"Words are just words, anyway."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Minxie's POV
I was in my room the next morning, trying to escape the world as I played with my kittens. Of course, that completely backfired when the doorbell rang.
I waited for someone in the house to get it, but no one moved. I expected Kylie to start yelling at us for not answering, but she didn't, and I guessed that she was probably out somewhere.
"Someone's at the door!" I shouted, but there was no response. "Mitchell! Rin? Ryuu? Ugh..." I stood up, opening my room door.
"The doorbell!" I shouted again, looking out at the hallway. Still, I saw no one. I sighed deeply, "Ah, you're all useless!"
I went down the staircase and towards the front door, yanking it open. I was surprised to see Shikamaru standing there with his hands in his pockets.
"Minxie," He greeted.
"Shikamaru," I greeted, "Hey. Is something going on?"
"We're decoding the message Lord Jiraiya left," He explained. "We need your help."
"We?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.
It was then that Naruto emerged from behind Shikamaru and said, "Hey."
I felt like someone had just knocked the air out of my lungs. I stared at Naruto for a while, completely silent. The way he stared back made me sure that things were going to be awkward between us.
Shikamaru looked in between us, "Um... Is there something going on with you two?"
"No," I answered quickly, at the same time Naruto answered, "Yes."
I gave Naruto a hard stare, then looked back at Shikamaru. "It's nothing."
"So what happened was nothing?" Naruto asked.
"Of course not," I replied.
"Then why are you saying it's nothing?" He inquired.
"Why are you being such an ass?" I snapped, scowling at him.
"Why can't you just answer the question?" He shot back, and I felt like I had been slapped.
Shikamaru was now utterly confused. "Um... Huh?"
"Don't ask," I said quickly. "Just let me get my jacket."
"All right," Shikamaru said, but I knew he was uncomfortable.
I grabbed my jacket from the coat rack and slipped it on easily, heading back to the doorway. Instead of facing Shikamaru, however, I faced Naruto.
By faced, I mean I accidentally slammed into his chest. I immediately put my hands up, keeping some distance between us.
I went right, but Naruto had the same idea. I went left, and again, we bumped into each other.
I was completely stressed at the point. Things were so awkward before, and us being this close to each other was only making it worse!
Suddenly, Naruto took a step back, moved to the side, and moved his hands in a gesture for me to walk in front of him.
I murmured a thank you and walked forward. Shikamaru was at my side instantly.
"Did you guys kiss or something?" He asked.
"No!" I snapped, and he put his hands up.
"Okay, okay," He surrendered. "But you guys are best friends. Today, things are really... Awkward."
"Don't remind me," I groaned, and he lapsed into silence, leading us to wherever the hell we were going.
~*~
"So this is where you were," I said, entering the Cipher Corps building. I spotted Mitchell and Kylie sitting at a table in a room filled with books that all contained different codes.
"Sorry we didn't tell you," Kylie apologized, "We didn't want to wake you. You looked like you had a long night."
Naruto snorted, and I shot him a look. Kylie raised an eyebrow at the gesture, but I was focused on Naruto.
"What?" He asked.
"Are you really going to keep doing this?" I asked him, tilting my head.
"You keep acting like you don't care," He pointed out. "Why can't I do the same?"
My emerald eyes bore into his blue ones, and we stared at each other for the longest time.
"Um... Okay?" Kylie said, confused.
I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, the code. What're we supposed to be deciphering?"
"This," Shikamaru said, sliding the picture of the small toad's back onto the table so Naruto and I could view it. "Lady Hokage and Kakashi-sensei had no idea of what it could mean. You were both Lord Jiraiya's students, so I figured you'd be able to tell more about it."
"It's just a bunch of numbers," Naruto said flatly, not even glancing at the picture.
"You haven't even looked at it," I said, scowling at him. "How do you expect to figure out what it means?"
"Maybe I don't want to know what it means, Minxie," He said.
"Well, you should, Naruto," I said.
"And you're gonna make me?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow. The whole time, we were stepping closer to each other, and now, we were directly in front of each other, staring at each other intently.
"Guys!" Mitchell shouted. "We're supposed to be deciphering a code, which we can't do if you two keep building up your sexual tension!"
"I'm not sure if we can decipher it," Naruto said. "Minxie isn't one to look into what someone means. She doesn't even bother."
"Can't you just let that go for two seconds?" I snapped, glaring at him.
"Why should I?" He shot back.
"Okay!" Shikamaru interrupted, "What the hell is going on with you two?"
