, he pulls a stunt like this. Strangely enough, she didn't get the smug satisfaction she usually got from making others angry. In fact, she felt slightly hurt. 'What the hell am I thinking? I've been trying to do this all along! It must be something in the food; those bitches are trying to turn me into one of them.'

"Well excuse me for trying to help your no-talent ass out!" This time, Naruto blinked. She actually wanted to help? He felt the small amount of sinister chakra quickly drain from his system.

"You...you want to help me? Why?" Tayuya again rubbed at the cursed seal on her neck, keeping her eyes low.

"I...I want to pay that bastard back for his 'gift.' Since I can't fuck him up myself, what better way than to have an indirect hand in training the fucker who knocks him off?" His eyes widened in disbelief. All this time, he thought she wanted to go back to the Sound and Orochimaru. Perhaps he wasn't the only surprising ninja in this village anymore.

"Did you accept it willingly?" She snorted and narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, but when I did, he only me two things: One, that it would exponentially increase my chakra, and two, that it only had a one in ten survival rate. He didn't mention all of the bad things that came along with it." A sudden realization came to Naruto. If Tayuya had a cursed seal like Sasuke, she could help him study his weaknesses for when it was time to bring him back!

"Bad things? Like what?" The girl looked thoughtful for a few minutes.

"Well, for one thing, Orochimaru can pretty much control us if he wants to. Through our seals, the bastard can inflict an inhumane amount of pain on our entire nervous system. He can also stop us from using it altogether." She glanced up at him, only to find that he was practically raping her personal space. "Gah! What the hell are you doing?" He blinked and leaned back.

"What do you mean? I was just looking at your cursed seal."

"J-Just go over there so I can help you train!" She yelled, pointing at the field in front of them. Just as he was about walk away, she grabbed his arm. "Wait." He looked back at her curiously.

"What?"

"Uh...can you take me out of this chair? It's hard as fuck." She asked, a light scowl marring her face. Shrugging, he quickly scooped her up in his arms and set her down under the shade of a large tree.

"How's that?" Tayuya leaned her head back and stretched, enjoying the feel of the lush grass beneath her and the freedom to move as she wished. Well, as free as one could without mobility in their legs.

"Fan-fucking-tastic." He stared at her for a few more seconds before smirking.

"You know, you're not as ugly as usual when you're not scowling." She quickly brought her arms back down and crossed them over her chest.

"Yeah, yeah. Get into your usual stance and I'll tell you what you're doing wrong." He nodded and happily settled himself into a stance that one of the Academy instructors taught him before he became a genin. "...Is that your stance?" She asked after he stopped moving.

"Uh, yeah?" The girl smirked, then grinned, then chuckled, and before long, she was full on guffawing. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she began to choke on her own spittle.

"W-What the hell is that? Whoever taught you that shit was TRYING to get you killed!" She screamed in mirth. Naruto's eyes dimmed as his arms slowly lowered to his sides. Her laughter immediately quieted down as she noticed a drastic change in his usual somewhat cheerful expression. "Goddamn, you act like I ripped your balls off or something. I was just kidding about the trying to get you killed part. I'm sure they just didn't know what they were doing." His eyes hardened in anger.

"No, I think they knew exactly what they were doing." Tayuya almost gasped; almost. She couldn't believe that a teacher would purposely sabotage one of their students, no matter how annoying or dim-witted he was. What amazed her even more was that his jounin-sensei or precious Iruka-sensei didn't think to at least teach him the most basic of taijutsu stances. Even if she was just using him to take out Orochimaru, she didn't want her weapon to be in low spirits all the time. It made her feel bad about her own problems. Clearing her throat, she put on her cockiest smile and pointed forcefully at her escort.

"Stop looking like the pitiful brat you are and get back into that stance! I'll tell you what to do from there." She thought she saw a spark appear in his eyes as he immediately straightened up, albeit a little less sure of himself. "First of all, your weight should be on your back leg-good. Now, turn your front foot in a bit to give yourself more balance. Doesn't that feel better? You'll be able to move much more efficiently like that." He looked over his shoulder and smirked.

"Looks like I'll really have to start calling you Tayuya-sensei now, eh?" Naruto joked, testing out the new form. He had to admit that it felt much more natural than the one Mizuki taught him. Tayuya flushed slightly and scowled.

"Shut the fuck up, I ain't doing this cause I like you or anything. I just don't want you to get your ass kicked by Orochimaru. Besides, this is the most basic form there is. Now lift your back arm up near your chest- a little higher- perfect. Stretch your other arm out in front of you- not all the way out, dipshit- yeah, that's good. Now you can strike and block from pretty much any angle, and move in nearly any direction." She smirked smugly as he took a few practice punches and kicks, looking much better than he did only ten minutes ago.

"Yes! Thanks, Tayuya!" She shrugged and waved him off.

"Don't thank me yet; you haven't used it in an actual fight." He smirked and put his hands together in a familiar sign.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" A shadow clone popped into existence, much to the surprise of the former sound nin.

"Holy fuck, you never cease to amaze me." He smiled genuinely at the girl before settling himself into the new stance and sparring with his shadow clone. She couldn't keep a tiny smirk from slipping its way onto her face as she watched him. By the time she was done, Orochimaru won't know what hit him.

Both genin were oblivious to the angry pair of eyes watching their every move.

Chapter 3

Naruto sparred for a few more hours, even going as far as to create ten shadow clones to fight against. Every few minutes, Tayuya would call out tips or admonishments; most of them starting with an insult, of course. As time went on, the insults gradually turned into compliments, and she even began to hold back on the name calling. Sometime during his training, he'd shed his jacket and thrown it towards the foul mouthed redhead, causing the name calling to resume full force. After awhile, she became silent. 'I must be doing pretty good!' Naruto thought as he crouched down onto the ground, breathing heavily and glancing up at the night sky. The stars and moon were glowing brilliantly, a sign that it was at least after eight. He didn't realize so much time had passed since they'd left the Academy.

"Oi, Tayuya, ready to go back?" He called over his temporary teammate. When she didn't answer, he reluctantly stood and walked over to where she was reclining against the large tree. "Tayuya?" Looking closer, he realized that her eyes were closed, and her head was tilted off to the side at an awkward angle. It didn't take a genius to see that she was asleep. His discarded jacket was spread out over her torso; probably to ward off the cold. It did tend to get pretty cool in Konoha, after all. The genin stared a moment longer before reaching over to pick the girl up. What he didn't count on was her fist shooting up and punching him square in the jaw, sending him sprawling five feet into an adjacent tree. The girl blinked sleepily and yawned, rubbing at her eyes with the offending hand.

'Huh, must've fallen asleep.' She thought to herself, noticing it wasn't light outside anymore. She glanced at the area where Naruto had been training, only to see a battered training log and a few ninja weapons spread out on the ground. However, there was no sign of her blond escort. A small pang of anger washed over the girl. 'That bastard deserted me!' she shrieked in her mind, already thinking of ways to cause the genin pain. That is until she heard a strangled groan coming from her left. Tayuya snapped her head around to see Naruto lying sideways against a thick oak tree, tending to a large bruise on his cheek. She blinked in surprise.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Naruto glared at her and rolled himself onto his hands and knees.

"What happened? You punched me!" He yelled, waving his arms in an exaggerated fashion. The girl blinked again.

"I did?" She glanced down at her fist in surprise. 'Huh, good to see my reflexes haven't dulled any.'

"Yeah! What, do you think I hit myself?"

"Damned if I know. You might be some kind of masochist."

"A maso...what?" Tayuya shook her head in exasperation.

"Holy shit, you're stupid. Just put me in my chair and get me back to the hellhole you fuckers call a hospital." Shooting her one last glare, the blond stood up and walked over to the crippled genin. He pulled his jacket off of her first, attempting to put it on. The girl shivered and grabbed a hold of one of the sleeves. When he stared at her questioningly, she scowled and tugged on the sleeve a little harder. "It's cold as shit out here. Be a gentleman and let me use your jacket." She meant for it to be a suggestion, but it came out as more of a command.

"Will you be quiet and go back to the hospital peacefully if I do?" He asked, patting himself on the back for coming up with such a great idea. She nodded and pulled the jacket from his grip, immediately wrapping it around herself to ward off the persistent cold. After regaining a bit of her warmth from the heavy material of the bright orange jacket, Tayuya lifted an arm towards her escort.

"Hurry up, I'm freezing my ass off out here." Naruto scowled but bent down to pick her up bridal style. She wrapped her good arm around his neck and nodded after she established a firm enough grip. As he ascended to a standing position, both felt a small wave of killing intent from the forest around them.

"What the hell was that?" He asked, looking around for any sign of life. Tayuya was doing the same, immediately going into ninja mode despite her handicaps.

"I don't know, but we'd better get the fuck out of here before whatever it is decides to make itself known." Quickly setting her back into her wheelchair, Naruto formed some chakra in his feet and dashed off towards civilization while occasionally glancing over his shoulder to see if anyone was following them. Even as they ran, they felt the strange presence following them, the foul aura getting stronger and stronger with each step. Before long, they reached the densely populated market district. Thankfully, the killing intent immediately disappeared, allowing the genin to slow his pace to a brisk walk.

"That, was scary." He breathed, attempting to regain his breath back after the sprint. Normally he wouldn't be so tired, but he'd just spent the better part of the afternoon training his taijutsu. The girl nodded in agreement, trying to catch her own breath despite not doing anything.

"Fuck yeah, that was like some Freddy Krueger shit." Both genin paused for a moment before bursting out into laughter. Civilians and ninja alike wisely edged their way around the howling teens, unsure as to whether they were psychotic or not. It took well over a minute for them to calm down enough to keep moving, although they both sported equally wide grins; a fact which still managed to creep out most of the citizens they came across. As they walked deeper into the market district of Konoha, Tayuya soon became aware of the glares and frowns sent their way. A few of the people muttered words under their breath, none that she could hear over the increasingly loud chatter. She glanced up to see that her escort was still grinning, albeit it was slightly strained from her vantage point. "Oi, dobe. What's with these shitheads? I thought the bimbo didn't tell anyone where I was from." His smile slipped a bit before widening into a full foxy grin.

"Oh, they're just upset about some pranks I pulled awhile back." He lied, skillfully skipping around the truth. It wouldn't do any good for her to know about the Kyuubi. She eyed him for a few seconds before shrugging it off. It wasn't her job to cross examine the boy.

"You must've pulled some fucking good ones, 'cause they look angry enough to slit your throat in your sleep or something." Naruto made an abrupt stop, nearly throwing the girl from her wheelchair. Her statement brought back some painful memories from his childhood.

"I thought you were supposed to be quiet." He said, his voice deathly cold. Tayuya looked taken aback at his sudden change in emotion.

'What the shit? Is he bipolar?' she wondered, taking note of his dejected expression. Her face soon deepened into a scowl as she turned around and face forward again. What the hell did she care? It wasn't her fault the bastard had deep seeded problems. He soon began pushing her towards the hospital, though at a much quicker pace than they'd been traveling at before. Five minutes later, they arrived at the door to room 223. Even as he lifted her frail body onto the hospital bed, they didn't speak. He stared at her prone form for a few seconds, watching how the moonlight illuminated her features as she glared out of the window to her right. Naruto walked back to the doorway in silence, opening the door with a soft click.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, much to the girl's surprise. She snapped her head around to reply, but found that he'd already disappeared down the hallway. The smallest of smirks made its way onto her face.

"Idiot."

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!" A feminine voice yelled while tossing papers into the air. "Where is it? WHERE?"

The fifth hokage was currently tearing her office apart, looking for her last bottle of sake. She knew she had another bottle left; she'd just restocked her secret stash yesterday! A perverted chuckle resounded in the nearly empty room.

"Lose something, Tsunade?"

The woman in question clenched her fists a few times to get rid of the stress that was steadily building up in her system. Turning to the window, she forced an angry grin onto her face.

"You wouldn't happen to know where my last bottle of sake went, would you, Jiraiya?" Jiraiya chuckled and took a swig from the bottle resting in his hand. Giving her a cheeky grin, he shook his head.

"Nope, not a clue." That was it. With a bloodcurdling scream, the godaime launched herself at her former teammate, fully intending to rip his spine from his body. The sannin deftly dodged her advances with a leering grin. "My, my, Tsunade-hime. I knew you wanted me, but this is a bit desperate; even for you." She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"How the hell did you slip past all of the ANBU guards?" The toad hermit rolled his eyes.

"Those guys? Pfft. They don't call me a legendary sannin for nothing, you know." He said with a cocky wave of his hand. She sighed in exasperation.

"What do you want?" His expression immediately became serious, a sure sign that this was important. Dear Kami, she wished she had her sake.

"It's about Naruto." Tsunade groaned in response.

"Akatsuki?" She asked, hoping against hope that it was something smaller. Much to her chagrin, he nodded.

"Yeah. Judging from the information I received on my spy network, they're going to start moving in three years. As you know, Itachi and Kisame are quite powerful S-Ranked nukenin; I wouldn't stand a chance against both of them while trying to protect the kid at the same time." Tsunade sighed and buried her face into her hands.

"That's not it. I can tell." Even though he knew she couldn't see it, he shook his head and sighed.

"Not only are Akatsuki planning on kidnapping Naruto, but there is a rumor going around that Orochimaru's cooking up a war against Konoha right after he transfers to Sasuke's body. Iwa and Kumo are also rumored to be in on this war. They both have large grudges against Konoha, you know." Tsunade groaned loudly, desperately wishing she had even a sip of sake.

"So what is it that you want?" She asked, not moving from her position.

"I want to take Naruto on a training trip for three years. I'll teach him how to use the Kyuubi's chakra effectively, and also a few other things like tracking and battle strategy. This way, he'll be able to defend himself against Akatsuki's attacks and possibly be a defining factor in the war with Otogakure."

"No." Jiraiya nearly fell from his perch on the windowsill.

"No? Why the hell not? Have you been listening to the things I've been telling you for the past five minutes?" She lifted her head to glare pitifully at her teammate.

"I need him here to gather information on Orochimaru from a former sound nin." He frowned deeply in response.

"Just turn the bastard over to Ibiki! You know how good he is at interrogation! It is of the upmost importance that I teach Naruto everything he needs to know before the Akatsuki decide to move!"

"It's...it's complicated. I can't just turn her over to Ibiki, it wouldn't work." Jiraiya's eyes suddenly got a knowing twinkle.

"Her?" Realizing that she'd said too much, the godaime hung her head. He chuckled loudly and hopped down into the room.

"Dear Tsunade-hime, what have I told you about meddling?"

"Shut up."

"If it's that important to you, why don't I bring her along? You can assign a jounin to keep an eye on her while I train Naruto." She groaned for the second time that night.

"That won't work either. One, the girl can't walk. The bones in her legs are far too damaged for me to do anything about it, and nothing short of regeneration will fix them. Two, there isn't a jounin on the force who would take this job that I can afford to let go." Jiraiya frowned in thought.

"You know, now that I think about, this could really work out for the best. If Naruto is able to get the information from the girl before the three years are up, we could attack Orochimaru before he transfers to Sasuke and attacks us! By that time, Naruto will be plenty strong enough to take on Akatsuki and Sasuke. I'm a genius!" Tsunade blinked in frustration.

"Did you not just hear a word I said? The girl cannot walk. She will never walk." She said, speaking in a voice she'd use as if she were talking to a toddler. "And there isn't a jounin on the force who I can afford to let go. Must I repeat it again, baka?" The man chuckled and waved his hand.

"So her bones are practically dust. Big deal." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "Tell me Tsunade, how does your Genesis Rebirth technique work?" Tsunade stared at him as if he'd grown a third head.

"You should remember, you helped me make it! By releasing the chakra stored up in my forehead seal, I can instantly heal all of my wounds and even regrow limbs and organs if I need..." At this point her eyes widened in realization. She jumped to her feet and began to pace around the office, arms flailing around in excitement. "That's it! If we can recreate the same technique on Tayuya, She'll easily be able to restore her bones to their previous state! Jiraiya, you're a genius!" He smiled and nodded in agreement.

"I know, I know, you don't have to tell me." After her initial excitement wore off, she immediately slouched back on to her desk.

"But how will it work? We don't have the time for her to build up the chakra on her own, and neither of us has enough chakra to force into the seal ourselves. Hell, we don't even know how to cancel the technique after the required healing is complete." Jiraiya grinned as if expecting this response.

"Are you forgetting who I am? Besides the number one super pervert of Konoha, I am also a master of seals. I'm much more experienced than I was when we created your technique, Tsunade-hime. Give me a week and I'll cook something up. As for the required chakra...I happen to know a certain genin who has more chakra than an entire ANBU squad." She smirked.

"You really are a genius, you know that?" The hermit flashed her one of the true smiles he reserved for those closest to him.

"I know, dear, I know. Now, you'll have to find a jounin on your own Tsunade-hime, but you can leave the seals to me." Noticing that she was lost in her own thoughts, he snuck up behind the slug sannin and quickly groped her breasts. 'Ah, still as lovely as I remember!' he sighed before slipping out of the window. It wasn't until five minutes later that the hokage realized what he had done.

"JIRAIYA!"

'10:59. Where the fuck is he?'

Tayuya glanced at the clock again, sighing wearily to herself. Here she was, dressed and ready to go, and he was nearly half an hour late. Not that she was in any hurry to go on a cross village journey to the Academy with the blond idiot. No, she simply wanted to get out of this cold, impersonal room and out into the warm air of Konoha. Her eyes darkened slightly as she remembered the small spat they'd had last night. She was starting to believe that he wasn't even going to show, something that strangely upset her. 'I don't even know what the hell he was so angry about' she thought, remembering the extremely cold voice he had regarded her with. The genin sighed again and flopped back onto the bed, resigning herself to a day of lounging. Suddenly, she noticed a piece of bright orange cloth resting on the ground beside her. She stretched out to pick it up and recognized it as the same jacket Naruto had loaned to her the night before. 'Tch, the idiot forgot to take his shitty jacket with him.' She fingered the thick material of the coat. Glancing at the door one more time to make sure no one was coming in, Tayuya lifted the jacket to her nose and took a slight whiff. 'It smells like...ramen?' A sudden opening of the door surprised her out of her thoughts, and she quickly threw the garment back onto the floor. Tsunade's apprentice stepped through the door and blinked in surprise.

"Sorry, I thought you'd be gone by now." The woman glanced at the clock resting on the table to Tayuya's left. "Where's Naruto-kun? Aren't you two supposed to go to the Academy today?" Instead of answering, the girl snorted and looked away, occupying herself with watching a few bluebirds hop around and titter on the windowsill. Shizune smiled and moved to check the genin's medical chart. "I know you're waiting for him. You can't fool me." Again, she didn't reply. "He's strong, you know. He took on Orochimaru twice." The medic nin muttered, attempting to bait the girl into a conversation. She still had her suspicions about the former sound nin after all.

"Tch, yeah right." The older woman smirked behind the chart. Hook, line, and sinker.

"Oh, it's true. Once during the Chuunin exams, and once when he accompanied Jiraiya-sama to find the hokage." By this time, she had the genin's full attention. "Yep, he even learned one of the Fourth's legendary techniques in only a week." Okay, so she was stretching it a bit. He'd actually only learned the last step in a week, and required the use of a clone to execute it. But she didn't need to know that. Tayuya on the other hand was floored. She wasn't from Konoha, but she'd definitely heard of the Fourth Hokage. It was hard not to hear about a man who killed over a thousand Iwakagure ninja in under ten minutes. Not to mention that every now and then Orochimaru would mutter things about the Yellow Flash stealing his rightful position as the Hokage.

"You're shittin' me." Shizune shook her head.

"Nope. I also heard that he defeated Sabaku no Gaara, the demon vessel of the Shukaku." Tayuya's jaw was practically on the floor by now.

"...Are we talking about the same Naruto? Blond hair, stupid face, gay ass bright orange jumpsuit?" Tsunade's apprentice nodded and set the chart back in its resting spot near the end of the bed. "Huh. Maybe he's not as stupid as he looks. He's still one lucky fucker to face Orochimaru twice and live."

"I assure you, luck had nothing to do with it." Before the genin could say anything else, Naruto burst through the door, breathing heavily as he tried to form a coherent sentence.

"Sorry...Late...Overslept..." He breathed between gasps. Shizune smiled fondly at her surrogate little brother. He glanced up and grinned widely at the woman. "Hey, Shizune-nee-chan!" She nodded in response and slipped out of the door to hide her growing grin. She could always come back later and find out what she needed to know about the girl.

"You'd better hurry up and get to the Academy, Naruto-kun! Your friend looks a little antsy." The medic called from over her shoulder. The blond stared at Tayuya and lifted an inquiring eyebrow.

"Uh...ready to go?" He asked, scratching nervously at the back of his head. Tayuya scowled at him, but nodded. He quickly grabbed the wheelchair resting by the doorway and wheeled it over to his teammate's bedside. "Do you think the kids will be mad that we're late?" The boy inquired, setting her down in the chair. She shrugged slightly and picked up the orange jacket she'd discarded earlier, draping it haphazardly over her lap.

"Who gives a shit. It's not like they can do anything about it."

"Well, since you don't care, I'll make sure I tell them it's your fault."

"W-what? Oh, hell no. You're taking the fall for this one."

"I thought you didn't care?"

"I don't. I just don't like being blamed for shit I didn't do."

"Sounds like fear to me." With a well place elbow to his side, Tayuya quickly ended the argument. She frowned and pointed towards the door.

"Push."

"Yes, Tayuya-hime" he drawled sarcastically, dodging another elbow.

To say that the kindergarteners were upset would be an understatement. Every single one of the children were glaring maliciously at the teens, even causing Naruto to take an unconscious step back. The chuunin instructor shot them a look of pity before quickly performing a Shunshin out of the room.

"Bastard..." Tayuya mumbled, glaring at the spot where the chuunin had previously been standing. She was broken from her thoughts when a large book was shoved into her hand, and the same little girl from the day before hopped into her lap without a word. Not wanting to provoke the children into doing something rash (Because they were, in fact, demons in disguise) the genin immediately popped open the book and turned to where they left off. Naruto had already settled himself among the kids, although he glanced nervously at them every few seconds. Yep, the little bastards were definitely demons.

"Tayuya...uh...can you start reading?" Her escort asked, motioning towards the impatient (and murderous) looking students. She nodded and cleared her throat harshly before beginning.

"Everyone knows where we left off, right?" After receiving a stiff nod of consent from the kids, she continued. "Just as he was about to enter his home, a golden fox appeared and snarled angrily at the snake. 'Let her go!' the fox boomed, taking a large step forward. The giant white snake smiled and looked down at the fox. 'Little fox, do you think that you can defeat me in battle? Run along before I eat you too!'" She made sure to change her voice to fit the characters, actually somewhat enjoying herself. It sure beat sitting an hospital bed all day.

The children gasped and murmered amongst themselves. If the snake ate the fox, what would happen to the princess? She took a quick surveying look around the room before continuing. "The fox was afraid, but he stood his ground. He launched himself at the snake, only to be knocked into a tree by the snake's giant head. The princess gasped in horror. 'No! Not my friend the fox!' She screamed, struggling against the snake's tight hold. 'Don't worry about me, save yourself!' But the fox only shook his head and smiled. 'As long as I have an ounce of breath left in my body, I will always protect you.' Frowning, the snake launched himself at the wounded fox. 'I told you to not to meddle, and now you shall die!'" Tayuya glanced up at the clock and grinned evilly to herself. She snapped the book shut and set it down in her lap. "Sorry kids, it's snack time!"

Every jaw in the room dropped, including Naruto's.

"Not again!"

"Tell us what happens to fox!"

"Please?"

The red haired genin only shook her head and smiled. "Blame Naruto for getting us here late." The children's eyes drifted over to the genin sitting nervously in the middle of the classroom.

"Ah...I overslept?" He whimpered, not liking the glares he was getting.

"GET HIM!"

The sound of the Kyuubi container's screams could be heard all over the village, giving a few old women heart attacks and causing visitors waiting to get into Konoha to flee in terror.

Chapter 4

Ten minutes and one beat down later, the genin made a quick retreat out of the Academy.

"Ow...who knew kids that small could hit that hard?" Naruto asked, rubbing at a bruise on his cheek. Thankfully, he'd managed to protect his more sensitive areas from the irate kindergarteners. Tayuya snorted.

"Serves you right for being late, bastard." He grunted in response. They walked along in silence, a fact which didn't go unnoticed by the redhead. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she glanced up at Naruto. Amazingly enough, all of his bruises and cuts had already healed from his earlier beat down. 'Holy shit, no wonder he survived after facing Orochimaru!' Her eyes traveled from his injuries to his deep, cerulean eyes. While he was certainly aware of what was going on around him, his mind was quite obviously somewhere else. She could see the faraway look in his eyes, and couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about.

Naruto on the other hand was deep in thought, completely oblivious to the curious stare of the ill-tempered girl. His hands tightened around the handles of the wheelchair as he thought of his fight with Sasuke. He hadn't had much time to think about it, only briefly reflecting on his feelings before falling asleep or while training. However, Sasuke's words constantly reverberated in his head. 'You are my closest friend, Naruto...and that is why I must kill you.' It just didn't make any sense! Why would he want to kill his closest friend? His blank gaze hardened slightly as he thought about his training. While he would try his hardest to become strong, it was hard to deny the cold hard fact that he would never be able to match Sasuke if they met again. The bastard was getting training from one the Legendary Sannin, after all. For the first time since he became a genin, Naruto felt weak.

Tayuya was getting a kick out of the emotions playing over his face. First, he looked angry, then sad, then confused, then angry again before his face finally settled on depressed. She sighed and rolled her eyes in disgust. The idiot was probably thinking about Sasuke again. An odd feeling of jealousy resounded in her heart. If there was one thing she hated in life, it was being overlooked. Orochimaru had done it plenty of times with issues regarding the Sound Five, especially when it came to Kimimarou. After he'd arrived, her leader couldn't stop talking about how great his bloodline limit was, or how easily he would crush Konoha when the time came. Hell, if the bastard hadn't fallen ill before Orochimaru could transfer into his body, she doubted the snake would have given her any decent training at all. She'd be damned if Naruto overlooked her in favor of the faggot Uchiha.

"Oi, shithead! Wake up!" A few of the older villagers stared in shock at the girl's random outburst, appalled that the new generation of ninja had such filthy mouths. Much to her chagrin, the boy made no movement to show that he'd heard her. She scowled in annoyance. How dare he ignore her? Using all of her strength, she launched an elbow straight into his unsuspecting gut.

"Ouch! What the hell, Tayuya?" He yelled, rubbing at his stomach. She noticed with some satisfaction that the pain didn't seem to disappear as quickly as it did when their temporary students beat him up.

"If you'd stop dreaming about your gay lover, maybe I wouldn't have to elbow the shit out of you!"

"I-I'm not gay!" Naruto yelled, eyebrows furrowing in anger. Just the thought of being with Sasuke sent a disgusted shudder through his body. Tayuya was more than amused at the reaction she got from him. She made a mental note to insult his sexuality more often.

"Hey, you don't have to prove it to me. What you and the faggot Uchiha did before he turned traitor is your own damn business. Where the hell are we going, anyway?" She asked, cutting him off before he could come up with a retort. A strange smile appeared on his face, almost as if he was never thinking about the Uchiha or her insults to his manhood.

"The best place in all of Konohagakure!" He exclaimed, pumping an energetic fist into the air. The corners of her mouth involuntarily twitched upwards at his upbeat expression. Though she'd never admit it to anyone, his smile was extremely infectious.

When Naruto said he was taking her to the best place in all of Konoha, she thought he was taking her somewhere truly magical. A secluded lake, an extremely upscale restaurant, or hell, even the local park. Never in a million years would she have ever guessed a ramen stand. Her eye twitched in annoyance.

"Oi, Oji-san! Two bowls of miso!" The blond yelled, wheeling Tayuya into the small ramen stand. He didn't notice her clenching hand or her viciously annoyed expression; not until she attempted to jab him in the balls, anyway. Luckily, he was just quick enough to take a hasty step back.

"Baka! I thought you said we were going to the best place in all of Konoha?" She complained, slightly irked that she'd missed her target. Naruto looked dumbfounded at her question.

"But...this is the best place in all of Konoha! The people here are really nice, and the food is the best! Just give it a chance, I swear you won't be disappointed! Please, Tayuya?" He whimpered, using the infamous puppy dog eyes. The redhead sighed harshly and hung her head in defeat. Between his pitiful expression and large, pleading eyes, it was hard to deny the boy his ramen. She doubted that she could hate him anymore than she did right now. Wait, scratch that. There was no possible way that she could hate him anymore than she did right now.

"Fine. This shit better be damn good, or so help me I'll..." She said, allowing the ominous threat to hang in the air. Naruto grinned brightly and picked her up out of the wheelchair, setting her down on an empty stool. 'Well, at least it smells good.' She thought, staring hungrily at the variety of toppings spread out behind the counter top. After a few days of eating nothing but hospital food (Otherwise known as shit), ramen was a much welcomed change. Drool slowly began to seep out of the corner of her mouth, and her stomach began constricting painfully in hunger.

"Uh, miss?" Tayuya quickly snapped out of her hunger-induced coma to see a teenage girl with brown hair staring at her in concern. She didn't look like a ninja, so she was obviously a civilian. But why the hell would a civilian be talking to her? Caught off guard, the genin said the first intelligent thing that came to her mind.

"Wha?" The civilian girl smiled brightly and lifted her notepad.

"I asked if you were ready to order."

"Oh, uh, sure. I'll have whatever the hell he's having." She said, jerking a thumb at the blond sitting to her left. Ayame nodded and relayed the order to her father, an old man with a seemingly gentle disposition. She could almost see why her escort liked the place. Despite its small size, the restaurant had a very cozy feel to it. It wasn't until a few seconds later that she realized Naruto was staring at her with something akin to shock. "What the fuck are you looking at?" She asked, suspicious of the awe-struck expression on his face.

"You...you don't want veggie ramen?"

"Veggie ramen? What the fuck would I want that shit for?" He continued to stare at her as if the answer was obvious.

"Well, aren't you watching your figure?"

"ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?" Tayuya exclaimed, causing the old man to grimace in sympathy for the poor boy. Though he seemed like a pretty good ninja, the boy clearly had no skill with the ladies. Naruto on the other hand waved his hands in front of him defensively and subconsciously inched his way onto the opposite edge of the stool.

"N-no! It's just that well, Ino and Sakura-chan are always on diets, and they always say that ramen's too fattening and that Sasuke-teme won't like them if they eat it and that if Sasuke-teme won't like them they'll never be happy and if they're not happy then I won't be happy cause then they'll want to beat me up for making them fat and-" He rambled, hoping to avoid another beat down. Even if she was crippled, a woman scorned was still dangerous. She almost smirked at his fearful expression.

"I get the idea, dipshit. I just think it's stupid. Why the fuck would a kunoichi need to be on a diet? Shit, we jump through trees and train nearly every day of our lives."

"That's exactly what I said! But then, Sakura-chan would just hit me on top of the head for being stupid." He said, shrugging and turning to the freshly made ramen the chef had just set down in front of them.

"Itadikimasu!" Naruto exclaimed, wasting no time in grabbing his chopsticks and eating. He shuddered in pleasure as the noodles slipped down his throat. "Ohhh, that's good." His partner watched in mild horror as he slurped, sipped, and gobbled his way through the entire bowl while at the same time relaying the gory details of his latest mission to the old chef.

'Damn, and I thought Jirobou could put it down fast. This guy puts the fatass to shame!' She thought, jaw nearly scraping the counter top.

"Ne, Tayuya, you should eat before your noodles get cold. They're not as good when they're all soggy and stuff." He said, already halfway through his second bowl. She was slightly amazed that he even remembered she was there. After all, it seemed as if he was in his own little ramen-filled world judging by the stupid grin plastered on his face as he ate. Deciding to take his advice, she broke her chopsticks and dug in with a quiet 'Itadikimasu.' She placed a few of the noodles into her mouth, swishing them around a bit to get a good feel for the taste. She chewed the noodles slowly and swallowed. An eager Naruto watched nervously as the girl inspected and thoroughly examined the noodles. "Well? What do you think?" He asked, trying not to look too interested.

"Hm. Pretty good." Tayuya shrugged and grabbed a larger serving, stuffing them haphazardly into her mouth. Okay, so she wasn't the most refined eater in the world.

"Really?" The girl nodded and swallowed again.

"Yep, best damn ramen I ever had." Of course, she neglected to mention that it was her first time ever eating professionally made ramen; cup ramen didn't count. Her escort grinned widely.

"I think I can like you." He said, slurping a mouthful of noodles down his throat. The redhead sputtered noisily and choked on her ramen.

"W-what?" Naruto turned Tayuya and gave her a wide toothy grin. A grin that looked disturbingly similar to Rock Lee's.

"I said, I think I can like you. There are no bad people among ramen lovers." The girl scowled and bopped him over the head with her good hand, sending him plowing face first into his half finished bowl of soup.

"Dobe, don't say shit like that when I'm trying to eat!" She angrily stabbed at her noodles and swallowed another large mouthful. Her escort grumbled and picked his face up out of the now empty bowl.

"Why do girls always hit me when I give them compliments?" He whined, wiping at his face with the collar of his shirt. She grinned into her soup at his pitiful expression. Even if he was a dumbass, he was at least an amusing one. Drinking the last of her soup down, she glanced at the blond out of the corner of her eye.

"Who's payin' for this stuff anyway?" Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out Gama-chan.

"I am, of course!" Tayuya snorted slightly at his extremely goofy purse. Just when she thought he couldn't look any stupider, he pulls something like this.

"How can you even afford this shit? I thought you were dirt poor." He pouted and crossed his arms in front of him with a very childish expression his face.

"Hey, I'm not poor! I still have a lot of money left over from when we fought Zabuza and Haku. And then that mission where I went to beat up Gaara, when I brought back Tsunade-obaa-chan, and then when we tried to bring back Sasuke." He shrugged and motioned for another bowl of ramen. "I haven't even cashed in my other mission payments." Tayuya blinked stupidly at the boy.

"So why the fuck are you wearing clothes that make you look a goddamn kunai target?" Naruto grinned weakly.

"I like the color orange." She narrowed her eyes, but let the subject drop; for now. For some reason, that explanation didn't quite fly with her. It didn't matter to her though; eventually, she'd make him get some new clothes. Maybe if he actually looked like a ninja, she'd have more faith in his ability to beat Orochimaru.

Tch. Yeah right.

(fifteen minutes and five bowls of ramen later; one for Tayuya, and four for Naruto)

"Ahh, I'm stuffed!" Naruto exclaimed, patting his stomach contentedly as they walked (and rolled) down the street. Nothing made him feel better than five or so bowls of Ichiraku Ramen; not even being able to land a hit on Sasuke when he had his Sharingan activated. He faltered momentarily at the thought of his former teammate. Even when he wasn't here he managed to haunt his thoughts.

"Where the hell does it all go?" She asked in wonder. While Jirobou could probably (She couldn't judge how much Naruto ate after only meal with him, after all) stuff down twice as much as her escort, for his reasonably small stature he'd eaten quite a load. The boy shrugged again, an action which was very quickly annoying the former sound nin. He'd shrugged, grinned, or completely brushed off nearly everything she'd asked for the past few days. She pushed those thoughts aside and glowered up at Naruto. "Go somewhere with water."

"Huh?" Tayuya bit back a groan, instead opting to roll her eyes.

"Fuck, you're slow. We're going to train aren't we? Find a place with some water."

"Yes, Tayuya-hime." He grumbled under his breath as he made a sharp left turn into the residential district.

"Stop calling me that, jackass."

"You call me way worse names!" She gave him a rather unladylike snort.

"That's because you deserve it, dumbfuck!" Her breathing had become shallow, and her face was lightly flushed with rage. Screaming at the top of your lungs does that to a person. She couldn't help but feel extremely annoyed with the blond. There was just something so...annoying about him! Not even Kidomaru could piss her off to the point of screaming; well, not everyday at least. She'd usually just break an arm or three to get him off of her back, but she couldn't do the same to Naruto in her current condition. Unfortunate, that.

"We're here!" Naruto yelled after what seemed like a minute later. Tayuya snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head in disbelief. Either he'd put on a major burst of speed since she'd screamed at him, or she really needed to stop zoning out. Taking a quick look around, she noticed that they were standing near a small stream set well into a large cluster of trees. There was plenty of shade from the tall trees in the area, and a few large, smooth stones littered the bank of the river; perfect for a picnic or quick break between training sessions. The place looked relatively undisturbed, and she couldn't stop the curiosity that welled up inside of her. Damn her uncanny need to understand everything about the world around her. Damn it to hell.

"How the fuck did you find a sweet ass place like this?" She asked, fighting to keep from sounding desperate. "And if you shrug one more time I'll rip your motherfucking spine out." Okay, so much for not sounding desperate. He frowned slightly at her words. He didn't so much mind the language as he did the threats and insults that came along with it. It was starting to remind him of Sasuke (though he'd never actually used the word "dumbfuck").

"This place? Ero-sennin brought me here when he was teaching me water walking." Tayuya bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking at the nickname.

"Ero-sennin?"

"Yeah. He's really strong, but he's a super pervert. Why'd you want me to find a place with water?" The girl frowned slightly in thought.

"Well, since you already know how to walk on water, the only thing I can think of right now is training on the water." Naruto cocked his head in curiosity.

"Train on the water?" Tayuya nodded and lifted her good arm into the air, a signal that she wanted to be picked up. After he walked over and picked her up out of the wheelchair, she pointed towards one of the larger flat rocks resting by the bank of the river. He (not so gently) set her down and jumped back to avoid her deadly left hook.

"Careful, idiot!" She shouted, rubbing lightly at her rear end. He crossed his arms in indignation.

"Tell me what to do." Shooting one last piercing glare at her escort, she cleared her throat and raised her chin a little higher, subconsciously assuming a teaching role.

"I already did. Walk onto the water, get into the stance I showed you yesterday, and fight against a shitload of Kage Bunshin." Naruto blinked dumbly at her.

"What the hell will that do?" Tayuya sighed loudly. Maybe if she could slip into the water and drown before he noticed, she could end her prolonged torture. She almost wished that she had chosen to go with Ibiki; at least they'd only annoy her a few hours a day.

"Are you stupid, or are you just trying to piss me the fuck off?" She asked, giving him her most even glare. When he cocked his head again, she decided that he was just stupid. They'd definitely have to work on his brainpower over the next few years. "Okay, you know that you have to expel a certain amount of chakra to stay afloat, right?" The blond nodded. "Now, imagine expelling chakra for nearly an hour straight, while at the same time staying focused enough to fight one of your own kage bunshin and trying to remember the stance I taught you yesterday." A little light bulb seemed to appear above his head.

"I get it! I can improve my chakra control while at the same time working on my taijutsu! Man, I wish someone had taught me this before!" He exclaimed, pulling off his shirt and shoes. As soon as he'd rolled his pants legs up to his knees, he hopped onto the water-and immediately sunk to the bottom. The redhead sweatdropped and shuffled closer to the edge of the rock.

"Oi, dobe! I thought you said you could walk on water!" She waited for a few seconds before speaking. "Hey, Naruto! Did all that ramen make you too heavy to float?" She yelled again. A slight feeling of worry began to make its way into her stomach. He'd been under for at least a minute by now. "Naruto! This shit ain't funny!" By now, she was right on the edge of the rock, peering down in worry at the water. If he drowned, she'd be pretty much stuck alone in the middle of nowhere. She couldn't walk, and crawling would be too dangerous considering she didn't know the area well at all. Hell, she didn't even know if she was safe here! If the Forest of Death had giant snakes, tigers, and poisonous insects, who's to say that they weren't inhabiting these woods too? Just as she was about to panic, a sudden blast of water hit her square in the face, followed by a laughing hyperactive blond.

"Hahaha! You should see your face!" Naruto shouted, rolling around on the grass next to the rock. "Oh man, I can't believe you fell for that!" While he was laughing, he didn't notice Tayuya's clenching fist, or the fact that she'd shuffled her way within a foot of him. That is, until she punched him so hard he rebounded off of an adjacent tree and fell right back into the river.

"Don't you ever. Ever. Do that again!" She practically screamed through clenched teeth. His grin immediately disappeared as he crawled back onto the bank of the river.

"I was just playing around..." He stated, keeping a few feet away from the seething redhead. Tayuya struggled to calm down, even going as far as to dig her fingernails into the palm of her hand. His 'joke' brought back painfully alarming memories of being abandoned as a child. It wasn't until Orochimaru found her that she had finally felt a glimmer of hope for the future. He'd offered her protection, power, and best of all, an escape from her own desperate loneliness. It wasn't until he had used the cursed seal against her that she realized exactly how much she meant to her leader; absolutely nothing. After a few seconds of deep breathing, she finally managed to calm down enough to just glare coldly at him. Naruto stifled a gasp. Her eyes were the same as his own; laced with loneliness and pain. As quickly as it had appeared, it vanished. "Sorry."

"Just start training. It's going to get dark in a few hours." She shuffled back onto her rock and lie down, already tired of dealing with the many personalities of Uzumaki Naruto. 'Shit, guess I'm still not at full health yet.' The girl almost laughed out loud at the irony of her statement. The familiar sound of kage bunshins coming into existence reached her ears, signaling that the boy had finally decided to start training. She opened her eyes briefly to make sure that his form was correct, and was surprised to see that it was flawless. For a dead last idiot, he was an extremely fast learner. Perhaps she could even teach him a few jutsu when she got her right arm out of the cast. Granted, most of her jutsu were related to her flute, but she at least had a few defensive doton jutsus for back up. They would come in handy if Orochimaru decided to bust out some of the heavier katon jutsus he had in his vast collection. Tayuya watched as he ducked, weaved, dodged his shadow clones, every minute or so dispelling them one at a time. He'd started with five to warm up with, and after he easily took those down he doubled the number of clones to ten. A few minutes after, he had nearly twenty different shadow clones fighting him at once, all of them managing to stay afloat. Hell, most jounin couldn't even create twenty kage bunshins without suffering from chakra exhaustion, and here was a mere genin creating them by the buckets without even breaking a sweat. Despite being loud, annoying, and downright obnoxious, he truly was a remarkable kid. A small, pleasant feeling made itself known deep down in her heart-something she hadn't felt in years.

Hope.

Chapter 5

Every part of his body ached. He trudged home on the dark, empty streets of Konoha, occasionally stopping to give his legs a quick break. After spending a few hours training (and "accidentally" splashing Tayuya with water), Naruto wanted nothing more than to get home, take a shower, and possibly get a few dozen hours of sleep. Alas, it was not to be.

"Naruto!" He almost groaned in agony as he turned around to greet the person that had called his name. Why couldn't people ignore him when he wanted to be ignored? His eyes widened in near disbelief when he saw a familiar tuft of pink hair running full speed in his direction.

"Sakura-chan? What are you doing out this late?" The girl panted briefly before grinning and standing up to her full height.

"Guess what? I asked Tsunade-sama to teach me medical ninjitsu, and she agreed!" Sakura practically screamed, her green eyes bright with excitement. Naruto playfully pouted and crossed his arms across his chest.

"No fair! First Sasuke gets training from the snake bastard, and now you get training from Tsunade-obaa-chan! Everyone's getting trained by a sannin except for me!" His teammate stuck her tongue out mockingly.

"Looks like it'll be up to me to bring Sasuke back, ne Naruto? You can be my back up." The boy lifted his chin and shifted into a slightly heroic pose.

"Ha! I'll become stronger than both of you! I'm getting training from someone better!" Sakura tilted her head in confusion. She hadn't seem him hanging out with anyone except for the loudmouthed redhead. A feeling of dread settled in the bottom of her stomach.

"You don't mean that foulmouth, do you?" He shrugged his shoulders and started to walk home, motioning for her to walk with him. After the initial excitement of seeing his crush for the first time in three days wore off, he suddenly remembered exactly how tired he was. His knees threatened to give out on him at any moment, and the only thing he wanted to see was the back of his eyelids.

"Tayuya? She's not that bad. She even fixed my taijutsu stance!" Unfortunately, his teammate failed to share in his enthusiasm. The girl frowned and shook her head.

"Naruto, I don't like her. There's something...off about that girl." Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head. If she found out that Tayuya was one of the ninja who helped kidnap Sasuke, there's no telling what would happen. The entire village would be after the former sound-nin, and himself by association.

"What do you mean, Sakura-chan? She's okay once you get to know her."

"Don't you remember? She said we'd never be able to beat Orochimaru. I don't think you should hang out with someone that has such a negative attitude." The blond resisted the urge to sigh in relief. Thankfully, she didn't even suspect that she was a former enemy ninja. "She also has a strange aura about her. Where is she from, anyway?" Of course, he spoke too soon.

"Ah...well, Kakashi-sensei found her on the outskirts of the village. Someone attacked her." He said, trying not to lie to his crush. Half the truth is better than none-Says Jiraiya, anyway. 'As long as she doesn't ask what village she's from, I should be fine.' With this resolve in mind, he picked up his pace a bit.

"Oh, that's horrible! What village is she from?"

Damnit.

"Uh...oh! There's my apartment building! Later, Sakura-chan!" Before she could answer, he gathered as much chakra as he could muster (Which wasn't much) into his feet and sprinted towards the safety of his apartment, ignoring the screaming pain in his legs to avoid the questions of his teammate. Sakura stood stunned in the middle of the street. This was strange behavior, even for Naruto. He scaled the stairs with practiced ease, not stopping until he was right in front of his own door. He felt bad about abandoning his crush, but brushed the guilty feeling off and moved to unlock his door. Once inside, the boy shed his clothing and trudged the few steps to his bathroom. The apartment was very small, only containing a bed, table, small kitchen area, and a bathroom. A few potted plants were hung haphazardly in front of the window, contrasting greatly with the shabby state of his living quarters. It wasn't much, but it was home.

He turned on the faucet of his shower and breathed a heavy sigh. If he can help it, Naruto never misses a shower. To him, showers are something sacred; the blistering hot water piercing his back always relaxes him, and somehow manages to push all of his troubles behind him. It is the only time he's able to fully let his guard down, and he wouldn't trade these fifteen minutes of bliss for all the jutsu in the world.

...well, that may have been stretching it a bit, but he wouldn't trade his shower time for anything less. He turned around and leaned his back against the wall, reveling in the comfortable atmosphere of the shower stall. His mind unwillingly began to drift to the day's events, briefly recalling every move or action he'd made during his training. It didn't take long for him to remember the grief-stricken face of Tayuya when he'd pretended to drown, nor the bone-chilling glare she'd given him when he emerged. He made a mental note to never play a prank on her again. At least, ones that involved faking death. Still, he wondered why she would even care if he drowned or not. In their time together, she barely seemed to tolerate him, let alone care for his well-being. Chalking it up as another 'girl' thing, he reached for his shampoo bottle and squirted a generous amount onto his messy mop of hair. He used his nails to fiercely scrub his scalp, although he doubted his hair was very dirty. Especially since he spent the better part of the evening submerged in a river.

'I have to do something to make it up to her.' he thought, quickly hopping out of the shower and slipping into his night clothes. It was a warm night, so he decided to allow his body to air dry. He dove under his sheets and attempted to quickly fall asleep. If he lie awake too long, he'd begin thinking of Sasuke. His brain would continue to replay their time together in his mind, searching for the point where he had gone wrong with his surrogate brother. As far as he could tell, Sasuke had been content working with he and Sakura-chan. Searching for lost cats, trying to find out what was under Kakashi-sensei's mask, catching a quick bowl of ramen after a mission; all of the things they enjoyed doing together as a team. He clenched his fists in anger. It was all Orochimaru's fault. That snake bastard was going to pay for taking away one of his precious people. He swore on his life, Orochimaru would die.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Tayuya grit her teeth in annoyance. After refilling her pitcher for the night, the nurse had failed to turn the water faucet all the way off. She'd had an incredibly hard time falling asleep; the only thing that calmed her mind enough to sleep was the image of her ogres beating the shit out of the neglectful old witch. Even after she'd constantly pushed the call button for nearly an hour, the elderly bitch hadn't come back to the room. The girl let loose a frustrated growl, banging her head back against the wall to block out the monotonous noise.

"Please don't do that. You just recovered from your head wound a few days ago." Tayuya snapped her head around to look into the amused eyes of the slug sannin's apprentice. Between the constant banging of her head and the dripping faucet, the genin hadn't noticed that someone entered the room.

"Off!" She screamed, her features dripping with desperation. Shizune tilted her head in confusion.

"Off?" The woman asked, lowering Tayuya's medical chart to glance at the girl.

"The faucet! It's driving me batshit!" With an understanding nod, the medical ninja quickly walked over to the sink and twisted the handle until the dripping stopped. The girl closed her eyes and sighed with relief.

"How long has this been on?" She asked, frowning slightly. It wasn't like the nurses to be so neglectful of their patients.

"All. Fucking. Night." Shizune's brows furrowed in disappointment.

"Do you know who the nurse was?" Tayuya lifted a curious eyebrow. She was certain the woman knew that she was one of the four Sound ninja who had an indirect hand in killing the Third Hokage.

"Some old bitch with wide-ass bottlecap glasses. Why?" The young woman lifted the medical chart and began scribbling away at a few things. Based on her description, it was the same nurse who'd lost her grandson in the joint attack by the Sand and Sound. Perhaps it wasn't so smart of the Hokage to let the veteran nurses know who the girl was.

"Tsunade-sama doesn't tolerate ill-treatment of patients. No matter where they're from." She said, purposely looking up at the genin. "Chances are, she'll be fired for prejudicial neglect." Tayuya smiled evilly at this statement. In the end, the last laugh would be hers. Nothing in life was better than revenge.

"Ha! Serves the bitch right." She yawned widely, not even attempting to cover her mouth. Now that the noise had stopped, she was finally able to get a few more hours of sleep. Her eyelids slowly began to droop, a fact which greatly amused Shizune. After giving the girl a quick checkup, she quietly slipped out of the room and headed towards her master's office. She was more than looking forward to the nurse's (literal) ejection from the hospital.

(Three hours later)

A small shadow crept along the halls, stealthily making its way towards the second floor of the hospital. It soon reached the door to room 223; the very same room that held the former young kunoichi from the Sound. Twisting the doorknob slowly, the figure slipped into the room and gently shut the door behind them.

'Finally, you get what's coming to you...' The person thought, grinning maliciously. The grin slipped momentarily as they noticed she was asleep. 'Damn, I thought she'd be up by now. Guess I have to...'

"Naruto? What the fuck are you doing?" The blond nearly jumped out of his skin when she spoke.

"Gah! I thought you were asleep!" She lifted an eyebrow and eased herself up into a sitting position. Eyeing him carefully, she noticed a small bag hanging from his right hand.

"Dumbass, just because I can't use my legs doesn't mean that my ninja senses have dulled any. I was part of Orochimaru's elite guard." Tayuya deadpanned. She narrowed her eyes a bit in curiosity as she noticed that he was snickering. "What?" Naruto pointed to his left cheek and grinned.

