Behind the Waterfall

#31 Kidnapped

Naruto quickly went down to check on the younger girl as she didn't move when she hit the ground, meanwhile Fuu was taking care of her older sister. A few moments after Naruto had arrived, Hanabi opened her eyes again, coughing up some blood, looking around the arena.

"Hanabi!" Hinata's voice was heard as she ran towards her sister, her own injuries forgotten.

"I'm so sorry." The purple haired genin whispered, as she knelt down next to Naruto. Fuu came as well, a pair of medics running up with her. Naruto stood, giving them space to work. Hinata moved to make space as well, when Hanabi's voice stopped her.

"Don't go." She managed to sound out, her broken jaw making her slur her words. It broke Hinata's heart to hear her sister's voice so weak, Naruto could see that in her face as she immediately moved back to the younger's side.

"I'm here." She whispered reassuringly.

Naruto moved back towards the middle of the arena where Fuu was already waiting for him.

"This concludes the finals for today. We will give the remaining four fighters the opportunity to rest and recover so that they can show their full skills in the semi finals and finals. The first fight will begin tomorrow an hour after sunrise." Naruto announced, the stadium applauding the two proctors as they disappeared in a flash of yellow and green.

"It's weird not putting on a henge when going out." Naruto said, resisting the urge to look around at the many people that were whispering about him when they passed.

"Yeah, but it was bound to happen someday." Fuu replied, leaning against the boy with a small smile on her lips.

"We will have to be extra careful when we leave Konoha, this revelation has put a giant target on our backs." The blonde's voice showed his displeasure with the events.

"We will also have to train more again, we have to be stronger to be able to defend ourselves." He continued, thinking about the type of shinobi that would most likely try to get a prize from Iwa by delivering them the son of the yellow flash.

"We will manage." Fuu replied, always more optimistic than her boyfriend.

Entering the small ramen stand, Naruto smiled at the wide eyes of Ayame when she looked up to see who had entered.

"Naruto!" She exclaimed, almost falling over her own feet as she ran around the counter and hugged the blonde teen. Her father had come out of the back as well when he heard his daughter shout, and was smiling widely as he watched the display.

"It's good to see you. We missed you so much!" Ayame stated, after separating from the young man.

"I missed you too. I see you kept my memories alive." Naruto replied, nodding towards the large shield with the 'Naruto Special' on it.

"Of course, we couldn't let our best customer be forgotten." Ichiraku himself replied, taking out two bowls.

"What can we do for you? Today is on the house." He asked, earning a grin from Naruto as Fuu and him took a seat. The green haired girl looked at him with a smile, before turning back to the ramen chef.

"We will take two Naruto Specials." She ordered.

They took their time eating as they talked with Ayame and her father, answering most of their questions about the time the pair had spent away from Konoha. Luckily most of the people went straight home after the fights, so the stall stayed empty for most of the time, only one time a random guy came in, to pick up an order that he had placed the day before.

When Naruto and Fuu had finished their last bowls of ramen, Ayame leaned over before taking them away.

"So, are the rumors true? Did you come back for real?" She asked in a whisper. Fuu looked at Naruto with curious eyes. They had not talked about that, although the green haired girl was pretty sure that she knew the answer. When his left hand wandered to his back, she knew.