Whooo Super Chapter! Since I've actually hit 50 chapters with Stwf, I decided to make a Super Chapter, like I did for Twi a long time ago. This one is CRAZY long, so good luck reading it all lol. It was 27 pages on Word and took me FOREVER to write O_o
Hopefully you enjoy the super, extra long chapter! xD
And as promised, this is dedicated to a long time fan, Skinnyjeans123 :3 Thank you for the insanely long comments you always leave <3
Pic of Kiba and Naruto :D --->
Ashley’s POV
Kakashi and I walk along at a leisurely pace, with me enjoying the nice weather immensely. I walk with a bounce in my step, a closed eye smile on my face as the sun shines on my skin. If I were in some cheesy romantic comedy movie, I’d probably break out into song right now. I can’t sing very well though, so I won’t.
“Someone’s happy to be out of the hospital I see” Kakashi Sensei chuckles, clearly amused by my joyful demeanour. Opening my eyes, I turn my head and glance at the silver haired Jonin, shaking my head and grinning shyly.
“I thought I was going to die back in that forest Sensei” I admit, rubbing the back of my head and feeling a little embarrassed, “ So I can’t really help being happy. I’m out of that annoying hospital and now I get to go home and see everyone.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re in such a good mood” Kakashi Sensei says sincerely, before a cheeky sparkle appears in his visible eye. “But now we know not to jump inside Giant Centipedes, don’t we?”
“And to stay away from maniacs with swords” I add wryly, causing my Sensei to sweat drop. “Sorry Sensei, I can be a little spontaneous sometimes.”
Kakashi gives me a dry look, before turning his head away and staring ahead, suddenly seeming very thoughtful. I narrow my eyes at Kakashi Sensei, before shrugging it off and focusing my attention back on the great weather, beginning to hum as we stroll along.
I can’t wait to get home and see Naruto and Sakura…..And Kiba. I feel my facial expression soften a little, just thinking about how worried he must have been. I’m sure he would have been watching the Tournament on those giant screens back home, unless he was sent on a mission. He’s probably hanging out for me to get home, just so he can see for himself that I’m really alright.
As I chuckle to myself, I feel Kakashi slowly turn to look at me again, opening his mouth to say something. He hesitates for a moment, causing me to turn my head and raise an eyebrow.
“Something on your mind Sensei?” I prompt, to which the older Jonin nods.
“I’ve been wondering something for awhile now” he tells me cautiously, rousing my suspicion further. “And I’ve wanted to ask you about it….”
“Well, ask away” I offer lightly, waving my hand. “I’m an open book for you Sensei.”
“Hardly” Kakashi mutters dryly, before shaking his head. “Anyway, back in the forest, how did you kill that Centipede?”
“I already told you” I begin, frowning a little. “I used my Amaterasu. The black flames of the Amaterasu can burn through anything and they burn forever too. They can only be put out by the Amaterasu as well.”
“I see…..” Kakashi Sensei murmurs, brows furrowing. “And when I caught you, your right eye was bleeding pretty badly. And don’t think I didn’t notice how you were struggling to see.”
I heave a sigh at his, crossing my arms as we walk. My Sensei sure is perceptive. Nothing gets past him…..
“My Amaterasu is in my right eye” I explain begrudgingly, slightly wishing we could talk about something else. “It’s a very powerful attack and the huge strain causes my eye to bleed….”
“And?” Kakashi Sensei prompts, raising an eyebrow at me. “It sure sounds like there’s more to that explanation. Why couldn’t you see properly?”
I scowl down at the ground, my good mood slowly diminishing. I’m beginning to wish I hadn’t used my Amaterasu, because then I wouldn’t have to talk about it with Kakashi Sensei.
“There’s no and” I mutter, not sounding too convincing. “I could see just fine. I was just unsteady from being stabbed and swallowed by a giant Bug. End of story.”
“You know I don’t believe you right?” Kakashi Sensei asks bluntly, to which I shrug a shoulder.
“Not my problem” I state rudely, causing the silver haired Jonin beside me to sigh.
“So much for being an open book” he mumbles. “Why won’t you ever talk about your Sharingan? Why do you dislike it so much?”
“A lot of reasons” I say simply, shoulders drooping slightly. I’m feeling a little tired all of the sudden, and we’ve only been walking for two hours.
“Are they legitimate ones?” my Sensei presses, raising an eyebrow at me and causing me to frown up at him disapprovingly.
“Of course they are” I snap, deciding to just give him what he wants so he’ll hopefully shut up about it. “The Sharingan is the one thing that can control Hakuba, so there’s a conflict inside my head when I use it. My Sharingan is the reason Orochimaru invaded my homeland and killed my Clan. It’s the reason he kept me as his pet for nearly six years! And despite the fact that my Father was an Uchiha, my Mother hated the Sharingan because she knew it could control me-”
“Okay, okay” Kakashi Sensei interrupts softly, reaching out and placing a hand on my head. “Calm down Ashley. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
“Could’ve fooled me” I bark, swatting Kakashi’s hand away and crossing my arms. I take a deep breath, my legs feeling tired and a little shaky. “Why do you always have to pester me about my Sharingan? If I don’t want to use it, I don’t have to. I don’t bug you about your Sharingan. I mean, I bet there’s some story behind that.”
By this time, we’ve both stopped walking, and as I turn my head to glare at Kakashi Sensei, I see him staring at me, though his visible eye holds a far away look. After a few moments of being stared at, I begin to feel a little worried. Had I broken Kakashi Sensei by snapping at him?
“I hardly ever ask you about your Sharingan” the Jonin suddenly speaks up, blinking and turning his head away as he places his hands in his pockets. “I’m just curious, because the Sharingan is very powerful…..It’s a useful ability to have, and as your Sensei, I just want you to utilise every skill you have to become a great Shinobi….”
I watch as Kakashi begins walking again, strolling past me with his eye focused ahead of him. Letting out a ragged sigh, I begin following after Kakashi Sensei, my breathing a little heavier than it was before. What’s wrong with me? How can I be so tired already?
“I haven’t even pestered you about what you said back in the forest” Kakashi Sensei suddenly speaks up, his voice surprising me after a few minutes of awkward silence. Looking up, I see Kakashi Sensei gazing at me over his shoulder, visible eye hooded.
“You said you can’t afford to lose your vision. What was that about?”
“You’re really going to keep going with this conversation?” I ask lowly, my jaw setting as Kakashi chuckles humourlessly.
“I can see that I’ve already pushed your buttons” he informs me seriously, “So why not push a few more? What did you mean? What does losing your vision have to do with your Sharingan?”
“I don’t want to talk about it” I tell Kakashi Sensei darkly, my eyes narrowing at the back of his head.
“Well that’s too bad” is my Sensei’s blunt reply. “Because we’re going to. No more secrets.”
“It’s none of your business” I growl pointedly, gritting my teeth angrily. Why couldn’t he just drop it already? My Sharingan is none of his damn business!
“If something has to do with the health and wellbeing of one of my students” Kakashi says seriously, “Then it sure is my business. I know you couldn’t see properly for awhile back in the forest. What happened Ashley?”
“Nothing!” I shout, feeling my annoyance beginning to get the better of me. “Why do you have to stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong?! My vision is fine!”
“I know you’re lying” Kakashi tells me coolly, shrugging a shoulder. “You wouldn’t be getting so fired up if it was the truth.”
I stop walking behind Kakashi Sensei, my hands balling into fists as he continues strolling along, hands still in his pockets. Is he trying to make me mad?
“Maybe you’re just not very good at using your Sharingan” Kakashi suggests airily, causing me to pause, my eyes widening. “You’re probably embarrassed that I’m better at using my Sharingan than a blood born Uchiha like you. It’s alright Ashley, we can’t all be good at every-”
“Shut up Kakashi!” I shout angrily, focusing chakra into my feet and launching myself at my Sensei’s back. How dare he patronize me like that? Who does he think he is?!
Kakashi pauses in his walking, sighing softly, and just as I swing around to land a kick, he disappears in a puff of smoke.
“Hey!” I bark, landing down on the ground and glancing around in frustration. “What, ya chicken Sens-”
“Hardly” a cool voice says from behind me, causing my eyes to widen. Before I can so much as move, Kakashi drops to the ground and swings his leg out, sweeping mine out from underneath me. Feeling a little light headed, I move to stop myself from face planting the dirt, only to have my arms wrenched backwards and pulled up behind my back. Instead of hitting the ground, I am jerked back and then slammed up against a tree, my arms still bent up at an uncomfortable angle behind my back.
“You may be fast Ashley” Kakashi breathes in my ear, making me growl softly, “But I’m still better than you. Don’t be so arrogant.”
After pushing against my back for another few seconds, Kakashi Sensei releases me, only for my legs to give out beneath me. I drop to the ground, landing on my knees. Groaning softly, I close my eyes and place a hand to my forehead, trying not to dwell on the fact that Kakashi Sensei beat me in only a matter of seconds. Dammit, he’s a pain in the ass, but he’s a fast one….
“What are you doing?” Kakashi asks wryly, looking down at me and placing a hand on his hip. My eyes immediately pop open, glaring at the silver haired man as I bare my teeth.
“I’m tired” I snap, aggravated. “And I feel light headed. Wanna bug me about that as well?”
Kakashi stares at me for a few moments, seemingly troubled, before he heaves a sigh and proceeds to remove his backpack. I watch the Jonin as he places the straps back over his shoulders, though the pack is now situated on his chest. What is he doing?
I eye the man suspiciously as he walks towards me, before turning around and crouching down in front of me, as if trying to shield me or something.
“What the hell are you d-”
“Get on” Kakashi Sensei interrupts me, his back earning an incredulous look from me.
“What?” I ask unsurely, my anger beginning to ebb away as Kakashi Sensei gives me a closed eye smile over his shoulder.
“You’re still not fully recovered from your surgery” he explains, “So get on. I’ll carry you until you feel a little stronger.”
“Kakashi Sensei…..” I say quietly, before smiling softly at the Jonin’s back and climbing on, hooking my arms around his neck. I rest my cheek against the back of Kakashi’s shoulders, as the man rises to his feet, seemingly unaffected by the extra weight of me and my backpack. I guess he really is stronger than me….
We travel in silence for a few minutes, with Kakashi keeping a strong hold on me so as to keep me from slipping down. I don’t understand my Sensei sometimes. He’s such an asshole at times, yet at times like this, when I’ve just tried to attack him no less, he’s so gentle and caring……..Dammit, he’s making me feel bad….