"You have a little something on your face." Her hand shot up to her cheek to feel a sticky wetness smeared all over the left side of her face. She realized in horror that it was her drool. Unwillingly, her face began to heat up in embarrassment and she turned around to wipe the fluid off with the hospital bedsheets. She also raked her fingers through her hair in a sad attempt at giving it some order. Her hand suddenly froze in mid-stroke.

'What the hell am I doing?' She wondered, quickly bringing her hand back down to her lap. For some reason, she felt humiliated that he had seen her in such a disheveled state. Her pride feeling somewhat bruised, she turned back around and practically snarled at the boy.

"Quit laughing at me, you lowlife cocksucking motherfucker!" Naruto blinked in surprise. She'd never used three insults in succession before. Something in the back of his mind told him that she was mad; perhaps it was his common sense. He held up his hands in a placating fashion.

"I wasn't laughing at you, it's just that you looked so funny that..." The boy paused in mid-sentence, briefly reflecting on his words. "Oh, I guess I was laughing at you." Before the girl could say a word, he held up the bag hanging from his right hand. "Wait! I brought food!" Her mouth snapped shut in surprise. He'd brought her lunch? She fought to say something, anything, but the words somehow managed to escape her. Instead, she settled on a questioning glare. Grinning, Naruto reached into the bag and (unsurprisingly) handed her a large plastic container of ramen. Luckily, it was still warm.

"Uh...thanks?" Tayuya mumbled, her anger temporarily forgotten. His grin widened as he pulled up a chair. He reached into the bag and handed her a pair of chopsticks.

"I didn't know what kind you'd want, so I asked oji-san to make me a Super Deluxe Naruto Special. It has almost everything in it!" The boy exclaimed. The redhead nodded and quickly broke her chopsticks. She was deathly hungry, especially since the nurse had "forgotten" to give her breakfast. Without wasting any time, she uttered a blessing and dug in. Naruto watched amazed as she voraciously inhaled the noodles, barely stopping to breathe. Every now and then, she'd stop to wipe her mouth (she had to maintain some sense of elegance after all) before returning full force to the food. Approximately two minutes later, Tayuya leaned back with a content sigh.

"Shit, that was good." She smiled and closed her eyes to relish in the warm feeling of the soup swimming around in her belly. She refused to acknowledge that the feeling could have possibly come from his act of kindness.

"Ne, Tayuya." The redhead lifted an eyelid to look at him.

"What?"

"I was wondering...about yesterday..." He muttered, looking anywhere but at her face. She opened both of her eyes and turned her head to look at him.

"What about it?"

"Nothing, just wondering if you were still mad." A grunt resounded from the back of her throat. It was hard to believe that he was still worried over something that happened a day ago.

"Why do you care?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Naruto shrugged and finally lifted his head to look at her.

"Just do." Tayuya fought the urge to growl.

"No, I'm not mad. I'm still going to kick your ass, but I'm not mad." He grinned in relief. If she was still mad, she might not teach him anything else. She pushed herself back into an upright position and set the bowl down on the tray next to her. "What are you doing here anyway? It's Saturday. You don't have to take me to the Academy." The boy gave her a confused glance.

"Aren't you still going to train me?" Tayuya blinked. She honestly didn't expect him to be able to train after the brutal exercise she'd put him through the day before. The girl sighed loudly. Though she was secretly glad to be leaving the hospital, she didn't want him to know it.

"Well, if you want me to go, you have to get my shit out of those cabinets." She said, pointing towards the opposite wall. He walked over to cabinets and began to open the various doors. He soon emerged with a few folded pieces of clothing.

"This stuff?" She nodded and took the clothing from him. Naruto pulled the curtain separating the room and plopped down on the other bed. Unable to help himself, he watched her silhouette in mild awe as she quickly pulled on her pants and ninja sandals. It was quite a feat considering that she only had one available hand. A small blush crept onto his face as he watched her pull the hospital gown up and over her head. He couldn't see much, but just the thought of her baring her chest in the same room was enough to get his heart pumping a fraction of a second faster. He shook his head ferociously and growled. 'What am I doing? I'm not a pervert like ero-sennin!' He thought, turning his entire body so as not to be tempted to look again.

A small curse floated from the other side of the curtain. While it was easy for Tayuya to slip on her pants and shoes, the long sleeved shirt required the assistance of a second person. She'd only been able to get her left arm through the sleeve, leaving the right side of her shirt hanging on her shoulder. Even worse, the bastards hadn't even given her a bra. Blushing mildly, she cleared her throat and glanced hesitantly at the curtain.

"Uh...Naruto?" She muttered, barely believing what she was about to ask him. "Can you uh, help me?" Naruto choked and nearly fell off of the bed.

"H-Huh? Why do you need my help?" The girl nervously bit her lip. He was the last person she wanted to help her, but with her nurse's head on the chopping block, she doubted that there was anyone around to receive her call. With a resigned sigh, she shifted around so that her back was facing the other side of the room. She'd be damned if he got a peek at her more "valuable" assets.

"Just get the fuck over here!" Naruto grunted and pulled back the curtain. "Help me put my arm through the sleeve. And be careful!" He nodded (although she couldn't see it) and hesitantly reached for her injured arm. Though he tried not to, he couldn't help but stare at the rich, ivory skin of her back. As he loosely grasped her arm, he briefly registered that it was his first time actually touching a female's skin; Getting punched in the face by Sakura didn't count. His thumb gently slid over the smooth surface of her arm.

"Soft..." Naruto whispered unknowingly, eyes wide with interest. Tayuya tensed in mortification, feeling her blush deepen and spread across her cheeks. He was only the second male to compliment her on her physical appearance; not counting Sakon's offhand comments about how disgustingly graceful she looked while sparring.

"W-What d-did you just say?" She stuttered, cursing her tongue for its impudence. Naruto blushed and quickly slipped her arm into the sleeve of the dark blue shirt.

"Nothing! Ready to go?" He asked, abruptly turning to grab the collapsible wheelchair from the corner of the room. His cheeks burned red with embarrassment at his unintentional confession. On the other side of the room, Tayuya wasn't faring any better. As it usually did, her bashfulness was soon replaced by anger. How dare he try to cop a feel when her guard was down? When he reached down to pick her up, she launched a (not so) fierce blow into his gut. "Oomf! What was that for?"

"For tryin' to feel me up!" She screamed, more angry at herself for holding back on the punch. Her conscience was really starting to become a problem.

"I wasn't trying to feel you up! You're the one who asked for my help!" He retorted. She huffed and lifted her arm to be picked up, a silent acknowledgment that he'd won. For a dumbass, he sure knew how to make a good point. Even someone as argumentative as she couldn't come up with a plausible enough comeback. He reached down again to pick her up (Though warily) and set her down in the flimsy wheelchair. "Where are we going today?" Naruto asked as he wheeled her out of the room. She shrugged and leaned back in the chair.

"Who gives a fuck. I can't teach you anything else in this state anyway." The chair slid to an abrupt stop, nearly throwing her headfirst to the ground.

"What? There has to be something you can teach me!" He yelled, eyes wide with desperation. If this was as far as she could take him, Sasuke was going to wipe the floor with his ass.

"Well, there is something...but, I don't think you'll be able to handle it."

"Tell me! I can do it!" Tayuya smirked.

'He's so easy to manipulate! Hell, I bet I could get the bastard to strip if I wanted him to!' She thought, her smirk growing a bit lecherous. She quickly dismissed that train of thought before it went places she didn't want to go. It's not like he had anything to show off anyway. "Alright, I'll tell you. But only on two conditions. One, you can't complain even once about the training." He snorted with amusement. As if he would complain about training. "And two, you're not allowed to quit. That means no taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu until you've completely mastered this exercise. Got it?"

"That's it? This'll be-" He suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence. Something didn't add up. If he wasn't going to be doing taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu, then what else was there to learn? He narrowed his eyes slightly in thought. Though he certainly wasn't a genius, he wasn't nearly as stupid as he led others to believe. Even he could smell a trap a mile away. "Wait a minute! This training must be something I won't like if you gave me those conditions." Tayuya's jaw nearly dropped into her lap. Since when did the dobe grow a brain? She quickly regrouped and attacked from another angle.

"Who gives a fuck? Either accept my conditions, or I don't train you." Naruto grimaced. While he had identified the trap, there was no clear way out of it. With a resigned sigh, he began pushing her towards the hospital elevator.

"Fine, you win." She smiled in triumph. At least that evened the score.

"Ne, Tayuya, what are you going to teach me?" Naruto and Tayuya were currently resting on one of the large, flat rocks sitting near the river. They hadn't moved since they had arrived; which was around fifteen minutes ago.

"Have you ever heard of Leaf Concentration?" She asked, resting her head on the rock. Her escort's jacket was propped up behind her head as a makeshift pillow. She still hadn't given him his jacket back, and decided that she would keep it until he asked for it. It's not like he didn't have others at home. Naruto gave her a confused look.

"Leaf Concentration? How does that work?" She grinned and reached onto the grass for a leaf. After finding one, she motioned for him to come closer.

"I'm surprised you've never done it. Orochimaru told us that it was taught in the Academy." She sat up and placed the leaf on her forehead. "The object of this exercise is to keep the leaf from falling off of your forehead. In order to do this, you must concentrate all of your chakra onto the leaf." The boy frowned deeply.

"Wait, you're teaching me that? Iruka-sensei tried to teach me that when I was in the Academy! It's boring!"

"Did you ever learn how to do it?"

"Uh...no..." He mumbled, hanging his head in shame. Tayuya laughed.

"That explains why your chakra control is so shitty. You'll never beat Orochimaru if you can't use your chakra effectively." He snorted and crossed his arms.

"How does this help my chakra control?" She knocked him over the head with her cast.

"I was getting to that part, dumbass!" She cleared her throat and assumed the teacher role once again. "This exercise actually trains concentration. By concentrating all of your energy on the leaf, your mind is able to focus much more efficiently, thus improving your chakra control. Do you get it?" He nodded and plucked the leaf off of her forehead.

"It's kind of like when I was learning the Rasengan from Ero-sennin. When I drew a leaf onto my hand, I was able to pop the ball much easier than I did before." She blinked in confusion.

"Uh, sure, whatever. Just get to work." He stuck his tongue out but placed the leaf on his forehead anyway; only to have it slip off a moment later. He placed the leaf on his forehead again, achieving the same results. After twenty five or so failures, Tayuya sighed and slammed her head into her hand. "It's obvious that we're not getting anywhere. Look, try this. Cross your legs and close your eyes. Remember, this is an exercise in concentration. Block out everything except the leaf."

"This is too hard!" He whined, sticking his lip out in a pout. She bopped him over the head again.

"Remember the conditions? If you don't do this, I won't teach you anything else. Sasuke will fuck you up and make you his bitch without my help." Naruto grit his teeth in anger. Though he hated to admit it, she was right. There was no way he could get strong enough on his own, and she knew a lot about Orochimaru's training methods; the same methods he would be using to teach Sasuke. He sighed and did as she said, much to her amusement. 'Two for me, one for you.' Amazingly enough, he was able to hold the leaf on his forehead for three seconds before it finally floated down into his lap.

"I did it!" He screamed in triumph. She frowned and knocked him over the head again.

"Idiot, you have to hold the leaf on your forehead for at least an hour before we can move on."

"Nani? That long? But that'll take forever!" She shrugged and motioned towards her legs.

"I'm not going anywhere. The longer it takes you to master this exercise, the easier it will be for Sasuke to kick your ass. Now get back to work!" He mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'slavedriving bitch' before placing the leaf on his forehead and closing his eyes. Tayuya watched in mild awe as his time increase from a few seconds to a few minutes in only half an hour. When Orochimaru taught her this exercise, it took her the whole day to hold the leaf for ten minutes, yet he was going to beat her time in only an hour! Of course, she was much more impatient and fiery than Naruto was when she learned this exercise, but it was amazing progress nonetheless. With his eyes closed, she figured it was safe enough to finally examine his features in detail. The first thing she examined was his unruly sunny blond hair. Blonde was an incredibly rare color in the East, and she'd only seen three people with that hair color in Konoha; The current Hokage, Naruto, and the picture of the Fourth hanging on the wall in the Hokage's office. She briefly wondered if Naruto and the Fourth were related but quickly waved it off. As if that idiot could be related to someone as legendary as the Yellow Flash. She recalled reading about the Yamanaka clan in her earlier studies with Orochimaru, and remembered that they too had blond hair and blue eyes. Perhaps he was a Yamanaka? She momentarily toyed with the idea, but again dismissed it. As far she knew, he didn't know any mind-transfer techniques. Instead of pondering his origins, she decided to ask him about it later and move on before he opened his eyes again to complain.

Her eyes slowly traveled from his hair down to his strange whisker marks. After making sure he was still concentrating on the leaf, she leaned forward to get a better look at them. At first, she thought the whiskers were simply drawn on with face paint. Now that she was close enough to study them in detail, she was able to see the shallow grooves the lines made in his face. 'Huh. That's a weird birthmark.' She thought, fighting the urge to reach out and touch them. 'Maybe his clan specializes in ninja cats or something.' She snickered quietly at the thought and decided to finish looking at the rest of his features before she distracted him with her giggles. Tayuya leaned back again to take in his whole face.

Combined with the whisker marks and his furrowed brows, his face seemed almost feral in appearance. His eyes were slightly slanted like a fox's, and her mind quickly conjured up the image of a ninja fox arranging his paws in a cross to perform the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. She shook her head to clear the image, lest she break out in a fit of giggles. Her imagination could certainly be strange when it wanted to be. Just as she was about to finish her assessment of his appearance, Naruto's body suddenly slumped over, causing the leaf to float harmlessly to the rock below them. 'What the fuck?' There had been no visible indication that he was about to fall asleep, or she surely would have smacked him awake before he did.

"Naruto! Hey, shithead, wake up!" She yelled, smacking him a few times on the head. When he didn't move, a small inkling of concern wormed its way into the bottom of her heart. "This had better not be another joke, Naruto! Wake up! Hey!" She stretched her arm out and splashed a little water into his face, hoping to at least get a small reaction from the blond. "This isn't fucking funny anymore! Wake-"

"Maybe you should let him sleep for awhile. He looks pretty tired, don't you think?" Tayuya snapped her around to the tree behind them.

"Who's there! Show yourself!" She yelled, reaching for Naruto's weapon pouch. She grabbed a kunai and held it in front of herself and Naruto defensively. Her eyes widened when a ninja sauntered out of the trees, a wide grin nearly splitting their face in half. "You!" The ninja chuckled softly and brought a kunai of their own out, spinning it nonchalantly by the ring.

"My, my. What will you do now, Tayuya?"

### Chapter 6

"Misumi," Tayuya snarled through clenched teeth. Out of all the ninja in the Sound village, he was the one she least wanted to see. Orochimaru had sent him, along with Kabuto and Yoroi, to infiltrate the Chuunin Exams and study all of the genin to find potential warriors for the growing village of the Sound. Only Kabuto had returned, so she'd long since perceived them as dead.

The Sound nin pulled down his face mask and grinned. He was wearing simple black ninja pants, a black long sleeved shirt, and a black Sound chuunin vest. "I'm pleased to hear that you remember me, Tayuya-chan," he said, readjusting his glasses. She felt her lip curl at his jeering use of the -chan suffix.

"What the fuck are you doing here? Orochimaru wouldn't send someone as pathetic as you to finish me off." He laughed and hopped down from the tree, continuing to spin the kunai on his ring finger.

"Still as lively as ever, I see. Actually, Orochimaru-sama didn't assign me this mission. I requested it." She narrowed her eyes and inched closer to Naruto.

"He still wouldn't send your feeble ass alone to kill a former member of the Sound Five."

"You're right; Despite my protests, he insisted that I bring Yoroi along with me." Tayuya cursed audibly, her eyes darting around in every direction. There was no possible way that she could defend against two ninja in her current state. Hell, she barely stood a chance with just one. As if sensing her distress, the Sound nin waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, Tayuya-chan. After seeing your current injuries, I sent Yoroi on ahead to report our success to Orochimaru-sama." Satisfied for the moment, she glanced out of the corner of her eye at Naruto.

"What the hell did you do to him?" She growled, making sure to keep the contortionist in her sight. He chuckled loudly at her question.

"Genjutsu. According to Kabuto, the boy has little to no talent for it. It was easy to place him under a low-level sleeping illusion." She winced slightly at his words.

'If we get out of this alive, I'm going to spend a whole fucking month teaching him genjutsu,' She thought, quickly forming a seal to cancel the genjutsu. Before she could tap Naruto on the shoulder to wake him up, Misumi appeared behind them and picked the blond up by his shirt.

"Tsk, tsk. Have you really fallen so far as to rely on an idiot like this?" He asked, grinning down at her mockingly. "Tell me, what is he to you?" She narrowed her eyes and scoffed. Thinking quickly, she concluded that it would be best for both of them if Naruto was able to live. Even if she died, he could at least fulfill her dream along with his own.

"He doesn't mean shit to me. I was simply using the fool to help me escape. Nothing more, nothing less." He stopped twirling the kunai and smiled.

"That's a relief, I thought you had finally gotten over me. You still love me, don't you, Tayuya-chan?" She grit her teeth in anger, greatly resenting his cutting remarks. Though she hated to admit, Tayuya had been quite smitten with the jounin. Granted, she was only nine at the time while he was practically an adult. The others had always teased her for her infatuation with the man, often calling her things like 'Reverse Pedophile' and 'Grave Robber.' It wasn't until he had ridiculed her for her ability to play the flute that she realized exactly how fucking stupid her admiration of him was. It was also the day when she resolved to squash all of her weaker emotions in favor of power.

"Fuck you." He shook his head in mock exasperation.

"You haven't changed a bit, Tayuya-chan." He glanced up at the sun before returning his attention to the girl in front of him. "While I'd love to catch up on old times, I really must be going. Yoroi's probably worried sick by now." With a sickeningly sweet grin, he stabbed the kunai into Naruto's heart and tossed him into the stream. Tayuya's hand went limp, causing the kunai to clatter harmlessly on the rock below her. She watched helplessly as blood-his blood-turned the small stream a shallow shade of red.

"NARUTO!" She screamed, her eyes involuntarily tearing up. For the third time in her life, she felt all of her hopes shatter into a million pieces. All her plans of killing Orochimaru and parading his head around on a stick were sinking to the bottom of the stream along with her partner. She curled her hand into a fist and snatched the kunai up off the rock "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" With an angry swipe, she cut a large gash into the Sound-nin's thigh. He grimaced slightly and jumped back far enough to avoid any further attacks from the irate redhead. After making sure the wound wasn't too deep, he angrily stomped forward and picked the girl up by her throat. The condescending glint in his eyes was replaced by unbridled rage.

"That wasn't wise, Tayuya," he snarled, tightening his grip on her neck. She tried to stab at him again, but he viciously backhanded her hard across the face. The kunai slipped from her fingertips as her head snapped back from the blow. "I was going to kill you fast, bitch, but now I'm going to make you suffer." He knelt down next to the stream and plunged her head under the water. Tayuya didn't bother struggling; as far as she was concerned, she was already dead. Not only were her legs fucked up, but all of her hopes and ambitions for the future had died along with Naruto. Worst of all, he had died because of her. As the edges of her vision began to darken, she smiled and closed her eyes with deep remorse.

'I'm sorry, Naruto.'

"Gah...what the hell happened?" Naruto sat up and groggily opened his eyes. It took a few seconds for them to focus, but it took half that time to realize exactly where he was. He immediately recognized the dank, sooty walls and the dark, murky waters that made up the sewers of his mind. However, The broken pipes were dripping a little faster than they were before, and he noticed with some alarm that the area around him was slowly darkening. The only consistent light was the familiar red glow resonating from the Kyuubi's cage around the corner. He briefly weighed his options, and decided that visiting the Kyuubi was a much better idea than waiting to see what happens next. Sighing loudly, he reluctantly dragged his feet towards his prisoner. After what seemed like hours of walking, he finally stood before the giant golden gates that held the nine tailed fox.

"Oi! Baka-kitsune! What's going on?" He yelled, trying to see into the dark recesses of the cage. He was slightly worried that the nine tailed fox had somehow managed to escape, and was currently on another rampage through Konoha while he was trapped inside of his own mind. A pair of glowing red eyes appeared from behind the bars, putting his worries to rest.

"We're dying, brat." Naruto blinked in surprise. He wasn't expecting a direct answer from the fox, and he certainly wasn't expecting to hear that he was going to die.

"Nani? What do you mean we're dying? What the hell did you do?" The Kyuubi growled lowly at the boy. It was just like a human to blame someone else for their mistakes.

"I didn't do anything. It's because of your own clumsy negligence that you were stabbed through the heart by the enemy." By now, Naruto was frantically pulling at his hair. Death itself didn't scare him; it was the thought of the people he would be leaving behind that worried him.

"Shit! I can't die here! I have to bring Sasuke back! I have to marry Sakura-chan! I have to become the Hokage!" He suddenly stopped in front of the cage and glared up at his prisoner. "You're supposed to be the almighty Kyuubi, right? Do something!" What looked like a scowl appeared on the demon's face.

"You've got a lot of guts to talk to the strongest of the Great Demons like that, brat." It narrowed its eyes in thought. Perhaps this situation could somehow work out in his favor. "Look, kid, we have to act fast. This seal prevents me from releasing enough of my chakra into your system to heal you. If you release the seal right now, it will be easy for me to rebuild your heart." Naruto felt himself sweatdrop.

"I'm not that stupid." The Kyuubi made a movement that looked suspiciously like a shrug. Deciding to take what he could get, the demon fox attacked from another angle.

"Fine. How about a deal?" Naruto's ears perked up at this proposition.

"A deal? What kind of deal?" He asked, glaring skeptically at the beast.

"I want more power." Before the genin could speak, the Kyuubi quickly continued. "But it's not what you think. As you can probably imagine, it gets fairly boring in here after awhile."

"So what is it that you want? Hurry it up, baka-kitsune!" The monster growled with considerable annoyance. If all humans were this annoying, he might honestly reconsider the offer he was about to make.

"Silence, mortal!" He roared, effectively shutting the boy up. "What I want is freedom. I want to see, smell, hear, taste, and feel everything that you do. I also want to be able to communicate with you, so that I can prevent any more of the foolish predicaments you tend to get yourself into. In return, I'll tell you how to access more of my chakra and rebuild your pathetic human heart." Naruto frowned in thought, trying to figure out what the bastard fox was up to. He was just about to agree when he suddenly remembered Gaara's situation, and how the Shukaku would constantly taunt and torment the jinchuuriki in his mind. There was no way in hell he would let the Kyuubi drive him crazy. The mischievous grin that suddenly appeared on his face made the Kyuubi slightly nervous.

"Fine, I accept your deal on one condition; I'm allowed to silence your voice whenever I want to." An angry growl resounded from the other side of the bars, confirming the fact that he'd exposed the demon's plan. It was obvious that the beast didn't have time to come up with another angle, as the light in the room was slowly beginning to diminish. He smiled cheekily and clasped his hands behind his head. "Well?"

"Fine!" The beast roared, deciding to cut his losses and try again at a later time. Red chakra slowly began to seep out of the cage, bubbling up against Naruto's feet. Soon, the chakra hardened and grew, propelling him upwards towards the seal.

"Nani? I already told you that I'm not removing the seal!" The beast sighed and shook his head.

"Idiot. You have to weaken the seal in order to receive more of my chakra. Hurry up, I can feel your body weakening!" Nodding to himself, the genin reached a trembling hand towards the seal. Very carefully, he made a miniscule tear on the corner of the small piece of paper. The effect was immediate. A torrent of chakra shot towards the opposite wall, drowning the entire room in a malevolent sea of energy. Naruto found it incredibly hard to breathe, let alone move in the fluctuating surge of raw power. The Kyuubi roared with laughter at his jailor's shocked expression.

"What...what was that?"

"That," He started, grinning with conceited pride, "Was approximately one hundredth of my power, brat." The blonde's jaw scraped the ground. He knew that the demon was powerful, but this was fucking ridiculous! He suddenly had ten times more respect for the Fourth Hokage's strength; it couldn't have been easy to defeat a monster with such an insane amount of chakra. "...get going, and let me have some fun!" Naruto blinked, realizing that he'd completely missed whatever his prisoner had to say.

"Uh...yeah. Sure."

"...You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" The Kyuubi deadpanned. If he wasn't so disoriented, the boy would've laughed at the annoyed expression on the demon's face. A sigh escaped the beast, and with a swing of his paw, another wave of chakra shot Naruto out of the room and into the blinding light that made up his conscious.

Tsurugi Misumi was having a wonderful day. Except for the shallow gash he had received from Tayuya, everything was going perfectly. His target was basically a one-armed vegetable, and as an added bonus, he had just killed the boy that Orochimaru had been bitching about for the past two months. He smiled and readjusted his glasses with his free hand. Orochimaru was sure to promote him to jounin for such an exceedingly successful mission. Absolutely nothing could ruin his day; not even a large, glowing red claw protruding from the stream and heading straight for his face.

...Shit.

Before he could blink the claw slashed him vertically across the face, sending both he and Tayuya sprawling across the ground. "What the hell?" He yelled, bewilderment clear in his voice. Tayuya, who had landed a few yards away from the chuunin, immediately began gasping for air. She didn't know what the fuck had happened, but she wasn't about to complain. After she regained a bit of her breath, she too began to look around the small tree-covered field for her savior. What she saw next astounded her. Naruto, who had just been stabbed through the heart by Misumi, was slowly rising out of the stream. A vicious swirl of red chakra surrounded him, turning the gentle water around him into steam.

"Naruto?" She asked, her voice wavering with fear and disbelief. A gasp escaped her when he turned his blood red eyes upon her trembling form. His pants were ripped off at the knees, and for the first time she noticed the spiraling seal on his stomach. The thin whisker marks of his cheeks now looked like abysmal scars, and his sharp pointy teeth were bared in her direction. If he didn't look so abominably scary at that moment, she might even say that he looked hot. Kami, she had some weird fetishes.

"Tayuya, Are you alright?" He asked, taking a concerned step towards her. As if moving on its own accord, her body quickly shuffled further into the forest, trying desperately to get away from rancorous looking boy. His voice was different; almost animalistic in tone. Immense pain flashed through his eyes at her actions. It was the same look the villagers gave him every day of his life, but it hurt ten times more when it was someone he actually cared about. Instead of taking another step towards Tayuya, he turned ferocious eyes upon the screaming man to his right. The Sound nin was viciously clawing at his face, desperately trying to put out the chakra induced flames caused by Naruto's initial blow. Naruto sauntered over to the fallen ninja with a furious smirk on his face. He was going to enjoy this. "Does it hurt?" He sneered, stopping in front of the man. He launched a powerful kick into the shinobi's gut, sending him back first into a tree. An audible crack was heard on contact.

"Stay back, demon!" Misumi gasped between breaths. The Kyuubi empowered genin laughed bitterly.

"Is that how you beg for your life?" Naruto grabbed his head and slammed it face first into the ground. "Is it?" The man lifted his head and glared pitifully at Naruto.

"I'd never beg before a demon." The boy snarled and lifted him into the air by his neck.

"Wrong answer." He thrust a clawed hand through the Sound nin's chest, instantly killing him. He stood there for a few minutes in that position, feeling Kyuubi's chakra slowly begin to drain from his system. His hand was still sticking out of Misumi's back, and blood ran in torrents down his forearm. It briefly registered in the back of his mind that it was his first kill; However, he was more concerned with the shivering girl staring at him with wide, fearful eyes. With a forceful pull, he wrenched his arm from the man's chest. The wet squelching sound seemed to snap her out of her daze as she suddenly seemed to notice the gaping hole in her former comrade's ribcage. He threw the body as far as he could towards the stream.

"What...what are you?" She asked with fearful trepidation. Despite witnessing (And being the cause of) the death of over a hundred people in her lifetime, none had ever been as gruesome as this one. She unconsciously burrowed herself further into the tree behind her as he began to walk in her direction.

"Tayuya...please, I-" Before he could finish his sentence, his legs suddenly gave out on him, causing him to crumble into a heap on the ground.

"Naruto!" Tayuya screamed, immediately concerned about the blond despite her fear. It took her a few minutes to stop her body from trembling, but she eventually managed to ease herself onto her stomach. Using her left arm, she slowly crawled her way towards Naruto. Her body seemed to be fighting against her every move, and it was through sheer willpower alone that she was able to reach him after what seemed like hours of crawling. She slid her body around so that she was leaning over the boy's head. It took her a few more minutes to get her nerve together, yet she somehow worked up enough to courage to reach a shaky hand towards his neck. She quickly checked for a pulse and let loose a small sigh of relief when it throbbed powerfully against her fingertips. At least he was alive. She gently lifted his head and shuffled herself under him, allowing him to rest against her lap. Her body still quivered a bit with fear, but she ignored her anxiety in favor of the boy sleeping deeply between her legs. She pushed a few loose strands away from his eyes and smiled. "Thank you."

The Godaime Hokage sped through the rooftops at an alarmingly fast pace. Nearly every ninja above the level of chuunin had felt the evil chakra, and were now heading towards the outskirts of the village.

"Tsunade-sama!" An ANBU Captain suddenly appeared to her left, his squad following closely behind him. His face was hidden by a mask, but his fear was evident in his movements.

"What is it?" She noticed he seemed to hesitate before he spoke. It was obvious that it was something she didn't want to hear.

"Tsunade-sama, the other captains and I feel as though it is in your best interest to return to your office. Please allow us to handle this."

"No." The Captain groaned from behind his mask. It was common knowledge to anyone who'd seen Naruto and the Hokage together that she had a major soft spot for the boy. There had even been rumors that she'd given him the First Hokage's necklace. Despite the obstacles, he was determined to make her see reason.

"Tsunade-sama, please try to understand, the boy could be dangerou-" Without breaking her stride, Tsunade threw a lightning fast fist into the ANBU Captain's face, breaking his mask and sending him spiraling towards the ground. The other members of his squad wisely slowed down enough to get out of striking range of the Slug Sannin.

"Temper, Tsunade," A voice chuckled. She snarled and threw another angry fist to her right. Jiraiya barely managed to duck under the blow. "Relax, I'm not trying to stop you!" He exclaimed, placing his hands into the air as a sign of peace. "On the contrary; I'm just here to help. He is my student, you know." The woman's glare softened.

"Do you think he's alright?" She asked, using chakra to gain a little extra speed. Jiraiya smirked confidently at his former teammate and matched her pace.

"I know he is." Seemingly satisfied with his answer, she turned forward and put all of her energy into reaching Naruto as fast as she could.

When they arrived in the clearing, the sight that met them was devastating. It wasn't the abnormally large craters or ruptured trees that surprised them; no, it was the copious amounts of blood and the mutilated body lying near the stream that sent a small sickening wave through their bodies. The Hokage slowly made her way towards the corpse, Jiraiya and a few ANBU squads close behind. She turned the body over and let loose a small sigh of relief. Judging by his headband, the man was from the Sound. She was immensely thankful that it wasn't one of their own shinobi, as that would've put her in an extremely difficult position. Except for the gaping hole in his chest and five large gashes across his face, there weren't many other injuries on the corpse.

"Tsunade-sama! We've found him!" Immediately forgetting about the corpse, she ran over to the ANBU officer's position.

"Where is he?" The woman's eyes scanned the clearing until they landed on Tayuya. The girl had her back to them, but a small bit of blond hair was peeking out from her lap. Fearing the worst, Tsunade rushed over to the genin. As she arrived, Tayuya slowly turned her head from Naruto to look up at Tsunade. Her face was eerily void of any emotion, but the woman noticed with some concern that she was trembling. She knelt down in front of Tayuya and placed a gentle hand against Naruto's jugular. "He's alright," she said, letting loose the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She moved to pick the boy up, but the redhead only tightened her grip on his head, glaring weakly at the woman.

"We need to get them to the hospital," Jiraiya said, appearing behind her. His teammate nodded her head in agreement and began performing seals. The girl showed no signs of releasing the boy anytime soon.

"I'll have to knock her out. She's having a mild combat stress reaction, otherwise known as shell shock. It's probably her first time experiencing something as malevolent as Kyuubi's chakra. Right now, Naruto is the only thing she is familiar with and is acting as her security blanket. Moving him could worsen the condition." Her hands began to glow a mild green, and she placed her palm onto the girl's forehead. Tayuya's grip on the blond immediately loosened as she fell forward into Tsunade's arms. She picked the girl up and motioned for Jiraiya to do the same with Naruto, causing him to raise an amused eyebrow.

"I thought you'd want to carry Naruto yourself," he chuckled, slinging the boy over a shoulder. "Don't tell me you've become attached to the girl already." The woman scowled and motioned one of the ANBU officers over.

"Clean this place up. I want absolutely no evidence of what happened here to get out to the public. Do you understand?" The female officer bowed her head in confirmation. Even she understood what would happen if the villagers found out about the genin using Kyuubi's chakra. The chaos would be insurmountable.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade nodded and turned towards her former teammate, whom she noticed had adjusted the boy into a much more careful and comfortable position when she wasn't looking. Smirking slightly, she nodded in the direction of Konoha.

"Let's go."

Chapter 7

"Tsunade-sama!" The Hokage fought the urge to groan. For the past two days, she had been receiving complaint after complaint about the Kyuubi's chakra surfacing in Konoha. Though most of the ninja complained about Naruto being a threat (and were promptly removed from the premises via defenestration), she had been pleasantly surprised to see that a few of them voiced a concern for the boy himself. Ibiki, Kotetsu, Izumo, and Genma were among the most surprising. She hadn't been aware that they'd even met the boy, let alone liked him. Pushing those thoughts aside, she lifted her head to resentfully glare at the ANBU officer standing in front of her desk. The masked ninja took a discreet step back before clearing his throat. "Homura-sama and Koharu-sama are here to see you."

This time, she did groan. They were the last two people she wanted to see at the moment; then again, they were the last two people that she ever wanted to see. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that she wouldn't like what they were going to say. It was almost as if they were put on this Earth just to oppose her. She dropped her head back into her folded arms. "Tell them I'm at the hospital."

"But, Tsunade-sama, they-"

"Is this how you address your problems? It's no wonder the village is in shambles!" Utatane Koharu said, waltzing into the office. She was followed by Mitokado Homura, and her expression was one of great disgust and animosity. "If Sarutobi couldn't get rid of us, what makes you think that you can?" The ANBU officer gawked from behind his mask. The fact that anyone could stand up to the often irritable Hokage was nothing short of astounding. He quickly performed a shunshin out of the room before things got ugly between the Hokage and the council members.

"Now, Koharu, we're not here to discuss her poor leadership of Konoha." Tsunade's head shot up to glare at the aging council members.

"What do you geezers want?" Koharu sniffed and walked towards the windows overlooking the village. She glanced at the Hokage from the corner of her eye, subtly watching her reaction.

"Don't drag this out anymore than you have to. You know exactly why we're here." The Godaime swiveled around in her chair and stared longingly at the ground below, letting out a tired sigh. The day was going so well, too.

'I wonder if a fall from this height could kill me...' she wondered, seriously considering making a break for it. Homura placed a firm hand on her shoulder, immediately squashing any ideas she had about getting away.

"What do you plan to do about the Kyuubi container? The shinobi community is in an uproar, and rumors are beginning to spread to the civilians," he said. Tsunade smirked inwardly and straightened up in her chair. She was afraid that they were going to demand the immediate exile or death of Naruto, not give her a chance to explain her own ideas. She might be able to end this quickly after all. Especially since she hadn't informed them of his training mission with Jiraiya.

"Actually, I've already come up with a plan that will satisfy all parties involved." The look of genuine surprise on the elders' faces was more than enough to make Tsunade's face light up in delight. Koharu quickly regained her composure and sniffed haughtily at her statement. She was down, but she wasn't out.

"Oh? And what plan is this?" The blonde lazily leaned back in her chair, a wide grin lying arrogantly on her face. With the groundwork set, revealing the rest of the plan would be a cakewalk.

"I've arranged for for Jiraiya to take Naruto on a three year training trip. As you already know, Akatsuki isn't planning to move for another three years. It is during this time that he will turn Naruto into a shinobi capable of handling himself against Itachi and Kisame, the pair assigned to capture him." Homura nodded thoughtfully.

"He also plans to teach Naruto how to harness the Kyuubi's power, correct?"

"Exactly. Not only are we grooming a potential powerhouse for Konoha, but we're also satisfying the shinobi and civilian populations by removing their object of misplaced blame." Both elders winced guiltily. Before his defeat of Gaara, they too had blamed a few of their problems on the demon container. It took the words of Jiraiya and Tsunade combined to give the boy a chance to prove himself. Much to their chagrin, he had done so many times over. Suddenly remembering something, Koharu turned her gaze to the Godaime Hokage.

"Ah, but aren't you forgetting something? What about your plans for the Sound-nin we captured after your failed Uchiha retrieval? If I remember correctly, you assigned that boy to extract information from the girl. You can't send her-" Tsunade grinned, immediately alerting the two to her intentions. "You've lost your mind!" Homura nodded his agreement.

"I must agree with Koharu. Taking an enemy shinobi along on a three year training mission is bad enough, but taking a girl that cannot even walk? I fail to see your reasoning." The sannin's grin only widened. They were truly underestimating her intelligence, a fact which both angered and amused her.

"Who said she was an enemy?" The elders glanced at each other in shock, instantly alarmed by her mischievous grin. Turning an enemy who helped assassinate the Third Hokage into a Leaf-nin was borderline traitorous!

"You didn't!" Koharu shouted, staring at her with disdain.

"I did. The Hokage has a lot more power than I originally thought." The elderly woman sighed in defeat. She knew it was only a matter of time before the slug woman finally read over the rights and privileges awarded to the leader of the village. However, she didn't expect for it to happen this soon.

"That still doesn't explain how you're going to send her on the training trip with Jiraiya. You yourself said that you couldn't do anything about her legs," Homura mused. Finally coming down from her power trip, Tsunade molded her face into a serious expression. If she didn't want them to cause a fuss at the next council meeting, she'd need to get them on her side. Or, at least keep them from directly opposing her.

"Jiraiya and I have decided to recreate the Sōzō Saisei on Tayuya." She held up an authoritative hand to quell their arguments long enough for her to finish. "According to the girl, she has no desire to go back to Orochimaru, and he has no desire to keep her alive. Being betrayed by her former leader is sure to leave her with a marginally large sized chip on her shoulder, don't you think?" The elderly man's face lit up in understanding.

"I see! You plan to train the both of them to fight Orochimaru, correct?" Tsunade nodded and clasped her hands in front of her. They were finally catching on.

"Exactly."

"How do you know that she won't run as soon as she's healed?" Koharu shot back, jumping into the conversation. She was fighting a losing battle, but she'd damned if she let the younger woman win without a fight. The Hokage only grinned as if expecting the question.

"I'm glad you asked. Though I'm pretty sure she won't run, I've asked Jiraiya to include a special summoning seal into the Sōzō Saisei. In the highly unlikely event that she does decides to make a run for it, Jiraiya or I can immediately transport ourselves to her location." The male nodded his approval, giving her a small proud smile.

"My, you seem to have thought this through, Tsunade. Sarutobi would be proud." The woman felt herself blush at the compliment. Being compared to her former sensei was a real ego boost, especially coming from her sensei's teammate.

Koharu huffed haughtily. It wasn't that she hated the woman; hell, it was hard to hate someone who practically invented the medical ninja. Rather, it was her bad habits and abrasive attitude that rubbed her the wrong way. In her opinion, each ninja should be treated with the upmost respect and kindness. Now that she was in office, the current ninja were lucky to get a 'Good job' from the blonde. Her blind faith in the Kyuubi boy didn't help her stock much either.

"Let's not go that far, shall we? Besides, how do you expect Jiraiya to keep an eye on both the Kyuubi container and the Sound girl? At his age, he surely can't keep up with two rowdy teenagers."

"I'm going to be sending a jounin along as an escort. Not only will they be watching the girl to make sure that she doesn't escape, but they will also be a great help with Naruto and Tayuya's training. And, before you ask, I've already chosen someone suitable for the job. As I said before, this trip will satisfy all parties involved."

She sat back and let loose a large breath of relief. From what she could see, there were absolutely no other flaws in her plan. Unless of course the Akatsuki decided to attack before the three year period. Judging by the faces of the elders, they too couldn't find anything wrong with the mission. Nodding simultaneously, Homura and Koharu turned around and walked towards the door.

"Thank you for your report. We'll be sure to relay your plans to the counsel," He said, opening the door. He motioned for Koharu to follow before she could come up with something else to ask. Contrary to popular belief, he did have a life outside of nagging the Hokage. She grudgingly followed him out the door, giving Tsunade a small glare before closing the door behind her.

As soon as she was sure that their chakra signatures were gone, she grinned widely and formed a single handseal to remove the henge she'd placed over her "paperwork". Immediately, six bottles of sake appeared on her desk. She picked one of the glistening white bottles up and raised it to the air.

"Damn, it's good to be the Hokage!"

The room was abuzz with noise. The crunching of chips, yipping of a puppy, constant chattering of girls, and heavy sighs of a certain chuunin were driving Hyuuga Neji up the fucking wall. He grit his teeth in anger. Why the hell was he the only one still bedridden? From what he'd heard, Naruto was pierced through a fucking lung for Kami's sake, and he was already running around the town with some crippled redhead! He took a deep relaxing breath to calm his mind-something which was extremely hard to do with the noise coming from the other Konoha ninja.

Slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position, he calmly surveyed the others in the room. As usual, Chouji was going to town on a large bag of barbeque potato chips and showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Quickly becoming disgusted by his more than distasteful eating habits, he shifted his eyes to the wild looking boy at the foot of his bed.

Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, were desperately trying to grab one of the Akimichi's many bags of chips. Though he was loathe to admit it, the heavy boy was amazingly quick when it came to protecting his snacks. The way he managed to keep the bags just out of their reach and eat at the same was nothing short of astounding. While Akamaru was jumping up from the ground to nab one of the bags, Kiba was energetically reaching for the genin's pockets, yelling the whole time. He soon became bored with watching the dogboy and his mutt's pitiful attempts at stealing some food and turned his attention to the girls chattering away at his right.

Ino, Sakura, and Tenten were animatedly discussing some ninja rock group, and were completely unaware of anything outside of their little circle. He rolled his eyes in exasperation. He actually thought his teammate, Tenten, was above such trivial things, and was quite surprised to see that she practically worshiped this band. She was supposed to worship him, not some group of low-level-no-talent-shinobi musicians, damnit. Girls were so troublesome, as Shikamaru would put it.

Speaking of the pineapple-headed chuunin, the boy was currently staring at the clouds outside of the hospital window, sighing every few seconds and muttering about loud mouthed women. His arms hung limply at his sides, and Neji noticed with slight amusement that he was glancing down at the pavement longingly every few seconds. Judging by steady of twitching and flexing of his hands, he was probably considering jumping; something he himself wished he could do. A small squeak from his left alerted him to the last person visiting him in his room.

"A...ano, Neji-niisan...y-you s-shouldn't be sitting up. H-Hokage-sama s-says that y-you should stay i-in bed for another t-two days." Neji fought the urge the strangle Hinata.

Not that he didn't like her; their relationship had changed for the better after his defeat at the hands of Naruto. He'd finally started to see her as an equal, and not as someone who was unfit to be born into the main branch of the Hyuuga clan. In fact, he had actually become somewhat protective of the girl, making sure that she arrived home on time from her team training sessions and escorting her to her training grounds when he could.

Unfortunately, that didn't change the fact that he wanted to wrap his hands around her neck and choke her until she fell limp in his grip. Seriously, what the fuck was up with that stuttering? How fucking hard was it to form a single sentence without stammering and stumbling your way through half of it? Usually, it didn't bother him much at all, and was actually sort of endearing. However, his current condition coupled with the grating noise from the others had shattered his normally limitless patience. Deciding he'd had enough, he calmly closed his eyes and sucked in a large breath of air.

"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT, SHUT THE HELL UP! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? THIS IS A GODDAMN HOSPITAL, FUCKDAMNIT! GET OUT OF MY MOTHERFUCKING ROOM BEFORE I KAITEN THE SHIT OUT OF ALL OF YOU!"

The silence in the room was deafening. Every last one of them, even Shikamaru, stared wide-eyed at the now hyperventilating Hyuuga. None of them could believe their ears, especially Hinata. In the 13 years that she'd known him, Neji had never sworn around her! Tenten was thinking something similar, and was shocked beyond reason that the normally stoic boy had been pushed far enough to go off of the deep end. With Gai and Lee as teammates, she was genuinely surprised that it hadn't happened sooner. For a few seconds, no one moved. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Neji pointed forcefully at the door.

"GET OUT!" He yelled, activating his byakugan for effect. The ninja quickly scrambled out of the room, stepping on each other in their hurry to get away from the seething genin. As soon as the door slammed shut behind them, Neji fell back against his pillow and sighed. It seemed like fate got a kick out of screwing with his mind every chance it got.

"Geez, what was up with him?" Kiba grumbled, walking with the group after being kicked out by Neji. Tenten shrugged lightly.

"Who knows. Maybe it's something in the medication."

"That's still no excuse to kick us out of his room so rudely!" Ino screeched. She didn't take too kindly to being sworn at, let alone being told what to do. "After we went through all that trouble to visit him, too." Sakura nodded her agreement. It had been especially hard for her to get some time off as the Hokage proved to be a much harsher teacher than Kakashi could ever be. Though it was a little underhanded, she'd used visiting Neji as an excuse to get a small break before she had to make her nightly rounds. She glanced up at one of the room doors and smiled.

"Hey, we're close to Naruto's room! Why not visit him while we're in the area?" The others were dumbfounded. It was practically impossible for anyone to be admitted to the hospital twice in the same week!

"He's in the hospital again?" Chouji asked, actually stopping his eating to stare slack-jawed at Sakura. Naruto had been discharged less than a week ago, and he was more than surprised to hear that he was back already. "What for?" The pink-haired genin motioned for them to follow her down the hall.

"Chakra exhaustion. From what I've heard Tsunade-shishou tell Shizune-san, he's been unconscious for two days." Shikamaru sighed heavily in response. It was just like the blond to overwork himself so soon after being released.

"It's troublesome, but we may as well stop by. Maybe a familiar voice will help to wake him up." They all nodded their accession and continued on down the hall.

Being worried was not something Tayuya was familiar with. Since she'd met Orochimaru, she'd never had a reason to. Just as he'd promised when she met him, the sannin had given her food, shelter, and ample protection. She'd never even worried about her teammates; Each of the members of the Sound Four were more than capable of taking care of themselves, and even if they weren't, she probably wouldn't much care anyway.

However, watching Naruto's pale, motionless face stirred something within her. With every beat of her heart she felt a small constricting pain throughout her chest, and she idly wondered if this what others felt when she had killed one of their loved ones. She felt her breath hitch slightly at that thought. Did she care for Naruto? Is that why it bothered her to see him so feeble and pale? She vigorously scratched at her scalp with her fingernails.

"Shit! get a fucking hold of yourself!" She screamed. All of these thoughts and feelings were driving her crazy! She almost wished that Misumi had succeeded in killing her. Then she'd at least have some peace of mind. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. She was supposed to be resting in her own bed, but she'd insisted on staying by the blonde's side until he woke up despite the Hokage's wishes.

Tayuya chuckled bitterly at her actions. Less than two weeks away from the Sound village and she'd already become weak. Pathetic. She felt her lip curl slightly as she leaned forward to glare at his face.

"This is your fault!" She yelled, continuing to frown down at him. In the back of her mind, she felt somewhat foolish for talking to a boy that couldn't even hear her. She'd been constantly throwing taunts and jibes at him for the past few days, hoping against hope that he'd hear her and wake up. She figured that if he heard a familiar voice, it might help him find his way out of the coma faster. In reality, it'd been the Hokage's apprentice's idea.

The dark haired woman would usually visit three times a day to check up on Naruto; Once in the morning, once in the early afternoon, and once right before visiting hours ended. During her visits, she would often speak to the former Oto-nin, asking her if he'd shown any signs of pain or discomfort.

If she had the time, Shizune would also offer to bring Tayuya things that she couldn't get in the hospital. So far, the girl had only asked for a comb (her fingers wouldn't cut it anymore), a brush, and a small mirror. She'd given her the items with an annoyingly cheeky smile, but Tayuya didn't mind too much. She actually reminded her of Kabuto; a competent medical ninja with a somewhat aloof personality. The only difference was that Kabuto was a sadistically sick bastard most of time, and only did something for someone else if it would help further his or Orochimaru's own ideals. Now that she thought about it, they were really nothing alike.

Shizune hadn't been the only person to the visit in the last couple of days. The Hokage herself had made a couple of appearances. She pretended to be checking up on Naruto, but surprisingly enough, she'd been trying to talk to the redhead about what had happened during the assassination attempt by Misumi. The woman had constantly asked her if she was alright, something which greatly annoyed and alarmed the girl at the same time.

Of course, she knew why the Hokage was so concerned. An attempted murder alone was usually only enough to break the average person. Adding the malevolent chakra she'd felt pouring out of Naruto a few days prior, even a jounin level shinobi could be driven to the brink of insanity. For the first time in her life, she was proud of her mental toughness. Though the chakra had admittedly scared the shit out of her, she'd been able to quickly bounce back from the experience. It'd take much more than that to bring her down. Apparently the Hokage had seen this too, as she hadn't bothered to stop by today.

It didn't take long for her mind to shift back to the strange chakra she'd felt coming from the seemingly weak genin. As far she knew, he didn't have any special bloodlines or know any overly powerful techniques. So what was it? What she'd felt had easily put Orochimaru's tainted chakra to shame. Fuck, she bet that even Orochimaru would piss his pants if he'd gotten a full blast of that shit. She shook her head and sighed. It wouldn't do her any good to try to figure it out herself. She didn't know enough to come up with any good theories, and no one she knew seemed willing to tell her anything. On the other hand, she didn't really know anyone in the village anyway, and a third of the people she did know was sleeping blissfully unaware in front her. Another sigh escaped her. What the fuck was the big secret?

She quickly checked the door before reaching an unsteady hand towards Naruto's head. During her time alone with him, she'd found that stroking his unruly hair was disturbingly calming. It felt like a strange mix between hair and fur, something which greatly puzzled and pleased her at the same time. Naturally, she'd never tell anyone else about it. It wouldn't do any good for her reputation if someone found out. She felt herself began to relax, and a small content smirk began to form on her face. Maybe she'd ask Shizune for some scissors next time she visited. He wouldn't miss a lock or two of that disorderly mop he called hair. While she was playing with his hair, she failed to notice the teenagers standing dumbfounded in the doorway.

"...What are you doing?" Tayuya's head snapped up to stare wide-eyed at the genin. She hadn't even sensed them coming! A few of them were gawking rudely at her, and it didn't take her long to figure out why. She recognized them as a couple of the brats who were chasing after Sasuke. The fat one had killed Jirobou, and the dog boy was probably the one who took out Sakon and Ukon. There were also a few girls in the group. She was only able to identify the one with the pink hair, and remembered that she was Naruto's annoying teammate. She also noticed that the Hyuuga girl was glaring at her with something akin to murderous intent. The one with the dog was the first to speak.

