Hello. I seem to be noticing that sometimes Mana seems a bit OOC, but I also realized that in the manga and anime, we only see her as a calm and collective girl. There is always more than one layer to a person and because this story centers on Naruto and Mana, I will be peeling away at that antisocial layer and showing the deeper and hidden layers of the two. This is why I think Mana is very interesting and she is one of my favorite people in the class. She is interesting because there is so much potential in her character and giving my own rendition of what lies beneath her cool façade is very amusing for me to write!

Ano! The cat from the previous chapter is male even though I mistakenly put 'her'. I don't feel like fixing it so…

On a recent note, I have been playing Skyrim and the Uncharted series both of which are awesome! Sorry for the short chapter but I have been in a writer's block and I think this is more of a reflection chapter anyway.

Disclaimer: Still nothing is owned by me.

~.R.~.E~.D.~.F.~.L.~.A.~.S.~H.~

Dreaming Wide Awake

Chapter 4: Memories in the Rain

~.R.~.E~.D.~.F.~.L.~.A.~.S.~H.~

"…so that is the basics for your job," Konoemon stated.

"So, I am basically a lunatic who runs around helping and doing whatever is available?"

"Well, you are more or less a security guard but with more responsibilities and jobs."

"Mm-hm, right…"

"However, there has been some disturbing news lately."

"Several students had said that they witnessed a suspicious and menacing figure lurking about in the shadows, but when I asked Evangeline and the others in charge of the campus' barrier, they told me that the barrier had not been infiltrated by outside forces. This leads me to think that it must be an insider. Evangeline has also noted that she did feel a malevolent aura moving about Mahora, if only for a brief moment."

"Furthermore, Negi-kun and his class have just returned from their field trip several weeks ago and with the recent attack by Wilhelm…" Konoemon let the statement hang.

"So, you suspect that…" Naruto picked up slowly, "whoever this person is, they might be targeting Negi or his class, possibly both?"

Konoemon nodded in affirmative.

"This is disturbing." Naruto said, his voice was serious as it always is when missions concerning people's well-being were given. "You want me to monitor the campus to get to the bottom of this, correct?"

"Exactly."

Naruto made to leave.

Konoemon halted Naruto. "Naruto-kun, two questions before you go." Naruto stood attentively.

"Have you been feeling any different?" Konoemon asked.

Naruto shook his head confusedly.

"Okay, and have you any luck with your personal quest?"

"Yes, I have been able to locate half of the documents."

"Alright, we will discuss that another day. You may leave." He did so.

Konoemon ran his finger through his beard in deep thought.

~.R.~.E~.D.~.F.~.L.~.A.~.S.~H.~

"How does it feel to have a teacher who is only ten?"

Mana looked at Naruto as he asked her the question.

"Not as strange as it seems though in our work, how much stranger can things get?" Mana responded. "Negi-sensei is very mature for his age and more so than others…" She purposely sent a look at the blond.

Naruto faked pain. "How you wound me!"

The two were walking leisurely about Mahora campus. The campus itself was not as quiet and peaceful as before due to preparations for the Annual Mahora Festival which begins in a week. The Kyoto Trip sat weeks into the past though the memories lasted fresh in their minds. Mana told him that Negi was stepping up his training and he was recently attacked by a man named Wilhelm. He stood up against the man and was able to win with Kotaro. Negi sure was something. It was expected because he was the son of Nagi.

"How is your patrol going along?" Mana asked him this time.

"Old Man Konoemon told you?" She nodded at him. "Nothing is really happening. No trace of the mysterious figure. I have an ominous feeling though like something bad is going to happen."

"Hey, shouldn't you be helping set up for the festival too?" He continued.

"No. My class finished the basics already and Ayaka-san took it upon herself and a few others to finish the details themselves." She smirked. "I don't know whether to be glad or not at the fact that it is now a mildly perverted haunted house and not an extremely perverse maid café."

"Oh? And what is this haunted house?" His eyebrows rose as he looked at her.

"It's more like a fan service house. Three levels are your options and they differ in 'scare' factor. Thankfully, I won't be in the levels and I'll be waiting at the entrance to wave them through."

"I'll definitely be there." Naruto noted. A playful air developed.

She sent a look at him before smiling lusciously. "So, you want to see me in a skimpy outfit, Naruto-kun?"

"How could I not, Mana-sama." They stared into each other's eyes for several moments before both burst out laughing. It was great that they could still joke around like this.

