Please tell me how I am doing so far. I LOVE constructive criticism, so don't be afraid to really tell me all the things I did wrong or can improve on. Thank you.
Chapter 1: Nagareboshi
Twilight painted the landscape as the sun fell on another day. Stars started dotting the sky with their sheer brilliance and the bright, vibrant reds and oranges of evening started to fade into dark shades of blues greens. Naruto Uzumaki was sprawled out on his bed, staring at the dust-covered ceiling, thoughts still racing through his mind. It had been about 3 months since Sasuke left and Naruto never stopped feeling like there was something he could have done to stop him. Even though their clash in the Valley of End had ended terribly, he still clung to past bonds with his former teammate.
Naruto could not catch sleep no matter how hard he tried, so he decided to take a quick walk through the Leaf Village also known as Konohagakure. He slipped off his nightcap and strapped on his zori sandals. Naruto opened the door, which creaked loudly in the quiet night then quietly closed it. He stood for a moment and took a breath of fresh air, something he rarely did as he was always on a mission; Naruto’s messy blond hair blew back with the slight, refreshing breeze. He walked along the streets of Konohagakure, musing at how much different it looked now than in the daytime. Both large and small lanterns hung from buildings, emitting a peaceful dim glow while the bars and some residential houses looked like they could be seen from over 5,000 feet in the air. The only noises that were heard was the soft sound of the cricket’s melodies, the chimes tinkling in the wind and Naruto’s shoes shuffling through the dirt and grass; it was a very relaxing atmosphere for him. Naruto saw a blue-painted bench and decided to sit down for a moment, taking in the peace and silence.
He sat down and closed his eyes only for a moment, starting to embrace the thought of sleep. Five minutes flew by as Naruto gazed at the stars glittering in the night sky, then he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He looked northward and saw a shooting star, blazing a radiant path through the darkness. Naruto had never seen a nagareboshi before, so this was a magnificent sight for him. He closed his eyes once more and made a wish. “I wish I could meet someone who respected me and looked up to me, someone exciting.” It may have not sounded like much of a wish, but to Naruto, it meant everything. He had lived his life shunned and disrespected and for once, he wanted someone to look up to him.
Chapter 2: Recovery
The sun rose in the distance, signaling the start of a new day. Naruto awoke with a cringe as sunlight crept through the windows and temporarily blinded him. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and wearily got out of bed for another day of training and missions. He took off his sleep cap and pajamas and dressed himself in his signature orange jacket and pants and of course his zoris. He quickly ate his breakfast, which consisted of instant cup ramen and probably expired milk; he tapped the table impatiently as the 3-minute wait for the ramen ticked by. The last thing he did before he left was put on his hitai-ate or headband, which signified him as a true leaf village ninja. The door squeaked obnoxiously as Naruto opened it; he made a mental note “get the stupid door fixed.”
Naruto stretched out his muscles, completely awoken and ready to go. He ran towards the training grounds, remembering that Kakashi sensei told him and Sakura to meet him there for another grueling training session. Naruto decided to slow down, as another grueling training session wasn’t his cup of ramen today. Normally, he would be fired up to try and impress Sakura, but for some reason he couldn’t get into the fighting spirit. Naruto pondered on this troublesome matter, not really paying attention to where he was going. He suddenly tripped over something and fell flat on his face, filling his mouth with dirt and gravel. He quickly recovered and frantically looked around for what had tripped him. Then, his heart froze as he saw a girl lying in the road where he had tripped. He kneeled down and shook the girl a little, trying to wake her. No response. He shook her a little harder and started to panic as soon as he realized she wouldn’t awake. He picked her up and swung her over onto his back and ran towards the hospital as fast as he could. He finally reached the hospital, finding himself short of breath.
“Nurse, I found this girl lying unconscious in the road; she won’t wake up!”
“Okay, I’ll check her into a room immediately.” The nurse replied.
Naruto watched as a medical team took her away on a stretcher, getting smaller as they got farther away. He saw them take a right turn at the end of the hallway and made a sudden decision to follow them. He pushed the door open just in time to see the medical team hook her up to an IV.
“Is she going to be all right?”
