Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Caught part one The Goddess ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Tears, unfamiliar warm liquid, ran down her cheeks in several relentless waterfalls.

 

They already knew he was dead. His messenger toad confirmed it. Jiraiya was gone. Killed by a former student. The leader of a band of elite rogue ninja's; a man who considered himself a god. Pein.

 

The funeral was grand. Full of alcohol and food. He was not the kind of man that fallowed tradition well; he would have wanted it that way. Not to mention she, along with a few other ninja's, especially a certain loud blond one, needed a drink. They needed the closeness and support of their fellow ninja's, and villagers.

 

The thing that made it difficult was the fact that his body was lost. It sunk to the bottom of the sewage in an enemy village. It was inaccessible, until now.

 

Unknown to the rest of the world, his body was found soon after his death by a sewage worker and buried not far from the enemy village. That was where he was found.

 

A new government had been established since the death of Pien. A complete overhaul of the city had taken place and in the process the unmarked grave had been found. His identity had been confirmed and they shipped the body to their newest ally, and his home village.

 

The body had just arrived not an hour before.

 

On his body a last will and testament was found. Everything, including a lock box that he buried outside the village walls, was left to Naruto. He may not have had very many, if any, material possessions, but he was indeed rich. His books and their movies brought in a great deal of wealth that had been accumulating even after his death.

 

Naruto will be a very wealthy man.

 

He would have been given everything before, but due to their lack of information on his `estate' they were unable to. She knew of his accounts and of his wishes, but what country did he hold his accounts with? Where did he keep his personal possessions? Not in the village, that was for sure. Apparently in a lock box.

 

More tears fell to the floor.

 

She needed sake!

 

“Bring me Naruto!” Tsunade, the current Hokage demanded, wiping the tears from her face.

 

“But Lady Hokage, he's in the hospital” The faithful Genma standing in the corner, the one you gave the news to the Hokage, nearly yelled.

 

“Yes, but knowing the brat, he's already up and about hassling the nursing staff. I'm sure Sakura had already been called to restrain the idiot” A small smile cut through her gloomy facade. “if she had gotten back yet”

 

****((*(*(*(*

 

She was pacing. She never paced, and she was doing so now.

 

Hinata Hyuuga, the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, was pacing the halls of the hospital because she was too nervous to ask a man if he had seen her train in the middle of the night…naked.

 

Sweat started to form on her brow.

 

What if he never saw her and she was giving herself away?

 

 

@Q#$%^&*()_)(*&^%$#@#$%^&*()(*&^%$#

 

“She was beautiful. I had never seen anything like it. Her movements. Her strength and speed. It was captivating.”

 

There was a laugh coming from the group that surrounded the small hospital bed. “Sounds like a siren to me, if you didn't imagine the whole thing that is” Kiba sat back in his chair crossing his arms.

 

The room, now full of people, was sitting is a semi circle fashion around the blond who was sitting on the bed. Directly in front of him was Kiba, of course accompanied by the large white dog laying at his feet. To the right of the dog ninja was Shikamaru and Choji. To the left Rock Lee, and Kakashi. In the back, leaning against the wall was Neji.

 

“It is not uncommon for people with injures as severe as yours to hallucinate like that. Though I would have to say that seeing a naked woman training in the middle of a secluded forest may say something about you, naruto” An obviously proud Neji smirked.

 

A series of smirks and laughs fallowed.

 

“Now Neji, I would have to agree with Naruto on this one.” Kakashi spoke from his stool.

 

“What do you mean Kakashi sensei?” Lee asked, enjoying the playful banter.

 

“I was there” Everybody turned toward the smiling Ninja, or at least they thought he was smiling. “it seems that somebody was in the clearing with him.”

 

“What makes you say that?” Shikamaru questioned.

 

Acting as if the book was more interesting than the current topic he didn't even bother looking up from it. “Somebody wiped the dirt from his face, and checked his injures”

 

“Really?” The fox ninja asked.

 

BANG! The door slammed open. “NARUTO” A winded Genma ran through the door.

 

“What is it?” Naruto leapt from his position on the bed. The other members of the room stood ready for anything.

 

“Lady Hokage needs you immediately.”

 

“Wow, it must be important if she wants you to leave the hospital hours after waking” Kiba frowned.

 

Shikamaru sighed. “You better go see what she wants Naruto. That woman is as stubborn as they come.”

 

****)(((*(*(

 

“Do you know why you are here Naruto?” Tsunade's figure could be seen behind her desk, leaning back in her chair, starring out the windows. She was facing away from the loud blond, unable to look him in the eyes just yet.

 

Naruto, dressed in his normal orange and black, finished off with his headband, sat in one of the two chairs in front of her desk. His hands clenched on his knees as he kept his body from shaking.

 

Sakura had been on a very dangerous A rank mission the day before when he left to train with Kiba. She should have gotten back this morning, but she hasn't visited him yet. Normally she was the first one there.

 

Hoping to whatever god was out there that it didn't have anything to do with his adopted sister, he shook his head. “No”. A simple answer, however, to those who knew him, it was the sign of fear.

