Pic of Sora --->
Ashley’s POV
I stare at the newcomer curiously, my arms crossed and my back leaning against an indifferent looking Ace. There’s something weird about this guy, and it’s not because he’s standing there with a pout on his face.
I can just feel something about him, something that puts me slightly on edge and makes me feel the tiniest bit uncomfortable about being around him. The vibe he’s giving off feels kind of familiar, almost like the one I used to get from Naruto when I first arrived here in the Leaf Village.
‘My chakra…’ Hakuba hisses lowly, making my brows furrow at the tall boy in front of me. Chakra? That could be what feels familiar about him, but how could it be Hakuba’s chakra? This guy doesn’t feel like a Jinchuuriki to me……And I’d know, since Hakuba can sense a Tailed Beast’s chakra.
The brown eyed boy suddenly catches me staring at him and grits his teeth in a snarl, stepping forwards to challenge me.
Ace’s head immediately snaps up, aqua eye intently trained on the scowling boy.
“What’s your problem?!” the boy demands to know, raising a fist at me and making my Wolf growl lowly in warning.
“What makes you think I have a problem?” I ask blandly, raising an eyebrow at the boy. He narrows his eyes at me and leans down, his face not too far from my own.
Naruto and Sakura exchange a worried look, as Sai watches on with hidden intrigue and Yamato sweat drops. He’s no doubt heard stories about me from the other members of my team.
“Uhh, Sora?” Naruto asks unsurely, stepping forwards and reaching out for the new guy. “Maybe you shouldn’t-”
“Shut up!” Sora barks, glaring at Naruto over his shoulder, before looking back down at me. “You’ve been staring at me since we came out from the Hokage’s office. And not just staring, but staring like you’ve got a problem! So come on then, what’s your problem with me?!”
“Sora!” Sakura whispers urgently, cupping a hand around her mouth, and wincing at the calculating look in my eye. “I really think you should back o-”
“Maybe you’re too scared to tell me what your problem is” Sora laughs mockingly, leaning back and throwing his hands on his hips. “And I don’t blame you little girl. I’d be scared of someone as tough as me too, if I were unlucky enough to be you!”
Ace lowers his head, pulling his lips back into a snarl. The only reason he hasn’t attacked Sora yet, is because I’m pushing against him with my back, signalling for him to stay put. For now anyway.
“He’s dead” I hear Naruto whisper decisively, internally smirking at the way Sakura nods in agreement.
“Why are you even a Ninja if you can’t open your mouth and stand up for yourself?” Sora questions, obviously happy to continue on with his entertaining little rant. “You’re a tiny little girl, who obviously has no skill, so you’d probably be better off not staring at people like you’ve got a problem with them. You’ll just get yourself hurt!”
That said, Sora folds his arms across his chest and looks down at me, triumphant smirk in place. I shrug, giving the taller boy an unimpressed look.
“You’re such an annoying little ass” I inform Sora dryly, uncrossing my arms. “No wonder Lady Tsunade beat you up.”
Sora’s eyes widen, as I step forwards and grab him by the collar, yanking him roughly down to my height.
“Here it comes…” Sakura whispers, eyes wide as she tugs Naruto and Sai back from me, not wanting them to get caught in the crossfire.
“I feel like I should say something…” Yamato murmurs uncertainly, rubbing the back of his neck. Naruto shakes his head, holding out a hand to stop Yamato from doing anything.
“Don’t do it Captain” the blonde advises. “It’ll be much funnier this way.”
“Now you listen to me you idiotic little jackass” I growl, baring my teeth in Sora’s face. “I may be short, but I’m already a Jonin, and could kick your weak ass with both hands tied behind my back, any day of the week. So, before you open that big trap of yours again, remember that I wasn’t born here. I’m not from the Land of Fire and I don’t have the same morals as these guys. Insult me again, and my Wolves will tear you limb from limb.”
I release Sora and shove him away from me, making him stumble backwards with a bewildered look on his face. He rubs at his throat, staring at me with wide, confused eyes. Ace chuckles to himself, as I cross my arms and smirk at Sora.
“Why are you staring at me like you’ve got a problem?” I question smartly. “Want me to hit you?”
Sora swallows thickly, as Naruto’s eyes gleam with anticipation. I can practically hear him hoping for Sora to be dumb enough to accept my challenge. I get the feeling those two don’t really get along…
“You couldn’t hurt me” Sora boasts, feigning confidence. “You’re so small and insignificant.”
My face drops at his words, before I launch myself forwards, disappearing from Sora’s view.