"You!" He yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the former Sound nin. Tenten, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata all stared confusedly at Kiba.

"You know her?" Sakura asked. He nodded and continued to gawk disbelievingly at the girl. Akamaru began to growly lowly from inside Kiba's jacket.

"Yeah! She's one of the bastards who-" Before he could finish his sentence, Shikamaru jabbed him sharply in the ribs. "-Hey! What was that for!" He yelped. The lazy chuunin only sighed and shook his head.

"Don't. She's a genin of Konoha now."

"What? But how is she still alive? I thought you said Temari kicked her a-" The room suddenly dropped ten degrees in temperature. A fearful shudder swept through all those present, scaring even the normally calm Shikamaru into submission. Kiba slowly turned towards Tayuya with a nervous grin plastered on his face. "Ah...so...how's Naruto?" The temperature in the room dropped another ten degrees, and the dog boy wisely took a step back. Deciding to save Kiba's ass (again), the pineapple-headed chuunin stepped forward with a sigh.

"Troublesome. Look, we just stopped by to pay Naruto a visit. Has he at least moved in the last few days?" She slowly shook her head, still glaring at the cowering genin hiding behind Shikamaru. A small movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned to see the Hyuuga girl standing on the opposite side of Naruto's bed. The girl was staring down at him with what looked like...affection. The redhead bit back a snarl. Forgetting all about the idiotic genin behind Shikamaru, she turned her glare full force on Hinata.

'How dare she look at him like that? If she lays one fucking finger on him I'll-' Her thoughts were abruptly cut off when the girl reached a slightly trembling hand towards Naruto's face. As if moving on its own accord, Tayuya's arm automatically shot out and gripped the Hyuuga around tightly the wrist, startling everyone in the room including herself. She quickly snapped out of her surprise and fixed Hinata with her most even stare.

"Don't. Fucking. Touch him." The words sounded strange coming out of her mouth. She didn't trust the girl for a second. For all she knew, the Hyuuga could have been trying to assassinate the boy while he slept. The Hyuuga clan was known for being the most contemptuous family in Konoha, according to Orochimaru. She also knew that they specialized in attacks that damaged the insides of one's body. One quick strike to the heart and no one would be the wiser. Fuck, Naruto's so called 'friends' could all be in this together! In her own mind, she felt that her paranoia was justified; after all, even the most absent-minded of people would notice the glares and jibes constantly thrown his way by villagers and shinobi alike. What made this girl any different? She vehemently silenced the voice in the back of her mind telling her that she was jealous.

Hinata, along with the others standing in the room, looked taken aback for a few seconds. Surprisingly enough, she was also the first one to recover from the initial shock of the girl's abrasive statement. She gave Tayuya a fierce glare of her own, subconsciously activating the Byakugan.

"What did you say?" She asked, her voice carrying an angry edge. Who the hell was this girl? How dare she try to keep her away from her Naruto-kun? In the back of the room, Kiba was floored. They'd been a team for almost a whole year now, and he'd never heard her use such a dangerous tone of voice or speak so forcefully. Shino was right; women are fucking scary.

"You heard me. Back the fuck up." The air in the room was heavy with tension. No one wanted to be the first to speak, and no one wanted to be the one to get in the middle of the growing fight. Luckily for all parties involved, Shizune just happened to walk through the door.

"Oh! I didn't expect there to be so many visitors here this late in the afternoon." The shinobi not involved in the confrontation let loose a small breath of relief. To them, the appearance of the medic-nin was nothing short of a miracle from Kami-sama himself. The woman smiled sadly at the young ninja. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are ending soon. I'm afraid you'll have to leave for the evening." Glad to have a good excuse to leave, the shinobi nearest to the exit mumbled a farewell and quickly ducked out of the door, leaving Shizune, Hinata, Tayuya, Sakura and Naruto alone in room. Shizune stared puzzled at Hinata and Tayuya.

"What's going on?" She questioned, noticing the staring match going on between the two girls. It looked like she had arrived just in time. Hinata wrenched her arm from Tayuya's grip in a surprising show of strength.

"Nothing, Shizune-san. I was just leaving." She turned briskly on her heel and walked calmly towards the door. Before she left, she turned to give the redhead one last warning glare; a glare that clearly said 'Watch your back, bitch' to anyone who managed to see it. The dark-haired woman lifted a curious eyebrow as she gazed down at the only girl left in the room.

"You've been busy." Tayuya snorted loudly in response. "So, has he shown any signs of waking? Pain? Discomfort?" The girl slowly shook her head while Shizune quickly scribbled something down on Naruto's medical chart. She then proceeded to change his IV bag and reposition a few of the needles that had managed to slip out of his arms. After writing a few more things down on the clipboard, she smiled warmly at the crippled girl. "Do you need anything before I go?" The redhead nodded and motioned towards the empty pitcher resting on the bedside table.

"Some water." Shizune smiled again and easily filled the pitcher three quarters of the way to the top with cold water. She set it down in its original position and turned to the girl again.

"Anything else?" The genin looked thoughtful for a few seconds before noticing the pink-haired girl still standing nervously in the room.

"Yeah. Why the hell's she still in here?" She asked, jerking her thumb towards Sakura.

"Ah, that's right, you probably don't know yet. This is Tsunade-sama's new medical apprentice. Being that she serves directly under the hospital director, she has a few more privileges than the average shinobi." She glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall. "Sorry that I have to cut this visit so short, but I really must be going. I have a few more patients to check up on before the night shift starts." She hastily made her way towards the door, only stopping to glance back at the Hokage's apprentice. "Don't stay too late, Sakura-san. Tayuya needs to get her rest."

"Hai, Shizune-sama!" The woman gave her one last small smile before disappearing from the room. A small uncomfortable silence settled in the room soon after the woman left. Neither had much to talk about, and as far as they knew, they didn't have much in common either. Deciding to break the silence, Sakura gave the girl a bright smile.

"Your name's Tayuya, right? I've never heard a name like that before. Where are you from?" Though she was trying to act nonchalant, Tayuya didn't buy it for a second. Instead of humoring the girl with a glare, she decided to focus her attention on the boy who had somehow managed to save her life. Sakura's smile dimmed slightly at the obvious rejection for conversation. Inside of her mind, Inner Sakura was piping hot with fury, all but commanding her primary personality to strangle the girl until she spoke.

"I heard Kakashi-sensei found you on the outskirts of the village. Were you attacked?" Once again, Tayuya didn't bother to reply. Sakura's patience was quickly wearing thin. She didn't have long before the night shift officially started; Exactly nine minutes according to the clock. She desperately racked her brain for something that they had in common. While she was a naturally curious girl, she also felt that there was something off about Naruto's new friend. Her eyes widened in realization as she figured out exactly what they had in common:

Naruto.

She mentally pat herself on the back and rekindled her smile. Maybe if they could agree on something involving the blond, she would finally get the foulmouth to open up a little. "I feel kind of sorry for you, though. Naruto's a handful, isn't he?" Tayuya's ears twitched ever so slightly. 'Bingo,' Sakura thought, smirking triumphantly to herself. Not wanting the chance to get away, she quickly continued. "He somehow always manages to get himself into stupid situations like this. It's a wonder that he isn't dead yet." The redhead slightly lowered her head, an action which looked a lot like a nod of agreement to the Hokage's apprentice. "I can't tell you how many times Sasuke and I have had to save his ass! Just off the top of my head, we've had to save him from Zabuza and Haku on our mission to Wave Country, in the fight against Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, and Sasuke even saved Naruto from Gaara in the attack on Konoha!"

She paused for a moment to gauge Tayuya's reaction. The girl's shoulders were trembling; probably trying to fight the urge to laugh. She felt a bit of guilt for telling a complete stranger all about Naruto's shortcomings, and decided to defend him a bit before the girl got the wrong idea. "Don't get me wrong, though. He's a great guy once you get to know him, and really loyal and friendly. If only he'd stop goofing off or stop asking me for dates all the time - " She noticed that the redhead flinched a bit violently at that statement, " - and actually trained, he might be a better shinobi."

That did it. Tayuya whipped her head around so fast that she was certain she gave herself whiplash. Sakura subconsciously took a small step back after seeing the vicious look on her face. "SHUT THE FUCK UP. YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT NARUTO, YOU FLAT-CHESTED LOW-CLASS BILLBOARD BROW!" Sakura's jaw felt like it was touching the floor. One moment the girl was laughing along with her, and the next she was spouting off insults! She put on a scowl of her own as she felt righteous anger build up in her chest.

"What the hell do you mean I don't know Naruto? He's been my teammate for almost a fucking year, and you've only known him for a week at the most!" She screamed back, feeling Inner Sakura begin to take over. It wasn't in her character to swear, but her other half was more than willing to.

"How long you've known him doesn't mean shit! You don't think he trains? Huh?" She yelled, curling her good hand into a fist. "This past week, he's done nothing BUT work his ass off! Fuck, we'd leave this shithole at eleven in the morning and he wouldn't bring me back until fucking midnight. And you think he doesn't train?"

"Shut up! You don't know anything! The only time I've ever seen Naruto train is when Kakashi-sensei makes him!" Tayuya chuckled bitterly at her pathetic attempt to justify herself.

"Exactly, bitch. The only time you've seen him. How can you watch Naruto when you're always fawning over the faggot Uchiha?" Sakura narrowed her eyes in anger, only further amusing the former Sound-nin. "That's right, Naruto's told me all about how you pathetically follow the asshole around, groveling like a whore for just a glance from the boy you know you'll never have!"

The pink-haired kunoichi fought back furious tears. It seemed as if her words were hitting every single sore spot in her body. However, she wasn't quite done yet. Tayuya smirked and leaned towards the girl with a condescending air about her. Fuck, she was loving this.

"Wanna know something else, Pinky?" She asked, her smirk growing into a mischievous grin. "I was one of the guys who kidnapped your boyfriend." Sakura reeled back as if she'd been struck. It all made sense! Why no one, not even Naruto, would tell her where the girl was from! It also explained Kiba and Chouji's reaction to seeing her, and Shikamaru's hasty attempt to keep them from revealing it. Her legs suddenly felt weak from the confession, and she slowly sank to her knees in disbelief.

"You...you monster!" She yelled, much to the other girl's amusement. She snorted at the sheer patheticness of her actions.

"What, are you gonna cry now? Go ahead, run back home to your shitty little house and cry. I'm tired of looking at your fucking Pepto Bismol-colored hair anyway." Sakura slowly lifted her head until she was staring the former Sound-nin square in the face. Her eyes were filled with murderous intent as she sprung up on her feet to attack.

She stretched her hands towards the girl's neck, fully intending to strangle her where she sat. Unfortunately, she'd vastly under estimated the crippled kunoichi; she wasn't a former member of Orochimaru's elite bodyguards for nothing. With a quick backhand to the attacking girl's face, she sent Naruto's teammate crashing back against the opposite wall.

"Is that all you've got? Pathetic. No wonder the faggot left; with weak bastards like you bringing him down, there's no fucking way he could get stronger in this hellhole. Looks to me like Naruto's the only one capable of bringing the shithead back." Sakura felt tears unwillingly begin to spring from her eyes as she nursed her stinging cheek. To be honest, she hadn't even seen the blow coming. The girl had remained completely motionless until the last second, and she was thoroughly ashamed that she couldn't even a beat a girl who only had the use of one arm. She'd never admit it in a million years, but the girl was right; she was pathetic. Sobbing openly now, she got to her feet and rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She had a lot to think about.

As soon as she was sure the girl was gone, Tayuya let loose a tired sigh. She really hadn't meant to fly of the handle like that, but she couldn't allow one of Naruto's so called 'friends' to slander him while he was unable to defend himself. Plus, she hadn't really had the chance to insult anyone in the past few days. Not counting the boy currently in a coma, of course. "You owe me for that, idiot," She said with a small grin. She rolled her chair a little closer to the bed and leaned forward onto his arm, using it as a makeshift pillow as she had done for the past two nights. It wasn't the most comfortable position to sleep in, but it was thousands of times better than sleeping in her own bed and dealing with the nightmares involving their confrontation with Misumi.

The scene that seemed to constantly pop up was when the chuunin rammed a kunai through Naruto's gut and tossed him into the stream. The small river would always turn blood red instead of pink like she remembered, and then Misumi would begin to drown her. In his blood. She'd woken up screaming the first time, and that was all it took for her to decide to never leave Naruto's side. At least not until he woke up. She yawned widely before settling herself into a comfortable position. Though she was hardly religious, she did say a small prayer to Kami-sama asking for him to wake up tomorrow. It hadn't worked the last couple of nights, but as they say, "Third time's a charm." She smirked up at the blond one last time.

"Goodnight, Naruto."

Chapter 8

Hideous. She curled her dainty hands into fists as she stared into the full length mirror resting against her wall. It opened up into three panels; all of them making her look equally disgusting. She cast a quick glance towards the door to make sure it was locked before reaching a trembling hand towards the zipper of her jacket. She wasn't too worried about anyone looking in on her with the Byakugan. There was a strict rule against using their bloodline to peep into another person's room-barring emergencies of course. However, there was no rule against barging into another member's room. To be honest, it didn't make much sense to her.

Putting those thoughts aside for the time being, she slowly zipped down her jacket until it hung open to reveal her tight mesh undershirt. Her cheeks immediately began to heat up as she took notice of her more valuable assets. She hadn't gotten a good look at Tayuya's breasts, but hers were certainly bigger than Sakura's.

Though she'd never say it out loud, the pink-haired kunoichi was more like a piece of plywood than an actual woman. Hinata couldn't stop the smirk that appeared on her pale, delicate face. She remembered reading in a certain orange book (She barely made it past the first chapter before passing out) that most men preferred their women well endowed, and she hoped that Naruto was no different.

Hinata gently slid the large jacket off of her small frame, letting it fall and crumple to the floor. After hesitating for a minute or two, she decided to also remove her undershirt. If she couldn't even muster up the courage to look at her own body naked, how was she ever going to win Naruto?

It was obvious that the blond had a strong attraction to confidence. His crush, Sakura, practically oozed the stuff from every pore of her body. The way that she constantly threw herself at Sasuke despite his numerous rejections proved it. It was one of the two things about the girl that Hinata truly envied. The other being that she was Naruto's teammate.

She pulled the tight fitting top over head and tossed it on top of her discarded jacket, getting a good look at herself topless for the first time since she became a genin. To be honest, it wasn't quite as bad as she thought. Her form was still as slender as she remembered, and the only thing that had really changed in her upper body was the size of her bust. Unable to help herself, a small bit of pride welled up in her chest.

That pride gave her the confidence she needed to continue undressing. Before her shyness could interfere, she quickly slid her pants and underwear down in one smooth motion. That was a mistake. She suddenly remembered exactly why she stopped undressing in the mirror. Compared to the other kunoichi in the Rookie Nine, Hinata felt her legs were short and pudgy. They didn't seem to fit the rest of her slim body, and she fought back the urge to break down into disappointed tears. After a year, not much had changed.

Naruto would never notice her as she was now. Her hair was hideously short; even compared to Sakura's new hairstyle. She remembered how Naruto would always comment on his teammate's long, flowing, bubblegum locks in the academy. A sudden image of herself with pink hair gave her the immediate compulsion to gag. Even if she would look good with pink hair, she doubted that her father or the rest of the Hyuuga main branch would approve. Besides, Sakura's hair looked more like a certain indigestion medicine than bubblegum.

The only thing she could think to do was to let her hair grow out. The girl who'd been in Naruto's hospital room had long hair too, so perhaps the blond preferred it. Hinata winced angrily at the thought of the foulmouthed redhead. She wouldn't lose her Naruto-kun to some whore who hadn't even been in Konoha for two weeks. Straightening up, she stared her reflection square in the eye.

"I never go back on my word. Naruto-kun will be mine!" She yelled, reveling in the rush of confidence her words gave her.

"Who? And what are you doing?"

Hinata snapped her head around to see her little sister standing curiously in the doorway - and promptly fainted. Hanabi blinked in mild surprise. Her sister seemed to do a lot of that lately. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and grimaced. It was already past nine, and she would have to be up by five to start her training. She quickly concluded that she had two options: One, she could leave her sister naked and sprawled out on the floor until someone happened to barge in to check in on her, allowing herself to quickly hop into bed and be well rested for the undoubtedly intense training session her father had planned for her. Or two, she could make the effort to clothe and drag her sister into bed, missing at least half an hour of sleep.

Sighing softly to herself, she reluctantly trudged into her sister's room. In reality, it was sort of her fault that her sister fainted, and it just wouldn't do for one of the Branch members to find her in such a disorderly and embarrassing position.

Damn her sense of morality. Damn it to hell.

The first thing Naruto noticed was that it was dark. He briefly wondered if he was in the sewers of his mind again, but quickly wrote that thought off when he didn't hear the constant dripping of the eternally broken drainage pipe. Unfortunately, that did little to calm his nerves. Thinking that something might've been covering his eyes, he tried to lift his right hand to push it out of the way. When it didn't budge, he began to panic.

'Am I dead? Am I in purgatory? AM I IN HELL?' Just as he was about to scream bloody murder, something cool and wet dripped onto his 'dead' arm. 'What the hell?' He wondered, staring in the direction where he believed his arm was resting. He tried to move his arm again, and was mildly pleased to feel it wriggle a little bit under whatever was resting on top of it. Said object murmured something that distinctly sounded like 'Quit moving, asshole' and dripped another large drop of moisture onto his currently unmovable appendage. The voice was familiar; it reminded him of -

Naruto felt his heart leap into his throat. All of a sudden, everything that had happened before he passed out came flooding back to him in one fell swoop. He remembered it all; meeting the Kyuubi, impaling the enemy Sound-nin, and the look of pure shock and fear on Tayuya's face as he tried to approach her. Wincing slightly, he squashed that memory for the time being to focus on his current dilemma of where the hell he was. Using his intuition, he figured that he was in one of three places: Jail, the training grounds, or at the hospital. Out of the three, only the last one seemed to be the most logical.

Despite how much she pretended to dislike him, he knew Tsunade would never allow him to be dragged off to jail-at least not until he was conscious. Besides, he doubted that Tayuya would be in the same cell with him. The training grounds were also out of the question, as every ninja within a ten mile radius had probably felt Kyuubi's chakra. He had no doubt in his mind that a few of them might even try to kill him and blame his death on the heartless Sound-nin. Seeing as how he wasn't dead, that only left the hospital.

Naruto groaned in agony. This had to be some kind of record! Being thrown into the hospital for the second time in a week was more than embarrassing. It was a blow to his pride as a man and as a shinobi! Before he could continue his self-wallowing tirade, another drop of the mysterious liquid splashed against his skin.

Thankfully, his eyes had somewhat adjusted to the dark room, allowing him to quickly glance over his surroundings. The room looked exactly like the one he and Tayuya had shared during their first meeting. Then again, all of the rooms pretty much looked the same. His eyes drifted to the clock hanging on the opposite wall. 3:24. At least that explained why it was so dark in the room. Confident that he was relatively safe (and alive), he finally allowed his eyes to rest on the girl he had spent the majority of the past week with.

He noticed with some amusement that her left arm was wrapped firmly around his right, and her cheek rested gently against his forearm. He also noticed that her mouth was hanging wide open; Well, that clarified what the liquid making a puddle on his arm was. Even though he was slightly grossed out by the growing river of drool, Naruto honestly couldn't help but feel deeply touched by her actions.

In his short thirteen years of life, no had ever spent so much time at his side as Tayuya had. He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but for some reason, he knew that she'd been there the entire time. It was almost as if he remembered hearing her voice (Swearing at him, of course) while he was asleep. He smiled wryly at his thoughts. While very possible, it was also improbable. The fiery redhead just didn't strike him as the kind of girl who'd spend her free time talking to a comatose boy. A comatose boy whose guts she probably hated.

Still, he was glad that she wasn't completely afraid of him, if her current position was any indication. Deciding he should probably let everyone know that he was okay, he slowly tried to sit up. Until every one of his joints and muscles screamed in pain, that is. He desperately tried to hold in the string of curses that threatened to burst from his mouth, but he couldn't stop a small grunt of pain from slipping past his lips. Apparently he wasn't completely healed yet.

Naruto sighed in disappointment. He was hoping to slip out of the hospital and head home for some ramen, but his body obviously had other ideas. He still felt his body throbbing in pain, but it had at least lessened to a more tolerable level. With nothing left to do, he focused his attention back on Tayuya.

He hadn't really looked at the girl since they'd met; in fact, the only things that he knew about her was that she was a former Sound-nin, had red hair, and an incredibly foul mouth. He was ashamed to admit that he didn't even know what color her eyes were, or what her favorite thing to do was. Hell, he knew about Tenten than he knew about Tayuya, and he'd spent an entire week with the girl! Not that it was all his fault. If he ever tried to look at her, she'd scowl and ask him what the fuck he was looking at, and if he tried to ask her things about herself, she'd answer with an angry "None of your damn business."

He smirked as he remembered how cute she looked when she was flustered or angry. She almost reminded him of Sakura-chan, only his teammate would send him flying twenty or so feet into a building. Speaking of which, she hadn't gotten angry with him since Sasuke-

Naruto fiercely shook his head before he could start thinking of Sasuke. He was done 'bitching', as Tayuya would put it. The blond smiled again as he remembered a conversation they'd had only a day before the incident.

Naruto kneeled on the surface of the stream, desperately trying to catch his breath while staying afloat at the same time. His new sensei was proving to be a slave driver. She'd only allow him to take five minute breaks every hour or so, and even then made him stay on top of the stream. He idly wondered if Sasuke was getting trained as hard as he was. If one of Orochimaru's elite guard was this tough, he'd hate to see how horrible the original was. As usual when he started to think about Sasuke, he began to frown and berate himself for missing his chance to bring him back. Naruto curled his hand into a fist. If only he'd been stronger! If only he'd been a better friend to Sasuke before he left! If only-

"Oi, dumbass! What the hell're you doing?" Naruto snapped his head up to look at Tayuya. Her eyes were dangerously narrow, and her left hand was pumping furiously into the air. "Are you thinking about that faggot of a Uchiha again?"

"N-nani? No way!" He yelled, glaring right back at her. She snorted in disbelief.

"I'm nowhere near as stupid as you are. I saw that fagstruck look on your face. What, were you daydreaming about fucking him in the ass or something?" The blond growled lowly.

"I told you, I wasn't thinking about Sasuke!"

"Yeah? Then what the hell else has you looking like someone just kicked the shit out of your puppy?" She asked, her frown deepening. He opened his mouth several times to speak, but he couldn't think of a pliable excuse. Tayuya sighed and ran a frustrated hand through her hair.

"Look, Naruto. If you really want to bring the traitor back, then get off your ass and stop bitching! The only way you're going to make a difference is if you quit worrying about what's already happened, and focus on what you're going to do. You're not gonna bring him back by crying. Got it?" Naruto smiled warmly at her and nodded. She was right. Wallowing in self-pity wasn't going to do anything.

"Thanks, Tayuya. I needed that." She blushed slightly and turned her head to glare at something to her right.

"Yeah, yeah, just get the fuck up and back to work. Your break's over."

"Hai, Tayuya-sensei!" He yelled, hopping up and forming another twenty shadow clones. He missed the small smile resting inconspicuously on her face.

He redirected his grin towards the girl snoring softly on his arm. He hated to admit it, but she actually looked a lot better when she wasn't scowling. She almost seemed...content. Even though he really didn't want to disturb her, the drool on his arm was starting to itch. As slowly as humanly possible, he tried to ease his arm out of her grip to at least get some circulation going. Unfortunately for him, Tayuya only grabbed on tighter and frowned in her sleep.

"Don't leave..." she whimpered, causing Naruto to raise a curious eyebrow. This was new. Deciding to see what else she'd say, he made another half hearted attempt to remove her from his arm. As she did before, she tightened her grip on his arm and tried to pull it back underneath her head. He was amused by the action, but still a little disappointed that she didn't say anything else. He tried again, but only received the same response. Feeling that his arm was going to need amputation at that rate, the blond decided to wake her up. He slipped a gentle hand onto her shoulder and gave her a small shake.

"Nngh...not now fatass...get your own damn food..." Naruto fought the urge to laugh. She was obviously thinking of the guy Chouji killed in their latest mission. Smirking to himself, he realized that he had found a new hobby. If it weren't for the fact that his arm was about to become severed from her grip, he would continue this new game. He poked her again, much to her apparent annoyance.

"Damnit, leave me alone..." By now, it was obvious that shaking and poking wasn't going to cut it.

"Tayuya." He whispered, giving her another gentle shove. She groaned again, but lifted her head to tiredly glare up at him.

"What the hell do you want, Naruto?" Tayuya grumbled, frowning cutely. Blue eyes met brown, and for five seconds, neither one of them blinked. It was Tayuya who made the first move, her eyes widening to almost comical proportions. "Holy shit! Naruto!" She shrieked, causing Naruto to cringe from the noise. He was positive that she woke up whoever was in the rooms next to them. "You're awake! Holy shit! You're awake!" Unable to take her screeching, he quickly placed his hand over her mouth.

"Shhhh! If you keep screaming like that, I won't be the only one you wake up," he said, grinning widely at her shocked expression. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and hesitantly pushed his hand away from her mouth. She frowned slightly at the strained grin on his face, but decided to cast it aside until she had some free time to think about it.

"Well, it's your fault for surprising me like that," she huffed. She sat back in her chair and stretched, hearing and feeling her joints pop back into place. Sleeping in that position really was murder on her back. "How do you feel?" The blonde's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. Hearing the normally stoic and angry girl ask him how he was feeling was something that failed to register in his diluted and admittedly slow mind.

"Uh...fine, I guess. My muscles are a bit tight, and it hurts when I try to move. My arm feels alright, though," he shrugged, flexing his recently freed appendage. An unidentified expression flashed across Tayuya's face, further piquing Naruto's curiosity. "What?"

"Oh. I uh, I'm supposed to call Shizune when you wake up." She grabbed the small device sitting on the nightstand and vigorously pushed the glowing red button as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. After a minute or so of watching her thoroughly molest the machine, the boy cleared his throat to get her attention.

"So, how long have I been out?" She glanced up at him long enough to answer his question.

"Three days." Naruto groaned aloud.

"Did anyone come by?" Tayuya flinched slightly. She was hoping he wouldn't ask.

"Yeah." For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. When it became clear that she wasn't going to elaborate, he coughed slightly and began speaking again.

"Who?" Naruto noticed with some concern that she flinched again, and cast her a slightly worried look.

"The hag and Shizune came by first. Then some old pervert, a one-eyed fucker and his boyfriend, a couple of green faggots, that pineapple-headed coward, a fat guy, dog boy, and some other ugly bitches." For some reason, her description of his visitors didn't phase him in the least. In the time since they'd been together, he'd gotten used to her foul mouth and blunt nature, and actually found it amusing. He found it even more amusing that she only used Shizune's real name.

"So, you mean, Tsunada-obaachan, Shizune-neechan, Ero-sennin, Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei, Fuzzy Eyebrows and Super Fuzzy Eyebrows, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and some girls came by?" He asked, smiling slightly. She shrugged and continued to click on the button. It's not like she knew who those people were. "Who were the girls? Did Sakura-chan come?" At the mention of the pink-haired kunoichi's name, she flinched again, dropping the call button to the floor.

"Yeah." Naruto rolled his eyes. The redhead was being unusually tight-lipped about this particular subject. If she didn't want to talk about something, she'd usually tell him to 'Shut the fuck up' or 'Mind your own damn business.'

"So," he started, "What did she say?" Tayuya grit her teeth. She was hoping that he wouldn't ask about his backstabbing whore of a teammate. And where the fuck was Shizune? She'd been clicking the damn button for almost two minutes straight! "Tayuya?" Much to her relief, the Hokage and her apprentice chose that moment to burst into the room.

"Naruto!" Tsunade yelled, glancing at his bed anxiously. It was obvious that she'd just woken up, as she still had her robe and slippers on. Her hair was sticking up in dozens of different directions, and her eyes were still pink from lack of sleep. If she wasn't so relieved to see the woman, Tayuya was sure that she'd be laughing her ass off at that moment. That didn't stop her from commenting, though.

"You look like shit." The Hokage scowled briefly at the girl, but hurried over to the other side of Naruto's bed.

"How do you feel? Can you sit up?" The boy shook his head.

'When I try to move, my body feels like it's on fire." Shizune walked over to Tayuya's side.

"That's normal when recovering from chakra exhaustion. Your chakra points are probably sore from expending so much at once," The young woman explained as she formed a few seals and placed her hands on his chest. Her teacher did the same, except she placed her hands on his left arm. After a few seconds, she moved towards his lower stomach and Shizune moved towards his right arm.

"That's okay Shizune-neechan, my right arm doesn't hurt at all." Both medics glanced at his right arm, then up at Tayuya. The redhead flushed slightly and scowled.

"What?" She exclaimed, fighting against the redness in her cheeks. The women smirked knowingly but didn't comment. It was easy enough to see what the girl had been up to while no one was around. A few minute later, both canceled their jutsu and stood back a bit from the bed. There wasn't much to do, as his own healing ability had already fixed all of the larger injuries.

"Alright, Naruto, try to sit up." He nodded slightly and slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, wincing as a few of the bones in his arms popped back into place. Tsunade looked him over with worried eyes.

"How's the pain?" Naruto grinned widely and gave her a thumbs up.

"Good as new!" The older woman smiled and moved closer to her surrogate little brother.

"Good." She drew back her fist and hit him squarely on the top of his head.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for, you old hag!" He yelled, rubbing his now sore head. She crossed her arms and glared.

"For worrying me sick, brat! Next time I'll let you heal on your own!" Still scowling, the genin crossed his arms across his chest.

"I didn't ask you to heal me!"

"Oh really? Then how would you like me to break every bone in your body?"

"Just try it, granny!"

"Brat!"

"Witch!"

"Enough!" Shizune screamed, her face red with exertion. Tayuya, Naruto, and Tsunade all stared at the woman with something akin to shock. The normally gentle and kind woman was emitting violent waves of anger, strong enough to bring even the most experienced and battle-hardened shinobi to their knees. "Can't you two go ten minutes without fighting over every little thing?" Both blondes hung their heads.

"Gomen nasai, Shizune-san," they muttered in unison, bowing simultaneously. The Hokage's apprentice smiled and nodded with acceptance.

"Now, shouldn't you tell them what you have planned, Tsunade-sama?" As if forgetting her previous transgression, the busty blonde stood up straight. She cleared her throat and turned to the two genin with an air of authority.

"Before I tell you anything, there's something that Tayuya should know. Right, Naruto?" Tayuya lifted her eyebrows and turned her head to look at him. He was staring down at his hands, his eyes hidden by his messy blond hair. It was obvious to the girl that it was something he didn't want to tell her. She frowned and lowered her head to look up into his eyes.

"What is it?" She asked, growing a bit concerned at his forlorn expression. Deciding to lift the mood a little bit, she smirked and poked his cheek. "Are you possessed by an evil demon or something?"

He gripped the sheets tightly between his fingers and turned his face away from her. The smirk on her face dropped immediately.

"H-holy shit! For real?" The girl shrieked, her eyes wide with disbelief. Suddenly, everything that happened within the last week made sense. His shitty taijutsu form, the villagers' obvious disdain and hatred towards him, and the evil red chakra she'd seen only a few days prior. She let her arm fall limply to her side. This was far too much to take in at once.

"I...I'm not possessed by it," he started, raising his eyes to meet hers, "But it was sealed into my stomach by the Fourth Hokage to protect the village. He wasn't strong enough to kill it, so this was the next best thing. I won't hate you or anything if you decide not to train me anymore." She felt herself relax a little bit. Now that she thought about it, his cheerful and stupid nature completely contradicted what she'd read about demons during her studies. She felt her curiosity pique a bit at the sudden memory. There were all kinds of demons out there, so...

"Which one is it?" Tayuya asked, her voice a little shaky. Naruto glanced up in surprise. He wasn't expecting her to even talk to him after his revelation.

"What?" The girl sighed at his stupidity. There's no possible way he could actually be the demon with a mind that could barely keep up in a normal conversation.

"Which demon is it? Do you know?" He smiled wryly at her question.

"The strongest of the Bijuu; Kyuubi no Youkai." The room was deathly quiet. Shizune looked on nervously, hoping that everything would turn out all right. Naruto had finally found himself another friend, and she'd hate to see him hurt if the girl couldn't accept him. Besides, she'd started to like the girl. She reminded her of a younger Tsunade, fiery temper and all. The medic was knocked out of her reverie by a silent chuckle. The chuckle grew into full on laughter, and before long, the former sound-nin was gasping for breath. Naruto, Tsunade, and Shizune all stared at Tayuya with confusion.

"This...this is fucking great! We're gonna kick Orochimaru's ass! Why the hell didn't you tell me this before?" She panted between breaths. Naruto stared at the girl with something akin to awe.

"You're not scared?" He asked, still unable to comprehend her reaction. No one had ever laughed about him hosting one of the strongest demons in existence. She snorted and shook her head.

"Hell no! Shit, with that kind of raw power, there's no fucking way you can't take down that bastard!" Tsunade felt tears prickling at the back of her eyes. After thirteen years of loneliness, Naruto had someone his own age who could truly accept him for what he was. She glanced over at her apprentice to see that she too was wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. Smiling softly, she loudly cleared her throat before the scene got too emotional.

"Don't you want to hear what I have planned?" she questioned. Two sets of curious eyes turned upon on her, both of them still shining with excitement. Satisfied that she had their attention, she struck a dramatic pose and pointed in their direction. "I'm sending you two on a three year training mission!" The teens sweat dropped and glanced at each other before turning back to the Hokage.

"Are you stupid?" Tayuya deadpanned. Her blond partner nodded his agreement. He had been in the room when Tsunade told her that she'd probably never walk again, and sending someone who couldn't even walk on a training mission was suicide. The woman smiled mysteriously and shook her head.

"You didn't let me finish. Now, before you get your hopes up, this entire idea is only in theory. Understood?" The redhead felt her heart skip a beat. Had she come up with a way for her to walk again? It was impossible! According the blonde herself, the bones in her legs were practically dust, and nothing short of a miracle would ever heal them. Was that all a lie to keep her in line? She frowned at the thought. While the hag was annoying and slightly cunning, she didn't seem like the kind of person that would blatantly lie just to suit her own needs. So what the hell had she done? Still, she nodded along with Naruto and tried to keep from looking too optimistic. The Hokage smiled and took a small calming breath.

"As I said before, you two will be going on a three year long training mission along with Jiraiya and another jounin. In order for this mission to work, you-" She said, pointing at Tayuya, "Will have to gain full mobility in your legs again." The girl swallowed nervously. It was getting extremely hard to hold in her excitement. "Conventional methods won't work, and even someone of my skill and chakra level couldn't piece together all those tiny pieces of bone and cartilage. The only way for you to move again is to completely recreate and form the bones to their previous state." Both genin blinked.

"Is that even possible?" Naruto asked with disbelief. His surrogate mother smiled mischievously and nodded.

"You should know better than anyone, Naruto. Remember this?" She asked as she pointed to the jewel on her forehead. It took a few seconds, but his face eventually brightened in understanding.

"You're going to put that on her?" He yelped. The girl snapped her head around to look at him. She gripped the front of his hospital gown and began to shake him back and forth.

"What? What does that do? Spit it out!" Shizune giggled at their expressions. Naruto looked like a gaping fish out of water, while Tayuya looked exactly like a rabid fox fighting for a bite of that same fish. Tsunade too had a large grin on her face as she observed their interaction. It was almost cute to watch. Deciding to put him out of his misery, she answered the question for him.

"This jewel isn't just for decoration. It is a seal that holds the chakra I've been storing up for years. Any and all damage sustained is immediately healed, even allowing me to regrow lost limbs. However, due to the rapid cell regeneration that occurs during the jutsu, it also shortens my lifespan. My plan is to recreate this same jutsu onto you. It requires a certain amount of chakra control to sustain, but I'm confident that a former member of the Sound Four can do it. Do you accept my offer?" Tayuya stared at her as if she'd grown a third head.

"Fuck yeah! Do you even have to ask?" She exclaimed, finally letting the boy go. Losing a few years of her life was well worth the benefits of gaining mobility in her legs again. The woman smiled and nodded before turning towards the door.

"Good. Report to my office at 9am to begin the preparations for the mission." The teens nodded their agreement as she walked out of the door.

"Do you need anything before I go?" Shizune asked, appearing next to the bed. After both genin shook their heads, she bid them goodnight and hurried after her mentor. As soon as she was sure that they were out of earshot, Tayuya let loose an uncharacteristically girly squeal, thoroughly destroying Naruto's eardrums.

"Fuck yeah, I got my fucking legs back! Did you hear that shit, Naruto? I got my fucking legs back!" She screamed. He winced and covered his ears.

"Ahh, that's great and all, but shouldn't you go back to sleep? You still have five hours until we have to be at Tsunade-obaachan's office." He said, desperately trying to get her to quiet down. He could still feel his ears ringing from her earlier ear piercing screech.

"I'm too fucking excited to..." She suddenly yawned in the middle of her sentence, causing the blond to smirk triumphantly.

"See? You do need sleep. You don't want the jutsu to mess up because you were tired, right?" Tayuya frowned but nodded her agreement.

"I guess you're right, for once." Naruto smiled cheekily and moved to get out of his bed.

"Want me to put you in your bed?" He asked, stretching his legs out towards the wall. She shook her head as he stretched.

"Nah, I'll just share your bed." Both teens froze at the implications of her words.

"N-nani?" the boy yelped, his face turning a deep red color. Tayuya sputtered and waved her hand in front of her defensively.

"Shit! I didn't mean it like that! I meant, y-you know, like I was before!" She was sure that her face was almost the same color as her hair at this point. Naruto let loose a small breath of relief before turning to get back into his bed with a nervous grin.

"Oh, well, do you want my pillow? I probably won't be able to sleep tonight anyway." She nodded slightly and took the offered pillow.

"You won't let me oversleep, right? Cause if you do, I'll kick your ass." He smirked and shook his head.

"Don't worry, I want you to get your legs back as soon as possible! Then we can both beat up Sasuke-teme and Orochimaru!" Tayuya buried her face in the pillow to hide her blush. To have someone genuinely care about her was something she hadn't experienced in all her years of service under Orochimaru. Yet, here in Konoha where all of the 'fools' and 'weaklings' existed, she'd found a real friend in only two weeks. Of course, she wasn't going to let Naruto know about any of this.

"Yeah, yeah, quit yelling and let me get to sleep," she muttered. She felt her eyelids slowly began to slip closed. With all the excitement in the last half hour, she'd forgotten how exhausted she was from the previous day. Her last coherent thought was of the future, and how much her life would change starting at nine o'clock the next morning.

Little did she know that Naruto was thinking about the same exact thing.
Chapter 9

"Hokage-sama, Uzumaki-san and his teammate are here to see you." Tsunade glanced up to see Hagane Kotetsu standing in the doorway. The chuunin looked a little more disheveled than usual, almost as if he'd been forced to dodge attacks from a raging academy student.

"Send them in." He bowed and opened the door a little wider to allow the genin to walk (and roll) into the room. She noticed with some interest that Tayuya and Kotetsu held a brief glaring match on the way in. Knowing the girl's uncanny knack for rubbing people the wrong way, it was obvious that the two had gotten into an altercation shortly before entering.

"Oi, Blondie!" Tayuya yelled, turning her attention away from the angry chuunin, "You need to keep your lackeys in line before they get hurt!" The Hokage gave the grumbling young man a questioning look, but didn't press the matter. She dismissed him with a wave of her hand and turned to glance at the clock hanging above the entrance to her office. They were five minutes early, but she more than welcomed the distraction from signing off on paperwork.

She opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a large manila envelope. The folder was easily three inches thick, and it looked to be barely holding in the massive amount of paper inside. It was almost hard to believe that every single sheet of paper in the folder pertained to the fiery redhead waiting impatiently in front of her desk, the majority of it documenting her switch from a prisoner to a Konoha ninja. After finding what she was looking for, she lifted her eyes to address the genin in front of her.

"Naruto, you might want to take a seat. Since you two are early, you'll have to wait a few minutes for Jiraiya to get here. He knows more about this mission than I do," she said, motioning towards one of the chairs resting against the wall. When she'd become the Hokage, Tsunade had completely remodeled the office.

Gone were the old, hardwood chairs and drabby atmosphere that used to permeate the room. The walls were now painted a bright peach, and dark green curtains hung from the open sliding door behind her. She'd redone the carpeting too, going with a deep forest green to complement the walls and hide the stains that would undoubtedly be brought in by especially reckless shinobi. Miniature trees sat in every corner of the office, each resting next to a large, comfortable plush chair. Naruto pulled one of the chairs from the corner closest to him and set it down next to Tayuya. When he was situated, the redhead let out a very unladylike snort.

"Where is he, anyway? I'd like to see the guy that Orochimaru bitches about on a daily basis." At that moment, a large puff of smoke appeared directly in front of them. The smoke soon cleared to reveal a large orange and blue frog, Jiraiya standing proudly on its head.

"Did someone mention Myouboku Mountain's monk of the frog spirits, the great toad hermit Jiraiya?" he yelled, one hand extended out in front of him for dramatic effect. Tayuya slowly turned to stare at Tsunade with a deadpan expression.

"...You're sending us on a three year mission with him?" She asked, her voice remaining emotionless. Naruto pat her on the shoulder and shook his head with understanding.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to him eventually." The girl shot him a disbelieving glare.

"If I ever get used to a guy like this, please lodge the sharpest kunai you have into my eye socket." Tsunade stifled a giggle at Jiraiya's down-trodden expression. The last person to blatantly insult her former teammate so harshly had been Naruto, as most people were too afraid to say something bad about one of the Legendary Sannin. After recovering from his momentary depression, the man dismissed his summon and hopped onto the Hokage's desk.

"Neh, Tsunade-hime, can you speed this up? I have more important things to do than explain to a couple of brats what's going to happen in the next few years. They'll find out eventually, right?" He said, reaching for her emergency bottle of sake. She smacked his hand away from the hidden compartment with a scowl.

"No, we can't. This mission briefing is as much for me as it is for them. I need to know everything you're going to be doing, and why you're going to do it." The man rolled his eyes. He turned his attention to the redhead currently glaring burning daggers at him.

"Before I tell you anything, does she know about Naruto yet?" Tsunade nodded.

"Yes, she found out this morning shortly after he woke up. She doesn't seem to have any problems with it." Jiraiya grinned and sat up straight.

"Ah! That makes things so much easier." His face suddenly became deathly serious, causing Tayuya to blink in surprise. He didn't look anything like the lecherous fool she initially took him for.

"The main reason for this mission is to help Naruto learn to use Kyuubi's chakra so that he can defend himself against the Akatsuki. My sources tell me that they're not going to move for a few years, so that gives me plenty of time to get him ready." The girl perked up at this bit of information.

"Akatsuki?" She questioned, cocking her head to the side. The other three shinobi lifted their eyebrows in surprise, and Tsunade leaned forward to study the girl's expression more closely.

"They're a group of rogue ninja trying to collect the nine bijuu. You've heard of them?" Tayuya looked up at the ceiling in thought. Someone had mentioned them, but who?

"Orochimaru used to be a part of the group, if that helps," Jiraiya added. She snapped her fingers and smiled.

"That's it! Yeah, I remember those fuckers now! Two of them tried to attack Orochimaru once while we were escorting him to the Wind country. If the Siamese twins hadn't summoned Rashoumon to help us get away, we would've had our asses handed to us in no time." The Toad Sannin pulled a notebook and pencil from a pocket in his vest.

"Do you remember who they were?" She nodded and held up two fingers. If they were going to give her her legs, she didn't mind giving them a little information in return.

"The first one was a tranny or something. He threw these little spider bombs at us, and they hurt like shit if they exploded on your skin. The weirdest thing was that he had fucking mouths in his hands! Bastard probably used them to give himself a blowjob," she said as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Naruto choked on his own spit at her choice of words. His face began to turn red from lack of oxygen, and Tayuya had to smack him on the back a few times to keep him from dying.

"What about the second one?" Tsunade asked, holding in her own smirk. Things were never boring when the redhead was involved.

"Dunno. He was fucking around with Orochimaru while we took on bomberman. All I remember is that he was fat and had a long ass tail." Jiraiya nodded and slipped his notebook back into his vest. He looked thoughtful for a few seconds before nodding to himself again and sat up a little straighter.

"I don't know who the second guy is, but based on your description, the first one is Deidara of the Hidden Rock. He's an S-class missing-nin who specializes in clay-based projectile bombs." Tsunade glanced worriedly at her surrogate little brother. If people like that were after Naruto, it might not be such a good idea to send him on a dangerous training mission outside of the village walls. As if reading her mind, her teammate interrupted her thoughts.

"I can assure you that keeping him within the village walls won't do much for his safety. Itachi and Kisame, the two Akatsuki members assigned to capture Naruto, have already penetrated these walls once. If they wanted to, they could easily do so again." She sighed and nodded her agreement. She knew he was right, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Tayuya shifted around in her wheelchair impatiently.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but what about my legs? When are you gonna fix them?" Jiraiya laughed at her eager expression, causing the girl to scowl and flip him off.

"Actually, we can do the sealing later this morning. I've already completed the scrolls needed to perform the ritual, and drawn most of the chakra mediating seals in the main operating room. However, before we can do anything, two conditions have to be met," he replied. Tayuya narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What kind of conditions?" Tsunade sighed and rubbed a tired hand through her hair.

"The first is that Naruto will have to contribute some of his chakra in order for the Sōzō Saisei to have enough power to work. While I'm sure that he would be more than willing to help, this technique requires a lot more chakra than even Naruto, Jiraiya and I have at our disposal. Basically, he'll have to tap into Kyuubi's chakra." The girl snorted.

"So? I've still got Orochimaru's dirty chakra in me, what harm could a little bit of Kyuubi's do?" Tsunade shook her head.

"That's just it. We don't know what effects his chakra would have on a normal human's body, let alone a body already infected with Orochimaru's chakra. In short, the process could potentially kill you." The room was silent. Everyone's eyes rested on Tayuya, but her hair covered whatever emotions were crossing over her face in reaction to the news. "If you want, I can give you some more time to think about it."

"Fuck that." The Hokage lifted an eyebrow in mild surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, fuck that. I don't need any time to decide. Dying is better than spending the rest of my life as a paraplegic. I'm a fucking shinobi. What the hell kind of life would I lead if I couldn't beat the shit out of other people?" She said with a slightly maniacal grin. Tsunade smiled wryly.

"You haven't heard the second condition yet," she reminded the girl. The redhead stared at her disbelievingly.

"What could possibly be worse than being told that you might get blown the fuck up from the inside by demon chakra?" Sighing, the woman laced her fingers in front of her nose. This was the hard part.

"In order for me to give you your legs back, the village council insists that I put a tracking seal somewhere on your body until you've proven yourself thoroughly trustworthy. If you decide to run," she said, lowering her gaze to meet the girl's, "the seal allows us to immediately teleport to your position and kill you." Up until now, Naruto had been quietly observing the conversation. However, the mention of someone killing one of his friends was not something that sat well with the genin.

"Nani? What the fuck kind of bullshit decision is that? What if someone decides to find and kill her just because she's from the Sound?" He snarled, shooting up from his chair and slamming his fists on the desk. Tsunade frowned up at him disapprovingly.

"Don't you think I've considered that, brat? The only two people who will be able to use this seal will be Jiraiya and myself." She flicked his forehead, sending him flying back into his chair. "Remember your place, Naruto. Even though I let you get away with a lot, I'm still the Hokage, and you will show me the proper respect." He frowned angrily but nodded his understanding anyway. He knew she was already bending over backwards to help them, but it still didn't make him any less upset.

"Gomen, Obaa-chan," the boy muttered. She nodded and looked at the girl staring thoughtfully at her hands. After a couple minutes of silence, Tayuya slowly looked up at Tsunade with a shockingly bone-chilling expression. It was a mix between hope and desperation, along with a lot of pain and distrust swirling around behind it. It honestly gripped at her heart to see such a scary emotion flickering across the normally angry girl's face, and for the first time, she wondered exactly what had happened in her life to warrant such a despondent look.

"If...if I take the seal, h-how do I know you won't just kill me when you're tired of having me around, or when you can't use me anymore?" She whispered, lowering her head again. Naruto stared over at her with disbelief. This was definitely not the girl he'd met over a week ago at the border to the Sound country. That girl had been boastful and proud, with a little craziness thrown in for taste. The girl sitting to his left almost remind him of...

Himself.

The Hokage stood from her seat behind the large oak desk and walked around it until she was standing directly in front of Tayuya. She knelt down to her eye level and smiled.

"Not everyone is like Orochimaru, Tayuya. I know it might be hard to believe right now, but please give us a chance to prove to you that we would never harm you for such a groundless reason. You're a shinobi of the Leaf; isn't it my duty as the Hokage to protect and help you as much as I can?" The redhead turned her eyes away from Tsunade's.

"Orochimaru said the same shit when he asked me to join the Sound. What makes you any different?" The woman chuckled lightly at her question.

"Well, for one, I don't look like a snake." Tayuya smirked from under her long locks of hair. She definitely had a point there. "And, I haven't turned you over to the interrogation and torture department like I would most other prisoners. Instead, I'm giving you a whole new chance at life by healing your legs and allowing you to train yourself to become a powerful kunoichi of the Leaf. What reason would I have to kill you after going through so much trouble to help you live?" Her smile widened slightly as she looked up at the Hokage. While she barely trusted the woman or the Leaf village on her own, she did trust Naruto. If he trusted the two legendary sannin with his life, then by association, so would she.

"Fine, I'll do it. But if you betray me, I'll come back as a ghost and haunt your ass until you gouge your own eyes out with a teaspoon." She turned and pointed at Jiraiya. "That goes for you too, Froggy." Naruto laughed at her nickname for his sensei. Froggy was probably the last thing that would've cross his mind when referring to the perverted toad hermit.

"You don't have to worry about me, kid. I have enough living women haunting me than I care to admit." Tsunade rolled her eyes and picked up the envelope containing Tayuya's paperwork.

"Since the jutsu is basically a regenerative technique, there's no need for you to spend any significant amount of time recovering in the hospital. In fact, you can leave for your mission as early as next week if you so choose." Her teammate nodded his agreement.

"The sooner the better. There's no telling exactly what day the three years will be up, and we need all the time we can get." The woman picked up her labcoat and tossed it on over her robe.

"I'll go down to the operating room to make sure everything is in order." She glanced up at the clock. Amazingly, over half an hour had passed since the genin had arrived. "It's 9:30 right now; be down at the hospital in an hour, and we'll begin the sealing process. Jiraiya, come with me to make sure that none of the seals have been tampered with." He hopped off the desk and followed her out of the door, leaving the teens alone in the office. Standing up and stretching, Naruto gripped the handlebars of her wheelchair and leaned over to look at her face.