“I’ll go blind” I eventually say softly, looking down at the ground. I feel Kakashi Sensei’s hair brush across my forehead as he turns to glance at me over his shoulder.
“Huh?” he asks.
“My Mangekyo Sharingan” I explain quietly. “It will make me lose my vision if I use it too much….I’d eventually go blind.”
“….I see……” Kakashi murmurs after a short pause, turning his head back around. “But you didn’t use your Mangekyo Sharingan.”
“That’s true” I agree with a weary sigh. “But the strain of the Amaterasu doesn’t exactly help the process…….It’s a lot of power, but it comes with a price. A high one.”
“How is your vision right now?” Kakashi Sensei questions me. “I mean, your everyday vision?”
“It’s fine” I reply honestly. “I haven’t used my Mangekyo Sharingan enough to cause any permanent damage, and I really only used my Amaterasu when I was training with Orochimaru. Since then I’ve only used it a handful of times, but now whenever I use either ability, my vision is pretty distorted for a short amount of time.”
Kakashi Sensei seems to mull this over for a few minutes, as I sigh again. While it’s true that the Sharingan is an amazingly powerful ability to have, I don’t see it so necessary that I should give up my vision to use it. I do feel bad by never using it sometimes, as if I’m denying the Uchiha part of myself, but at the same time, I can just see the look of horror on my Mother’s face if she knew I had the Sharingan…
“When I use my Mangekyo Sharingan” Kakashi speaks up, breaking me out of my thoughts, “I don’t ever have problems with my vision. It does tire me out very quickly though…So does this mean that I’ll eventually lose my vision as well?”
“Well, that depends Sensei” I murmur. “Is that eye yours? Were you born with it?”
“…….No, I wasn’t” the older Jonin informs me quietly. “It was….A gift.”
“Strange idea for a gift” I can’t help saying, before deciding to move on. Clearly Kakashi Sensei doesn’t want to talk about it, although…..I’m curious to know who would give their eye as a gift, and why?
“But since it’s not the eye you were born with” I begin explaining, “And it’s been transplanted into your eye socket, you won’t ever go blind from using the Mangekyo. I’m not entirely sure how it works, but if someone possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan has another pair of eyes with Mangekyo Sharingan transplanted into their head, if negates the blindness…….I once heard my Father explaining it to my Mother, and I’ll never forget the look of distaste on her face. It’s the reason why a lot of Uchiha would kill off their siblings in the past.”
“You seem to know a lot about this” Kakashi comments, sounding somewhat disturbed by the information.
“Not really” I disagree. “I don’t know a lot, I just retain information well. As for why you get so tired after using your Sharingan, that’s simple. I said it once before, back when you passed out after fighting Zabuza. The Sharingan consumes a person’s chakra while it’s active, although the drain is very insignificant for an Uchiha, seeing as it’s a blood born trait of ours. Your body wasn’t designed to wield the Sharingan, so the drain is a lot more significant for you…..You’re just fortunate enough to have a very large chakra reserve Sensei….”
“I guess so” Kakashi Sensei murmurs thoughtfully, brows furrowing. “If you could use your Mangekyo and Amaterasu without the worry of going blind, would you use them more often?”
“I……I don’t know” I admit, face screwing up in thought. “I’m pretty hesitant to use my normal Sharingan so…..I really don’t know……It’s not possible anyway, so there’s no point imagining what I’d do.”
“Mm….” Kakashi agrees distractedly, as I lay my head down and close my eyes, happy to rest for awhile. “I know you hate being told this, but you really should start using and taking advantage of the abilities you have. They’re an asset to you, and you never know, you may need the extra help one day. You should utilise every skill that you have…..Including that Wood Style of yours.”
“It’s not mine” I immediately retort, eyes flicking open. “It should never have been mine, and I regret using it that one time when I first got to the Leaf Village. It’s horrifying to think that I have someone else’s DNA in my body. If there’s one thing I hate even more than using my Sharingan, it’s that damned Wood Style that Orochimaru forced me to have.”
“But Yamato has the same Wood Style abilities” Kakashi Sensei argues gently, “And he’s incredibly skilled with it. I know your means of receiving the power were less than pleasant, but it’s an amazing power to have. No one else, except for Yamato, is currently able to use Wood Style Jutsu. You’d be surprised at how useful it could turn out to be.”
“That’s all wonderful Kakashi Sensei” I mutter sarcastically, “But you’re forgetting the fact that I loathe this Wood Style Jutsu stuff. I feel….weird about using it.”
“Yamato is one of the strongest ANBU I’ve come across in a long time Ashley” Kakashi Sensei informs me. “He doesn’t feel weird about using the skills he’s got. Sure, he wasn’t born with that power, but he’s made the best of it. A lot of Ninja have powers we weren’t born with. My Sharingan for example. Do you think I shouldn’t use it, just because I wasn’t born with it?”
“My Uchiha pride tells me to say no” I inform the older Jonin wryly, “But I can’t really imagine you without it. And as for Yamato, I’m glad he’s made peace with the power he unnaturally received, but I haven’t. And I doubt I ever will.”
“You should really talk to Yamato” Kakashi Sensei continues, as if he hadn’t heard me. “I bet he’d be happy to train you.”
“How much do you like this hair of yours Sensei?” I ask seriously, leaning closer to Kakashi’s ear. “Because if you don’t shut up about this Wood Style crap, I’m going to burn it all off.”
“You know” Kakashi says, sweat dropping, “Lady Tsunade’s probably going to put you right back in the hospital when we get home.”
“That’s what I thought” I smirk, before reclosing my eyes. “And by the way, it was really mean of you to provoke me earlier, just to get want you wanted to hear.”
“If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black….” Kakashi sighs, as I giggle innocently.
Third Person’s POV
Naruto sighs boredly, hands stuffed deep in his pockets as he walks aimlessly through the Leaf Village, kicking at pebbles. He’d been wandering around for a good hour now, with absolutely nothing to do. Sakura was busy at the hospital, like always, and Sai was…..Off somewhere. Naruto actually had no idea where the pale skinned boy had disappeared to, but he was so bored, he didn’t even care enough to look.
“Uhhh….” Naruto sighs loudly, dropping down onto a wooden bench, slinging his arms along the backrest and throwing his head back. “What a boring day! Grandma Tsunade said that Ashley would be back this morning too….Crazy old bat, she was probably drunk again…..It’s already after lunch!”
As Naruto continues muttering and complaining to himself, three figures walk in his direction. A familiar voice causes the blonde to stop mumbling and look up, his blue eyes suddenly sparkling.
“I could’ve carried you again today you know” Kakashi informs Ashley, giving her a strange look. “You’re not that heavy.”
“I know Sensei” the girl replies cheerfully, waving her hand in a dismissive fashion. “But I thought I could give you a bit of a break.”
“She is safer if I carry her anyway” Ace states pointedly, lazily flicking his eye up to Kakashi’s face. As Kakashi sweat drops, clearly unsure of Ace’s intentions, the large, navy Wolf glances back down, seemingly smirking to himself.
“Kakashi Sensei!” Naruto suddenly calls, flying off of the seat and running towards his teammates, “Ashley-chan! You’re finally back!”
“Naruto!” Ashley cries happily, swiftly sliding down from Ace’s back and bounding towards Naruto. Kakashi and Ace roll their eyes as the two blondes collide, wrapping their arms around each other and laughing delightedly.
“I thought Milady was still injured….” Ace murmurs, watching as Ashley and Naruto each take a step back and begin firing questions at each other, talking so fast that all of their words seem to jumble together.
“She is” Kakashi sighs, running a hand down his face. Just what he needed right now. Two over excited teenagers that would, no doubt, hurt themselves any second now.
“Oh Ashley-chan” Naruto laughs, slapping a hand over the girl’s mouth and making her eyes widen. “Let me get a word in!”
“You always get too many words in Naruto” Kakashi teases, walking over to the blonde and scruffing his hair up with one hand. Naruto pulls a face, releasing Ashley’s mouth to swat Kakashi’s hand away and try to fix his hair.
“Missed you too Sensei” Naruto grumbles, before closing his eyes and giving Kakashi a big grin. “Now we can finally get back to training!”
“Uh, we only just got back Naruto” Kakashi informs the blonde in a duh sort of voice. “I want to rest, and no doubt Lady Tsunade will want me to fill out a mountain of paperwork…..Why were we in such a hurry to get back again?”
“I’ll help you Sensei!” Ashley offers brightly, causing the Jonin to sweat drop again. He slowly turns to Ashley and gives her an awkward, closed eye smile, one hand rubbing the back of his neck.
“Uhh” he begins, searching for an excuse. “No, that’s alright Ashley. It’s only the Team Leader’s job to get paperwork done.”
“I’m not gonna wreck anything Kakashi Sensei” Ashley replies dryly, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, to which Kakashi chuckles nervously.
“Right….Well…” he pauses, before quickly placing his hands together. “I’d better go and report to Lady Tsunade. Bye guys!”
“Awwwwww!” Naruto whines, big tears forming in the corners of his eyes as Kakashi disappears in a puff of smoke. “I’ve been waiting all this time to get back to training, and now I still can’t!”
“I thought you would have been watching the Tournament?” Ashley asks dryly, to which Naruto pauses, his large eyes blinking rapidly. He begins laughing awkwardly, nodding his head.
“Yeah I was” he confirms, “But since it ended a few days ago, I’ve been really bored coz I need Kakashi Sensei to help me train.”
“And you couldn’t just practise by yourself?” Ashley inquires smartly, to which Naruto pulls a face.
“No” he replies pointedly, crossing his arms. “Captain Yamato said he’d help me, but I still need Kakashi Sensei as well.”
“Captain Yamato?....” Ashley asks quietly, biting her lip, before smiling up at Naruto and poking him in the ribs. “Aww, don’t be mad Naruto, I was just teasing you! You’re still my favourite blonde in the whole Village!”
Naruto can’t help cracking a smile, as Ashley gives him her puppy dog eyes, a cute smile on her face.
“What about Ino?” he asks jokingly, throwing an arm across Ashley’s shoulders. “She’d be upset to hear that.”
“Well, as much as I like Ino” Ashley responds, poking out her tongue. “No blonde girl could ever replace a knucklehead like you.”
