Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Competition ❯ Run, forest—I mean, fox-boy, run…!! ( Chapter 7 )

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! Computer failure and stuff like that.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That right belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Buddies an anime genius.

 

Chapter 7: Run, forest—I mean, fox-boy, run…!!

 

Summary: Naruto runs pretty much throughout the whole chapter. His heart rate increases and it bursts in his chest killing him instantly…well, not really. He does have a run-in with Shikamaru and learns something most exciting about the shadow-ninja.

 

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“What in the hell have you been teaching this dog, Kiba?” Naruto wondered loudly as he stared at the once canine now human. “What kind of dog is smart enough to learn the Henge no Jutsu technique?! Has the world gone completely daffy?”

 

Akamaru growled lowly, his eyes flashing at his owner. Naruto stared from him to Kiba's limp body, then back to him and back to Kiba until a dusty bulb in his head clicked on. “Oh duh. You wanna protect your master, is that it?”

 

His response was a sharp bark.

 

“I thought so,” Naruto said nodding. “Well…um, I'ma gonna borrow him for a bit, `kay?” Akamaru took a step towards him and Naruto took a step back smiling nervously. “Whoa, ease back, man! It's all good. Who the hell am I kidding? You probably can't even understand me. Damn! How do I say this in terms you'll understand? Okay, okay I got it, how about…uh…bark! Ark-ark! Woof! Bark!”

 

There was a pause in which Naruto and Akamaru locked eyes. Hoping he had said what he had wanted to Naruto didn't dare break eye contact. Breaking eye contact was a sign of weakness to dogs. After a few seconds Akamaru's facial expression softened making Naruto give a relieved sigh. “Thank God, it worked.”

 

Naruto bowed his head in thanks and instantly lifted it when he heard heavy thudding footsteps. He looked up and saw Akamaru inches from his face rearing back a hand preparing to slash. “Shit!” Grunting Naruto tossed Kiba in the air then looked at the approaching Akamaru. “Ugh, what the hell? I thought you understood! C'mon Akamaru, stand down! I don't wanna—whoa!” He sidestepped the dog's swipe but suffered three long gashes across the chest. “Okay…talking to this stupid mutt is a big waste of my flippin' time! And you ripped my outfit!” He held out his arm catching Kiba. He leaned a little to the side but stood up straight with a strained look on his face. “Damn Kiba, you sure do weigh a lot.”

 

Akamaru skidded to a halt using his hands and feet. He shook his head and licked one of his hands whining a bit. Naruto saw that he had a cut on his hand/paw. Akamaru growled, turned on the spot and once again charged Naruto who put his hands together.

 

“Art of the Doppelganger! Well, hell, seeing as he can't understand me—Shadow form!”

 

In puffs of hazy smog five other forms of Naruto with Kiba slung over their shoulders appeared surrounding the confused Akamaru who looked from one Naruto to another. All the Naruto's grinned in a triumphant fashion. With so many Naruto's Akamaru wouldn't know who to chase giving them ample time to get away. Before he could carry out that plan of action Akamaru got on all floors sniffing the ground feverishly while perking his ears.

 

“Oh no…don't tell me,” Naruto groaned as Akamaru narrowed his slanted eyes at him. “Shit…son of a—caught my scent.” He sniffed his clothes. “I smell like ramen. Curse my irresistible and alluring scent,” he groaned more happily than annoyed. He sighed and all the shadow clones disappeared defeated before the battle had begun.

 

Doing what his brain commanded him to, he turned on the spot and took off dragging Kiba's body behind him with a firm grip on his leg. As he had expected Akamaru gave chase catching up extremely quick so that he could nip at Naruto's ankles. “Damn, he's fast!” He grunted. He whirled around swinging his leg causing Akamaru to yelp and fall back. Grinning, he continued only to have Akamaru right behind him in less than two seconds. He groaned as he realized why he was going so slow. Kiba's heavy body was dragging behind him snagging the ends of his sleeves on rocks and causing Naruto to tug extra hard to untangle him.

 

`It'll be worth it. Just to see if Ino's serious about me and her, us,' Naruto thought with a strained smile as he pumped his legs harder. He ignored his heart thudding painfully against his chest. It felt on the edge of bursting. He couldn't, wouldn't stop. He had to see this through. Akamaru was starting to have trouble keeping up to him, which Naruto was thankful for. `That's right, ya stupid dog. Get back there where you effin' belong!'

 

It was then that he noticed his front side seemed curiously damp. He looked down and groaned. The longs slash marks Akamaru had made had been bleeding like mad. Turning to look back he saw, with another groan, that Akamaru was following him by the droplets of blood that spilt; sniffing at them.

 

“Aw, damn it!” He yelled angrily. Then, a desperate idea worked its way into his mind. He ran for a little bit longer until he saw it.