“Huh?” the silly boy asks, glancing around. “Where’d she g-”
“You just made a bad decision” I whisper darkly, appearing behind Sora. Before he can react, I send chakra into my arm and jam my elbow into Sora’s back, sending him shooting forwards. Naruto, Sakura and Yamato flinch as Sora collides with a brick wall, leaving a large indent and lots of cracks. Sai blinks, cradling an obviously broken arm. I wonder what happened on my team’s mission earlier?
Naruto can’t help grinning at Sora’s pain, as said boy slowly rises from his crumpled position, coughing and spluttering.
“Wanna try again?” I offer teasingly, placing one arm behind my back. “I’ll even fight you one handed this time. You know, so you sort of might actually have a chance.”
Sora glares at me hatefully, wiping his bleeding mouth with the back of his hand.
“I’m not going to waste my time on you” he spits, making me roll my eyes. Yeah, great excuse. The boy’s obviously a genius.
Sakura sighs dramatically, dragging my attention over to her.
“As…..fun as this has been” she begins dryly, “I need to take Sai to the hospital. You coming Sai?”
“Alright” the pale boy agrees, nodding his head at me and turning to walk away.
“Hey!” Naruto cries, throwing his arms in the air. “What about me? I wanna get on with my training!”
“Give it a rest Naruto” Sakura sighs again, shrugging her shoulders uncaringly. “Kakashi Sensei isn’t even in the Village at the moment, he’s on a mission. Besides, Sora’s our new teammate. Why don’t you show him around the Village, make him feel welcome, ya know?”
“I do not think he is very welcome” Ace mumbles in my ear, making me giggle and nod in agreement. Sakura and Sora send me dirty looks, shutting me up and making me roll my eyes instead.
What? It’s not like I said it. I merely laughed and agreed.
“Ugh!” Naruto complains, whirling around to glare at a yawning Sora. “Why am I always the one to get stuck with him?! He’s not even safe to be around anyway!”
“Yeah” Sora scoffs. “Like I really wanna get stuck being babysat by a jerk like you!”
“Well, you boys have fun!” Sakura calls breezily, already disappearing down the road with Sai. “We’re outta here!”
“And I’ve got to go and make my report about our mission” Yamato speaks up, waving at us. “I’ll leave Sora in your hands Naruto.”
“What happened on your mission anyway?” I inquire, tilting my head. Yamato pulls a face, before shaking his head and waving my question off, turning around to walk in the opposite direction.
“It’s too hard to explain quickly” he informs me simply. “If you’re curious, just ask Naruto.”
“Great” I mutter sarcastically, shoulders slumping. As if Naruto would be able to explain anything to me properly.
“This is sooo not fair!” Naruto whines, tugging at his blonde hair, before turning to me hopefully. “Ashley? Will you help me train?”
I shake my head, giving Naruto a sympathetic smile.
“Sorry Naruto” I apologise. “I’ve done all I can for you for now. Besides, I’m sure Kakashi has you learning stuff that I wouldn’t know how to teach you.”
Naruto’s shoulders slump, as a sad, depressed sigh escapes his lips. Looking almost sad, Sora leaps up onto some railing and crouches down, leaning an elbow on his knee and placing his chin in his palm.
“Seems like I’m just a burden to everybody” he mutters, eyes downcast. I look at Naruto questioningly, as he turns around and focuses his bright blue eyes on Sora.
“That’s not true and you know it” Naruto reasons, frowning. “Seriously, if Sakura and Captain Yamato really thought you were a burden, they wouldn’t have brought you all the way back here to the Village!”
“Where’s he from anyway?” I ask out loud, glancing over at my blonde teammate.
“Yeah, I know….” Sora sighs, briefly closing his eyes. I blow some hair from my face, frowning when Naruto continues talking, ignoring my question.
“Then what’s your deal?” he asks, before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. “Look…..You’ve gotta forget this whole vengeance thing of yours.”
‘Huh?’ I wonder, blinking as Sora turns around and glares at Naruto. ‘Vengeance? Just what’s this guy’s story?’
“You just don’t get it!” Sora shouts, frustrated about something. “This has nothing to do with that!”
Sora turns back around and looks at the ground, as Naruto’s shoulder slump slightly.
“My Father….” Sora begins softly, making me roll my eyes. I really don’t care to hear a sob story about his Father. I mean, nearly all of us have some sort of sob story going on.
“I always used to look up to him as a hero” the brown eyed boy continues. “He feared nothing a no one. He was…..a pillar of strength for me. My only memories of him are up until I was five years old….The people at the Fire Temple, they’d never tell me about what really happened to him.”