"I told her that I'm in love with her," Naruto answered, his eyes never leaving mine.
Their reactions were priceless. I, on the other hand, wanted to crawl into a hole and never emerge again.
"And now things are just really awkward," Naruto finished.
I didn't know what to do anymore. I looked away from Naruto, unable to bear the look he was giving me.
"... Yeah," I said quietly. "And now the awkward silence is only making it more awkward, so..." I brought the picture to the center of the table. "We should get started with figuring out this code."
"She's right," Kylie said, trying to make the awkwardity more comfortable. "We should get to work."
"I'll start checking to see if this code corresponds with any of the ones in Konoha," I said quickly, walking towards the book shelf on the other side of the large room. Kylie, as expected, followed me.
"What... What happened last night?" She asked.
"He told me the truth," I replied. "And now he's being an ass."
"So then he told you that he was in love with you?" I nodded. "And you didn't say anything back to him?"
"What was I supposed to say, Kylie?"
"Oh, I don't know... Maybe that you're in love with him, too?"
"That's the thing, Ky, I'm not," I insisted. "I don't want to be in love with him." I looked around me. "He doesn't even know that I kissed Sasuke. You really think he's going to love me after he finds that out?"
She stopped speaking then. She just stared at me, her mouth hanging open. "You really don't get it, do you?"
"What're you talking about?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"You think the love Naruto has for you just built up overnight?" She asked incredulously. "He's your best friend, Minx. He's seen you at your lowest and weakest points, seen all your faults, yet he still admitted that he loves you. The type of love he has for you may be irrational, but I know for a fact that that kind of love never dies. He loves you, Minx, and he's going to love you for the rest of your life."
I opened my mouth to speak, but she shook her head.
"Just think about it," She said. "You might find out that what you've been looking for has been right in front of you this whole time." She gave me a small, sad smile before leaving me alone.
I pressed my head against the bookshelf and groaned, hating my life and all of its pointless complications.
"Minx?" Shikamaru's voice called, and I looked up to see my familiar friend with hair that made him look like a pineapple. "What're you doing?"
"Sniffing the bookcase, duh," I said obviously.
"God, you're weird," He muttered. "Anyway, I have someone for you to meet."
I nodded, although I really wasn't in the mood to meet anyone. I could barely manage the friends I had now. Introducing me to more people? That would be suicide.
I paused, however, when I saw a teenage girl with circular glasses and a long jacket standing by the table.
"Minxie, this is Shiho," Shikamaru introduced. "She works for the Cipher Corps. She'll be helping us decipher the code. Shiho, this is Minxie."
I waved at her smally. "Hey."
She smiled, waving back. "Have you guys come up with anything?"
"No," He replied. "I asked Lady Fifth and Kakashi-sensei if they had any idea what it meant, but they didn't know. The only ones left that can possibly figure this out are these two." He gestured to Naruto and I. "Of course, that was before..."
"Before...?" Shiho was lost.
"We had an, uhh... Situation," Mitchell said, scratching the back of his head. "But-"
"But it's nothing we can't handle," I interrupted, giving him a look. "Can we just do whatever it is we're supposed to do now?"
"All right," Kylie said. She looked at Naruto. "I need you and Minxie to look at the photo." She slid it towards us. "Does anything stand out to you? Anything at all?"
I stared at the picture for a long while, but it was hard to focus when Naruto was next to me. His entire presence invaded my mind, making me incapable of doing my job.
"Well, this," Naruto and I said at the same time, and we both reached for the picture at the same time. Our hands touched, and we both looked at each other. Our eyes met for a few moments before we both looked away, pulling our hands back to our sides.
"Sorry," I murmured, looking down and rubbing my arm.
"For which part?" He asked, and I sighed.
"Don't start this again," I begged.
"It was never finished, Minxie," He said, staring me right in the eyes.
"Well maybe it should be," I said without thinking, and he stared at me as if I'd just smacked him in the face. "Wait, Naruto, I didn't mean-"
"Yeah, you did," He cut me off. "I get it. Everything I said just really became a problem for you."
"That's not true," I said.
"Then what's true, Minxie? Because I just don't get it anymore!"
"Neither do I, Naruto! Don't you get that I'm as confused as you are?"
"I'm not confused, Minxie. I know what I said, and I meant it."
"Naruto..."
"What? I love you. Why can't you just accept that?"
"Because you're going to get hurt! And I can't stand watching that."
"So now you care?"
