Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Does it Hurt? ❯ Bizarre ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter #4

Bizarre

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Co.

 

I finished a chapter early so I thought, what the heck, why not? You can't say that I'm not nice!

 

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“A bunch of break-ins?”

 

Naruto ran his fingers through his hair in irritation, “Yes, a couple shops downtown were broken in to, and looted. Granny Tsunade had Sasuke and me investigating them. Three stores - a department store, a clothing store, and a grocery store - and all of them were done the same way. The locks weren't forced, they were unlocked from the inside, and the alarms were disconnected the same way. And the places weren't just trashed either, the thieves went in, grabbed what they wanted, and left. There was something really weird about it I just couldn't shake, but it's just a feeling I guess.”

 

“Well, at least no one was hurt, right?” asked Sakura, “They can always replace the stolen merchandise.”

 

“No one was hurt,” Sasuke responded through sips of his coffee, “no one was around. All the stores were hit after hours and there was no one on the streets, so in a sense we were all very lucky.”

 

The grown team seven took synchronized sips of their coffee. Ever since the old days the Ichiraku Ramen Shop had been their little meeting place. If any of them ever needed anyone to talk to there was almost always someone from `the good old days' at Ichiraku. Though, needless to say, Naruto was there every chance he got.

 

It was late in the evening and the three of them already had their assignments completed and were just looking to relax a bit with friends before heading home for the night.

 

“Konichiwa, Sakura-chan, is it not a fine spring day?” chirped Lee as he took a seat next to the pinkette in the small shop.

 

“It has been raining almost nonstop, Lee-kun,” pointed out Sakura, “You're soaked from head to toe … I better not see you coming to the hospital later with a cold.”

 

“Do not worry, Sakura-chan, youth with keep me strong and healthy, yosh!”

 

Naruto finished yet another bowl of ramen before speaking again, “Oi, bushy brow, what is with the ratty old backpack?”

 

Lee glanced at the backpack he set on the ground beside his feet, “A girl dropped it yesterday, and since Tsunade-sama gave me the day off I thought I should return it to her. I was just on my way to talk to Neji-kun. My search will progress much quicker if he aids my search because this girl … avoids people.”

 

“So then,” Naruto paused to take another bite of ramen that he stole from Sasuke's bowl, “You have no idea who she is, no idea how to find her and - by the sounds of it - she doesn't even want to be found? Good luck, bushy brow.”

 

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Instead of waking up wrapped in a worn out old blanket under a tree that would keep away the rain Eve felt oddly warm.

 

Her eyes fluttered open and at first she wasn't exactly sure what she was seeing. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming or whether she was actually seeing the piles of stuff that didn't belong to her inside a large two-room tent. Food, maps, clean blankets, fresh clothes, basically anything Eve would ever need for the next year or so.

 

“Oh no…”

 

`Ah … Kira what did you do…? Don't tell me all this stuff was stolen,' Eve growled in exasperation, `What if someone got hurt? If anyone saw her she will have killed them! Damn it, why am I such a klutz?'

 

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“So then you scared her off?” asked Neji skeptically, “I wouldn't get your hopes up Lee, you'd be surprised how much distance someone can put behind them when they're determined - even if she isn't a Kunoichi. Besides, I am not in the mood to spend all night searching in the rain.”

 

“Please, Neji-kun, just help a little while longer. I have searched high and low since early this morning and I have not found any trace of her,” pleaded Lee.

 

The pale eyed ninja grumbled in annoyance but allowed his Bayakugan to continue scanning the trails nearby for signs of the mysterious rose haired girl Lee was so set on tracking down. They hadn't even been out for very long and they were both already drenched from the rainfall. It was putting Neji in a foul mood, which meant he was loosing patience with his old teammate.

 

“Why are you so set on trying to find this girl anyway? I know there is something other than just returning the girl her backpack,” questioned Neji.

 

Lee paused for a moment in thought, “There was just something about her I guess. It looked like she had not eaten an actual meal in days, and she just looked so sad and lonely…”

 

No matter how much it got one Neji's nerves, there was nothing he could do to change that chivalry was part of Lee and Gai's youthfulness. Neji just didn't foresee that one day Lee's chivalry would involve Neji helping find some mysterious girl in the rain.

 

Any idiot could tell Lee was anxious about find the girl. Something told Neji there was probably more than simple worry for the girl, but even he couldn't be completely sure.

 

It seemed like forever - nightfall had long since fallen - until Neji finally stopped and stood silent. Lee stopped as well; not even breathing for fear that it would be a distraction. He could see the strain that Neji was putting on his Bayakugan so he could see just a little further - whatever he was seeing must have been pretty far off.

 

“That way,” Neji pointed rigidly off into what appeared to merely be a tiny weed choked footpath into the thickest part of the forest around Konoha. “I see someone, a girl, she fits your description.”

