'Normal thoughts…'
"Kyuubi/ Bijuu speech…"
'Kurama communicating with Naruko inside her mind…'
'Kurama's thoughts, Naru can't hear….'
"Normal speech…"
Jutsu name…
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Sasuke stared at Naruko's smile as the chakra around them expanded and the light blinded him. For a split moment, he saw how little Naru as well as his child self stood across each other before little Naru stretched out her hand to the little him with a smile. His little self looked at her with an surprised expression but accepted her hand as they shook their hands in friendly way. Little Naru smiled more happily at that and his little self actually smiled.
Just then, the light disbanded and shattered the illusion of their child selves forming a friendship. Sasuke's eyes widened as his hand was still right through Naruko's chest, this imagine burning into his mind and stood a bright contrast to what he just saw… Maand the illusion was what he has been wishing for all along. He quickly jerked his hand out of Naru's chest.
Naru was still smiling as she fell back while blood trickled down her lips. She landed harshly on the ground with her back, not moving as she had passed out through the grave injury.
'Dammit! Don't you dare to die, kit! I swear-' Kurama shouted out to her in total panic, his voice laced with so much emotions and actual tears twinkled in his eyes as he had to concentrate heavily on just keeping her alive. He could also only heal the hole in her chest lightly, concentrating more on stopping her inner bleeding. 'Why?! Why the hell had an Uchiha out of everyone make a freaking hole in my kit's chest, just very barely missing her heart?! And for what reason?! BECAUSE HE WANTS TO RUN AFTER A SNAKE PEDOPHILE TO SEEK POWER?!' He thought angrily and his hatred for the strong eyed Uchiha clan burned up brightly inside of him. He will never forgive these bastards ever.
Sasuke stared at his blood covered hand before looking down to Naru, who was still smiling peacefully. The sunlight broke through the clouds and lightened her face, softening her features. Then, the sunlight dimmed until it disappeared. Sasuke hitai-ate became untied and fell down to the ground next to her.
Sasuke just continued to stare at her with an unreadable expression. "Naruko…." His eyes narrowed sadly. "I…" Just then a rain drop hit his face and he looked up as it started pouring. He looked sadly up at the sky and couldn't help but think that it almost seemed like the sky was crying over what happened. Just as he wanted to sneer at himself for thinking like this, an unbelievable sharp pain shot through his arm and he grabbed onto it in pain as he sank to his knees. He coughed up blood before his face drew close to Naru's peaceful unconscious face. He stared at her while raindrops ran down his face and dropped onto the kitsune's hitai-ate.
Just a few minutes later with Kakashi….
Kakashi had a really bad feeling and he worried greatly. As he noticed the rain he narrowed his eye. "Rain… Did you lose their scent, Pakkun?" He asked his dog in grave but worried voice.
"No, it's okay. We are there." Pakkun told him as they jumped out of the trees, just to notice where they have landed.
"The Valley of the End….?!" Kakashi narrowed his eye and clenched his fist slightly at the irony, jumping down after Pakkun before they both came to a stop in front of the unconscious and badly hurt Naru.
Pakkun whimpered at that slightly and Kakashi's eye widened. He gritted his teeth behind his mask. "….We're too late. Dammit!" He said in anger at himself and guilt, sadness clearly visible in his eye.
"Naru! Why did this have to happen…" Pakkun whimpered out as he rushed to her and licked her face, but she didn't react.
Kakashi softly knelt down next to her, his heart hurting so much as he spotted the barely healed hole in her chest. He clenched his fist hardly. "….Why…." He muttered out in distress, faint tears glittering in his eye as he for once wasn't able to contain his emotion. "….Why is it always my Jutsu that hurts the people I love….."
Pakkun looked up to Kakashi sadly at that and then noticed Sasuke's headband next to her. "It's Sasukes…."
Kakashi just threw a short narrowed look at the headband before looking back to Naru, softly wiping the faint stain of blood of her face with a sad and hurt expression. "I'm sorry Naru…. I'm so sorry…. If I just would have arrived earlier…." He closed his eye in unbelievable sadness, his heart hurting so much just at the thought of losing the lovable kitsune because of his cursed Jutsu.