 

Without moving from her prior position she began again. “Along with his Last Will and Testemant, Jiryia's body was found”

 

“They…they found it? How did they get to it?” His hands immediately went to the top of her desk as he leaned over it in anticipation. He had wanted his sensei's body. He deserved a ninja's burial, with his other comrades in the cemetery.

 

“That isn't important. What's important is that his entire fortune, and whatever is inside that lock box” Gemna stepped forward with a decent sized box in hand. It was at least a foot and a half wide and a foot deep. “is now yours. He loved you as if you were his grandson.”

 

The dark green lock box, still sporting a thin layer of dirt, was placed in the desk in front of the gaping ninja. His blue eyes, glazed over in unshed tears. A small smiled formed on his lips. “Thank you Hokage-sama” He stood and bowed. His loud obnoxious self forgotten for the time being. “Would you like to open it with me?”

 

Her body tightened. Her lips sat in a straight line. A bundle of emotions she had yet to deal with threatened to resurface.

 

“You must miss him.” Naruto soothing voice began to ease the pain of her heart, even with the current topic. Something he was always able to do. “I don't know what I would do if I lost Sakura” his eyes closed.

 

“You would keep moving. Never faltering. Its what they would have wanted.” She spoke as if it had been something she had to force herself to remember. Something she had rehearsed.

 

“It sounds easier than it is”

 

She turned around, a look of understanding shown right into his sad smile. “It is the life of a ninja's”

 

“No, it is just life” He corrected. Standing he turned and headed for the door, missing the look of shock on the Hokage's face. “Bring the box to my house after dinner tonight. We can open it then”

 

Her smile widened. “Thank you Naruto”

 

“Any time Granny Tsunade”

 

*****((((*(*

 

He didn't know what Tsunade thought; he didn't even know what to think himself. This couldn't be easy for her. Her love, brother, two teammates, and parents were gone. Any other person would have drown in sorrow, but not his Hokage. She was the strongest person he had ever known. Still after all the pain, suffering, and loss, she held her head high and continued to protect the village. She no longer had a person or family to protect, but a whole city. Several people; many families.

 

Naruto didn't know what Tsunade thought. He didn't know how she was feeling, but he would be there for her, just like his family, when she needed him, and she needed to be there when he opened the box. She had to be there.

 

This was his gift to her.

 

Jiraiya would have wanted it that way.

 

He held the small book in his hand. A familiar book; one the perverted old hermit had on him at all times. One Tsunade gave him. Jiriya's checkbook.

 

The amount of zero's was amazing. If he never worked another day in his life he would still be able to live in luxury. As a matter of fact, `The Nine' could live in luxury with this money. To bad their pride would prevent them from taking it. Maybe he could get away with a few decent sized gifts here and there.

 

Oh, and he had to build an orphanage. Or maybe he should just fix up the current one and put money away for them in case of emergencies. Hire more people. The loving supporting kind. His deceased sensei would be proud of him for that.

 

Naruto missed him.

 

“Hey, Naruto!” A familiar female voice broke in just in time to prevent his moment of self-pity.

 

“Sakura-chan! How was your mission?” His current spot, on a bench near the training grounds, had a wonderful view of the surrounding wilderness. It could be considered a `romantic' place to take ones love, if it weren't for the numerous screams, explosions, and debris. One wouldn't think that debris could make it far from the training ground, but about a year ago, when he was training with Sai, a large amount of ink was shot across town and into the center of the main shopping district.

 

Very angry civilians!

 

“Hey there, I was looking for you.” That nervous twitch started on her left eye.

 

She was keeping something from him. “What happened Sakura?” He sighed, leaning completely back, spreading his arms out wide.

 

A nervous smiled formed on her now fidgeting body. He could tell she was trying to come up with something, anything that could pass by as the truth, but no luck. She frowned. “Naruto, I am not supposed to tell anybody, but I think you have the right to know. Just keep it a secret, ok?”

 

He wanted to go train with Lee and Gai. There was only so much stress his body could handle before it broke down. A good round of over exertions and getting his ass kicked sounded perfect.

 

“I was scouting the southern boarders when I ran into a few rogue ninja's.”

 

“Was anybody hurt?” He was fully alert now, his body hunched over, ready to sprint for the hospital or the hokage tower if needed.

 

“Naruto would you let me finish please” She napped.

 

“Oh, sorry Sakura-chan,”

 

Shaking her head she continued. “I ran into Team Eagle”

 

His body tensed. Where did he know that from?

 

She tried to suppress her emotions, and for the most part she did well. Only those who really knew her would know the difference; like naruto, who saw through her professional exterior instantly. “The members consist of Karin, Juugo, Suigetsu, and the leader, Sasuke Uchiha”

 

“Sasuke” He gasped. “Sasuke?”

 

She shook her head. “We didn't fight. They came across us while we were camped; during my watch. He gave me a warning”

 

“What warning” He grabbed her hands and held them, reassuring it that it was, and will be, alright.

