Changing Tides Chapter 5 Part 2( Part 1)
Changing Tides : Prologue
Changing Tides: Chapter 1
Changing Tides: Chapter 2
Changing Tides: Chapter 3
Changing Tides: Chapter 4
Changing Tides: Chapter 5 Part 1
OMG It's done. This Chapter made LJ hate me kept getting Client Error Content too large and what not. So i chopped ths chapter into 3 parts. Links to the next part are at bottom. This will be post on FF.net later. Comment if you want to( please /beg).
Word Count as of this posting 17,473
The men followed their target as he maneuvered through the forest without any signs of slowing down. It was wrong to call him a target, but to a sense that is exactly what he was. They needed to know who he was. They didn’t even know if he knew they were there, following him as he walked at a leisurely pace. Ducking under foliage and other obstacles in their path, they didn’t allow him out of their sight. They were far from the village now, but that wasn’t on their mind-- the only thing was the man they were following. Stepping into a clearing he walked into the vast field surrounded by trees lightly covered with bits of snow.
The man walked on all the way through the clearing until he came upon an area where it was going back into forest. He stood there waiting as if he knew something was going to happen.
Forgoing their cover they walked out into the open following the man into the field. They had no doubt now that he knew they were there. Turning around the brown haired man . . .
Changing Tides
Chapter 5: Part 2
Catching Ghosts
The three Konoha ninja entered the room still on guard at the prospect of being observed. Well one of them wasn’t too worried, but Sasuke and Kakashi seemed to be very tense. The two of them were around the room instantly looking for traps or any kind of surveillance device be it listening or visual of any kind that would let someone overhear what they would be discussed here at their temporary HQ. The sweep was quick as the two sharingan masters looked over every crevice of the room. When they were done they allowed themselves to relax a little and made there way over to the bed where the blonde was already settling down.
The room wasn’t spectacular in any way as they had to get it at the last minute and didn’t have the money to spend at any of the other inns. Even if they did have the money most of the other inns were booked solid as people reserved rooms months in advance. The fact that they even got this room was nothing short of a miracle. It wasn’t that bad, if one didn’t notice the paint peeling off the walls or the dingy looking walls and the smell of mold. The hinges on the front door were rusted over as well as the door leading to the bathroom, surprisingly they didn’t squeak when they were opened or closed. The only thing that looked even remotely new was the beds. In between the beds was a table with a broken lamp on top of it.
“I thought we were going to be caught for sure.” The blonde said as he put his bag down on the bed closest to the window in the room. He turned to his two companions and shot them a wide grin while scratching the back of his head.
“I mean did you see the guards at the gate?” he stopped talking for a second as he made animated movements. “They looked like they were ready to jump anyone who so looked at them the wrong way. I wonder what would have happened if someone was to attack them at the gates.” A shudder ran through Naruto’s body at the thought of a person foolish enough to mess with the ninja at the gate.
“Well it’s a good thing we’re not that stupid ey Naruto?” Kakashi said as he smiled behind his mask.
“What kind of idiot would . . .” Sasuke’s voice trailed off as he thought of someone who would do just that, his former teacher Orochimaru.
Sasuke reached up and rubbed the left side of his neck. Even after the man’s alleged death, the spiraling black mark hadn’t faded. The man was insane and crazy and was willing to give him power in his self made village. The man who almost succeeded in crushing the village hidden in the leaves just because he wasn’t going to become the kage.
Sasuke wasn’t torn between wishing he never met the man and not. He got what he needed and succeeded in his goals. The price he paid was nothing and he would do it again if he had to no matter how much suffering he put himself and others through. He dropped his hand from where the cursed mark lay hidden under his black shirt. This mark was a brand of what he had done and what he had forsaken in the name of power and it was something he would wear it till the end of his life.
“Sasuke!” Naruto yelled trying to get the dark haired boys attention.
The avenger looked up as his name was called breaking out of his thought about his past actions. “What?” his voice was low and barely audible.
“You seemed to space out, that’s not like you Sasuke.” The blonde stated simply.
“Hn.” was grunted in response. The younger one’s eyes narrowed at his teammate before he let out a breath of frustration. It was no use talking to Sasuke when he was like this. He was lucky to even get any sort of acknowledgement at all.