Pakkun looked at his owner with a very sad expression. Kakashi just took a shaky breath and picked up Sasuke's hitai-ate before very carefully and gently picking Naru up and holding her close to him. "Forgive me Naru…" He then carried Naru softly in his arms as he looked over the Valley of the End. He shook his head before quickly racing off, back towards Konoha.
Sasuke walked towards the Land of Sound while rememberig the good memories he had with his father, mother and his brother. He then stared sadly to the ground before remembering what his brother told him about the Magekyo Sharingan…. That he had to kill his closed friend to achieve that... Just then, the rain stopped. He looked up crazily. "I will not….do what you want me to do, Itachi! I will gain power in my own way! …I will surpass you….and kill you." He muttered out darkly.
With Kakashi…
He hurried and hoped he wouldn't arrive to late in the village. 'Please…don't die Naru….' He thought desperately as he picked up his pace, so not noticing how Naru briefly opened her eyes and stared up to him before closing her blue eyes in exhaustion again.
Kurama sighed in relief, mentally and physically exhausted from healing so much. Her chest wound still wasn't fully healed and it would probably scar, even with him healing it slowly. He looked at his sleeping kit in their mindscape and sighed softly. 'Will there be a time when you aren't going to be reckless….?' He asked her softly, expecting no answer as he laid down beside her and wrapped his tails around her protectively. The next time, he will make sure to never again let something like this happen to her. Not when she was the one to save him from his hatred…
The next day, inside the Konoha hospital…
Naru slowly woke up and blue eyes stared groggily up to the white ceiling as bright light burned in her eyes. She blinked confused as her mind felt groggy and she wanted to sit up just to wince slightly as every inch of her body hurt. "…Oww…" She groaned out as she very slowly sat up, grimacing as her muscles felt so stiff and stung painfully.
"Naru-chan?! Thank kami!" She heard a relieved and heavy emotion laced voice beside her. Her head snapped towards the sound and her eyes widened in surprise at who she saw sitting there, with relieved tears streaming down his face. "Kashi?!" She squeaked out in surprise and couldn't help but gape at him, even when she was bandaged from head to toe and looked like she was dressed up like a mummy for Halloween she stared at her sensei as if he had grown a second head. She was used to him showing a bit more emotions around her than around anyone else… But she never saw him cry so she just was… shocked? No, flabbergasted would describe it better.
"I'm just so glad you're alive… F-For a moment I thought….." Kakashi's voice broke and he quickly wiped his tears away.
Naruko's eyes softened at that and she smiled sadly. "Sorry for having scared you, Kashi." She told him softly, knowing how much he feared losing someone since he lost everyone he cared about once. She spotted his hand on the bed and gently grabbed onto it, feeling the need to comfort him.
Kakashi looked at her in surprise at that. "…Naru…." He said startled before blushing slightly behind his mask. Since he locked up his feelings, no one ever knew or bothered to comfort him. So this was weird….but also felt so much better than bottling everything up.
Kurama smirked smugly at that. 'Oh? Making your move now kit?' He teased her with a chuckle.
Naru blushed heavily at that and quickly let go of Kakashi's hand while internally screaming at her Bijuu. 'KURAMA, WHAT THE HELL?!'
Kakashi blinked at that before chuckling slightly. 'She's too cute.'
Naruko took a deep breath to calm down, making a mental note to herself to get back to Kurama for that later and then looked more seriously and sadly at Kakashi. "So, Sasuke's…?" She looked away with guilt filled eyes, knowing the answer.
Kakashi sighed and nodded grimly as he handed her the Uchiha's hitai-ate. "He escaped after injurying you badly."
Naru stared sadly down to the hitai-ate and traced the slash she made on it softly. "….I see. What about the others…?"
Kakashi looked away seriously, his eye narrowed. "Choji and Neji both had life threatening injuries and barely survived… Kiba and Akamaru were injured, but it wasn't life threatening. Shikamaru was only lightly injured." He told her the truth, knowing lying to her now would only make it worse later on.