“Good to know” Naruto laughs, happy to have his teammate back in the Village. Though she was pretty ruthless and mean sometimes, Naruto couldn’t imagine the Village without her. She was good fun!
Sighing quietly, Ace slowly steps forwards and nudges Ashley’s shoulder, wanting to get her attention.
“We should get you to the hospital Milady” he suggests in his low voice. “I know you say that you are well, but I believe you should let Tsunade or Sakura give you a look over.”
Staring at Ace for a moment, unblinking, Ashley suddenly whirls around and throws herself into Naruto’s chest, gripping his jacket tightly. The blonde stumbles back a step, sweat dropping as he looks down, only to blush when he sees anime tears pouring down Ashley’s face, her eyes wavering.
“Naruto-kuuunnn….” Ashley whimpers pitifully. “Please don’t let Ace take me to the hospital! I’ve been through enough this week……”
“Milady please….” Ace sighs, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Act your age….”
Naruto switches his gaze between the stone faced Ace and a still whimpering Ashley, only to grin devilishly. Pulling Ashley’s hands from his jacket, Naruto pauses for a few moments, seemingly looking off into the distance.
“Wait for it….Wait for it……” he whispers, lips barely moving. Ashley, no longer crying, tilts her head to the side, a question mark appearing above her head.
“Now!” Naruto suddenly cries, before immediately whirling around and racing off into the Village, dragging Ashley along behind him and leaving a shocked Ace alone in a cloud of dust.
“Alright then Milady” Ace smirks, eye flashing mischievously. “If you want to play games with me…..”
“Naruto!” Ashley calls, eyes wide as she sprints along behind Naruto, surprised by the boy’s speed. “Naruto, where are we going?!”
“I don’t know!” is the lofty reply, as Naruto suddenly skids to a halt and whirls around. “Away from Ace!”
Before Ashley can stop, Naruto tugs her towards his chest and leans down, sweeping her feet out from underneath her and carrying her bridal style in his arms. Not breaking rhythm, Naruto spins back around and leaps up onto a building, with a wide eyed Ashley clinging to his jacket.
“Naruto!” the blonde girl laughs, eyes closed. “That was a really smooth move! How come you don’t have a girlfriend yet?”
“I dunno!’ Naruto chuckles, looking back over his shoulder to see if Ace is following them. “Maybe I’m just too smooth, and the girls are scared that they aren’t good enough for me, ya know?”
“Nobody is good enough for you” Ashley can’t help saying, despite knowing that Saffire likes the blonde boy. “And whoever does try to get you Naruto, is going to have to survive an interrogation, personally conducted by me.”
Naruto looks down at Ashley with wide eyes, coming to a stop and letting her go, allowing her to walk on her own again. Ashley doesn’t look at Naruto, and despite her frown, there is a faint blush on her cheeks.
“Geez Ashley” Naruto chuckles, giving the girl a closed eye smile as he scratches the back of his head, “You sound like a super protective older sister or something!”
Ashley smiles wryly at Naruto, reaching up and playfully running her knuckles across his chin.
“You’re just a special kid” is all she says, before crossing her arms and sighing. “Where do you think Ace has run off to?”
“Who knows?” Naruto asks uncaringly, spinning around to look over the edge of the building the two are standing on. “But let’s keep moving anyway. He’ll probably be able to track our scents.”
“Yeah true” Ashley agrees, watching as Naruto leaps across the gap between buildings. “He’s got a good nose.”
“There’s no way he’ll catch u-uuuuuussssss!”
Ashley’s eyes widen in surprise, as, mid jump, Naruto is slammed by a small wall of rock, sending him rocketing up into the air.
“Naruto!” Ashley cries, cringing as the blonde falls back towards the ground, landing in a dizzy heap right in front of a triumphant looking Ace.
“I win” the Wolf smirks, causing Ashley to deadpan, her shoulders slumping. “Time to get to the hospital Milady.”
Ashley’s POV
I stare blankly at the woman behind the Reception desk, my shoulders slumped and my lower jaw pushed forwards slightly. It’s safe to say that I’m not thrilled to be here, and I’m pretty sure everyone can tell.
“A-Alright Miss Minami” the nervous woman says, smiling awkwardly at me. “Lady Tsunade has actually r-reserved a room for you already, so if I give you the n-number, can you please head there?”
“….Sure…..” I say darkly, black clouds floating over my head. Ace chuckles quietly, pleased with himself for some reason. He’s clearly enjoying my bad mood.
“U-Um…” the Receptionist stutters, eyes flicking between the clouds and Ace. “I-I’m afraid we have a no animals p-policy here. Your f-friend will have to wait outside.”
“He’s actually my Seeing Eye Dog” I state flatly, feeling smug when Ace grows an anime vein at the word Dog. “I’m blind and I need him to lead me around. Or I could die.”
“Ah ha ha….” the woman laughs unconvincingly. “You’ve used that excuse in the p-past. I know he’s your Summoning Wolf.”
“Damn” I growl, before heaving a big sigh and turning away from the desk. “It’s alright. I’ll just Summon him again once I get to my room.”
“M-Miss Minami!” the woman calls indignantly, squealing with fright as Ace suddenly disappears from her sight, leaving behind a large, wispy cloud of white smoke. “Please, don’t destroy any rooms!”
“Ugh” I complain, rolling my eyes. “Why do they all ask me not to do that? It wasn’t me last time!”
“Do you think they’re making me wait so long on purpose?” I ask Ace, lying on my back, one hand behind my bed. “You know, because I always hassle the staff?”
“I do not know Milady” is the low reply, as Ace moves closer to my hospital bed. “But I probably would do that if I were them.”
“Love you too” I reply sarcastically, sitting up and playfully shoving Ace away. He chuckles quietly, before sitting up on his hind legs and shoving me back with a large paw.
“Aaahhh!” I cry, rolling right off the other side of the bed and landing on the floor with a thump. “Ace!”
“My apologies Milady” Ace drawls, sweat dropping as he stalks around the bed, and licks the side of my face, causing me to squeak.
“Ewww!” I giggle, pulling myself into a sitting position and trying fight off Ace, as he continues trying to lick my face. “Why are you in such a playful mood today? You’re normal just a big ball of negativity!”
“I do not know” Ace sighs, sitting back on his haunches and tilting his head, one ear flopped over. “Perhaps hurting the Kyuubi boy put me in a good mood?”
“You look so cute right now Ace” I can’t help cooing, causing Ace’s visible eye to widen with horror.
“I am not cute Milady” he informs me sternly, his male pride apparently injured. “I am handsome. Chi is the cute one. I am the handsome one…..And the smart one….And the strong one…”
“And the humble one” I add, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow at Ace, who in turn rolls his eyes.
“Be quiet and sit on the bed” he instructs, helping me to my feet and pushing me back onto the hospital bed.
“You’re the bossy one too” I giggle, earning an unimpressed snort from Ace. Before he can reply however, the door to my room slides open, making both of us look up. A grin slowly stretches its way across my face at the sight of the familiar pinkette, who is too busy looking down at her clipboard to notice me.
“Alright, this one is just a check up…Good aftern-” Sakura lifts her head, only to cut herself off, green eyes widening. “Ashley?! What are you doing here?!”
“It’s nice to see you too Sakura” I reply sarcastically, my expression softening as her eyes waver slightly, before she drops her clipboard on the floor and runs towards me.
As I open my arms to return Sakura’s inevitable hug, Sakura suddenly grows an anime vein, before she raises her arm and bashes me over the head, just about knocking me out.
“Ow!” I cry, leaping to my feet and standing on top of my bed, one hand on my head as I glare at Sakura. “Hey! Are you crazy Sakura? What was that for?!”
“You really had us all worried!” Sakura informs me hotly, eyebrow twitching. “What were you thinking?! Jumping inside that Centipede with injuries as bad as yours, we all thought you were dead!”
“Well, I’m sorry for saving everyone” I reply sweetly, my words dripping with sarcasm. “Next time I’ll just sit and wait to die, alright?”
Sakura closes her eyes, lifting one hand and clenching it into a fist, multiple anime veins appearing on her forehead.
“That sarcasm of yours….” she growls quietly.
“I do not understand humans” Ace states, sounding a little perplexed. “You are very good friends, and she says she was worried for you Milady, yet she punches you upside the head? I am confused…..Is that how humans show affection for each other?”
“No Ace, that’s not how humans show affection” I retort pointedly, throwing my hands on my hips and glaring at my pink haired friend, “But that’s apparently how Sakura shows affection! Seriously Sakura, what the hell?”
Sakura looks up at me through large eyes, blinking innocently. She suddenly sweat drops and rubs the back of her head.
“Sorry” she apologises cutely. “I was really worried for you, and I wasn’t expecting to see you, so I guess I just got a little….emotional?”
“More like irrational” I mutter, dropping down into a sitting position on the edge of the bed and crossing my arms. “I hope you don’t beat up all of your patients.”
“Nope” Sakura replies brightly, giving me a closed eye smile. “Just the ones who push me.”
“….I suppose I should be used to this abusive personality of yours by now” I say, letting out a mushroom sigh and closing my eyes. “I’ll take that punch as a sign that you missed me.”
Third Person’s POV
“Well” Lady Tsunade sighs, leaning back in her chair, “I’m just glad that you all made it home alright in the end. I reserved a room in the hospital just for Ashley, and I’ve received word that she’s there now.”
“Unwillingly probably” Kakashi chuckles, before sweat dropping. “I have a feeling she’s going to try and escape at some point….”
“Oh she won’t be escaping” Tsunade laughs evilly. “I’ve assigned Sakura to give her a check up. And I told her to be aggressive if need be.”
“I almost feel bad for Ashley then” Kakashi mutters, though he’s rather amused by the idea of an enraged Sakura keeping Ashley prisoner in the hospital.
“If that’s all Kakashi” the Hokage says, leaning forwards to pick up a piece of paper, “You’re dismissed. You now have three days off, and Kyoku has already started the paperwork for you.”
“She has?” Kakashi questions, to which Tsunade nods, smiling knowingly to herself.
“Yes, she figured you would be tired by the time you got home.”
Kakashi’s eyes drop to the floor as he smiles behind his mask, mentally reminding himself to go and thank Kyoku at some point. She didn’t have to start the paperwork, as there was going to be a lot to write up.