“Hey! Where did Kakashi go?” Naruto said changing the subject as he looked around trying to find the temporarily black haired man. Sasuke allowed his eyes to roam around the room and saw all of his stuff still there which meant he hadn’t gone out on his own, but he wasn’t anywhere in the vicinity.
“I didn’t hear him leave?” Naruto stated as he looked outside in the hallway.
“We’re ninjas you idiot no one is supposed to hear us come and go. Then again you don’t really know the meaning of stealth and subtlety do you? I wouldn’t expect someone like you to know anything like that.” A smirk formed on Sasuke’s pale face as he locked eyes with the blonde. He knew what was going to happen next and waited as he wanted his peer to rise to the bait.
“What was that you bastard!” Naruto said fist beginning to clench and unclench at his side. His anger began causing his grip on his chakra to loosen.
“I said ‘you don’t know the meaning of stealth.’” The other repeated as he watched the blonde get more and more pissed. It was always fun to rile up Naruto.
“Why I should. . .” Walking across the room he was about to show the teen just what he should do when the door opened.
“You should do what Naruto?” Kakashi asked, eye curving into an arc they were both more than familiar with.
“Nothing.” Naruto stated as he walked back to the bed and flopped down on it. He wished his old sensei would have came in just a few seconds later just so he could have gotten rid of that smirk on the other’s face. That smirk always pissed him off for reasons he couldn’t begin to explain even if he wanted to. Blue eyes looked up at the ceiling and a piece of peeling paint; he groaned in frustration and covered his eyes with a black clad arm.
Kakashi tilted his head wondering what was going on with the blonde boy. He figured it wasn’t worth the effort and turned towards the other occupant of the room.
Sasuke gave a small shrug and stood up walking towards the window. On his way to the window he kicked Naruto’s foot; whether this was on purpose or not it didn’t matter to the blond because he was in his own world now and there was no way he was going to let Sasuke get to him. The only thing he did was release a small grunt that was muffled by the cloth.
“What is wrong with you two?” Kakashi asked as he made his way further into the room. He cast a glance at the blonde then to the raven haired boy who was leaning against the window sill looking outside at the decorations that were up around the village.
The sun was beginning to set and the sky was slowly turning red and orange as the last bits of blue faded. People were coming out of the house as paper lanterns were lit. There was soft music coming from outside but was muted by the walls, which were surprisingly very thick.
“Listen I don’t care what happened between you two while I was gone, but we are on a mission. So get your act together,” Kakashi uttered, starting to get upset that his subordinates were ignoring him.
“Nothing happened while you were gone, honestly.” The muffled voice said. The owner of the voice took his arm from over his eyes and sat up grinning. He bounced on the bed a little before getting up and standing at his full height, stretching. “I was just wondering where you were.” The blonde lied smoothly.
“I was downstairs seeing if they had any maps of the village. They didn’t but look what I found?” The gray haired man said as he unfurled a poster. Holding it up they saw it was an icha icha poster. “Can you believe someone left this in the lobby? I mean who would give up something like this?” he fawned over the poster for a few seconds as both Sasuke and Naruto both stared at him. They exchanged looks with each that clearly said ‘You have got to be kidding me.’
“It’s night time and it seems that everyone is flooding into the streets,” their leader said in a serious voice. When they looked back at him the poster was on the bed and he was giving them both a weary look.
He walked over to the window Sasuke was currently gazing out of. “We can use this to our advantage.” He pointed outside, “Tsunade sent us here during their festival. With all of these tourists around it is the perfect time for us to gather information. Keep your chakra levels as low as possible and don’t draw any and I mean any,” he shot the youngest team member a look before continuing, “attention to yourself.”
“So I assume we’re going to split up then.” Sasuke stated more then asked the older man.
The addressed person reached a hand up to adjust his eye patch before nodding.
“Any particular place you would like us to check?” Naruto was serious about this mission like Sasuke has never seen him before. He really began to wonder how much Naruto had grown up while he was off. He was still the same person yet, he was different somehow. Sasuke knew that he wouldn’t be the same person he always was on a mission like this, but he never saw the blonde act this way before. It was a shock for Sasuke although he wouldn’t tell anyone what was going on in his brain.