 

He took a sharp left through some hedges. He winced as the branches swiped at his face tearing his clothes further. He laughed when Kiba's face got snagged by some thick vines. When he emerged he had ditched his jacket and shirt. Hopefully that would stop Akamaru from following him. He turned around skidding to a stop next to a fountain. It took him a couple of seconds to realize he had wondered into the middle of the park. Breathing heavily he perked his ears for any sign of thudding footsteps.

 

After a few silent minutes he threw himself down on the edge of the fountain with his chest heaving thankful for the flourishing trees that encompassed him creating a much needed shade. The only sounds he could hear were his hoarse breathing and the soft splashing noise of the calm water. He was barely conscious of the curious looks people were throwing him. Then, he figured it must look pretty strange to see a half-naked boy pulling another boy by the ankle.

 

“Well, well, what have we here?”

 

Naruto cocked his head forward. He knew that bored, drawling, `I-think-everything-is-stupid' voice. He turned to the left and, sure enough, saw Shikamaru sitting right beside him, with his forehead protector tied securely to his arm, staring down at Kiba's unconscious body with mild interest.

 

“Uhh…I-I know wh-what this looks like but trust m-me…” Naruto stuttered before Shikamaru held up a hand for silence. `Is he gonna rat me out? Damn, of all the people to run into!' Naruto thought sulkily. This would mean a strong and long lecture from Master Iruka not to mention this would raise several eyebrows at what he was planning to do with Kiba. Shit.

 

Shikamaru looked from Kiba's body then into Naruto's eyes. “Nope. I don't even want to know why you're dragging his lifeless body everywhere or why you are half-naked,” he said in that voice that annoyed Naruto so much. He sounded as though everything was beneath him that nothing mattered to him.

 

Relieved of this new information that he wasn't going to get in trouble, Naruto breathed out heavily unaware of how much pain it later caused on his slashed chest. He clutched it in pain. Looking down he saw that the blood spurt had stopped and that the wound was already starting to heal itself. `Must be Kyuubi's doing,' Naruto thought grinning wearily. `Sometimes buddies a lifesaver.'

 

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at him. “How did you get that injury?” He asked pointing unnecessarily at Naruto's chest.

 

“Nothing,” Naruto said wishing that he had not abandoned his shirt.

 

“Doesn't look like nothing to me. Looks like something,” Shikamaru said slowly. “Did Kiba do that to you?”

 

“No. Shut-up about it,” Naruto demanded through gritted teeth.

 

“He did didn't he?”

 

“No.”

 

“Yeah he did,” Shikamaru nodded.

 

“What is with you? I have a little cut, so what? Are you in love with me or something cause you sure are askin' a lot of questions about me.”

 

Shikamaru totally ignored that last bit. “But he did do it, right?”

 

“Ya know what? Enough about me! What about you, huh? What are you doing here?” Naruto spat wanting desperately to change the subject.

 

“I always come here…just to relax and get rid of unwanted memories,” Shikamaru said in a melancholy tone. He still wondered about Naruto's injuries but decided to let it go. “This is the best spot, in my opinion, for someone looking to shed those memories to come. The wind carries them off never to be returned.”

 

Naruto laughed but passed it off as a violent cough.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm A-OK,” Naruto responded swinging his feet idly.

 

“Oh…yeah, I wanted to say I think you fought that sand dude Gaara well,” Shikamaru said with a congratulatory little nod in Naruto's direction.

 

Try as he might Naruto couldn't hide the broad grin that had surfaced over his face. That was the first compliment he had gotten from that battle. “Well, technically I had a little help from a certain something,” Naruto whispered thinking of Kyuubi. Shikamaru said nothing.

 

“After what I saw them do to Sasuke…well, let's just say I've been kind of edgy,” Shikamaru informed in a dark tone that made Naruto raise an eyebrow.

 

“You? You've been edgy? Pfft! You sure do a great job at hiding it.”

 

“Yeah.” Shikamaru nodded. “I do don't I?”

 

A swift silence fell. Minutes passed in which Naruto was able recover his much-needed breath and Shikamaru gazed rather dully at the clouds passing overhead.

 

“Well, if there's nothing else to say, I guess I'll be on my way now,” Naruto said half-rising clutching Kiba's leg tightly. “Got some important stuff to do that involves this fool, here,” he added giving Kiba's leg a tug. He hoped Shikamaru would let him go.

 

Shikamaru spared him one glance before returning to his precious clouds. “Naruto? Have you ever…just taken the time to just sit around and look at the clouds?”

 

Thinking it rude to just say “no” and walk away Naruto reluctantly sat back down with a scowl on his face. He heard a faint thump of Kiba's head hitting the ground and smirked a little. Does he ever look at the clouds? What kind of stupid question was that? Of course he never stopped to look at the stupid clouds.