“You can leave any time now Kakashi” Tsunade speaks up, eyes sparkling with amusement as the silver haired Jonin’s head snaps up.
“Actually Lady Tsunade” Kakashi says slowly, brows furrowing slightly. “There’s something I wanted to bring up with you, if you’ve got the time.”
Tsunade’s caramel eyes flick up from the paper she’s reading, lips pursing slightly. She places the paper down and folds her hands together on the desk.
“Alright then Kakashi” she says, curious as to what the Jonin could want to discuss. “I’ve got a little time right this minute. What is it?”
“Well, it’s actually about something that Ashley mentioned to me on the way back home” Kakashi begins seriously. “I’m sure you’re aware that she possesses the Sharingan?”
“Yes.”
“And you know of the different stages of the Sharingan?” Kakashi continues, looking up as the Hokage nods her head.
“I know of two stages” she confirms, “The normal Sharingan and the Mangekyo. I believe Itachi Uchiha has another type of Sharingan, but I’m unaware of what it’s called, or what exactly it can do.”
“Right” Kakashi confirms. “The third one is called the Amaterasu, but that’s not really too important right now. When we were in that forest during the Tournament and Ashley jumped into the Centipede, she used her Amaterasu to defeat it. When I caught her, her right eye was bleeding and she experienced temporary loss of vision in it as well.”
Lady Tsunade narrows her eyes slightly, remaining silent as Kakashi sighs lightly. What was his point here?
“To keep a long story short” the silver haired man continues, “I eventually got Ashley to explain why she lost vision in her right eye. She explained to me that using the Mangekyo Sharingan puts so much strain on the user’s eyes, that it will eventually lead to permanent blindness.”
“But you just said that she used this….Amaterasu ability” Lady Tsunade points out seriously, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. “Why was her eye bleeding?”
“Well” Kakashi pauses for a second. “She didn’t really explain that too much, just that the Amaterasu puts strain on her as well and helps speed up the process of losing her vision.”
“….Is this why she doesn’t like to use her Sharingan?” Tsunade questions lowly, to which Kakashi shakes his head.
“No” he answers. “Her normal Sharingan doesn’t affect her sight negatively. Anyway, this is what I’ve been meaning to get to. Ashley explained that the only way someone can overcome this inevitable blindness, is to have the eyes of another person with the Mangekyo Sharingan transplanted into their head.”
“What exactly are you wanting here Kakashi?” Lady Tsunade asks, still not sure why Kakashi is telling her all of this information.
“Well….” Kakashi begins slowly. “I’d like Ashley to embrace the ability she has, but I know she definitely won’t use it if she knows she’s going to lose her vision. What I’m trying to ask Lady Tsunade…..Is there any way you could possibly come up with some way to cure Ashley’s inevitable blindness?”
Lady Tsunade eyes widen slightly at this request, taking in the seriousness of Kakashi’s expression. Surely he knew that such a feat would be extremely difficult? Lady Tsunade wasn’t even sure if she could do something like that….
“I’m not sure Kakashi” Tsunade says hesitantly, noting the way Kakashi’s shoulder droop slightly. “I mean, blindness is an almost incurable problem…..And besides, if the only way to combat the blindness is by transplanting eyes with the Mangekyo Sharingan, then I fail to see how I could be of any help.”
“I see….” Kakashi murmurs, suddenly feeling a little down. “Well, I just thought I’d see if there was anything you could do to prevent Ashley from going blind if she decided to use her Sharingan more. Thank you for your time Lady Hokage….”
As Kakashi turns to leave the room, Lady Tsunade folds her hands in front of her mouth, mind whirring with thoughts and ideas.
“….I can’t prevent the blindness if she chooses to use her Sharingan” Lady Tsunade speaks up, causing Kakashi to pause, his hand on the doorknob. “However…….I have a thought……”
A hopeful look in his visible eye, Kakashi turns around, watching Lady Tsunade as she narrows her eyes at the floor, clearly thinking hard.
“Perhaps….Perhaps it could work….” she murmurs, before glancing up at Kakashi. “Recently, some of our best medics and scientists have been working together to come up with ways to use stem cells to grow or regenerate body parts that our Shinobi may lose or injure in battle…..If I recall correctly……They are currently working on, among other things, growing new, healthy corneas to fix injured eyes…”
“Really?” Kakashi asks, eyes widening slightly. “That’s incredible. Has it worked before?”
“We haven’t tried it yet” Tsunade sighs. “Growing a new cornea is not exactly a quick process. I don’t know of all the details myself but…….Shizune! Get in here!”
Jumping out of the way just in time, Kakashi manages to avoid getting hit with the door as Shizune bursts inside, looking worried.
“What is it Milady?” she inquires hastily, Tonton dangling from her arms. “Is something wrong?”
“No” is Tsunade’s short reply. “What do you know about the Bioengineering techniques going on here in the Village?”
“Bioengineering?” Shizune repeats, looking a little confused as to what’s going on. “Um, I know quite a lot about it actually. I’ve been working there myself a little. What exactly did you want to know about?”
“Tell me about the experiments being conducted to grow new corneas” Tsunade instructs, leaning forwards slightly.
“Oh, well, okay” Shizune sighs, thinking Tsunade had called her due to some trouble. “There is a new development in which bone marrow stem cells are used to regrow the cornea and its cells. This technique, which is probably the most effective of the ones we’ve experimented with, would be of most use to those suffering from inherited genetic degenerative conditions of the cornea, especially if other means like a transplant aren't possible or working well.”
Kakashi sweat drops at this explanation, not quite having understood every word. He’d gotten the gist at least. There was a chance this could help.
Tsunade nods her head slowly, letting Shizune’s words sink in for a moment.
‘Surely the blindness inflicted by the Uchiha’s Mangekyo Sharingan counts as an inherited genetic degenerative condition….’ the Hokage thinks seriously. ‘A transplant would surely be out of the question, and if normal medicine worked, I’m sure the Uchiha would have figured that out long ago…..’
“Can this process prevent blindness Shizune?” Tsunade asks the younger woman, causing her to shake her head.
“No Milady” she replies, clearly very knowledgeable about the subject. “Transplanting a new cornea will not prevent blindness, but improve vision and hopefully eventually cure someone’s loss of vision. It can only be used on people that are almost or fully blind.”
That said, Tsunade and Kakashi look over at each other with grim expressions. Even Kakashi knew what Shizune’s words meant. If Ashley wanted to use her Sharingan and cure the inevitable blindness, she would have to allow herself to lose her vision first.
Kiba strolls along with his hands in his pockets, Akamaru trotting happily by his side, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Kiba’s brows furrow as he walks, tilting his head back slightly and sniffing the air. After a few moments, the Inuzuka heaves a big sigh and hangs his head.
“I’m going crazy Akamaru” he mutters wryly. “I miss her so much, I’m beginning to think I can smell her scent in the air.”
“Ruff?” Akamaru questions, before raising his nose to the air as well. “….Ruff! Ruffruffruff!”
“Huh?” Kiba asks, blinking. “You can smell it too? Maybe….Maybe she is back then…Hey!”
Kiba lets out a yell, as he suddenly trips over something, face planting the ground in a most ungraceful way. Akamaru sweat drops at the sight of his best friend twitching on the ground, when Kiba suddenly jumps to his feet. He clenches one hand into a fist, his face red as he glares down at what had tripped him over.
“Naruto you idiot!” the brunette barks, throwing his hands on his hips. “What are you doing? Why the hell are you sleeping in the middle of the street?!”
Naruto doesn’t respond, his eyes spinning dizzily as a small line of drool dangles from his mouth. Kiba’s scowl immediately disappears as he exchanges a confused look with Akamaru, before he crouches down beside the unconscious blonde, elbows resting on his knees.
“Hey Naruto?” Kiba addresses, prodding the Uzumaki in the cheek with his finger. “Are you alright man? What happened?”
“Urrghhh…..” Naruto gurgles, eyes still spinning. “W-Wall……Rock wall……Kersplat……”
“Huh?” Kiba asks, perplexed, as question marks appear above both his and Akamaru’s heads. “Dude, wake up or I’ll get Akamaru to lick you!”
“Wolf…” Naruto mumbles, a shiver travelling up his spine. “Must….Keep Ashley……Away from h-h-hospital……Wolf……”
Kiba raises both eyebrows at this, exchanging a suspicious look with Akamaru. What was Naruto on about?
“What are you talking about Naruto?” Kiba sighs irritably. “You’re not making any sense.”
“Gotta….Gotta keep Ashley away” Naruto responds dizzily, jabbing one hand up into the air and almost stabbing Kiba in the eye with his finger. “Don’t take her…..To the hospital!”
“Is…..Is Ashley here Naruto?” Kiba questions hopefully, eyes beginning to widen. “Is she back?!”
Naruto nods his head slowly, a goofy smile on his face.
“Yep” he confirms dazedly. “Just don’t let Ace get her…..He wants to take her…..To the hospital…..”
Feeling somewhat excited, Kiba rises to his feet and grins down at Akamaru.
“C’mon boy” he encourages. “Let’s go to the hospital and see if she’s there! Thanks Naruto. You’re an idiot, but thanks!”
“Gotta be smooth” Naruto mutters dopily, completely unaware as Kiba and Akamaru race off, once again leaving him lying in the street by himself.
Kiba bounds through the streets like a wild animal, somehow managing to dodge around buildings and unsuspecting citizens. Akamaru gallops along behind the eager brunette, tongue once again hanging out the side of his mouth.
‘I hope she’s back!’ Kiba thinks excitedly, eyes shining. ‘I can’t wait to see her!”
After running for a few more minutes, Kiba and Akamaru burst through the glass doors of the hospital, skidding to a halt right in front of the Reception desk. Kiba places his hands on the edge of the counter, barely managing to prevent himself from catapulting over it due to the speed he’d been travelling at.
“Is Ashley Minami here?!” Kiba exclaims in the Receptionist’s face, causing her to flinch at his volume. “Well, is she?!”
“Please keep your voice down” the woman scolds softly, fixing up her hair. “This is a hospital.”
Kiba deadpans at the Receptionist, a drop of sweat appearing on the side of his head.
“Alright then” the brunette sighs raggedly. “Can you please tell me if Ashley Minami is here?”
“She’s here” the woman replies simply, to which Kiba lets out a whoop of joy, before he looks back to the Receptionist, his eyes wide and sparkling. After a few moments of staring at each other, Kiba sweat drops again.