“We’re not sure, her heart beat is erratic and she seems to have some major internal damage.”
Naruto looked over at the girl. She looked like she was about his height, had dark brown hair that also looked grayish in the light down just past her shoulders. She looked like she had a fairly healthy body from the outside, not too skinny or fat and she didn’t look that scrawny either, like she could hold her own decently in a taijutsu fight. At another time, Naruto might have thought she was really pretty, but he was too worried right now. He heard the medical ninjas whisper to each other and nodded every once in a while, he tried to eavesdrop, but he could only catch a few words. The medical ninjas then turned to Naruto.
“Naruto, could you watch over this girl for a bit, we need some special equipment?”
“Uh, sure” Naruto responded with a hint of worry in his voice.
“If anything happens, just press that red button on the wall over there, someone will see to her right away.
“Right, I’ll wait here, don’t worry I’ll protect her with my life!” Naruto almost shouted.
“Naruto, this isn’t a mission, just calm down, this girl needs rest.”
With that, the medical team rushed off and Naruto was left to watch over her. About an hour passed before the medical team came back.
“It’s about time, I was just about to fall asleep!”
“Shhhhhh, quiet down, this is a hospital.”
Naruto was asked to leave the room so they could operate. Naruto reluctantly left, but he seated himself in a chair in the lobby, waiting for them to finish. Another hour passed without a word from the medical ninjas; Naruto actually dozed off once or twice. Finally, after a grueling two hours, the medical ninjas came out of the room.
“So, how did the operation go, will she live?”
“Yes, she should be just fine with a couple of good nights rest.”
“That’s a relief, can I see her.”
“I guess, but not for long okay.”
Naruto creaked open the door and peered inside. The girl was lying peacefully on the bed, breathing evenly and steadily. He walked over to the bedside and sat down in the chair next to it. Minutes passed without any signs of her waking up; Naruto decided it was time to leave for now, then he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Her hand twitched and curled up into a fist, then very slowly, her eyes opened. She had beautiful brown eyes that showed confusion and a little bit of emptiness. Naruto got up and stood next to her. Suddenly, her eyes were fully open and flickered from left to right then she abruptly slugged him under his chin and Naruto fell backward. He was right, she could have held her own in a taijutsu fight.
Chapter 3: Friend or Foe
Naruto sat up with a groan, he felt like his jaw had been dislocated and he couldn’t stop seeing stars. Once his head stopped reeling, he got up to confront the girl, but there was a slight problem. She had vanished! Naruto looked over and saw the IV dripping over the bed and the window open. He had only been down for a second and she disappeared, Naruto couldn’t believe it; he was completely and utterly baffled by this happening. That’s when the medical ninjas walked back in.
“NARUTO, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GIRL!!”
“I was just keeping an eye on her like you told me and she slugged me, that’s what happened!” Naruto shouted.
“We have to find her, she was still in critical condition, there’s no way she’ll survive without the right medicine.” There was a long pause “Naruto, get some others and search for her, I’ll send out additional medical ninjas to help you.”
“Right. Leave it to me, I’ll find her don’t you worry. I’m going to be Hokage someday after all.” With that, Naruto jumped out the window and began the search. After Naruto was out of sight, the medical ninjas spoke to each other.
“We have to find that girl, there is something very unusual about her, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, the blood work result had some very strange DNA patterns and I am interested in investigating it further.” A moment of silence “I’m also worried that if Naruto finds her, he won’t be able to handle her by himself.”
Just then, a nurse barged into the room warning the medical ninjas of another upcoming patient and just as quickly as their discussion began, it ended.
Naruto had found that none of his faithful comrades were available. Sakura was working on becoming a medical ninja and the others were all out on some mission. Naruto knew he had to make a decision quickly or the girl may die; after a few minutes of pondering, he decided to head out on his own and just hope that he could find her. Naruto started with Ichiraku ramen, where he found out nothing. He moved onto other landmark buildings and even climbed up to the Hokage stone faces. Nothing turned up, not even a strand of hair or drop of blood was to be found. The only place Naruto could think of was the forest just outside of Konohagakure. He decided he didn’t have anything to lose and headed toward the gate. Naruto came to the gate and was stopped by the guards there.