Naru bit on her lip at that and clenched her fist. "Everyone…." She whispered out in distress while her hair shadowed over her eyes. They got everything they have to stop Sasuke….and yet they couldn't achieve it…. Because of her. Because she couldn't bring herself to injure him enough to make him pass out. "I'm so sorry…."
Kakashi looked at her and his eye softened. "Naru, don't-"
Just then, the door opened and Shikamaru walked inside.
"Yo, Naru. Looks like you're awake." He greeted her more softly than usual and sat down beside her bed, nodding at Kakashi.
"Shika!" Naruko said in surprise and her eyes brightened while a small smile slipped on her face.
Kakashi nodded back at him. "I told her about the others."
Shikamaru smirked slightly at that. "I see. Well then, there's nothing to worry about anymore regarding that." He then looked at her seriously. "So, what happened with Sasuke…?" He glanced at her bandaged chest, not because of being perverted but because he had heard she have had a hole in her chest.
Naru stared down at the hitai-ate in her hands and shook her head sadly, guilt in her eyes. "I couldn't stop him. It was no use. I tried fighting him, but…." She rubbed the left side of her chest nervously, there where now a scar was located on her skin. Another scar that reminds her of things… This time of her failure. "I wasn't strong enough to drag him back by force. I'm sorry…."
Shika sighed as he saw the upset expression on his sister figures face. "Seriously Naru…. That duckbutt only makes you upset." He told her fondly to lighten her mood.
Naru giggled slightly at that. "Well, I guess that is true in some way."
Just then, the door opened again and Tsunade and Sakura walked inside.
Naruko's head snapped around to them….and she might have moved a little too fast and winced slightly in annoyance. Also, the bandages were annoying her and she wanted to just rip them off. "Tsuna-baa…. Sakura…" She greeted them, looking at Sakura sadly.
"Naruko…" Sakura said distressed but was looking at her in quite a shock. She never had seen her teammate this beat up.
Tsunade huffed as she stepped towards her and suddenly slapped her lightly.
"Oww….! What the hell, Tsuna-baa?! I'm injured!" Naru snapped at her as she held her cheek in surprise and with a pout.
"Don't make me slap you again brat! How can you be so reckless, you really almost died this time even with the Kyuubi's healing powers!" Tsunade snapped at her in annoyance, really having worried about her.
Kakashi and Shikamaru both just sweat dropped at that.
"And that's a reason for you to slap someone who's injured?!" Naru huffed back while throwing her arms into the air dramatically, really seeming more than fine aside from the occasional sting in her muscles and the hurting scar on her chest.
Kurama tried not to laugh at their weird but hilarious interaction.
Tsunade just sighed at that. "Then don't make me worry like this again. Geez."
Naru sweat dropped and then sighed as well. "Yes, I know. I apologize." She rolled her eyes lightly and Tsunade snorted amused. Naruko then looked over to Sakura and her smile saddened a bit. "Sorry Sakura. I tried my best…" She told her calmly, but she still felt a bit guilty.
Sakura fake smiled at her. "Ah, no problem. And look at you, you look just like a mummy. Geez, you need to listen to Tsunade-sama." She said fake-cheerily as she opened a window.
Naru looked at her sadly, knowing she tried to hide her feelings from her. "Sakura…. Even when it might seem to you like that, I haven't given up on Sasuke. Somewhere in his hatred driven mind is still the boy we both know. And I won't give up on trying to get him back here to Konoha and help him fix things." She told her softly but determined and smiled at her.
Shikamaru smirked at that and Kakashi eyesmiled while Tsunade smiled fondly. Sakura looked at her with wide eyes before a small smile slipped on her face. "Naruko." '…..Naruko, thank you.'
"Alright, now that we are over these things…. Get these bandages off me! They are restricting me and making me feel uncomfortable!" Naru told them with a huff and started pulling at some of them.
"Don't you dare, Naru! These will stay on for a while understood? Or do I need to slap some senses into you?!" Tsunade huffed at her fondly.