"So...where to?"  
-

Tayuya watched the number of bowls pile up on the counter top with mild awe and amusement. They'd only been at Ichiraku Ramen for twenty minutes, and Naruto had somehow managed to put away a whopping thirteen bowls of noodles! She was convinced that if it wasn't for the thirty second wait between servings, he'd already be up to twenty. Shit, forget what she said about him matching Jirobou's maximum stomach capacity. When it came to ramen, he downright crushed the hippo-sized boy. She glanced at her own measly four bowls and sighed. Where the fuck did he put it all?

"Would you like another bowl?" a feminine voice asked, interrupting her thoughts. She snapped her head around to see the owner's daughter smiling cheerfully down at her from behind the counter.

"Ugh, hell no. I don't think I could even look at another bowl of ramen right now." The young woman laughed. It was't shrill like most civilian girls (Then again, she never paid much attention to civilians in the first place), but instead had a comforting tone to it, much like the old man and the restaurant.

"Still, four bowls is pretty impressive. Our other customers order an average of two bowls at the most." At this bit of information, she felt her eyeballs pop out of their sockets. That meant that Naruto ate six and a half-no, seven and a half more bowls than the average person. She briefly wondered if he was eating for himself and the Kyuubi. A sudden image of a pregnant Naruto popped into her mind, making her smirk and shake her head. She really needed to keep her mind from wandering. "You know, you're one of the few people who come here willingly with Naruto. Usually he has to drag his friends here, and even then they barely eat one bowl, just to make him happy." She lifted a curious eyebrow at the girl.

"One of the few?" Ayame nodded and leaned forward against the counter.

"The only people who really seem to enjoy coming here with Naruto are Iruka-san and Hinata-san." Tayuya froze at the mention of another girl. Naruto had never mentioned a Hinata. Then again, the only people he ever really mentioned were his teammates, his former teachers, and the people he beat in a fight. It was very possible that the boy had a whole bunch of other friends and family that she didn't know about, like the group who came to visit him in the hospital. She watched him vigorously tear into his sixteenth bowl and sighed. Somehow, she doubted that.

"Hinata?" She asked, trying not to sound too interested. The waitress briefly smirked and nodded again.

"He's only brought her here a handful of times, but she seemed to really enjoy his company." The redhead narrowed her eyes in thought. She was pretty curious about this 'Hinata.' There must be something wrong with her if she actually enjoyed spending time with him.

"She does? She doesn't talk much when I ask her stuff, so I figured she didn't really like being around me." The kunoichi jumped slightly in surprise. He was so enthralled in his ramen that she didn't think he'd actually be paying attention to the conversation. Sometime during their short talk, he had raised the total number of bowls eaten (devoured) to eighteen.

"She's just a little shy around you, Naruto-kun," Ayame said with a grin. He gave her a confused look and cocked his head to the side.

"Why?" Tayuya fought the urge to slam his head into the counter top. He had to be the densest guy on the planet. Still, the waitress just winked and walked towards the curtain leading to the back of the restaurant.

"Hm, I wonder..." She giggled lightly as the curtain closed behind her. Seeing that he wasn't going to get any answers out of her, he turned to address the only girl left in the restaurant.

"Ne, Tayuya, do you know?" She shook her head. It wasn't a total lie, as she honestly didn't know why the girl was so shy around him. It was only a very plausible and likely idea.

"Nope. I've never met the bitch, so I couldn't tell you what her problem is." He nodded and smiled.

"You're right, you haven't met her! Maybe I should introduce you to her after you get your legs back!" A mischievous grin slowly made its way onto her face. That was a great idea. She could see who this girl was, and rub it in her face that she would be spending three years with the girl's crush. There was nothing she enjoyed more than stepping on the hopes and dreams of another person.

"That'd be great! I can't wait to meet her!" she exclaimed, trying her best not to sound too enthusiastic. Naruto's smile widened into his trademark foxy grin. He was glad that she would be making more friends besides him, and Hinata was the perfect choice! Little did he know that what she had in mind was the exact opposite.

"Anyway, we only have twenty-five minutes left until we have to go back to the hospital. Are you ready?" She nodded, and after Naruto paid for both of their meals (Gama-chan would need a refill when he got home), she lifted her arm to be picked up. Although it was a little unnerving how quickly she had gotten used to it, she'd actually started to enjoy being picked up whenever she wanted. It kind of reminded her of when she was younger; before Naruto, before the Sound Four, even before Orochimaru. Sighing, she realized that this would probably be the last time he'd ever do this. It seemed as if he noticed this too, as he briefly hesitated before fully setting her down the chair.

"Thanks." Naruto pulled back in surprise. After the dozens of times he'd moved her to and from her wheelchair, this was the first time she had actually thanked him for it.

"Nani?" She avoided his gaze and shrugged.

"You know, for helping me out. Since this is the last time and all. I'll either have my legs back, or I'll be dead, so..." He frowned down at her.

"You'll definitely get your legs back. It's a promise of a lifetime, and I never go back on my word!" She almost pointed out that the last time he'd made that promise he had failed, but decided against it. It wouldn't do to jinx herself, after all. "But, don't worry about it. I kind of liked it." When she lifted a suspicious eyebrow, he quickly corrected himself. "You know, like, hanging out with you. Guess we'll be doing a lot more of that for the next three years, huh?" Tayuya smirked up at him.

"Yeah, I guess we will." As he slowly wheeled her towards the hospital, neither one spoke for fear of ruining the pleasant atmosphere that had settled around them.

"Are the preparations in place?"

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune all stood in the large hospital operating room. Intricate seals and symbols littered the floor, forming a winding spiral leading to a series of scrolls spread out in the center. Each roll of paper contained another set of complex symbols, looking very much like a bunch of random strokes of paint. The toad hermit wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and nodded.

"I did most of this last night, and it doesn't take long to prepare a few scrolls to mediate chakra." The Hokage smiled.

"Thanks for doing this. I know it couldn't have been easy to research and paint so many different seals."

"Nah, it wasn't that hard. I just modified the original design of your seal and shortened the duration a bit." She raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Shortened the duration?" He slowly raised his arms to stretch.

"Yeah. Your seal draws upon the chakra that you've stored up until it runs out. Since she doesn't have the chakra stored up to maintain the jutsu, it will automatically stop when we cut off the chakra flow into her body. I've also added a function that allows her to cancel the jutsu if she ever decides to use it in the future." Tsunade pouted playfully.

"That means hers is more efficient than mine!" Jiraiya giggled.

"No, I think yours are much more efficient than hers will ever be," he leered with a perverse grin. She scowled and punched him on top of the head.

"Baka-hentai." She glanced over at her apprentice standing by the doors to the operating room. "Shizune! Bring them in!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" The young woman replied. She bowed slightly and slipped out of the dark room. A few minutes later, she returned with a nervous looking Naruto and Tayuya in tow. They were dressed in identical hospital gowns, although the redhead had a medical cap covering her hair to reduce the risk of something interfering with the seal. The Hokage motioned for them to bring the girl over.

"How are you feeling? Do you still want to go through with this? It's not too late to change your mind." Tayuya snorted and put on a weak smile.

"Hell no, I'm more than ready for this." The woman smiled down at the girl with a small bit of respect. It wasn't easy to accept an operation that only had around a fifty percent chance of success.

"Alright, remove your gown and we'll get started." Both genin froze.

"W-what?" she shrieked, recoiling with surprise. Tsunade frowned.

"The gown will just get in the way of the seal. If you're worried about Naruto seeing you naked," she said with a small grin, "I'll give you a sheet to cover yourself with." Tayuya sighed and shot Naruto a glare that clearly stated, 'Peek and I'll shove a kunai up your virgin ass.' He gulped and quickly turned around. After Tsunade set her down in the center of the spiral, the girl easily loosened the string holding her gown together and pulled the flimsy garment off of her body. Shizune rushed over with a sheet and draped it over her more important parts.

Jiraiya tapped the boy on shoulder and pointed towards the edge of the spiral. "Alright, Naruto, take a seat and we'll get started." He nodded and plopped down in his designated position. Tsunade and Jiraiya did the same, forming a simple triangle around Tayuya. A long line of seals led from their positions to the center of the spiral where the girl lie. The man formed a few seals and looked up at Naruto and his teammate.

"Are you ready?" They too formed the same seals and nodded. He took a deep breath and slammed his hands onto the edge of the spiral simultaneously with the others. A bright flash of blue light briefly illuminated the dark room before slowly ebbing into a faint glow. The chakra visibly lit up each individual symbol painted on the ground, causing the seal to squirm and slowly slide counterclockwise towards the center. Tayuya visibly flinched from the pain, immediately worrying Naruto.

"What's wrong?" he asked, gazing over at her in concern. She turned her head to smile weakly at him.

"Nothing, just stings a little. Orochimaru's seal was way more painful." He nodded, but continued to frown. They hadn't mentioned that the sealing would be painful, although it did kind of make sense. When Orochimaru had used the Gogyou Fuuin in the Forest of Death to seal the Kyuubi's chakra, the pain had been strong enough to knock him unconscious. He also remembered the pain Sasuke seemed to feel when he unwillingly received the Heaven Seal. Naruto turned to look at his sensei.

"What's happening?"

"The seal is gradually implanting itself into her body. When we can no longer see the spiral, the process will be complete," Jiraiya informed him. His student nodded in understanding. He could feel his chakra slowly trickling away from his body, and although he knew he had more chakra than even most jounin, it wouldn't be long before he had to rely on the Kyuubi.

Thirty minutes into the sealing, Tsunade finally began to show signs of fatigue. She was fighting to keep her hands pressed together in concentration, but it was obvious that it was an uphill battle. The seal was a little over half complete, and if Jiraiya and Naruto couldn't come up with the second half of the chakra, the entire operation would fail and Tayuya could possibly die.

"Tsunade-sama, let me take your place. I don't have near as much chakra as you three, but you're almost at your limit. Any longer and you'll be putting your own life at risk." The Hokage frowned, but stood up. If she died, the entire village would be in a panic. When the older woman managed to regain her balance, Shizune settled herself down in her mentor's place and performed the seals necessary to continue the chakra transfusion. She probably wouldn't be able to last any more than fifteen minutes or so, but as far as she was concerned, every little bit helped.

Ten minutes later, Jiraiya stood up. His face was wet with perspiration, and unfortunately for Tayuya, the sealing still had a quarter of the way to go.

"Ero-sennin, are you done too?" Naruto asked, looking a little worried. He himself was nearly drained of chakra, and in another few minutes, he'd have to tap into the Kyuubi's power. The man sighed tiredly.

"Sorry, Naruto. I don't have as much chakra as I did in my prime. It looks like we'll have to rely on the nine-tailed fox after all, but try to hold out as long as you can." He walked over to the corner and leaned against the wall. He could feel his consciousness fading, but if nothing else, he wanted to stay awake long enough to see what effects the sinister chakra would have on her body. After a few minutes, Shizune leaned back onto her hands. She frowned apologetically at Naruto and Tayuya, but her reserves were nearly drained. It was now up to the blond to finish it out.

Unfortunately, he too had reached his limit. His breath was starting to come in short bursts as he fought to stay focused on holding in his prisoner's chakra. Finally, after fighting for another few minutes, he grudgingly closed his eyes and began to draw on the Kyuubi's chakra.

The effect was immediate. The room was bathed in a bright red light, and the line of seals leading from Naruto to Tayuya looked to be aflame. Suddenly, her back arched off of the ground, and her mouth opened wide in a silent scream. Instead of following the predetermined path of the spiral, the burning chakra surrounded the girl and rushed into her body.

"Shit! Naruto, you're using too much chakra!" Tsunade yelled, trying to move closer to Tayuya. Between the violent chakra and the girl's jerking movements, it was impossible to get any closer than two feet.

"I-I can't control it! It won't stop coming out!" His eyes widened when dark laughter filled his head. He wildly looked around the room for the source of the evil chuckling.

"Have you forgotten our deal already, brat?" Naruto blinked. He'd thought that visiting the Kyuubi was only a dream. Still, that didn't give the fox the right to hurt one of his precious people.

"What are you doing to her? Stop it!" The Kyuubi snorted inside his head.

"Relax, boy, I'm doing her a favor." By now, the chakra was violently swirling around the room, forcing Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune to shield their faces and lifting Tayuya almost a foot off of the ground. Judging by the look of immense agony on her face, it didn't look like he was doing her much of a favor.

"A favor? You're hurting her!"

"Reconfiguring a human's DNA does that."

"NANI?" For some reason, Naruto had the distinct impression that the beast was rolling his eyes.

"I swear, you humans have no sense of humor. Just trust me when I say that I'm helping you." The blond narrowed his eyes suspiciously. It would be foolish to trust a demon, let alone a fox demon. Even though he was never allowed to attend story time with the other children at the orphanage, he was easily able to eavesdrop from the vents in the building's basement. There, he'd heard countless stories with foxes depicted as tricksters.

They often played cruel tricks on their targets, leading travelers astray and stealing large amounts of food from poor farmers. On the other hand, the stories also said that kitsune always keep their promises, and could become trustworthy if treated with respect. Still, that didn't make him feel any less mistrustful.

"Helping me? Why?"

"I won't mince words; you're weak. If you're weak, then the Akatsuki will have no trouble stealing and using me for their own power-hungry ideals. Since you're going to be with the girl for three years anyway, I might as well make her a little stronger too in case you happen to run into trouble. Think of it as self-preservation; I can't have you die until I figure out a way to escape, right? Besides, you can't stop me anyway. If you try to cut off the chakra flow to her body, there's no doubt that she will die."

As much as he hated to admit it, the fox was right. Unable to do anything else, he watched Tayuya writhe and twist in the air, wishing more than anything that he could somehow hold back the Kyuubi's power.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the swirling red chakra shot straight up into the air and forced its way into her stomach. With the burning energy out of the way, Tsunade and Shizune rushed over to check her over. The Hokage removed the sheet and gasped. While the sōzō saisei was originally meant to be placed on her forehead like Tsunade's, a larger, more intricate version now rested boldly on her abdomen.

"Jiraiya!" She yelled, motioning for him to come over. When he arrived by her side, the man let out a surprised gasp of his own.

"This is amazing! The seal looks exactly how I drew it, but another seems to have been placed over it!" He glanced over at his student. "Naruto, do you know anything about this?"

"Well," he started, trying not to look at the (naked) unconscious girl, "The baka-fox said something about making her stronger, but I don't know what he did." The black-haired medic frowned and cocked her head to the side. That didn't sound like something a purely malevolent being would do. She watched with interest as the seal receded in on itself and formed a small purple jewel directly below the girl's belly button.

"Why?" Naruto shook his head.

"I don't know, but is she okay? Did the seal work?" Sighing, Tsunade placed the sheet back over Tayuya's body and picked her up bridal style.

"The bones feel whole again, but it's impossible to tell if the damage has been completely repaired until she wakes up." She placed her on a nearby stretcher and instructed her apprentice to take her to an observation room. "We'll perform a few physical examinations to determine what effects the Kyuubi's seal had on her body. In the meantime, why don't you go buy her some flowers or something? I hear they help most patients recover faster." She turned her head away to hide her smirk. Naruto, of course, fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.

"Really? I'll go get her some right now!" He yelled, rushing out of the room. His movements were sluggish from the massive chakra exertion he'd been subjected to only a few minutes before, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Shizune's eyes widened when the blond rushed past her and Tayuya in nothing but a hospital gown.

"Wait! Naruto-kun! Put on some pants!"

Chapter 10

Yamanaka Ino was bored. Utterly, incredibly, stupendously bored. Only two people had come into the flower shop so far; one being her own mother to bring her lunch, and the other being the elderly woman down the street who stopped by everyday to buy a single sunflower for her hair.

Of course, that was to be expected. It was Fall, and most of their business came from the Spring and Summer months. The only time people bought flowers this time of year was to either pick up a centerpiece for their dinner tables or to send flowers to a hospitalized friend. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), the amount of injuries also seemed to decline around this time of year.

Despite the fact that they were on less than pleasant terms since they discovered their mutual interest in Uchiha Sasuke, her best friend and rival Haruno Sakura would usually stop by for an hour or two to chat and catch up on all the latest gossip. However, since Sasuke's defection from the Leaf, the pink-haired girl had been coming around less and less. Now that she was getting training from the Hokage herself, she hadn't been coming around at all.

Sighing loudly, Ino boredly thumbed through her fashion magazine for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. At that moment, she wished that someone - anyone \- would come through the door of her family's flower shop, even if it was to rob the place. At least then she could enjoy kicking the thief's ass. As if Kami-sama himself had granted her wish, the bell hanging over the door chimed noisily. She immediately straightened herself up and opened her mouth to recite the store's customary greeting.

"Hi! Welcome to the Yamanaka Flowe-Oh, it's just you," the girl said, slumping her shoulders with disappointment. The customer angrily marched up to the register.

"What do you mean, 'it's just you'? Ain't I a paying customer too? It's no wonder this place is so dead! with you behind the counter, I'm surprised the shop is still in business!" Ino rolled her eyes and leaned forward on her elbows.

"What do you want, Naruto? No, wait, before you saying anything, I don't know where Sakura is." While she had gotten her wish, she wished that Kami-sama would have sent someone a little less...annoying.

"Huh? Oh, I didn't come here for that," he replied. She perked up a bit at his answer. The only time she ever really communicated with the boy outside of missions or group functions was when he wanted to know something about Sakura. Still, she was convinced that he was there for something involving her friend slash rival.

"Really? Then what did you come here for?" She noticed with some interest that he seemed a little hesitant answer. After a few seconds of silence, he finally looked up to meet her eyes.

"I need to buy some flowers." Ino smacked her palm into her forehead. Of course.

"Sorry, we're out of miniature cherry blossom trees for the year. Come back in Spring, if you really want one." Naruto gave her a confused look.

"What? So? I want to buy some flowers, Not a sakura tree. Geez, Ino, try to keep up." The girl cocked her head to the side with confusion. Didn't he know that cherry blossoms were Sakura's favorites? She wouldn't be satisfied with anything else. Unless Sasuke gave them to her, anyway.

"Aren't you buying flowers for Sakura?" She asked, her curiosity starting to get the best of her.

"No, when did I say that?" Now, she was definitely curious.

"Well then, what are you buying flowers for?" He nervously scratched the back of his head and avoided her invading gaze. She was starting to freak him out with her staring.

"They're for...a friend. Look, I just need help picking some flowers because I don't know what any of them mean, okay?" Ino's eyes widened to almost comical proportions. Naruto, the blond, Sakura-obsessed fanboy, had finally moved on? This was the kind of gossip that girls (and a few guys) would give their right arm for! Determined to get some more information out of him, she quickly slipped around the counter and grabbed Naruto's hand, leading him towards the store's greenhouse.

Most of the plants were arranged by name and lined the walls of the greenhouse, although the more popular flowers rested right at the entrance to the medium-sized room. There were flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors all over the place, looking very much like a miniature rain forest. She pulled him inside the transparent building and closed the door behind her.

"Alright, before we do anything, what are you planning to make?" She asked, walking towards a large table in the corner. On top of it, there were various vases, colored ribbons, and tissue paper neatly arranged by size and color. Naruto stared after her with a dumbfounded expression.

"Make?" he asked, following her over to the corner. She picked up a vase and a piece of tissue paper.

"Do you want to make a flower arrangement, or a bouquet?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, carefully observing each choice. After a minute or two of silence, Ino sighed exasperatedly. "Today, Naruto."

"Fine, fine. I'll take the tissue paper then."

"What color?" She asked, turning to the wide assortment of hues. As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately regretted her decision. She quickly turned back around and waved her hands in a disarming fashion.

"No, nevermind. On second thought, I'll pick a color for you." Naruto grinned widely and nodded.

"That's a good idea! You'd know best, anyway!" Ino's hand froze in mid grab. What did he mean by that? Shaking her head, she gathered up a couple of sheets of dark purple tissue paper and a long white strand of ribbon. Now, the fun began.

"So, Naruto, tell me about this person you're buying the flowers for. Is it a guy or girl?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He might act dumb 99.9 percent of the time, but even he could tell that she was up to something.

"Why does it matter?" The girl cursed silently. Trust this to be the one time Naruto grows a brain.

"Why does it matter?" she repeated, feigning shock. "It's the most important thing in flower arranging! If you give a guy girly flowers, people might start questioning your sexuality. I mean, unless you really are-" Just as she expected, the boy's eyes widened and he began to vigorously shake his head in disagreement.

"N-no! No way! It's a girl, alright?" he yelled, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks. To be honest, he didn't know why it was so embarrassing in the first place. He was just buying Tayuya some flowers to help her get better soon. While he was lost in his own thoughts, he missed the triumphant grin that appeared on Ino's face. Question a guy's sexuality, and they give up information faster than Chouji can put away a full course meal. And that was pretty damn fast.

"Great! Now we're getting somewhere! Since it's a girl, let's start with some of these." Ino picked up a few small white flowers and set them around the edges of the tissue paper, which she had placed in a bouquet holder. She then picked up some small pieces of ivy and fern to add some contrast.

"Hey, that's pretty cool! You're really good at this Ino!" She felt her face grow slightly warm at the compliment. No one outside of her own family had ever commented on her flower arranging, and even though he was a complete idiot when it came to flowers (and a lot of other things), it still managed to make her feel somewhat happy. She smirked and rolled her eyes.

"We're not even close to done yet. Before we can get to the good stuff, you have to tell me a little more about this girl. What's she like?" Naruto cast her a suspicious glare.

"Why does that matter?" Expecting him to ask that question, she gave him the stupidest look she could muster.

"You really don't know? You have to pick flowers based on her personality, or the whole thing will clash and be a total failure!" Naruto frowned deeply. There was no point in buying the flowers if they didn't work! When he looked up to think, Ino secretly covered her mouth to hold in a giggle. He was so gullible, it was almost a crime.

"She's kind of loud," he started, scratching his cheek. Ino immediately began thinking of all the girls that she and Naruto knew who fit into that category. Her eyes widened when she realized that only she, Sakura, and Ami fit into that category, and none of them had seen much of Ami since their Academy days. Sakura was also out, since he'd clearly stated that he wasn't buying flowers for her earlier. That only left...

"W-what else? I can't tell a person's personality just from that," she stuttered. It wouldn't do any good to jump to conclusions, as there was a very good chance that he had friends she didn't know about; especially since they weren't really that close.

"Well, she can be really mean at times, and degrading too." Ino winced. "But, I can tell that's not how she really is. I know that she cares a lot about others, even if she tries to hide it. She's also strong-willed and independent, and doesn't take shit from anybody. I think that's what I like about her the most."

She gasped and blushed a mild crimson at his words. It was possibly the sweetest thing she'd ever heard, and what made it even more astounding was that it came from Naruto. The same boy that everyone called 'dead-last' and 'idiot' had practically defined her in a short four paragraphs. Either she was as transparent as a sheet of glass, or he was much more insightful than he let on. Still, just to be completely sure...

"What do you think about her looks?" she asked, trying her damnedest not to blush.

"Hey! I thought you said flowers were picked based on personality?"

"Uh, they are! But...uhm, the color of the flower is picked based on her looks?" she finished lamely. Damnit. There was no way he was going to fall for that one. He rubbed his chin in thought, slowly nodding his head as if understanding what she was talking about.

"Oh, I get it!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist into his palm. Ino stared at him with disbelief. Just when she was starting to think that he might have some sort of brain in that big blond head of his, too. She quickly regrouped and rested her hands on her hips impatiently.

"Well? I don't have all day." Naruto almost said something snide about the lack of customers he'd seen when he arrived, but decided against it this time. She was helping him out, after all.

"Okay, okay, hold your horses," he sighed, assuming a thinking pose. A few seconds later, he smiled in an 'A-ha!' fashion.

"I don't care as much about her looks, but she's definitely in the top ten of Konoha right now." Ino gasped. While she would prefer to be considered as number one in Konoha, she realized that he was trying to be as honest as possible in his description. It was hard to place her at the top when there was the Hokage and Kurenai to contend with. "She glares at me a lot more than she smiles, but when she does smile, it's almost like she's a whole different person." By now, her face was practically the color of a tomato. She turned around and walked further into the nursery to hide her blush. "Ne, Ino, where are you going?" Naruto asked, starting to follow. Without looking back, she held out her hand to stop his advance.

"J-just stay there, Naruto. I know exactly what she would want," she stuttered, tucking a persistent strand of hair behind her ear. His eyes lit up, and he nodded his agreement. This was going to be a whole lot easier than he thought.

"Really? Thanks! I knew you were the right person to go to!" She smiled softly to herself as she cut a few light red carnations away from the bush. That particular color represented admiration, and she knew without a doubt that admiration was one of the things he felt based on the fondness in his tone when he spoke of her.

She continued on down the aisle, plucking various flowers from their stands. She picked flowers that represented love, hope, and adoration, while at the same trying to keep the bouquet within the boy's price range. Judging on his choice of attire and unhealthy obsession with ramen, he couldn't possibly have enough money to afford more than a dozen or so roses.

While picking the flowers, she tried to make sense of her own feelings. For some strange reason, she could actually see him as a friend, and maybe even a potential boyfriend. They both had blond hair and blue eyes, strong personalities, and he was always happy and supportive of his friends no matter what the circumstances.

Of course, she'd have to change his wardrobe and eating habits, and maybe buy him a dictionary or two to expand his vocabulary if he wanted to date her, but that was something she could work on in time. Ino giggled to herself at how quickly her mind had accepted Naruto.

She'd never thought much of him before today, as he was always considered the prankster, dead-last, and idiot of the Rookie Nine. Now that she thought about it, however, he was actually one of the strongest among them! In the chuunin exams, he'd managed to beat Inuzuka Kiba in the preliminary rounds. His method was a bit...unconventional, but it had worked

He'd then gone on to beat Hyuuga Neji, last year's rookie of the year, in the third round. She had been more than surprised when that had happened. How a fresh out of the Academy, dead-last idiot managed to beat a Hyuuga genius with over thirteen months of field experience was beyond her.

Not only had he beaten some of the best genin Konoha had to offer, she'd also heard from Temari that he beat Gaara of the Sand. Sakura had at first said that Sasuke defeated him, but eventually admitted to being unconscious for the majority of the fight. Seeing as how Temari was actually awake and watching at the time, she'd been forced to believe the older Sand nin.

Initially, she'd been shocked. For a few weeks after the incident, she'd believed that Sasuke had done most of the work, and that Naruto simply came in for finishing blow. As time wore on, however, she had grudgingly begin to realize that the loudmouth genin was a lot stronger than he let on.

Not even a week after his confrontation with Gaara, she heard from Shikamaru that Naruto had gone on a trip with Jiraiya, one of the legendary sannin, to find the next Hokage-another one of the legendary sannin! Once again, her world had been turned upside down. Just how did Naruto know one of the legendary three, and why was he allowed to accompany the man on his journey? There were so many questions surrounding the boy, yet she knew none of the answers.

Ino bit her lip. Just who was Uzumaki Naruto? She'd have to pay a visit to Sakura sometime next week.

She stopped in front of the large section of tulips, looking them over with a critical eye. They were a favorite among customers, as they weren't too romantic, too elegant, too bright, too big, or too small. They were simply perfect. She picked a few red tulips to complement the carnations she'd picked up earlier, and a few yellow ones to brighten up the arrangement. Yellow tended to mean cheerful thoughts and happiness, something that she thought fit the both of them.

Ino snuck a peek at Naruto out of the corner of her eye. It didn't look like he had moved an inch from where she had left him, although sometime during her reverie he had unzipped his heavy orange jacket, revealing a tight black t-shirt underneath. His head band was tied around his neck for the time being, and she noticed with a small blush that he actually looked sort of cool with his bangs falling into his eyes. She vigorously shook her head, trying her hardest to get those thoughts out of his head.

What the hell was she thinking? This was Naruto she was talking about! The dead-last in the Academy! The ramen freak! Sakura's self-proclaimed fanboy! Just because he had shown a little interest in her, she was acting like a civilian schoolgirl with a crush. It didn't make sense! Plenty of guys had approached her over the years, promising her love, fortune, and a life of comfort. So why was Naruto any different?

Maybe it was different because it was Naruto. Maybe it was because the boy who had previously shown interest in Sakura now had a crush on her. In a way, she was stealing his affection from her rival, proving once and for all who was better. That had to be it!

Or...maybe it's because he was Sasuke's best friend, making Naruto the closest link she has to the missing Uchiha. Or maybe...

Ino shook her head again. These thoughts weren't getting her anywhere!

"Ah...Ino? Are you okay?" the blond asked, eyeing her with unhidden concern. She jumped slightly and turned back to the tulips in front of her.

"Um, sure!" She laughed nervously and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "Hey, Naruto-kun, can you come over here for a second? I need you to pick the main flower for the bouquet." He lifted an eyebrow at the addition of -kun to his name, but walked over to stand next to her.

"Shouldn't you do this? I don't really know anything about flowers." She shook her head and smiled.

"I can't. This is your arrangement, so you have to pick the flower that most represents what you feel about the person you're giving it to." At his confused expression, she hung her head and sighed. "On second thought, just pick whatever you think would look nice." His face immediately lit up. That, he could do.

Ino watched with mild amusement as he raced up and down the aisles of the greenhouse, stopping for no more than one or two seconds at each group of flowers. Finally, after a few minutes of searching, Naruto appeared from around the corner with a single lavender rose.

"This one!" he yelled, holding it up in the air. The girl smiled and plucked the flower from his fingertips. Even though he probably didn't know it, lavender roses usually meant things like love at first sight or enchantment. After placing the flower directly in the center of the bouquet, she tucked the same strand of hair behind her ear and turned to show him the completed arrangement.

"What do you think? Beautiful, right?" He grinned foxily, fully exposing his unnaturally sharp canines.

"Yep! Next time I need to buy flowers, I'm definitely coming to see you!" Ino blushed slightly and turned to walk back into the store. Just as they entered the main building, Naruto suddenly stopped and ran back into the greenhouse. "Ne, Ino, hold on a minute!" he called from among the flowers. She rested an impatient hand on her hip as she waited for him to reappear, curious as to what he was doing.

"Naruto-kun? What are you doing?" As soon as the words left her mouth, the genin in question rounded the nearest shelf with a single white wildflower in his hand. He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"I just wanted to buy one of these, too." She raised her eyebrows at the flower, but shrugged and ushered him into the store. After walking behind the counter, she quickly rang up his order.

"Counting the wildflower, that'll be 1,850 yen." The boy's jaw dropped in surprise, causing her to frown and narrow her eyes. "What, you can't afford it?"

"N-no! It's just that the flower shop down the street is five times as expensive as this place!" Ino blinked in surprise. The last time she'd checked, their prices were nearly the same. He quickly shuffled through his pockets and produced a few bills, placing them in the girl's outstretched hand.

"Here you go! You can keep the change as a tip!" Ino blinked again. Since when did Naruto have enough money to give her a-she quickly glanced over the bills in her hand-500 yen tip?

"Uh...thanks, here are your flowers," she murmured, still a bit awestruck. Maybe she'd underestimated the boy. Still, there was something that bothered her about this whole situation. "Hey, Naruto-kun?" When he looked up to stare at her, she continued. "Instead of going through the trouble of buying flowers, why didn't you just tell me how you felt?" The blond tilted his head in the typical Naruto fashion.

"How I feel about what?" he asked, obviously confused. She furrowed her brows and leaned forward to stare into his eyes. He wasn't getting away that easily.

"About me, idiot!" Now, he was really confused. He cocked a curious eyebrow at her annoyed expression.

"What about you?" Ino's eyebrow twitched. Either he was really good at playing dumb, or she'd made a horrible mistake in her assumptions. Unfortunately for him, she wasn't quite ready to admit that she was wrong. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she slowly walked from behind the counter to stand directly in front of Naruto. She placed both of her hands on his shoulders and looked him squarely in the eyes.

"Naruto," she started, her expression deathly serious, "How do you feel about me?" Naruto shifted uncomfortably under her intense gaze. Her piercing sky blue eyes showed visions of death and castration if he didn't answer her question correctly. Deciding to tread lightly, he gulped loudly and shifted his eyes away from her.

"Uh, w-well, I-I think you're really smart and stuff and know a lot about flowers," he stuttered, trying to gauge her reaction. When her eyes narrowed, he quickly continued. "And um, you're pretty?" the girl's mouth twitched upward, causing him to let loose a small breath of relief. Maybe he could get out of this unscathed after all. "And you're really nice for helping me pick these flowers for Tayuya!" Her hands clenched painfully on his jacket clad shoulders.

"Say that again?" she ground out, her stare turning into a glare. Naruto thanked the gods that he had used the bathroom before he left the hospital.

"Y-you're really nice for helping me pick these flowers for Tayuya. I think they'll help her get better in no time!" Ino slowly let go of his shoulders and took a few steps back.

"Oh. I see." While she was cool and composed on the outside, her insides were in turmoil. How could she have been so stupid as to assume that he would actually have a crush on her? They'd barely spoken in the six years that they've known each other, and he'd certainly never shown an interest in anyone except for Sakura. But...just who was this Tayuya girl he was buying flowers for?

Frowning deeply, she slowly trudged back behind the counter and plopped down on the stool, leaning her chin on the palm of her hand. What the hell was she thinking? Naruto as her boyfriend? Ha! They would never work! She was a girl that demanded a certain amount of attention, and knowing his love for ramen and training, there was no possible way that he could give it to her! Ino thrust a persistent strand of light blond hair behind her ear and nodded triumphantly to herself.

He could never give her what she needed! He knew nothing about romance, and his fashion sense was simply atrocious! It would be better if she just admitted to herself that she'd let her boredom get the best of her, and forget that this whole entire thing ever happened. Suddenly, she felt something insert itself over her left ear. She blinked to see Naruto moving his hand away with a smile.

"There! Now that piece of hair won't bother you anymore!" He exclaimed. He took a few steps back to admire his handiwork, putting on a serious face for effect. After nodding to himself a few times, he smiled and gave her a thumb ups. "Wildflowers really suit you, Ino-chan!"

Ino's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. She lifted her hand to feel the soft, willowy petals of the flower he had gone back to get only five minutes earlier. While the thumbs up had been extremely corny (Really, who the hell did that anymore?), his comment caused a light pink blush to appear on her face. She smiled bashfully and tried futilely to bring down the color in her cheeks.

"Um...thanks," Ino murmured. His smile widened into his trademark foxy grin, and with a small wave, he exited the store.

"Later, Ino-chan!" For five minutes after he had gone, she stared at the clear glass door of the shop, unable to believe what had just happened. Not only had he done something extremely sweet and out of character, but he'd also managed to pick her all-time favorite flower! Sighing loudly to herself, she allowed her head to thump painfully against the countertop.

Screw next week, she was going to pay a visit to Sakura tomorrow.

There were many words that could be used to describe Orochimaru; Evil, sinister, cruel, deceiving, snake-like. Hell, even sexy (In a sick, abnormally twisted sort of way).

Patient was not one of them.

"Damnit, Kabuto! Where are those two! They should've been back yesterday!" Orochimaru yelled, his voice echoing in the large, dark throne room. Countless snakes slithered among the rafters, and human skulls lined the thick stone walls. The young man pushed his glasses further up on his nose before answering.

"Yoroi was spotted at the border to the Fire Country last night. Misumi was not with him." The sannin hissed with annoyance. He thought the mission had been simple enough, but apparently, he'd thought wrong. Why was everyone in his village so incompetent?

"Where is he now?" he asked, displeasure clear on his face. At that moment, the doors to the chamber slowly opened to reveal a Sound ANBU officer.

"Otokage-sama," he started, bowing low to the ground. "Akado Yoroi is here to see you. Shall I send him in?" The sannin's face visibly lit up, sending a small shudder through the ANBU officer. A smiling Orochimaru was never a good thing. After receiving a nod of confirmation from his leader, the shinobi quickly backed out of the room, only to be replaced by a thin, cowering man. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days, and dark rings were prevalent beneath his eyes.

"What took you so long?" the snake spat, staring down at the man with obvious disdain. The man quickly fell to his knees and placed his forehead against the ground.

"Please excuse me, Orochimaru-sama, we-I, ran into some trouble on the way here." Relief flooded the man as the Otokage frowned but nodded his acceptance. It was difficult for even a jounin level shinobi to cross the Fire Country's border undetected.

"Did you complete your mission? And where is Misumi?" Yoroi froze and slowly lifted his head to look at the spot where he believed his leader to be.

"I...I don't know." The room was deathly silent for a few seconds.

"YOU DON'T KNOW?" the sannin yelled. The man was visibly shaking, and unconsciously began to scoot backwards towards the entrance to the throne room. Visions of his life began to pass before his eyes as he realized what was about to happen next.

"W-well, Misumi insisted t-that he be allowed to do the job on his own, a-and the girl was crippled from the waist down and there was just a blond kid with h-"

"A blond kid?" Orochimaru asked, cutting him off. Yoroi nodded from his position on the ground.

"Y-yes, but he didn't seem like much of a threat. I believe Misumi said that he was going to kill him too, just in case." The room once again became silent as the sannin and his second in command processed this information. There were hardly any blond shinobi that Kabuto knew of in Konoha except for the Kyuubi container and those of the Yamanaka clan. It was possible the kid was a civilian, but it was highly improbable.

"Orochimaru-sama, could that blond kid be Naruto-kun?" Kabuto whispered from Orochimaru's right side. The sannin remained quiet in thought for a few seconds before lifting his head to address his subordinate.

"What did you discover when you returned to check on your partner?" Realizing that he wasn't going to die right away, the man sat back on his haunches to think.

"Well, there was no one there, but the ground was ripped up in a few places and a few trees had been broken in half. The area was also heavily guarded by a team of ANBU, so I couldn't get any closer to look for details."

"Interesting..." the Otokage hissed, narrowing his eyes in thought. "I suppose I can try to sense her presence to see if she's alive or not. For your sake, you had better hope that Misumi completed his mission." Orochimaru closed his eyes to concentrate.

It was a simple task to sense the presence of those he had given the cursed seal to, and he could easily find any of them no matter where they were. Yoroi was waiting nervously for the results, hoping against hope that his friend and partner had somehow managed to finish the girl off. A few minutes later, the sannin opened his eyes and smiled. "It seems like you're allowed to live for the time being."

The man's head snapped up with surprise. He had been completely sure that he was going to die at his master's hands.

"Orochimaru-sama?"

"Perhaps he managed to kill Tayuya first before being killed by the blond. No matter, as long as the mission is complete. Leave me." Yoroi wasted no time in getting the hell out of there, and Kabuto noticed with some amusement that he had a large wet spot on the back of his pants.

"Are you worried about Naruto-kun?" he asked in that infuriatingly smug tone of his. The sannin chuckled evily and shook his head.

"Why should I be? If he couldn't even stop that weakling Misumi from killing Tayuya, what kind of threat would he be to me?" The silver-haired medic-nin nodded his agreement.

"Imagine if he and the girl had become friends. Then he'd have two reasons to seek you out." Orochimaru's maniacal grin widened.

"Let him come. If I kill the Kyuubi, the Akatsuki won't be able to succeed in their plans to use the nine bijuu."

"Are you sure that's wise? They'll come looking for you to extract their revenge."

"Ah, but by then, I'll have the Sharingan. Once I eradicate the Akatsuki, nothing will be able to stop me!" His cackling echoed throughout the room, causing Kabuto to crack a small scheming grin of his own.

If only he knew.

'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. There are seven birds,' Hyuuga Neji counted to himself. Things had been extremely quiet ever since he'd flown off the handle a few days earlier. Besides the daily visit from Gai, Lee, and Tenten, no one else had bothered to stop by for fear of extracting the Hyuuga wrath upon themselves, which suited the stoic boy just fine. Everyone else was just an annoyance anyway.

So it came as no surprise that Neji's eyebrows shot up into his forehead when the door to his hospital room slowly opened to reveal a small girl standing in the doorway.

"Hanabi-sama?" he yelped, shock visible on his face. The girl stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Nii-san," she said, nodding her head in his direction. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position to address his younger cousin.

"Is there something wrong, Hanabi-sama?" His face scrunched up with slight worry, a fact which many clan members would find amusing had they seen it. It was no secret to anyone that the genin used to despise the Main family, although he'd recently been making an effort to be much more civil and kind towards his cousins. Hanabi slowly shook her head and raised it to look him in the eyes.

"No, nothing's wrong. At least, it's nothing serious. I think." Neji lifted a confused eyebrow. He'd never seen his cousin act so confused about something. Truly, whatever was bothering her must be serious. He attempted to smile comfortingly, although it came out as more of a painful grimace.

"Why don't you tell me what's bothering you, and I will do my best to help you if I can." She slowly nodded again and moved to stand at the foot of his bed.

"It's about nee-san," the girl started, her face completely devoid of emotion.

"Hinata-sama?" The genin was honestly surprised that she was coming to him about her sister. Usually she only wanted to ask for tips or advice about the Jyuuken style, never about anything personal.

"Hai. I saw her...touching herself," she explained, scrunching up her face in mild confusion. "When I asked her about it, she refused to explain, and I don't think it's something that I should bother Otou-sama with." The elder Hyuuga's jaw dropped, and his usually fierce eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Hinata? The shy, sweet, peace-loving little girl he'd known for years? Impossible. Neji put on an amused smirk. His youngest cousin was obviously mistaken.

"Hanabi-sama, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Perhaps you only think you saw it?" Hanabi shook her head.

"No, she was standing in front of her mirror naked doing things like this." The girl lifted her hands to her admittedly flat chest and began to move them in a circular fashion, attempting to emulate what she'd seen her older sister do a few days before. Neji's face turned a deep shade of scarlet, and he quickly turned his eyes away from his cousin molesting herself.

"H-Hanabi-sama! Such actions are well below the standards of the Hyuuga!" he stuttered. She shrugged and moved her hands away from her chest.

"Well, I kind of figured that, but I just wanted to know what it does. Does it help your chest to grow bigger? I think it does, because nee-san's chest is this big," she started, demonstrating her elder sister's size with her hands, "And everyone else in the clan is only around this big." By now, blood was threatening to spew out of his nose like a running faucet, and with his last bit of consciousness, he slammed his head back down to the bed and closed his eyes.

"Find Tenten and have her explain it to you. She'd know better than I would." Hanabi's face lit up.

"You're right. Arigatou, nii-san." As soon as he heard the door click shut, he slowly released the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and pulled his pillow over his face. Fuck what Naruto said.

Fate got great pleasure out of bending him over and raping him up the ass with the metal-spiked strap-on of destiny. He sighed and glanced out of the window again to calm his nerves.

'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, ...eight. Goddammit.'

Chapter 11

Sunlight streamed into the small, plain hospital room, jovially announcing the start of another day. Birds chirped merrily from their perches among the tree branches while shinobi and civilians alike began their morning routines. A particularly persistent beam of light landed squarely on Tayuya's sleeping face, rousing the girl from her well deserved slumber and enticing a groan of agony from her throat. She attempted to open her eyes, but found with some annoyance that her eyelids were stuck together from nearly twenty four hours of misuse. She reached her hands up to her eyelids and forcefully pried them open. That was a mistake.

"AGH! FUCK!" she yelled, slamming her palms over her highly sensitive eyes. Apparently she wasn't quite used to the light yet, and a direct shot from the sun didn't help the matter. After waiting a couple of minutes for them to adjust, she slowly opened her eyes again and smiled. It seemed like she'd survived the sealing.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked out of the large hospital room window. Everything looked so much more vivid and colorful than she remembered, and she noticed with some interest that she could see every individual leaf on the trees standing proudly across the street. That regeneration seal was much more effective than she'd thought it would be.

Yawning crudely, Tayuya stretched her arms high above her head and reveled in the satisfying 'pop' of her bones realigning themselves. At the peak of her stretch, she froze. She slowly turned her head to see that her right arm was indeed completely healthy again, and with an aggressive fervor commonly seen in rabid animals, she threw the sheets off her bed to look at her legs. The long scars and gashes from her fight with Temari were long gone, and to her surprise, so were all of the abrasions she'd received during her career as a shinobi.

She sucked in a large breath of air and stared hopefully at her legs. This one moment would determine the course of the rest of her life; either she would accompany Naruto on his three year training trip around the Eastern world and become a powerful kunoichi of the Leaf, or she'd be confined to Konoha while her only acquaintance grew stronger without her. As if sensing her apprehension, the sun temporarily hid itself behind a large white cloud, and the birds quickly ceased their birdsongs to fly away and sing their morning tunes elsewhere.

She let loose the breath she'd been holding and set her mouth into a firm line. With her eyes narrowed in concentration, she sent the subtle mental command for her legs to move. To her obvious relief, both legs levitated approximately three inches above the bed. Her frown turned into a grin, and soon, her smile was threatening to split her face in half.

"Yes!" she screamed, swinging her legs over the edge of the mattress, "Yes, yes, yes, yes!" She hopped off of the bed and stood on wobbly legs. "Fuck yes! I can fucking walk! I can fuckin-"

With a dull thud, Tayuya landed flat on her face.

"BWAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto doubled over with laughter, holding his stomach to keep his intestines from falling out through his belly button. He'd been quietly observing her actions from the other bed in the hospital room - that is, until she fell. The girl groaned in pain and turned her head to scowl up at the laughing boy.

"Stop laughing!" she screeched, her face turning bright red with embarrassment and anger. Unfortunately, her words had the opposite effect. Instead of slowing down his laughter, he only laughed harder and was soon fighting desperately for air.

"Yeah...right! What...can you...do from...down there?" he gasped out between breaths, a wide grin still stretched over his face.

She snarled and narrowed her eyes. Having had enough of his joking, she rolled herself over onto her back and held up a hand.

"Shut the fuck up and help me!" Naruto took a few deep, calming breaths before nodding and making his way over to the redhead, still chuckling softly to himself. When he got close enough to pick her up, Tayuya quickly chopped him in the back of the knees, causing him to tumble clumsily towards the ground. Before he could catch himself on the cold tile floor, she grabbed his collar and pulled him directly on top of her. "You were saying, dipshit?"

"H-hey! No fair! You tricked me!" He fought to get out of her grip, but found that the angry looking girl was a hell of a lot stronger than she looked. They struggled viciously for a few minutes, pulling and tugging at each other to get the upper hand. Eventually, skill and experience beat brute strength and Tayuya ended up straddling the boy with a triumphant grin.

"Ha! Now that I have two arms, you don't stand a fucking chance against someone like me! What now, motherfucker?" she taunted, shaking his collar for good measure. Naruto turned his head away and sniffed indignantly.

"Just get off of me already!" She smirked and shook her head, flinging her long red hair around her face.

"Not until you say that you give up."

"No way! I never give up! That's my way of the ninja!" he yelled, staring up at her with unbridled determination. The girl shrugged nonchalantly, completely brushing off his outburst.

"Fine, but I'm not moving until you say it."

"I'm not saying it!"

"Then don't."

"I won't!"

"Fine."

"Fine!"

They sat there for a few more minutes in silence, Tayuya staring boredly into his eyes while he stared back with courageous vigor. Finally, Naruto lowered his eyes and sighed.

"If I say it, will you really let me up?" She grinned and nodded.

"I promise." With another sigh, the boy rolled his eyes and looked up at her with an obviously insincere expression.

"I give up. Happy? Now let me go!" Her smile widened and she moved to get up-unfortunately, she'd forgotten that her legs weren't exactly working. She managed to get a few inches off of his stomach before she ungracefully plopped back down, thoroughly knocking the wind out of her teammate.

"Oof! What're you doing? Get off!" Tayuya furrowed her brows and shot him a quick glare.

"I'm trying, idiot!" She attempted to lift herself off of him again, but only managed to achieve the same results. Naruto scowled and lifted his hands to help her. It was painfully easy to see that she wasn't going to make it on her own steam. The redhead swatted his hands away from her waist with a frown. "Don't help me, I can do it on my own!" She again tried to stand, but only improved her previous record by another inch.

"No you can't! Let me help!"

"No!"

"Yes! Here, just let me-"

"I said to let me do it!"

"But you can't!"

"Yes I can!"

"You're hurting me!"

"Are all you Konoha ninja this fucking whiny?"

"I can't help it, it hurts!"

"Just hold on a little longer, I can do it!"

"No you can't! Just let me give you a little push!"

"I don't need your help, dammit! I'm almost there!"

"What about me? You're gonna kill me before that happens!"

"Kami, suck it up already!"

"It's too much!"

"Oh my!" Both teens snapped their heads around to see Shizune staring wide-eyed from the doorway. Her knuckles were white from her tight grip on the doorknob, and a bright red blush accented her cheeks. It was hard not to be embarrassed by a previously crippled girl bouncing roughly on top of the boy she thought of as her little brother, after all. Her mentor walked up behind her and peered curiously into the room from over her shoulder.

"What's wrong? Is she-" The Hokage stopped in the middle of her sentence, her jaw practically scraping the cold white tiles at her feet. In front of her were two panting, red faced teenagers lying on the floor in an incredibly compromising position. Suddenly, all of the screams and yells she'd heard coming from the room made perfect sense. She slowly picked her jaw up off of the ground and regarded them with a calm expression. "Wow, brat. I didn't think you'd nail her that fast."

They stared at her confusedly for a few seconds before exchanging puzzled expressions of their own. Being the faster of the two, Tayuya was the first to realize what the woman was trying to imply. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she opened her mouth to protest, stumbling over her words in the process.

"I...no! We weren't...that!" she yelled, failing to form a complete sentence. Tsunade smirked and looked over at Naruto with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Trying to get another peek, eh, Naruto?" An eerie silence filled the room as both genin stiffened at her question. A violent aura rose up from the girl in nearly visible waves of energy, scaring Naruto shitless and sending the birds singing merrily across the street into cardiac arrest. She mechanically turned her head to look at the cowering boy beneath her, a deep blush spreading over her cheeks despite her anger.

"Another peek? Naruto..." she started, her teeth grinding together with anger, "What the fuck did I say I would do to you if you peeked?" The blond grinned nervously and tried to ease his way out from under her, only to be grabbed by the collar and shoved roughly back against the floor. She reached for the weapons pouch on his right leg and grabbed a kunai before holding it high above her head with both hands. Realizing what she was planning to do, he quickly raised his hands in a disarming fashion, hoping to calm the demonic redhead down before she impaled him with his own weapon.

"W-wait!" he gulped, cringing expectantly. Tayuya snarled and raised the knife higher. No amount of begging and pleading could save him now. Ironically, he was hardly the first guy to have seen her naked since she'd joined Orochimaru.

Her teammates had seen her naked on many occasions both on and off of missions, though they usually only commented on how short and pudgy she looked without any clothes on. Anyone else who happened to see her were promptly thrust into an A-ranked level genjutsu while being devoured by her summoned zombies. Though her mind vehemently denied it, she knew exactly why she didn't want Naruto to see her naked. Pushing those thoughts aside for the time being, she narrowed her eyes even further and clenched the kunai tighter in her hands.