“Naruto, where do you think you’re going?”
Naruto didn’t have the time to explain the situation, so he quickly said “I’m on a mission” and he kept on running through. The guards tried to stop him, but he disappeared before they could get to him.
Naruto came to the forest and took a deep breath. He knew there was always some rogue ninja looking for a fight, but he figured he was more than tough enough to handle them, so he charged on through and entered into the darkness. The trees towered above him like giants looming over their next dinner. The trees did indeed look like they could swallow a person whole, especially since it was rapidly approaching dusk. Naruto stopped a couple times and sniffed the air to try and catch some familiar scent. He drew deeper into the forest, and a fog started to cover the ground like the kind in old horror films. Naruto looked up and just barely could see the first star gleaming through the canopy of the trees. He had to hurry or he may be too late. Something just then drove like a needle of fear into his heart; he could sense danger looming beyond the dense trees.
Naruto then took another step forward and was tripped by some invisible force; a closer look revealed a trip wire, but by then it was too late. Kunai and shuriken rushed him from the darkness like a snake striking out towards its prey. They pierced his back, legs and stomach and some narrowly missed his head. As if this assault wasn’t bad enough, he stumbled backward, tripped and landed on his ankle just right. A sharp pain ran up his left leg and he cried out with agony. The worst was yet to come though when Naruto barely dragged himself into a small clearing and yet another wire was tripped. A large boulder then crashed down onto his right arm; the pain was absolutely unbearable. Naruto couldn’t move at all, he felt like he was going to die right then and there. Suddenly, a striking gray wolf emerged from the shadows. This wolf was not pure gray colored, but had brown and silver fur mixed in. Also, another peculiar feature was a mark that appeared to be two crescent moons on its right leg; this mark was a black colored fur. It may have been a beautiful sight had the wolf not been showing its teeth and bristling its fur all the while creating a fierce growl.
Naruto was absolutely scared out of his wits and out of instinct reached into his leg pouch and threw a kunai at it. Since Naruto was right handed and had to throw with his left hand, he missed, but grazed the wolf’s right leg. Bleeding, the wolf took another curious look at Naruto and bounded off into the woods. Very luckily, a medical ninja squad showed up and carefully placed Naruto onto a stretcher. The pain rushed up his arm and leg and Naruto gave another out cry of pain. Too great was the pain and he passed out.
Chapter 4: Into the Light
Naruto awoke in the Konoha hospital bandaged up like a mummy, his left leg and right arm plastered in a stiff cast. He sat up with a groan and wiped the sleep from his eyes. Naruto recalled the harrowing experience in the forest and a chill ran up his spine. The door opened then and none other than the fifth Hokage, Tsunade walked in. She looked him stern in the eye.
“NARUTO, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!”
“I’m sorry Grandma Tsunade, but I had to go look for the girl, I couldn’t just leave her to die!”
“Naruto, I understand that you wanted to help her, but nearly getting yourself killed is not the way to do it.” Tsunade’s enraged face turned soft then and she spoke more. “I promise we will find her, but for now you have to rest up. I don’t want you on any missions for the next week. I know that the Nine-Tailed Fox helps you heal quickly, but it’s better not to risk breaking the bones again.”
“But Grandma Tsunade, I don’t have that much time!”
“ENOUGH NARUTO, I WILL SEND OUT A SEARCH PARTY, YOU WILL STAY IN BED FOR AT LEAST 3 DAYS, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!”
Naruto was too tired to argue any further, he just looked solemnly at the ground in disgust. With the argument concluded, Tsunade left the room and left Naruto in peace. Naruto tried to move, but his muscles were still weak and couldn’t even lift his good arm. The only good thing that came out of the next three days was that Sakura had to hand feed him. Even though she did it with discontent, Naruto loved every moment.