“Uhh…..” he begins slowly. “Can you please tell me what room she’s in?”
“Sure” the woman sighs, placing her fingertips against her forehead. “It’s Room 252. Just please don’t excite her too much, because she’s listed as destructive. And also, no animals allowed.”
“Sorry buddy” Kiba apologises with a tiny smile, placing a hand on Akamaru’s head as the Ninken’s ears droop sadly. “You’ll get to see Angel later alright?”
“Ruff……” Akamaru replies sadly, slowly and miserably making his way out of the hospital. Kiba stares after him for a moment, before shaking his head and turning on his heel, sprinting for the elevator. As he leaps inside the tiny space, he cuts off an old lady and pushes one of the buttons, causing the doors to close in her face.
“Sorry lady!” Kiba shouts, sweat dropping at the annoyed look on her face, before the doors slide closed. “Actually, no I’m not.”
Tapping his foot impatiently, Kiba waits silently until the elevator dings and the doors open, revealing the floor that Ashley is on. Grinning excitedly to himself, Kiba steps out of the elevator, only for a nurse to come barrelling past, almost knocking him into the wall.
“Sakura-san!” the young woman squeals, arms in the air. “Sakura-san! Please help Sakura-san!”
Raising an eyebrow, Kiba shrugs his shoulders and begins walking slowly through the hallways, eyes scanning all the doors for number 252. He couldn’t wait to see Ashley and hold her. Then he could see for himself that she really was alright.
“What?!” a furious voice thunders, making Kiba jump and turn around. “I’m gone for two minutes, and she’s already trying to escape?!”
Barely given any time to react, Kiba jumps back against the wall and presses himself against it, just as an enraged Sakura charges past, almost steam rolling him.
“Haha!” the pinkette barks out a dark laugh. “Not on my watch Ashley! You’re staying here until I say you’re ready to leave!”
Letting out a small sigh of relief, Kiba suddenly pauses. She’d mentioned Ashley’s name! She must be heading there right now!
Kiba suddenly launches himself away from the wall, taking off after Sakura and trying to keep up with her so he could find Ashley quicker.
As Kiba continues running through the hallways, he hears Sakura’s thunderous voice screaming out unintelligible words, as another voice shouts out protests and threats. Skidding to a halt beside an open door, Kiba peeks into the room, only for his eyes to widen, a sweat drop appearing on the side of his head.
In the room, Kiba sees two nurses by the window, each desperately clinging to a scowling Ashley, severe irritation clear on her face as she struggles to pull the lower half of her body through the window.
“Let me go!” the blonde orders, trying to shake off the nurse that is clinging to her leg. “I’m not staying here for a few days! Are you all crazy?!”
“Please calm down Miss Minami!” another nurse please, her arms wrapped around Ashley’s waist. “Come back inside!”
“No!” is the hot reply, only for Sakura’s hair to grow spiky, a dangerous aura radiating around her.
“Ashley!” she barks viciously, darting forwards. “Get back in here right now!”
That said, Sakura grabs hold of Ashley’s wrist and begins tugging backwards, pushing against the wall with one foot to give herself a little bit of leverage.
“No!” Ashley cries, gritting her teeth as she desperately tries to pull herself free, eyes very wide. “I don’t want to be here! You’re all crazy! You’re gonna kill me!”
“If you don’t get your butt back in here” Sakura seethes, a strained look on her face as she struggles to pull the strong blonde back inside, “I’m definitely going to kill you!”
“Sakura!” Ashley barks, sweat dropping. “You’re such a traitor! Let me go, let me g-”
“Angel?” an unsure voice addresses, causing everyone to pause and look towards the door. Ashley blinks a few times, staring into the adorably uncertain face of Kiba, as he hesitantly steps into the room, one hand resting against the doorframe.
He stares right back, slightly worried that he’s about to get beaten up by Sakura, when he sees Ashley’s face break into the biggest smile he’d ever seen on her. Her eyes begin sparkling with happiness, something that renders Kiba unable to hold back the grin that spreads across his face. At least he knew she was glad to see him.
“Kiba!” Ashley explodes excitedly, suddenly throwing her arms in the air, which causes Sakura and the two nurses to accidentally release her and stumble backwards. Now free from their vicelike grips, Ashley jumps down from the window, bounds speedily over the hospital bed and leaps right into Kiba’s arms, almost knocking him over.
“Oh Kiba!” Ashley laughs, wrapping her arms around the brunette’s neck and laying her head against his chest. “I’m so happy to see you!”
“I couldn’t half tell” the Inuzuka jokes, wrapping an arm around Ashley’s waist and placing his other hand on the back of her head, hugging her tightly. “But just so you know, I’m just as happy to see you.”
“Ashley……” Sakura drawls, rising to her feet and making the blonde freeze. Glancing back over her shoulder, Ashley sees that Sakura now seems to be covered in shadows, her eyes blazing red with irritation.
“Uhhh, seeing as you’re here right now Kiba” Ashley begins, panicking as Sakura slowly stomps closer, hands balling into fists, “How about you help me escape from this hellish place?”
“You mean, you want me to be your knight in shining armour?” Kiba teases, winking at Ashley and making her deadpan.
“More like my only option in a leather jacket” she states dryly. “But it’s basically the same thing.”
Despite the insult, Kiba sends Ashley a lopsided grin and leans down, scooping the girl up into his arms.
“Kiba” Sakura warns darkly. “You better put her down. Right now!”
Kiba smirks tauntingly at Sakura, taking a step backwards.
“Yeah” he scoffs. “Coz I always listen to you.” That said, Kiba whirls around and takes off down the hallway, laughing wildly as Sakura explodes out of the hospital room and crashes into a wall.
Ashley keeps her arms hooked around the Inuzuka’s neck, peering over his shoulder at Sakura, only to see the pinkette climb to her feet, one hand on her hip and an unimpressed look on her face. Giggling to herself, Ashley places two fingers against her forehead and sends Sakura playful salute, before she and Kiba disappear around a corner.
Ashley’s POV
“You can put me down now you know” I say with a laugh, prodding Kiba in the chest as he easily bounds over the rooftops. “I’m not injured or anything.”
“Then why were you in the hospital?” Kiba questions, his messy hair blowing back as his eyes flick down to me momentarily. I sigh raggedly at his question, an anime vein appearing on the side of my head.
“Clearly Lady Tsunade enjoys torturing me” I say bluntly, to which Kiba chuckles. “She wanted me to have a check up with Sakura, but that girl turns into the craziest, most violent dictator when she’s working in the hospital.”
“Well, whether you’re injured or not” Kiba grins, “I like carrying you. And it’s not like you’re heavy or anything.”
“Th-That’s not the point” I stutter, turning my head away as I feel my cheeks grow warm. “I’m just sick of everyone treating me like I’ll break if I walk by myself.”
Kiba raises his eyebrows a little, a thoughtful look on his face as he drops down from a building and glances at me.
“I don’t think you’re going to break” he informs me, turning to the right and heading away from the main part of the Village. “I practically just rescued you, and that means I have to carry you until we get to wherever we’re going.”
“And where are we going?” I ask, humouring the boy.
He gives me a cheeky closed eye smile. “I have no idea. I just want to keep carrying you.”
I sweat drop and sigh at this, though I can’t help smiling to myself. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I don’t really mind that Kiba’s carrying me. He’s strong and warm and gentle, so it’s not like this is an unpleasant experience. I’m just imagining how this looks to other people……We probably look like some kind of newly married couple or something….
“Heyyyyy!” a familiar female voice suddenly calls, causing Kiba to pause, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Ashley!”
I look up curiously, only to see an exuberant Ino running towards us, one hand raised in a wave.
“Great” I hear Kiba mutter. “Another psychopath to deal with.”
I can’t help laughing at that, giving Kiba’s cheek a comforting pat, just as Ino skids to a halt right in front of me, her teal eyes glittering.
“I’m so glad you’re finally back!” the platinum blonde squeals, making Kiba cringe overdramatically, clearly wanting Ino to know that her presence is unwelcome. In his book anyway. I don’t really mind…..As long as she doesn’t stick around for too long.
“Thanks” I say cheerfully, only for Kiba to tighten his hold on me, an annoyed expression on his face.
“Okay thanks Ino” he says pointedly, causing her to narrow her eyes at him. “Bye now.”
Ino leans back and crosses her arms, smirking as she continues staring at Kiba. She’s clearly not about to go anywhere.
“We were all so worried about you Ashley” Ino suddenly informs me, an innocent closed eye smile on her face. “We weren’t sure if you were going to make it.”
“Oh, it wasn’t that bad” I say awkwardly, unsure of where this conversation is going. And besides, I feel weird chatting to Ino while Kiba’s carrying me like this. “I’m sure the television made the situation look worse than it really was.”
“Some of us were more worried than others however” Ino states loudly, as if she hadn’t heard me speak. I send Kiba a slightly confused look as his frown deepens, a warning look in his eyes.
“Oh….Um, okay?” I say uncertainly, making it sound more like a question than anything else. Ino begins nodding her head, opening her eyes and returning Kiba’s frown with another smirk.
“Certain people even cried when they thought you were dead” she continues.
“Shut up Ino” Kiba growls irritably, growing an anime vein as the blonde begins laughing obnoxiously. I look back up at the fuming brunette, wondering why he’s getting so annoyed. Did he actually cry? Or is Ino just teasing Kiba to try and embarrass him.
“Yeah” Ino says breezily, shrugging her shoulders as she strolls past us. “Some of us were really strong, but some of us were total cry babies about it…..Anyway, I’ve gotta get to the Flower Shop. I’ll see ya later Ashley!”
“Bye….” I trail off as Kiba begins walking again, his pace a lot more brisk than before. Watching him, I still see an irritated look on his face, though he’s doing a good job keeping his annoyance to himself.
“Are you alright Kiba?” I eventually ask, to which the brunette briefly closes his eyes and lets out a low sigh.
“I didn’t cry” he informs me sharply, making me raise an eyebrow. Oh he didn’t cry huh? Well, what kind of boyfriend doesn’t cry if he thinks he’s just seen his girlfriend get killed? Lovely.
“Okay” I reply with a shrug. “But who cares, even if you did?”
“Huh?” Kiba questions dumbly, now walking along a very familiar path. I give Kiba a tiny lopsided grin, my sharp teeth visible.