"I've always cared."
"That is it!" Kylie exclaimed, slamming her palm onto the table. "I have no idea what's going on with you two right now, but whatever it is is going to have to be pushed aside! Normally, I'm not one for ignoring feelings, but this is just ridiculous! Your sensei is dead. He wrote this message for you two to understand, he did this to help us! And yet here you are, arguing like there's no tomorrow.
"You guys want to hate each other? Cool. Do it after we take care of this message. Then, you can argue and yell and make out for all I care. But we need to get this code deciphered. It's your duty, not just as shinobi, but as students of Lord Jiraiya," She finished seriously.
Naruto and I stared at her for a long while before sighing.
"The katakana letter is out of place," He muttered.
"Huh?" She asked, surprised.
"There's no katakana letter," Mitchell stated. "There's only numbers.
"Yeah there is," Naruto said. "It's right there." He pointed to the nine.
I glanced at the number and realized that it actually was a katakana letter, only written differently.
"A penmanship quirk," I muttered, piecing things together in my mind. "It's really the character for ta."
"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "When Pervy Sage and I were traveling, he made me review his works, since he was a writer, after all. It was totally boring, but I remember seeing him write his ta like this."
"It makes sense!" Shiho decided. She pulled out a piece of paper and began to write. "Instead of making the first stroke stronger, he curved it, making it look like a number nine. Naruto is the only one who could've realized it from his books."
"There's got to be more answers in his writing," Mitchell stated.
"Page numbers?" I guessed.
"Sounds most likely," Shikamaru said. "We'll have to check all of the books."
"And the only one who can help us is..." Kylie's voice trailed off.
Suddenly, before she could continue, we heard someone say, "This one."
I turned around to see Kakashi-sensei leaning in the doorway, holding a book titled "Make-Out Tactics."
"Woah. Make-Out Tactics?" I shook my head. "You, sir, need a real girlfriend. And a hobby."
"Make-Out Tactics..." Shikmaru murmured. "Ta for Tactics?"
"Exactly," Mitchell agreed. Shiho nodded in confirmation.
"Wait, how'd you find us, sensei?" Naruto inquired.
"The whole deciphering thing has been on my mind lately, so I dropped in when I heard your voices," Kakashi-sensei said. "I heard pretty much all of it."
I groaned under my breath, wanting so desperately to bang my head against a bookcase. Now, Kakashi-sensei knew about Naruto and I, too. Wonderful.
"I remember that book," I said aloud, staring at the book in Kakashi's hands. "That was the one Pervy Sage was working on while he was teaching me the Rasengan."
"You were right, Shikamaru," Mitchell said. "Only Minxie and Naruto would've been able to figure this out."
"Lord Jiraiya had to have passed on the key to the two of you," Kylie stated, blinking at us.
"So... Where to we go from here?" I asked, looking to Shiho for an answer. She was, after all, from the Cipher Corps.
"Just as you said, we'll look at these page numbers," She said, gesturing to the photo. "We'll take the first word on each page and string it together to see what we come up with. If not, we go deeper and use the first letter."
"So then the first page we'll go to is page 31," Kylie said.
"All right," Kakashi-sensei said. He flipped to page 31. "Now what?"
"Read the first sentence out loud," Kylie said, smiling a little.
"Wait, what!?" A blush crossed over his face. "I thought we only had to read the first word!"
"We need to make sure we don't miss anything," I sang, catching the drift of where Kylie was going. "That, and we just love to embarrass you. I'll write it down." I grabbed a paper and pen and got ready.
"What's the big deal, anyway?" Shiho asked, confused. "What's wrong with the book?"
I shook my head. "Trust me... You don't want to know." I looked at Kakashi-sensei. "You'd better start reading."
"You're an evil student, you know that?" Kakashi-sensei inquired.
"Oh, I know. Don't be jealous of my awesomeness. Now, read."
Third Person's POV
"Ah!" Somewhere, far, far away from Konoha and any other means of help, was a screaming Cloud ninja. Now, why was he screaming, you ask? The answer is simple.
He was currently being slammed into a gate by a teenage boy who shared many resemblances with a shark, also known as Suigetsu.
"I'll ask one more time," Suigetsu said, sporting his new Akatsuki cloak. "Where's Eight Tails?"
"I... Will never... Betray one of my own!" The man said, retaining his will, even in a very bad situation. "Especially... Not to... The likes of you...!"
"Let's see how much longer you will retain that ideal..." a new, deep, menacing voice said. "... Once you experience the worst kind of fear."