Naru sweat dropped at her threat. "But Tsuna-baa , they are uncomfortable…" She whined out.
"No buts! And now rest!" Tsunade huffed at her and Naru pouted.
Later that evening…
"I'm sooooo bored…." Naruko sighed and her mind kept wandering back to the fight she had with Sasuke. It frustrated her and reminded her of her failure but she didn't want to sulk. "Argh! Kurama! Tell me some jokes~" She whined.
Kurama sweat dropped. 'You're seriously expecting me to tell you jokes….? Ya seriously have to be bored then.' He huffed out amused.
"Please Kurama~" She just whined again as she rolled to the other side of the bed. Hospital was pure, boring hell.
Kurama sighed in defeat. 'Alright, alright…' He hummed thoughtfully as he tried to think of a joke and then snickered. 'Okay, I have one… Even people who are good for nothing have the capability of bringing a smile to your face. For an instance if you push them down the stairs. BAHAHAHAHAHA!' He laughed loudly at the dark joke.
"….." Naru just deadpanned. "Forget I even ask. What the hell was that kind of joke… I'm so done with you sometimes 'Rama…."
'Oi, you asked not me.' He chuckled out.
Naruko rolled her eyes at him but then suddenly a loud puffing sound came from outside right by her window and she jumped up startled and drew back the curtains to peek outside. Her eyes widened as she spotted an enormous orange toad with Jiraiya crouched on it.
"E-Ero-Sennin?!" She shouted in surprise.
"Yo!" Jiraiya greeted her with a smile.
Naru smiled at that happily and a few moments later, she was sitting on her bed while Jiraiya sat on the window sims.
"I came today to tell you something important." He said seriously.
Naru blinked at that, wondering what he wanted to tell her. "Sure, what is it?"
"I'm going to make you my official apprentice and in three years, I will train you to become a full-fledged ninja." Jiriaya told her seriously and looked back to her with a big grin.
"Eh?! When did I agree to that…?" She just deadpanned at him, unenthusiastic.
Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched at that. "Oi, oi, be a bit more glad here, Naru-chan! I will give up my precious research time for your training!"
"Oh wow… I'm the most grateful." She said sarcastically and sassy, but actually was looking forward to more training. She had realized she need to grow stronger to protect everyone she holds dear. That much Sasuke helped her realize.
Jiraiya sighed at and looked seriously back outside. "I received reliable information about Akatsuki from my spy."
"Akatsuki?!" Naru asked seriously and laid a hand on her seal.
Jiraiya looked back to her with a small smile. "It seems like the next time they'll come after you won't be for another three or four years."
Naru bit on her lip at that and sighed. "Alright. But what about Sasuke?"
Jiraiya looked grimly back outside at that. "He will be safe for the next three years. But also…. Just forget about Sasuke!" He looked back to her seriously.
"Wha…?" She just got out, thrown back by what he said.
"Sasuke went to Orochimaru on his own. No matter what you try, he won't change. I know because I have seen many shinobi in the past… Sasuke is the same type as Orochimaru. If you're thinking about bringing him back, don't."
Naru narrowed her eyes angrily at him.
"Only conceited fools would try to!" Jiraiya told her grimly.
"How do you know that without even trying?!" Naru snapped at him and glared at him seriously. There was still hope left inside of her that Sasuke could get back to how she knew he was. "Sasuke is my friend! I can't just leave a friend behind!"
"Would a friend injure his comrade like this?! Just look at the state you're in, Naru!" He shouted at her before gritting his teeth as he remembered that something similar had happened with him and Orochimaru.
"B-But…." Naruko bit on her lip at that and carefully itched her hurting scar on her chest nervously.
'No matter how much you want it Naru…. He won't come back and he will not be the same. I don't want you to walk the same path of helplessness as I did.' He looked back to her softly before looking seriously ahead. "If you're going to chase after Sasuke, I won't train you. I will have ANBU watch you and depending on the issue, forbid you from leaving Konoha. You're no ordinary kid. You're being targeted by a powerful organization. That's just how things are." Jiraiya told her seriously.
