[ I HAVE AN ORIGINAL STORY CALLED: The Loser's Hero!
It's a secret fanfiction of this book, just set in a high school setting. Think of it as Konoha High.]
Chapter 11: We're Friends?
"What do you mean she's on a mission?!" A large fist slammed onto the desk below.
Misumi, Nia's little sister, had been called in when Samoi had reported that she couldn't find her young student in almost two weeks.
"I swear she told me that you sent her on a mission and that she'd be back in two weeks! I'm not lyi-"
"Silence." Raikage interrupted the young teen, "I don't need to hear anymore from you. Your sister slipped out this village and departed out on her own. Samoi can't find her-That means I'm going to have to send out some sensory type ninja's and A.N.B.U members to have them bring that girl back; I won't stand for one of our own ditching the village."
"Sir-"
"Dismissed!"
"But I got an idea of where Nia might be!" Misumi continued.
The Raikage sighed heavily.
"Please listen to what I have to say, Sir."
"All right. I will"
Misumi calmed her nerves then said, "Lately, I've been hearing Nia talk about this "Jiraiya" guy. She says that he's some kind of awesome dude that she always wanted to meet or something like that. Anyway, she told me that he originated from the Hidden Leaf."
"So," The large man folded his fingers under his chin, "You're telling me Nia may have deserted to the Hidden Leaf to meet this man?"
"Yeah. Pretty much." Misumi nodded, "I mean, it's a pretty big possibility. I would start from there."
"Hmm... Well she has been obsessed with that book of his, Lord Raikage." Samoi stepped forward.
"Yes, I know. I had to take it away from her so she could focus on her ninjutsu. I never imagined she'd go running off the way she did though."
"Well you did say you would send her back to the academy if she didn't get better at ninjutsu. Maybe she went off to look for someone to help her with that, Sir." Darui, who stood to the left of his leader, commented.
"That may be so." Raikage agreed, "However, it'll take about a week for the ninja's to get to Konoha even at their top speed."
The room was silent for about a minute. Finally, the Raikage decided to have his chosen ninja's to inspect Konoha. He ordered his right and left hand men to call in a few ANBU and sensory ninja. Meanwhile, he would prepare a scroll to give to the Hokage about what was going on and why his men were arriving at their village.
Misumi, having been dismissed, walked out the room and into the halls and down the stairs.
'Nia, did you really go rogue on us?'
****
"Now Naruto, don't go off using this new jutsu whenever you please. Only use it as a last resort. You hear me?" Jiraiya gave his pupil a serious look.
"I hear." Uzumaki replied.
"Good."
The sannin looked to his left and saw Nia sitting underneath a tree, writing in her diary. He placed his arm around Naruto's shoulder and said, "I've noticed you two been spending quite a lot of time together for the past several days."
"You can say that I guess." Naruto replied.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the blonde, "So... Is there something going on between you two already?"
"Eh?" Naruto backed away from his master,
"There's nothing going on, Pervy Sage."
Jiraiya studied his student's face, but there was no indication of him lying or having a crush on the female genin.
"Hmph, you don't seem to be lying."
"Of course not; I'm just beginning to get to know her." Naruto replied with honesty, "Besides, I've already told her that Sakura is the one I have my eye on."
"Why would you tell her that?!"
The genin made a face, "What do you mean? She's the one who asked me if I had feelings for someone; I just told her the truth."
"You ever think she asked you that cause while you don't have gushy feelings for her, maybe she has the hots for you?" Jiraiya asked.
"Huh?"
"Don't be so naive and innocent, Naruto. Even I can tell that she does."
The blue-eyed male peeked over to his peer. The only thing he's really noticed about her was that she seemed more friendlier than she did when they first met... That and smiling more often was the only key components. However, she didn't really seem too much different in general.
Just then, Nia closed her diary and stashed it away in her bag. She stood up, dust herself off, then looked over to where Naruto and Jiraiya were and smiled. Quickly, Jiraiya turned his and Naruto's backs facing the kunoichi.
"Now I know you had to see that one, kid." The toad sage chuckled.
"See what?" Naruto questioned.
"That smile she gave you."