The new voice was none other than Sasuke Uchiha.
Whatever humanity had been returned to him was gone. He was a monster, now, a machine. Emotionless. Powerful, too, with his new Mangekyo Sharingan. His humanity was erased, and there was a simple reason for that. And that reason was Minxie.
Funny, yes, that the same person who gave him his humanity so effortlessly could just take it away. It wasn't like the poor girl knew it, either. She was just doing what she should've done all along: she let him go. For once, she did something for herself.
And it affected him a lot more than she realized.
Caught in Sasuke's Magekyo Sharingan, the Cloud ninja froze. His body was immobile, whereas his eyes were completely wide. Everything in his world was distorted.
"Let up, Suigetsu," Karin said, stopping behind Sasuke. "He's under Sasuke's genjutsu now."
"Aw, man," Suigetsu whined. "And I was just getting to the good part." Nonetheless, he released the Cloud ninja.
"Give me Eight Tails' location," Sasuke demanded.
"Training... He's training in... Storm Cloud Ravine," the man spoke as if he was in a trance.
"Distinguishing features?" Sasuke inquired.
"He has... Eight blades... And the word 'steel' tattooed on his right shoulder," the man continued. "Bull horns... Are on his left cheek..."
And then he fell to the floor.
Sasuke's eyes returned to their normal onyx color, and he turned around. "Let's go."
"Already?" Suigetsu complained. "Can't we just take a break?"
"Eight Tails won't wait, idiot!" Karin snapped. "We need to get to him now!"
"You're loud," Suigetsu sighed. "I liked Minxie a lot more than you." He looked at Sasuke. "Speaking of Minxie... Where is the little hottie? I haven't seen her in days."
"... She went home," Sasuke stated blankly.
"And you let her? Just like that?" Suigetsu asked, surprised. "I thought you two were an item."
"WHAT!?" Karin hollered. "They were no such thing!"
The boys, as expected, ignored the fuming redhead.
"She made her decision," Sasuke said, uncaring. "I made mine. It's done."
"Really? Because the way you two were together, I'd say you were in love with her," Suigetsu said, wanting to see how far he could actually push the new Sasuke.
"... That doesn't concern you," Sasuke stated darkly. "She's gone now. We have a task at hand. Focus on that."
"You know, Sasuke, I thought you were all big and bad until I saw you with Minxie," Suigetsu pressed. "But you get awfully sensitive when I mention her."
"Not another word about her, Suigetsu," Sasuke commanded.
"Why not?" Suigetsu inquired. "She was so much fun and-"
"Say anything else..." Sasuke said, turning to face the shark-boy with Sharingan. "And I'll kill you."
~*~
Meanwhile, in the Akatsuki lair, a whole other ordeal was taking place.
"Struggling, are we?" Madara inquired from his seat in his chair.
"We had an unexpected visitor," Pain answered. "But he's taken care of. We will head to Konoha to hunt Nine-Tails and the Prophecy Child."
"Ah, Minxie. Poor girl probably doesn't even know that she's the Creator's Host," Madara mused. "Very well, then, you may do as you've planned. Remember, Jiraiya was of Konoha. Their guard will be up, now. Most likely, they are already creating a plan. Move now before it becomes more difficult."
"No matter what, we will capture them both," Konan promised. "Pain is invincible."
"And this is when that invincibility it put to the test," Madara said. "Under no circumstances will Minxie be harmed. She must be captured, but no matter what, you will not tamper with her, otherwise I'll have a very irritable Uchiha heir to deal with."
"You mean Sasuke," Pain stated. "He's quite a loose canon, that one. And he cares far too much for the Jinchuriki."
"Regardless of what you think, he's useful to me. That's why I made him a deal. He'll cooperate with me so long as I make sure no harm comes to Minxie," Madara explained. "It's quite unreasonable, how much he still cares for that girl, even though she left him. For now, however, I'm using that to my advantage. She needs to be kept alive."
"Understood," Pain said. "And what of your experiment to preserve her life? If she's to serve her purpose as our Jinchuriki, she cannot have her Prophecy Child status get in the way."
"It's a work in progress, but I've come up with an elixir," Madara replied. "It will be completed soon. Until then, she'll be held captive. Meanwhile, I've sent Sasuke to capture Eight Tails."
"And you're sure that's wise?" Konan asked.
"I will vouch for Sasuke," Madara said darkly. "Besides, he wouldn't disobey me. I've already mentioned how much he cares for Minxie. He won't jeopardize our deal."