 

“He is coming after the Village. He won't rest until it's destroyed. He said that if we value our lives we should flee” Surprisingly she kept her composure.

 

“WHAT?!?!” Naruto leapt from his seat. “That's ridiculous. What the hell is that Teme thinking?”

 

“I don't know Naruto, and Tsunade doesn't either, but the elders. They seemed almost, afraid. They know something, but wont tell us” She looked off into the trees, as if seeing it for the first time. “What if its about his family?” her head snapped toward Naruto, who was looking at her in shock.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Don't you think it's a bit strange that they never sent anybody after Itachi?”

 

“He's strong, they may have been afraid that it would only cause more death.” The blond shrugged, sitting down once again.

 

“But they sent many people after Orochimaru, and he was way more dangerous than Itachi” She pointed out.

 

“You're right. Why wouldn't they go after him? Why would they let him leave like that?”

 

“Maybe he threatened them”

 

He scoffed “Cowards”

 

****((((****((((****((((

 

Seven thirty PM the doorbell rang.

 

Naruto, who was lazing about on his couch looking over scrolls nearly knocked them to the floor as he got up to answer the door.

 

“Good evening Naruto” A smiling Tsunade greeted him, the lockbox wrapped in an abnormally strong arm, a bag containing multiple bottles of sake in the other.

 

“Hey there Granny Tsunade” He moved, letting her inside. “I invited Sakura to come by in about an hour, if that's ok with you.”

 

Tsuname shook her head, “No that's fine. She's part of the family” It would be an understatement to say that she was impressed. The small apartment was clean, organized, and smelled nice. The kitchen and dinning room was just one large room to the right of the front door. The living room, which was decorated in a very homely way was to the left. A series of photo's hung across the walls. There were more than she could ever remember having herself. The walls were almost completely covered by them. A nice soft black three-seat sofa sat in the middle of the room, facing the wall just to the left of the door, where a decent sized TV and TV stand stood. On the wall, four or so feet behind the couch, was a small desk, with shelves lining the wall to the right of it. Scrolls and books littered the area. The wall that held the desk was painted a soft yellow color, while the rest of the walls stayed white and covered in thick black picture frames.

 

Directly in front of the door was a hall, that led to what looked like three doors; a master bedroom, laundry room, and bathroom no doubt.

 

“Uh, I guess we could open it in the living room. Let me clean some of this up first. OH, are you hungry or anything. Sakura made some tempura a few hours ago.”

 

Tsunade walked fully into the living room. The light wood of the coffee table was hidden by the piles of scrolls. “Sounds good”.

 

“Ok, let me heat it up, I'll be right back” With that he was gone. Disappeared into the kitchen.

 

Sitting on the couch, careful not to crush any unsuspecting scroll, books, or random papers, she set the bag and box off to the side. Picking up an open scroll she read the first few words; `Wind Jutsu'.

 

“He's studying?” There was no way he was studying on his spare time.

 

Picking up a few more she almost laughed at the first one; `The Art of Raman', `Seals', `History of Mount Myouboku'.

 

Rolling the scrolls back up she tied them off and set them aside, trying to straighten them. A book, looking somewhat similar to a textbook at the local `civilian' children school, sat open. After further analysis she discovered that it was, but there were highlighted area's and what looked to be angry strokes crossing out certain lines. Reading, at the best of her ability, a crossed out line she nearly screamed. This is what they were teaching the children?

 

The Nine Tailed fox demon, Kyuubi, was set loose on Konoha by the Uchiha clan. It was considered an act of revenge for their strongest leader death in the `Valley of the End' by the first Hokage.

Later, another member of the Uchiha clan, Itachi Uchiha, killed all remaining members, excluding his younger brother, in a fit on insanity. It only proved the elders theory further that even though the Uchiha blood line was indeed powerful and a great asset, it also showed great flaws when coming to stability.

Due to such instability and distrust, the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi in an infant, keeping it from the selfish hands of the Uchiha clan.

 

#$%^&*()_(*&^%$#%^&*()

 

The head branch of the Hyuuga, plus one Neji Hyuuga, sat around a large wooden Japanese style table. Hiashi Hyuuga, the current head of the family, sat at the head of the table; Neji at his right and Hinata at his left. At the other end of the table sat a very pale Hanabi who appeared to be gasping for air.

 

“Sister, you don't have to be here. You should do back to your room and rest.” Hinata pleaded with her sister.

 

“No..sister” She continued to pant. “I am a member…of the head family. My presence is…required.” Her body started to shake with coughs.

 

“She is right Hanabi dear, it would be better if you were to…HANABI!” He called across the table. All three occupants immediately turned toward the young girl in horror. She was swaying in her seat, blood dripping from her mouth.

 

“Hanabi” Hinata called before running to the girls side, catching her before she could hit the ground.

 

“Neji, take her to the hospital. Hinata, I need you to go into my office and bring the large folder I have sitting in my bottom right drawer. I will be going to the hospital” Hiashi spoke, his voice very professional, but not convincing enough to fool his immediate family. He was terrified for his youngest daughter.

 

“Yes father”