“Fire Temple?” I repeat lowly, tilting my head. Is that where this guy’s from? I wonder why he was brought here then…
“There were times though, when I couldn’t help but to overhear them talking about the death of my Father” Sora explains, biting his lip and looking troubled. “And the looks on their faces as they talked about it. They’d say…..He deserved it….That killing him was the right thing to do.”
I glance at Sora’s fist, as he slams it against the metal railing he’s crouching on. Why is his hand bandaged? The other hand seems fine…….Maybe he just got hurt in a fight……
“They’re all wrong though!” Sora suddenly exclaims, almost making me jump. “He can’t have done what they say he did! They’re all wrong!”
“Daddy issues” I can’t help sighing as I shake my head. “Well, who is he and what do they say he did?”
Sora, being the brat that he is, ignores me and rises to his feet, making me frown again. I really don’t like being ignored.
“I will make things right” Sora mutters determinedly. “And I’ll make whoever it was that killed my Father pay. Now stop following me around. It’s really annoying.”
With that, Sora begins to leave, making Naruto step forwards.
“Annoying?” he questions as I roll my eyes. He thinks we’re annoying? Incredible…..
“Is that what I get for trying to show you some sympathy?” Naruto asks, frowning at Sora’s back.
“Meddling would be a better word for it” Sora scoffs, smirking nastily at Naruto over his shoulder. I crack my knuckles, grinning at the smirking boy.
“Want me to break a few of his bones Naruto?” I ask enthusiastically, earning a dirty look from Sora. “Maybe then he’ll appreciate that sympathy of yours a bit more.”
“No, I want to help him Ashley” Naruto informs me with a tiny smile. “Not hurt him……much.”
“Awww…..” I complain, crossing my arms and pouting. Ace chuckles at the look on my face, as Sora snorts in amusement.
“I don’t need your help” he sneers. “Gimme ten minutes, and this whole Village will be mine……”
‘The Village will be his?’ I repeat in my head, eyes widening slightly. ‘What does that even mean?’
“Fine!” Naruto shouts, growing an anime vein and waving his fist as Sora walks away. “Go ahead and leave, see if I care! It’s not like I wanted to be your babysitter!”
Naruto whirls around angrily, and begins striding in the opposite direction to Sora, lower jaw jutted forwards.
“Uhh….Naruto?” I ask, my gazer flicking between him and the direction Sora disappeared in.
“Wait Milady” Ace suggests, resting his chin on my head. “Let us see just how long it will take for the Kyuubi boy to understand the meaning of his words.”
“Okay” I agree, shrugging and turning my attention back to Naruto. Slowly, the blonde boy comes to a stop, before turning around and glancing at me.
“Wait…..” he murmurs. “What did he mean by the Village will be his?”
“Who knows?” I reply, shrugging again. “Let’s tail him and find out.”
Third Person’s POV
“Come on!” Saffire urges, dragging along a puffing Kurai by the arm, just about pulling the girl from her feet.
“Slow down Fire-chan!” Kurai begs, her cheeks a faint red colour. “I’m not as fast as you are!”
“I can’t slow down!” Saffire says firmly, nimbly leaping over a large crate of fruit. “We might have to search the whole Village!”
“Ahhhh!” Kurai squeals, tripping over the crate and knocking all of the oranges across the ground. Tamashi, following closely behind Kurai, skids across some of the large oranges, almost sending him toppling over a street vendor’s stall.
“Hey!” the owner of the fruit cries, shaking his fist as the Minami’s continue their brisk pace through the street.
“Saffire!” Kiyumi calls desperately, waving apologetically at the man. “You really need to slow down! You’re gonna hurt someone soon!”
“Whoa man!” Keilor laughs, rolling across the ground on some of the spilled oranges, tongue lolling. “This has got to be like, the best way to get around ever! Kiyumi, lets totally buy some roly poly oranges!”
“Stop it Keilor” the blonde sighs irritably, jogging along behind Saffire and Kurai, shaking her head at the grey Wolf’s antics.
“But why?” Keilor questions, rolling past Kiyumi and skilfully dodging around the people walking in the street. “I’m like, going faster than you! It’s time saving man, time saving.”
Kiyumi sighs again, trying her best to dodge through the crowd without injuring anyone. Saffire was desperate to see Naruto before they had to leave the Leaf Village, and she had said she’d search the whole Village, time and time again, until she’d found the blonde boy. She hadn’t been kidding either. They’d been searching for Naruto for the past four hours, and Kiyumi was beginning to wonder how many people Saffire had injured during the search.