"Very well," Pain said, standing up. "Konan, get things ready... We're heading out to Konoha."
Minxie's POV
Watching Kakashi-sensei's expressions while he read aloud from Make-Out Tactics was one of the most hilarious things I had ever witnessed. It took all I had not to put my pen down and start dying of laughter on the floor.
"I can't believe you made me do that," Kakashi-sensei said flatly, sweatdropping.
"I can't believe I lasted this long without laughing!" I exclaimed, wiping an imaginary tear from my eye. Anyway, when put together, the message is hon-mono-wa-i-na-i, which translates to... 'The real one's not among them.'" I stared at the paper for a few more moments. "And... Yeah. I have no idea what that means."
"Me neither," Mitchell said.
"Make that three," Shikamaru murmured.
"Either way, we should report this to Lady Hokage," Kylie advised. "She'll summon Lord Fukasaku. He should be able to tell us more about this message, since he fought alongside Jiraiya."
We all nodded, and together, we made our way to the Hokage Building.
~*~
We were all anxious as we watched Fukasaku read the message in the Hokage's office. We really needed him to be able to figure out what the message meant. If not, the whole decoding process would've been for nothing.
"Does it make any sense?" Kylie asked gently, yet seriously at the same time.
"Not really. The message is unclear," Fukasaku said.
"And you don't have any other ideas?" Shikamaru asked.
"I told you all I know about Pain. He seems to be able to come back from the dead... So there's no way of telling whether or not what I say is true," the toad said. "We need to uncover more of his secrets. It's too risky, now."
"And what about the other investigations? The autopsy and the interrogation?" Kakashi-sensei asked.
"Honestly... I have no idea," Kylie said sadly.
"Say what!?" Naruto exclaimed. "We're running short on time here!"
"Medical ninjutsu isn't magic, Naruto," Kylie stated flatly. "A full autopsy requires a detailed examination of every single one of the cells and tissues in the body. It takes time! And as for the interrogation... That's a whole other matter in itself. Plus, that's Ibiki's department, not mine."
"At the least... It'll take about a week," Lady Hokage finished.
"That long?" Naruto asked, sulking. "And what the heck are we supposed to do until then!?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe sit down and shut up for once?" Mitchell suggested. Naruto glared at him, but the brown-haired teen shrugged.
"That actually wouldn't be a bad idea," Lady Hokage agreed. "Listen, Naruto, these things take time. Shizune's leading the autopsy, which should make the process faster, but it'll still take some time. You'll just have to be patient."
"I will avenge Pervy Sage!" Naruto promised. "I can't just sit here and do nothing!"
"And you won't," She assured. "Neither will you, Minxie."
"Huh?" We both asked. We shared a glance before looking away.
"At your current level, neither you nor Minxie are ready to take Pain on, and believe me, you will have to do so one day," Lady Hokage said. "Therefore, you must be trained properly.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Naruto asked.
"Easy," Lord Fukasaku spoke up. "I'll take you to Mount Myoboku and teach you Sage Jutsu, same as I did with Jiraiya-boy."
"Will that let me beat Pain?" Naruto inquired.
"There's no way of telling for sure, but right now, you have no chance of beating him," the toad answered. "I spoke to the Hokage. She said you can start training right away. Sage Jutsu will take you to a whole other level. It'll be tough, but it'll be worth it."
"Then I'll do it!" Naruto decided. "I'll give it my best shot, just like Pervy Sage did. I'm in!"
"What about me?" I asked.
"For that, I'll need three other people present," Lady Hokage said. "Come in."
I was completely surprised when Ryuu, Scarlett, and Rin came into the room. Rin seemed as confused as I was, but Ryuu and Scarlett were completely calm.
"Ryuu? Scarlett?" I said. "Rin? What... What's going on?"
"Minxie, you're a Takeda," Ryuu said. "And there's only one place to properly train a Takeda, especially the Takeda that's the Prophecy Child. Right now, you have no chances of defeating Pain."
"Gee, thanks, bro," I said sarcastically. "You're totally building up my confidence."
"Your ego's too big, anyway." He smirked at me, and I stuck my tongue out at him. "Anyway... Minxie, you are the Prophecy Child, and you're also a Jinchuriki. You need to learn how to master your abilities. Kakashi helped you tap into your strength, but you're still at stage one. If you're trained correctly, you'll be given power you can't even imagine. You'll have mastered all of your Prophecy Child powers, and you'll be able to defeat Pain. And I know just where you can do that."