“Sasuke.” The teen looked away from Naruto to the man. “Stick to the streets--there are a lot of carnivals and outside activities going on that you can eavesdrop on.”
The raven haired boy nodded at the order.
“Naruto, there should be quite a few restaurants around town. Gather as much information as you can and try not to spend all your money in one place.”
The blonde haired boy nodded this time.
“Where will you be heading?” questioned the boy.
“Well you know it’s been a long day and I was thinking of relaxing a bit at a local bar.” Their old teacher was in a good mood and no longer serious. He gave them a grin that they couldn’t see.
“Why do you get to relax and we don’t! That’s not fair!” Naruto started ranting before thinking of what he was supposed to be doing in the village.
“You’re still such a loser.” Sasuke muttered. The thoughts he had earlier thinking that Naruto had matured a little vanished from his mind as the blonde obviously didn’t understand the importance of Kakashi hitting the bars.
“I am not a loser you bastard!” Naruto growled and stalked over to Sasuke. “It’s not fair we have to do work and he gets to relax.” The blonde still didn’t get the importance and Sasuke sighed.
“He’s going to the bar to gather information you idiot.” The smarter of the two said to the other plain and simple. Stopping mid rant he finally seemed to get what his ex-sensei was going to be doing.
“Oh.” Was that all he could say after all the commotion he made? He blushed, his cheeks turning red in embarrassment making the dark whisker marks on his face stand out more. Scratching the back of his head he looked from Sasuke to Kakashi then back to Sasuke. “I knew that.” He laughed nervously.
Kakashi and Sasuke both sighed at their teammate.
“So as I was saying,” Kakashi glared at the blonde who quickly looked away. “I’ll be going to the bars. You know how these ninjas are, when their drunk they can’t shut up.” Laughing to himself he continued. “We’ll gather back here at midnight and compare what we found. If there is something urgent find me or each other understood?” they both nodded.
The three of them closed the inn room and made their way downstairs. Kakashi put both of his hands in his pocket before slowly walking down the street..
Sasuke and Naruto both walked in the same direction before they split at the crossroad with Sasuke going east and Naruto going west. They all knew it no matter how far apart they were and the words not being said that the mission had officially begun.
IcrybecausethewavesmetmetodayIcrybecausethewavesmetmetoday
The man tied the obi around his waist as he stared at himself in the mirror once more. He spun around once and nodded in approval. There was just one thing he had to do.
Picking up the cup of water he spilled the contents in his left hand solidifying it before the liquid ran down and stained his kimono. Using the thumb and forefinger of his right hand he pulled up at a part of the ice and kept pulling. The ice followed the movements and it made a silver colored ribbon.
Tying his hair back he knew people would think he was abusing his blood limit by using it for things like this. Aikido didn’t care what they thought though. He knew he couldn’t bring his usual coat on his outing with his young friend because of the festival and he knew the little girl was going to dress nice. The least he could do was show her the same courtesy.
The man finished and let his hands feel the thin ribbon at his fingertips. He tied the ribbon at his neck and scowled a bit as he realized his hair was longer then the ribbon strips.
“Maybe it’s time I cut it.” He looked into the mirror, spinning around and looking at his hair which stopped right below his shoulder blades.
Facing the mirror completely he looked and saw another version of himself with shorter hair that ended right at his shoulders. He scowled at the image and decided that he wasn’t going to cut his hair.
“You need to leave me alone.” He said to the image. The image just stared at him.
“You know you’re insane when you start talking to yourself.” The Mizukage’s nephew muttered to himself as he remembered what someone said to him as he walked down the street. He could remember the face of the woman who made quick strides to keep up with his pace talking his ear off. If Aikido wasn’t sworn to protect this village he would have killed her. He didn’t need to make enemies and the village was starting to warm up to him after he brought back the head of Misato earlier today.
Banishing the thoughts of that woman from his mind Aikido gave himself another once over. He spun around again and smiled at his reflection. The kimono was a dark blue color above his waist were what seemed to be stars and if someone looked they could almost swear they were flickering. Below the waist towards the end of the outfit were waves. They reached about half way to his waist cresting before falling back down and repeating the motion all around. If one looked at the waves there seemed to be an animal leaping out of it coming a few inches under the waist. A few of these were scattered around the whole outfit and seemed it took a master tailor to accomplish such a task.