Naruko stared to the ground thoughtfully at that before she sighed softly and fondly. "Geez, you don't even give me a choice Ero-Sennin. Do I seriously have to train with such a pervert like you for three years?" She asked jokingly and rolled her eyes. "Well, I have quite some troublesome blackmail material of you from the times we traveled together. Guess you have no other choice as to train me even when I will go after Sasuke after the three years! Otherwise, these pictures will end up accidentally on Tsuna-baa's desk. So, you have to train me~ And no matter what you say, I will keep trying to get some sense into Sasuke! Because I won't give up and won't go back on my word, that's my nindo!" She smiled foxily as she looked at him with determined twinkle. "And then, after those three years, the Akatsuki will pay for thinking they can mess with me!" She shouted out loudly.
'HELL YEAH!' Kurama roared loudly in agreement.
Jiraiya looked back to her in surprise before sweating dropping with a fond smile. "Guess I have no choice then." He chuckled lightly as he jumped back onto his toad. "As soon as you can leave the hospital, get ready for the journey. See ya!"
"Sure~ And don't go peeking Ero-Sennin~ Remember, the blackmail material ~" She said way too happily.
Jiraiya sweat dropped and cursed his luck.
One day later….
"Urgh… So boring…." Naru whined as she was sticking to he ceiling with her chakra, her bandages have been removed for the most part but they still didn't want to let her leave the hospital. "I hate it here…." She huffed out as she looked out of the window…while being upside down.
Kurama grumbled bored. 'I agree… This I'd boring as fucking hell….'
Jiraiya jumped into her hospital room sneakily and grinned. "Alright, Naru! Let's go on the trip now, pack your stuff I'm checking you out of here!" He just then noticed Naru was upside down on the ceiling and sweat dropped. "Do I even wanna know-" He yelped as he was tackled in a hug.
"WAAAH! THANK YOU ERO-SENNIN! YOU'RE A SAVIOR!" She shouted while crying anime tears before racing off to get her stuff together.
Jiriaya sighed fondly and smiled. "Meet me at the village gate!" He shouted after her and shook his head. He then jumped back outside he actually had already informed Tsunade about their leave.
Naru cheerily raced through the streets, quickly saying goodbye to all her friends before she went to her apartment and packed just some minor stuff she would need, she was sure Jiraiya would buy her something if she needs it. "Alright! Ready Kurama?" She asked him as she lastly packed her framed Team 7 picture into her backpack.
Kurama grinned. 'Of freaking course!'
Naruko smiled at that and locked the door to her apartment before racing to the village gates, where surprisingly Jiraiya was already waiting for her.
"Ready, brat?!" The toad Sannin asked his goddaughter fondly and ruffled her hair.
"You mean, ready to sass at you at any given moment? Of course. This is going to be some fun three years~" She giggled amused as she walked outside the village.
Jiraiya sweat dropped. "…I will regret taking her away for training….." He sighed before walking after her with a small fond smile. He would try his best to train her to be strong enough. That is the least he can do to protect her in Minato's place.
And so, Naru's rigorous training started and formed a way for a future of hardship, friends as well as happiness and sadness. Will she be ready to take on Akatsuki? Only time will tell.
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Hey guys! So, this was the official last chapter of Naruko's Adventures! Waah! I cannot believe we already got this far and that we're now finished with the original Naruto timeline. It was a lot of fun and I certainly hope you have enjoyed this journey with me! I will take a short break to gather all my thoughts for the next book… Yes, you heard right! The next book will be the continuation of this fanfic! More infos will come in the final authors note in this story, when I'm ready with everything of course! However, do not fear that you won't have anything to read for the next couple of weeks… Because I will write some short Filler chapters! XD Something everyone hates but also…. It will be fun to read so be prepared for some funny stuff as well as some little extra backstories. :3 Anyway, I hope you guys have an amazing rest of your day and see you soon in the Final Author's Note(as well as in the Filler Chapters)! ;)