 

“No, can't say that I have,” he muttered in a bored tone as Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. Once again he had expectancy that Shikamaru would notice the total monotony in his voice and just leave.

 

“You should. They tell you a lot of things,” Shikamaru uttered extending his arms towards the sky. “A lot of things…”

 

Naruto rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, like what? Name one why don't cha.”

 

“Like…” he paused and closed his eyes. “It's going to rain,” Shikamaru replied softly. “I bet I must irritate you, eh Naruto?”

 

This question struck Naruto by surprise. He didn't know rather to be truthful of not. The truth was hell yeah he got on his last nerve every single day but he couldn't very well come out and say that at least not without feeling slightly guilty about it.

 

Naruto twiddled his thumbs nervously. If he kept quiet for much longer Shikamaru would be able to guess by his silence. “Uh…do you want the ugly truth or a pretty lie?”

 

For the first time since Naruto's known him Shikamaru gave a chuckle. “Heh, well, I guess I can pretty much come up with the answer when you put it like that.”

 

“Sorry,” Naruto muttered slightly abashed at his answer. He became aware that it was becoming progressively darker by the second.

 

“Nah, it's alright. I tend to get on everyone's nerves with my I-don't-care attitude,” he said eyeing the clouds closely as if having a secret conversation with them. “But, I do care.”

 

“Well, that's news to me,” Naruto said more sarcastically than he meant.

 

Shikamaru seemed not have heard. “I used to be quite the little bastard when I was younger. Swearing, stealing, lying, and all sorts of things, kinda like yourself except worse, but then…something happened and I've been this way ever since,” he continued softly.

 

Now, he had attracted Naruto's attention, something Naruto never thought possible. At least with Shikamaru. He was leaning towards Shikamaru with his ears perked. Try as he might he could not conceal the look of eagerness on his face. When he noticed Shikamaru's pause he looked up and saw that he was staring at Kiba's body. Naruto looked and a soft cry escaped his lips.

 

Kiba was coming to.

 

Throwing all caution to the wind Naruto hastily pretended to slip off the fountain landing directly on top of Kiba. He also accidentally held out his knees, which connected with Kiba's stomach putting him back into the state he was in before. Naruto sat back up looking slightly rattled. He was breathing heavily again.

 

“Damn, ya know, they, uh, really should put a sign up here about these slippery seats,” he said grinning apprehensively once he had regained his seat. “Someone could break they neck, ya know what I mean?”

 

Whether Shikamaru noticed what he had done or not he could not tell cause his face was quite blank and expressionless. Naruto bent over to shove Kiba under the bench they were sitting on. He was growing weary of the looks passerby's were giving him.

 

After double-checking that Kiba was well hidden he straightened up with other thoughts running through his mind. Something that pushed the objective of him and Ino out for the time being. It was hard to believe that this bored, annoyingly calm boy was once a hyperactive, as he put it, bastard, much like Naruto. Far from making him feel slightly ashamed about his acts of stealing ramen and painting the Hokage's faces Naruto grinned at the thought that maybe he could persuade Shikamaru to become his old self; he was quite sure no one would miss the quiet Shikamaru. He knew he wouldn't that's for sure, and new help was always accepted.

 

“So, Shik—hm, Shik. That could be a good nickname for you, Shik,” Naruto laughed turning around. “But, anyway…continue with what you were saying, about something happening changing you from the loudmouthed bastard to this quiet bastard?”

 

His jaw hit the ground with a resounding `thunk!'

 

There was no one there.

 

Naruto looked around wildly. He was so sure he had just seen Shikamaru sitting next to him; talking to him about his past. They had been sitting so close he could've slugged him if he wanted to. Had he imagined the whole thing? Shaking his head clear of that ridiculous thought Naruto frowned at himself. Even if it had been his imagination he would not have been able to hear Shikamaru so perfectly. Unless…he was secretly so in love with Shikamaru that he seldom fantasized about him…. Naruto punched himself in the gut for even thinking about that retarded hypothesis. What the hell had happened?

 

“Damn! Where'd he go?” He wondered standing up thrusting his head in all directions. “I know he was right here beside me…talking! Talking to me about—”

 

Naruto stopped as he felt something wet collide with his head. He held out a hand and caught some of the falling rain. Almost at once he could hear Shikamaru's voice. `Like…it's going to rain,' he had said.

 

“How in the heck did he know it was going to…? Is that why he left? Because of the rain?”

 

Within seconds it was pouring. Naruto stood rooted to the spot allowing the rain to mat his hair down all over his head. A loud booming roar sliced the sound of falling rain right into Naruto's perked ear. He turned around, hardly daring to believe it.

 

“Aw, screw me!” He broke off in a run with the clone of the boy he dragged right on his heels. “Don't you eva give it up?! Jesus!”