It was the fourth day and Naruto was finally allowed to roam around the village. Of course, the first thing Naruto did was had towards Ichiraku ramen for real food. Naruto’s arm and leg were still in a cast, a symbol of his undertaking in the forest. He “ran” as fast as he could to Ichiraku, his mouth already watering from the aroma. When he got there, he excitedly sat down and ordered a large bowl of miso ramen. Then, a flicker of movement from the curtains caught Naruto’s eye. He glanced over and saw none other than the girl from the hospital! She gazed in curiously, her beautiful brown eyes transfixed on Naruto’s ramen. She was still wearing the night gown from the hospital, and the places where the IV had been ripped out were now bruises. Her hair flowed freely down her back, a few strands fallen on her face.
“Come on in” The store owner offered.
The girl shied away a little as Naruto looked over at her. One could have heard her stomach growling from a mile away. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“If you don’t have any money, you can have one of my cupons for a free meal” Naruto told her. The girl shook her head a little as if to decline the generous offer. Just then, Naruto remembered that she had slugged him on the chin, which still was a little sore.
“Hey, why did you hit me before, I was only trying to help!” The girl looked down ashamed almost. She then walked into the shop and sat down, but not looking Naruto in the face.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Naruto then slammed down his fist on the table, unaware that he was eating and the bowl of ramen hit him right in the face. Noodles and various vegetables were strung throughout Naruto’s hair and he was so wet that it looked like he had bathed in the ramen. Putting her head down on the bar, the girl laughed uncontrollably like the funniest thing in the world had just happened. The shop owner let out a chuckle as well.
“Ah man, just my luck” Naruto complained “First you hit me, then you laugh at me, and I thought that Shino had issues” Naruto said as he picked green onion out of his headband. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” The girl suddenly said, still laughing. She then quieted down some, just letting out a couple giggles.
“Oh, so you can talk”
The girl took a deep breath and took on a more serious tone “I didn’t mean to hit you, I was just so scared I wasn’t thinking straight.” Her eyes showed sorrow as she spoke.
“I guess I can understand, I mean you were doing whatever and the next moment you were in the hospital”
“Well, I might have overreacted a bit, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, you did kind of overreact, I mean you almost dislocated my jaw”
The girl flinched at the size of Naruto’s ego. “So you got a name or what?”
Naruto could tell the girl was a little reluctant to reveal her name, but she said “Tsuki Ookami.”
Chapter 1: Nagareboshi
Twilight painted the landscape as the sun fell on another day. Stars started dotting the sky with their sheer brilliance and the bright, vibrant reds and oranges of evening started to fade into dark shades of blues greens. Naruto Uzumaki was sprawled out on his bed, staring at the dust-covered ceiling, thoughts still racing through his mind. It had been about 3 months since Sasuke left and Naruto never stopped feeling like there was something he could have done to stop him. Even though their clash in the Valley of End had ended terribly, he still clung to past bonds with his former teammate.
Naruto could not catch sleep no matter how hard he tried, so he decided to take a quick walk through the Leaf Village also known as Konohagakure. He slipped off his nightcap and strapped on his zori sandals. Naruto opened the door, which creaked loudly in the quiet night then quietly closed it. He stood for a moment and took a breath of fresh air, something he rarely did as he was always on a mission; Naruto’s messy blond hair blew back with the slight, refreshing breeze. He walked along the streets of Konohagakure, musing at how much different it looked now than in the daytime. Both large and small lanterns hung from buildings, emitting a peaceful dim glow while the bars and some residential houses looked like they could be seen from over 5,000 feet in the air. The only noises that were heard was the soft sound of the cricket’s melodies, the chimes tinkling in the wind and Naruto’s shoes shuffling through the dirt and grass; it was a very relaxing atmosphere for him. Naruto saw a blue-painted bench and decided to sit down for a moment, taking in the peace and silence.
He sat down and closed his eyes only for a moment, starting to embrace the thought of sleep. Five minutes flew by as Naruto gazed at the stars glittering in the night sky, then he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He looked northward and saw a shooting star, blazing a radiant path through the darkness. Naruto had never seen a nagareboshi before, so this was a magnificent sight for him. He closed his eyes once more and made a wish. “I wish I could meet someone who respected me and looked up to me, someone exciting.” It may have not sounded like much of a wish, but to Naruto, it meant everything. He had lived his life shunned and disrespected and for once, he wanted someone to look up to him.