"You brought this on yourself, hentai!" she brought the knife down at a blinding speed, watching angrily as Naruto tightly squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for immense agony. Just as she was about to stab him between his (beautiful, cerulean blue) eyes, her hands suddenly swerved to the right, leaving a shallow cut on his whiskered check and embedding the weapon into the floor. "Goddammit, you're so fucking lucky you saved my life. If you were anyone else, and I mean anyone-Fuck! I just want to...urgh!" she screamed, fighting to keep her twitching hands away from the blond's neck. At this point, it had become painfully clear to the other shinobi in the room that this girl was very mentally unstable.

Naruto slowly opened one of his eyes to stare up at the fuming girl. It was obvious that her emotions were conflicted, and he watched with mild interest (and fear) as her face cycled between anger, agony, sadness, and another expression he'd never seen before. But mostly anger. Shizune stood behind the girl with a relieved expression on her face, holding a steadying hand over her heart. The Hokage just rolled her eyes and stepped into the room, closing and locking the door behind her.

"If you two are done with your little lover's spat," she drawled, resting a lazy hand on her hip, "I'd really like to get this briefing over with." Tayuya's scowl deepened, and with a little help from Shizune, she got off of the boy and plopped down on her own bed. The boy wasted no time in scrambling to his feet and hiding behind the only other blond in the room. She sighed and rolled her eyes again. Kids this young definitely shouldn't be shinobi. Shooting her surrogate little brother a withering glare, she easily flung him out from behind her and towards his own bed, which he landed harshly on with a loud grunt.

"Hey!" he yelled, pushing himself up into a half lying, half sitting position. "Aren't nurses supposed to be gentle with their patients?" Tsunade frowned and shook her fist at Naruto.

"Shut up, brat! Or do you not want to hear what you'll be doing for the next few days before you leave?" It was agonizingly difficult to keep a knowing smirk from spreading across her face. If you wanted Naruto to do something, all you had to do was dangle either a mission, new jutsu, or a piece of wanted information over his head. Predictably, the genin immediately shut up and sat up straight on the small hospital bed. A small twitch of her lips was the only sign she gave to show that she was pleased.

"That's what I thought. Now, Tayuya." The pouting girl lifted her eyes to look at the deceivingly young woman. "You're probably wondering why you can't use your legs as well as you used to." When the genin nodded, Tsunade continued. "Although the Sozo Saisei healed the muscles, bones, and ligaments in your legs, your muscles are still weak from the massive cellular multiplication needed to perform the jutsu. That, combined with the fact that you haven't walked in nearly two weeks, means you'll be confined to a pair of crutches until you gain your strength back. It should only take a couple of days, provided that you perform a few simple stretches everyday and get a plentiful amount of rest every night. You'll be walking in no time." Tayuya slowly nodded her head, not daring to give away her excitement. If there was one thing that she'd learned in life, it was that karma was a bitch.

"How long until I can move like a shinobi?" The woman frowned thoughtfully.

"I suppose that depends on you. Your legs are fully healed, so it's up to you to get them back in shape." The girl nodded again, this time allowing a small smile to inconspicuously slide onto her face. Getting herself back into shape would be a snap. "On that note, Jiraiya wants to leave early on Friday morning. That gives you three days to get yourselves packed, say your goodbyes, and do whatever the hell else you need to before you have to leave. You're going to be gone for three years; make the most of your time here." Tayuya snorted rudely, but chose not to comment. The woman had to have been talking to Naruto since she didn't particularly care for anyone in the village at all, nor did she have much of anything to pack. Tsunade glanced up at the clock and smirked. "By the way, you might want to get a move on."

"What? Why?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side.

"You have a mission, remember? Or did you forget? It was originally supposed to end this Friday, but since you need that time to prepare yourselves, today will be your last day. From what I hear, those kids have been mighty anxious for you to come back; something about a story?" Both genin raised their eyebrows. The fact that a bunch of kids they'd barely known for two days wanted them to come back was nothing short of astounding. Still, it was a little flattering to be wanted so badly.

The Hokage motioned for Shizune to follow her out of the room, in which the younger woman quickly obliged. Just as she opened the door, Tsunade suddenly stopped and glanced over her shoulder.

"By the way, as of twelve o'clock this afternoon, both of you are officially discharged from the hospital." Tayuya frowned curiously.

"Where the fuck am I supposed to stay until we leave?" The large grin that suddenly sprouted upon the Hokage's face told her everything she needed to know. "N-no, hell no, you don't mean-!"

"That's right! There's no sense in wasting money on a hotel for only three nights, so you'll be staying with Naruto until this weekend! Have fun!" And with that, she disappeared through the doorway. Shizune, on the other hand, at least had the decency to shoot them an apologetic smile before slowly slipping out of the room and closing the door behind her.

For a good five minutes, neither of them moved. The two of them were still staring disbelievingly at the closed door, eyes wide and mouths open wide enough for two boss-level summons to fit inside. As if on cue, they simultaneously turned their heads to stare blankly at each other.

"We...we should leave soon," he mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper. She noticed that his face was slightly paler than usual, and that small beads of sweat were beginning to pop up on his forehead. Still, she meekly nodded her head. "You, uh, want me to get your clothes?" She nodded again, and with a speed easily comparable to a snail, Naruto rose from the bed and drifted over to the cupboards on the other side of the room. After grabbing all of the garments folded neatly on the bottom shelf (A dark blue long sleeve shirts, a pair of black ninja pants, and a pair of ninja sandals), he stiffly handed her the items and walked out of the room.

It was going to be a long three days.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune called, racing after her mentor. They'd just left the hospital room of Naruto and Tayuya, and were currently on their way back to the Hokage's office. The older woman slowed down her pace to allow her to catch up.

"What is it?" she asked as they walked out of the hospital.

"Why didn't you tell her about You-know-who's changes to the seal?" Tsunade shrugged.

"I can tell her later. Besides, don't you think it'd be more fun if she was able find out about the changes herself?" she said, grinning conspiratorially at her assistant. Shizune frowned and shook her head.

"But don't you think that's a little irresponsible? What if there's a problem?" The Hokage waved her hand dismissively as they entered the Hokage Tower. Thankfully, it was very close to the hospital, allowing her to go from place to place in seconds if she so chose to.

"You worry too much. Even if something did happen, the brat never leaves her side. She'll be fine." Her frown deepening, Shizune crossed her arms and stopped at the foot of the stairs leading to the Hokage's office.

"This isn't your way of getting revenge on her for calling you a decrepit old hag, is it?" The small jump of Tsunade's shoulders gave away her surprise at being discovered so easily.

"Geez, what is this, twenty questions? Don't you have to take Tonton for a walk or something?" The black-haired woman sighed in disappointment. She could be so immature sometimes.

"Tsunade-sama, not only are you the head doctor of the hospital, but you're the Hokage of the Leaf Village! Don't you think you should be a little more considerate towards the feelings of your patient and subordinate? I can't believe that you're withholding information from Tayuya just because she insulted something as superficial as your age. I'm very disappointed in you!"

She stamped her foot to emphasize her point, looking very childish herself. Tsunade simply stood at the top of the stairs, not bothering to answer nor give any signal that she'd heard the lecture. Shizune's frown deepened, and she quickly walked up the stairs towards her mentor. She reached her hand out to tap the woman on the shoulder.

"Tsunade-sama? Did you hear-" Amazingly, her hand went straight through the woman's chest. Immediately after, the Hokage slowly dissipated into nothing. Shizune cursed under her breath. Bunshin no Jutsu, one of the simplest ninjutsu known to the shinobi world, and she'd fallen for it. Just as she was about to scale the rest of the stairs to give her mentor a piece of her mind, her frown suddenly turned into a mischievous smile.

It was obvious that words alone wouldn't help the blond understand what she was trying to say, so she was going to have to scold her through actions.

Chuckling evily, she crept back down the steps and out of the building. This was going to fun.

Tayuya sighed as she straightened the dark blue shirt resting loosely over her torso. Less than half an hour into the day and she was already stressed out beyond belief. She was certain that karma was collecting on its long overdue rent; or perhaps things like this only happened when Naruto was around.

A shallow blush appeared on her face as she thought about the blond idiot. She was still pretty pissed off that he'd peeped on her while she was naked, unconscious, and probably lying spread eagle on the floor of the operating room. Growling lowly, she easily tugged the dark pants up her legs and buttoned them at the top. Yes, he would pay. She would make sure of that.

After grabbing and securing her ninja sandals, she reached for the small mirror and brush sitting on the small table next to her bed. To her surprise, they were right underneath a huge, colorful flower arrangement. She gawked at the flowers for nearly a full minute, unsure if whether or not they were actually there or if she just was experiencing a bizarre side effect of the sealing.

"...How the fuck did I miss those?" she wondered aloud, still staring dumbly at the flowers. Shuffling towards the head of the bed, she leaned forward and made her second big mistake of the day - taking a huge, uninhibited whiff of the sweet smelling plants. The effect was immediate. Her eyes began to water as she choked and gagged from the unusually strong smell, and it took another good minute for her to shuffle over to the window and open it to get some fresh air. She took a few more deep breaths before turning to glare at her current ire.

"Fucking flowers," she spat, still gasping for air on the bed, "I should throw you bastards out the window for trying to kill me!" Just as she was about to make good on her threat, she noticed a small piece of paper sticking right out of the middle of the arrangement. Curiously, she reached over and plucked it out with careful hands, handling the paper as if it would crumble if she was too rough. She slowly unrolled the piece of paper and glanced over the contents.

There wasn't much of a message; just a simple 'Get well soon.' However, it was the small picture at the bottom that caused a warm feeling to spread throughout her chest. Someone had drawn a chibi Naruto smiling with that foxy grin of his. He was holding up two fingers in the customary peace sign, and there were even tiny fox ears drawn in with a red pen. She smiled softly to herself. It was the first time she'd ever gotten flowers.

Tayuya was by no means a flower expert, but she did learn some of the basics from her grandmother before she'd left to join Orochimaru. She turned a critical eye upon the arrangement. It was painfully obvious that he'd had some help with the bouquet, as it was much too neat and orderly for him to have put it together by himself. Hell, if it was up to him, he'd probably just fill the tissue paper with as many orange flowers as he could find.

She inched closer to observe each and every individual petal, something that she found extremely easy to do ever since her operation. Remembering something her grandmother had told her when she was young, she decided to start at the edges and work her way in. The first layer of flowers were simply tiny white baby's breath, customary for any arrangement to add that subtle sparkle. A small amount of fern and ivy helped them stand out more against the edges, and looking a little closer, she noticed that there were even a few purple baby's breath flowers thrown in to subtly accent the tissue paper. There was now absolutely no doubt in her mind that this was done by a professional.

Moving on, she trailed her amateur eyes over to the next group of flowers. These were more like the side dishes, used to build the viewer up until they could get to the center. There were mostly different colored tulips in this area, and she struggled to remembered what each color meant. She easily remembered that yellow tulips represented happiness and cheerfulness as they had been her grandmother's favorites, but the other colors were puzzling her to no end. The red tulips could possibly mean things like 'love' or 'admiration', but Naruto didn't seem to have those kinds of feelings for her at all. Deciding she'd put it off long enough, she lifted her eyes to view the main attraction. What she saw caused her breath to hitch painfully in her throat.

In the center of the multicolored and extravagant arrangement was a single purple rose, proudly standing out amongst the much louder and plentiful tulips. It clashed so violently with the rest of the flowers that Naruto had to have been the one to choose it. An expert would never make such a juvenile mistake. Still...roses were the universal language for love, no matter what the color. Did that mean...?

She frowned a bit at the thought of him actually being in love with her. The idea itself wasn't so bad, but...what could she say to that? Sure, she liked him well enough, but having him as a boyfriend? Even if she tried, she couldn't see herself actually skipping through a field of daisies with him, holding hands like old lovers and smiling at each with heartfelt desire. Fuck, she'd shoot herself if she ever seriously pictured such a sickeningly sweet and cliche scene. No, if he was actually in love with her, she'd have to reject him; for both their sakes.

Still...Naruto was dumber than a rock, and it was highly unlikely that he purposely chose a flower meant to express an emotion as strong as love. Knowing that idiot, he probably grabbed the prettiest looking thing he could find. He was simply showing her an act of goodwill by bringing her flowers, completely unaware that each individual flower had an actual meaning. She nodded forcefully to herself. That had to be it!

Nodding again, she grabbed the crutches resting against the bed and slowly hefted herself into a standing position. Maybe she could forgive the idiot after all. She picked up her brush from the side table and quickly ran it through her long red hair. It was much longer than she liked it, reaching just past her shoulder blades. A haircut would be needed sometime within the next couple of weeks. She briefly glanced in the mirror again before slipping both items into her pocket and heading towards the door, but not before plucking the violet rose out of the bouquet and slipping it one of the lower pockets of her pants. Putting on a small smile, she placed her hand on the doorknob.

"Naruto, did yo-" Tayuya started, opening the door. She watched dumbfounded as Naruto came tumbling headfirst into the room. After a few seconds, he picked himself up off the ground with a sheepish smile and began to nervously scratch the back of his head.

"H-hey, Tayuya!" he said, forcing a smile onto his face. She stared down at him with a blank expression. All feelings of thankfulness were long gone, being replaced by an empty void known as white hot rage.

"...What the fuck were you doing?" the girl asked, her voice neutral. Had he been a smart or insightful young man, Naruto would've taken off towards the nearest invasion shelter the moment she'd laid her eyes upon him. Unfortunately for him, he was neither.

"W-well, I heard you screaming and coughing, and I got worried, so I was trying to hear if you were okay, and then it got quiet so I opened the door to see if-" at that moment, Tayuya brought her left crutch down hard upon his head, sending him sprawling against the opposite wall. The blank, slightly curious expression was replaced by unbridled womanly fury, and if one looked closely, they could literally see the flames of hell burning within her eyes.

"You just don't fucking learn, do you?" she ground out through clenched teeth. Her crutch was poised high above her head for another strike, and he briefly wondered who would get all of the ramen stashed away in his cupboards if he should die here. Fearing for his life, Naruto did the only thing a true man could do in this situation; he begged.

"I-I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to peek, I swear! I was just really, really worried about you and thought you were in trouble! Please don't kill me!" he cried, staring up at her with wide, innocent blue eyes. She slowly felt her anger fading as she stared into his deep blue eyes, and gradually, she loosened her grip on the small wooden crutch and lowered it back to her side.

"You looked in because you were worried?" Her eyes still stared angrily into his, despite the crumbling of her resolve. When he vigorously nodded his head to show his agreement, she sighed deeply and hung her head. Goddamn him and those beautiful persuasive blue eyes of his. That had to be some kind of kinjutsu used to break even the fiercest of shinobi. "Idiot," she said, bopping him over the head again for good measure, "Just ask next time. Okay?" Realizing that he got to live for another day, he shot up from his position on the ground and flashed her a foxy grin.

"Okay!" Tayuya rolled her eyes at his enthusiastic response but couldn't keep a small smirk from making its way onto her face.

"Quit fooling around and let's go. If we're late, I'm telling the little fuckers it's your fault." That got him moving. He still had vivid memories of having his most intimate parts trampled by a large horde of bloodthirsty demonic minions.

"Ino-chan?"

The pink haired woman stared down at the young kunoichi with more than a little bit of shock. The last she'd heard, Ino and her daughter had been bitter rivals, fighting over the now missing Uchiha. The girl smiled up at her apologetically. No doubt the woman knew of their rivalry, so it was a little awkward to suddenly show up on her doorstep after nearly two years of absence.

"Ohayo, Haruno-san! Long time no see! Is Sakura home?" she asked, trying to keep her voice light and innocent. True to her word, the blond had decided to visit her old friend first thing in the morning to discuss the hyperactive ramen-freak. She was a little tired, having spent most of the night coming up with ways to ask about Naruto without letting his teammate catch on to her intentions. Maybe because she was embarrassed to be even considering Naruto as something more than a friend, or maybe because she was afraid that Sakura would try to beat her to him.

She almost smirked at the thought. Sakura interested in Naruto? Not likely. Especially since Sasuke had only gone missing a couple of weeks earlier. Unlike herself and the other fangirls, Sakura seemed to hold a genuine love for the dark-haired boy, and the chances of her even thinking about moving on were slim to none.

"Yes, come in! Maybe you can help to get her out of this little funk she's been in lately." Ino's eyebrows shot up.

"She's still crying about Sasuke?" The woman sadly shook her head.

"In a way, I wish she was. Then I'd at least know what was bothering her." She motioned for the girl to follow her up the stairs. "She suddenly came home in tears a couple of days ago and ran straight up to her room. I haven't seen much of her since, except for when she leaves to train with Hokage-sama and comes back home again. She won't even come down for dinner anymore!"

The blond frowned. That wasn't like Sakura at all. She glanced at the pictures on the wall leading up to the second floor. The entire wall was filled with pictures of the pink-haired kunoichi at different stages of her life, ranging from newborn to teenager. A sad smile fluttered over her lips at the pictures of herself and Sakura smiling at the camera like the best of friends, and she couldn't help but wonder why they'd let something as small as a childhood crush come between them.

Shaking her head, she continued up the steps until they reached the door that was quite obviously Sakura's. It was decorated with large, heart-shaped sakura petals and countless pictures of the wayward Uchiha. Ino felt herself throw up a little in the back of her throat. Her love for Sasuke was bordering on psychotic obsession.

"Sakura-chan? Honey? You have a friend here to see you!" the woman called through the door. She waited a few seconds for an answer, but when it became obvious that she was being ignored, she slightly hung her head and sighed. "I'm sorry, Ino-chan, just go right in. I believe you know how to get past the lock?" Ino nodded and stepped up to the door. Just as she was about to perform the necessary actions, her hand suddenly stopped in midair and she turned to address the woman waiting anxiously at her side.

"Ah...Mrs. Haruno, Sakura didn't want me to show you how to do it, so..."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'll get out of your way." She backed away from door and hurried back down the stairs. After making sure that she was really gone, Ino took a deep breath and faced the door again. First, she banged the area above the doorknob twice and twisted it to the left once. Then, she kicked the bottom of the door three times, the wall next to the door hinge four times, and finally twisted the knob approximately three hundred and sixty degrees to the right. The girl smirked when she heard the familiar 'click' of the door being successfully unlocked, and easily swung it open with a boisterous sweeping motion.

"Oi, Sakura! What're you doing inside on such a beautiful day?" she teased, stepping into the dark room. She stalked over to the window and forced the sunlight obstructing curtains open. Taking a quick surveying look around, she noticed that the room was terribly messy, clothes strewn about carelessly all over the place and used snack wrappers littering the floor. Well, at least she wasn't starving herself. She poked at the noticeable bulge sticking up from the bed with her finger. "Hey, did you hear me? Get up!" An annoyed grunt resounded from the mass of blankets.

"Go away, Ino, I don't feel like talking today." Ino frowned and plopped down on an unoccupied corner of the bed.

"Too bad, I do." With a forceful pull, she tossed the blankets off of the pink-haired genin and onto the floor.

"Ino! I'm serious, go away!" Sakura yelled, turning away from the blond. She only wore a simple pair of black sweat pants and a large pink t-shirt, and her short pink tresses were strewn about over her large puffy pink pillow- with a blown up picture of Sasuke screen printed on it, of course.

"No! Look, either you get up right now, take a shower, and change clothes or I do it." The girl suddenly stiffened and slowly turned her head to meet the mischievous blue eyes of her former best friend.

"You wouldn't." Ino's grin widened.

"I would." Sakura's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"You don't have the guts." The blond's smile widened to nearly impossible proportions, and with the loudest and most annoying voice she could muster, opened her mouth and began to sing.

" If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends, make it last forever, friendship never eeenddss! If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give, taking is too easy, but that's the way-"

"Enough! I give up!" She screamed, desperately clawing at her ears with her fingernails. "Why did you have to go there? Are you trying to permanently damage my ears?" Ino idly scratched at her ear with the fingernail of her pinky and shrugged.

"Hey, you had your chance. Don't blame me." Grumbling, Sakura rolled out of bed and grabbed a few bits of clothing off of the floor while her rival watched with an amused smirk. She then stalked out of the room, and fifteen minutes later, returned looking much better than she had when she'd left.

"There, happy?" she growled, angrily plopping down in her desk chair. Ino smiled and nodded.

"Don't you feel so much better now?" Sakura crossed her arms and shot her a dark glare.

"What do you want, Ino?" The teasing smile immediately dropped from the blond's face as she remembered why she'd come in the first place. She lowered her eyes in thought, trying her hardest to remember the lines she'd rehearsed the night before. After a few seconds of thought, she gave up and decided to wing it. Her best bet was to get her guard down, and establish some sort of mutual trust between them. With that thought in mind, she lifted her head and put on a concerned expression.

"Nothing much, just wondering why you're acting all depressed and moody. Does it have to do with Sasuke?" she asked, feigning interest. To be honest, she couldn't care less about her rival's problems. Nine out of ten times it had something to do with Sasuke, and one could only listen to the same old story a hundred or so times before becoming fed up. She fought the urge to roll her eyes when the girl nodded.

"Kind of. How'd you know?" Ino's eye twitched with annoyance.

'Gee, I don't know, maybe because it's always about Sasuke?' she thought. Instead of voicing her opinion, she smiled cheerfully and gave her a knowing smile. "I can see it in your eyes, of course!" Bullshit. "So, what's the problem this time?" Sakura sighed softly.

"Well, actually, the problem's mostly with Naruto." Ino blinked in surprise. Perhaps this was something worth listening to after all.

"Naruto?" she asked, leaning forward on the bed. Sakura nodded and scowled.

"Yeah. He's hiding the identify of one of the shinobi who kidnapped Sasuke!" The blond's eyebrows shot up into her forehead.

"W-what?"

"I'm serious! Remember that redhead we saw when we visited Naruto's room? She actually works for Orochimaru! I bet her name isn't really Tayuya, either! Can you believe he hid something so horrible from the entire village? He even lied to my face about it!" Ino lowered her eyes and looked away, immediately piquing Sakura's curiosity. "Ino?"

"Uh, yeah. I can't believe he'd do something like that." In reality, Shikamaru had already filled her in on the situation. Well, she'd actually had to beat it out of him, but she preferred to overlook such unimportant details. It was extremely easy to see that there was something fishy about the redhead; when they'd all entered the room, both Chouji and Kiba had reacted powerfully to her presence. The fact that her teammate had to shut them up only cemented her suspicions. Sakura's theory did serve one purpose, though; she now knew the face of the one Naruto was buying the flowers for.

"You know something, don't you?" Sakura asked, standing from her seat. When her rival shifted uncomfortably on the bed, she rushed over to grab the girl by the shoulders. "Did Naruto help her kidnap Sasuke? I bet he did! He's always been jealous Sasuke and I's relationship!" That did it. Ino's eyes narrowed into angry slits as she too shot up from her seat to stare her fellow kunoichi straight in the eyes. Surprised, Sakura took a small step back.

"Shut the hell up! I can't believe you'd even think of something so outrageous about Naruto! He's been nothing but kind and loyal to you, and yet you suspect him of kidnapping Sasuke? He's your teammate, for Kami's sake! Why don't you use what's behind that billboard brow of yours and think for a change! Sasuke left, Sakura, and no matter what you may come up with in that arrogant, hoity-toity head of yours, that fact will always remain true!" Both girls stared into each other's eyes, Sakura in definite shock and Ino in furious anger. After nearly a full minute of tense silence, the pink-haired genin finally composed herself enough to speak.

"Get. Out," she hissed, her bangs covering the majority her eyes. Ino snorted and turned on her heel, making a beeline towards the door. She didn't know why she'd flown off the handle like she did, but she was confident that she would've defended any of the Konoha 11 in the same way. None of them, especially not the perpetually cheerful and honest Naruto, deserved to be accused of something so idiotically unsubstantial. Pulling the door open with as much strength as she could muster, she shot one last glare over her shoulder at her former friend and rival.

"Gladly!" She slammed the door and stomped down the stairs, completely brushing off Sakura's worried and overwrought mother. As far she was concerned, that bitch deserved to wallow in her shallow pool of self pity.

Five seconds after Ino had walked out of the door, Sakura fell to her knees and cried.

Chapter 12

Besides the usual glares and sneers from the villagers, the trip to the Academy was largely uneventful. They slipped into the school building with more than a little apprehension. It'd been almost a week since they'd last been there, and there was no telling how the children would react to their prolonged absence. Tayuya nodded towards the door and gave the subtle command for Naruto to slide it open. There was no guarantee that they'd make it out alive; hell, there was no guarantee that they'd make it out at all. After saying a quick prayer to Kami-sama, they stepped into the room and braced themselves.

"Tayuya-sensei! Naruto-sensei! They're back!" one of the kids, yelled, pointing excitedly towards the door. At that moment, a large group of sniveling, ecstatic five year olds rushed towards them at mach five speeds. It took every ounce of the girl's willpower not to turn around and get the fuck out of there, and she wondered if her fellow genin was feeling the same way. They dragged the teens into the room and slid the door shut behind them, ultimately sealing their fates.

This time, the children wasted no time in forcing Tayuya to sit in the small, plush chair endearingly dubbed as 'The Princess's Throne' and shoved a large red storybook into her hands. She watched amazed as the toddlers moved like clockwork, grabbing pillows, blankets, and various other toys to help make themselves comfortable. Even if they were little demons, she had to admit that they were organized. A small pressure on her lap snapped her out of her thoughts, and she glanced down to see the same small, brown-haired girl from the week before making herself comfortable against her body.

"Why do you always sit in my lap?" Tayuya asked, staring down at the girl with a small frown. The girl lifted her large, brown eyes up to meet the redhead's own, and with an annoyingly cute smile, she answered.

"You feel like my mommy." A stifled chuckle was heard to her left, and she turned her head to glare menacingly at Naruto. Unfortunately, the effect was lessened by the light flush of her cheeks. Almost ripping the book in half, she opened it and buried her face within the pages to hide her embarrassment.

"So...does anyone remember where we left off?" she ground out through clenched teeth, resisting the incredibly strong urge to punch the smug looking blond in the face. Two dozen hands shot up into the air, one of them belonging to Naruto. She nodded towards a sickly boy that she recognized as Jin.

"The snake was just about to kill the fox for getting in his way!" Tayuya nodded and flipped a few pages until she found it.

"Here?" She held up the book towards the kids, and when they all nodded simultaneously, she cleared her throat slightly and began to read. "Frowning, the snake launched himself at the wounded fox. 'I told you to not to meddle, and now you shall die!' Before he could sink his fangs into the fox, a strong, white light shot out from the fox and covered him in an angelic glow. The fox could feel the power surging through him, and with a mighty growl, he jumped to attack the snake." The children gasped in surprise at the sudden turn of events, causing Tayuya to snicker at their awestruck expressions. She'd forgotten just how amusing it was to watch their faces twist and turn with each new page.

"After dodging the snake's bite, the fox ducked under his belly killed the snake with a strong swipe to the stomach. As soon as she was sure he was dead, the princess rushed over to the fox and gave him a big hug. 'Oh, thank you fox!' the princess said, snuggling up against his fur. 'Thank you for saving me from that evil snake!' The fox only shook his head and smiled. 'You are my friend, Princess, and I will always protect you.' Walking hand in hand-" The redhead idly wondered what the hell kind of fox had hands instead of paws, "-the fox and princess strode through the forest together towards the Wizard's house to tell him all about their victorious battle. The end." Tayuya glanced up from her book to gauge their reactions.

For five seconds, no one moved. Each of the children had a different expression on their face; some were amazed, some were terrified, and a few of them even had the beginnings of tears in their eyes. Even though she thought she'd done a good job in reading the story, she certainly wasn't expecting the loud wave of applause and cheers that reached her ears.

"You're the best reader ever!" one of them exclaimed, standing up to embrace her in a hug. She tensed momentarily at the unusual feeling, but eventually relaxed enough to awkwardly wrap her arm around his shoulders.

"Uh...thanks," she replied, giving him a slight squeeze. Unfortunately, that simple action only encouraged the rest of the children to try the same. A crowd of students rushed her at full speed to receive a hug of their own.

"I want a hug too!"

"Me next! Me next!"

"Hey! No skipping!"

Tayuya's face was visibly uncomfortable, and she looked over towards her only ally for help. Much to her chagrin, said ally was currently rolling on the ground, laughing at her predicament. "Naruto!" she yelled over the crowd of noisy five year olds, "Help me!" Naruto considered leaving her alone to deal with the children by herself, but the pleading look in her eyes made him change his mind. Even if this wasn't exactly a battle, he was never one to abandon a comrade in need. With a sigh of resignation, he stood up and walked over to one of the cupboards in the classroom. He then pulled out a box of cookies and took a deep breath.

"Who wants cookies?" he yelled, raising the box high above his head. The effect was immediate. The swarm of children quickly forgot about their quest to receive a hug from the redhead, and instantly encircled Naruto to receive their snack. Naturally, sugar dominated everything else. "First, you have to sit down at your tables." They wasted no time in getting settled in the tiny chairs, and five minutes later, he finished laying out cookies and milk for the kids to eat.

"Fuck, I thought I was a goner!" Tayuya breathed, absentmindedly brushing herself off. Except for training, she'd rarely received any kind of physical contact from anyone in the Sound; sadly, most of it was from Orochimaru. Receiving any kind of physical affection, especially from a writhing mass of flesh and snot, was well above her comfort level. She glanced up at the clock hanging over the door and frowned. "We were supposed to leave ten minutes ago. It's already one o'clock in the fucking afternoon." He nodded and handed the girl her crutches.

"Are you coming back tomorrow?" a small voice asked as she stood up. They both glanced down to see the sickly young boy from before, Jin, staring up at them with wide eyes. Looking over his head, the genin realized that the entire class was waiting on a reply. Naruto grinned sadly at the children.

"Sorry, me and Tayuya-sensei are gonna be gone for awhile." The five year olds' faces immediately dropped into a frown.

"For how long?" one of the children asked from the back of the classroom. Both teens tensed slightly at the question. There was no doubt in either of their minds that the kids wouldn't like what they would have to say. Tayuya slowly began backing towards the door, just in case the little bastards decided to attack.

"Uh...three years." At once, a loud chorus of whines and shouts filled the room.

"You can't go for that long! You're our favorite senseis ever!" Jin whimpered, still staring at them with puppy eyes. The redhead rolled her eyes and turned to address the kids. It was obvious that with Naruto trying to explain things, they'd never leave.

"We'll be back before you know it. While we're gone, I expect each and every one of you to become strong shinobi of the Leaf. Is that clear?" she asked, fixing them with a stern glare. The children stared up at her in confusion before sharing determined nods amongst themselves.

"Hai, Tayuya-sensei!" they shouted in unison. With a final wave goodbye, the two genin slipped out of the room.

That night, twenty-one sets of parents had a heart attack when their children proudly proclaimed that they wanted to become Konoha ninja.

"Where did that come from?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow at the redhead hobbling along at his side. They'd just left the Academy, and after five or so minutes of deliberating, decided to take a stroll through the Market District to kill some time.

"Where did what come from?" the redhead shot back. The blond scrunched up his face in thought.

"You know, that thing where you told all of the kids to become Konoha shinobi. I thought you hated this place?" Tayuya shrugged as best she could on the wooden crutches.

"I do, but if I have to live in this shithole for the rest of my goddamn life, I want to be at least somewhat safe. The more ninja the better, right?" The blond nodded his agreement. He had to admit that she had a point, even if it was for the wrong reasons. He casually placed his hands behind his head and looked up at the cloudy blue sky. Konoha was at its prettiest around this time of year.

"I guess. So, what do you want to do now?" he asked, trying to pick shapes out of the clouds floating above his head. The majority of them just looked like large white balls of cotton, and he could never understand why Shikamaru loved staring at them so much. After a five second wait for her answer, he eventually turned his eyes to look at her. "Tayuya?"

To his surprise, the fiery redhead was nowhere to be seen. Panicking slightly, he immediately turned around to see if she'd tripped or fallen when he wasn't looking. He felt his panic rise another level when he realized she wasn't anywhere near him. A million thoughts began to run through his head; Had someone kidnapped her? Was it another Sound ninja coming to finish the job? Did she ditch him? Shaking his head, he scratched the last item off of the list. She'd had a hard enough time simply walking with the crutches, so there was no way she could have disappeared on her own in such a short amount of time.

He quickly retraced his steps, looking into every single dark alley and side street on the path back to the Academy. 'Where the hell is she?' he thought, his mind racing with possibilities. Just as he was about to give up after nearly fifteen minutes of searching, a large white sign in one of the store windows caught his eye. He rushed over to window and breathed a small sigh of relief when he read the bright red letters painted crudely on the poster board:

'Going out of business sale! 50 percent off on all instruments and supplies!'

Of course. If he remembered correctly, Tayuya had used a flute as her main weapon. He also remembered that he hadn't seen her with a flute since he'd met her two weeks ago. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pushed the door to the shop open and stepped inside the dimly lit room.

Despite there being a huge sale on instruments and supplies, the store was still crowded with guitars, drums, cymbals, and a whole bunch of other instruments he'd never seen before. There didn't seem to be any particular order to the way the items were arranged, and large brown boxes littered the floor of the shop. He couldn't see much from the doorway except for a ridiculous amount of shelves and bookcases. In the back of his mind, he wondered how many people had died trying to find their way out of the junky recesses of the store.

"Hello!" an older woman croaked, smiling widely at him from behind the counter. Her hair was just starting to gray, and her clothes looked worn but comfortable. A small pair of glasses were perched dexterously on the tip of her nose and were connected to a small golden chain hanging around her neck. "Welcome to the..." a small frown marred her face when she finally got a good look at his whisker marks. "What do you want?" Naruto felt the corners of his mouth twitch downwards, but quickly masked it with the widest possible smile he could muster.

"Sorry to bother you, but I'm just looking for my friend. Did a girl with red hair come in here?" he asked, trying to be as respectful as possible. The woman eyed him suspiciously.

"Why? What if I have?" she shot back. Before he could answer, an excited shout reached his ears from somewhere within the mass of brass and wood.

"Naruto! Naruto, is that you? Get your ass over here quick!" He recognized the voice as Tayuya's and let loose the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Shooting the old woman a nervous smile, he gingerly stepped into the old shop and attempted to find his way to the voice hidden among the shelves.

Still eying him suspiciously, the shop owner shouted over to Tayuya. "You know this boy?"

"Yeah, he's the fucker I told you about before, the one that helped me out with my legs." She scowled from her place in the back of the store and waved one of her crutches in the air to help him pinpoint her location. "Where the hell are you? Hurry up and get the fuck over here!"

"I can't! It's like a maze in here!" the blond replied, doing his best to find a way out. Everytime he thought he was close to the girl, another bookshelf or pile of boxes stood in his way. A loud sigh was heard from the direction of the front desk, followed by the sound of tired footsteps.

"Hold your horses, I'll help you get there." In less than a minute, the woman skillfully found her way to stressed blond and motioned for him to follow her. "I swear, you young shinobi are hopeless, relying on brute strength instead of brains to get through life. In my day, we were taught to think before we acted, and to go into every battle with a set plan." Naruto cocked an eyebrow in curiosity.

"You were a kunoichi?" he asked, thoroughly surprised. She didn't look all that impressive, and at first glance, one would never know. Still navigating through the store's maze, she nodded.

"Pah! I was one of the best genjutsu specialists of my time! That red-eyed girl...what's her name...Kurenai can't compare to the level I was at when I was her age. Hell, I could put that Itachi brat in an illusion so fierce he'd be down on his knees begging for me to hurry up and kill him." The image of the stoic and powerful Itachi begging to be put out of his misery was too much for the boy, and he galefully chuckled softly to himself. "The only thing I couldn't stop with my genjutsu is that damn nine-tailed fox. A shame, too, since he killed both my parents and my husband." Naruto lowered his head slightly at her words.

Even though he had nothing to do with the Kyuubi's attack on the village, he still felt a small amount of guilt for even keeping it alive inside of him. He thought he heard a snort in the back of his mind, but brushed it off when the woman pointed towards an opening ahead of them. "Ah, here we are!"

They walked around a corner to see a wall completely covered with flutes. There were flutes of all different lengths, types, material, and colors hanging on the large slab of wood. Staring enviously up at the wide assortment of wind instruments was a cheery-eyed Tayuya.

"Naruto, look! They have so fuckin' many here!" He watched her face as she studied each and every individual flute, and was surprised at what he saw. Her face was completely different from what he used to seeing, and there wasn't a trace of anger or hatred on her angular features. It was almost like looking at a completely separate individual! The owner stepped up beside the girl to look up at the assortment with her.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" she asked, clasping her hands loosely behind her back. Tayuya nodded slowly and pointed up at a simple copper flute resting near the top of the display. There didn't appear to be anything special about it, and the old woman frowned deeply at her choice. "You want that?"

"What?" the redhead asked, taken aback at her tone of voice. "Why the fuck not? It's the only battle flute I see up here." A small spark appeared in the woman's eye, and a smirk slowly made its way onto her face.

"Ah, it's a battle flute you're looking for! Why didn't you say so? You know, I used one too when I was still on active duty, and I've collected quite a few over the years." Both teens watched as she smoothly walked over to a small door built next to the wall. She opened the door and stepped inside, piquing their curiosity. "Are you ready?" she called from inside the room. Naruto glanced at Tayuya and shrugged.

"Sure?" A few seconds after the words left his mouth, the wall in front of them pivoted and turned to reveal another large wall filled with flutes. The only difference was that they were all built for battle. He could literally feel the waves of shock and excitement pouring off of the girl at his side, and she wasted no time in hobbling up to the wall for a closer look.

"H-holy shit!" she exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise. "Where the fuck did all of these come from?" The woman chuckled as she emerged from the doorway.

"Well, it's pretty rare for someone to come in and look for battle flutes. In fact, I've only had one other customer in the past twenty years." She paused to follow the girl's line of sight and smiled. "Ah, I see you're admiring a Western fife. I picked that one up in the Tea Country nearly thirty years ago. It has a wonderful sound, and is pretty durable providing that you clean it right. I wouldn't recommend it for someone like you, though." Tayuya glared slightly at the woman.

"Why not?" Smiling softly at the redhead, she walked up to the wall and picked up a long, black flute with a deep red trim. Intricate red vines twisted up and around the flute in a spiral pattern, and small, dark red rose buds were painted at both ends. Tayuya felt her breath leave her as she reached out towards the flute.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? The construction is very similar to the Chinese bangdi, and the body itself is made up of a mixture of titanium alloy, aluminum, and a small amount of nickel. The sharpest kunai couldn't even scratch a flute of this caliber, let alone slice it in half. There's also a chakra enhancing seal placed right inside of the blowing hole. Your genjutsu will be ten times more devastating, and even an experienced shinobi would have a tough time getting out of a simple B-ranked illusion; if you're talented, of course." The girl ran her finger tips along the grooved surface of the flute, relishing in the feel of the cold metal against her skin.

"How...how much is it?" she stuttered, afraid of what the answer would be. The owner sighed softly.

"Well, the original price is 65,440 yen." Both teens sucked in a large breath of air. That was a shitload of money, especially to two struggling genin. "But, with the half off sale, that brings the price down to 32,720 yen." Tayuya frowned again. It was way out of her price range; mostly because she was flat broke. She glanced over to Naruto who had a similar sad grimace on his face.

"Um...I don't have that much with me right now," he said, poking at his fatter than usual frog wallet. The woman sighed again and crossed her arms.

"How much do you have?" The blond shuffled through his money and let out a sigh of his own.

"Only about 17,000 yen."

"I'll tell you what; you show me that you actually have skill in playing the flute, and I'll cut the price in half again. It's not like I'll be able to sell all of these by the end of the month anyway," she said, motioning to the remaining flutes. The redhead's face lit up, and she smirked cockily at the proposition.

"That's it?" she snorted, hobbling over to a small stool leaning against the wall. "Fuck, you might as well start wrapping this shit up right now!" After settling herself down on the wooden piece of furniture, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She hadn't so much as touched a flute since her battle with Shikamaru, and for a musician of her caliber, that was a long fucking time. Tayuya flexed her fingers and ran her tongue over her lips a few times before lifting the small black instrument to her lips.

Blowing gently, she started off with a few scales to get used to the tone and timbre of the flute. For someone who'd only heard the sound of three different flutes in her entire lifetime, the small, metal woodwind produced the most beautiful sound her ears had ever had the pleasure of listening to. She nearly dropped the flute in surprise at the smooth, rich melody that emanated from the instrument, completely different from the wavering, haunting tone of her old flute. The older woman smiled knowingly.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, a small twinkle in her eyes. Still shocked, Tayuya slowly nodded.

"Fucking hell, I can't believe you're going to sell it to me for so cheap!"

"I haven't agreed to anything yet," the owner said with a mischievous grin. In reality, she'd known the girl could play as soon as she walked into the store. The redhead had blown into the store with an excited, wide-eyed expression, and without even being shown, easily found her way to the southern wall of the shop as if she was being led by the instruments themselves.

Instead of answering, Tayuya simply raised the flute to her lips and closed her eyes again. Surprisingly enough, she didn't know that many songs outside of the melodies she used to control her summoned ogres or genjutsu. Not because she didn't want to; No, between training with the Sound Five and missions, she rarely had any time for herself. Taking a deep breath, she decided to play the first song she'd ever heard her grandmother play.

The sound it made was simply astounding. Her fingers moved like liquid over the many individual air holes, and each note sounded as if the angels themselves were singing along in harmony with the flute. Standing to her right, Naruto could only watch amazed as she expertly manipulated the small instrument to do her bidding, increasing and decreasing her airflow with practiced ease. As he listened to her play, he realized that there was a whole lot more to the bitter girl he knew as Tayuya; underneath her angry, abrasive mask was a completely different person - a girl who preferred to express herself through her music rather than her words.

"Adagio," the older woman whispered, jolting him from his trance-like state. In his daze, he'd completely forgotten that she was still standing next to them. He lifted an eyebrow and glanced up at her.

"Adagio?" She nodded slowly and smiled.

"By Ludwig Van Beethoven, one of the greatest composers of all time. The fact that she can play the piece so well without any sort of reference...it's extraordinary!" He stared at the woman a moment longer before turning his eyes back to his teammate. He didn't really understand all the stuff about music or composing, but he did know that what she was playing sure sounded good.

A few minutes later, Tayuya finished the song and slowly brought the flute away from her still pursed lips. She kept her eyes closed for a couple of seconds, reveling in the rush she got from playing again after so long. Music was like a part of her soul, and without it, she didn't think that she would've lived as long as she did. It was the only thing in her life that she had complete control of, and it was often the thing that kept her sane when Orochimaru's demands became too much for her young mind and body to handle.

She slowly opened her eyes to see both Naruto and the shop's owner staring at her with a mixture of surprise and awe. Immediately, she blushed and scowled back at them.

"W-what?" she spat, furrowing her brows. The looks were unfamiliar, and to be honest, a little nerve wracking.

"That was splendid!" the woman gushed, clapping her hands together at a rapid pace. "When I asked you to show me that you could play the flute, I was expecting something like Hot Cross Buns or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; not something as advanced and intricate as Adagio! Most musicians that have been playing for over fifteen years can't even play that piece, and you played it from memory! You have a true gift, do you know that?"

Tayuya's eyes softened at her words. She'd never been complimented so vehemently, and found that it wasn't all that bad of a feeling.

"T-thank you," she murmured. The woman just shook her head and motioned for them to follow her to the front counter. Naruto waited until she was out of earshot before nervously scratching the back of his head and turning to his teammate.

"Ano, I know this probably doesn't mean much coming from me, but you were really great." The redhead's blush deepened to an impossible shade of red. She quickly stood up and grabbed her crutches, hiding her burning face with her hair. On the inside, she was thoroughly disgusted with herself for showing so much emotion over something so trivial. She'd been trained for nearly seven years to be a textbook ninja, and in less than three weeks, every rule and regulation she'd learn had been unceremoniously thrown out the window. All because of a loudmouthed, orange-wearing genin.

Instead of acknowledging his praise, she snorted and made her way to the front of the store. "Hurry up," she snapped, glancing over her shoulder at him. Naruto stuck his tongue out at her but followed anyway. He'd already seen some of what was under her mask, and was already plotting to uncover the rest.

When they reached the front counter, the owner smiled and set a small case in front of them.

"16,362 yen, please," she said, looking at the blond expectantly. Sighing slightly, he slowly pulled Gama-chan from his pocket to procure the money from the frog's open mouth, and Tayuya swore she saw a small tear roll down the now skinny frog's cheek.

The woman quickly counted the money and placed it in the register. She then pulled two medium sized paperback books from the shelf behind her and placed them next to the flute's case.

"I know they probably won't be of much use to someone as skilled as yourself, but since I need to get rid of most of this stuff soon anyway, I'll give these to you for free." The redhead blinked in surprise and looked down to read the titles. In big, bold black letters, the first book read Flutes, Songs, and Melodies. Curious, she flipped through the book to see nearly two hundred pages filled with sheet music, and even a blank section in the back to compose some of her own. The second book was a bit smaller than the first and read Theory and Composition of Musical Genjutsu. She looked up at the smiling woman in shock.

"I...I can't accept these!" she exclaimed, nearly recoiling at the thought.

"Don't be silly; Like I said before, it's pretty rare that someone comes here to buy a battle flute, and even rarer that they want to buy a book that supplements them. All I ask in return is that you continue to play and improve. Is it a deal?" Tayuya slowly nodded and grasped the books in her hands, still in a small state of disbelief that she was getting them for free. She handed them over to an equally surprised Naruto and placed the flute in its case. After locking the latch in place and picking it up in her right hand, she bowed to the woman one last time.

"Arigatou," she said, doing her best to sound as sincere as humanly possible. The owner waved her off with another smile.

"When you've composed a song of your own, I'd love to hear it! As a matter of fact, here." She quickly scribbled something on a slip of paper and handed it to Tayuya. "It's my address. Come by anytime; I'll probably be home a lot once this store closes for good." The owner then turned her eyes over to Naruto. "And you," she started, narrowing her eyes slightly. The boy gulped in fear. He knew she was being too nice to be true.

"Y-yeah?"

"Make sure she stays on top of her practice. I would hate to see such pure talent go to waste." Naruto hesitantly lifted his hand to his head in a military salute.

"Hai!" They waved one last time to the kindly old woman before walking out of the disorganized old store. As soon as they were outside, the blond shot his teammate an amused glance. "I didn't know you even had manners," he chuckled, not noticing her narrowing eyes. She smacked him upside the head with one of her crutches in response. Still, she couldn't find it in herself to stay mad at him and allowed a small smirk to play across her lips.

"Idiot. She just sold me the best fucking flute I've ever laid eyes on for cheap! Of course I'm gonna use some fucking manners!" She lowered the crutch to the ground and began to set off towards the training grounds at a casual pace.

"Where are we going now?" Tayuya paused long enough to glare at him from over her shoulder.

"I'm going to play my new flute. You can do whatever the fuck you want." Naruto watched her hobble away from him with a frown on his face. He'd been hoping to get a bowl (or five) of ramen with his remaining money, but he knew perfectly well that he couldn't let her out of his sight unsupervised. There was still a chance that one of Orochimaru's men was hidden inside the villages walls, and since she wasn't quite healed yet, it'd be too dangerous for her to try to protect herself. Sighing softly, he quickly jogged to her side and fell into step beside her.

They arrived at training ground three in just under half an hour. It was deserted except for the usual squirrels and birds, and Tayuya wasted no time in finding a large tree to recline against. She carefully lowered herself to the ground and pulled her flute from its case.

"What are you gonna play?" Naruto asked, plopping down beside her. He almost chuckled when he realized that it was the same exact tree he'd hung from during Kakashi's genin exam. Out of all the trees in the forested area, she just happened to pick this one. She shrugged slightly and flipped through the new songbook she'd received earlier.

"This looks good." He glanced down at the page and scrunched his nose. To him, the whole arrangement looked like a bunch of random scribbles and lines. His eyes traveled to the top of the page and read over the title.

"Clair de...Lune?" She nodded and lifted the flute to her lips. Blowing gently, she began to play, focusing diligently on the book in her lap. The tune was slow and sleepy; nothing like the haunting songs she already knew. The redhead felt the corners of her mouth twitch upwards when she spared a glance towards the blond reclining beside her.

As he listened to her play, Naruto noticed that his eyelids were becoming heavier by the second. He was doing his best to stay awake and on guard, but Tayuya's melody was making his task increasingly difficult. 'I'll just close my eyes for a few seconds,' he thought, sliding further down on the rough bark of the tree. In seconds, he was asleep.

The girl watched amused as he snored softly at her side. She wasn't even halfway done with the song, and he was already asleep! Of course, it wasn't completely his fault; the song was designed to be a lullaby, and the fact that he was out cold proved that she was doing a decent job in playing it. She tore her eyes away from his sleeping face and smiled. At least now she could practice in peace. If there was one good thing that anyone could say about her, it was that she was diligent and aggressive in her training.

For the first time in nearly three weeks, Hyuuga Neji smiled. Today, he was going to be released from the hospital and would be allowed to resume training in a week's time. As the nurse wheeled him out of the small, drab room, he anxiously awaited to see who would pick him up to take him home. In the worst case scenario, it would be Gai and Lee. Luckily, however, Gai had come by the day before and informed him that he'd be away on an A-ranked mission for a week. Although it was a morbid thought, he was almost glad that the Leaf needed extra help from the jounin-senseis to get back on their feet.

That left the Hyuuga household and his other teammates, Tenten and Lee. Any of the above choices would suit him just fine, although he really wouldn't like to see his cousins for awhile. The nurse rounded the corner and smiled. "Here we are!" Neji looked up to meet the smiling face of his teammate, Tenten. He let loose a small breath of relief. She was the most tolerable out of his team and of his family.

"Hello, Neji-kun!" she gushed, walking up to them. His brows furrowed slightly at her overly fangirlish attitude. Tenten usually wasn't like other girls; for the most part, she tended to stay calm and neutral in all situations. Unless she was meeting with her idol, the Godaime Hokage, of course. Still, he put on one of the famous Hyuuga smirks as she approached.

"Tenten," he said, acknowledging her greeting. The nurse stepped aside and allowed the brown-haired girl to grab the handlebars of the wheelchair.

"Remember, no training for at least a week! The wound in your abdomen still hasn't fully recovered, so Hokage-sama strictly forbids any kind of taijutsu. Training involving chakra should be alright, but take it easy regardless." He nodded as she walked back into the hospital, leaving the genin alone in the lobby of the building.

"So, Neji-kun, how was your stay?" Tenten asked, wheeling him out of the sliding double doors. The Hyuuga grunted angrily.

"Terrible. I was interrupted daily by nurses and visitors, fed the worst grovel I've ever tasted, and...Tenten, where are we going? The Hyuuga mansion is in the other direction." He glanced up at her to see a positively bone-chilling smile on her face. It wasn't her usual soft, caring smile. No, this one was much more sinister in nature, and for a moment, he thought he saw her eyes flash a demonic blood red.