The most shocking thing was he never visited a tailor or anyone for that matter for custom clothes. When he arrived back at the house after the mission he saw a box with his name on it. He opened the box cautiously and saw this kimono in it with a note inside. The note said simply ‘For Tonight’ with no signature on a small piece of paper. After checking for any kind of poison or anything harmful on the outfit he noticed that it was nothing more then what it was. A kimono specially made just for him.
Aikido let his fingers trail down the material smoothing out the few creases as he tried to make sure he looked perfect. The man looked into the mirror one last time locking eyes with himself before turning and walking out of the door. The image he locked eyes with was not his present self, but the one of his past.
Closing the door behind him Aikido took a second to breathe in the air around him. He looked around and saw people rushing deeper into the village. Casting a glance in the direction the people went to he shrugged and headed the opposite. He had someone to pick up before he went into the village.
Turning he started walking down a path which he traveled down several times before. This was the quickest way for him to get to Yari’s house.
Making his way down the road he saw people coming up to him and going in the direction he came from. He didn’t spare them a passing glance, they were unimportant in his world. Several people he didn’t know came and gave him a congratulations and good work on his hunting mission. He wondered how people knew about something that classified, but decided not to worry about it. With an awkward smile he withdrew himself from the conversation and with a nod in their direction he set about his way.
Making the last turn that would lead him to her house he felt a gust of wind. He smelt the moisture in the air and it was becoming slightly humid. He looked to the right and saw the sun slowly setting as the lights started coming on. Taking a step onto Yari’s porch he knocked 3 times before turning and looking to the sky.
“It’s going to rain.” He said to himself as he waited for an occupant of the house to come answer the door. After a few seconds he heard the door open and he turned to look at who it was.
“Kido!” The little girl said jumping onto the older man who easily caught her in his arms, giving her a hug. He twirled her around once before planting her feet back on the ground. He gave her a quick once over and saw her in a beautiful red kimono with yellow sunflowers. The petals were coming off some of the flowers scattered around the outfit. It was an amazing design and he wondered briefly who was the tailor and if they were the same person who made his.
The floor creaked slowly and Aikido’s head darted to where he heard the sound originate from. He gave a half smile to his friend’s mother. She had a measurer around her neck and wasn’t dressed up yet.
‘I guess that answered that question,’ he thought to himself. ‘Did she also make mine?’ he wondered.
“Hello,” she said slowly giving him a small smile. He nodded in her direction and made his way to the stairs. He looked over at his shoulder to see that Yari ran into the house for a second.
“Yari!” he mother called her as she came back outside with her shoes in hand.
“Yes mommy?” she said as she sat down on the floor to slide them on. After she was done she turned back to look at her mother eyes question why she was called.
The woman’s eyes softened as she looked at her child “Behave alright.” She said as she inserted a small comb in the bun she spent an hour fixing. The small girl smiled brightly at her mother before running down the stairs as the older man walked slowly after her.
“Are you hungry?” she heard him ask her.
“Yes!” came her daughters enthusiastic reply and she could almost see her daughter blush in embarrassment at her loud outburst. The man laughed softly, but loud enough for her to hear it.
“Be careful.” She said softly to the wind as she walked back into the house, closing the door behind her with a barley audible click.
IcrybecausethewavesmetmetodayIcrybecausethewavesmetmetoday
The blond had both hands behind his head as he walked down the busy street. It was crowded and he barely avoided getting mauled by the crowds who were pushing each other to get to where they had to go. It was truly a festival even if the people were trying to seriously injure him.
He looked around and saw the paper lanterns were all lit now since the sun had completely vanished from the night sky as the stars and moon made their appearance. Looking up he let out a long sigh. It was a rather tranquil sight, just to have the soft glow of lanterns and the sky twinkling with stars.
His placid state was interrupted when he was rudely shoved from behind.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” He yelled turning around to see the culprit.
“Well don’t stand in the middle of the damn street.” The man said as he gave the blonde a vicious look. He was a head or two taller then the blonde and about twice his weight, but Naruto wasn’t intimidated by him for even a second. He was an experienced ninja he fought bigger and scarier men than this guy all the time.