Chapter 2: Recovery
The sun rose in the distance, signaling the start of a new day. Naruto awoke with a cringe as sunlight crept through the windows and temporarily blinded him. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and wearily got out of bed for another day of training and missions. He took off his sleep cap and pajamas and dressed himself in his signature orange jacket and pants and of course his zoris. He quickly ate his breakfast, which consisted of instant cup ramen and probably expired milk; he tapped the table impatiently as the 3-minute wait for the ramen ticked by. The last thing he did before he left was put on his hitai-ate or headband, which signified him as a true leaf village ninja. The door squeaked obnoxiously as Naruto opened it; he made a mental note “get the stupid door fixed.”
Naruto stretched out his muscles, completely awoken and ready to go. He ran towards the training grounds, remembering that Kakashi sensei told him and Sakura to meet him there for another grueling training session. Naruto decided to slow down, as another grueling training session wasn’t his cup of ramen today. Normally, he would be fired up to try and impress Sakura, but for some reason he couldn’t get into the fighting spirit. Naruto pondered on this troublesome matter, not really paying attention to where he was going. He suddenly tripped over something and fell flat on his face, filling his mouth with dirt and gravel. He quickly recovered and frantically looked around for what had tripped him. Then, his heart froze as he saw a girl lying in the road where he had tripped. He kneeled down and shook the girl a little, trying to wake her. No response. He shook her a little harder and started to panic as soon as he realized she wouldn’t awake. He picked her up and swung her over onto his back and ran towards the hospital as fast as he could. He finally reached the hospital, finding himself short of breath.
“Nurse, I found this girl lying unconscious in the road; she won’t wake up!”
“Okay, I’ll check her into a room immediately.” The nurse replied.
Naruto watched as a medical team took her away on a stretcher, getting smaller as they got farther away. He saw them take a right turn at the end of the hallway and made a sudden decision to follow them. He pushed the door open just in time to see the medical team hook her up to an IV.
“Is she going to be all right?”
“We’re not sure, her heart beat is erratic and she seems to have some major internal damage.”
Naruto looked over at the girl. She looked like she was about his height, had dark brown hair that also looked grayish in the light down just past her shoulders. She looked like she had a fairly healthy body from the outside, not too skinny or fat and she didn’t look that scrawny either, like she could hold her own decently in a taijutsu fight. At another time, Naruto might have thought she was really pretty, but he was too worried right now. He heard the medical ninjas whisper to each other and nodded every once in a while, he tried to eavesdrop, but he could only catch a few words. The medical ninjas then turned to Naruto.
“Naruto, could you watch over this girl for a bit, we need some special equipment?”
“Uh, sure” Naruto responded with a hint of worry in his voice.
“If anything happens, just press that red button on the wall over there, someone will see to her right away.
“Right, I’ll wait here, don’t worry I’ll protect her with my life!” Naruto almost shouted.
“Naruto, this isn’t a mission, just calm down, this girl needs rest.”
With that, the medical team rushed off and Naruto was left to watch over her. About an hour passed before the medical team came back.
“It’s about time, I was just about to fall asleep!”
“Shhhhhh, quiet down, this is a hospital.”
Naruto was asked to leave the room so they could operate. Naruto reluctantly left, but he seated himself in a chair in the lobby, waiting for them to finish. Another hour passed without a word from the medical ninjas; Naruto actually dozed off once or twice. Finally, after a grueling two hours, the medical ninjas came out of the room.
“So, how did the operation go, will she live?”
“Yes, she should be just fine with a couple of good nights rest.”
“That’s a relief, can I see her.”
“I guess, but not for long okay.”
Naruto creaked open the door and peered inside. The girl was lying peacefully on the bed, breathing evenly and steadily. He walked over to the bedside and sat down in the chair next to it. Minutes passed without any signs of her waking up; Naruto decided it was time to leave for now, then he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Her hand twitched and curled up into a fist, then very slowly, her eyes opened. She had beautiful brown eyes that showed confusion and a little bit of emptiness. Naruto got up and stood next to her. Suddenly, her eyes were fully open and flickered from left to right then she abruptly slugged him under his chin and Naruto fell backward. He was right, she could have held her own in a taijutsu fight.
