Maya - a Naruto Fanfic

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We've barely taken a single step outside the village before Naruto stops and yells, fists raised high.

"Yeah! Look at me! I'm out of the village!" He whoops, jumping up and down on the spot.

"Huh?" I blink at him in surprise.

"You mean you've never left the village?" Sakura gapes at him.

"Nuh-uh, never." Naruto shakes his head hard.

"Have you, Sakura?" I ask her.

"Of course. When I was little, I'd go away with my parents a lot. We'd travel all over Hi no Kuni." Sakura laces her fingers behind her back as she walks beside me. Naruto is on her other side, Sasuke slightly ahead.

"Do you go on holiday with your family, Sasuke?" I ask, and the air goes dead still. Everyone freezes. Did I say something wrong?

"My family... My entire clan... Is dead." Sasuke mutters, and my chest clenches. Crap.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." I apologise without thinking.

"You didn't know." Is all Sasuke says before he starts walking again.

"Well, that went better than I expected." Kakashi says finally, but I barely hear him. How could I make such a stupid mistake? I mean, it's not like having a dead family is common, but still! There had to be a reason behind why he's such a colossal jerk. I guess now I've found it.

"Oh, don't get down, Maya! I've made the same mistake myself." Sakura tries to comfort me. It doesn't do much to help, but I appreciate the effort.

As we walk, Kakashi explains the whole 'Kage' thing.

"So the Hokage must be tougher than he looks." I observe, and the others choke.

"Ah, so one of you said it. Yes, the Hokage is very powerful." Kakashi tells me.

"Hmm." I tuck my thumbs in the band of my kimono and keep walking.

"You doubt him?" Kakashi asks.

"Well, not really, there's just something that doesn't make sense to me." I tell him, slowing down so we drop back behind the rest of the group. Kakashi keeps pace with me almost effortlessly.

"And that would be?"

"If the Hokage's so powerful, why did I need to go through... All that, before I was taken to him? Surely, no matter what my skill, he would have been able to take me."

"There is a limit to even the Hokage's ability."

"Are you saying he couldn't beat me?" I ask slyly, grinning.

"Oh, he wouldn't stand a chance." Kakashi drawls, rolling with my joke. I toss my head back and laugh, long and loud, and Squad 7 and the bridge builder all stop.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Naruto asks, pouting a little bit.

"Nothing, just a joke between me and Kakashi." I smile secretively and stroll ahead, lacing my fingers behind my back and humming softly.

"What? What?" Naruto persists, looking between me and Kakashi.

"Just like Maya said, it was just a joke." Is all the answer Kakashi gives him. It feels like everything's fine, until Sakura, suddenly sobering up from her giggle fit, calls out.

"Maya! Look out!"

"Huh?" I turn to face her, and a cold steel edge presses against my throat.

"Stay still if you value your life."

A/N: downside of writing the Zabuza arc - 100% predictable. Oh well, que sera sera. I'm going to change this as much as possible but it's pretty tough to alter the main events, so the structure may be similar. Besides that, I have no idea what I'm doing. Is this good? Not good? Absolutely awful? GIVE ME FEEDBACK!
Ta-ta~