"We're going to train, Neji-kun!" A small bit of panic welled up inside of his chest. There was something...strange about the way she'd said that sentence.

"But, the nurse just said-"

"Neji-kun," she snapped, cutting him off. All traces of happiness and playfulness were gone. She stopped pushing for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Do you know what I did yesterday afternoon?" she asked, her voice completely serious. Too surprised at her sudden change in personality to speak, he simply shook his head. "Well, I got a little visit from your cousin Hanabi."

Fuck. He seriously considered making a break for the Hyuuga Compound, but knowing his current condition, she would catch up to him easily. If he was going to live, he'd have to be smart.

"Really? What did she want?" Tenten placed her hands on his shoulders and dropped her head, building a slow chuckle in the back of her throat.

"Oh, Neji-kun, who are you trying to fool? I know you sent her to me. Hanabi told me herself." Neji swallowed noisily and desperately began looking for an escape route. No amount of talking could get him out of this one. "Now, Neji-kun, why would you send your eight year old cousin to ask me about masturbation?" Her tone of voice promised death, and if it weren't for his royal upbringing, he was sure that he would've pissed his pants by now.

"I...thought you'd know better than I would?" he asked, edging towards the end of his seat. She chuckled again and shook her head.

"Neji, Neji, Neji. Do you know how awkward it is to teach a straight-laced, stuck-up, sexually innocent girl what it means to masturbate? To answer every embarrassing, gut-wrenching, disturbing question without sounding like a complete brothel girl?" She was messing with him now, but judging by his tensing muscles and wide eyes, he hadn't realized it. At that moment, Neji shot up from his wheelchair and made a mad dash in the opposite direction. His legs were a blur as he sped down the street, and a glance over his shoulder showed a surprised and pissed off Tenten still gripping the handlebars of his wheelchair. He allowed himself a small smile as he turned his eyes forward - only to meet the glaring eyes of the girl he'd just left behind. The smile instantly dropped from his face as he skid to a hasty stop.

"B-but...you...how?" She placed her hands on his shoulders and turned him around. Instantly, the girl standing by the chair dissipated into nothing.

"Bunshin no jutsu, E-level genjutsu. Now," she chirped, grabbing him by the back of his collar. "How are you going to make it up to me?" He lowered his head in defeat. In his current condition, there was nothing he could do to fight off her advances, and his only chance for survival was to go along with her demands and hope for the best.

"What...whatever you want." Tenten smiled deviously as she dragged him along the ground on his back.

"That's what I wanted to hear! First, you're going to help me train. I just learned a new B-ranked weapons jutsu last week, and need someone to test it out on. Don't worry, I'll try not to kill you. Then, I want you to take me out to dinner. A new restaurant just opened in the market district, and..." As she droned on in her demands, Neji couldn't help but wonder what the hell he did to deserve such a fate. Maybe it was the fact that he used to be an all around asshole to any and everyone. Maybe it was because he'd tried to kill his own flesh and blood during the Chuunin Exams. Whatever it was, karma was rearing its ugly head at this moment in time, and he did the only thing one could in this situation.

Raising a stiff middle finger towards the sky, Neji glared at the clouds and mouthed two words towards the heavens:

'Fuck. You.'

"Naruto! Oi, bastard, get up!"

Naruto squeezed his eyes together and rolled over, a bit of drool seeping from the edge of his mouth. Tayuya was currently doing her best to wake him up without having to resort to violence. Unfortunately for him, she had a very short patience, and she picked up the larger of the two books and smacked him on the head with it.

"Ouch!" he yelped, sitting up and rubbing his head. He glared tiredly at the smirking redhead before letting out a wide yawn.

"Fuck, you sleep like a goddamn rock! Aren't shinobi supposed to be alert at all times?" The blond brushed off her question and retaliated with one of his own.

"Why'd you wake me up?" Tayuya rolled her eyes and pointed towards the sky. The sun was just starting to disappear behind the horizon, and the sky was illuminated with countless hues of orange, purple, and red. The clouds were also turned a vibrant shade of peach, completing the perfect mosaic painted by the sky.

"It's too fucking dark, and I can't read my book anymore." Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"And?"

"...And, I want to go home. I haven't had a decent shower in weeks, and I feel like shit. Let's go," she urged, pulling on his arm to emphasize her command. The blond rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Hai, hai. Geez, you're so bossy!" He reached out a hand to help her up, but she instead handed him her books and used the tree to get up by herself. When she was situated on her crutches, they set off towards the inner city at a leisurely pace.

Except for a few stragglers, the streets of Konoha were mostly devoid of life. Many of the citizens were still struggling with the memory of the attack by the Sand and Sound, and often shut themselves in by sundown. Even the builders and repairmen had called it quits for the day, leaving unfinished buildings and supplies strewn about the edges of the road. Not that they minded; for her part, Tayuya was becoming quite sick of being jeered at by the lowly civilians. Hell, back in Orochimaru's village, that was a one way ticket to the morgue; if she left enough of the victim, that is.

But, since Naruto seemed to ignore it, she endured it as best she could. They'd be leaving in two days anyway, and there was no sense in doing something that could threaten her chances of avoiding death or imprisonment. She glanced over at the boy in question to see that he was becoming increasingly nervous as they neared the residential district.

"What's up?" she asked, giving him a slightly concerned glare. Based on what she'd seen in the last three weeks, he never let anything get to him - much to her annoyance of course. Her glare turned into a small mischievous grin. Since he seemed to be a little more vulnerable at the moment, now was a great time to pump him for information. "Are you nervous about what your parents will say when you bring me home?" His shoulders tensed for a split second, and if she wasn't a trained kunoichi, she easily would have missed it.

"I don't have parents." Tayuya shrugged nonchalantly. She'd kind of figured that, but didn't want to be caught off guard after she walked through the front door of his house. Still, she wasn't quite satisfied with his answer. Doing her best to sound as casual as possible, she prodded a bit further into his life.

"Oh. You know who they were?"

"Nope." She raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"So you've been an orphan since birth?" Without even looking at her, he nodded. She found herself frowning more and more with each of his replies.

"Well, who the fuck raised you then?"

"No one." Tayuya nearly slipped off of her crutches. He'd had no one? She shook her head in disbelief. Something just wasn't adding up! This unfazable, perpetually cheerful ball of sunshine raised himself? It was incredibly hard to believe that he was able to survive such open hostility and persecution without anyone to back him up. Fuck, if she'd had the Kyuubi inside of her, she would've use the bastard's power to go super saiyan on their asses years ago! Snorting softly, she realized that she had a whole new level of respect for the boy, even if it was grudging. They walked along in a slightly awkward silence for a few minutes until Naruto stopped and pointed to their left.

"That's where I live. If you don't want to stay here, it's okay. I'm sure Baa-chan has an extra room in that huge Hokage mansion she's got." The redhead tilted her head slightly and studied the wide building with a critical eye. She couldn't see it as well in the darkening light, but so far, it didn't look too bad. The light yellow walls of the three story building were slightly dirty, and there were countless shingles missing from the orange-red roof. Pipes and wires ran all around the exterior of the apartment, winding into and out of different windows and openings, and it seemed as though someone had done a half-assed job of repairing a few of the concrete walls with large planks of green wood. From the outside, it was very livable.

"You got water and electricity?" she asked, still staring at the building. Naruto blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, but-"

"That's good enough for me." Tayuya quickly crossed the street and made her way to the first flight of stairs. She frowned up at them until she felt herself being lifted into the air from below. "W-what the fuck are you doing?" the genin spat. While she was busy trying to figure out how she would get up the stairs, Naruto had ducked between her legs and lifted her up on his shoulders, crutches and all.

"What? I'm not gonna wait an hour for you to crawl up the stairs," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She hit him lightly on the top of the head with the end of her crutch and pouted.

"I'm not gonna thank you." The blond shrugged as best he could with a girl on his shoulders.

"You don't have to." Since she really wasn't that heavy, it took him just under two minutes to scale both sets of stairs and arrive in front of his door. He crouched down enough for her to get off and reached into his pocket for the key. "Ah, just so you know, it's kinda messy." She almost laughed at the nervous expression on his face.

"Are you fucking serious? I slept in the same room with three others guys for seven years of my life, and one of them was the fattest motherfucker in our village! Hell, you couldn't walk into our shit without stepping on a twinkie wrapper or a half eaten bowl of fuckin' Cocoa Puffs!" Naruto nearly choked on his spit as he cackled at the mental image her words were producing. Watching him fight for a breath of air, she allowed a small giggle of her own to escape from her normally scowling lips. When he recovered enough to stand up straight again, he stuck the key into the keyhole and twisted it in a clockwise direction. He then swung the door open wide and motioned for her to walk in ahead of him, to which she amusedly obliged.

Tayuya stepped into the small apartment and slipped out of her ninja sandals. She couldn't see anything from the hallway, so she slowly hobbled a little further until she came to a large door on her right.

"That's my room," he said, appearing behind her. Nodding, she opened the door and flipped on the light. Immediately, her eyes were met with the sight of dozens of scrolls, books, and wadded up pieces of paper on his bed and on the ground. A few ramen cups sat on the floor, and it was painfully obvious that he hadn't done any cleaning in at least a week.

She smirked at him from over her shoulder. "I didn't know you studied," she teased, causing him to scratch the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, well, I was just reading up on seals and stuff. Ero-sennin said if I learned the basics, he'd teach me how to do the cool stuff later. It's kinda hard, though." The redhead glanced back at the scrolls and frowned.

'Seals, huh?' she thought, scratching her head slightly. She'd learned how to seal small things like weapons and clothing from Orochimaru, but anything larger than a meter was out of the question. She briefly considered teaching him how to do it but decided to take a look at the rest of the apartment first. Tayuya turned around and limped the rest of the way down the hall until she came to another door.

"What's in here?" Naruto walked up to her side and opened the door.

"This is the bathroom. It's not that dirty, I don't think..." She turned on the light and smiled. While it certainly wasn't the cleanest bathroom in the world, it was definitely better than what she was used to. She turned around and walked towards the final opening at the end of the hall.

This room was easily the biggest in the entire house, being both the kitchen and the living room. A small stove and refrigerator sat in the corner closest to them, and a small table with a large basket on top was set up right in the middle. Numerous plants sat on a shelf next to the icebox, causing her to raise an eyebrow at the genin following behind her.

"Gardening?" she asked, motioning towards the pots with one of her crutches. He crossed his arms across his chest defensively and shrugged. Shaking her head, she turned back to finish her investigation of the room. There wasn't much left; a couch sat against the opposite corner of the wall, and a small TV rested on a black apple crate. "Not bad. I don't mind crashing here for a couple of days." A nervous grin appeared on his face, suddenly making her suspicious. "What? You don't want me to stay?"

"No! It's just that...you're gonna be the first person to stay over at my house." Both of her eyebrows shot up into her hairline.

"Really? What about the faggot Uchiha and that pineapple-headed cocksucker? Aren't they your friends?" He frowned slightly and nodded.

"Well, yeah, but they've never slept over or anything. Anyway, make yourself at home! You can use anything you want!" She let loose a small sigh of relief and wasted no time in heading back down the hallway.

"Good, I've been waiting for this shit since last month!" Instead of going straight to the bathroom, she hobbled her way into Naruto's bedroom for a change of clothes. While her clothes weren't especially dirty, she really didn't want to sleep in something she'd worn all day, and she would probably have to wear those clothes tomorrow too. She opened the top drawer of his dresser and pulled out a pair of orange boxer shorts. She then bent down to sift through the rest of his drawers until she emerged with a simple black t-shirt. Satisfied, she made a beeline towards the shower.

After closing and locking the door behind her, she reached into the shower stall and turned the water on to let it get warm. When it reached the appropriate temperature, she stripped down to her birthday suit and slowly slid under the soothing beads of water. Immediately, she felt better than she had in awhile and let out a loud content sigh. As the water cascaded over her smooth, lightly tanned skin, she felt every annoyance, worry, and exasperation wash away along with the dirt and grime from the day's activities.

"Damn," she breathed, reveling in the feeling of the lukewarm water on her face. Deciding she'd enjoyed herself enough, she reached for the bar of soap sitting in the dish next to her and lathered her body with the small, fragrant oval. Stepping back from the water, she grabbed some of Naruto's shampoo and began to massage it into her scalp and hair, frowning at the length. Apparently, it hadn't receded when she was knocked out of her curse seal state. She made a mental note to get a haircut sometime within the next month.

Suitably clean, she stepped back under the water and proceeded to wash the suds off of her body and hair before turning off the soothing jets of water and carefully stepping out of the shower. Her legs felt a little better than they had earlier, and if she moved slowly enough, she could actually walk without the crutches.

Tayuya grabbed a towel from the nearby wrack and roughly attacked her hair, drying it as best she could with her own power. She then used the towel to wipe the fog from the mirror and peered curiously into the reflective glass. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and her mouth dropped open as she looked at her reflection.

The changes weren't huge; for the most part she looked exactly the same, and unless the person spent a fuckload of time with her on a daily basis, they probably wouldn't notice. The first thing she noticed was that her hair was slightly thicker than she remembered it. Only a few days before it was limp and flat, reaching towards the ground in a very lackluster manner. Now, however, it hung from her head in shining waves of rose-red, framing her face and drawing more attention to her eyes.

That train of thought brought her to her next observation. Instead of the plain dark brown they were before, her irises were lightly dusted with red, making them appear much lighter than they'd been before. The girl also discovered that her eyes were slightly more angular in appearance, giving her an older and more mature look to go along with her hair. She smiled at the thought, causing her eyes to immediately focus on her mouth. Or, more specifically, her teeth.

She nearly gasped at the length and sharpness of her incisors, tonguing them lightly to prove to herself that they were real. They were one step away from looking like actual fangs, and as she observed them further, she found that she looked eerily similar to the members of the Inuzuka clan Orochimaru had forced her to read about. Smirking slightly, she growled playfully into the mirror, baring her teeth and narrowing her eyes for added effect. To her amusement, she looked pretty damn intimidating (and hot) with that feral expression on her face.

Tayuya pulled her eyes downward to study the rest of her body. Not much had changed in her overall composition; she looked to be about the same height, although her muscles seemed a little more defined than they had been a few days before. Poking at her stomach, she realized that it was a bit flatter, too. 'Huh, weird,' she thought, lightly drumming on her tummy. As if on autopilot, her hands reached up to poke at her breasts.

While no could've ever called her flat chested (Like a certain pink-haired kunoichi), she certainly didn't remember them being this...big. They'd never filled her hands like this before - although to be fair, she didn't have a lot of free time to look herself over every single week. Bracing her hands against the sink, she lightly bounced up and done, delighting in the slight bounce of her chest when she stopped. She almost brought her hands up to touch them again, but forcefully pulled them back down to her sides. If she didn't hurry up and get dressed, Naruto would start to worry. And the last time he'd worried...

A light blush adorned her cheeks at the thought of the blond peeking in on her while she studied the subtle changes of her body. The door was locked, but then again, he was a shinobi (albeit a dense one). Quickly shaking off that thought, she grabbed her change of clothes off of the toilet seat and hurriedly got dressed, taking special care not the put too much pressure on her legs while she did so. The boxers were a little shorter than she would've liked, only reaching to about the middle of her thigh, but they weren't much smaller than the tight training shorts she wore on a regular basis. Taking one last glance at herself in the mirror, she grabbed the crutches leaning against the wall and slowly walked out into the living room.

Naruto was currently sitting on his couch, focusing intently on a large scroll perched comfortably in his lap. Judging by his expression, she could see that he was having some trouble understanding it. His brows were furrowed in hopeless concentration, and his hands were digging viciously into the weathered paper of the document. Deciding to make her presence known (It was never a good idea to sneak up on a shinobi, no matter how incompetent they were), she loudly cleared her throat to get his attention.

"I used your clothes," she said, moving towards the kitchen area of the apartment. "You can take your shower now if you want." The blond nodded slowly and rolled up the scroll. His eyes were beginning to hurt from reading so much at once, and Tayuya's suggestion was a much welcomed interruption. She watched bemused as he dragged his weary body from the couch and languidly trodded down the hallway. When he disappeared into the small, steamy bathroom, the redhead set about her task of finding something to eat.

The first place she checked was the refrigerator. Unfortunately, it was pathetically empty save for an expired carton of milk, four or five eggs, and half a jug of apple juice. She checked the cupboards one by one, finding things like unused pots, pans, plates, and just about every utensil known to man - but no food. Just as she was about to give up and yell at Naruto for being a poor son of a bitch, a large box sitting next to the stove caught her eye. Or rather, it was the word written on it that got her attention. In big, black permanent marker was the word RAMEN.

"Of course," she mumbled, opening the box and peering inside. The brown cube was literally packed with different flavors of cup ramen, apparently color coded and alphabetized by flavor. Grabbing a dozen cups from the bin, she simultaneously pulled a large pot from the cupboard and filled it with water. Heating up the cups one by one would take far too long using a kettle, and in her opinion, it was a whole lot easier to just cook them all in one batch. With that thought in mind, she set the pot onto the stove and turned it up to high. The girl then reached into the cupboard for a couple of bowls and slowly ambled over to the table.

Just as she was about to set the bowls down in their places, she noticed the small basket sitting right in the middle of the tiny folding table. "How the fuck did I miss that?" she wondered, removing the excessive amount of plastic from around the edges. Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside; a whole variety of different fruits and vegetables, ranging from apples and bananas to potatoes and zucchini. She plucked the small piece of paper resting boastfully on top of the assortment and looked it over, rolling her eyes at it's contents.

"Naruto - You eat too much ramen! If you want to be a good ninja, eat your fruits and veggies!" she said, reading the message aloud. Well, she couldn't argue with that. Whoever had left the basket didn't sign a name; only a small chibi picture of some faggot with one eye. Shrugging, she grabbed a few mushrooms, carrots, and an onion to add to the soup.

Once the water started boiling, she quickly opened all twelve of the cups and dumped them in one by one. She then chopped the vegetables she'd found a few minutes earlier and threw them in on top. Using one of his (brand new) spoons, she stirred the mixture until everything was boiling evenly.

"Let's see..." she muttered to herself. She opened the icebox again and grabbed the remaining eggs, breaking one to see if it had gone bad. To her relief, they seemed rather fresh, and she wasted no time in breaking the rest of them and tossing their innards into the boiling pot of soup.

At that moment, a certain blond ninja wafted into the kitchen, creeping up beside her and peering into the pot. "Whatcha cookin'?" he asked, squinting to see what was inside. Tayuya snorted slightly and stirred the contents again.

"Ramen. It was the only shit left in this entire fucking house, and you should be grateful that I'm making some for you, too." Naruto lifted an eyebrow in surprise.

"You're cooking some for me? Why?" She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

"I might be a bitch, but I'm not an unappreciative one. You've done a lot of shit for me these past three weeks, and if all I have to do is cook some ramen to pay you back, then fuck, I'm all for it!" He laughed softly at her answer, causing a small smirk to appear on her own face. They stood there for a few more minutes, both staring impatiently at the boiling noodles rushing around in the large black pot. Realizing their close proximity, the redhead quickly turned the burner off and stepped away from the stove. "I-I think it's done now. Why don't you bring it to the table?" she stuttered, grabbing the apple juice and some cups before heading towards the dining area. The blond nodded and grabbed the pot by its handles.

He moved the basket and set it down right between them. Neither of them wasted any time in digging in to the large amount of ramen, pouring copious amounts of the soup into their bowls. Tayuya hadn't eaten in nearly two days, so for the first five servings, she was easily keeping up with the self-proclaimed ramen king. By the time she reached her seventh, the pot was already empty and both were contentedly leaning back in their chairs.

"That was great," Naruto sighed, stretching his arms languidly into the air. The girl nodded her agreement and lazily poked at her bowl with her chopsticks. After a few more minutes or relaxing, she placed her hands on the table and forcibly pushed herself up into a standing position.

"I'm tired. Where do I sleep?" she asked, grabbing her bowl and cup from the table. Her teammate stretched one more time and grabbed the remaining dishes off of the tiny card table.

"You can have my bed. Baa-chan said you need to recover, and you won't be comfortable on the floor." She nodded again as she hobbled towards the kitchen. The sooner she could walk, the better. She placed her dish in the sink and walked towards Naruto's bedroom. "Night!" Naruto called from the living room. Tayuya froze mid step and looked over her shoulder at the blond, briefly taking notice of his silly looking nightcap.

"You're not sleeping in your room?" When he shot her a confused glance, she quickly rushed to explain herself. "Because, it's your room, and I'd feel bad if you had to sleep on the couch." Naruto shrugged and continued to fix up the chair.

"It's no big deal. I can sleep on it for a couple of nights."

"Oh...well, I heard somewhere that sleeping on the floor is good for your back sometimes. Works out all the kinks and shit." She was bullshitting now, but knowing his gullible nature, he'd probably buy it. A smirk flittered onto her face when he appeared to be thinking it over. It was almost too easy.

"Really? Hm...that does sound right. Thanks!" He moved his sheets from the couch to the floor in front of it, earning a groan from the disabled girl in front of him.

"Goddamnit Naruto, if you're gonna sleep on the fucking floor then you might as well sleep on the fucking floor in your own goddamn room!" He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"You don't mind?" Tayuya shook her head and let loose an exasperated sigh. Fuck, he was dense.

"No, Naruto, I don't mind. Come on." He grabbed his things and followed her into the large room. It took a few minutes to clean up the all the paper and trash littered on the floor, but eventually he was able to spread his sleeping bag next to the bed. Yawning, he plopped back onto the makeshift bed and placed his hands behind his head.

"Ne, Tayuya..." he asked, still looking up at the ceiling. She was currently sitting on his bed, stretching her legs as much as she was able to in her current condition. She paused momentarily to look at him.

"What?"

"Well...why did you want me to sleep in here? I know I'm not the smartest guy around, but I'm not stupid either." Tayuya's face unnoticeably flushed in surprise. She was certain that she'd gotten away with it, and slowly leaned back until she was in a position mirroring the boy's own.

"Don't feel special or anything; I've just never really slept alone before. In the Sound, there was always at least one of the fuckers in the room with me. I'm not used to being by myself yet."

"Why didn't you just say that?" The redhead frowned, glaring at him as if it was obvious.

"Because it's fucking embarrassing! What kind of third-rate shinobi is scared of sleeping by themselves?" She watched him close eyes and turn over onto his side, facing the wall away from her.

"I think that since you were brave enough to admit it, you're stronger than anyone." She felt her cheeks grow warm at the compliment, and lay back on Naruto's bed in silence. She could see why he was called Konoha's number one surprising ninja; who would've guessed that the hyperactive blond idiot actually had a brain? Smirking amusedly to herself, she pulled the sheets over her tired form and closed her eyes.

"Night, Naruto," she murmured, already feeling her consciousness slipping. Unbeknownst to her, Naruto was smiling happily in his makeshift bed on the floor. For the first time in thirteen years, he had someone to say goodnight to - other than his photo of team seven, anyway.

"Night, Tayuya!" With that, both teens drifted into a peaceful slumber, dreaming of the past, present, and the future.

Chapter 13

Tayuya awoke to the annoyingly chipper sound of bluebirds singing at her window. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she pulled out the kunai she'd stashed under her pillow (No shinobi in their right mind would sleep unprotected) and nonchalantly tossed it towards the window, piercing one of the birds directly through its heart and scattering the others.

"Fucking birds..." she mumbled, holding back a yawn. She glanced down to the floor to see that Naruto had already left, and turned her gaze to the clock beside her to look at the time. 'Ten thirty? Damn!' She quickly flung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Her legs felt much better than they had the day before - in fact, she could probably go without her crutches! Smiling, she stretched and took a few practice steps towards the door. For the most part, her legs felt sturdy. Still, the small shakiness worried her, so she grabbed one of the crutches leaning against the foot of the bed just in case.

Leaning lightly on the small wooden support, she slowly exited the room to look for her blond teammate. As soon as she stepped through the door, the sound of exaggerated explosions and shouts reached her ears. She rounded the corner of the hallway to see Naruto sitting cross legged on the ground, alternating between reading through a scroll and looking at the small television. He was dressed in his regular orange pants, a black t-shirt, and a black headband with the word 'Guts' sewn onto the front. Noticing her presence, he looked up with a sheepish smile.

"The TV didn't wake you up, did it?" he asked, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. Tayuya smiled back and shook her head.

"No, but I kinda wish it would've. Why the hell'd you let me sleep so late?" The blond shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his scroll.

"Baa-chan said you needed to rest, so I thought a few extra hours would help you get better faster. How're your legs?" The redhead lifted her eyebrows in surprise at his foresight. Now that she thought about it, it did make some sense.

"They're okay. It feels like I just ran nonstop from fuckin' Oto to Konoha, though. What the hell is that?" she asked, pointing to the scroll resting tightly between his fingers. He turned it towards her enough so that she could glance over it. "You're still reading that shit? Sealing isn't that tough." Naruto lowered the paper and stared up at her with something akin to shock.

"You know how to seal?" When she nodded, he pushed the rest of his books out of the way and patted the ground next to him. "Show me how to do it! Please?" Tayuya rolled her eyes but walked over to his side anyway. Using the crutch as a support, she lowered herself to the ground and plopped down next to him, crossing her legs to match his position.

"First, you have to tell me what you know. Do you know how sealing works?" He furrowed his brows and assumed a basic thinking pose.

"Uh, you put stuff into a scroll and roll it up?" the blond questioned, glancing at her with a confused expression. She regarded him with a deadpan expression and sighed. This was going to be much harder than she thought.

"No, dipshit. It's much more complicated than that. Look, it'll be better if I show you. You got some ink and paper?" Naruto nodded and quickly hopped to his feet, rushing to his room at a dead sprint. He returned a few seconds later with a small bottle of ink, a brush, and a stack of blank paper.

"Here you go!" To her amusement, the bottle was still sealed at the top. Apparently, he didn't do much writing. She easily snapped open the seal and twisted the top off of the small bottle.

"Okay, first you need to know exactly what it is that you want to seal." The blond reached into the weapons pouch at his side and picked out a single kunai. Plucking it from his fingers, she set it down directly in front of a small piece of paper. She then dipped the end of the unused brush carefully into the ink and stirred the vicious fluid around to get it moving. "Sealing is easy; you're basically telling the paper what it is that you want to seal, or what action you want it to perform when activated. I usually write what the item is too, so that I don't forget what it was that I sealed. There's nothing worse than pulling out the wrong weapon and getting your ass kicked because of it." Lifting the ink covered tool from the bottle, she wrote the kanji for 'unseal kunai' at the top of the paper.

"That's all there is to it?" he yelled, jaw figuratively scraping against the ground. Tayuya bopped him on top of the head with her free hand.

"Of course not, idiot! I still have to put the kunai into the scroll!" She closed her eyes to calm herself down enough to continue with the lesson. For some reason, he was able to annoy her without even trying. "Now that you've got the words down, you have to convert the item into chakra using your own, and place it into the kanji you wrote before." She picked up the knife and channeled a bit of chakra into it before pressing it down firmly onto the freshly painted symbols. Automatically, the symbols began to glow as the kunai disappeared into the piece of paper, and a circular ring appeared around the area. "That ring means that the item has successfully been sealed. I've seen some people draw the ring themselves first and put the item inside of it, but I'm not sure how or why that works. You'd have to ask someone who knows a lot more about this shit than I do."

"Whoa! That's awesome!" Naruto watched amazed as she finished the sealing, already itching to try it for himself. "How do you get it back out?" Tayuya smirked and placed a hand onto the paper.

"Easy; Just channel a little bit of your chakra into the paper and focus on the location of what you want to pull out. This is the most important part, as you usually have a lot more weapons in one scroll than a single kunai." Her fingertips glowed a light blue, and almost instantly, the knife popped back up from the paper, removing the kanji and circle along with it. She spun it around on her finger by the loop a few times before tossing it to him with an smug grin. "Your turn."

Naruto wasted no time in grabbing the kunai out of mid air and placing it on the floor in front of him. He then haphazardly wrote 'unseal kunai' on the piece of paper she'd just finished using and began to channel a bunch of chakra into the weapon. Unfortunately, the weapon refused to sink into the paper like Tayuya had done only a minute ago, and he let loose a frustrated sigh.

"It's not working!" he groaned, crossing his arms with a childlike pout. The redhead snatched the kunai from his hand with a glare, holding it at eye level with experienced fingers.

"Dumbass, weren't you paying attention? I didn't pump every ounce of my fuckin' chakra reserves into the kunai. The idea is to surround the item in a thin veil of chakra and maintain it, not shoot a huge a blast into it all at once." His eyes widened in understanding, and he plucked the knife from her fingers to try again. At first, nothing happened. Gradually, however, a growing sheet of chakra began to expand and grow over the kunai, enveloping it in a light blue haze.

"Like this?" he asked. She leaned closer to study the weapon before slowly nodding her head, surprised that he had the chakra control to pull it off.

"That looks about right. Try to seal it into the paper." Nodding, the genin carefully placed it over the kanji. To his obvious relief, it immediately began to sink into the paper until a circle similar to Tayuya's appeared around the kanji.

"It worked!" Naruto's grin threatened to split his face in half as he hopped to his feet and held the paper up into the air, abundantly proud of his achievement. Tayuya put on a tiny smirk of her own at his antics, but quickly covered it up with a frown.

"Not yet it hasn't. You still haven't pulled it back out." The blond stopped in the middle of his celebrating and matched her frown with one of his own.

"Oh, yeah." He plopped down onto the floor and channeled some chakra into his hand. Being careful to keep his chakra output to a minimum, he gently placed his fingers onto the piece of paper. A small cloud of smoke popped up from the card, revealing the kunai he'd sealed a few seconds before.

"You did it!" the girl cheered, clapping him softly on the back. Naruto timidly scratched the area directly below his nose and beamed.

"Only because you told me how. You're a way better teacher than these stupid scrolls!" Tayuya blushed prettily at the compliment. It felt good to be useful to someone, even if it was for something as simple as sealing a kunai. Hell, in the end, she hadn't even been useful to Orochimaru or the rest of her teammates. Not that she cared too much about their deaths, since each and every one of them had been an all around asshole to her for the past seven years. While lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice that the blond had leaned forward onto his hands to stare curiously into her eyes.

"What's wrong with your face? Are you sick?" he asked, barely four inches away from her face. Recoiling in shock, she opened and closed her mouth a few times in surprise, looking very much like a fish out of water. How the hell had she allowed him to get so close without her realizing it? It was unusual to have someone invading her personal space so audaciously, and thinking quickly, she grabbed her crutch and used it to push herself up onto her feet.

"W-what the hell are you talking about? I'm just hungry!" She walked towards the kitchen as fast as she could on her weakened legs and immediately set about heating up the tea kettle, leaving a very bewildered Naruto in her wake. He slowly stood up and followed her into the kitchen area.

"That's weird. My face doesn't turn red when I'm hungry. Are you sure you're not sick?" While he spoke, he gently placed his palm against her forehead. "You are sick!" Tayuya's face reached a whole new level of redness. Not only was he nearly flush against her body, but he was touching her! The uneasy feeling in the bottom of her stomach was starting to make her physically sick, and using as much strength as she could muster, she roughly pushed him away from her.

"I-I'm fine! Don't touch me!" she stuttered, cursing herself for being so feeble. "Just...just get the fuck away from me!" The blond blinked in confusion and took a cautious step towards her.

"Tayuya? Wha-"

"I said go away!" An awkward silence settled over the room, the only sound being the quiet bubbling of the water in the teapot. Naruto lowered his head in dejection and stared sadly at the overwrought form of his teammate. He didn't understand what he'd done; one minute they'd been smiling and laughing, and the next she was yelling at him. His frown deepened when he realized that she hadn't yelled at him with such an afraid expression on her face since their encounter with the Sound nin. With a heavy sigh, he reluctantly turned to walk back to the other side of the room.

Standing in front of the stove, Tayuya felt her eyes burning with unshed tears. She was more angry with herself than she was with Naruto, and wanted more than anything to tell him that it wasn't his fault; to tell him that she was the one to blame. It just wasn't in her nature to apologize, let alone cry. She watched him continue his practice from the corner of her eye, wincing slightly at the gloomy frown marring his normally happy face. The shrill whistle from the teapot drew her eyes away from the depressed teenager, and she mournfully poured the hot water over her cup of noodles. Carrying the ramen in one hand, she hesitantly walked over to the blond and sat down beside him.

She stirred the noodles with her chopsticks a few times before lifting a small bite to her mouth. For the most part, her appetite had left her, and it took an incredible amount of willpower to scoop another serving of the salty food into her mouth. The tight constricting of her throat was making it incredibly painful to swallow.

He finished sealing the kunai for the fourth time and screwed the top back onto the ink bottle before shooting the girl a wide grin. "I wanted to visit all my friends to tell them that I was leaving. You don't have to go if you don't want to." Tayuya frowned at his strained smile and set the cup down onto the ground. It was somewhat obvious that he didn't want her to tag along while he visited his friends. What escaped her was his reason for not wanting her to go. He wasn't that upset about her yelling at him, was he?

His eyes were squinched into slits, hiding his emotions and thoughts from view. She stared at him a moment longer before setting her mouth into a firm, angry line. There was no way in hell he was going to leave her cooped up his stuffy apartment while he got to gallavant around town with his friends.

"I'm gonna change."

She hefted herself up onto her feet and walked back towards Naruto's room, leaving a nearly untouched cup of ramen on the floor. As soon as he was sure that she couldn't see him, the blond's smile dropped almost instantly. He stared down at the uneaten noodles and sighed. It went against his nindo to leave a perfectly good batch of ramen uneaten, so with a quiet 'Itadikimasu,' he grabbed her chopsticks and shoveled a mouthful of the salty treat down his throat.

For some reason, it was incredibly painful to swallow.

Watching Uzumaki Naruto interact with his friends was nothing less than sickening. His mouth was stretched much wider than humanly possible, exposing his sharper than normal canines and every single one of his twenty-eight teeth.

What was even more sickening was the fact that his friends failed to notice the strained smiles and laughter of the boisterous blond, because in her opinion, they were frighteningly easy to see. Then again, she was probably just being overly paranoid because he hadn't spoken more than ten words to her since they'd left his apartment.

The reactions of each of his friends when he arrived was eerily similar; Surprise, then anger, then curiosity, followed by jealousy, and finally happiness. The only ones who hadn't shown all of the aforementioned emotions had been Shikamaru, Shino, Tenten, and Lee; Lee, Tenten and Shino because they didn't know that she was one of the Sound Four (yet, anyway), and Shikamaru because it would've been too troublesome to give any kind of reaction. Or so he'd said, anyway. Strangely enough, they hadn't been able to find any of the Rookie Nine girls, and spent approximately two hours walking around the Southern part of the village in search of them.

After nearly five hours of looking for and talking to the Rookie Nine (Minus Sasuke, plus Team Gai), both teens were almost ready to call it quits; Tayuya more so than Naruto. The blond ball of energy was literally itching to visit the Hyuuga mansion to talk to Neji and Hinata about the training mission, and if it weren't for the fact that their home was on top of the largest hill in Konoha, she wouldn't have had a problem with making one last stop.

"There's no fucking way I'm going up there," She said, gaping up at the hill with no small amount of trepidation. The boy turned to her with an annoyed expression, the grin he'd been sporting for the better part of the day completely wiped off of his face.

"That's why I said you should stay home." Surprised, Tayuya snapped her head around to look at the normally cheerful blond. His tone of voice was a mix between cold and bitter, and he stared back at her with slightly resentful eyes. After recovering from her initial shock, the redhead clutched her flute tightly in her left hand before meeting his gaze with a heated one of her own.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Her voice was low and dangerous as she glared over at him, but he only shrugged unsociably and turned back towards the hill.

"It means you should just go home." He slowly began to walk up the steep hill, scaling it without giving her a backwards glance. She watched him walk away in a mild state of confusion. Not once in the last three weeks she'd known him had he ever used such a hostile tone of voice with her; not even when she'd insulted his friends, dreams, or sexuality. She quickly reeled in her emotions and grit her teeth with anger. No one talked to her like that, even if it was sort of her fault.

"Well, fuck you then!" she screamed at his back. "I don't need some weak, shitty rat like you anyway!" Turning on her heel, she limped off in the opposite direction, radiating killing intent strong enough to scare anyone below jounin level.

"That cocksucking bastard," she murmured, still speeding along the sidewalk. She didn't know where she was going, but as long as she was far away from Naruto, it didn't matter. "How dare he talk to me like that! Doesn't he fucking know who I am? Next time, I'll put him in a genjutsu so bad his shriveled up balls will drop!" Anyone who happened to be walking by wisely avoided getting in the angry girl's way, and she petulantly stared down anyone who didn't.

In her mad rampage through the streets of Konoha, she failed to see the woman that had accidentally stepped in front of her. Being the weaker of the two, Tayuya was instantly sent sprawling to the ground, falling hard on her backside and dropping her crutch in the process. She groaned and rubbed at her bottom before checking to make sure that her flute was okay, leaving her other hand to brush the dirt off of her pants.

"Oh, that's just fucking great! Watch where you're fucking going, you -"

"Tayuya?" the woman asked, staring down at the girl with concern. The genin's head snapped up in surprise at the voice. "I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you up." Bending down, Shizune easily hefted the redhead to her feet, brushing off some of the dirt that she'd miss.

"Oh...thanks." She nodded towards the medical ninja and quickly continued on down the street. Maybe if she could get away fast enough, the woman wouldn't ask about-

"Where's Naruto-kun?"

Damnit. Glancing over her shoulder, she shrugged carelessly and scowled.

"Damned if I know. He's probably off playing grab ass with his faggot friends or something." Being an experienced shinobi (and a woman with common sense), Shizune easily saw through Tayuya's guise. Something bad had happened between them, and thinking quickly, she came up with a plan to squeeze as many details as she could out of the genin.

"I was just about to grab some lunch. Would you like to join me? My treat!" she said, smiling widely at the fuming girl. Tayuya glared suspiciously at the the black-haired woman for a few moments, analyzing every ounce of her expression for clues as to her motives. People just didn't offer to buy someone else lunch out of the blue; especially if they weren't even friends.

"No, that's okay. I'm just gonna go to the training grounds and-"

"Nonsense!" Shizune grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the nearest diner. "A growing girl such as yourself can't be skipping meals. How else are you going to develop into a woman?" A faint blush appeared on the girls cheeks as she was coerced into taking a seat at one of the booths near the window. She had to admit that the medic-nin had a good point (not that she cared about those kinds of things), and she did skip breakfast that morning.

Besides, the restaurant didn't look like that bad of a place to eat. Shinobi and civilians alike sat at the red cloth colored tables, chatting and laughing amongst themselves about the most trivial of things. The walls were painted a bright eggshell white, and the floor was tiled with varying shades of red and black. It was completely different than any of the restaurants in the Sound village's many bases - mostly because it was actually clean. She hesitantly picked up one of the large, red colored pieces of paper resting on the table and began to look it over.

"So," Shizune started, simultaneously looking over the menu, "How are your legs feeling?" Tayuya glanced up long enough to meet her eyes before hiding her face back behind the card. It was her first time eating at such a high-end place (to her, anyway), and to be honest, it was a little nerve-wracking.

"Better." As if accepting the answer, the woman nodded and lowered her menu to the table.

"That's good. Has Naruto-kun been helping you recuperate?" The redhead bristled slightly at the mention of the Kyuubi container's name; a fact which didn't go unnoticed by the Hokage's apprentice. Tayuya cleared her throat noisily and acted as disinterestedly as she could to ease the woman's curiosity.

"Nah, that fucker's not good for much." She lowered the piece of paper and met Shizune's curious gaze. "What can I get?" Shizune stared at her confusedly for a few seconds before a look of understanding passed over her face.

"Oh, anything you want! It's my treat, after all." She suddenly leaned forward onto her elbows until her nose was almost touching the girl's and smiled mischievously. "But only if you tell me what's going on with you and Naruto-kun." The redhead bit back a curse. She knew something like this would happen. Although she wanted nothing more than to tell the woman to go fuck herself, her stomach had other ideas. The aroma of the food coming from the kitchen was like a powerful drug, compelling her to blindly agree to the wicked witch's demands. Crossing her arms under her chest, she scowled and sat back in her seat.

"I can order anything?" she asked, glaring at the evil woman sitting across from her. Shizune's grin widened as she nodded her assent. "Fine. It's not like I give a shit about it anyway." With an ecstatic squeal, the medic-nin motioned for one of the waitresses to come over to the table.

"Hi!" the waitress chirped as she skipped over to the table, "What can I get for you?" She held a small pen and pad in her hands, waiting anxiously to take their orders. Her big green eyes shone with an innocence only seen in normal civilians, and her long black hair seemed to shimmer with every small movement she made. Tayuya sniffed in slight jealousy at the woman's generous 'assets' before nearly shoving the menu into the waitress's face.

"I want this, this, two of these, four of those, this, this, and the biggest cup of tea you got," she yelled, pointing excitedly to various items on the menu. She smugly glanced over towards Shizune to gauge her expression, and much to her annoyance, she didn't seem phased in the least.

"Oh...a-and you miss?" the waitress asked, more than a little surprised at the redhead's large order. The medic-nin just waved her hand and smiled.

"A cup of tea will be fine, thank you." Bowing to the kunoichi, the woman hurriedly skipped away from the table to relay their orders. As soon as she was out of hearing distance, Shizune leaned forward again and lowered her voice.

"So, what happened? Start from the beginning."

"I fucking told you, it wasn't that big of a deal!" Shizune frowned and crossed her arms unbelievingly, shooting the girl a stern glare.

"Talk." Tayuya hung her head and sighed.

"Well, I was teaching him how to seal a kunai, and then...I kind of yelled at him." When the woman's frown deepened, she quickly held out a hand. "But it wasn't my fault! He deserved it!" Frowning disbelievingly, Shizune lifted a curious eyebrow.

"What did he do?"

"I don't know, he was too close! He was like two inches away from my face, so I told him to back the fuck off," she said, a small blush appearing on her face.

"That's all? I don't think Naruto-kun would be upset over something that small. What exactly did you say?" Tayuya averted her gaze and scowled.

"I can't remember." Nodding cordially to the girl, Shizune stood up from the table. "H-hey! Where the hell are you going?" Taking slow steps towards the door, she glanced over her shoulder nonchalantly.

"If you're not going to be honest, then I'm not paying for your food."

"But I don't have any money!"

"Sounds like a personal problem. Bye!" Tayuya felt her stomach painfully constrict in hunger once more, and gritting her teeth in agony, she lowered her head in defeat.

"Fine! I told him to go away, and not to touch me. That's it, okay?" Shizune turned around with a sad smile on her face.

"Oh, Tayuya...is that all?" When the girl nodded, she seated herself and compassionately grabbed one of the redhead's hands. Surprised by the strange feeling, Tayuya quickly pulled her hand out of the woman's grip and placed it in her lap. "I see you're not used to human contact. Is that why you yelled at Naruto-kun?" She stiffened slightly at the accusation but slowly nodded again, evoking an angry sigh from the medic-nin. "That Orochimaru...look, Tayuya, I know you might find this hard to believe, but Naruto-kun isn't used to affectionate human contact either."

"Bullshit!" The girl yelled, drawing the attention of nearby diners. Most of them frowned at her use of obvious profanity, but a few looked over at her with a curious gaze. She scowled back at them and lowered her voice. "He has plenty of friends! How the fuck can he not be used to human contact?"

"Yes, he has a lot of friends now, but that wasn't always the case. He didn't have anyone until he graduated from the Academy." Tayuya skeptically narrowed her eyes. This shit wasn't making any sense.

"What the hell does that have to do with me?"

"I know you didn't mean to, but you probably hurt Naruto-kun when you told him not to touch you. He's been told that for the majority of his life, and hearing it come from someone he considers a friend probably cut him deeper than any of the words that could ever come from the villagers."

"No fucking way! What about that pink-haired bitch? From what I hear, she tells him to fuck off all the time! Why does he get upset when I tell him to!" A small, devilish smirk appeared on the woman's face, immediately setting the girl on edge.

"Perhaps he considers you more of a friend than Sakura-chan." Tayuya frowned thoughtfully, resting her chin on her hands.

"Still, how can he call me a friend? I haven't done shit for him in the whole three weeks that I've been here!"

"Yes you have; unlike most of the other people who know his secret, you see him as Naruto \- not as the...well, you know. I'm not telling you to apologize, but at least let him know why you said the things that you did." The redhead sighed and stared contemplatively out of the window.

"Friend, huh?" For Tayuya, it was extremely hard to believe that someone would ever consider her one of their friends. Although she'd never admit it in a million years, she honestly didn't think that she had any redeeming qualities whatsoever. She was rude, foulmouthed, callous, and uncaring towards everyone and everything. What the hell could anyone ever see in her?

At that moment, the waitress returned with a large tray of food, stacked high with sushi, dango, rice, cake, and an assortment of other different things. Shizune's smile dropped as she eyed the large amount of food, and she looked over at the girl with a incredulous expression.

"...Are you really going to eat all of that?" she asked, her eyebrows inching higher with each plate that was set down in front of them. The redhead excitedly lifted her eyes to meet the medic-nin's own. She couldn't explain it, but for some reason, she'd been annoyingly hungry for the last couple of days.

"Hell fuckin' yeah I am."

Naruto scaled the hill with relative ease, gradually building his smile with each step. He really hadn't meant to be so mean to Tayuya, and was deeply regretting letting her go off by herself. There was no guarantee that there weren't any more Sound ninja in the village, and for all he knew, one could be attack her right now! Panicking, he quickly turned on his heel to head back down the hill.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" The blond froze mid-step before slowly turning around to see Hyuuga Neji approaching from the other side of the hill. Immediately, he pulled a wide foxy grin onto his face and sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, hey Neji! I was just, uh, coming to see you!" The Hyuuga narrowed his eyes, causing a small sweatdrop to appear on the back of Naruto's head. While Neji had certainly mellowed out within the last few months, he could still be pretty intimidating when he wanted to.

"If I recall correctly, you were heading in the opposite direction."

"Yeah! Because I was...walking up the hill backwards! It's a secret training method Ero-sennin taught me!" Neji blinked stupidly at the blond for a few seconds. Surely Naruto didn't think he was dumb enough to fall for such an obvious lie. Sighing deeply, he shook his head and walked towards the high outer walls of the Hyuuga mansion.

"Follow me," he said, giving the boy no room for argument. Naruto glanced over his shoulder once more in defeat before hanging his head and following the prodigy onto the property.

Despite what he'd heard about the Hyuuga clan from others, he was surprised to find that the Byakugan users were actually pretty lax. The guards posted inside the walls of the compound only spared him a curious glance as he passed, and a few of them even gave him a nod recognition. Out of all the scenarios he had come up with in his head, this one was the least expected.

As he followed the long, concrete path leading to the front door, he visibly gawked at the large amount of flowers and trees planted throughout the yard. There were many different colors, shapes, and species littered throughout the yard, and if it weren't for the narrow walkway below him, he was sure that he would have gotten lost. A small clearing of the throat snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Neji waiting impatiently on the steps in front of the door.

Seeing that he had his attention, he opened the tall oak door of the mansion and motioned for the blond to enter ahead of him. Naruto hesitantly stepped into the building and let loose an astonished gasp. If he thought the garden was impressive, the halls of the Hyuuga estate were positively breathtaking. The ceiling was every bit of twenty feet high, and the floors were polished to the point of gleaming perfection. Old pictures adorned the walls of the foyer, and remembering what he'd learned about the clan during one of Iruka-sensei's lessons (he wasn't asleep all of the time), correctly assumed that they were the previous clan heads.

They walked for a few more minutes, making a turn or changing directions every now and then. Finally, the genin reached a large fusuma door.

"What's this?" Naruto asked, staring up at the door with no small amount of trepidation. He wasn't completely at ease yet being within the Hyuuga mansion, even if he had Neji as an escort. Especially since he knew that the older clan heads weren't exactly fond of him. Neji slid the door open and pointed towards one of the large pillows resting in front of a low table. The room was mostly empty, barring a few sculptures and plants positioned tastefully around the edges of the small guest room. A large screen window was built on the southern wall, giving them a perfect view of the lake in the backyard.

"Sit there." Nodding, the blond quickly plopped down onto the cushion, crossing his legs underneath him in the process. Neji did the same, and with an invasive stare unique to the Hyuuga clan, straightened his back to look Naruto directly in the eye. "What is your reason for coming here?" he asked, unable to hide the small bit of curiosity lurking in his eyes.

"Why did we have to come all the to this room? I could've told you outside." A sudden flash of fear passed over the normally stoic Hyuuga's face, but it was quickly covered up with a glare of indifference and a small clearing of the throat.

"It...it is safer inside." Naruto almost asked what he meant by safer, but the dark aura emanating from his friend was more than enough to shut him up.

"Oh...well, where's Hinata-chan? I have to tell her too." Naruto let loose a small breath of relief when Neji's expression changed into a thoughtful one.

"She...hasn't been feeling well. Rest assured, I will relay the message to her as soon as possible." Satisfied, the jinchuuriki nodded and leaned back onto his hands.

"I guess that's okay, even though I'd rather tell her myself. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'd be gone on a training mission for three years. I'm leaving on Friday morning." The prodigy's eyebrows shot up behind his forehead protector, and except for a slight widening of the eyes, there were no other visible signs that he was at all surprised.

"I see. With Jiraiya-sama, I presume?" The blond slowly nodded again.

"And a couple of other people. I don't know who one of them is, but the other is a girl who's really good with genjutsu! She's kinda smart, too!" Neji's eyes narrowed at Naruto's strained grin, and he leaned forward onto his elbows. Threading his fingers in a very Sasuke-esque posed, he stared curiously into the blond's eyes.

"So, she's your friend? What rank is she?"

"She's a genin like me, and...she's not really my friend." The Hyuuga lifted a shocked eyebrow. Being a friend of Naruto himself, he knew exactly how magnetic the boy could be. The fact that someone, anyone, could avoid becoming one of his friends was more than hard to believe.

"She's not? Why?" Out of all the questions he was expecting, that one wasn't even on his radar. He blinked a few times to regain his thoughts and looked over at Neji with a confused frown.

"Well, because she doesn't like me, I guess."

"She doesn't? Why not?"

"I dunno, she just doesn't!"

"There has to be a reason." The prodigy nearly smirked at the range of emotions crossing over the blond's face. While most people wouldn't pick up on the subtle change in expressions, the Hyuuga clan specialized in reading their targets. This girl obviously had a large impact on Naruto, and being the good (nosy) friend he was, he would do his best to help the clueless genin out.

"There isn't!" the jinchuuriki yelled, becoming annoyed with the cross examination. He couldn't understand why Neji was so adamant about finding out what was wrong, or why the prodigy wasn't being fooled by his usually perfect mask.

"I think there is. Naruto, my eyes see everything. It is obvious to me that this girl is an important person to you, and you're hurt that she doesn't seem to want to be your friend. Am I correct?" Naruto lowered his head, hiding his eyes behind his bangs. The blunt way in which he said it made him feel even worse, and he turned his head to look out of the large window.