“Who the fuck made you the king of the street?” Naruto growled showing his pointed canines.
“You’ve got quite the mouth on you don’t you? I should kick your ass!” he growled back to the blonde as he started to roll his sleeves.
‘Who does he think he is?’ Naruto thought angrily. “Yeah, you and what army?” he scoffed as he began laughing to himself.
A snap of the big guy’s fingers and next thing Naruto knew was that he was surrounded by five men. They were about the same size as the man who wanted to start the fight with the teen.
“What the fuck!” Naruto yelled as he quickly turned around looking at the men before turning back to look at the white haired man. He clenched his fist tightly at his side just waiting for one of them to make a move. He was not going to be pushed around--he got enough of that back in Konoha. He wasn’t able to do anything to those that assaulted him when he was younger because he was afraid of not having anywhere else to go, but now that he was older. He could feel the adrenaline pulsing in his system as he became angrier.
“You said what army. I’m showing you my army and what are you going to do about it?” The tall man walked over to the ninja and jabbed a finger into his chest.
Naruto growled and when the man poked him a second time he smacked the hand away from him. He clenched his fist and got ready to knock the guy out when he was punched in the back of the head. He stumbled forward as a guy to the right grabbed his head and delivered a kick to his sternum. He fell to his knees gasping for breath, one hand clutching his chest as his other was on the floor to keep himself from falling flat on his face. While down on the ground like that the guy on his left came and kicked him in the stomach cause the blonde to cry out in more pain.
‘I can take them,’ he thought ‘but if I kick their ass then they would know that I am a ninja and that I came here for reasons other then to enjoy the festival.’ The man kicked him in the stomach again.
A large crowed had formed around the six men, not one person interfering because they didn’t want to end up like the kid on the floor. They watched with fearful eyes as this was supposed to be a time for celebration not violence, but these men seemed to want any reason to fight.
The blonde on the floor was picked up by two arms as they held him their owner’s chest exposing his front to the big guy from earlier. The man grabbed the blonde’s hair and lifted his face up so that his red eyes met blue eyes. He leaned down so his face was inches away from Naruto’s, the man’s white hairs touching his face.
“What do you have to say now punk?” The man pulled back as he delivered a fist to Naruto’s gut making him grunt in pain. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” He delivered two more punches in succession to the blonde, relishing in the pain he was causing the teen. “Aw, cat got your tongue?” he mocked as he grabbed the blondes face. “Maybe I should help you talk then huh?” The man raised his fist again this time bring it to the level of the blue eyed boys face.
‘Think of the mission’ he recited to himself ‘My pride does not come before the mission. I can take a few hits for the mission.’
Pulling back he got ready to deliver a blow to the blonde’s face. Naruto braced himself as he closed his eyes waiting for the punch to land.
“Loki!” a new voice yelled and Naruto opened his eyes looking in the direction of the sound. He saw a blonde haired man with a mist headband wrapped around his left bicep. He was standing on the roof with his arms crossed over his chest green eyes narrowed in anger. He was dressed in a short blue shirt which ended above his belly button and a pair of blue shorts with many wavy white lines broken in the center, the symbol of the village hidden in the mist.
The white haired man now named Loki looked to the newcomer and his eyes widened in fear. “Serif,” was whispered in a quivering voice.
The white haired man backed up a few steps and Naruto was instantly released by the person who held him. He had half a mind to sock the guy, but he was curious about who this person “Serif” was and how he was able to make Loki quiver with just his presence. The older blonde jumped from the roof right into the center of the makeshift ring.
“What are you doing Loki?” the mist ninja said, the anger in his voice was enough to make a few of the observers run away. The crowed lost a few members as the beat down ended. There were still quite a few people who stayed wanting to see what the mist ninja was going to do to the white haired man.
“Nothing nothing I’m just minding my own business.” The response was hasty. Looking at his face one could tell he rather be anywhere else but here. He glared at Naruto eyes narrowing before he diverted his attention back towards Serif.
“If it’s nothing why were you glaring at that kid just now?”
“He was staring at me, I swear.” Loki tried to defend his actions. He brought both of his hands up in a harmless motion hoping that it would curb the green eyed man’s rage.