“If you thought I was killed” I begin, trying not to sound sarcastic or anything, “I think people would understand if you did cry….Not that you did.”
Kiba sweat drops at that, picking up on the flatness to my voice as I add that last bit. Well well, looks like he’s not as stupid as he pretends to be.
“I….I didn’t cry” Kiba reiterates, before pulling a face. “Well….Not in the way that Ino is trying to make it out to be. I wasn’t a cry baby, but I did…..Well, yeah whatever, I teared up a bit! So what? I thought you’d just died!”
My eyes widen slightly as Kiba stops just shy of my house, a troubled frown on his face as he looks down at me.
“I was really worried about you Angel” Kiba tells me sincerely, a sad look in his eyes. “I mean, I saw that crazy girl with the red hair come after you repeatedly. Then I had to watch as you were run through with that sword, and I couldn’t do a thing to help you. I was helpless as you collapsed to the ground, with that giant bug thing trying to kill you at the same time.”
I feel my eyes widen further, as Kiba looks away from me and down to the ground, his eyes wavering slightly.
“When you jumped into its mouth….” Kiba continues softly, “I thought….I thought you were gone….I never understood what people meant when they said heartache is one of the worst pains, until then anyway…..Seriously Ashley, when I thought you’d been taken away from me by that thing, I couldn’t even stand…..Maybe its weak, and maybe its stupid that I felt that way but…..The very thought of not having you with me anymore….Is unimaginable….”
I feel my eyes wavering as Kiba looks back at me, his eyes shining and an embarrassed smile on his face.
“Sorry for being such a loser about it” he chuckles, shaking his head. “I know you don’t like this kind of th-”
Kiba’s eyes widen in shock, as I suddenly cut him off by placing my hands on either side of his face and pulling his head down to me. Though seemingly frozen for a moment, Kiba soon recovers and closes his eyes, returning my sudden kiss just as desirously. I feel my face flaming by my bold and uncharacteristic movement, though Kiba doesn’t seem to mind at all.
After a few more seconds, I pull my head back from Kiba’s, though my hands remain on the sides of his face. He blinks down at me, probably still a little surprised by what I’d done.
“I don’t think you’re weak or a loser” I mumble shyly, finding it hard to keep eye contact with the attractive brunette. “I’m….I’m happy…..That you care about me so much. I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I certainly appreciate it….”
Kiba blinks again, looking a little dazed, before a smile slowly stretches across his face, that cheeky glint returning to his eyes.
“You’ve never done that before” he informs me, raising an eyebrow and immediately making me release his face. “That was sure interesting.”
“Sh-Shut up!” I bark, super embarrassed by Kiba’s teasing. “There’s nothing wrong with k-kissing your boyfriend!”
I flail my arms a little, before jumping out of Kiba’s arms and whirling around to glare at him. I’m so embarrassed however, I don’t think my glare is going to affect Kiba. In fact, now he’s smirking at me, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Yeah” he chuckles, pointed teeth shining in the light, “But that’s the first time you’ve ever kissed me. I’m always the one who kisses you first.”
“Yeah well don’t ever expect it to happen again if you’re gonna act like this!” I bark self consciously, raising a fist into the air. Kiba laughs again, flicking some hair from his eyes as he walks up to me, eyes sparkling happily.
“I’m sorry Angel” he apologises, placing a finger under my chin. “You’re just so cute when you’re embarrassed, and it doesn’t happen very often, so I can’t help teasing ya a little.”
“You’re cruising for a bruising Mutt” I mumble, dropping my eyes from Kiba’s face and crossing my arms, to which he laughs, the sound making me smile. He has such a nice laugh. Now that I’ve heard it again, I realise that I’ve missed it!
“Are you hungry?” I suddenly question, earning an amused look from Kiba.
“Always” he replies, head tilting to the side as I grab onto his hand and drag him towards my house.
“Then I’ll cook you something!” I announce brightly, glancing back over my shoulder as Kiba gives a start. “What?”
“You’re….You’re gonna cook?” he asks incredulously, eyes wide. “For me?”
“You like my cooking don’t you?” I question darkly, to which the Inuzuka nods his head eagerly. “So what’s the problem?”
“Uhh, you never want to cook for me” he informs me bluntly, placing one hand in his pocket as I use my Katsuryoku to retrieve my key from the ground, having buried it beside the front door.
“All the more reason for you to be excited about it then” I laugh, giving Kiba a happy closed eye smile.
Third Person’s POV
“So….What are you making?” Kiba questions, leaning his elbows on Ashley’s kitchen bench and holding his head up in his hands. He watches as she drops a small bundle of noodles into a pot of hot water, his nose twitching at the delicious smells wafting through the air.
Now holding a large knife in her hand, Ashley turns around and smiles at Kiba, pointing the knife at him and making the brunette sweat drop.
“Yakitori and Yakisoba” she replies, looking down as the meat in the pan beside her makes a spitting noise. “I need a good meat fix.”
“So what else is new?” Kiba questions jokingly, carefully pushing the tip of the knife away from him with one finger. “I’m curious-”
“Yes, you are curious” Ashley interrupts cheekily, winking when she sees that Kiba is frowning at her. A slight pink tinges his tan cheeks at Ashley’s wink, before he huffs loudly and shakes his head.
“I wasn’t finished” he informs the blonde flatly. “I was going to say, I’m curious as to why you’re cooking right now. I mean, if you’re hungry, we could have just gone out to eat. I wouldn’t mind taking you out.”
Ashley turns her head slightly, looking at Kiba from the corner of her eye and smiling.
“I know” she replies kindly, “But you always take me out. It’s about time I did something for you. And besides, there’s nothing better than a home cooked meal!”
Straightening up and leaning his shoulder against the wall, Kiba crosses his arms and grins at Ashley’s back, as she turns around to add some salt to the meat she’s cooking.
“It’s so weird seeing you acting so domestic” Kiba suddenly laughs, to which Ashley looks over at him, amusement on her face.
“Oh?” she asks. “And why is that?”
“Because usually whenever I see you” Kiba explains, hooding his eyes as he smiles at Ashley, “You’re arguing with someone, or fighting, or trying to heal someone.”
“So basically” Ashley comments, one eyebrow raised, “I behave like a Ninja?”
“Yeah” Kiba chuckles, sweat dropping. “But I just mean that sometimes I forget that you can actually cook and do all that domestic stuff.”
“Sounds like I’ll make someone a pretty good wife one day then huh?” Ashley asks teasingly, turning around and rolling her eyes at the stupid grin on Kiba’s face.
“I’ll say” he murmurs softly, before a light bulb seems to go off in his head. “Hey! What do you mean by you’ll make someone a good wife one day?!”
Expertly ignoring the indignant Inuzuka, Ashley begins dishing up her food, the delicious aromas almost making Kiba drool. The girl could cook and deliver an awesome right hook. What could be better?
Ashley can’t help giggling at the starry eyed look on Kiba’s face as he drops himself into a chair at her table, eagerly awaiting his food. Though not something that everyone knew, Ashley rather enjoyed cooking, and was quite happy that she was getting to cook for Kiba. She didn’t often cook for other people, and she was secretly quite flattered that Kiba was so excited to eat food that she’d made herself.
“Looks great Angel!” Kiba exclaims, snapping his chopsticks as soon as Ashley places the dishes of food in front of him. Smiling to herself, Ashley slides into a chair across the table from Kiba, also cracking her chopsticks apart.
As Kiba takes a big bite out of his Yakitori, he pauses, watching Ashley slowly poking her chopsticks into her Yakisoba, a look of pure concentration on her face. He sees her slowly lift up a small number of noodles, struggling to keep them from slipping back into the bowl.
Unable to stifle it, Kiba bursts out laughing, giving Ashley a fright and causing her to drop her noodles. A dark look crosses her face as she glares at the noodles, before flicking her eyes up to look at Kiba.
“You still haven’t got the hang of chopsticks yet have you?” the Inuzuka questions, as Ashley holds the two thin pieces of wood up, an anime vein appearing on the side of her head.
“I didn’t grow up with these stupid things” the Minami barks. “I grew up with knives and forks, which I always thought was normal. Whose genius idea was it to eat with two sticks anyway?”
“Don’t worry” Kiba reassures the irritated blonde, “You’ll get the hang of it one day Angel. You can’t be good at everything I guess.”
Ashley momentarily pauses at that, thinking back to yesterday when Kakashi had said the same thing, only he had been trying to taunt her into explaining herself to him. Ashley lowers her eyes down to her food, poking her chopsticks down into her Yakisoba as she leans her cheek in her palm.
Thinking about everything Kakashi had said yesterday, Ashley had been wondering if maybe her Sensei was right. Should she try to use her Sharingan more often? Should she begin trying to embrace her Wood Style? Ashley couldn’t say that the prospect of either suggestion was really appealing to her, but Kakashi Sensei never did or said anything to hurt Ashley. He was a very smart man and if he thought it would be a good idea, then surely it was?
“Something wrong Angel?” Kiba suddenly asks, bringing Ashley’s eyes up to his face. “You look kinda down all the sudden.”
“….Can I ask you something Kiba?” Ashley inquires softly, to which Kiba lowers his chopsticks and nods his head.
“Of course. Shoot.”
“Alright, well…” Ashley sighs, brows furrowing slightly as she stares down at her food. “Kakashi Sensei brought something up with me yesterday, and now I’m not really sure what to do about it.”
“Okay” Kiba responds slowly. “Well, what did he say?”
“You know how I’ve got the Sharingan right?” Ashley asks, continuing when Kiba nods again. “And that I can use Wood Style Jutsu?”
“Yeah” the Inuzuka says lowly, remembering the story Ashley had told in the Land of Ambience. “I saw you use it, years ago when you first came here.”
“That’s right, you were there too” Ashley remembers, momentarily bemused by the memory. “Anyway, Kakashi Sensei told me that I really should start using my Sharingan and Wood Style Jutsu. He thinks that I should try to utilise every ability I have, in case I ever really need them, and I can see his point I guess but……I don’t know how I feel about using them, especially the Wood Style Jutsu. I mean, I wasn’t born with that ability and I’ve always gotten along just fine without it…….What should I do?”
Ashley looks up at Kiba, only to find the brunette staring down at the table intently, a look of deep thought on his face. Ashley waits silently for a few moments, wondering what Kiba could be thinking so hard about.