"Where?" I asked.
"The only place who can teach you anything about who you are," He said. "The place where our mother was born, the place where I trained. We're going to the Hidden Dragon Village."
I didn't know what to say. I'd be leaving home for an entirely different village. However, I knew how big of an opportunity this was for me, so I nodded.
"All right," I said. "I'll train. I'll go to the Hidden Dragon Village."
"Perfect," Lady Hokage said. "Minxie, Ryuu will escort you to the Hidden Dragon Village, considering he's the only one who knows how to get there. Kimi, you'll join them. They could use a medic if anything goes wrong."
I nodded in agreement. "Well... Okay. But I'm still confused. What does Scarlett have to do with this?"
"I don't know if you know this, Minxie, but Sakura fell unconscious the other day," Scarlett said bluntly.
My eyes widened. "What!? Is she okay!?"
"She's stable, but the point is that someone switched her pills with Amplifiers," Kylie answered.
"What are Amplifiers? I asked.
"They're pills that were once used in war times. They amplify all of the emotions of the person who takes them. Their anger turns into rage, their sadness into despair, their happiness into ecstasy... Their emotions overwhelm them to the point of insanity," Scarlett replied.
"And you think Sakura took those?" I inquired.
"It'd make sense," Mitchell said. "She's been acting weird these past couple of days. We think that the Amplifiers are the reason she slapped you."
I blinked in realization. "Do you have any leads on who switched the pills?"
"No," Scarlett said. "But that's why I'm here. The only place to get Amplifiers is in Tazanaka Town."
"Tazanaka was destroyed years ago," Kakashi-sensei said. "How is that possible?"
"Let's just say that not everything in Tazanaka died with it," Scarlett said, smirking. "The point is that there's no telling who switched the pills. I, however, know someone who can help us."
"You do?" Lady Hokage asked.
Scarlett nodded. "Do you remember the stories about seers?"
"Of course," Lady Hokage said. "The women blessed with the gift of Sight. They could see visions of the future, the past, the present..."
"Those stories were only legends," Kakashi-sensei interjected. "Weren't they?"
Lady Hokage shook her head. "No, they were quite true. The seers were once prosperous and large in number, until their abilities began to be coveted and exploited until the point of their extinction. My grandfather, the First Hokage, knew a seer, whom he told me about. Her name was Sayuri Takeda. She was Akira Takeda's mother."
My eyes widened. Akira's mother had been a seer? One of my ancestors had been a seer. It was crazy to think about.
"Thankfully, the Five Great Villages didn't manage to make the seers completely extinct," Scarlett spoke up. "I actually grew up with one. If I'm right, which I am, then she'll still be hanging around Tazanaka town. Her name's Luna. She'll be able to help us. The only setback is that she can't stand shinobi, besides Ryuu, because, well, he's hot. And apparently, they had a nice conversation while I was gone... Anyway, Ryuu obviously can't go because he'll be with Minxie, so I'll need two other people to take with me."
"Well, Scarlett, Luna is your friend," Lady Hokage said. "You should pick whoever you feel Luna will like best and be more inclined to help."
"Hmm," Scarlett murmured, looking around. "Hayato. She's boy crazy, so she'll go nuts since he's cute. And..." She looked around again and smirked. "Rin."
Rin's head tilted. "Wait, what?"
"You heard me," Scarlett said. "I pick you."
"You don't like me," Rin pointed out. "And I don't like you."
"That's true... But your skills will come in handy," Scarlett said. "Trust me, I won't enjoy it any more than you will."
"Then it's settled," Lady Hokage spoke up. "Naruto will leave with Lord Fukasaku early in the morning tomorrow, Minxie, Ryuu, and Kimi will journey to the Hidden Dragon Village, all while Scarlett, Hayato, and Rin travel to Tazanaka Town to search for Luna."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AH! I AM SOOO, SOOOO, SOOOOO SORRY! I know I haven't uploaded in forever... I've just been really busy with school! Then, every time I decided I'd try to update, my laptop would randomly shut down without saving my work....
Yeah, I almost killed it twenty times. Anyway, I'm still so sorry! I'll try to make the next update faster!
Anyway, away from that... It's official. I have already decided that I'm going to make a third book ^_^ The third book will have a whole bunch of other drama, battles, missions, and more! So be prepared!
Until next time, my most wonderful readers!
-smilescutie3311 xoxoxoxoxo