 

He took a left and skidding across the slippery ground into a trash bin knocking it over. Rotten garbage rolled over him. He rubbed his head and face clear then rolled over as Akamaru's hand pressed into the deep moist soil precisely where Naruto's head had been. He flipped onto his feet staring Akamaru in the eye.

 

Naruto bit his lip as he struggled with his mind to come up with a plan. He and Akamaru weren't really different from one another. Both beasts and such, so, what could appeal to Akamaru that appealed to Naruto? Smacking himself in the head for his idiocy he turned around and started running once again ignoring the painful stitch that rose up in his chest. Food! If there's anyway to a vicious monster's heart it has to be food. Now all he had to do was run to the shop from which he had stolen from so many times the owner of the bar had actually conceded and now had a special bowl of free ramen waiting for him everyday. Granted he had already used this day's free bowl with lunch but what the hell, he needed the exercise. Can't be getting soggy around the theft department.

 

“Yeah, that's right! Follow the birdie!” Naruto called tauntingly over his shoulder. Akamaru gave a howl and reluctantly obeyed.

 

After a while the only sound Naruto could hear was his heart pounding hard against his ribcage as he rushed towards his destination. A beeping noise became mingled with his aching thudding heart. He looked at the watch on his arm. It blinked 5 p.m.

 

“Dammit! That damn Shikamaru wasted all of my damn time!” Naruto yelled skidding to halt. “I did all that crap for nothing? No! Son of a—”

 

A constant barking noise erupted inside his head. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist trying to block it out. He couldn't. Without thinking, he whirled around and swung his foot as hard as he could giving a frustrated yell. It connected with something hard and a crashing sound met his ears. He opened his eyes to see Akamaru back to his dog form and knocked out cold on top of a trashcan.

 

Naruto blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. A grin appeared on his face as his shoulders trembled. He jumped around punching the air with tears of gratitude gushing from his eyes. “I did it! Me! Yes! And…”—he checked his watch once again—“I still have time to put my plan into action!” Then, a frown appeared. “It's raining out! They probably went inside, already! Hm, I'll just walk around until I find them, then. They can't have gotten far.”

 

It was then a great shudder stole over him and he sneezed.

 

“Great! I'm catching a cold!” He said wiping his nose. He then looked down at his exposed torso. “Well, gee, what the hell should I expect when I'm running around half-naked in the rain?”

 

“Naruto?!”

 

Hearing his name made him jump straight in the air. He landed and whirled around coming eyes to eye with the very person he sought, plus some interloper: Ino and Sakura sharing an umbrella. Well, this wasn't exactly how he planned on meeting them; him without his shirt, three cuts extending across his shirt, standing out in the rain, and clutching the leg of his friend. They were staring at him curiously.

 

Naruto grinned out of instinct. It was what he normally did when he was caught red-handed doing something wrong. “Oh…girls? Uh, urm, how-how ya doin'?”

Ino shook her head. “How are we doing? Why are you out in the rain without an umbrella?” Her eyes found the long cut marks on his chest, which he had been trying to shield from view. She let out a predictable gasp. “Naruto! You're hurt! Who did this to you?!” She demanded with her brow furrowing.

 

“Uh…well, about that…ya see—” Naruto began before being interrupted.

 

Sakura's squeak of shock distracted him. She was looking at what Naruto held clutched dearly in his right hand. “And what, are you doing with Kiba? Is he all right? Is that blood coming from his head?!”

 

Naruto looked down.

 

“Aw, shit!”

 

The cut on Kiba's head had gotten worse since when Naruto had hit him. All that extra dragging and flinging around must've torn it more. The ground they were standing on was mostly the color red. It swam around their feet with the rain.

 

None of these answers Naruto could answer without being busted and his plan being exposed. He took a deep breath. He opened his mouth praying a decent and believable lie would spout forth but he was saved the trouble when angry voices coming from behind him met his highly useful ears. He knew those voices…and he really didn't want to see their faces after what he had done to their creepy leader.

 

Thinking quickly he tossed Kiba's limp body behind some bushes and quickly made some of the very hand seals he had used to pass his Final Test. In a poof he became an exact replica of Kiba right down to the last hair.

 

“Naruto? Why did you—?” Ino started before Naruto held up a hand to silence her.

 

“You'll see…” he muttered.

 

At that moment two people made themselves known through the rain. One of them had a bundle of wrappings on their back and the other one had a giant fan over her head to keep her out of the rain.

 

“Hey…isn't that…?” Ino started with her eyes widening while pointing at the one with the bundle on his back.

 

Naruto nodded. “Kankuro,” he muttered darkly.

 

“Oh crap,” Ino grumbled exasperatedly.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

TBC

 

A/N: Oh, and thank you for the reviews! Keep `em comin' okay? `Cause I'm not really sure if everyone likes my story or not. Please tell me if I should keep going. Heck, I'll even take criticism! Please forgive and please review!!!!!