“Hey!” someone up ahead cries, making Kiyumi’s dark eyes flick up warily. Sure enough, she sees a woman lying on the ground, footprints trampled straight over her.
“Shoulda been looking where you were going!” Saffire shouts over her shoulder, fuschia eyes wide as she searches for her beloved Naruto. She sniffs the air for the hundredth time, trying to find his scent with her highly sensitive nose.
“Fire-chan” Kurai whimpers, taking ragged breaths. “I’m tired, and my arm is really hurting from you gripping it so tightly. And my feet hurt too. I wanna sit down!”
“Olla vahva Yon” Tamashi encourages, nudging Kurai’s cheek affectionately with his nose. (Be strong Kurai)
Saffire suddenly skids to an abrupt halt, making the pink haired Kurai squeal as she collides with Saffire’s back.
“What now?” she asks herself, wanting nothing more than to go find Shimei, and get away from Saffire and her vice like grip.
“Didja hear that?” Saffire questions, freezing in place and listening intently to a familiar voice.
“No” Kurai sighs, leaning against Tamashi tiredly and trying to get her breath back. She was incredibly short, and her little legs really couldn’t take all of the running and jumping she’d been forced to do.
“What’s going on?” Kiyumi asks, finally having caught up to Saffire and Kurai. The blonde blanches and sweat drops, as Keilor rolls past her on a small group of oranges, humming a merry tune to himself. He circles the group a few times, grinning his goofy grin with a far away look in his eyes.
Tamashi watches on curiously, beginning to trot after Keilor as he rolls a few metres away from the Minami girls.
“Puh-lay?” Tamashi inquires, his fluffy tail beginning to wag. “Play, play!”
“I can hear…..” Saffire trails off, grinning as she hears the familiar voice again.
“Akamaru!” the voice calls, not sounding too far away to Saffire’s finely tuned hearing.
“Wait” Kiyumi says slowly, narrowing her eyes as she strains to listen as well. “Is that-”
“Let’s follow him!” Saffire shouts, making Kurai jump. “He might lead us to Blue Eyes!”
With a war cry, Saffire tightens her grip on Kurai’s arm, bounding after the owner of the familiar voice.
Kiyumi sighs and briefly considers wandering back to the hotel, before pulling a face. If she left, who knows what kind of trouble Saffire would get herself and Kurai into?
“Oranges Kiyumi” Keilor whispers, rolling right past her ear. “Transport of the like, future man.”
Ashley’s POV
I close my eyes, activating my Katsuryoku and focusing intently on the many vibrations travelling through the earth below my feet.
“Anything?” Naruto eventually asks, eager to find Sora again. I crack one eye open and give Naruto an annoyed look.
“Naruto, there are like a million people here in the Village” I reason wryly. “Not to mention all the animals and stuff as well. You’re just going to have to wait for a minute or two, because it’s hard to determine if any of these vibrations are coming from Sora. Besides, he might not even be within my Katsuryoku’s ran- Never mind! I just found him!”
“Alright!” Naruto cheers, making me grin as I open my eyes fully. “Good job Ashley!”
“Thank you, thank you” I say playfully, motioning for Naruto to follow me. “Sora’s being an irritating ass about half a kilometre this way.”
“How do you know that?” Naruto questions, as we begin running leisurely through the streets, careful not to crash into any Villagers.
“From what I’ve already seen, Sora’s always being an irritating ass” I say with a shrug and a smirk. “It’s just inevitable.”
Naruto laughs as we run, before Sora soon comes into view. We both pause in our running, comically incredulous looks appearing on our faces.
“What’s that idiot doing now?” I ask dryly, as Naruto face palms.
Sora is squatting in from of a growling Akamaru, a determined, wide eyed grimace on his face.
“You wanna fight huh?” Sora growls, leaning closer to Akamaru’s face. “Fine! But don’t think I’ll go easy on you just coz you’re a Dog.”
“Ruff ruff!” Akamaru barks, baring his teeth at Sora. Seems he’s determined not to lose as well…..
“He’s……..In a staring contest with Akamaru?” Naruto asks, sweat dropping. “Oh brother……”
Naruto and I watch Akamaru and Sora stare at each other for a good ten minutes, before Naruto sighs and squats down, running a hand down his face.
“Let’s just hope Kiba doesn’t show up and see this” he mutters, making me nod in agreement. Kiba probably wouldn’t take too kindly to some stranger stuffing around with his beloved Ninken.
“Heyyyyy” a familiar, and very attractive, voice greets, making Naruto and I turn around. Kiba grins back at us, placing a hand on his hip.