Again Naruto sweat-dropped, "C'mon, Pervy Sage. She smiled at both of us."
Jiraiya sighed deeply.
'He just won't understand a woman's body language for a looong time...'
"Guys?"
"Nia, you're finally done taking a break." Jiraiya once more turned himself and Naruto to face the girl.
"Yeah!" She nodded.
Momentarily, her and Naruto made eye contact but Nia looked away almost immediately after. Jiraiya noticed this and slightly giggled. He nudged Naruto on the arm.
"What is it? Why are you bumping my arm?" The young ninja asked.
"Oh brother..." Jiraiya sighed again, "Hey Nia, you want another writing session right now?"
"Yeah!" The girl happily nodded, "That'd be awesome!"
"Well, let's get going." Jiraiya began to walk forward.
"Okay!" She turned and followed her master.
Naruto stood in place.
"Hey! What about me?!" He asked.
"Do whatever you like." Jiraiya answered.
It didn't take too long for Naruto to decide to not go with the other two. Instead, he took the chance to travel in the village and hopefully find an Ichiraku shop.
"See you guys later, then." The blonde waved before running in the complete opposite direction of where Nia and Jiraiya were headed.
"Byeee!" Nia responded.
Jiraiya glanced at her then Naruto then back at Nia.
"So what are you going to teach me? POV? Paragraph structure? Voice? Maybe word choice?" The girl rambled.
"No. We're going to learn the different types of genre." Jiraya told her.
"Genre? But I already know about that stuff."
"Yes but... We're going to find out which one best suits your interest and is best for you in general."
Nia just nodded, "All right then."
"Don't be so gloomy. Someone with your style of writing can generate a lot of books with different topics and themes. For example: adventure, suspense, and action could be your strong suit."
Jiraiya then paused. He thought of the main topic Nia could definitely master if she worked hard at it.
"Maybe romance will be best for you." The sage teased, "You seem to be understanding your growing feelings for somebody."
"Huh?" Nia looked at Jiraiya, "Growing feelings for who? I don't care about anyone in a romantic sense. Well at least... I don't think so."
This perked the old man's ears, "Oh so there is someone."
"..."
"You can tell me. As your master, I won't judge you on personal issues."
"Well... There's this guy that I liked since I was thirteen... He's from the Hidden Cloud..."
Jiraiya sweat-dropped as Nia continued speaking.
'Oh... So there really isn't anything going on between her and Naruto. They both like someone else...'
"Jiraiya-sensei?"
"I'm listening." The sannin responded as the two walked in the color-filled forest.
"This guy always seemed somewhat cold though."
"You talked to him though, right? What made him seem cold?"
"Um... Actually... I never really talked to him."
Jiraiya fell dramatically on his stomach and face with his arms stretched out and a leg bent upward. Nia saw this and asked if he was alright.
"You never once talked to him?!" He brought his face up with a shocked expression.
Nia grew red with embarrassment.
"No..." She answered.
"If you never talked to him, how did you like him for the past... What, three years?!"
Nia felt sensitive, "I thought you said you wouldn't judge me, Jiraiya-sensei..."
The old man sat up and told Nia to take a seat on the grass. She did just that and the sannin placed his hand on her shoulder as she stared down at the ground.
"I didn't mean to act the way I did, Kid. It just took me by surprise." He reassured the teen.
"..."
"Why don't you tell me more about this situation... You look kinda down."
"Mmm... All right..." Nia agreed.
'How can I make this sound as natural as possible...?'
****
In the peaceful small village, Naruto entered out of a ramen shop and had a huge smile on his face.
''That ramen was almost as good as Ichiraku's!' He thought as he patted his filled stomach.
He wondered what he should do next but couldn't decide on anything fun or interesting.
"Guess I should head back out and find Geezer Sage and Curly Brow." The genin walked around with his hands in his pockets.
He noticed a few people gawking at him but didn't think anything of it. They whispered to one another until one young woman with long black hair and eyes approached him; She wore a somewhat revealing dress.
"Hey cutie, You're from one of the five great nations, right?" She spoked in a alluring tone.
"Yeah, I am." Naruto answered while appearing a bit flustered.
The woman was beautiful.
