Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Masashi Kishimoto does!

The sun was unfriendly in the mornings, but that was Naruto's fault for not keeping the curtains closed. It shined so brightly through the window and right onto his face that it was hard for Naruto to keep himself asleep. With a groan, he rolled to his side so that his back faced the window, but the sun's rays were still shining on his face and directly into his eye. He couldn't escape it. And that was saying something since Naruto was normally a heavy sleeper. Noises wouldn't awake him, but shine something bright in his face and he would be forced awake. Wasn't that incompetent for a ninja?

After a few minutes he managed to sit up, his arms stretched above him and a loud, drawn-out yawn escaping him. His hands would rub his eyes, smoothing out the blurriness so that he could see crystal clear. His eyes then curiously looked to his left to see Taiga was not in her futon. In fact, it was neatly folded up.

Surprised, and curious, Naruto stumbled out of his bed. Unfortunately, from his wild sleep, the blanket had wrapped itself around his foot and made him trip. He landed squarely, face first, onto the wooden floors. "Ugh…" He laid there for a few seconds before standing up, "Stupid, shitty blanket!" He kicked it off his foot and then made his way towards the kitchen to see breakfast was already made. There was even a note left for him too.

'Went out.'

"What the hell? What kind of vague…" He cursed, eyes squinting as he couldn't believe that's all she wrote. Taiga couldn't have told him where she went? Did she really want to be by herself that bad? Sighing, he sat down in the chair and looked at his breakfast with mild hunger and frustration.

All it was was Oyakodon ( chicken and eggs on rice while in a bowl ) and Miso soup. He settled for it since he usually ate cereal since he tried his best not to eat ramen for breakfast, but he caved in a few times. The food tasted good, just like dinner had. Naruto could get used to a home cooked meal but he knew that this was only going to happen for just a little while. Eventually, they would find Yuuma and bring him down; the outcome wouldn't be what Taiga had wanted either. Naruto would make sure of that.

He also tried not to think of that, but it was so painfully in the forefront of his mind. A dying girl who had just defeated the man who had literally destroyed her life, her own father nonetheless. A teenage girl having to end her life so short for vengeance, but finding peace in not completing and carrying on with life after killing him. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. Why would she want to do that?

Once he finished breakfast, he gulped down a glass of water before he took a shower and changed. If Taiga wasn't going to tell him where she went, then he would be fine on his own too! He didn't need to chase her or worry about her all the time. This was his village and there were plenty of things to do.

The weather was perfect. The sun would sometimes be blocked out by a few clouds now and then, so the sun didn't have time to make you feel unbearably hot. He wouldn't have had to unzip his jacket and could freely walk around as he usually had.

Nakigitsune was around his waist, and some of the well-known villagers had saw it and looked at him oddly. He was asked a lot of questions and he was more than eager to show it off and brag about his "samurai" training. Everyone seemed excited and curious, wanting to hold his sword too. He would let them but he made sure they didn't mindlessly swing it around, especially the academy kids.

"Wow," said one kid, "so, you're having kenjutsu training?"

"That's right!" Naruto rubbed his nose, feeling quite proud and bathing in the attention and admiration.

A genin had looked at the scabbard of the sword, "Wow, it's smooth and it looks unbreakable! I bet Naruto looks cool fighting with it!"

"You bet!" Among the small crowd, Shikamaru had watched with a raised brow.

"Well, would you look at that. So, Naruto here has picked up on a new skill." He wasn't surprised, but he never would've figured that Naruto would pick up on a weapon the required so much work.

Naruto nodded his head rather eagerly, "Yeah! Wanna check it out, Shikamaru?"

The Nara shook his head, "I know nothin' about swords. I leave all the weaponry to TenTen." His hands were sheathed in his pockets, "What about that samurai girl? She's the reason why you decided to dabble in Kenjutsu?"

"You mean Taiga?" Naruto had taken back the sword, putting it back in its scabbard. "It wasn't just her that got me interested. Sasuke seems to be into 'em too."

Shikamaru's eyes widened a fraction but then he closed them, a smirk on his face. "What a drag… That rivalry of yours still hasn't taken a break." To even think that it would seemed impossible. "What happened when you guys met him? Seeing that he hasn't come back, I can't help but think it wasn't a happy reunion." He observed Naruto's expression, seeing how his gleefulness took a dramatic shift to disappointment. "I wanted to ask before, on the little vacation, but the timing didn't seem right."