“Naruto, Angel” he says with a wide grin, sending me a wink. “Whatcha up to?”
My face lights up at the sight of the tall brunette, and I subtly slide over to him, standing a bit closer than I probably need to.
Kiba grins to himself and places an arm around my shoulders, dropping a very swift kiss on my cheek before he raises his eyes and spots Akamaru.
“Hey, there’s Akamaru” he says, sounding relieved, before his gaze hardens. “Who’s that guy? I’ve never seen him before.”
Naruto jumps up and tries to block Kiba’s view, obviously not wanting Kiba to start any trouble with Sora.
“Oh him?” Naruto asks with a nervous chuckle. “He’s um, he’s just-”
“Hey!” Kiba calls, dropping his arm from my shoulders and shoving past Naruto. “Hey you! What do you think you’re doing messing with Akamaru?”
“Uh oh…” Naruto sighs, shoulders drooping.
“Well, this oughta be interesting” I smirk, crossing my arms and just waiting for Kiba to punch the arrogant Sora in the face.
“This Mutt belongs to you?” Sora questions distastefully, rising to his feet and sending Kiba an unimpressed look. “Why don’t you keep this mangy beast on a leash and teach him not to bark at strangers?”
Kiba scowls at Sora, cracking his knuckles and narrowing his eyes.
“What, you think he’s like a pet or something?” Kiba scoffs, smirking nastily. “And Akamaru’s been trained to bark at suspicious people. So, where ya from?”
“I’m from the Fire Temple” Sora brags, returning Kiba’s smirk as Akamaru barks at him. “And I’ve come here to take over this pathetic Village!”
“Huh?” Kiba asks, sweat dropping as his shoulders slump a little bit. I roll my eyes.
“Don’t worry Kiba” I say dryly. “Sora’s just an idiot.”
“I can see that” the brunette muses, looking wary of the strange boy in front of him.
“H-Hey, calm down a sec Kiba” Naruto laughs nervously, walking over to the two boys. “Ya see, Sora’s the newest member of Team Kakashi and-”
“You’re kidding right?” Kiba asks incredulously, pointing at Sora as if he isn’t right there. “Ashley can’t rejoin Team Kakashi, but they’ll let a moron like him join?”
“My thoughts exactly…” I sigh, stepping up beside Akamaru and absent mindedly patting his head.
“Would you just stop butting in?!” Sora snaps at Naruto, before turning back to Kiba. “I’m not with him! I’m not with her! I’m not with anybody!”
“Damn straight you’re not with her!” Kiba snaps back, narrowing his eyes at Sora.
“Just shut up already!” Naruto barks at Sora, wanting to diffuse the situation before it gets any worse.
“Hey, heyyy!” a voice calls, making us all look up. We see Choji and Shikamaru walking towards us, ever present bag of chips in Choji’s hands.
“Come on guys” Choji grins. “Let’s all just get along!”
“Ugh, butt out fatso” Sora commands rudely, crossing his arms as everyone freezes and Choji’s chips fall to the ground.
I can’t help smirking to myself at that. This guy has no discretion at all. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I do like him after all! He’s very entertaining…
“Did he just……call me…..fatso?” Choji asks darkly, making Shikamaru and Naruto sweat drop. Sora, being the idiot he is, stalks up to Choji and throws his hands on his hips.
“That’s right” he smirks. “What are you gonna do about it?…..Fatso!”
Shikamaru’s eyes widen in disbelief.
“Huh?!” he exclaims, a drop of sweat dripping down the side of his face. “This guy’s nuts!”
“Ehhh boy….” Naruto sighs, hanging his head in defeat.
“How fun!” I laugh, watching as Choji’s temper quickly escalates.
“Alright!” Sora suddenly shouts, throwing a fist in the air. “Let’s have a free for all!”
Kiba immediately obliges, charging forwards with Akamaru at his side.
“You’re all alone you idiot!” the Inuzuka barks. “That’s no free for all, it’s a massacre! C’mon Choji!”
“Massacre’s are fun” I grin darkly, making Naruto slowly look over at me, eyes wide. I give him an innocent closed eye smile, as Sora flips over and lands on a lamp post, looking smug.
“Yeah” he scoffs. “Like that fatso is gonna be any help.”
“Stop saying it!” Choji shouts, appearing behind Sora and making the boy jump in fright. He grabs Sora by the neck and begins shaking him back and forth.
“I’M NOT FAT!” Choji roars, looking slightly crazy. “I’M JUST BIG BONED AND THE REST IS MUSCLE, YOU LITTLE-”
“That’s it Choji!” Kiba grins, leaping into the air and performing a hand sign. “Hold him right there! C’mon Akamaru!”