Chapter 3: Friend or Foe
Naruto sat up with a groan, he felt like his jaw had been dislocated and he couldn’t stop seeing stars. Once his head stopped reeling, he got up to confront the girl, but there was a slight problem. She had vanished! Naruto looked over and saw the IV dripping over the bed and the window open. He had only been down for a second and she disappeared, Naruto couldn’t believe it; he was completely and utterly baffled by this happening. That’s when the medical ninjas walked back in.
“NARUTO, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GIRL!!”
“I was just keeping an eye on her like you told me and she slugged me, that’s what happened!” Naruto shouted.
“We have to find her, she was still in critical condition, there’s no way she’ll survive without the right medicine.” There was a long pause “Naruto, get some others and search for her, I’ll send out additional medical ninjas to help you.”
“Right. Leave it to me, I’ll find her don’t you worry. I’m going to be Hokage someday after all.” With that, Naruto jumped out the window and began the search. After Naruto was out of sight, the medical ninjas spoke to each other.
“We have to find that girl, there is something very unusual about her, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, the blood work result had some very strange DNA patterns and I am interested in investigating it further.” A moment of silence “I’m also worried that if Naruto finds her, he won’t be able to handle her by himself.”
Just then, a nurse barged into the room warning the medical ninjas of another upcoming patient and just as quickly as their discussion began, it ended.
Naruto had found that none of his faithful comrades were available. Sakura was working on becoming a medical ninja and the others were all out on some mission. Naruto knew he had to make a decision quickly or the girl may die; after a few minutes of pondering, he decided to head out on his own and just hope that he could find her. Naruto started with Ichiraku ramen, where he found out nothing. He moved onto other landmark buildings and even climbed up to the Hokage stone faces. Nothing turned up, not even a strand of hair or drop of blood was to be found. The only place Naruto could think of was the forest just outside of Konohagakure. He decided he didn’t have anything to lose and headed toward the gate. Naruto came to the gate and was stopped by the guards there.
“Naruto, where do you think you’re going?”
Naruto didn’t have the time to explain the situation, so he quickly said “I’m on a mission” and he kept on running through. The guards tried to stop him, but he disappeared before they could get to him.
Naruto came to the forest and took a deep breath. He knew there was always some rogue ninja looking for a fight, but he figured he was more than tough enough to handle them, so he charged on through and entered into the darkness. The trees towered above him like giants looming over their next dinner. The trees did indeed look like they could swallow a person whole, especially since it was rapidly approaching dusk. Naruto stopped a couple times and sniffed the air to try and catch some familiar scent. He drew deeper into the forest, and a fog started to cover the ground like the kind in old horror films. Naruto looked up and just barely could see the first star gleaming through the canopy of the trees. He had to hurry or he may be too late. Something just then drove like a needle of fear into his heart; he could sense danger looming beyond the dense trees.
Naruto then took another step forward and was tripped by some invisible force; a closer look revealed a trip wire, but by then it was too late. Kunai and shuriken rushed him from the darkness like a snake striking out towards its prey. They pierced his back, legs and stomach and some narrowly missed his head. As if this assault wasn’t bad enough, he stumbled backward, tripped and landed on his ankle just right. A sharp pain ran up his left leg and he cried out with agony. The worst was yet to come though when Naruto barely dragged himself into a small clearing and yet another wire was tripped. A large boulder then crashed down onto his right arm; the pain was absolutely unbearable. Naruto couldn’t move at all, he felt like he was going to die right then and there. Suddenly, a striking gray wolf emerged from the shadows. This wolf was not pure gray colored, but had brown and silver fur mixed in. Also, another peculiar feature was a mark that appeared to be two crescent moons on its right leg; this mark was a black colored fur. It may have been a beautiful sight had the wolf not been showing its teeth and bristling its fur all the while creating a fierce growl.