Before Naruto could answer, he had something green whip by. He shielded his eyes due to the dirt that flew up in the air and noticed that it was Lee. "What's bushy-brow doing?"

"I never know what that guy does on a daily basis." Was Shikamaru's reply, "But if you're going to investigate then I'll catch ya later, Naruto. Tell me what happened when you have the time."

"Alright, see ya, Shikamaru!" With a slight wave, Shikamaru had casually walked off with his hands sheathed in his pockets. Naruto's eyes then looked over to Lee, curious of what the guy was up to. "Hey! Lee! What're ya doin'?" As he approached him, he noticed the boy was doing many one hand push-ups. "Oh, just workin' out as usual, huh?"

"I was beat in a pushup contest against Taiga! It was exhilarating." Naruto's eyes gleamed for a second at the mention of the samurai. "I do appreciate her strength, but I knew I was close in defeating her! I cannot be outmatched!"

Lee's enthusiasm made Naruto chuckle, "Where were you two?"

"Ah, she was in the training ground. This time, she did not seem aggravated by my questions and requests!" That seemed weird. Taiga, not aggravated, in the middle of a training?

"Is she still there?" Naruto asked.

Lee shook his head, "No! I believe she went, uh… Actually, I don't know where she went."

Deadpanned, the Uzumaki rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks, Bushy-brow. I'll just look for her on my own."

Leaving, Naruto walked down the village path with his eyes looking left and right in search for Taiga. He promised to have his own fun but he was too curious as to what she might be doing.

His eyes looked right to see Sakura and Ino enjoying eating outside. They seemed engaged in conversation, but he couldn't help but want to ask. "Sakura-chan! Ino!"

Running towards their table, he flashed them his signature grin. "Ah, Naruto." Sakura piped up, "What are you doing? Where's Taiga?"

"I'onno." He shrugged, "I was looking for her. She was with Lee not too long ago."

"Oh? I was just with her a few minutes ago." Ino said, blinking curiously. "Her and TenTen were discussing some weapon techniques. They were near the weapon's store."

"Oh, do you think she's still there?" Naruto asked.

"Maybe." The Yamanaka shrugged her shoulders, "Why? Feeling lonely without her, Naruto~"

His eyes bulged at the taunt but then he fixed his expression with an annoyed one. "She doesn't know this village very well!" He tried to find a rather good, reliable excuse.

"You know, I asked her if there was someone she liked." He remained frozen, his mind ticking. "It was cute how flustered she got!"

"What did she say?" Sakura questioned.

The blue-eyed girl merely rolled her eyes, "She said: "That's the last thing I can ever think of!" She sounded so serious too. I couldn't help but wonder if she was lying or she actually meant it."

Honestly, Naruto felt relieved yet hurt by that. That sudden sting in his chest left him rubbing the middle of his chest, his eyes looking at the ground in thought. Sakura seemed relieved too, but Naruto figured it was because she might've been worried that Taiga had feelings for Sasuke. If she felt that way, Naruto had to wonder about that himself.

"Well, I'll see ya two later!" He then gave a slight wave, "I have to look for her."

"Alright, see ya, Naruto!" Sakura gave a slight wave as Ino wiggled her fingers as a goodbye.

Now he was heading towards the weapon's store. Surprisingly, he had found a rather contemplative Hinata in front of the store. Half daring to step in and half daring to chicken out. "Hinata?"

The girl visibly jumped at him calling her name. She immediately turned to face him, face red and hands up in shock. "N-Naruto-kun!"

Seeing this reaction as normal, he gave her a smile. "Were you going in the weapon's store?"

"I-I…" Her pale eyes looked down to the floor, "I-I was thinking…. about it." The last part she seemed to mumble but Naruto heard it well enough.

"What for? Looking for somethin'?" Since he was curious, he decided to pry. He couldn't really imagine Hinata with a weapon in her hands. Her hands were lethal enough with Byakugan.

Hinata gave a small smile and nod, "Yes! Taiga suggested that I should use throwing knives." Naruto's ears perked upon her name. "I overheard her talking with TenTen about weapons, and I-I asked her if one suited me and she said those would work well with Byakugan."

Naruto nodded, agreeing with it. "I think so too!" He grinned, making another blush blossom upon the Hyuuga's face.