"What is a ninja from there in a smaller village like this? Are you on an important mission?" The lady flirtatiously touched the male's upper arm.
Naruto felt a bit uncomfortable but answered the stranger's question anyway, "Actually, I'm here with my master. He's on some research trip so he could find some inspiration for a new book he's writing."
"And whom might your master be?" The woman still spoke in a seductive manner.
"His name is Jiraiya; he's one of the three legendary sannin."
"What?! Really?" The woman then gasped.
Naruto nodded, "It's true."
"I heard he has a weakness for pretty women."
"He sure does." Naruto laughed, "It's a little embarrassing how fast his eyes wander when he spots one while we're on the road; he's always cat-calling and sometimes dragging me into the midst of trouble with those girls."
"Well, some woman don't like it when a man only notices their beauty and not for the person they are deep inside."
The woman again rubbed Naruto's arm.
"Ugh... What are you doing lady?"
"Huh? Oh sorry, young man." The lady pulled her hand away, "It's just, you're such a handsome man."
"Oh, I'm not all that." Naruto got slightly red in the face.
"Oh yes you are." The woman poked at his chest and giggled, "Why don't we spend some time together? It'll be fun."
"Sorry, but I really should be going. Pervy Sage is probably waiting for me. Maybe next time."
"But... you do know what I mean by "fun", don't you?" The woman pressed her chest against Naruto's and stroked his chest.
'This lady is starting to creep me out.' The genin thought.
Gently, he pushed her away from him then told her, "Sorry, but I already ate a bowl of ramen and enjoyed the scenery of this village; I already had enough fun. It's time for me to catch up with my master."
The woman sweat-dropped upon hearing his reply. He mistaken her "fun" for something more general.
'What a innocent man...' She said to herself.
With that, Naruto was prepared to leave. The woman grabbed his arm first.
"At least tell me your name before you leave, young man." She begged.
"It's Naruto Uzumaki." The genin replied before he leaped onto the buildings and out of the woman's sight.
"Naruto." She repeated.
Just then, three men hiding in a dark alleyway revealed themselves into the light of day. One was bald, black-eyed, tall, and wore clothing that would resemble a rebel. The next was tall also, had spiky red hair that slanted to the right, grey eyes and wore the small village's custom attire. The last was of average height, chubby, had curly short brown hair and narrow brown eyes, and wore a black jumpsuit with a black trench coat over it and dark boots. None of the men wore their village's headband.
"I know who my next victim is, boys." The woman smirked.
"Yes, Lady Mumi." The men respond.
"Naruto Uzumaki." The bald man said.
****
"Pervy Saaage!"
Jiraiya, who was sitting on the grass and writing his manuscript, turned his head and saw Naruto descend off a tree and land right behind him.
"Oh, you're back." The sage responded.
Naruto smiled, "Yeah; I thought I may have been gone for too long."
"Well, the sun's about to set so you did take your time."
"Sorry about that."
"It's fine; It wasn't like we had any training to do." Jiraiya replied as Naruto looked around.
"Where did Nia go?" The blonde asked.
Jiraiya's eyes lowered to the ground. Naruto caught sight of it and asked if something bad happened. Jiraiya denied it but asked the young ninja to not go running off to find the girl.
"She wants to be alone right now." The older man spoke with clear discomfort.
Naruto frowned, "I don't know, Pervy Sage; That expression you made makes me think there's something troubling her."
Having made up his mind, Naruto sprinted off, "I'm gonna go find her."
"Naruto!" Jiraiya called but to no avail.
He layed on his back and crossed his arms under his head.
'That knucklehead.' He thought, 'Nia was clearly upset when she wanted to be alone and nothing I said made her cheer up... All I can do is just hope Naruto will do a better job at consoling her.'
****
Nia sat on a nice smooth rock surface, dangling her legs over the pond below her. She had her diary open but the page she wrote on was wet with tears.
The memories of her past haunted her. The conversation she had with Jiraiya sucked her back in the state she was when she was fourteen. She didn't understand why she had felt the way she did towards Bejiri-the male whom she didn't talk to but liked.