“I suppose I can see Kakashi Sensei’s point too” Kiba says carefully, raising his eyes to meet Ashley’s, a serious look on his face, “But I also know how much you hate that Wood Style Jutsu you’re able to use. You once told me that you think of Orochimaru every time you use it, so I understand why you don’t like it. Now, I’m not going to tell you what to do, but think about this Angel. You may not have been born with this ability, but you also weren’t born with any of your other abilities either. You weren’t born with the ability to summon your Wolves, you had to be taught. You may have been born with chakra, but you weren’t bornwith the ability to use it, yet you still use Jutsu no worries.”
As Ashley stares at Kiba through slowly widening eyes, he gives her a wry smile, momentarily closing his eyes.
“You’re Sharingan on the other hand” he continues, “Is an ability that you were born with. I do think you should try using it more often, if only to honour your Dad. I mean, you’ve told me how much you loved him, so imagine if he knew you purposefully didn’t use it…..I’m not trying to hit below the belt here Angel, I just don’t think you should use your Mother’s Kekkei Genkai and not your Father’s. Even if your Mother didn’t like what the Sharingan could do to the host of the Ten Tails, surely she’d still be proud of you……”
Ashley tilts her head down towards the table, eyes filled with unshed tears. It was true. Her Father would be so upset if he knew that she’d stopped using her Sharingan, especially since he’d been so very proud of her for awakening it.
“Did I upset you Angel?” Kiba asks quietly, afraid she was about to cry from what he’d said to her. Ashley blinks her watery eyes and shakes her head, giving Kiba a closed eye smile.
“Not at all” she laughs softly. “I was just wondering when you got so smart is all. Your advice is actually useful.”
Kiba pouts childishly at this, crossing his arms and giving Ashley a hurt look.
“I’m not a complete idiot you know” he mumbles, as Ashley laughs again, picking up her Yakitori.
“Could’ve fooled me” she responds brightly, before taking a big, glorious bite of chicken.
Ashley’s POV
I run along the roof tops, flipping over a gap between two buildings, before leaning forwards and taking off again, Katsuryoku activated. I slowly turn my head from side to side as I run, searching the ground below for someone particular.
“I wonder where he’d be?” I mutter, brows furrowing in thought. “I’ve never seen him just roaming around the Village before-”
“Hey Ashley-chan!” a loud voice suddenly calls, making me jump with fright and skid to a halt. I throw my arms backwards as my body leans over the edge of the building, trying to maintain my balance.
As I manage to steady myself, I glance down, only to see Naruto on the ground, grinning and waving at me cheerily. I sigh as I place my hands on my hips, giving my blonde teammate an exasperated look.
“What is it Naruto?” I ask warily. “You almost made me fall off this building.”
“Oh, sorry about that!” Naruto chuckles, clearly not sorry at all. “But come down here for a sec! I wanna ask you something.”
“I can’t mess around with you right now Naruto” I inform him bluntly. “I’m kind of looking for someone, so can you please make this quick?”
“Awww maaaan!” Naruto whines, pulling at his hair. “Well, Kakashi Sensei still isn’t helping me train, so I was gonna ask if you wanted to train together! Well this sucks…..What am I supposed to do now?”
I pause at Naruto’s words, raising my eyebrows slightly as the blonde continues complaining to himself, apparently unsure of how he’s going to spend his day now.
“Do you mean like……A sparring session?” I ask Naruto, to which he grins at me sunnily and nods his head.
“Yeah, it’ll be super fun Ashley-chan!” he presses, slapping his hands together in a pleading way. “Pleeaase?”
‘A sparring session with Naruto…..’ I think, a devious smirk finding its way onto my face. ‘Sakura said no fighting, but who cares? This will be fun!’
“Alright Naruto” I agree, causing the blonde’s deep blue eyes to light up. “I’ll meet you at the training grounds….The ones you use to train with Kakashi Sensei!”
“Hey!” Naruto cries, watching as I suddenly turn on my heels and race away from him. “Wait for me!”
‘I suppose finding him can wait for a little while’ I think to myself, grinning as I feel Naruto leap up onto the buildings behind me.
“I’ve gotta say” I speak up, rolling my neck, “It’s been awhile since I’ve had to really fight someone one on one.”
“Heheh” Naruto chuckles, a good fifty metres ahead of me. “Let’s hope you’re not too rusty. Otherwise this won’t be any fun!”
“Rules?” I question, rolling my eyes and ignoring Naruto’s comments. The blonde shrugs a shoulder.
“Just don’t kill me” he instructs, to which I can’t help laughing. As if I would….In fact, I’m not even sure if I could.
“Same goes for you” I call back, earning a grin from my blue eyed friend. His grin soon drops though as I slide my left foot back and take up a steady stance, my eyes focused on Naruto.
‘Alright Ashley’ I say internally, giving myself a pep talk. ‘No need to be nervous, you’ve fought people tougher than Naruto before. He’s a close combat fighter, so it’d be best to try and get him with a long distance Jutsu….’
My eyes widen slightly, as Naruto immediately whips out a handful of shuriken, sped up and sharpened by some skilfully infused chakra. Focusing chakra into my feet, I flip backwards, putting some more distance between Naruto and myself, before performing some rapid hand signs.
“Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!” I shout, taking a deep breath and focusing some chakra into the back of my throat, before placing a hand in front of my mouth and blowing out a volley of small, but powerful fire balls. They collide dead on with the incoming shuriken, burning them up before they can hit me.
Looking up, I see Naruto already running towards me, a kunai in each hand and a determined look in his eyes. Eyeing him off as he runs towards me, I suddenly smirk, and slash my arm up into the air. Apparently catching Naruto off guard, a large mound of earth suddenly rises up beneath his feet, creating a sturdy, ramp like formation that throws the blonde into the air.
As he is flung high up, Naruto does a mid air somersault and swiftly flicks two kunai down at me. I dodge the knives easily, though the heavy thud sound they make as the stick into the earth makes me sweat drop a little. Clearly Naruto has been working on his throwing.
“Shadow Clone Jutsu!” I hear Naruto shout, only to look up and see two of the blonde male above me. One of them grabs onto the other’s arm and swings around, throwing Naruto down towards me.
Deciding against using a Jutsu this time, I jump backwards, just as one of the Naruto crashes down right where I’d been, his bent knee leaving a small crater in the hard dirt. Skidding to a stop, I immediately run forwards again and jump up. Doing a flip, I throw out my leg, the back of my ankle cracking down heavily on Naruto’s head. The force of the hit throws his face down towards the ground, only for the blonde to disappear before he face plants the dirt.
I land in a crouched position, a slight frown on my face as I glance back over my shoulder, another barrage of shuriken spinning towards my back.
‘How come I couldn’t tell that that Naruto was just a clone?’ I wonder, before rising to my feet and throwing my arms out to the side. Pushing myself off on one foot, I begin spinning around rapidly, focusing my Katsuryoku to pull the air long with me. In a matter of milliseconds, a super fast shield of wind is blowing around me and as I continue spinning to keep up the shield, Naruto’s shuriken are sucked right into it, also spinning around me.
As I am about to deactivate my Katsuryoku and throw the wind back at Naruto, I feel two people suddenly leap towards me, making my eyes widen.
“Rasengan!” Naruto shouts, bursting through the miniature tornado around me, his arm outstretched towards me. Immediately ceasing my spinning, I do a back hand spring, kicking Naruto’s right hand upwards as the wind abruptly dies down and Naruto’s shuriken fall to the ground.
Once again landing in a crouched position, I narrow my eyes and grit my teeth, not having expected this situation. All grinning at me determinedly, I find myself absolutely surrounded by Naruto clones. There must be at least sixty of them…
“You look a little worried Ashley-chan” one teases, as a few of them laugh heartily.
“Your clones are very impressive Naruto” I say coolly, slowly rising to my feet, eyes closed and hands together in a hand sign. “Even with my Katsuryoku, I can’t tell which one is the real you anymore. You’ve been practising I see.”
That said, I begin performing a rapid set of hand signs, something that causes the Naruto army to frown, with a few of them running towards me.
“Lightning Style!” I shout, slamming my palm to the ground, “Wolf Termination!”
Immediately, a large circular wave of chakra pulses through the ground, knocking some of the charging Naruto’s over. Electricity begins crackling as a huge circle of blue lightning forms around the entire army of Naruto clones, their eyes widen with uncertainty as they begin hearing low growls around them.
Seeing the electrified Wolves swimming across the border of the invisible circle around the Naruto army, I wave both arms up into the air, causing a small part of the ground to separate from the earth and hoist me into the air. The last thing I need is to get caught in my own Jutsu.
I watch in amusement as my Wolves swim swiftly through the earth, only their heads and shoulders visible, chasing after and colliding with any Naruto clones they can catch. Shouting with panic, the clones begin disappearing quite fast, multiple puffs of smoke forming every second.
As the last of the Naruto clones disappear and my Jutsu dies away, my eyes widen, surveying the ground below disbelievingly.
‘What?!’ I internally exclaim. ‘He wasn’t one of them?!’
“Surprise Ashley” I hear someone say right behind me, causing me to slowly turn around, only to come face to face with a grinning Naruto. Before I can react, he throws his bent arm forwards, slugging me in the cheek with a powerful punch that sends me rocketing down towards the earth.
I crash into the ground heavily, sliding backwards for a few metres and sending up a cloud of dust, before placing my hands by my head and flipping up to my feet. I give a small cough, rubbing my cheek slowly and narrowing my eyes as Naruto lands on the ground about twenty metres ahead of me, the chunk of earth I’d been floating on crashing to the ground between us.
“You’re a tricky one Naruto” I comment with a tiny smirk. “You’re a lot faster than I remember too….I suppose I wouldn’t be so surprised if I was actually able to go on missions with you guys.”
“Thanks!” the blonde says gratefully, before his face turns serious again. “But I think you’re going easy on me. You have to come after me like you want to kill me, remember?”
“Alright then Kakashi Sensei” I say teasingly, recalling how our Sensei had told us the same thing when we’d taken the bell test a few years ago. “Let’s just call that a warm up then, shall we?”
That said, I suddenly launch myself forwards, barely giving Naruto a chance to react before I’m looming right in front of him. He quickly throws up his arms to block a swift punch from me, only for him to catch my wrist and twist it painfully. Pulling a face, I drop to the ground and kick my leg out, tripping Naruto over and making him unintentionally release my wrist.