He wiped a fake tear from his eyes. "I am serious about seeing you though." They strode slowly by the World Tree. Naruto halted her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Would you like to spend time with me during the festival, Mana-sama?" He looked at her hopefully.

She paused. Hesitatingly, she answered. "Sure, Naruto. I'd love to."

"So…does this count as a date?"

"Keep dreaming."

"Don't worry, I will."

Naruto smiled, waved and walked off as she entered her dorm.

~.R.~.E~.D.~.F.~.L.~.A.~.S.~H.~

Naruto Namikaze was walking around the campus, enjoying the fresh air. It helped him unwind and relax his mind. Stranger and stranger dreams have been assaulting his mind. The dreams had recurring people that he was sure he had never met before in his life. The young boy from his previous dreams kept reappearing and lately a new woman had begun appearing. Every single dream that played inside his head always ended with the same message;

'It's time for you to awaken your true self…'

He mulled it over but to no prevail or hope of finding any straight answer. The smile on his face changed into a frown as he wracked at his brain. Naruto shook his head and decided to think this over again when he got home.

He looked around and was amazed by all the work that was being put into the festival. His pace slowed as he studied the different things that were being set up. Different students and teachers waved warmly at him. His eyes landed on a girl that was exiting a shop nearby. Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized her even from a distance. It was uncanny. She was the woman that penetrated his dreams. He decided to follow her to see if she really was the same woman and if possible, to get answers.

~.R.~.E~.D.~.F.~.L.~.A.~.S.~H.~

Mana Tatsumiya quietly shut the door to her room. With the flick of her wrist, she opened the door to her bathroom and turned on the shower faucet. Slowly discarding her clothes, she stepped in, allowing the hot water to wash over her. Taking showers always made her feel better because it reminded her of the rain.

She loved the rain.

The rain washed away all the blood that stained her hands and wiped away all the sins that weighed on her shoulders.

The water pellets slid off her body and hit the floor like light drum taps. She leaned against the shower wall, her wet hair clinging to the sides of her face and her back. She was thinking.

What was she thinking about?

Naruto.

"That bastard, coming into my life, leaving me, and waltzing back in with that damned smile of his…God, I hate him."

The words that left her lips were hollow because she already knew that they were a lie. She could never hate him though she'd never admit it. His smile always warmed her even when she tried to freeze her heart.

Her hand grasped her shoulder, an old habit of hers that surfaced whenever she was deep in thought.

Ever since she met him over 4 years ago, she always had feelings for him. She always tried to keep these feelings down but he kept breaking through her barrier. The times that he was gone made these feelings burst to the surface and she wished for him to return.

Because she longed for him.

Once he came back, she felt…

What exactly was she feeling? What did she feel for him? Could she…?

Could she have fallen in love with him?

Love. The word sounded so foreign to her. She faintly remembered feeling loved…

No…she promised herself that this wouldn't happen again. Love was just too painful. Daisuke was like a father to her and she loved him as such. Her lips quivered at the memory of the pain she felt when he died. Then, she thought of her parents. The pain that followed those memories was unbearable. She didn't want to feel that way again. She did not want to lose him.

She didn't fully understand why she hid her feelings. Maybe it was just easier…less troublesome. Maybe it just saved her from getting hurt.

That's right.

Casting away her feelings helped her to get away from the pain…to hide from the pain.

But there was a problem.

She felt exposed…she felt exposed near him. She felt naked just thinking about the blonde. His entire presence unwound her. He was an enigma.

Mana slumped to the floor.

Maybe, just maybe, her contempt over love was because love spawned fear?

The unvoiced fear of his rejection if he knew of her heritage and her past, it just further proved that love caused too much pain.

Her fingers traced over the jagged scars that littered her back. They were ugly reminders of her past. They made her ugly. Not only were the scars forged into her body but they would forever be burned into her soul.

How could someone like Naruto love a broken spirit like her?

She was simply a girl who walked down a path of pain, love, lost, and more pain; a girl whose rich hazelnut eyes were haunted by the ghosts of her past; a girl who could not forget her past.

She could not find a reason as to how he could think of her as anything more than a friend.

Times like this made her wish she had a motherly figure in her life or even a close female friend to vent with. Maybe tomorrow, she'd go see Shizuna.

She did not even care that the water had started to turn cold. Mana just sat there wondering what to do.