Nothing of it made sense to her. Yes, he might have stared and smiled constantly at her, seemed to somehow have feelings for her also, defended her from others whenever they teased her, and seemed friendly at first, but still... She never once talked to him and he already had a girlfriend and she didn't know about it till a friend of his told her about it.
But still... How could a stranger make her feel the way she did? Was it because the attention she got from him was the only positive attention she received from a male in her entire life? Was it because of her need to love and be loved? Maybe she had no self-respect or felt shallow at the time?
Whatever the reason, it all lead to her feeling the pain of rejection and loneliness to a huge degree.
'I'm such a dumbass.' She insulted herself as another tear fell out of her eyes, 'How could I have really thought anyone could ever care about someone who looks like me?'
Not too far, Naruto had spotted the kunoichi and walked towards her direction from the left side. He stopped when he saw the expression on her face.
'Curly Brow...'
Her face was stained with tears and her nose looked stuffed. When the ninja got closer, he saw that her eyes were also slightly red and that they looked somewhat swollen.
"Nia...?" He reached the girl.
Shocked to hear his voice, Nia turned to look at the male, "Naruto!"
The boy's eyes showed concern in them. This caused Nia to get embarrassed.
Quickly, she took her glasses off and turned her back towards him then used her hands to wipe her tears and face.
'Oh my goodness, he's back already! Ohh, I hope he didn't see me crying!'
"What's wrong, Nia? Were you... crying?" Naruto asked with a soft tone.
"No!" She lied as she continued to freshen herself up, "I wasn't crying. Why would I be crying?"
"You tell me..." Naruto sat down next to his comrade.
Nia fidgeted when he actually sat near her. The moment felt awkward to her. She really thought no one was around when her emotions got the best of her.
Finally, she took her hands away from her face, placed her glasses back on then looked at Naruto with gloomy eyes. However, his eyes radiated with sympathy and kindness. It didn't take long for the girl to glance away.
'That look... Why's he looking at me like that?'
"I... I thought you were having fun in the village." Nia finally spoke but with a dull tone.
"I was but I got bored pretty quickly."
"Oh..."
Naruto watched as the girl lowered her eyes to her lap. It was obvious she felt uncomfortable.
"Nia, I know something is bothering you-"
"Nothing's bothering me!"
"Like hell there isn't!" Naruto raised his voice, "I just saw you crying! You honestly think I'm dumb enough to believe you?!"
"..."
Her unresponsive answer gave Naruto the signal to speak more calmly.
"Friends are supposed to be there for one another. I'm just trying to lend you an ear that'll listen to whatever you have to say."
"What? We're friends?" Nia looked at Naruto with widened eyes.
"Of course we are, y'know!" Naruto pumped his fist.
His quick answer caused blood to rise to the surface of Nia's face. She never really saw them as friends but since he said it, she began to think it too.
"It's such a weird feeling." She began to slightly smile.
"What is?" Naruto tilted his head.
"You saying we're friends... It makes me feel a little giddy inside."
"Why? Did you not ever have a friend before?"
"I've had some but... none of them ever really cared about me. If I was upset or felt alone, none would bother cheering me up. I eventually grew distant from them with time."
This got on Naruto's bad side.
"People who abandon you aren't your friends, Curly Brow! A friend doesn't watch you live your life in pain and agony! They're supposed to give you a helping hand and lend their support." He spoke from his heart.
"Really?"
Naruto nodded, "Yeah! That's why, from this moment forward... You can always count on me being there for you; I never turn my back on any of my friends!"
For a moment, Nia's heart skipped a beat. She looked at Naruto with a tomato-colored face.
'What's this feeling now...?'
"Hm?" Naruto noticed the girl's stare.
Quickly, she again pretended to look over his shoulder. Naruto sweat-dropped.
'She keeps avoiding looking at me...'
"Err so..." Naruto talked, "You wanna get that load off your shoulder?"
"..."
Though Nia still felt suspicious of Naruto's intentions, something in her gut told her that venting to him would make her feel a bit better. She decided to take the gamble and speak what was on her mind.
Ten minutes passed by then twenty. The moon had already risen into view and its image was being reflected by the lake.
"I see..." Naruto placed his hand under his chin, "This guy you liked gave you the wrong idea and pretty much broke your heart."