Shikamaru, Naruto and I watch the four fight each other, swiftly avoiding and dealing out powerful blows.
“It’s three against one out there” Naruto observes, like an absolute genius. Shikamaru and I shrug, as the Nara folds his hands behind his head.
“What’re ya gonna do?” he drawls, making me nod in agreement.
“Shika-kun’s right” I say, crossing my arms and watching as Kiba jabs Sora in the ribs. “The idiot brought it on himself.”
“Even so…..” Naruto sighs and then begins strutting forwards. “Alright guys! Knock it off!”
“Bet he gets a kick in the face” I chuckle, glancing up at Shikamaru.
“Bet he gets knocked out in the first thirty seconds” he replies with a small grin, watching the guys fight.
“What?!” Kiba exclaims, blocking a kick from Sora, as he glares over at Naruto. “You takin his side or something Naruto?!”
“No!” comes the heated reply, as Naruto cops a kick in the shoulder. “But he’s Team Kakashi now! He’s our comrade!”
Kiba ducks under a thrown fist, before delivering a swift punch to Sora’s back, as Choji lashes out and hits Naruto. Sora back flips and kicks Naruto across the head, making me grin in triumph.
“STOP HITTING ME!” Naruto thunders, sending a crazy look over at Sora and Choji, before Sora manages to also land a kick to Kiba’s face.
I pause, my face slowly darkening as Kiba’s lips pull back into a nasty scowl. I crack my knuckles, making Shikamaru sigh.
“I thought you’d at least be smart enough not to get dragged into this” he informs me, making me smirk as I approach the fighting boys.
“Oh I am” I reply lowly. “I’ve just been wanting to hurt Sora for awhile now.”
I hear Shikamaru sigh again, as I lunge for Sora, tackling him from Choji’s grip and knocking him to the ground with a powerful punch.
“Hey!” the boy cries indignantly, rubbing his cheek and glaring at me. “Guys only!”
“Why Sora?” I question tauntingly, placing a hand on my hip. “Afraid of getting beat up by a girl?”
“Good shot Angel” Kiba smirks, cracking his knuckles and taking a step forwards. “Not that I’m surprised of course.”
Sora grows an anime vein, glaring at me as he leaps to his feet.
“You just surprised me!” he protests, clenching his fists. “Now that I’m ready, you’re going down!”
“Hey!” Kiba barks, shoving Naruto out of the way. “Don’t you threaten her like that!”
“Oh?” Sora retorts, rolling his eyes and waving dismissively. “What, are you like her boyfriend or something?”
“Yes!” Kiba and I both bark, before I dive forwards and wrap my arms around Sora’s waist, once again tackling him to the ground. He cries out in surprise, his head hitting the ground with a thunk, before Akamaru dives on top of us.
The Ninken yelps, when an enraged Sora kicks him in the neck, infuriating Kiba further. As Kiba runs forwards to attack Sora, Naruto punches him upside the head, trying to get the Inuzuka to leave Sora alone.
“Hey!” Kiba cries, turning to face a sheepish looking Naruto, when Choji suddenly decides to hip check Kiba out of the way and punch Naruto into a tree, seemingly enjoying himself.
“Get….off of…me!” Sora commands, flailing his arms and legs around wildly, as I stand up and place one foot on his chest, holding him down easily.
“Yeah” I snort, rolling my eyes. “Coz I’m really going to listen to you.”
Before I can react, Naruto is suddenly thrown into my back, sending us both sprawling across the ground. We tumble along the grass, before hitting a tree and coming to a stop, our eyes spinning.
“Sorry!” I hear Kiba call apologetically. “I was aiming for Choji!”
“How could you miss him?!” Sora decides to shout. “He’s so fat!”
“I’M NOT FAT!” Choji roars, charging towards a now panicking Sora. I shove Naruto off of me and shake my head a few times, ridding myself of the dizziness. Naruto lies beside me, a small string of drool hanging from his mouth.
“Uurrgghhh……” he moans softly, eyes still spinning.
“YAAAARRRGGGGHHHH!” a familiar voice calls in the distance, making me look up. I sweat drop, seeing Lee bounding towards us at speed.
“Who decided to forge bonds of comradeship in a mighty meeting of fists,” he exclaims, eyes shining, “and forgot to invite Rock Lee?!”
I watch as Lee flips up into the air and shoots back down into the middle of the ongoing brawl, eager to spar. Beside me, Naruto suddenly leaps to his feet and mumbles a few things under his breath about Sora being such a pain, before sprinting over to the boys and including himself in the fight once again.