“Wasn’t what it looked like from where I was standing.” He stated simply, moving closer to Loki. The man began backing up, for every step the blonde took towards him he took two steps back until he was against a wall. The man’s green eyes were showing immense anger at the audacity the man had. “You think you can lie to my face and expect me to believe you?”
“None of this was my fault it was all his,” he pointed an accusing finger in Naruto’s direction as he continued. “I was minding my own business till the kid got in my fucking way.”
“That’s not true!” Naruto yelled “I was looking at the sky when he shoved me.”
“Bullshit you know you stepped in front of me on purpose, just to set me up.” He hissed, moving his head to lock eyes with the teen a few yards away. He went back to looking at Serif. “You have got to believe me; I did nothing of the sort. He’s lying so that he can make me look bad.” The big man let out a nervous chuckle as he looked around at his gang members to see if anyone of them would come to his rescue. He wasn’t surprised when none of them made a move to come help him, hell they even had the nerve to back up as if hoping that they wouldn’t have the ninja after them next.
“Is that why your goons were surrounding him?” motioning to the men who began to move from around Naruto. He laughed for a second; it was a dark laugh which had Loki closing his eyes in dread as if he knew what was coming. “You weren’t supposed to be let out of jail for another month. The Mizukage felt nice and let you out early so that you could enjoy the festival as well and this is how you repay him? You start a fight with a fucking kid to try and boost your ego and make yourself look tough. You make me sick Loki.”
“I told you it wasn’t my-”he was cut off by the ninja again.
“Don’t bullshit me.” Serif’s hand shot out and he grabbed the man’s throat slamming him into the brick wall behind him. The large man let out a groan which was ignored as Serif began to lift him a few inches off the ground, pinning him to the wall. “I told you one more misdemeanor and I was going to make sure you stayed locked up for a long time didn’t I? Beating up a guest in our village and trying to weasel your way out of the punishment. Did you really believe you would get away with it?”
The white haired man began to turn purple from the lack of oxygen. His cries began to grow weaker as he began grasping the man's forearm clawing at it in an attempt to get the enraged man to let go. The man holding him didn’t look like he wanted to let him go anytime soon, but Loki was released and he began taking in as much air as he could.
The powerful ninja brought his left index finger and thumb into his mouth and let lose a sharp whistle that pierced through the din of the village. In a few seconds two ninja appeared beside the man. They stood behind him arms behind their back, in a military rest position, as they waited for their orders.
“Take our dear friend Loki to cell 27 D.” he commanded before turning around and walking towards Naruto.
“No, I don’t want to go back there it wasn’t my fault.” The two ninja grabbed him under his arms and with a few hand seals they all disappeared in a flurry of water and mist. The cries of Loki still echoing for a few seconds even after the transportation jutsu was cast and completed.
Stepping in front of the other blonde the man looked behind him and watched as the five men ran, pushing past the crowed to get away from him as fast as they could. When they were no longer in his sight he let his eyes travel down to meet sky blue eyes.
“Are you okay?” was asked in a much softer voice then what he used to scare the bigger man with.
Naruto blinked a few times before scratching the back of his head and grinning at Serif. “I’m fine, just glad someone decided to do something finally.” He said aloud while thinking. ‘I should have kicked his damn ass.’
“Sorry you had to go through that whole ordeal. I would have intervened sooner, but I had to make sure he was breaking the rules of his probation.”
“What do you mean probation?” Naruto asked curious.
“He’s a thief and the gang leader of the bunch who were harassing you. He was finally brought down by Aikido and then tossed into jail. The Mizukage was lenient on his sentence and let him out a bit early since it was nothing major he stole or did. When he was released he was let go under the threat ‘step out of line one more time and you’ll never see the light of day again’.” The older man took on a thoughtful look. He grinned down at the younger blonde. “I know this won’t make up for what they did to you, but do you want to come get some ramen with me? I want to show you that not all of us from Kiriga are as bad as that guy.” The name didn’t have to be mentioned to know who he was talking about.