Naruto was absolutely scared out of his wits and out of instinct reached into his leg pouch and threw a kunai at it. Since Naruto was right handed and had to throw with his left hand, he missed, but grazed the wolf’s right leg. Bleeding, the wolf took another curious look at Naruto and bounded off into the woods. Very luckily, a medical ninja squad showed up and carefully placed Naruto onto a stretcher. The pain rushed up his arm and leg and Naruto gave another out cry of pain. Too great was the pain and he passed out.
Chapter 4: Into the Light
Naruto awoke in the Konoha hospital bandaged up like a mummy, his left leg and right arm plastered in a stiff cast. He sat up with a groan and wiped the sleep from his eyes. Naruto recalled the harrowing experience in the forest and a chill ran up his spine. The door opened then and none other than the fifth Hokage, Tsunade walked in. She looked him stern in the eye.
“NARUTO, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!”
“I’m sorry Grandma Tsunade, but I had to go look for the girl, I couldn’t just leave her to die!”
“Naruto, I understand that you wanted to help her, but nearly getting yourself killed is not the way to do it.” Tsunade’s enraged face turned soft then and she spoke more. “I promise we will find her, but for now you have to rest up. I don’t want you on any missions for the next week. I know that the Nine-Tailed Fox helps you heal quickly, but it’s better not to risk breaking the bones again.”
“But Grandma Tsunade, I don’t have that much time!”
“ENOUGH NARUTO, I WILL SEND OUT A SEARCH PARTY, YOU WILL STAY IN BED FOR AT LEAST 3 DAYS, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!”
Naruto was too tired to argue any further, he just looked solemnly at the ground in disgust. With the argument concluded, Tsunade left the room and left Naruto in peace. Naruto tried to move, but his muscles were still weak and couldn’t even lift his good arm. The only good thing that came out of the next three days was that Sakura had to hand feed him. Even though she did it with discontent, Naruto loved every moment.
It was the fourth day and Naruto was finally allowed to roam around the village. Of course, the first thing Naruto did was had towards Ichiraku ramen for real food. Naruto’s arm and leg were still in a cast, a symbol of his undertaking in the forest. He “ran” as fast as he could to Ichiraku, his mouth already watering from the aroma. When he got there, he excitedly sat down and ordered a large bowl of miso ramen. Then, a flicker of movement from the curtains caught Naruto’s eye. He glanced over and saw none other than the girl from the hospital! She gazed in curiously, her beautiful brown eyes transfixed on Naruto’s ramen. She was still wearing the night gown from the hospital, and the places where the IV had been ripped out were now bruises. Her hair flowed freely down her back, a few strands fallen on her face.
“Come on in” The store owner offered.
The girl shied away a little as Naruto looked over at her. One could have heard her stomach growling from a mile away. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“If you don’t have any money, you can have one of my cupons for a free meal” Naruto told her. The girl shook her head a little as if to decline the generous offer. Just then, Naruto remembered that she had slugged him on the chin, which still was a little sore.
“Hey, why did you hit me before, I was only trying to help!” The girl looked down ashamed almost. She then walked into the shop and sat down, but not looking Naruto in the face.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Naruto then slammed down his fist on the table, unaware that he was eating and the bowl of ramen hit him right in the face. Noodles and various vegetables were strung throughout Naruto’s hair and he was so wet that it looked like he had bathed in the ramen. Putting her head down on the bar, the girl laughed uncontrollably like the funniest thing in the world had just happened. The shop owner let out a chuckle as well.
“Ah man, just my luck” Naruto complained “First you hit me, then you laugh at me, and I thought that Shino had issues” Naruto said as he picked green onion out of his headband. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” The girl suddenly said, still laughing. She then quieted down some, just letting out a couple giggles.
“Oh, so you can talk”
The girl took a deep breath and took on a more serious tone “I didn’t mean to hit you, I was just so scared I wasn’t thinking straight.” Her eyes showed sorrow as she spoke.
“I guess I can understand, I mean you were doing whatever and the next moment you were in the hospital”
“Well, I might have overreacted a bit, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, you did kind of overreact, I mean you almost dislocated my jaw”
The girl flinched at the size of Naruto’s ego. “So you got a name or what?”
Naruto could tell the girl was a little reluctant to reveal her name, but she said “Tsuki Ookami.”