“Time to finish this ridiculous fight” I mutter, rising to my feet and performing a few hand signs. “Fire Style: Fire Wolf Explosion-”
“Man Beast Clone!” Kiba suddenly shouts, seemingly having come to the same decision as me.
“Severe Leaf Hurricane!”
“Expansion Jutsu!”
“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
“Wind Style-”
As everyone runs forwards to complete their attacks, Asuma suddenly appears in the middle of the fray, blocking hits from Sora, Naruto and his Shadow Clones. Kiba, Akamaru, Choji and Lee are frozen in the middle of their attacks, dark shadows attached to them.
“W-What’s going on?” Kiba asks, glancing backwards. Shikamaru sends the Inuzuka a smirk, his hands together in a familiar hand sign. “Aw dammit….”
“Ruff!” Akamaru, transformed into another Kiba, barks urgently, eyes wide.
“Huh? What’s wrong boy?” Kiba asks, looking forwards. His eyes widen in realisation, and sweat drops begin to shoot from his head. “Let us go Shikamaru you idiot!”
As everyone exchanges questioning glances, a pack of flaming Wolves bursts out of the trees, racing towards the squabbling boys. They howl excitedly, catching everyone’s attentions and making their heads snap up.
“Aaaarrrggghh!” Naruto and his Clones scream, throwing their hands in the air and running in all different directions.
“Not so fast Naruto!” I sing brightly, sending all of the boys a closed eye smile from a high tree branch.
Before the others can react, my Fire Wolves all run into them, bursting on impact and resulting in a massive, fiery explosion.
Asuma knocks all of the boys over the head, causing small bumps to protrude through their hair. I cross my arms and smirk triumphantly at the charred Ninja, stepping away from Asuma when he raises an eyebrow at me.
“No way Asuma” I say dryly. “Hit me, and I’ll report it as abuse against women.”
Asuma merely rolls his eyes and places a hand in his pocket.
“Says the girl that just blew everyone up” he murmurs, making me chuckle. “Alright everyone, what do you say we celebrate this meeting of fists with some barbeque?”
My eyes immediately light up, as I whirl around and throw my hands in the air excitedly.
“Yaaayyy!” I cry. “Barbeque!”
The other boys, save for Sora and Shikamaru, also throw their hands in the air, eager for some delicious, and free, barbeque.
“What about you Sora?” Asuma questions, glancing over at the frowning boy. “You in the mood for some barbeque?”
“No” comes the stubborn reply. “I’m not very hungry.” Sora’s point is proven when his stomach lets out a loud growl, making me smirk, Naruto laugh and Sora blush in embarrassment.
“You liar” I scoff, before Choji suddenly grabs me by the shoulders and begins shaking me back and forth.
“Ashley!” he shouts in my face. “We need to have another eating contest! I’ve been practising these past few years and I just know I can beat you now!”
My face darkens, a mischievous twinkle in my eyes.
“Are you challenging me Choji?” I ask lowly, making the brown haired boy nod.
“You’re on!” I bark determinedly, pumping a fist into the air.
“Blue Eyes!” a familiar voice cries, making me turn around. I almost burst out laughing, as Saffire suddenly appears out of nowhere; tackle hugging Naruto and knocking him to the ground, a bewildered look on his face.
“Saffire?” I ask, watching as little hearts float above her head. Kiba’s shoulders slump, an exasperated look crossing his features.
“Oh great” he sighs. “We just can’t get away from them….”
“Normally….I’d hit you…..for that” a voice puffs from behind me. “But I’m too…..too tired…..”
“Kurai?” I question, spotting the pink haired girl sitting on top of Tamashi. Kiyumi appears by her side, with Keilor swiftly rolling past them, on what looks to be a small cluster of oranges. Huh?!
“Um, Kiyu-chan?” I ask, raising an eyebrow as Keilor begins circling an irritated looking Sora. “Why is Keilor-”
“Don’t ask” my sister sighs, shaking her head and momentarily closing her eyes. “Because I don’t know.”
I sit next to Kiba, right across from Choji, watching as large slices of succulent looking meat grill in front of me. I can’t tear my eyes away from them, as they send steam into the air, smelling absolutely divine.
“Try not to make too much of a mess now” Kiba teases, nudging me with his elbow. I nod, tuning out Asuma as he begins talking to Sora about some guy named Chiriku from the Fire Temple. Hell, they could be talking about an impending hurricane and I wouldn’t listen. All that matters right now, is crushing Choji in an eating contest.
Choji grips his chopsticks, watching for the perfect moment to snap up some of the meat. Any second now…….