"I guess." Neji's lips twitched with accomplishment. Apparently, his skills hadn't dulled at all during his stay in hell (the hospital). He leaned back and crossed his arms, closing his eyes in thought. Although he probably wasn't the best person to be giving anyone advice on friendship, he'd certainly learned a few things by watching the interaction of people around him. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his eyes and regarded the blond with a stoic stare.

"It's not like you to just give up, Naruto. What happened to making everyone acknowledge you? What happened to becoming the Hokage? If you can't even make one girl become your friend, what kind of man will you be?" Naruto snapped his head around to look at the Hyuuga genius, shock evident on his face. His shock soon gave way to sadness, and he looked down at his hands in defeat.

"But...it's not that easy! She said she doesn't want me around!" Becoming fed up with Naruto's angst, Neji slammed his fist onto the table.

"Damnit, Naruto, it's not supposed to be easy! Are you going to give up just like that? You're even more pathetic than I thought! If she's really that important to you, fight for her friendship!" An eerie silence settled over the room after Neji's outburst, and neither shinobi spoke for what seemed like hours. Naruto slowly lifted his head to stare straight into the white eyes of his friend with a small, genuine smile on his face.

"Thanks, Neji." He slowly got to his feet and turned towards the door. "Sorry, but I got something that I need to do right now. Make sure you tell Hinata-chan for me!" The Hyuuga nodded, smirking as his friend slid the door open and sprinted down the hall towards the exit.

He then stared out of the large screen window to his left at the brightly shining sun, watching as it slowly revealed itself from behind a large cluster of clouds.

"Do your best, Naruto."

An orange blur raced down the halls of the Hyuuga mansion, expertly navigating the pathways as if he'd lived there for years. Luckily, he'd had the foresight to pick out landmarks in each corridor just in case he was separated from Neji. He reached the front doors in a matter of minutes and threw them open before rushing past the surprised guards standing in the front yard. A few of them yelled for him to slow down, but by the time they began to run in his direction, he was already outside of the tall, metal gates and heading down the hill in the direction he'd come.

It had been just under an hour since they'd separated, and knowing Tayuya's current speed on crutches, there was no way she could've gotten very far. He speedily rounded the corner - only to knock something soft and light to the ground.

"Goddamnit! Watch where you're fucking going, asshole! Shit, you Leaf motherfuckers just step out of fuckin'-"

"Tayuya?" The girl in question looked up to see Naruto staring down at her with concern, and for a second, she felt a strong wave of deja vu. There wasn't a trace of anger and coldness left on his face, and she inquisitively wondered what had happened in the hour she'd been gone. She grabbed his offered hand and easily hefted herself up to her feet, nervously avoiding his gaze as she stood.

Her heart rate unconsciously sped up as she replayed the events of the past hour in her head. As she'd ate, Shizune had been giving her tips and advice on how to approach Naruto about their fight. Being the hard head that she was, she had either ignored or rejected every one of the woman's ideas. Now that she was here, she was really starting to regret it. Just as she was about to open her mouth, the blond sighed loudly and put on a small smile.

"I'm really glad you're okay, Tayuya." The redhead blinked a few times in shock. The same sickly feeling in the bottom of her stomach from that morning was coming back full force, and she said the most intelligent thing she could in her current position.

"What?" Chuckling softly to himself, Naruto scratched the back of his head and widened his grin.

"I was kinda worried that someone might attack you or something, and I was just coming to find you." She frowned confusedly and narrowed her eyes.

"You always say you're worried about me. Why?"

"Why? Well, because you're my-" Suddenly remembering what had happened earlier, the blond quickly shut his mouth and changed the subject. "Uh, nevermind. So, why are you here?" Taken aback by the sudden question, Tayuya crossed her arms under her chest and shot him a halfhearted glare.

"For the same reason. You can't do shit without me, and I just wanted to make sure you didn't get yourself killed. Not that I care if you die or anything." If it weren't for the fact that she would kill him on the spot, he would've laughed at her words. Maybe she did care a little about him after all. "I'm tired, and it'll be sundown by the time we walk all the way back to the other side of Konoha. Let's go home." She turned around and limped off in the opposite direction, fighting the persistent smirk that threatened to break out on her face. Walking along behind her, Naruto cheerfully watched her back, not bothering to hide his grin.

"Yeah, let's go home."

If it was possible, the shower felt ten times better than it had the day before. She savored every second of it, knowing that in a couple of days she'd be on the road and forced to take baths in cold rivers and streams. After rinsing the soap off of her body, she turned the handle on the wall to save some hot water for Naruto and stepped out of the small stall. She didn't bother to dry herself off this time, and instead just slipped on the same shirt and boxers she'd borrowed the night before.

"Your turn!" Tayuya yelled, stepping out of the bathroom and closing the door behind her. The cool air in the apartment felt deliciously comfortable against her skin, and she stretched her arms high above her head to further intensify the feeling. If she wasn't careful, she could get too used to living in Naruto's apartment. She lowered her arms and slowly walked into the kitchen for a snack, nodding towards the blond as he passed her on his way to the bathroom. It hadn't even been three hours since she'd shared a meal with Shizune, and her stomach was already demanding food.

She grabbed a cup of shrimp ramen (It was one of the many flavors she'd never had the displeasure of tasting) and set it down next to the stove, filling the kettle with water before setting it down on the burner. As she waited, she listened for the sound of water splashing against the wall in the bathroom, signaling to her that Naruto had finally started his shower.

For a few minutes, the entire apartment was silent except for the gentle pitter patter of the shower. She was nearly caught of guard when the pot began to whistle and hiss, and with a swiftness only seen in shinobi, removed the kettle from the burner and poured a large amount of water into the cup of ramen. She stirred the salty noodles with her chopsticks a few times, helping the food along in its cooking. Just as she was about to lift a small amount of the food to her mouth, a loud banging was heard from the front door.

"Who the hell could that be?" Tayuya wondered aloud. She picked up her searing cup of ramen and slowly made her way towards the door. Since she was living in his apartment for free, the redhead figured that she could at least get the door for him. Placing her free hand on the doorknob, she slowly twisted it to her right, swinging it open to stare straight into a pair of cornflower blue eyes. Both teens stared tensely at each other for a few seconds, obviously surprised to see the other standing there. Finally becoming bored with the situation, Tayuya menacingly narrowed her eyes. "What the fuck do you want?" she asked, eying the girl with no small amount of malice. There was something about the blond-haired girl that bugged her, and she couldn't help but feel that they'd met somewhere before.

"This is Naruto's apartment, right?" Ino asked, completely brushing off the redhead's question. She was fairly certain that this was where the blond lived, and seeing the girl's reaction to her question only confirmed her beliefs. "Is he here?" Frowning, Tayuya tightened her grip on the doorknob.

"I'm not obligated to tell you shit. Bye." Before she could close the door, the Yamanaka slammed her hand against the panel.

"I don't think you understand," she started, stepping forward into the apartment, "I'm here to see Naruto. Where is he?" Shocked by the girl's audacity, she moved directly in front of the aggressive blond. She didn't look to weigh more than a hundred and ten pounds, and even in her weakened state, she was certain that she could easily kick the girl's flat ass.

"No, I don't think you understand, you piss-haired, air-headed valley girl. If you ever do something like that again, I'll kill you." The two girls glared furiously into each other's eyes, daring the other to make the next move. After a few seconds of staring, Ino deepened her frown and glared down at the irritable kunoichi.

"What are you, his girlfriend or something?" Not expecting the question, Tayuya sputtered out the first thing she could think of.

"N-no! Fuck no!" A large, conspiratorial smirk spread across the blond's face.

"Oh, so you don't mind if I take him off of your hands then?" she inquired, leaning forward to further pressure the already off balance redhead.

"No, well, yeah, but...just shut up!" Unfortunately, they were so wrapped up in their conflict that neither one managed to sense the boy in question approaching from behind Tayuya.

"Ino-chan? What're you doing here?" he asked, a towel draped haphazardly over his shoulders. He was wearing a large pair of black sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt, and his hair was in a massive state of disarray. The redhead's grip on the doorknob tightened, and Ino swore she could hear the cheap metal bending under her fist.

"Ino-chan?" she spat, her face becoming even angrier than it had been only seconds before. Naruto nodded and put on his infamous foxy grin.

"Yep! She's the one that helped me pick out those flowers for you! She's really good at it, too!" Ino grinned modestly and stepped back from the doorway.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun!" She flashed Tayuya a smug smile, rubbing salt into an already festering wound. "Sorry for coming by so late, but I was wondering if we could talk for a little while." Ino glanced at the redhead again and frowned. "Alone." Every muscle in Tayuya's body was begging her to claw the girl's eyes out, and if it weren't for the fact that Naruto was standing right beside her, she would have done just that. How dare this bitch come out of fucking nowhere and demand that Naruto give her the time of day! Not that she cared, of course. Besides, knowing him, he wouldn't want to talk to her any-

"Sure! Just let me put on my sandals!" Tayuya's jaw dropped open at how easily he agreed. She watched amazed as he slipped into his shoes and headed out of the door, giving her a wave and his trademark grin as he walked down the stairs with the blond succubus from hell.

So appalled at the quickness with which he'd accepted Ino's proposal, Tayuya didn't notice the crushed ramen cup in her hand, nor the copious amounts of scalding hot soup spilling over onto her fingers.

She did, however, notice the sinking feeling in her chest as she watched them leave.

Uzumaki Naruto and Yamanaka Ino strolled down the dark streets of Konoha. It was just as quiet as it had been the night before, and if it weren't for the lights beaming from the windows of the houses lining the streets, one would think they were the last two people in the village. A small, awkward silence settled over the blonds, and feeling slightly bad about leaving Tayuya alone in the apartment, Naruto shot her a curious glance.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked, clasping his hands behind his head. Ino jolted a bit at the suddenness of his question, and she stared blankly at him for a few seconds before putting on a nervous smile.

"Nothing special, really," she lied, waving her hands in a disarming fashion. Noticing the dubious expression on his face, she hurriedly said the next thing that came to her mind. "So, that's Tayuya?" Happy to have something he could talk about, Naruto enthusiastically nodded his head.

"Yup! Those flowers really worked! It only took her a day to get better!" The girl's smile became strained as she remembered how hard she'd worked on that bouquet; only for the flowers to go to someone who was bitchy and unappreciative. Frowning a bit, the Yamanaka slowed her pace and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Did she at least thank you?" When the boy shook his head, Ino sighed agitatedly. Why he bothered to hang out with a girl like that was beyond her. Hell, if a guy she didn't even know gave her a beautiful bouquet of flowers, she'd at least thank him before shooting him down. Deciding to make her concerns known, she furrowed her brows and glared at Naruto. "Then why do you even hang out with her? If she can't even open her mouth to thank you for going out of your way to buy her some flowers, why bother with her?" To her surprise, the genin's grin only grew.

"Because she's like me." Ino's eyes widened for a split second at his words. She turned her eyes to the sidewalk in front of them, contemplating what he meant by his statement.

As far as she knew, the two didn't have that much in common; although they were both loud and rude, Naruto was much nicer than the perpetually angry redhead. He didn't swear nearly as often as she did, and if he could, he'd always be there to lend a helping hand. Sure, he was stupid, but at least he genuinely cared about his friends and those close to him. From what she'd heard about the girl from Shikamaru, Tayuya was the complete opposite.

For one, she was much smarter than the average shinobi. Being able to keep up with the lazy chuunin in brainpower was no easy feat, and according to the deer herder himself, she could probably out maneuver him if the situation was life or death. Another thing she'd learned from her teammate was that the girl had an incredibly low opinion of other people - especially since she had no qualms about insulting the Hokage to her face.

So what could he possibly mean by 'because she's like me'? At that moment, she remembered what he'd said about Tayuya when they were in the flowershop. He'd called her strong-willed and independent, and he'd also mentioned that she didn't take shit from anyone. At least that explained the redhead's rudeness when she 'greeted' her at the door. Still, she found herself becoming increasingly jealous of the Naruto's new friend. She was just as, if not more, strong-willed than Tayuya, and much better looking too. To her, the girl looked more like a drowned sewer rat than an actual person.

"Isn't this where you live?" Naruto asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. Looking around, she realized that they'd walked all the way from his apartment to the Market District. She made a small guttural sound of disgust in the back of her throat. Her plan had originally been to win the boy over with her feminine charms, not get him to take her back home. Confused by her sudden frown, he leaned a little bit closer to get her attention. "Ino-chan?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah, thanks. But, I kind of wanted to hang out for a little while. Do you have time?" She batted her eyelashes for added effect. Unsurprisingly, he completely missed her attempt at being persuasive and smiled at her with an apologetic grin.

"Sorry, Ino-chan, but I really can't stay out too late. Me and Tayuya have to get up really early to pack and shop for supplies." Ino's eyebrows shot up at the mention of packing.

"Packing? For what?"

"Oh yeah, I didn't tell you yet!" Naruto exclaimed. "We're going on a three year training mission with Ero-sennin Friday! I'm gonna get really strong and bring Sasuke back, don't worry!" The Yamanaka felt her jaw drop open at this sudden piece of information. Her brain was going at a million miles an hour trying to process his words, yet nothing was making sense. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes to help herself relax.

"Hold on. So, you and Tayuya are going a training mission, alone, for three years?"

"Huh? No, Ero-sennin and another jounin will be there too." Ino's eyes lowered to her feet. All of her plans, schemes, and ideas to turn Naruto into the perfect boyfriend were useless now that he was leaving, and she couldn't help but feel a large amount of hate for the foulmouthed redhead. "Anyway, I should probably get going. We're leaving Friday morning, so come see of us off, okay?" He hopped off of the front steps of the flower shop and jogged back towards the Residential District, waving an arm as he ran.

She could only watch as he blended in with shadows of the night, and after she was sure he was gone, she leaned heavily against the front door of the shop. Perhaps it was for the best. Maybe this was Kami's way of telling her that she wasn't ready for him yet, or that she needed to train herself in becoming a respectable kunoichi before she could even hope to be on the same level Naruto. She clenched her fist tightly in determination before raising it to the sky. She had a new goal now, and nothing and no one would stand in her way.

"I won't lose to you!" the blond yelled at the top of her lungs, staring decisively into the starlit sky. It felt great to scream to the heavens, and at that moment, she felt as if she was on top of the world. She'd train as hard as she could for the next three years, and when Naruto returned, he wouldn't know what hit him!

"Ino-chan? Is that you? Come inside before you catch a cold!" Her feeling of accomplishment thoroughly defeated by her mother's interruption, Ino dropped her head and sighed.

"Yes, mother."

Naruto skillfully scaled the stairs of his apartment building. It had only been a little over forty-five minutes since he'd left with Ino, but he was already worried that something had happened to her. Only one other person lived in the old, rundown building with him, and she was old enough to be considered dust. If an Oto-nin wanted to attack her, now would be the perfect time to try it. Not that Tayuya was completely defenseless; she did have the use of both of her arms now, and could easily perform handseals or play her flute. Still, her legs weren't strong enough to support her if she had to make a run for it, and the ability to move was a shinobi's greatest defense.

He quickly unlocked the door and peered inside of the apartment. The light in the hallway was off, and except for a small glow coming from around the corner, the room was pitch black. he slipped off his ninja sandals and quietly made his way to the living room.

"Tayuya? Are you in here?" he whispered, tiptoeing into the room. The only light in the room came from a single lamp resting on the table near the couch, and as he got closer, he noticed a small shadow huddled against the arm of the beat up sofa. The redhead was curled up into a little ball, her hair resting haphazardly on the cushions. He kneeled down next to her head to see that she was fast asleep, her breaths coming in deep, even sighs.

As he watched her sleep, he forgot that she was a rude, foulmouthed kunoichi. Her lips were cutely puffed out into a small pout, and her face was softened into the perfect picture of comfort. Every now and then, she'd whimper and furrow her brows, mumbling something unintelligible as she moved to find a more comfortable position. He considered picking her up and moving her back to his bed, but remembering what happened the last time he'd gotten too close while she slept (She had a killer left hook), decided against it. Instead, he jogged into his room and grabbed both of their sheets and pillows.

Naruto spread his bedding out on the floor next to the couch, remembering her confession about being afraid to sleep alone. He then carefully maneuvered a pillow under her head and gently covered her with a bed sheet, being careful not to set off her violent reflexes. Satisfied with his work, the blond watched amused as she smiled and snuggled deeper into the chair, obviously a lot more comfortable than she had been only a few seconds before.

"You didn't have to wait up for me you know," he whispered, turning off the lamp and lying down on his own makeshift bed. There was something oddly comforting about having another person close by as he slept - a feeling he didn't get to feel often, except during missions with his team, anyway. Yawning widely, he slowly closed his eyes and smiled.

Chapter 14

Tayuya and Naruto spent the majority of the next morning packing for their trip, opening and turning over every item in the apartment. She didn't really have anything to pack except for her flute and a few extra pairs of underwear, so she occupied herself with helping him seal individual cups of ramen into a large scroll.

Earlier that morning, she'd woken up to find him sitting cross-legged in his room surrounded by piles of clothes, weapons, and ramen. He'd been unceremoniously tossing random items into the large camping bag resting on his bed, and she frowned at the excessive amount of space he was wasting by not packing effectively.

After showing him the correct way to fold and place his clothes into the bag, she was eventually enlisted into helping him clean up and search through his apartment for items he wanted to take with him. To her surprise, the majority of the things he owned were technique scrolls and books 'borrowed' from the library, free weights, and posters of Konoha symbols. They both decided that it'd be best to leave the posters and free weights where they were for the time being, but the training documents could prove to be useful in the future.

The teens only stopped once during the entire morning, briefly leaving the house to grab a few bowls of Ichiraku Ramen for lunch. Ayame and her father had been depressed to hear about their departure (Tayuya swore she heard sobbing in the back room as they left), but were also excited that the two were going to become stronger shinobi of Konoha. To celebrate their journey, the old man gave them both an extra bowl of ramen, much to their obvious pleasure.

Before they left, Ayame pulled the redhead to the side and whispered something in her ear. Tayuya's face flushed a light shade of pink, and ignoring Naruto's curious stare, she stalked back home.

They worked well into the afternoon, managing to pack all of his clothes and weapons into his camping bag and seal most of his ramen into the roll of paper. The genin shared quite a few laughs along the way; mostly when it involved one or both of them tripping over an unseen item. For the first time since she'd joined the Sound, Tayuya found herself laughing with genuine mirth, and each time she struggled to wipe the humor-filled tears that were budding at the corners of her eyes.

Finally, after literally six hours of packing, Naruto and Tayuya sat tiredly on the couch, watching some obscure anime about an orange-haired shinigami and sword fighting. Her legs were curled comfortably underneath her as she reclined against the worn cushions of the chair, and she basked in the feeling of a job well done. She idly played with the edge of the large black shirt she'd borrowed from Naruto that morning.

Her own long sleeved shirt was a little smelly from over two days of wear, and she'd been forced to hastily wash it in the sink. To her dismay, it nor her pants were dry by the time they were ready to leave for the ramen stand. Being the generous idiot that he was, Naruto happily offered her one of his favorite shirts to wear for the rest of the day; a pitch black t-shirt with a small, red spiral directly in the center of her chest. He also gave her an old pair of orange shorts that they'd decided to leave behind due to its small size. Ironically, they fit her perfectly.

A sudden growl jolted her from her post-work glow, and she lazily glanced over at Naruto with a small smirk.

"Hungry?" she asked, noticing the starved expression gracing his whiskered face. To be honest, she was beginning to feel a little ravenous herself. The blond smiled sheepishly and nervously scratched the back of his head, a habit Tayuya was quickly becoming used to.

"Yeah, a little bit. Want some ramen?" The disgusted look on her face told him all he needed to know, and his smile dropped into a disappointed pout. It wasn't that she didn't like ramen; hell, she couldn't complain considering that she was getting to eat for free. Still, even a girl as undemanding as herself needed a little variety now and then.

"Fuck no, we've been eating that shit for three days straight!" She neglected to tell him that Shizune had treated her to an asian cuisine only the day before. "How about sushi?" He wrinkled his nose at the mention of raw fish.

"Ew, I don't like sushi. It always tastes spoiled."

"That's probably because you go to those cheapass places. I'll pick the restaurant; you just pay." Leaving no room for argument, she hopped to her feet and walked towards the front door, running her fingers through her messy long hair as she did so. Her legs felt nearly as good as new, and although she probably couldn't jump through the trees or run very fast, she was able to walk freely without the use of any kind of support.

Which was a really good thing, considering that they were expected to leave the next day.

She heard a defeated sigh from behind her, and watched amused as he trudged to his room to grab his wallet. She waited a few minutes for him to emerge, and when he didn't appear, she frustratedly poked her head into his bedroom.

"Oi, Naruto, Hurry the fuck u-Whoa!" Bent over a small metal box, Naruto was hurriedly counting out a fuckload of bills and coins. There had to be at least 20,000 yen in his hand, and glancing into the box in front of him, there looked to be a whole lot more. "W-where the hell did you get all that money?" He quickly slammed the top shut on the box and slid it back into the floor, placing the floorboards and rug back over the hidden compartment.

"What money?" He asked, doing his best to look innocent. She regarded him with a deadpan expression before pointing insistently at the area he had just covered up.

"That money! What the fuck did you do, rob a bank?" The blond quickly shook his head, eyes widening at the accusation.

"No way! I've just been saving this up since I was in the Academy. The old man gave me a weekly allowance for food and clothes, but because of the bastard fox, no one wanted to sell me stuff. So, I just saved it," he said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"How much is there? Do you know?" Most of her surprise stemmed from the fact that she believed him to be a poorer-than-dirt genin based on his clothes and choice of food alone. Now that she knew he was loaded, her mind quickly began to formulate a plan.

"I'm not sure, but I think there's around 750,000 yen left." If she was surprised before, Tayuya was positively floored now. "Anyway, I'm hungry!" he exclaimed, hopping to his feet and practically skipping out of the room. She stood there for a moment longer before shaking her head and following, already making a mental checklist of things she'd need to buy.

The streets were abuzz with action as they walked to the Market District. People were walking in and out of buildings, chatting on the sidewalk, and a few shinobi were even sprinting along the rooftops. The redhead was annoyingly aware of the heated glares they were receiving from the citizens of Konoha, but casually brushed (flipped) them off as she didn't want to cause any trouble before they left.

She was so caught up in giving the finger to the haters that she didn't notice the large beast of a man stalking boastfully in their direction. Naruto easily sidestepped the man, but unaware that Tayuya wasn't paying attention, watched surprised as she was sent barreling butt first to the ground for the third time that week. The man frowned and looked down at her from over the bridge of his nose. A large scar ran from his forehead down to his lower right cheekbone, and huge, rippling muscles protruded from the open sleeves of his weather-worn shirt. Behind him were two similarly built guys, and both had matching grins etched cockily into their faces.

"Watch where you're going, demon's bitch!" he spat, bringing his foot up to step on her. By now, people were already beginning to mumble and whisper amongst themselves, curious as to what was going to happen next. Would the Kyuubi tear the man apart for threatening his mate, or would he allow the girl to be hurt? With an effort-filled grunt, the man speedily dropped his foot towards her abdomen.

To his and the crowd's surprise, the petite redhead easily caught his sandal-covered foot with her left hand. She slowly sat up onto her knees and lifted her head to glare at the thug with a large amount of killing intent. So much for not causing trouble.

"Oi, who the fuck do you think you're talking to, bastard?" she hissed, gradually increasing the pressure of her hand. The man's eyes widened in pain as she crushed his foot with just her hand, and he let loose a loud scream of agony when she let go. She calmly stood to her feet and regarded his lackeys with a bored glare. "You fuckers want some too?" Angered by her words, the two men pulled out a kunai each and rushed with the intent to kill.

"Tayuya! Watch out!" Naruto yelled, moving to stop the men from hurting her. Glad to have some action, Tayuya only smiled sadistically and opened her arms wide. As soon as they were close enough, she flipped backwards onto her hands and brought her feet up to connect solidly with their chins. Before they could stumble back in pain, she grabbed their heads and slammed them together, causing a loud cracking sound to be heard throughout the entire district. They hit the pavement with an earth-shattering thud, and if it weren't for Naruto grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the fallen men, she would've hopped squarely onto their windpipes and killed them.

The leader of the group stumbled to his feet and grabbed his partners in crime before dragging them away from the scene. "You...you monster! You demon wench! You won't get away with this! Danzo-sama will kill you, you hear me? Kill you!" he yelled as he limped off in the direction the Hokage tower. Tayuya placed her hands on her hips and laughed boastfully, exposing her sharp canines to the gasping villagers.

"Go ahead, I'll fuck his ass up like I did to you! As a matter of fact, y-hey!" her tirade was cut off when Naruto slung her over his shoulder and took off in the opposite direction. "Put me down! C'mon, let me finish em!" She swung her legs wildly in the air as she screamed, and the blond struggled to keep from dropping her flat on her face.

"Hold still! We have to get away before the ANBU show up!" She finally quieted down at the mention of the elite guard of Konoha, and when he was sure that she wouldn't cause any more trouble, he gently set her back down on her feet.

"That's not fair, you know. It was those shitty bastards who started the fight! You shouldn't let them walk all over you like that!" Naruto only smiled wryly and shrugged.

"I know. That's why I'm working so hard to become the Hokage! I'll get them to recognize my existence, and then I'll make sure that everyone gets treated fairly by myself!" Tayuya blinked her eyes in mild surprise before shaking her head and snorting under her breath at his proclamation. She'd nearly forgotten about his goal to become the Hokage, and hearing him say it now, she actually sort of believed him.

Sort of.

She glanced at the area surrounding them and realized with some amusement that they were standing right in front of a large plethora of different restaurants. Grabbing his shoulder, she turned him towards the entrance to a sushi shop.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll believe you when you actually do it. Now go buy me some sushi!" At the mention of going into the store, he suddenly stopped cold and lowered his head. When he didn't move, she poked him in the back and frowned. "What?"

"Well...I'm not allowed to go in here."

"Why...oh," she said, a look of understanding passing over her face. She crossed her arms and sighed. She couldn't wait to get out of this discriminatory shithole. "Well, how about this; I'll go in, get a menu, and bring it back out here for you to look at. We choose what we want, you give me the money, and everything's honky fuckin' dory. What do you think?" A large, foxy grin broke out on his face at her idea.

"Sounds good to me!" She nodded her head and casually stepped into the restaurant, shooting him one more backwards glance before closing the door behind her. Already bored without anyone around to talk to, he leaned against the wall and stared up at the cloudy sky.

Hyuuga Hinata stomped through the halls with frightening force. Her face was the picture of the determination, and her fists were clenched tightly at her sides. She was on a mission; a mission to make one Uzumaki Naruto hers. The branch members looked on in surprise as the normally quiet girl literally blew the wide double doors of the foyer open, and she couldn't stop a small smirk from spreading over her face at their expressions.

For the past three days, she'd been bitching, moaning, and crying alone in her room, only leaving to eat or use the toilet. It was safe to say that she stressed over the recent appearance of a potential rival. The redheaded bitch had given her numerous bruises on on her wrist, something she hadn't discovered until she'd gone to wash up that night. She was shocked at the strength of the strange girl, and believing it was impossible to beat her, cried herself to sleep.

It wasn't until she'd looked at Naruto's picture that morning that she remembered his words from the Chuunin Exams. She remembered how he'd cheered her on that day, telling her to never give up until the very end. Although she hadn't been awake to see it herself (something she cursed herself for to this very day), she also recalled how he'd beaten Neji during the third round of the same exams. He hadn't given up then, and she wouldn't give up now!

She reached the door of the mansion in record speed, and gripping the handle with a strength comparable to that of a one ton gorilla, threw it open and stepped outside-only to run headfirst into her cousin Neji. He'd just been about to open the door, and was thoroughly surprised when it was ripped open in front of him. Luckily, both had the reflexes to maintain their balance and avoid a very painful fall down the somewhat high stairs leading to the front door. Neji was the first to recover, and he stared down at his younger cousin with concern. Her face was twisted into a frown, and her overall aura was vastly different than what he was used to.

"Hinata-sama? What's wrong? Where are you going?" he asked, visually checking her over for injuries. Hinata rubbed her head to get rid of some of the dizziness, wincing at the sore spot on her forehead that had developed from their collision. Not wasting any time, she pushed the boy out of the way and continued on her warpath to her love's apartment.

"Not now, Neji-nii-san, I'll explain later!" Thrown off guard by her forcefulness, Neji followed after her with a frown of his own.

"Wait, there's something I must tell you before you go." He placed a hand on her shoulder to slow her down a little, but immediately regretted it when she slowly turned around with infamous Hyuuga glare. The veins around her eyes were literally pulsing with chakra, and the murderous frown marring her lips caused a small lump to form in his throat.

"Neji-nii-san," she started, emanating a violent aura of killing intent, "Remove your hand from my shoulder this instant or I'll cut it off, deep fry it, put it on a silver platter, and serve it to your teammates with soy sauce on the side." When it became obvious that he was too astonished to move, Hinata ripped her shoulder out of his grip and hurried on down the path, leaving a very confused and afraid Neji in her wake. He stared after her for a few minutes until his mouth finally decided to move.

"What the fuck just happened?"

As soon as she was outside the gates of the Hyuuga estate, Hinata took off towards Naruto's apartment at full speed. Since they lived on opposite sides of the village, it'd take at least half an hour to get there on foot. Still, half an hour was a long time; who knew what kind of things that bitch was doing to her poor Naruto-kun? Inspired by this thought, she reached the Market District in a speed never seen before in Konoha, arriving in just under ten minutes. Unfortunately, the traffic made it impossible for her to run through on foot, so with a mighty leap, she hopped onto the nearest rooftop and began her sprint anew.

Her legs were a blur as she jumped from roof to roof, and she used chakra on each step to give herself a boost. The crowd below her looked like nothing more than a monotone blur of brown and beige from her vantage point, and for the first time since she'd joined the Academy, she was happy as hell to be a ninja.

Suddenly, a bright yellow and orange blur from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She immediately skidded to a stop and backtracked, searching for the only spot of color in the whole village. Her eyes zeroed in on a lone boy leaning against the wall of a sushi restaurant, and with a predatory smile, she hopped down from building and landed a few meters away from.

"Naruto-kun!" she yelled, waving her arm as she approached him. The boy jolted at the sound of his name, and as soon as he turned those beautiful sky blue eyes upon her, she felt her brain melt and turn into mush.

"Hinata-chan? Hey!" He stepped away from the wall and clasped his hands loosely behind his head, giving her a grin he reserved for his friends. "What are you doing here?" To her complete and utter shock, every thought, plan, and idea she had disappeared as soon as he'd said her name. Her previous determination was now non-existent, and she was futility fighting to keep a blush from spreading over her cheeks and neck.

"A-ano...I was...looking for you!" she breathed, unable to meet his eyes. She wanted nothing more than to hide behind the nearest wall, but her nindo was repeating itself over and over in her head. She refused to give up just yet - Naruto-kun would be hers. The blond raised his eyebrows as he stared down at her heavily breathing form.

"Looking for me? Why?" This was the hard part. This one moment would define the rest of her life. Either she would tell him how she felt and they'd live happily ever after, or she'd choke and live alone with forty cats in a small, one bedroom apartment. She took a few deep calming breaths before shakily opening her mouth to speak.

"I-I-I wanted...t-t-t-to t-tell you t-that..." she took one more deep breath and clenched her eyes shut, deciding to get it all out in one breath. "I really, really l-"

"Hey Naruto, I got the menu!" Tayuya yelled, emerging from the shop with a large piece of paper in hand. Hinata's eyes opened wide as her arch rival, a girl she didn't even know the name of, called the name of her love so casually. She felt her anger rising with each step the bitch took, and she grimaced with annoyance at the friendly smile plastered on the redhead's face.

"Cool, thanks! By the way, I want you to meet my friend Hinata-chan!" Time seemed to slow to a stop as their eyes met. Light brown eyes stared surprised into angry white ones, and for a moment, neither one of them moved. Tayuya's face gradually began to sink into a frown, and then into a scowl to match Hinata's own. As usual, Naruto was completely oblivious to the tense and heavy atmosphere surrounding them. "I've got an idea! Why don't we let Hinata-chan eat with us? The more the merrier, right?" Tayuya's jaw dropped at the suggestion, and she took an angry step in their direction.

"What? Fuck n-"

"I-I'd love to, Naruto-kun!" Hinata cooed, grabbing his arm in a semi-hug. It was taking every ounce of her willpower not to pass out on the spot (It was the first time she'd ever touched him, after all), but if Naruto-kun's heart was on the line, she'd do anything to win. Although her eyes were threatening to roll into the back of her head, she still managed to shoot her rival a smug glare.

"Great!" He grabbed the menu from Tayuya's frozen hand and held it out in front of him. "You can pick anything you want, I'll pay for it!" The Hyuuga's eyes widened considerably at the proposal, and she vehemently shook her head in disagreement.

"N-no, t-that's alright, you d-don't have to pay for me..." she stuttered, gripping his arm a little tighter. She ignored the low growl coming from the redhead's direction.

"Yeah, Naruto, you don't have to pay for her."

"It's okay, I've got plenty of money! See?" He held up a very fat Gama-chan, grinning foxily as he did so. Hinata eyed the wallet carefully, eventually nodding ever so slightly.

"W-well, if you say so..."

"Great! Tayuya, what do you want?" The redhead jumped slightly when her name was called, but quickly walked over to stand as close to Naruto as humanly possible. Two could play this game. She shot Hinata her own smug glare before leaning over directly next to him, close enough to feel his breath on her cheek. She reveled in the shocked stare she received from her enemy, and deciding to take it up a notch, she casually brushed her hand against his while she ran her finger down the list.

"Hmmm," she practically purred, taking her time, "I don't know, the nigirizushi looks good. What do you think, Hinata-chan? Or is this place too low-class for you?" Hinata narrowed her eyes at the jab. Tayuya wasn't the only one who could make subtle insults. Smiling sweetly, she mirrored Tayuya's pose and put on a thoughtful frown.

"G-gee, I'm surprised you even know what nigirizushi is!" When the former Oto-nin stiffened, the blue-haired girl smirked. "Personally, I like ch-chirashizushi the best."

"Oh my, don't you think that's a little too much?" Tayuya sneered, doing her best to sound as innocent as possible. "It's no wonder you try to hide your body under such a large jacket all the time!"

"At l-least it's better than walking outside in short shorts and a t-shirt. A girl should have some m-modesty, after all." The redhead glanced down at her legs and frowned. The bright orange shorts she'd borrowed from Naruto came down to the middle of her thigh; as far as she was concerned, they were normal length. She felt a snarl build in the back of her throat, and with a sickeningly sweet grin, she casually ran her fingers through her long red hair.

"Says the girl who has a chicken's ass for a hairstyle." That did it. Hinata's Byakugan activated on its own, and she quietly leaned back to stare the girl squarely in the face.

"Say that again, please?" The redhead's eyes narrowed into fox-like slits as she bared her teeth.

"I don't believe I stuttered."

"Uh, how about we all just get makizushi?" Naruto cut in, holding his stomach with hunger. He didn't quite understand what the girls were talking about, but he did know that if he didn't eat soon he'd pass out. Both girls glared one more time at each before nodding.

"Whatever," Tayuya said, almost snatching the menu and Gama-chan out of his hand. She slowly walked into the small sushi restaurant, self-consciously pulling at the edges of her shorts along the way. As soon as she was out of sight, Hinata gently tugged on Naruto's arm to get his attention. She was still running off of the adrenaline from her small fight with the redheaded harlot, and knowing how hard it was for her to speak to her crush (Let alone confess), she quickly mustered up all the self-confidence she had in her small body.

"N-Naruto-kun..." He glanced down at her with a slightly concerned frown.

"What is it? Are you okay?" She nodded and gripped the sleeve of his black t-shirt a little tighter.

"Y-yes...I-I-I j-just wanted t-to tell you t-that...I really li-"

"Hey, Naruto, I forgot to ask what kind of condiments you wanted!" Tayuya called, sticking her head out of the door. Hinata felt her heart drop for the second time that day, and she was certain that Kami-sama had some sort of grudge against her. Without missing a beat, Naruto scratched at his chin in thought.

"Whatever they have, I guess." She nodded and slipped back into the shop - but not before shooting the Hyuuga another withering glare. "So, what did you want to tell me?" he asked, turning back towards the slim girl. Hinata hung her head and sighed.

"Nevermind..." He eyed her strangely for a few seconds, but eventually just shrugged and plastered on that stupid grin of his. As much as she loved him for it, she sometimes wished that he wasn't quite so dense.

Five minutes later, Tayuya emerged with a large paper bag filled to the brim with containers of sushi. She wasted no time in gripping Naruto's free arm, not-so-discreetly sticking her tongue out at Hinata as she did so. As they walked down the street, the villagers looked on in amazement as Naruto, the demon brat, strode confidently down the sidewalk with a beautiful girl on each arm.

What was even more amazing was that one of them was the Hyuuga heiress! Still, the blond paid them no mind as he amiably chatted with the girls, talking about a wide range of subjects including training, jutsus, and (of course) ramen. Both girls took every chance they could to insult the other, and although she hated the girl with a fiery passion, Tayuya couldn't help but feel a tiny inkling of respect for the blue-haired genin. Not many people could go toe to toe with her when it came to name calling.

The closer they got to the residential district, the more uncomfortable Hinata felt. She knew there was something that she was missing, and she stared over at the other two with a critical eye. Suddenly, the bright red spiral in the middle of Tayuya's shirt caught her eye, and she nearly gasped out loud at the discovery. Only one person that she knew of owned a shirt like that, and he was currently standing directly to her right.

"T-that shirt..." she started, staring at it with a mixture of shock and anger. The redhead frowned and looked down at the garment, searching for anything out of the ordinary. When she didn't find anything, she lifted her head to glare heatedly at the shorter girl.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Is...is that Naruto-kun's?" Misunderstanding the meaning behind the question, Naruto grinned and nodded.

"Yup! She didn't have anything to wear, so I lent her some of my stuff!" To her absolute horror, she realized that her rival was also wearing a pair of orange shorts; and absolutely no one else in the village wore the color orange except for Naruto. Following her line of sight, Tayuya fought the urge to laugh. This was almost too easy.

"What's wrong, Hinata-chan? You look surprised! Is there something strange about me wearing his clothes?" Her mouth still slightly agape, Hinata slowly shook her head.

"N-no, n-not at all." Inside, she was fuming. This...this...whore who hadn't even been in Konoha for a month was already wearing his clothes! She felt herself burning with righteous anger as she imagined what kinds of impure things the girl had done to her Naruto-kun. Although he didn't seem all that different from usual, she knew something had happened between them; it was evident in the way they interacted with each other. Hinata gripped Naruto's arm tighter. She would protect him from that demoness; no matter what.

They reached his apartment in a matter of minutes. For her part, the Hyuuga heiress was excited. This was the first time she would ever get to see the inside of Naruto's home, and she swore to herself that it wouldn't be the last. They entered the small flat in a straight line, Tayuya leading the pack and Hinata bringing up the rear. The place looked almost brand new without all of the ramen cups, scrolls, and clothing scattered everywhere, and except for a few posters and plants resting on the wall, it sort of seemed like he was moving out soon. Still, Hinata didn't think much of it as she softly tapped her crush on the shoulder.

"A-ano...w-where's your restroom?" she asked, wishing more than anything that she could stop her stuttering. Naruto grinned (He did a lot of that, she noticed) and pointed to the door at his left. She nodded and quickly disappeared into the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"Does she really have to be here?" Tayuya asked as soon as he rounded the corner. She was already setting out the individual trays of sushi, and moved to his cupboard to grab some plates. The blond crossed his arms and gave her a small frown.

"Come on, Tayuya, can't you be nice to her? She's one of my precious people." The girl snorted and nearly slammed the utensils down onto the table.

"Is that why you add -chan to their fuckin' names?" she nearly spat, struggling to keep her voice neutral. To be honest, it had been bugging her ever since Ino had dropped by the night before. He raised his eyebrows slightly in confusion. It was obvious, even to him, that she was bitter about something.

"What do you mean by that?" The opening of the bathroom door interrupted her before she could reply, but she still managed to shoot him a small glare before plopping down on the chair to his right. When Hinata appeared around the corner of the hallway, Tayuya gave her a similar frown.

"Well, now that the princess is here, let's eat." The redhead wasted no time in shoving ten of the small rolls onto her plate and digging in. Naruto slowly nodded his agreement, and with a loud 'Itadakimasu!', he quickly began working on finishing the large pile of sushi. Hinata did the same, albeit at a much more subdued pace. The room was quiet except for the occasional rustling of the paper bag, and all three genin wisely kept to themselves while they ate. Suddenly, the Hyuuga heiress glanced up at Naruto and smiled.

"N-Naruto-kun, are you thirsty?" she asked, proud of herself for not stuttering as much.

"A little bit, yeah. I think there's still some juice left in the fridge. I'll go get us some!" He started to stand up, but Hinata quickly placed her hand on his shoulder and stood up herself.

"N-no, let me." With a grace only inherited by royalty, she slid out of her chair and stepped over to the kitchen area of the living room. Tayuya watched her with narrowed eyes, and throwing her chopsticks down, hopped up to follow.

"I'll help. She can't carry all that shit by herself." The blond smiled at her attempt to be friendly and gave her a subtle thumbs up (Seriously, who did that anymore?) to say thanks. If only he knew what she was planning to do. She walked up next to the shorter girl and harshly jabbed her in the ribs, completely catching her off guard. Luckily, the cups were still resting on the counter top and were able to avoid an untimely demise.

"Listen, you little cunt," Tayuya whispered, keeping her voice low, "I don't know what the fuck you're planning in that duck shaped head of yours, but it ain't gonna work. Watch your step, bitch." She snatched the cups off of the counter and sashayed back to the table, leaving a bewildered and angry Hinata behind. Literally ripping the apple juice from the freezebox, she casually waltzed over to the table with a smile.

"H-here, N-Naruto-kun, let me pour you a drink." He smiled gratefully and held out his cup, not slowing down for a millisecond as he shoveled pounds of raw fish down his throat. She then moved to his right and started to pour the redhead a cup. Unfortunately, the liquid missed its mark by a ridiculously wide margin, and nearly a whole cup's worth of juice was poured squarely into Tayuya's lap.

"Y-you fucking bitch!" she screeched, hopping up from the table to prevent even more of the sticky liquid from touching her skin. "You did that shit on purpose!" Hinata lifted a coy hand to her mouth and gasped, secretly smirking behind her fingers.

"I'm so sorry, Tayuya-chan! I don't know what happened!" Just as the redhead was about to launch a furious fist towards the sneering Hyuuga's face, Naruto appeared with a small dishtowel in hand. He carefully began to maneuver the rag just over her waist, sopping up as much of the apple juice as he could before it could drip onto the floor.

Both girls blushed a deep red as they silently watched him wipe away the liquid, completely oblivious to the fact that he was dangerously close to her most...private place. For the first time in her life, Tayuya was absolutely speechless.

He stood up and admired his handiwork, smiling with satisfaction at her now (mostly) dry waist. Suddenly, the sound of something splashing against the hardwood floor grabbed both of their attentions. Hinata had 'accidentally' poured some of the juice on her chest, and doing her best impression of a damsel in distress, looked up at Naruto with big, innocent eyes.

"N-Naruto-kun, could y-you help me too?" The blond frowned slightly but nodded, turning around to face the furiously blushing Hyuuga princess.

"You really should be more careful, Hinata-chan," he said, wiping the juice off of her jacket. She raised her head and smiled smugly at Tayuya - who was currently making threatening gestures from behind her teammate's back. Shooting her hand out towards the smaller girl, the redhead snatched the container of apple juice and poured some on her own shirt.

"Naruto, I spilled some more!" Hinata grabbed the juice out of her hands and pretended to accidentally splash some on her pants.

"Me too!" By now, both girls were wrestling for control over the twisted and deformed jug, sending the sticky substance everywhere. They shrieked as juice landed in their hair, mouths, and eyes, but neither of them loosened their grip for a second. Finally, Naruto snatched the unrecognizable piece of plastic from their hands and lifted it above his head with a glare.

"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled, staring down at both of them with no small amount of anger and confusion. They at least had the decency to look embarrassed, turning their eyes away from his gaze. All three of them were sticky and wet, dripping apple juice on the floor below them. Naruto sighed heavily and tossed the empty container onto the table along with the leftover sushi. "Sorry, Hinata-chan...maybe you should go home."

Tayuya's eyes lit up at his words, and she was quick to throw in her own two cents. She stepped up to the blond's side to smile cockily at her rival, lightly hugging his arm to her chest. She was delighted by the tears that were slowly beginning to build in the corner of her rival's eyes, so she leaned her head against his shoulder as if marking her territory.

"Yeah! Go home to your fuckin' shithole of a castle!" Her smile was stretched widely across her face as she reveled in the familiar high she received from insulting others. Naruto angrily wrenched his arm from her grasp and glared down at her with disappointment.

"Tayuya, stop it!" The redhead looked largely taken aback at his sudden command. She glanced up into his eyes to see him staring heatedly back into her own, and she ashamedly turned her gaze down to her feet. Not because of what she'd said to Hinata; no, as far as she was concerned, that stuck-up bitch of a whore deserved every word.

It was because she'd let him down after he had practically begged for her to be nice to Hinata for just a few hours.

"I'll walk you back, Hinata-chan." He started to take a step towards the smaller girl, but was nearly pulled back by the force of Tayuya's grip. She wasn't stupid; she knew exactly what that Hyuuga was planning. It was exceedingly easy to see in the stares, smiles, and blushes that regularly emanated from Hinata whenever he was around. She'd be damned if she allowed some spoiled rich girl to touch Naruto. Not that she was jealous, of course; she was just looking out for his best interests. They'd be leaving in under twelve hours, and if the blue-haired girl were to tell him how she felt right before they left, there was a chance he wouldn't want to go anymore.

At least, that's what she told herself.

"I'm going too," she mumbled, much to Naruto's surprise.

"What? Why?" Tayuya frowned and gripped his arm tighter, causing him to wince in slight pain. Her strength was somewhat terrifying.

"Since when do I need a reason?" Their eyes met for a brief two seconds, long enough for a silent understanding to pass between them. He slowly nodded his head and walked towards the door, forcing another small smile onto his face as he approached the confused Hyuuga heir. Something had happened, but she just didn't know what.

"Ready to go?"

"Y-yes..." The trio quickly exited the apartment, and for the second time that day, Konoha's number one most surprising ninja had a beautiful girl on each arm. Granted, they were tugging him back and forth between them, but one usually overlooked such trivial details. They strode through Konoha at a rapid pace, barely talking except for the occasional comment or subtle jeer from one or both of the girls.

As they neared the Hyuuga Estate, Tayuya noticed that Hinata was becoming more and more nervous with every step. It wasn't until they'd scaled the hill that she understood why.

"N-Naruto-kun...she started, turning to face him full on. Rather than confess now with everyone (Tayuya) watching, she'd decided on an alternate course of action. "I-I-I w-was wondering if y-you'd like to go on a picnic with me tomorrow?" When his face dropped, she quickly moved to reassure him. "B-but I understand if you d-don't want to..." Both Naruto and Tayuya stared at her with a mildly surprised expression. Frowning, Naruto tilted his head to stare at her.

"Didn't Neji tell you?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Hinata snapped her head up in surprise. She vaguely remembered her cousin trying to tell her something earlier that afternoon, but she'd brushed him off before he could say anything. Sensing her curiosity (and underlying fear), Tayuya was quick to step in and answer her with a wide, sinister smile.

"Me and Naruto are goin' on a three year training mission tomorrow. Together." The redhead swore she heard the smaller girl's heart break inside of her chest.

Ironically, she actually felt sort of bad for Hinata. She knew what it was like to have her heart broken, as that heartless bastard Misumi had done it numerous times before she'd gotten wise to his games. However, a larger part of her was cynically pleased with this new development. Maybe now, the wench would give up for good.

"O-oh..." Hinata mumbled, swallowing harshly to keep her throat from closing up, "M-m-maybe when you g-get back then?" Tayuya stared at the girl in silent shock, unable to believe that she'd wait so long for him to return. Sure, Naruto was an all around good guy, but to continue stalking him after being told that he was going on a three year journey with another girl? She was stupider than she originally thought! As expected, Naruto grinned and nodded.

"Sure thing, Hinata-chan!" Hinata smiled weakly and bowed, turning towards the large gates of the mansion.

"G-g-good n-night..." Her shoulders shook more and more as she approached the Hyuuga estate, almost as if she were shivering. She walked as best and quickly as she could up the long pathway, struggling to hold in the tears that were now rolling in rivulets down her cheeks. Luckily, none of the guards decided to stop and question her as she sped up the path; apparently, they remembered well what had happened earlier that afternoon.

"Good fuckin' riddance." Tayuya turned on her heel and pulled Naruto's arm, nearly uprooting the boy from where he stood. He sighed loudly and looked down at her with a frown as he allowed himself to be dragged down the hill.

"Tayuya..."

"I know, I know. Be nice cause she's one of your goddamn precious people. Whatever."

Hyuuga Hinata rushed through the halls of the Hyuuga estate for the second time that day. Tears were already streaming down her face, and she futilely wiped them away with the back of her hands as she ran.

It wasn't fair.

Why wasn't it her that was going on the training mission with Naruto? Why did it have to be that foulmouthed redhead who got to spend everyday with her love? She'd been around much longer than the other girl had, and she'd always admired the blond and his never ending courage and determination. Didn't she deserve to grow stronger alongside him?

She sprinted through the doors that led to the main family's living quarters, ignoring the confused and startled looks from her family members. Quite frankly, she couldn't give less of a fuck what they were thinking at that moment. Her thoughts were focused solely on getting to her room and being alone; just her, her bed, and her economy-sized box of tissues.

After what seemed like hours of running, she finally reached the large ivory door of her bedroom. With a large amount of effort, she threw the heavy piece of wood open. She felt her body growing weaker and weaker as time wore on, and after closing the door behind her, collapsed onto her large, fluffy bed in a fit of sobs.

It was hopeless.

There wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that she could beat Tayuya as she was now. The redhead had three years; three long, fucking years to seduce and corrupt her Naruto-kun. Would she even be able to recognize the cheerful blond by the time he returned? In her mind, she imagined an older, black-haired Naruto with multiple piercings and tattoos all over his body. She couldn't allow that to happen, but what could she do? They were leaving the next day!

All her dreams of dating, marrying, and eventually having children with the blond were slowly crumbling before her eyes. Where was Kami-sama when she needed him? She'd always been a good, kind person, and she always did everything she could to improve herself. Was this his way of saying that she was worthless? That she would never succeed no matter how hard she tried?

Out of tears and ideas, Hinata slowly drifted into unconsciousness, tossing and turning as she slept. It was going to be a long three years.