"I-I'm good with needles so… throwing knives seem to be a good idea." Feeling confident about it now, her eyes shyly looked up at him as her hands fiddled rather nervously. "I-If…. you have time… would y-you—"

"Do you know where she went?" He then looked around, "I don't see her or TenTen anywhere."

"O-Oh! Well…" Somewhat disheartened, she kept her smile and answered his question. "I'm not quite sure... but TenTen went looking for Neji-oniisan and I believe Taiga went somewhere with Kakashi-sensei."

"Kakashi-sensei?" Confused, Naruto scratched the side of his face. "Why would she be with Kakashi-sensei?" He then thought, 'It might have something to do with the Yuuma case.' Sticking to that, he then shifted his attention slightly to the purple-haired girl. "Well, see ya, Hinata!"

"G-Goodbye, Naruto-kun!" Her eyes followed him as he left, a sigh escaping her. She had wished she was quick enough to ask him to help her pick out a good set of knives.

Naruto couldn't guess where those two would go. Kakashi enjoyed the training grounds, but he also enjoyed any place that was far from others to read. So where could the two possibly go? The more he thought about it, the more the training grounds seemed to be the right place and he decided to head there.

When he arrived, he had seen Taiga and Kakashi both talking and the conversation seemed rather serious. Taiga stood with her arms crossed and her eyes closed. Kakashi's eyes seemed narrowed and looking at the ground. It had to have something to do with Yuuma, right? Did they hear anything about him?

With a single step, Naruto had quietly walked towards them. "Honestly, Kakashi, I'm quite disappointed." Taiga seemed to say.

"My knowledge on samurais is quite limited." He replied, "There's a lot I don't know and have forgotten."

"To be expected of a shinobi." She retorted before her eyes slowly glanced over at the approaching Naruto. "Ah, you're finally awake."

"I've been looking all over for you!" He said, brows furrowed.

"I told you I was going out." Taiga's hands found themselves resting on her hips. "You're not my babysitter."

With a growl, his face bloomed to show his irritation. "I'd like to know where you are so I don't have to worry about you getting lost!"

"As you can see, I got around quite nicely, haven't I?" Rolling her eyes, she looked up at Kakashi. "Anyway, thanks for the tip! I think when I feel brave enough to try, I'd ask that you be there."

Wondering what she had meant, Kakashi had given them two-finger salute before disappearing. "Try? Try what?"

Sighing, she pursed her lips. "Storm release."

"Storm release?" He echoed.

"That's my Kekkai Genkai." She explained. "I'm having a hard time mastering it."

Knitting his brows together, Naruto folded his arms and hummed in thought. "Never heard of it."

"Its pretty deadly." Taiga looked up at the slightly cloudy sky, "And I have no control over it. It could destroy this whole area if I was reckless."

"Whoa!" Curious, the Uzumaki wanted to see such an ability in person. "Show it to me!"

"No way!" Taiga huffed, "You think I want the Hokage kickin' my ass for destroying this entire training ground? You must be crazy!"

"This place gets ruined all the time!" Naruto tried to find an excuse, "It's called 'Training Grounds!' for a reason."

Glaring at him, she pushed past him. "Tch, you're not getting me in trouble over it."

"Aw, c'mon!" He huffed, "You should master your Kekkei Genkai!" Maybe enticing her would help, "I had a hard time wielding my wind nature, so I can help!"

"It's not about that." She turned around to face him, "It's about combining natures!"

"Oh…" Naruto wasn't sure of his own Kekkei Genkai yet, and so he knew he had no idea on how he could teach her. Rasengan was the latest jutsu he just somewhat perfected.

A hand was on his shoulder, his eyes widening before looking at her and instantly their eyes met. "Thanks though." She nodded, "For offering me your help that is."

It was definitely odd to see her appreciative of such a small gesture, especially when he tried to help her… constantly. "Uh, did Kakashi-sensei say anything about the Yuuma case?"

"Not really." She said, her eyes staring at the ground. "They are doing autopsies on the bodies that we found yesterday. Kakashi-sensei was right about the weapon used, they were sais." With a sigh, she rubbed her arm in thought. "The marks are familiar, they say a certain woman commits murders in the same fashion."

"Does she have a name?" He asked, "A distinctive appearance?"

Taiga shook her name. "They call her Kraehe."

"Kraehe? Why?" That didn't make much sense to him.