At the mention of the word ramen Naruto’s eyes got wide and he felt all the pain he suffered recently just fade away. “Ramen? Did you just say ramen? You mean they have a ramen shop here?” He began rambling “I haven’t had ramen the whole trip here. I completely forgot to put it in my bag, but I supposed that is what happens when you rush and pack at the last minute.”
The older guy just laughed at the teen’s childish antics. He watched as the other dusted himself off and stretched a little before giving him another bright grin and beginning more excited chatter.
“Is it close by? How good is it? Is it your favorite food? It’s mine!” Naruto kept shooting questions as he tried to get to know the man a bit more. Anyone who treated him to free ramen couldn’t be that bad could they? “How far-” his question was cut off mid rant due to the loud noise his stomach made. Red colored his cheeks as he gave Serif a shy smile.
“Is that your stomach growling because you’re hungry or because it heard the word ramen mentioned?” Serif asked curiously.
“I think a bit of both.” Sharing a laugh together they both started to make their way towards the ramen shop. Naruto was traveling slightly behind Serif and wondered what was up with this guy showing up out of nowhere. He couldn’t have really been watching Loki all this time could he? As he pondered over these thoughts he allowed himself to take in the sites the village had to offer.
Kiriga wasn’t as big as Konoha but it was just as amazing if not more so. He looked to the right and saw a larger waterfall pouring down into a small pond. The pond had steams that went around the waterfall once, before going in intricate patterns all around the area disappearing into the village. It was just one of the sights there. He never saw anything like that in all the villages he’d been to and wondered if there were anymore. He knew that he was on the far end of the village but then again he wasn’t sure. He didn’t get a look at the entire village when they went around looking for an inn and couldn’t help but scold himself for not taking in his surroundings he could have known what section of town he was in.
“La,” the man said.
“What?” Naruto asked, confused.
“The name of the section we’re in is called La.” The man said simply as he continued walking.
“How did you know what I was thinking?” Naruto wondered aloud.
“You’re a guest in this city for one,” The man turned around for a second giving Naruto a smirk he finished, “you also asked what the name of the section was called when you were thinking.”
Taken aback by that, Naruto stood there for a few seconds before he ran to catch up with the man who kept walking even as the blonde stood there. He opened his mouth to ask-
“No, you didn’t say anything else.” He stated firmly stopping the question before it was even asked.
“Oh.” blue eyes looked relieved not that Serif could see them since his head was straight ahead, watching the path they were traveling.
“We’re here.” He ushered him to a small restaurant. It wasn’t that big, but it had a comfortable atmosphere. There were already several people in the establishment. They were in different booths and the man guided him to the back. Naruto was facing the inside of the restaurant and Serif was facing the entrance. Naruto knew that positioning was important for information, but since he was being treated the least he could do was let the man sit where he wanted.
A girl with a blue uniform came over and bowed to them both asking to take their order.
“Can I have miso pork ramen please.” he said. The girl looked at him a little strangely before turning to the other person occupying the booth.
“I’ll have the same thing he is having.” Serif said as he stretched out trying to get more comfortable.
“So where are you from?” the mist nin question as soon as the waitress left.
‘Ah’ the blonde thought, ‘interrogation’. He was going to open his mouth when the man proactively stopped him from giving his answer.
“This is not an interrogation, I asked because I’m curious where you are from. If you are uncomfortable with me asking you where you come from you don’t have to tell me. No pressure kid.” The man’s green eyes shone with an innocent light and before Naruto could stop himself he said.
“Fire Country, I’m from fire country.” Well it wasn’t exactly telling the man which village he was from so he wasn’t really lying now was he?
“Nice place. I heard it gets pretty hot over there in the summertime and it is even pleasant in the winter. Here it freezes half the time especially after this festival, I’m expecting it to get very cold soon.”
“Then why the shorts?”
“Might as well enjoy the last bits of the heat while I can right?” He gave another big grin and Naruto couldn’t help but grin back at the man. He saw bits of himself and wondered if he was going to be like this guy when he grew up. To a sense it didn’t seem that bad at all, besides he was from the village hidden in the mist.
The waitress came back with two bowls of ramen. Placing one in front of the mist ninja she gave him a smile. Placing the other one in front of the teen and she left just as quickly as she came. The man moved his hand in a help your self motion and Naruto being himself dug in as soon as he saw that motion.