“You haven’t got a hope Choji” Naruto informs the Akimichi dryly, crossing his arms and nodding wisely. “Ashley-chan has a black hole for a stomach when it comes to meat.” Naruto shrugs his shoulders when Kiba shoots him a sharp look, as I just grin darkly.
“I’d get offended” I chuckle, “But it’s actually quite true.”
“Even when we were kids” Kiyumi speaks up, sitting beside Kurai, who looks like she’s about to fall asleep, “Ashley always stuffed her face with meat.”
“It’s lucky she didn’t like, get really fat or something” Keilor drawls, poking his head in through the nearby window. Poor Keilor and Tamashi aren’t allowed in, seeing as there’s a ‘no animals’ rule in here. Lucky for Akamaru he was able to transform into a Clone of Kiba.
“I could eat you under the table Ashley!” Saffire declares, jabbing a finger at me from her spot beside Naruto. “I’m the Queen of meat eating!”
“Yeah?” Choji challenges before I can respond, leaning forwards to glare at my best friend. “Well I’m the King of meat eating! So prepare to lose!”
“I never lose at anything” Saffire boasts, crossing her arms and closing her eyes, a confident smirk on her face.
“Why don’t you both put your money where your mouths are, and eat some damn meat!” I bark, lunging forwards and swiping a few slices of meat.
Saffire and Choji pauses, before leaping into action and beginning to stuff their faces, looking less than attractive.
I slurp down a juicy piece of beef, as Kiba leans over to me.
“Your weird friend is really going for it” he whispers, subtly nodding at Saffire, who has fire blazing in her eyes. “Can you beat her?”
She shoves some meat in her mouth, before sucking down some water and leaning across Naruto to get at some ribs.
“Don’t worry” I chuckle, placing more food in my mouth with my chopsticks. “Saffire will eat as much as she can as quickly as she can, and then she’ll fall asleep. She always does. So she’s no competition.”
“I an eer oo!” Saffire complains, glaring at me, her mouth full of food. (I can hear you)
“You were meant to” I say, poking my tongue out at her, before focusing back on my eating. I see Choji devouring food left and right, looking like a mad man.
I look up, seeing Naruto, Sora and Asuma getting up to leave.
“Blue Eyes?” Saffire asks, hurriedly swallowing her food. “Are you guys leaving?”
“Yep!” Naruto says brightly, looking excited. “We’re gonna go do some training! See ya!”
Saffire watches as Naruto leaves, before crossing her arms and pouting, obviously not interested in our eating contest anymore. After a few moments, I see her swaying slightly, her eyelids drooping.
I grin wickedly, nudging Kiba and nodding my head at Saffire. He looks over, before grinning as well, watching as her head smacks down on the table.
Kiyumi sighs, poking at some food awkwardly with her chopsticks.
“These things are just too hard to use” she complains, pausing as her dark eyes drift to Saffire. “And on a side note, Saffire’s passed out.”
“Good” Kiba murmurs. “And it looks like Choji’s about to as well.”
“Nah, he’s just choking” Shikamaru speaks up, raising an eyebrow at his best friend, who does indeed look as if he’s choking.
“Don’t think that choking will get you out of our competition Choji” I scold, raising a piece of meat at him, before dropping it into my mouth. “While you choke, I’m still going to be eating.”
Choji suddenly jumps up from the table, flailing his arms wildly and gasping something about water. He turns around and runs towards the kitchen, knocking a few waiters over on his way.
“I win again!” I chirp merrily, a closed eye smile on my face.
**IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ**
I just feel that it may be necessary to say this, but some of the things that happen in Stwf (Team Seven's recent mission for example) won't be explored in great detail, as this is the Naruto story, but from Ashley's point of view. She isn't in every major scene in the anime/manga, so she won't know or understand some things, like why Sora was brought back to the Leaf Village.
If you want to know all those sorts of details, watch the real anime -_- Also, I know that Sai becomes rather close with Sakura and Naruto, but that doesn't automatically mean Ashley will be close with him. She's no longer a part of Team Kakashi, so she won't be spending a lot of time with Sai. Same with Captain Yamato. Again, this story is ASHLEY'S version. So if you don't like me not putting in all the details, you should probably stop reading ;)
**END OF IMPORTANT STUFF**
Hey, so you know how I have my story which interviews the characters from Twi and Stwf? Right, well PM me some questions for Ashley's Pack!! Anything you wanna know, anything at all, and I promise I'll use it :P
Also, if you enjoyed the chappy, PLEASe don't forget to vote and comment :)