The moon brightly illuminated the darkened city of Konoha, pouring its rays into every dark corner of the village. Naruto and Tayuya slowly walked back home, both deeply immersed in their own thoughts. It had been a rough and trying night, but waltzing along under the full glowing moon and feeling the gentle breeze coming from the West was more than enough to calm them. The girl glanced up at the faraway expression on the blond's normally smiling face. She idly wondered what he was thinking about at that moment, noticing the slight smirk that appeared every few seconds.

Was he thinking about Ino? Hinata? Or maybe, he was thinking about her. The quiet night gave her a sudden bout of confidence, and pulling lightly on the arm clutched to her chest, she cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Ne, Naruto..." she started, nervously cracking her knuckles with her thumbs. "I'm...well, you know...sorry." She breathed with exertion, glad that she'd gotten what she wanted to say out before she lost her nerve. Apologizing was something she rarely did, and even then it was only to Orochimaru for messing something up. He turned his eyes away from the moon to stare curiously into her angular light brown eyes.

"For what?"

"You know! For everything! I... know it's not easy to be around me all the time, and I kind of do a lot of shit that I don't mean. Like yesterday." She darted her eyes up to read his expression, but found the same blank look on his face that he always had. Typical Naruto. "It...wasn't you. I mean, it wasn't because of the...you know. That." She cursed her mind for not being able to form a coherent sentence, and glanced up again to gauge his reaction. She frowned when she realized that he wasn't even looking at her; instead, his eyes were focused on the vividly glowing full moon above them. Her eyes lowered back to the ground as they continued along the dark streets. Neither of them noticed the pair of wide eyes watching them from the alleyway.

Although she refused to admit it to herself, she was a little hurt that he didn't say anything. Even if he declined her pathetic attempt at an apology, it would be better than the disinterested silence he was currently regarding her with.

"Thanks," he started, startling her with his sudden words. Her hair billowed out behind her as she snapped her head up to look at his mischievously grinning face. "Even though I kind of figured that out when you kept on grabbing my arm." Automatically, her eyes dropped to where her chest met his arm. A full blush crept onto her face as she realized that she'd been hugging it ever since they'd left his apartment. She was so caught up in her competition with Hinata that she didn't even realize what she'd been doing! She quickly threw his arm out of her grasp and put on her best angry glare. Unfortunately, in her current flustered state, it looked more like a cute blushing pout. In the back of her mind, she noticed that she missed the warmth provided by his body.

"I-Idiot! I was just doing that because my legs felt tired! Don't get any perverted ideas!" Naruto's grin widened as he casually slung his slightly sticky arm over her shoulders.

"Aw, come on, Tayuya-chan! Does this look like the face of a pervert?" She jabbed him lightly in the ribs and snorted.

"No, it looks more like the face of an idiot." He hung his head in mock pain, sniffling loudly for effect. Unable to help herself, Tayuya quietly began to giggle. "You really are an idiot, you know that?" His demeanor immediately changed into a happy one, and he shrugged exaggeratedly and smiled. If he wasn't a shinobi, he might actually make a pretty good actor.

"Maaaybe, but I make up for it with my ninja skills!" This time, she full on laughed out loud, holding her stomach to keep her innards from spilling out onto the ground. If anyone had been outside to see them, the genin could have easily been mistaken for a young couple in love. Naruto stuck out his lower lip and frowned. "What?"

"Nothing...nothing..." she chuckled, struggling to fight down her laughter. Fuck, she'd never laughed so much in her life! Sure, she'd laughed evily while decapitating or gutting enemy ninja, but this was a different kind of laughter. This time, she was genuinely filled with joy. If these past three weeks were any indication, she would thoroughly enjoy the next three years together with Naruto.

They settled into a comfortable silence after a couple of minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, Tayua stopped in the middle of the street to slowly look up at an inquisitive Naruto.

"Wait, did you just call me Tayuya-chan?"

"Danzo-sama! Danzo-sama!" A lone man slowly limped into the main throne room of the ROOTS base, sweating and gasping for breath. His large muscles were covered in a fine sheen of moisture, and his foot was wrapped tightly in a long strip of white gauze. Since he was one of the lowest members of the ROOTS organization, none of the medical ninja wanted to waste their chakra on fixing his foot. He was forced to rush he and his two friends to a regular hospital where they received adequate but time consuming treatment.

The old man sitting in a dark stone chair sighed and boredly spared the civilian warrior a glance. He didn't know why he bothered to recruit such weak and pathetic people.

"What is it?" he barked, already growing impatient with the quivering mound of flesh and bones. The injured man quickly bowed lowly before his leader and began to speak.

"It...it's about the Kyuubi, sir!" Danzo's ears involuntarily perked up at the mention of Konoha's jinchuuriki. The last he'd heard, the boy had been involved in killing an assassin from the Sound village, and had exhibited a substantial amount of the Kyuubi's chakra. He'd tried to push for the boy to be admitted into his organization, claiming that Naruto was a danger to himself and to those around him. To his annoyance, the Hokage had vehemently refused his offer, mentioning something about 'other plans.' He hadn't been able to find anything out about these plans, but perhaps this piece of cannon fodder could provide some insight into what that harlot of a Hokage was thinking.

"The Kyuubi, you say?" he started, a small, calculating smirk appearing on his wrinkled old face. "What about him?"

"He...well, it...it's not really about him..." The old warhawk felt his annoyance meter rising. Honestly, why the hell did he even keep idiots like this around? "It's about his demon girlfriend!" Ah. That's why.

"Explain." The man nodded and slowly got to his feet.

"Me, Toketsu, and Zabi were walking down the street, minding our own business, when she just attacked us!" He emphasized the point by showing the older man his broken foot. "If I wouldn't have jumped in her way at the last moment, she would've killed them!" The old man frowned and leaned forward with mild interest.

"And how does she relate to the Kyuubi?"

"I just saw them on my way back from the hospital! She was hanging all over him like some kind of brothel girl! I bet the Kyuubi told her to attack us!" Danzo stared at the mumbling man from over his interlaced fingers. Now that he thought about it, he remembered hearing from one of his ANBU spies that there was a redheaded girl at the scene of the assassination. There was a small chance that she was the same girl, and if so...

"Tell me, what does this girl look like?" he asked, his interest piquing for the first time in days. The man blinked, but quickly began to relay everything he knew about the murderous bitch he'd met earlier that day.

"Well..she has red hair...and I think brown eyes. She's kinda small; about the same size as the Kyuubi kid."

"Interesting. She must be a kunoichi, given how easily she brought three fully grown men to their knees." The younger man winced at the not so subtle insult. "Is that all?"

"H-hai, Danzo-sama." At that moment, a single kunai flew threw the air to pierce the crippled man right between the eyes. He fell back with a ground shaking thud, spilling blood and pieces of his forehead onto the ground. A small snort was heard from the direction of the throne.

"Sorry about that. Can't have anyone finding out that I know about the girl just yet." He rested his chin on his upturned palms. "Just what is that troublesome wench up to?" he mumbled, racking his brain for any kind of explanation. She wasn't the type of woman to forcibly breed the Kyuubi for its power, and she certainly wasn't the type to do things without a reason. Just what was she planning? "Come!"

A short, black-haired boy appeared from a dark corner of the room. His large dark eyes were nearly emotionless as he approached his leader, and he knelt to one knee in front of him.

"Yes, Danzo-sama?" he asked, his short dark hair falling in front of his eyes. The older man smiled crookedly and motioned towards the dead man in front of him.

"I recently received some interesting information from a now deceased source. I want you to find any information you can on every redheaded girl in Konoha. I expect a report by Sunday afternoon. Are we clear?" The boy nodded minutely, standing to face his superiour head on.

"Yes, Danzo-sama." With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Danzo's crooked smile widened as plans began to formulate in his battle worn mind.

"Now what will you do, Tsunade?"

The familiar smell of ramen wafted into the bedroom, slowly rousing the boy from his slumber. Lifting his nose into the air, the genin hopped to his feet and followed the enticing aroma, drooling more and more as he neared the kitchen. He rounded the corner to see Tayuya standing boredly in front of his small two burner stove, slowly stirring something in a large pot. Using every ounce of ninja ability he possessed, he carefully snuck up behind the oblivious redhead, his grin widening with each mischievous step.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" she asked, not turning away from the stove. The blond pouted and straightened up, walking over to stand next to her. It was becoming harder and harder to sneak up on her lately.

"Nothin' much." Tayuya snorted and rolled her eyes. Yeah right. "What's that?" He peered into the steaming pot with a frown, curiously studying the suspicious looking contents. This was the second time in three days that she'd cooked for him, and if the last meal was any indication, it was going to be good. She lifted the ladle out of the pot to show him.

"Sushi ramen." They boy's nose wrinkled automatically. Who the hell mixed sushi and ramen? It went against all that was good and holy in the world of cheap fast food! Noticing his foul expression, she (not so) lightly jabbed him in the side with her elbow, causing him to grunt in slight pain. "Don't knock it 'till you've tried it. Besides, if we didn't eat all that leftover shit from last night, we'd be wasting our money." He idly wondered when 'his' money became 'ours.'

Still, he was ecstatic that he'd get to taste her cooking again. There was something vastly different about eating a home-cooked meal made by someone else, and the closest thing he'd ever had to a love-filled meal was the ramen at Ichiraku's. He chuckled quietly at the thought of Tayuya dumping hearts and flowers into the ramen, wearing a hot pink apron around her waist and sporting a mile wide smile. It was an oddly disturbing, yet humorous picture.

"What?" Tayuya spat, suspiciously narrowing her eyes. She'd noticed the mischievous grin on his face, and couldn't help but wonder what it was the boy was thinking about. Knowing his mind, it was probably something she'd never imagine in a million years.

To her annoyance, the boy only shook his head and grinned wider, dancing out of her reach before she could jab him again in the side with another well-placed elbow. He stuck out his tongue and ran off towards the bathroom, acting very much like their five year old Academy students. Despite herself, she felt a small, amused smirk flutter across her lips. Things were never boring whenever Naruto was involved.

She turned off the burner and easily hefted the pot with two hands, striding purposely towards the tiny card table. Her leg strength was almost back to normal, and as long as she didn't lift heavy items or attempt to jump down from high places, they'd support her just fine. If she continued to do the stretches she'd been told to by Shizune, there was no doubt in her mind that she'd be back to full strength within the next day or two - a far cry from just a week ago, when she'd been unable to even feel her legs.

Her mind drifted to the time before the operation, and she marveled at how quickly Naruto had become a part of her life. Hell, it took her years to get used to her old teammates, and even then she hated their guts with a fiery passion. Her relationship with Naruto, if it could even be called a relationship, was nothing like the grudging minimal respect she shared with Kimimarou and the others. For one, he didn't want anything from her.

He didn't expect her to be strong, kind, or respectful like most people did. He accepted her at face value, and as far as she could tell, he didn't have any ulterior motives outside of becoming her friend. It was a strange concept to grasp for someone who hadn't had a genuine friend since she lived in the Earth country, but she was gradually becoming used to it.

Another thing she liked about Naruto was that he was honest. Sure, he occasionally played pranks or attempted to lie his way out of a potentially harmful situation (while failing miserably, of course), but he'd never lie about things that could hurt someone else. He was loyal to a fault, and if someone had told her a few weeks ago that a person like him existed in today's world, she would have boastfully laughed in their face before sending one of her zombies to pummel them into the ground. Idiots who believed cheeky shit like that deserved to die. Ironically, she was now one of them.

Shaking her head to clear those useless thoughts from her mind, Tayuya set the soup-filled pot down on the table, being careful not knock one of the cheap porcelain bowls onto the wood floor below her.

"Naruto!" she called, setting herself down in one of the chairs, "Hurry up and eat! We have to leave in the next hour!" They were expected to arrive at the front gates before nine o'clock in the morning, and a quick glance at the clock hanging above the television showed that it was already a quarter after seven. It was a half hour walk to the front gates from his apartment, but they could easily make it in ten if they jogged.

Naruto bounded out of the bathroom, looking much more awake than he had only a few minutes earlier. Judging by the water clinging to the ends of his unruly bangs, he'd just finished freshening up.

As soon as he'd plopped down onto his own chair, she grabbed the spoon and unceremoniously dumped a huge serving of the fish-smelling ramen into his bowl. He stared down at the strange mixture with no small amount of trepidation, and whimpering slightly, he lifted his fearful blue eyes to meet her expectant brown ones.

"Do I have to..."

"Eat."

With a loud sigh, Naruto slowly dipped his chopsticks into the large white bowl. It almost reminded him of a TV sitcom he used to watch about a typical Eastern family, where the mother would always have to force the children to eat their vegetables or else they wouldn't get any desert. He pulled a few noodles out of the dish and grudgingly placed them in his mouth.

Though she was doing her best to look uninterested, Tayuya was eagerly studying the boy for his reaction. When she'd tested it earlier, the soup had tasted utterly amazing - then again, she also thought it was tasty to mix orange juice, chocolate chips and corn flakes together.

Not that she cared; if he didn't like it, oh fucking well. That meant there was plenty more for her, and listening to the sound of her own stomach growling, she'd have no problems finishing off what he didn't eat. Nevertheless, she figuratively sat on the edge of her seat as he swished the broth around in his mouth.

"Hm..." he started, humming through pursed lips. She watched him swallow the soup and smile, giving her his famous (yet incredibly corny) thumbs up sign of approval. "It's good!" Her lips unwittingly twitched into a smirk, and she fought to turn it into a frown.

"Of course it is, dumbass! I made it!" She haughtily scooped a large amount of the ramen into her own bowl and immediately began to eat, stewing in both pride and satisfaction.

For his part, Naruto was amused. He'd felt her eyes staring at him from across the table, and it was painfully obvious that she was waiting for a reaction. If it weren't for the fact that he trusted her with his life (a privilege only awarded to his precious people), he would have assumed that she was trying to poison him. Not that it would have mattered given Kyuubi's healing abilities, but that was a totally different subject in itself.

Although it was uncommon, he'd had a hard time pinpointing exactly where Tayuya stood. Usually when he first met someone, he could immediately tell what kind of person they were (With Kabuto being the exception; that bastard was tricky). Most people were either good or bad with slight discrepancies strewn in.

Tayuya, on the other hand, was somewhere right in the middle. She was loud, brash, mean, sometimes selfish, and had a horribly foul mouth to boot. On the other hand, she was also sympathetic, caring, thoughtful, and brutally honest. Unknowingly, he'd become intrigued by her ambiguous personality.

He was hesitant to accept her at first; she was one of the five Sound nin who tried to stop them from rescuing Sasuke, and she certainly wasn't the nicest person he'd ever run into in his short life. However, once he'd seen the pain in her eyes similar to his own, he couldn't help but feel as if he had to do something to help her. It just wasn't in his nature to abandon a helpless individual; even if she was the enemy.

Looking back, he was glad that he did attempt to get to know her better. In only three weeks, she had easily worked her way into the ranks of his precious people. Granted, it wasn't that difficult to make it onto the list in the first place, but it was still remarkably fast considering that she used to be the enemy.

He slurped another large amount of the noodles down his throat, enjoying the fishy treat. The sushi added a whole new dimension of flavor to the normally overly salty dish, and mixed with the seasoning from the shrimp ramen package, it almost tasted professional. Hell, maybe Ichiraku's should add this dish to their ever expanding menu!

He dumped another spoonful of the soup into his bowl, practically inhaling his breakfast. This was his last meal in Konoha, and even though he wanted to savor it as much as he could, he found that it was impossible to eat ramen at any speed below Mach 5. Besides, if he didn't eat as much as he could now, Tayuya would finish it off before he got to his third helping.

In all his thirteen years of life, Naruto had never seen a girl eat so much so fast. She expertly twirled and stuffed the noodles into her mouth, barely stopping to breathe. It wasn't sloppy like his own eating, and not one drop of soup made it onto her face or clothing. If he wasn't so enamored with Sakura-chan, he might actually attempt to hit on the equally attractive Tayuya.

Heh. Yeah right.

After nearly ten minutes of nonstop voracious eating, both genin hopped to their feet to prepare to leave. Tayuya grabbed the dishes off of the table, allowing Naruto to fold and place the table against the wall. They wouldn't be using it again for at least another three years. He hurried into his room to get dressed, pulling and tugging at the clothes with ample amounts of energy. A few minutes later, the redhead walked in with a mildly confused expression.

"What the fuck are you rushing for? We still got an hour and a half to get to the front gates." He tied his headband securely around his head and began to drag his pack out to the hallway.

"There's somewhere I want to go before we leave! You can go straight to the gates if I'm not back in time." He looked at her with a strangely alien intensity, different from the casual innocence he usually displayed. She shrugged her shoulders and frowned.

"Whatever," she muttered, shooing him nonchalantly with her free hand. It's not like she had any say over whether he could leave or not. He flashed her one last grin before rushing out of the room and sprinting out the front door, leaving his pack against the wall to pick up later. Sighing loudly, Tayuya plopped down onto his bed and began to change. She stripped off the simple white shirt she'd had to borrow after yesterday's 'incident', and slipped out of the slightly sticky orange shorts, placing them in her open pack to wash and wear just in case.

Goosebumps immediately began to pop out on her skin as a result of the cool autumn air, and she forcefully rubbed her bare arms to ward off the subtle chill. Fuck, Konoha was a cold place. For some reason, the air in Konoha seemed to seep directly to her bones, freezing her from the inside out. Sound was probably just as cold, but the humidity there was much higher around this time of year.

She slipped on the simple dark blue long-sleeved shirt and pants with a small bit of difficulty, marveling at how much tighter they were as compared to the time before the operation. Maybe she should slow down in her eating; she had to be gaining weight somewhere, even if she couldn't see it.

She slowly pushed herself onto her feet and made the small trek to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She didn't have a toothbrush of her own, so she'd secretly been using Naruto's in the meantime. It wasn't like he noticed - or, even if he did, he wouldn't care. He didn't seem like the type to throw a fit over something as small as borrowing a toothbrush. Then again, he would throw a fit if someone tried to eat out of his bowl of ramen. Her eyes unwittingly rolled at the thought. His priorities were more fucked up than her own.

After washing her face and checking herself over in the mirror, she languidly placed her hands on her hips and frowned. Now that she thought about it, there wasn't much to do; the idiot probably wouldn't be back for another hour or so, and early morning television had the strange tendency to suck-mostly because it consisted of corny soap operas and half-assed talk shows.

Sighing loudly, Tayuya walked into the bedroom to finish getting dressed. Just as she entered the room, her foot tripped over a loose board, sending her sprawling to the ground. Fortunately, she managed to avoid bumping her head against the corner of the small dresser, using her ingrained training to lean forward at the last second. Unfortunately, she landed squarely on her bottom for what had to be the fifth time since she came to Konoha.

"Fucking goddamn shitty ass floor..." she murmured, rubbing at her now sore tail bone. She glared at the protruding floorboard with murderous intent, almost wishing it was alive so that she could kill it. As she stared at the loose piece of wood, her face gradually softened into recognition. If her memory served her correctly, that was the same place Naruto hid his cash. Grinning evily, she crawled over on her hands and knees before tossing the board aside.

To her surprise, the area under the wood was actually pretty large. Besides the simple gray box he used to house his cash, there were various other items resting on top of a small bedsheet. Most of the items were junk, consisting of a few old teddy bears and toys stacked neatly in a pile. She briefly wondered what the story was behind the playthings, but moved on anyway to look through the rest of his things.

Directly next to that pile of junk sat...more junk. To her, anyway. There were a few strange looking ramen bowls sitting in one corner, and a group of scrolls and books resting in another. A glint of light caught her eye, and she leaned in to pick up what looked to be a photo album.

"Bullseye," she muttered, brushing off the small feeling of excitement building in the bottom of her stomach. It's not the she really gave much of a fuck about him or his past, but hell - she was bored. She shifted her pose a little to get more comfortable, and not able to bear it any longer, she flipped open the large silver encrusted book.

The first page was a simple large golden piece of stock paper, decorated by a winding brown spiral of flowers around the edges. In the center was a small paragraph of cursive text, written in what looked like simple black ink:

'To Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who has inherited the true Will of Fire deep within his heart. Make plenty of memories with those precious to you, and never forget those who have helped you on your path to becoming a strong shinobi of the Leaf.

-Sandaime "Ji-san" Hokage'

To say she was surprised would be an understatement. Not many could boast having a close relationship with even one Hokage, and he'd somehow managed to worm his way into the hearts of both the Third and Fifth easily. She almost felt bad for helping Orochimaru kill the old fucker, especially since he seemed to be pretty important to Naruto.

Shaking her head, Tayuya turned the page in earnest. Smack dab in the center of the first photo page was a large picture of a baby Naruto. He was sleeping peacefully in the arms of the smiling Sandaime Hokage, and she couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her face at how cute he was. There was no doubt that he was the idiot blond, as the three whisker marks etched prominently into his cheeks pretty much gave it away. She stared a moment longer before turning the page.

The next page contained a somewhat similar picture; only this time, Naruto looked to be around three or four years old. He was smiling widely at the camera, showing every one of his bright white teeth (sans the two missing in the front). He was holding a large strawberry ice cream cone in his left hand, topped with what looked like chocolate sprinkles. The Hokage stood to his right, holding the young boy's hand while sporting an equally wide smile at the camera. It was amusing how similar it looked to a grandfather and grandson enjoying a day at the park, and if it weren't for the ANBU officers she spotted in the trees around the them (They really needed to work on hiding themselves better), the scene would've been perfect.

The redhead frowned as she turned to the next page. Here, Naruto stood alone with a small smile in front of the Academy. He looked to be around seven or eight, and there were a bunch of kids playing on the jungle gym in the background. It was obvious to her (and probably the taker of the picture) that he wasn't too happy, and she felt a small pang of sympathy for the boy. Shizune was right; he really didn't have any friends back then.

The next page was a lot happier than the previous one. Naruto and the ponytail fucker who'd visited him at the hospital were grinning at the camera, sitting at the counter of what looked to be Ichiraku Ramen. The old man and his granddaughter were leaning over the counter next to them, holding up the peace sign. Figures they'd choose something so cliche.

She turned the page again to see the same picture that he had resting on his dresser. Team seven was standing angrily in front of their nervously smiling sensei, glaring at each other out of the corner of their eyes. It was hard to believe that they'd managed to survive with such obvious tension among them, but hell, whatever worked.

Tayuya frowned when she realized that that was pretty much it. Except for a picture of an unconscious Naruto and some black-haired lady (she looked awfully familiar; maybe from a movie?) and a picture of Jiraiya, Shizune, Tsunade, and himself, there wasn't anything left in the large book. He had at least another ninety or so empty pages to fill, and it was saddening to see that he had so few pictures of his life. He didn't have any pictures with kids his own age - fuck, even she had more pictures than he did! They were all in the Sound village of course, and probably tossed in the trash by now, but she definitely used to have more.

Her scowl deepening, she carefully placed the heavy book back in its place, deciding to get what she originally came for in the first place. It wasn't her intention to get into such a sour mood, and maybe the sight of money would cheer her up some. With that thought in mind, she plucked the gray book from its resting place and quickly lifted the lid. Her jaw dropped as she observed the masses of wadded up bills and coins sitting in the box. There was no way in hell that was only 750,000 yen.

Her hands shaking with excitement, she quickly dumped the box upside down, spilling the contents onto the rug that normally covered the hidden compartment. She wasted no time in sorting the massive amounts of cash into groups; one into paper bills, one into coins, and the final group into mission payments. The dumbass hadn't even bothered to cash in any of his checks.

Tayuya hopped to her feet to grab a piece of paper and a pen. While she could never be called a mathematician, she certainly knew how to count when it came to money. She counted out the paper bills first, shuffling through the money as if it was second nature. Her eyes grew larger as she continued to count, the number already exceeding 800,000.

"Fuck, 870,500 yen in paper," she mumbled, scribbling down the figure on the fresh piece of paper. She moved on to the coins, separating them by value before counting them. The pen was perched importantly behind her ear, giving her the appearance of a skilled accountant (or loan shark) conducting her business.

"9,743 in coins..." Tayuya whispered, quickly writing down the number. She finally moved on to the checks, and adding up the D, C, B, and A-ranked missions he'd been on (she was surprised to find that he'd actually been on three already), his total had come up to a shocking 517,817 yen. After some quick addition on her part, she held up the paper to eye level and sucked in an even breath of air.

"Grand total, 1,398,060 yen. Holy. Fucking. Shit." She was exceedingly glad that she was already sitting, else she'd have definitely fainted right there on the spot. On one hand, it wasn't all that surprising; he lived off of ramen, didn't pay rent, received an allowance from the Sandaime for six years, and only had five or six outfits. Combined with the fact that he'd taken on some pretty fuckin' high class missions, well, the bastard was loaded.

Nodding decisively to herself, she placed all of the money neatly back in the box, leaving the mission payments on the rug. She was going to cash those in before they left. The redhead placed everything in its appropriate place before shoving the white papers in her pocket and heading out the door. She locked the front door behind her and bounded down the steps, rushing towards the Hokage tower. They only had a little over an hour to get to the front gates, and if she didn't hurry, it'd be too late.

After running for a bit, Tayuya scowled and took to the rooftops. Thankfully, her legs were supporting her well enough if she didn't attempt to jump too far or high, and she reached tower in (her) record time. She scaled the winding steps with ease, and bursting into the mission payments office, she stopped and took a few gasping breaths of air. Goddamn, she was out of shape.

"Tayuya-san?" a familiar voice asked, concern evident in the tone. The redhead snapped her head up to see Shizune beginning to stand up and walk around the desk.

"Whoa...you...you're fuckin' everywhere!" she said between breaths. The older woman frowned and placed her hands on the girl's forehead, completely ignoring her poorly worded statement.

"What's wrong? Shouldn't you be getting ready to leave?" Wasting no time, Tayuya pulled the slips from her pocket and stuck them out in front of her.

"I need these cashed. Quick." The medic-nin lifted her eyebrows, but took the offered papers. She looked through each one with no small amount of surprise, and her eyes slowly raised to meet the genin's.

"These are Naruto-kun's?" When the redhead nodded, she continued. "Why didn't he cash them before?"

"Don't know, don't really fuckin' care. Look, can you cash 'em or not?" Noticing the woman's frown, she rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Please."

"Normally, I wouldn't, given that Naruto-kun himself isn't here to verify the transaction." Tayuya's face noticeably fell, and her shoulders slumped slightly in disappointment. All that fucking running for nothing. "But, given the circumstances, I suppose I can do it for you. I don't think you'd steal his money." Shizune's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Would you?"

"Why the fuck would I do that? You're gonna see us at the gates later today anyway, so it's not like I could get away with it even if I did want to steal it." The older woman studied her a moment longer before nodding. Her argument made sense, and the girl seemed to have genuinely good intentions. She walked back around her desk and expertly counted out the bills, placing them in small piles until she had the desired total amount. She then placed each of the stacks into a separate envelope labeled with the letters D to A.

"Here you go!" Tayuya took the small packets from the woman and smiled. Although she was loathe to admit it, she was a little touched that the medic-nin had placed so much faith in her. With an uncharacteristic show of respect, she bowed slightly to the woman in front her before bolting out of the door, leaving an utterly surprised and bewildered Shizune behind. Her face gradually turned into one of slight panic and remembrance, and rushing to the doorway, she looked down the hall in the direction the girl had gone.

"Wait! Tayuya-san! You forgot your payments for working at the Academy!" Unfortunately, the redhead was long gone, already bouncing over the rooftops towards the Market District.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled, running full speed to the Academy building. The man in question turned around in surprise, nearly dropping the large stack of books cradled in his arms.

"Naruto? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be getting ready to leave?" The genin skidded to a stop in front of his former teacher and father figure. He took a small breath to get his heart under control and shot the man a wide foxy grin.

"You didn't think I'd leave without saying goodbye, did you?" he asked. The scarred chuunin gave him a grin of his own and assumed a faux thinking pose, shuffling the books to a more comfortable position.

"Hm, I don't know. I haven't been able to get a hold of you these last couple of days, what with you going around town with your new girlfriend and all." Naruto's eyes widened slightly at the accusation.

"T-Tayuya-chan's not my girlfriend!" he exclaimed, waving his hands in front of himself.

"Oh? So she's Tayuya-chan now?"

"No! Well, yeah, but not like that!" The man chuckled and shook his head, amused by the boy's reaction. Even if he'd grown into a powerful shinobi in his own right, he was still the same old Naruto.

"Okay, okay, I believe you. This time." Before the boy could protest again, he pushed some of the books into the blond's arms and jerked his head towards the Academy building.

"I'm running a little late, mind helping me with these books? Besides, there are a few people who I know would like to say their goodbyes before you leave." Naruto gave him a questioning stare, but shrugged his shoulders and followed his old teacher into the building. It was a quick walk from the front of the school to the classroom, and he could already hear the loud chattering of the students as he approached.

It was almost nostalgic to be walking these halls again so early in the morning despite being here only a few days before with his own class. The wooden floors and walls of the building looked just as old and worn as he remembered, and except for what looked like a small touch up in the paint job, there weren't any noticeable changes.

They reached the classroom and walked inside. Immediately, they were assaulted by the sound of two dozen seven, eight, and nine year olds chattering amiably amongst themselves. Iruka set the books down on his desk and clapped his hands together to get their attention.

"Alright, settle down class!" A small, pudgy boy in the front row stood up and pointed at the man accusingly.

"You're late, Iruka-sensei!" The teacher shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and picked up one of the books, opening and pretending to read it while leaning back against the desk.

"Well, what can I say. I got lost on the road of life." He shot Naruto a small conspiratorial grin, causing the blond to chuckle lightly at the subtle reference.

"Who's that?" Another one of the kids asked, staring at the laughing boy. Iruka pushed his former student in front of him.

"This is one of my students from last year, Uzumaki Naruto. Even though he was dead last in the Academy -" Naruto crossed his arms and grumbled something under his breath, "- he still somehow managed to make it to the last round of the Chuunin Exams, defeating the rookie of the year from two years ago in one on one combat." The students murmured amongst themselves, shooting the two standing in the front of the room disbelieving glances every now and then.

At the mention of his name, four people in the classroom noticeably perked up and turned their attention to the front of the room. Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon hopped up from their seats and pointed excitedly at Naruto.

"Boss!" Konohamaru yelled, excitement evident on his face. Naruto lifted his arm and waved back with equal amounts of excitement. He'd forgotten that the Konohamaru Corps was already in the Academy, and seeing as how they were still together, it was obvious that the three of them would become a powerful and well rounded team by the time they graduated; unlike Team 7.

"Naruto?" a small voice asked from the back of the classroom. All heads turned back in shock to see the quiet and normally stoic Hyuuga Hanabi looking down at the blond with interest. She never spoke much in or out of class, only opening her mouth when absolutely necessary or to put down another classmate for their poor skills. "Your name's Naruto?"

The genin tilted his head slightly in curiosity, studying the lithe seven year old staring back at him with an equally curious expression. It was easy to see that she was of the Hyuuga clan, even without her fierce light violet eyes. Her posture was flawless, a sure sign of her regal upbringing, and her face held the same discompassionate stare that was common among the members of both the Main and Branch families.

"Yeah, what about it?" Hanabi's eyes widened slightly with surprise. So that was the name of the boy who'd beaten Neji during the Chuunin Exams! It was also the name of the boy who...

"So you're the one who onee-san..." Her hands unconsciously went to her chest, emulating a small squeezing motion. "But...you look like an idiot. Why you?"

"Hey! Don't talk about Naruto-nii-chan like that! He's way smarter than you'll ever be, Hanabi!" Konohamaru yelled from the other side of the classroom.

"If he's anything like you, I highly doubt that." The boy snarled and stood up in his seat.

"Why you..." Before he could say another word, loud laughter could be heard from the front of the room.

"You...you guys are just like me and Sasuke!" Naruto gasped out between breaths. Hanabi narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms in a huff.

"Don't compare me to the likes of you and that traitor Uchiha." He chuckled louder and shook his head. She was definitely a textbook Hyuuga.

"Yeah, yeah." He glanced at the clock to his right and gasped. "Whoa! It's almost time for me to leave!" He quickly embraced his former teacher in a tight hug. "Later, Iruka-sensei!" The blond then ran towards the window, waving towards the now surprised class. "Later Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon! You too, Firecracker! See you in three years!" Before any of them could say another word, Naruto leaped into the air and disappeared through the window.

"Firecracker?" Hanabi shrieked, uncharacteristically raising her voice. The rest of the kids in the classroom began to giggle and snicker at the nickname, a few of them even daring to repeat the hastily given nickname. Her face heated up with embarrassment and anger, and seeing the furious look on the girl's face, Iruka quickly raised his hands into the air to calm the class.

"Alright, alright, that's enough you guys. Let's put our thinking caps on and start with the lesson, shall we?" A small chorus of boos was heard from somewhere in the classroom, but they were quickly silenced by several well-thrown pieces of chalk. The scarred chuunin looked towards the window with a wide, proud smile permeating across his face.

"Do your best, Naruto."

A small, dark shadow slipped into the large, dimly lit office of the Godaime Hokage. Luckily, the Hokage, her assistant, and her personal guard had already left just under five minutes ago. Even luckier was that the ANBU officer guarding the empty office was one of Danzo's men.

He wasted no time in looking through the drawers and file cabinets for the shinobi and civilian rosters. Unsurprisingly, there were hundreds upon thousands of folders in the large metal cabinets, and it would be quite a daunting task to look through all of the files if he was a regular shinobi. Keeping his face stoic as ever, he pulled a scroll, ink, and a brush from the small bag on his hip. He painted many large strokes of ink onto the paper before forming his left hand into a simple release hand sign.

"Sumi Bunshin no Jutsu." Immediately, twenty perfect ink clones of himself appeared in the large office. They immediately got to work shifting and shuffling through the folders, looking at each picture for a sign of a redheaded female.

"Perhaps I should have created more clones," he murmured to himself, quickly becoming bored with the task. He and his clones had already spent ten minutes looking through the civilian roster, and thus far, none of them had seen so much as a flash of red hair. They were forced to work at somewhat of a slow speed, being careful to stack the folders back in order lest someone find out that there'd been an intrusion.

Finally, after over half an hour of looking, a clone emerged with a file. The original grabbed the folder and flipped through it, looking for any clues as to who the mysterious redhead was. A miniscule frown appeared on his face.

"This woman is too old, and the file says her eyes are green."

"Hold on. Didn't Danzo-sama say that she assaulted our civilian troops?" A small flicker of remembrance flashed in the emotionless boy's eyes.

"That's right. A normal civilian woman wouldn't be able to beat three men alone." He paused for a moment in thought. "You five, continue looking through the civilian files just in case. The rest of you help me sort through the shinobi files."

The group worked diligently for another twenty or so minutes, only stopping to pull more files from the drawer. The shinobi roster was drastically smaller than its counterpart, and in no time, a clone held up an abnormally thick folder. He handed the envelope off to the original and quickly continued in his task.

"Satou Tayuya. Quite an unimaginable name," he drawled, glancing over the first page. "Red hair, brown eyes, 148 centimeters, 38.2 kilograms." His eyebrows lifted sightly as he read over the rest of her file. "Has completed one B-rank mission, and is leaving today for a classified S-rank. Used to be former shinobi of the Sound, and is a prisoner turned genin. Interesting. I believe that this is the girl Danzo-sama is looking for." He turned to the other clones and waved a commanding hand in the air. "Clean up the files, I've got what I want." The clones immediately stopped what they were doing and began to put away the mountains of folders. The original, meanwhile, pulled a small scroll from the pouch at his side. He placed one hand on the stack of papers containing all of Tayuya's information, and one on the still unopened scroll lying on the desk.

"Kanzen Utsusu no Jutsu." Immediately, words began lift from the original documents and swirl into the scroll, filling it with the contents of her file. He picked up the scroll a few seconds later and opened it to see a perfect copy embedded neatly into the paper.

"We've finished cleaning up the office," a clone said from behind him. The boy nodded and waved his hand, dispelling all twenty of the ink clones without a second glance. He quickly slipped his tools back into his pouch and put away the folder. With a few handseals and a whispered 'Shunshin no Jutsu', he disappeared from the large, dark office.

"Tayuya-chan! We're late!"

Naruto burst through the front door of his apartment, taking deep, calming breaths to slow down his heart. He picked up his traveling pack and slung it over his shoulders.

"Tayuya-chan?" When she didn't appear from inside the apartment, he scratched his head and walked down the hallway. Looking at the clock, she'd probably already left for the front gates, as there was only twenty minutes left until they had to leave. Just to be sure, he decided to check every room of the small complex.

He reached his bedroom in a matter of steps, and poking his head inside, he looked for any sign of the short-tempered girl.

"Tayuya-chan, are you in here?" he asked, taking a few cautious steps into the room. Her pack was still leaning lightly against his bed, signifying that she hadn't yet left to meet up with his sensei. A small frown appeared on his face. There didn't seem to be any signs of a kidnapping (If he knew Tayuya, she'd put up a hell of a fight), so that possibility was quickly thrown out. So where was she? He turned around and jogged back to the doorway - only to run directly into the very person he'd been looking for.

Unfortunately, Naruto had much more momentum and weight than the petite redhead, and both were sent barreling to the ground.

"You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me!" Tayuya screamed, her face contorted into more of an annoyed than angry frown. "God fucking damnit, no matter where the fuck I go, I always end up on the goddamn shitty ground!" She roughly pushed him aside and immediately got to her feet, zipping into the room before he could say a word of apology. Surprised that she didn't berate him (directly), he hopped up and followed her.

"Where'd you go?" he asked, noticing her putting something in her pack. "And what's that?" She noticeably stiffened at his question, and with a slightly awkward shrug, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Don't worry about it." Tayuya lightly bit her lip in thought. She had to get rid of him somehow. "Hey, Naruto, do me a favor. I dropped one of my kunai outside. Can you get it for me?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"What? Why didn't you just pick it up when you dropped it? Besides, can't we just get it on our way out?" Her eyebrow twitched with annoyance.

"It won't take that long, and I need it now." The boy furrowed his brows but shrugged, turning around to do as she asked. "Oh, and I dropped it on the first floor!" As soon as he was out of the room, Tayuya wasted no time in flipping the rug away from his hidden compartment and removing the loose floorboards that covered it. She grabbed the small gray box and opened the lid as fast as she could, every now and then glancing towards the doorway. With a speed only known to shinobi, she pulled the leftover wad of cash from her pocket and threw it into the box before putting it in her bag, replacing the floorboards and rug with equal speed.

"Ne, Tayuya-chan, I don't see it," Naruto called, walking back into the room. She laughed nervously and stood up from her seat on the floor.

"Oh, uh, I guess I didn't drop it after all! The damn thing was still in my pouch!" She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulders. "What the hell're you doing just standing around? We have to go!" She jogged out of the room, leaving a confused and bewildered Naruto in her wake.

"Girls are weird..." he mumbled, closing and locking the door behind him.

"Let's go!" Tayuya yelled from the bottom of the stairs. The blond rolled his eyes and hopped down from the second story to meet her. They sprinted along the rooftops at their fastest speed, both moving a little slow because of their previous exercise. The ground and people beneath them were a blur as they ran, and the wind whipped around them like smothering dragons.

"There it is!" Naruto called, squinting his eyes to better see their destination. They hopped down from the buildings and slowed their pace a bit to regain some of their lost energy, eventually slowing to a fast walk. To his surprise, there was more than just Jiraiya and the Hokage waiting to see him off. Nearly the entire Rookie Nine and Gai's Team stood in the clearing leading to the gates.. By some miracle, even Kakashi had managed to show up on time to say goodbye to one of his students. He was also the first to notice the presence of the two genin. He lifted a lazy hand into the air and put on his infamous one-eyed smile.

"Yo, Naruto, I didn't think you'd make it on time." The blond slowed to a stop and snorted.

"I'm not you, Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi shrugged with what Tayuya assumed to be a smile.

"Fair enough. Looks like quite the party, huh?" Naruto nodded his agreement. "I never get this kind of send off when I have a long mission." The silver-haired man sniffled quietly and wiped away an imaginary tear, earning another snort from his student. Before he could make a smart-aleck comeback, a loud shout interrupted their conversation.

"Oi! There he is!" an expectantly loud Kiba yelled from the group. Naruto grinned foxily and sheepishly placed his hands behind his head. If he'd known they were all going to show up, he would've made more of an effort to arrive early.

"Hey! I didn't think everyone would show up!" he exclaimed, his grin widening significantly. His eyes swept around the clearing, searching for a familiar flash of pink hair. "Where's Sakura-chan?" The conversation immediately screeched to a halt, and the other genin subtly avoided his questioning gaze. His smile fell slightly at the silence. "I guess she's not here yet." Ino sighed quietly to herself and approached her fellow blond with a small, complacent smile on her face.

"Naruto-kun...Sakura's not feeling too well," she explained, choosing her words carefully. She couldn't bear to tell him that his teammate and love interest didn't want anything to do with him, especially since he was leaving for a three year mission and the truth would probably break him. "I'm sure if she could be here, she would." Naruto's smile dimmed momentarily, and he lowered his head to look at his feet. Suddenly, his head snapped up to meet everyone's sympathetic stares, causing his new teammate to narrow her eyes in controlled anger.

"That's okay! I'll just see her when I get back then!" On the outside of the group, the Godaime Hokage frowned deeply. Even she knew how much her youngest apprentice meant to the boy, and it angered her to see that the girl couldn't even see her teammate off. For her sake, Sakura had better have a damn good reason for missing this. Shizune had a similar expression, and wanting to change the subject, she stepped forward and held out two identical envelops to the genin.

"Naruto-kun, Tayuya-san, here are your mission payments for the past two weeks. You left before I could give them to you."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, confusion evident on his face. The medic-nin turned a disappointed gaze upon Tayuya, but before she could speak, the redhead grabbed both her and the Hokage's hands and pulled them aside. The group watched curiously as Tayuya whispered and conspired animatedly, every now and then looking or pointing at the blond genin. After a few minutes of speaking, the Hokage sighed and nodded her head, rubbing her temples as she did so.

"What's going on?" A mysterious voice asked from behind the blond. Naruto frowned slightly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I dunno, but they've been talking for awhile." He turned around to greet the person - only to stare directly into a large pair of fishnet covered breasts. "Ack! You! What are you doing here?"

Mitarashi Anko looked down at the shocked genin with a mischievously evil smile, exposing two perfect rows of shining white teeth. She was wearing the same brown skirt and tan trench coat that she'd worn during the Chuunin Exams, and her dark purple hair was pulled back into a loose spiked ponytail. He also noticed that she had a rather large backpack leaning against her leg.

"She's the jounin assigned to help with your training," Tsunade said, approaching with Tayuya and Shizune behind her. Naruto's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened in unbridled fear.

"B-but, she's crazy! What if she tries to eat me?" Anko's predacious grin grew wider.

"Hm, you don't have to worry about that. I'm not a big fan of shrimp." Before he could retaliate, she turned to Kakashi with a small frown. "Did you bring what I asked?" she asked, placing a tired hand on her hip. The man nodded and produced a small scroll from one of the pockets in his vest.

"This is all I could scrounge up in a week's time. It's not much, but it should be of some use." The purple-haired woman grabbed the scroll and threw it into her knapsack, ignoring the curious stares of the gathered shinobi.

"It's better than nothing. Thanks, Kakashi." He closed his right eye in silent acknowledgment. "Where's Jiraiya-sama? I'm ready to leave already." As if on cue, a large puff of smoke appeared in front of them, revealing the Toad Sannin in his trademark pose. A large grin was plastered confidently on his face as he danced around the group, and Tsunade placed her face in her hands with shame. To think that she was put on the same level as that idiot.

"Did someone call?" he exclaimed, oblivious to the incredulous stares he was receiving from the others. Tayuya shook her head in disbelief, hardly believing that this was the guy Orochimaru had been on the same genin squad with. Already tired of waiting, she produced a small camera from her bag and held it up into the air.

"All you fuckers line up! I need to take a picture!" Everyone shifted their eyes away from the Sannin and turned them onto the ever-glaring redhead. Naruto uncharacteristically gawked at the small rectangle device. He hadn't seen her buy anything during their time together, and they'd been practically inseparable over the past few weeks.

"What are you going on about now, troublesome woman?" Shikamaru mumbled, his bored frown deepening. A few of the other genin nodded in agreement, further annoying Tayuya.

"I don't believe I stuttered, Pineapple Head." Loud snickers were heard from the group. "I said, we're gonna take a picture. You too, Hyuuga." Hinata jumped at being pointed out so abruptly, but she quickly got a reign on her emotions and glared at her rival. Nevertheless, she scooted in closer to the group until she stood directly next to Naruto.

"Do as she says," Tsunade sighed, waving her hand towards the others as she joined the group. They lined up by rank; genin in front, and everyone else scattered around behind them. Even Tonton somehow squirmed her way into the picture, skidding to a stop directly in front of Naruto. Satisfied with the layout, Tayuya slowly scanned her eyes across the clearing. She suddenly stopped and pointed to a spot above one of the buildings.

"You, ANBU guy, take the picture!" she called. Nothing happened until the Hokage nodded her consent, and soon after, a woman in a black cloak materialized out of thin air. The group was genuinely surprised that she had pointed the officer out so easily, even those who knew that she was a former part of Orochimaru's elite guard.

The woman hesitantly plucked the camera from her fingertips, holding it up to her porcelain masked face. She was a little worried about what her boss would say about her being detected by a mere genin, but given that the normally hotheaded blond hadn't started yelling yet, she felt reasonably safe. She waited for the redhead to position herself directly beside the Kyuubi container before glancing through the small square viewfinder.

"Say cheese," She deadpanned.

"Cheese!"

"Troublesome..."

"Cheese? Where?"

"..."

"Dango!"

"Arf!"

"C-cheese..."

The camera clicked a second after, and the woman wasted no time in sprinting over to Tayuya to forcefully place the camera in her surprised hands. A moment later, she disappeared.

"Didn't have to be such a bitch about it..." she mumbled, glancing over the device to make sure that it hadn't been broken. Reasonably satisfied that everything was in order, she tossed the camera back into her bag and strung the pack over her shoulders.

"Why'd you wanna take a picture? And where'd you get the camera from?" Naruto asked, mirroring her actions. A funny look flashed across her face, but she quickly replaced it with an indignant glare. Luckily, his friends chose that moment to interrupt their conversation.

"Oi, Naruto, get strong so I can kick your ass when you get back!" Kiba exclaimed, approaching the two genin. Shino and Hinata flanked him, both equally silent. The bug boy subtly adjusted his dark glasses and nodded.

"I look forward to sparring with you in the future."

"Thanks, guys! I...think. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you!" He turned his attention to the Hyuuga staring down at her hands. "Hey, Hinata-chan, I'm glad you could make it! Make sure you train hard too so we can spar when I get back!" Tayuya snorted loudly from behind him, earning her a light bump from the blond.

"I-I will, Naruto-kun...and..." She glared darkly at Tayuya, surprising both of her teammates. "...Be careful." The redhead grit her teeth, fighting back the urge to rip the white-eyed bitch's head off. She was trying her best to be civil, but the whore was practically begging for a beat down. A sickeningly sweet smile suddenly spread across her face, and she looked down at the shorter girl from over Naruto's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan. I'll take good care of our boy here." She deliberately moved a step closer to her teammate, further angering her rival.

"Oi, troublesome woman, stop causing problems," Shikamaru sighed as he approached the group. His eyes lazily rolled over to address Naruto. "I'd hate to be you right now, having to spend three years with her. Good luck." He patted the boy on the shoulder and stepped to the side to allow Ino to move into his space.

"Get strong, Naruto-kun! I'll make you a huge bouquet of flowers when you return!" She glanced over to Tayuya with a less than enthusiastic smile. "Oh, you too." Chouji nodded and stuffed another handful of chips into his mouth.

"And make sure you eat good, okay? Both of you guys are way too skinny to be good shinobi." The redhead opened her mouth to say something, but she was quickly silenced by Naruto's hand over her mouth.

"Ahahaha, thanks, Chouji! We'll definitely keep that in mind!" The chubby boy nodded again, stepping aside to allow the last of the teams to step forward. Tenten was the first to speak, smirking as Tayuya bit Naruto's hand.

"You two seem to get along well. Do your best!" She suddenly leaned in to whisper to the two shinobi. "Oh, and can I get a copy of that picture? You can give it to me when I get back. Thanks!" The girl winked at them one more time before moving to the side.

"YOSH! The Flames of Youth burn brightly within the both of you! I wish Gai-sensei was here to experience this outpouring of youth first hand! Gai-Sensei!" The green clad boy burst into hysterical tears, sobbing openly in the village clearing. Tenten rolled her eyes and grabbed the boy by the shoulders, pulling him out of the way. Neji was the last of the genin to approach, and his eyes immediately settled on the glaring redhead behind Naruto. He studied her with mild curiosity, running his strange white eyes over her entire body.

"What? You some kind of pervert or somethin'?" she asked, her glare intensifying under his scrutinizing gaze. Instead of retaliating, the boy only smirked and looked at Naruto with an amused glance.

"This must be the girl you were talking about. It seems as though you've worked things out. Good luck on your mission, and next time, we'll all go get Sasuke back together. You can count on it." The blond smiled widely and shook Neji's offered hand, nodding slightly in agreement. The last people to approach the two were Tsunade and Shizune. The Hokage immediately encased the boy in a bone crushing hug, surprising those who didn't know of their relationship. After a few seconds, she pulled back to stare tearfully into his eyes.

"Take care of yourself, alright? Don't push yourself too hard, and make sure you eat something besides ramen." He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah, I know Baa-chan. Don't worry, I'll be fine!" The woman frowned at the nickname and turned to Tayuya.

"Make sure you take care of him. He's an idiot, you know." To her surprise, the Hokage embraced her too. The girl stiffened awkwardly in her arms at the action.

"Y-yeah, sure..." A wave of relief washed over her when the woman finally let go. Despite all that happened within the past few weeks, she still didn't fully trust the Hokage. Instead of hugging them one at a time, Shizune hugged the both of them together. Thankfully, the action only lasted a couple of seconds.

"Be safe! And Tayuya-san, remember what we talked about." Both females glanced at Naruto, alarming the blond.

"W-what?" he asked, taking an unconscious back.

"Nothing. Come on, your sensei's already waiting for us." He stared after her a moment longer before quickly falling into step behind her. Receiving such warm goodbyes from his friends made it even harder for him to leave, but he was also excited to be training under one of the sannin for three years. Not only that, but combined with the things he'd learn from Anko and Tayuya (Even if he was a little afraid of the former), he was confident that he'd be able to bring Sasuke back with no trouble.

The group approached the gate at a leisurely pace, each lost in their own thoughts. They wouldn't be walking through these gates for another three years, a long time by anyone's standards.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Shizune asked, watching along with Kakashi and Tsunade as the group left the village. Kakashi smirked under his mask.

"I know he will, and in three years, we won't even recognize him. Naruto is Konoha's number one most surprising hyperactive ninja, after all."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Next Book: The Melody of the Fox