Before he hits the ground however, Naruto throws out his arms and does a back hand spring, narrowly avoiding a vicious kick to the stomach from me. Naruto continues flipping backwards as I rush him, surprising me that he’s actually able to maintain his balance so well.
As Naruto flips backwards once again to avoid my next punch, I activate my Katsuryoku, the forward movement of my arm pulling a large chunk of rock from the ground and shooting it towards Naruto. I am disappointed once again however, as Naruto scowls and pushes himself up off of his arms, flipping around in the air and smashing my rock to pieces with a powerful kick.
As soon as his feet touch the ground again, Naruto lunges for me, fists at the ready. He jabs at me continually, each time nearly managing to land a hit, only for me to block it, my eyes locked on his face. Quick as a flash, I bring my knee up to block Naruto’s sneaky strike, his knee cracking painfully against mine.
As Naruto lowers his leg back down and throws another punch at me, I surprise him by ducking under it and sending a super fast hit to his stomach, the force behind my chakra infused punch sending him stumbling backwards. Taking advantage of his unbalanced form, I run up to the blonde and jump, placing one foot on his chest. As I am about to flip backward and shove him away, I feel Naruto’s hands grip my ankle tightly, before he immediately begins spinning around. Due to the momentum of the spin and gravity desperately trying to pull me away from Naruto, I find myself unable to do anything, when my teammate suddenly releases me.
I am sent spiralling straight into a large cliff face; the very same one Yamato had created not too long ago when he was helping to train Naruto. I groan softly as I drop back towards the ground, tiny, dislodged rocks raining down around me. As I land on the ground on one knee, I see Naruto running towards me, a clone now sprinting alongside him.
‘Hmph’ I hear Hakuba scoff in my head. ‘You’re getting soft. This pathetic kid is beating you. You have some serious training to do brat.’
‘…..He’s not beating me’ I argue, placing one hand on my knee and pushing myself to my feet. ‘He’s stronger than I remember, and way faster too. I underestimated him….And I can’t come at him to kill, because I might accidentally do just that. I’m not really sure how to have a friendly sparring session….’
‘Whatever excuse you want to make brat’ Hakuba mutters, rolling his eyes in exasperation, ‘He’s still winning.”
I watch as Naruto and his clone begin forming another Rasengan, causing my eyes to narrow. He won’t be winning for long.
“Wind Style” I say lowly, performing a long set of hand signs, “Divine Wind!”
Naruto doesn’t waver, almost seeming not to notice as I create four miniature tornadoes, the wind tugging at our clothes and causing my hair to whip around wildly. As soon as my Jutsu is complete, I slap my hands back together and perform another set of hand signs, smirking to myself.
“Fire Style: Running Fire!” I shout, focusing a large amount of Fire Nature chakra into the back of my throat and, just when the heat begins to grow unbearable, I blow out a long flamethrower of fire, aiming right for my tornadoes.
I see both of the Naruto’s eyes widen as they watch the four tornadoes ignite, now burning bright red as the flames surge around and around at speed. I control the direction of the tornadoes with an outstretched arm, the two Naruto’s crying out as they are sucked into one of them. I see the bright glow of Naruto’s Rasengan dissipate as the two of them are violently jostled around inside the burning vortex when, after a few more seconds, both Naruto are shot out of it.
One Naruto flies straight up into the air, his eyes shut tightly, as the other collides straight into the ground. He lies motionless for a moment, before disappearing in a puff of smoke, causing my smirk to widen.
‘So the falling Naruto is the real one’ I think triumphantly, slicing my arm downwards and ceasing my combined Jutsu. As Naruto falls to the ground with a heavy thud, my flaming tornadoes begin slowing down, until they fade away completely, the wind now perfectly calm.
With a light sigh, I bound towards Naruto, noting how singed the green grass is. Well, it was green not long ago. Now it’s more of a charcoal colour…
Stopping in front of Naruto, who still hasn’t moved, I place my hands on my hips and tilt my head to the side. His blue eyes are tightly closed, his skin marked with small, black burns and his sunny hair covered in what looks to be ash, or dust or something.
“Maybe I took it a little too far?” I wonder out loud, brows furrowing with concern. “Naruto? Can you hear me?”
To my surprise, Naruto’s eyes pop open, shining brightly. I stare at the blonde male incredulously, as he gives me a thumbs up and winks cheekily.
“Gotcha” he says with a grin, before suddenly disappearing in a puff of smoke.
“What?” I exclaim, my eyes widening further as I turn my head to look over my shoulder, only to see a nearby rock transform into the real Naruto. “Naruto!”
As I turn all the way around, Naruto leaps forwards and tackles me back. I grab onto his jacket, pulling the boy down with me, my eyes closing as my back hits the ground with a jarring thud.
“Oof!” I exhale sharply, the wind briefly knocked out of me. I can’t believe I fell for that stupid trick…..How could I be so gullible?!
“Looks like I win Ashley-chan” I hear Naruto pant from above me. I slowly open my eyes, only to find Naruto leaning over me, a hand next to each side of my face and his knees on other side of my hips.
He grins down at me tiredly, sweat on his forehead and dirt covering his clothes. I guess he hadn’t actually avoided my combination Jutsu, because his clothes are singed, and I can see slight burns on his face and hands.
Staring up at Naruto with a straight face, I can’t help feeling slightly annoyed. While I technically hadn’t lost to Naruto, he had tricked me. My Jutsu may be more powerful than the majority of his, but he’s a hard person to predict, seeing as he seems to fight with tactics. I can’t say I’m like that. I believe that speed and powerful offensive is the way to go.
“How did you do that?” I question in a flat tone. “I thought I got you with my combined Jutsu. I saw you and your clone come out of my tornado, so how did you get over there?”
“You did get me” Naruto confirms, looking down at me tiredly. “And it really hurt too. But when I was being flung around in that tornado thing, I created another clone. When you saw my two clones get thrown out like that, I fell down the other side and used a Transformation Jutsu to hide myself. Pretty smart huh?”
As I stare up at Naruto’s proud grin, I can’t help smiling back at him. Placing a hand on his chest, I gently push him back, allowing myself to sit up.
“Though it’s hard for me to admit” I begin quietly, bending my knee and slinging my arm across it, “That was a pretty genius move Naruto.”
Naruto chuckles, apparently pleased with my praise, as he crosses his legs and gives me a closed eye smile.
“I still think you could have done better though Ashley” he informs me, suddenly looking at me thoughtfully. “I know you’re faster than that and you’ve got some really strong Jutsu. Why didn’t you try your best? Did you think you wouldn’t have to bother with me?”
My eyes widen slightly at the hurt look on Naruto’s face, before I start giggling to myself and shaking my head.
“Not at all Naruto” I assure the blonde. “I was quite nervous to fight you actually. You’re one of the strongest Ninja I’ve met, in more ways than one, and you’re only going to keep improving.”
Naruto’s innocent blue eyes widen as I continue talking, running a hand through my messy blonde hair.
“I admit that I didn’t try my absolute best” I say apologetically, “But only because I don’t want to risk really hurting you, or taking it a little too seriously and killing you. I’m not used to friendly sparring…..And besides, it’s not like you were trying your absolute best either.”
Naruto sweat drops, chuckling sheepishly as he reaches up and rubs the back of his head, to which I roll my eyes good naturedly.
“If this had’ve been a life or death situation” I continue, “Then I sure would have gone all out against you, but even then, you’d still be a pain in the ass to kill. And besides, you’d probably go all Nine Tails on me and whoop my ass.”
“No way” my blue eyed friend laughs, “Coz then you’d go all Ten Tails on me!”
I shake my head, grinning fondly at Naruto, when someone suddenly appears beside us. We both blink, tilting our heads back and coming face to face with Kakashi Sensei. I sweat drop at the deadpan look he’s giving me, before Naruto suddenly jumps up, eyes blazing.
“Kakashi Sensei!” the blonde barks loudly. “Did you see any of that?! Me and Ashley just had the best sparring match! I’m so fired up right now, train me!”
“I sure did see your match” Kakashi sighs, placing his hand on Naruto’s excited face and shoving him away. “And I can’t say I’m happy about it. Ashley, didn’t Sakura tell you yesterday that you’re not allowed to get into any fights for awhile?”
“So?” I challenge childishly, crossing my arms and turning my head away. “I didn’t exactly see you trying to stop our fight Sensei. If you were really so unhappy about it, why didn’t you intervene?”
Kakashi Sensei glares down at me for a few moments, before sweat dropping and scratching his cheek sheepishly.
“I wanted to see how it would turn out” he admits, causing me to anime fall. Idiot.
“Okay, so I won’t tell Sakura about this fight” Kakashi Sensei promises, placing his hands in his pockets, “But next time, not only will I tell her about it, I’ll lock you in a hospital room with her. Understood?”
"You're cruel Sensei” I whimper, anime tears falling from my wavering eyes. “She’d destroy me.”
“Kakashi Sensei!” Naruto barks, jumping to his feet and frowning at said silver haired Jonin. “Please go and get Captain Yamato so we can do some training!”
“Actually Naruto” Kakashi Sensei replies, “I decided that you and I are going to do some solo training today. We won’t bother with Yamato today alright?”
“Yessss!” Naruto cheers, throwing his arms in the air and making me shake my head.
‘Where does all that energy come from?’ I wonder in amusement, climbing to my feet and dusting myself off.
“Speaking of Captain Yamato” I speak up, catching my Sensei’s attention, “Do you have any idea where he is Kakashi Sensei? If you guys aren’t going to be needing him, I might take him off your hands for awhile.”
Kakashi Sensei stares at me questioningly for a moment, before I see his visible eye crease slightly, a sure sign that he’s smiling at me.
“He has a meeting with Lady Tsunade today” the older Jonin informs me. “He should be finished there any time now…..Got some training in mind?”
“Maybe” I say cheekily, before waving goodbye to Kakashi Sensei and a still cheering Naruto, bounding away from them and heading for the Hokage Tower.
‘We’ll see if you’re right Sensei….’
Now, Naruto is one of my very favorite characters, and I'm sorry, but it's just impossible for me to do him justice in a fight :P This wasn't a proper fight, but still, if it made sense, I would've totally had him destroy Ashley lol. He's not quite there yet though.
ANWAY! Please vote and comment on this epicly, insanely long chapter for me lol. Until next time! xD