“You seem to have a healthy appetite.” The man couldn’t help but comment as he watched the enthusiasm in which the boy ate the ramen. The Konoha ninja gave a nod, still slurping up the noodles and flicking the broth that was on the ends of it onto the man accidentally. The man just wiped it off with a grin on his face and interlacing his fingers he rested his head on hands and looked to the blue eyed boy.
“Do you like him?” the man asked.
Naruto choked for a second before swallowing, putting down his chopsticks and staring at his companion as if he had grown a second head. He picked up a napkin wiping the bits of ramen that fell to the table while he was choking. Sighing he put it on the table, he hated wasting good ramen and while this place wasn’t as good as back home it was pretty close.
“What did you say?” he hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was.
“Do you like him?” Serif repeated.
“Like who?” he asked skeptical about who the man was referring to.
“The person you came here with.”
The younger blonde started to panic as he knew that this guy didn’t protect him out of pure coincidence. He wondered how long he was being followed and how come he didn’t sense them sooner. ‘He’s probably a higher rank then you.’ Thoughts ran through his mind as he took a deep breath.
“Who?” he questioned feigning ignorance. Instead of having the desired effect on the man his smile seemed to get wider.
“The one you split up with. You know black hair, pale skin and from what I can tell acts like he has no emotions at all.” Finally unlacing his hands he put one behind him stretching it out on the top of booth’s seat, eyes never leaving blue shocked ones.
“Why would I like a bastard like him!” he growled out through gritted teeth his facing growing warm but he didn’t think it was out of anger.
“I don’t know maybe because the way you act around him.”
“What do you mean the way I act around him?”
“The two of you seem to find anyway to get the others’ attention. As I said I haven’t know you long enough to tell if it’s true or not but I do know you like him.”
“I don’t like him!” Naruto yelled loudly, several pairs of eyes began looking at the cause of the noise. Looking at those eyes Naruto sat down in a huff of anger and embarrassment from his outburst and the conversation.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Much to Naruto’s disdain the smile was still present and he knew that the older man didn’t believe him
“Serif!” a brown haired man called as he entered the small shop. He looked around before his eyes landed on the ninja whose name he had just been calling out. Running to the table he was out of breath and the teen wondered how long he had been running for. Bending over the newcomer whispered into his superior’s ear something that quickly erased the smile from his face.
“Are you sure?” He questioned taking his arm from is resting place to turn and completely face the ninja the best he could in the small booth. His eyes which were filled with laughter changed to the ones they were earlier when he was dealing with Loki.
“Yes sir.”
“Go, I’ll meet up with you in a moment.” He commanded before looking to his dinner companion again. He gave him a small smile before standing up pushing his bowl of ramen to Naruto’s side of the table. “I have things to take care of, please excuse me. I’ll talk to the owner and tell him to put it on my tab, feel free to help yourself.”
“Thanks a lot.” He said still mulling over what the man had said earlier. He didn’t think he liked Sasuke. His peer was just one of his best friends that he has known since childhood. The person he was trying to bring-
“I’ll see you later Naruto.” At his name the blonde snapped up and watched as the wind chimes sounded but the man was no where to be seen.
“That was freaky. How did that guy even know my name?” Naruto muttered as he picked up his utensils and began to eat the two helpings of ramen that the mist ninja so graciously gave to him.
“Thanks Ken,” A familiar voice said.
This time Naruto completely jumped to his feet. That voice, he hadn’t heard that voice in a long time. He looked towards the front counter and saw a man in a kimono with his hair pulled back. Naruto froze in the next second as the man turned around and showed his face. He knew that face--it was one of his precious people.
“Ir-“starting he was cut off by the wind chimes as they sounded, signaling the man had left. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he ran outside where he proceeded to look up and down the streets for his old sensei.
He began again this time the direction he knew Sasuke went. He had to tell someone what he found. They might think he was insane but he had to tell them anyway.
‘Iruka’s alive.’ It was a simple thought, but to Naruto it meant a lot more then that. One of his precious people was alive and here in the village. If they found him maybe he could tell them about the disappearing leaf ninja. He had to tell someone.
For the first time in Naruto’s life he had access to ramen, but he neither wanted it nor had the will to eat it.
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