"...More like he leaded me on..." Nia corrected the blond.
"I don't know if it's possible to lead someone on you don't talk t-"
"IF I SAID HE DID, HE DID!" The girl furiously yelled.
"GAHHH!" Naruto became frightened, "You're right! He leaded you on!"
Nia took a deep breath and placed her chin on her hands; her elbows were a
on her lap.
"You understand unrequited love, don't you?" She said, "So you already know how painful it is."
"Yeah." Naruto sighed, "But that stuff isn't on my mind right now..."
"Oh? What is then?"
"My friend."
"..."
"Sasuke... You see, he died about three months ago. He was my teammate and the guy Sakura originally had a huge crush on." Naruto explained with a flat tone of voice, "I don't know if you were there when it happened, but he had an older brother who killed everyone in his clan besides Sasuke himself."
"I know what you're talking about." Nia replied, "Iruka sent my parents a letter about it and I read about it when they were out on a mission one day without permission."
Naruto nodded then continued, "Ever since I found out about it, I knew he was alone. I thought he was just like me. We didn't have a family to come home to."
'Sad...' Nia said to herself after hearing what she did.
"However, even though he was alone... I felt as if... I had somebody who could possibly understand what I felt: Loneliness."
Naruto then smiled sadly, "I just wish he knew how jealous I was of him while we were in the academy. He was literally better than me at everything: throwing shuriken, taijutsu, running, and even making clones."
"Clones?!" Nia gasped, "but that's definitely your specialty! I mean it's ridiculous how many copies you can make of yourself!"
This made Naruto laugh, "You'd be surprised how much I struggled trying to make just one decent copy."
Suddenly, the two became quiet. Ripples of the lake below them was the only sound being heard.
"So... do the villager's still treat you... You know..." The girl broke the ice.
"No." Naruto answered, "I managed to get them to at least stop seeing me as the nine-tails but nothing more than that."
"It's still something!" Nia responded with a sincere smile, "They're acknowledging you as a human being and you've said that you made a whole lot of friends along the course of your life."
"That was after I was put in my genin squad. Before that, no one would give me the time or day."
"..."
"Naruto..." The kunoichi felt sympathy for the young man's troubled childhood, "That must've been incredibly painful."
She then paused and felt ashamed. Her bang casted a shadow over her eyes as she looked down, "I'm sorry... I was all sitting here, acting as if no one could possibly care or understand me. I never thought that maybe you needed someone to talk with about what you've been through. I'm so selfish, I'm really sorry."
"No, you don't need to apologize; I'm a lot happier now than I ever was back then."
Naruto then briefly glanced at Nia and saw her intently focused on him with empathy in her eyes.
He stood up and held his hand out with a smile, "C'mon, let's get back to Pervy Sage; I bet he's already wondering where we are."
Nia agreed and willingly placed her hand in Naruto's and stood up, "Yeah."
'He's such a nice person...'
"Naruto... Thank you. Thank you for listening to me." Nia made a soft genuine smile, "That made me so happy. I'm not going to call you Whisker Cheeks ever again."
"That's nice to hear. I guess I'll try to not call you Curly Brow either. No promises though."
"Fine. Whatever." The kunoichi replied with a giggle.
Naruto kept his smile. He then noticed Nia's hand still in his and softly pulled away.
The two then walked towards the direction of their master, telling one another their pet peeves and laughing about the other's most embarrassing moments.
What they didn't know was that there were four pairs of eyes keeping watch of the two friends. They belonged to Mumi, whom Naruto met in the village, and her gang of men. They all hid in the thick leaves of a tree.
"Who does that girl think she is trying to steal my man?!" Mumi grunted as she watched Nia and Naruto walk past the tree she moved to, laughing and having a good conversation.
"Lady Mumi, don't you think that guy looks a bit too young for-"
"Are you implying that I'm old?!"
"No, of course not." The man with the red hair denied completely.
"Good." The woman smiled. She then got of an idea.
"I'll have to make my move when the young man is asleep."
----
A/N: This took forEVER to type and plan out. Oh well, at least it's done and ready to be posted. I hope you guys enjoyed. Plz comment (pleeeeeease! It really helps a loopy) and vote :) Love ya!