 

“Really? Yosh, what luck, we were very fortunate to have found her!” Lee cheered, but Neji stopped him from running into the trees.

 

“There is something strange,” muttered Neji under his breath, “…a chakra signature like I've never seen before. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it doesn't seem natural to me.”

 

Lee was a little surprised, “Does it look dangerous to you?”

 

Neji's brows drew slightly closer together, “I don't know - like I said - I've never seen anything like it. We should be careful.”

 

The bowl cut ninja nodded and - as silently as possible - they took off down the little path in the direction Neji spotted the girl.

 

`She is way out in the middle of nowhere - why outside Konoha - all alone.' Lee's distracted mind wondered as he bounded through the trees. `She doesn't have a coat, a blanket, any food… I have a bad feeling…'

 

Because of the denseness of the trees it took much longer to be able to get a visual on the thin silhouette sitting beneath the tree for shelter. It was the best shelter available for someone who didn't have anything to her name. The trees blocked the wind and shielded her from most of the rain. The ground below was relatively dry - at least compared to the road - but it was still very cold, far too cold for someone to be sleeping outside without so much as a coat.

 

She was leaning against the base of the tree trunk with her knees pulled into her chest to try and conserve a little bit of body heat, but even so she was still shivering visibly. Her clothes were damp and clung to her body arms like a send skin, and her hair was rain darkened and plastered to her pale face so her eyes were shielded. She appeared to be sleeping, or at least trying to.

 

“Careful, Lee,” Neji reminded.

 

Lee landed soundlessly on the rain softened earth next to the rose haired young woman. She didn't stir or appear to notice his presence so Lee leaned in closer.

 

She wasn't asleep, but her expression was blank. Her forehead rested on her knees, almost completely shielding her face from view. Her round amber eyes were glazed over, not focusing on anything in particular, and her jaw was slack so that her blue tinted lips were parted slightly.

 

If it weren't for her shivering Lee would have thought she was dead.

 

“Excuse me…” she didn't respond to the sound of Lee's voice.

 

When Lee placed his hand on her shoulder he could feel how icy her skin was, even through the bandages on his hands. He'd barely even touched her when her body jerked violently and her eyes blinked rapidly to bring her world back into focus.

 

The pinkette's eyes were wide as dinner plates and panicked like a frightened deer's. She attempted to stand and run but her feet slipped and she fell down with a loud thud.

 

This time Lee made sure to grab her wrist again before she ran away. Not that it mattered. This time she did not even have the strength to stand.

 

“Hold still, save your energy,” Lee ordered firmly, “you appear to be hypothermic…”

 

Neji knelt down so he was eye level - his Bayakugan probing her for the source of the unusual chakra he sensed earlier, “What is your name?”

 

Her only response to his demanding tone was attempting to shrink away just a few more inches - even if she did end up sinking more into the mud.

 

“You are frightening her, Neji-kun,” there was almost a teasing tone in Lee's voice.

 

Neji scowled warningly at his friend before turning his attention back to the girl, `That chakra is still there, but it suddenly got weaker when she woke up. It was almost as though I was sensing a completely different person, but I don't see how that could be possible…'

 

“You need to go to a hospital, miss,” explained Lee, “you are very ill.”

 

“Please…” she whimpered.

 

That was the first time Lee heard her talk and she was pleading for him to let her go.

 

Her eyes glazed over again for a second until she completely passed out from exhaustion. Lee caught her before she fell over and lifted her up bridal style.

 

“Her body just gave out,” Neji said quietly, “Look at all those scrapes and bruises, she wore herself out recently. What on earth was she doing?”

 

“I do not know, but I must take her to the hospital. We cannot just leave her.”

 

Neji would have agreed to almost anything at that point if it meant getting somewhere warm and dry, `Sometimes, Lee can be too nice.'

 

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“…”

 

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched, “You have got to be kidding…”

 

“This better not be someone's idea of a joke!” exclaimed Naruto - pointing at the overwhelming pile of stolen merchandise sitting neatly in front of the Hokage tower. They didn't have to go through it to know everything stolen from the looted shops was sitting in the pile, and right on top was a small note with only one word.

 

Gomenasai.

 

The hyperactive blonde just stared dumbly at the note for a long time, “If this is a prank it is not funny, and I know something about bad pranks!”

 

“Just shut up and help me move this stuff, dobe.”

 

“Damn! We just finish going over the crime scenes and all the stolen loot shows up a couple hours later? It is just so bizarre … it's almost cruel!”

 

“You can say that again.”

 

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Lee is just a good guy all around isn't he? And no, I couldn't help it, I just had to tease poor Naruto and Sasuke just a little - it made me giggle.

I am working on a title page for this story too (I might make one for all of them if I have the time). Give me a few weeks, I'm having a hard time sketching something I like.

 

Lil_Pix