~.R.~.E~.D.~.F.~.L.~.A.~.S.~H.~

Naruto tailed slowly behind the redheaded woman. She wore a silk, purple kimono with white colored cherry blossoms adorning it. As she moved, the silk followed her every movement. He was not sure if she knew he was following or not but he wouldn't be surprised if she did now. She would constantly look behind her, her long, ruby hair cutting through the air.

The woman glided away from him. And he felt like he could follow her to the ends of the earth. Blinking slowly, he finally realized that she had led him to a field filled with blossoms that were blowing in the wind. And then…

She started to dance. His breath hitched. Every movement, every step entranced him to such a state where he no longer saw anything but the dancer in front of him. The beautiful girl turned to address him for the first time. She took hold of his hand and guided him to the center of the field. She and he danced, hours passing by as they lost track of time. The moon shone in their eyes as she smiled at him and he felt his cheeks warm. An angelic smile she had.

Leading him in their frolic, they were in perfect sync with each other. A few more moves and a final twirl was when he found himself holding her tightly against his chest after spinning her to him. Naruto held on to the woman and was hypnotized by her red, ruby eyes. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight as he looked down at her visage. She felt…familiar. He felt like he should know her but he just couldn't remember.

The girl pursed her lips and edged toward his face. Her eyes closed as she placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Naruto felt her lips part from his and trailed his jaw and to his left ear. She whispered her name to him before her hands lightly pushed against his chest and she left his grasp. He reached for her but…

She simply disappeared.

~.R.~.E~.D.~.F.~.L.~.A.~.S.~H.~

Silence permeated through the air as Naruto sat at his paper-covered desk. Everything lying in front of him was supposed to shed light on his origins but it still didn't make much sense to him. Daisuke left behind a letter with clues to locations that hid these parchments.

'This isn't adding up. Why all the secrecy around my past? Why not just tell me from the beginning? What were you up to when you hid all this?' Naruto thought.

Each time he found a new clue, he would dream about the same room with the sphere from before. A new crack would appear on the sphere every time though and it only served to baffle him. Was he getting closer to unraveling his past? He sometimes wondered. Naruto reread every single page he had in his possession and he could not find the connection to himself.

A few of the pages described a lost continent known as the Elemental Nations and further explained a specific area: The Land of Fire. Reading them at the time, Naruto didn't know whether to believe or wave it off as a joke. He chose the former after having recurring dreams about a village hidden in the leaves before recovering a page depicting the exact village he saw. Other than 'historical' accounts he found drawings of villages, a monument with several faces on it, and a memorial stone though… nothing affected him more than a simple list of names. Every name of the list, he could visualize the person clearly and he didn't know why.

Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Tsunade and a few other names were legible but some become smudged and therefore illegible. Their faces were so familiar yet so foreign. Were they old friends? Was he a ninja from the village? If so, how did he end up here? And what this damn clock on his arm is counting down to?

And the beautiful woman. Her eyes were so full of sadness when he stared at her. It was almost like she was waiting in vain for her lover whom she knew would not return. He could remember her dancing. It was so raw, so full of emotion. Yet something changed when he joined her, almost like hope had rekindled in her being.

Naruto walked to his window and stared out into the silent night as rain started to fall.

"Who am I? And who are you…Kyubi?"

~.R.~.E~.D.~.F.~.L.~.A.~.S.~H.~

Curious indeed… How do you think my writing is right now? I'm still young but I wish to improve.

And I know that "Kyubi" is not a name but actually a title from "Kyubi no Yoko" but I find it easier for me and everyone to understand who it is, rather than giving her a new name and people thinking she is an OC.

Also, I must sheepishly add that I have not fully read the manga. Seeing as I am broke and I hate reading manga online, I will probably focus on Naruto and Mana and since Mana doesn't have too much face time, it'll be easier due to me not being fully aware of the manga. I only look at chapters with Mana to see if any background is being revealed and also the recent chapters though I am confused. It'll be much appreciated if you could point out my mistakes on the plot. Other than that, I'm winging everything. And also, I am not great at writing fighting scenes, so take that however you will.

Finally, for the pactio making process, does a pactio circle need to be made to form the contract?

And sorry again if any of this is confusing, I was trying to find a way to get out of my block and this came out so…yeah.

What do you think so far? Does it grasp your intention? Want to see more? If so, review...please? They inspire me.