Anime Short Stories Collection I

Brief Glimpse [Naruto Uzumaki] 4

The time that passed between [Name] waiting in the evacuation center and the time that they were allowed to leave felt like an eternity for name. She followed the rush of villagers out of the tunnel, or what was left of it, and gasped along with them when she saw the damage to the village up close.

There appeared to be nothing left. It had all been crushed, decimated and pushed to the edges of a large crater. Was this that man’s jutsu? The fact that the man was so powerful actually frightened [Name] to her very core; she was honestly surprised that anyone was still alive, including those that had been in the center at the time. He probably could have killed each and every man, woman and child with only a second thought.

Shuddering, she gazed around once more, finding a large crowd heading towards one of the edges of the crater. Scowling, she began to ran towards them, making her way painstakingly through the debris, hoping that she did not see a dead villager lying somewhere. She was not well equipped to deal with death, which was why she hadn’t become a ninja in the first place. As she got closer to the crowd, she heard what sounded like a cheer going up and then, a familiar figure being thrown into the air.

‘Naruto!’ she thought, a smile breaking out on her face as she picked up her pace and tried not to weep with joy. Scrambling up a pile of wood and cement, she got to the edge of the crowd and began to shove her way through it as best she could.

“Please let me through!” she cried, wanting desperately to see the blonde that she was madly in love with, to let herself touch him and to know that he was alright, that he was uninjured and actually there, not just a figment of her imagination. The people in front of her took entirely too long to move in her opinion and when she finally reached the front of the crowd, she stopped in one spot and just looked at Naruto.

He was smiling at some of his fellow citizens and laughing as they obviously thanked him for saving their lives. However, once he turned his head and his blue eyes landed on [Name]’s form, everyone else was forgotten. Naruto rushed forward as fast as he could, reaching for her before he ever actually got to her. [Name] met him halfway and when she finally got her arms around him, she held onto him as if her life depended on it. And maybe it did; maybe she would be nothing, no one, if she’d never met Naruto.

This incident, this brutal and vicious attack on their village, truly made [Name] realize how important Naruto, and everyone else, really was to her. She had only had to think that he was dead and she’d felt overwhelmed with grief.

“You’re alive,” she heard from him and she nodded, shutting her eyes tightly.

“I was so scared Naruto. I didn’t know if something had happened to you or if…” She trailed off, not finishing her sentence. She didn’t even want to talk about him dying right now. It was all too much.

“It’s alright [Name]. I’m here now, the village is safe… You’re safe. And that’s what matters to me,” he said softly, pulling away and planting a kiss on her forehead. She heard a few cat calls mixed in with the cheers of the crowd as she looked up at him, a smile on her face.

“I love you Naruto Uzumaki.”

Naruto grinned brightly down at her, closing his eyes happily.

“And I love you [Name]. Now, let’s get started on getting the Leaf Village back on track. I want some more ramen!” he stated happily.

[Name] couldn’t understand how he brushed this off so easily, but Naruto was safe and the village was out of harm’s way. They could start to rebuild their old lives and start building new ones. And she’d do it by Naruto’s side, right where she belonged.