She closed her eyes, remembering the details. "She bites, drinks blood; they say her actions are similar to crow. I wouldn't say she eats human flesh, but she has some cannibalistic tendencies."

Disgusted, he scrunched his face with a hand over his mouth. "That's... That's disgusting!"

"You're telling me." She shook her head, "I had seen tears of flesh on one of the men, but I didn't know it happened from teeth. She treats people like food."

"So one woman did all of that by herself?" After being able to keep the food in his stomach, he removed his hand away from his mouth.

"Mhm." Taiga replied, "And she just might be one of Yuuma's subordinates." A chill went down Naruto's spine. He kept picturing a crazy, sharp-teeth woman trying to eat him. He held himself, shaking his head at the thought. Taiga snorted at the sight, "Don't worry, Naruto. I won't let her eat you~"

His eyes flashed open, giving Taiga a dull stare. "Tch, I can take care of her myself, but that's just creepy, man."

"They say she works alone, but if she's apart of Yuuma's group then she might have someone with her. So, anyone suspicious might be in two's."

Both of them contemplated on that. "Either way, we'll take 'em down until we have Yuuma."

"I know. We can't give up." She had then nudged his side, "Let's go. I'm pretty bored out here."

With a smile, they both left the training area and headed back to the village. "Its nice here, Konoha, I mean." She said while they walked.

"Heh, you're telling me you're starting to like it here?" He queried, his head tilted.

"Kind of." She nodded, "It feels warm, inviting; kind of like a hug." Her head tilted back, gazing up at the sky.

"About last night…" Naruto decided to mention it and he watched as her footsteps cease, along with his own.

Her eyes looked away from the sky and at his own. "Sorry about that." She tried to forget about it. She felt too embarrassed, "I'm making that become a habit."

"It's fine!" He rose his hands, waving them to dismiss any sort of feelings she was probably conjuring up in that head of hers that meant he disliked it. "It's just... The last time it happened, you kept me at arm's length."

Her feet remained planted as she didn't mean to stare. His eyes were halfway closed, a frown on his face. What he said was true. Every time they became close, she did distanced herself. Not too greatly, but enough that he could notice it.

"It's because…" She tried to keep her focus on him but her eyes wanted to avert, badly. "I'll want to live if I get close to you."

Naruto's eyes were big and staring, his lips parted, gaping from the shock. He felt happy, he felt happy more than he felt surprised but he knew that by her reluctance and that expression on her face that she wasn't happy about it.

"I… I am someone with a difficult and heavy heart." Taiga admitted, but she couldn't help but let her eyes slit close in a closed-eye smile, "But meeting you… Naruto, you made it lighter."

He took a step closer and then another, decreasing the distance. She was close, close enough that if he outstretched his arm then he could touch her. What he wanted to do? He didn't know, but there was something about her words and her smile that was making his heart stammer without any hopes of stopping.

Before the gap could fully close, his name rung through the air. "Naruto! Naruto!"

Taiga's eyes had fully opened and looked to her left to see a young boy with a long scarf, but his forehead protector was displayed proudly and proved that he was a leaf shinobi. His hair was a soil brown color and his eyes were dark. Running behind him at both sides of him were two other children, a girl and a boy.

Looking at Naruto, she noticed his face was etched into an irritated expression. "Konohamaru! You sure know how to pick the time, don't ya? Hehehe…" There was nothing playful in his laugh. In fact, it made him sound even more irritated.

Konohamaru halted, ceasing his run. "Whatever! Forget about whatever you were doing! Since when did you get a sword!" He pointed directly at it.

"Oh?" Naruto looked down at Nakigitsune and then removed it from his belt. "Cool, huh?" He moved it closer so they could get a better sight of it.

"Ooooh~" Moegi and Udon said in a unison, eyes brightening at the sight of the shiny scabbard.

Konohamaru looked at it rather suspiciously and then looked up at Naruto and then at Taiga. "Eh…" He then folded his arms, "What are trying to do, Naruto? Be a samurai?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I'm a ninja through and through but kenjutsu is pretty fun." He placed the katana back in the sword belt.

"You don't have to be a samurai to wield a katana." Taiga said, placing her hands on her knees so she could see more level-to-level with Konohamaru, but there was some odd tension going on.

Naruto began to notice it, looking at the two. "W-What's the problem, Konohamaru?"

"It's just shinobis are better than samurais. Why would you like to be like one?" The jinchuuriki immediately swiped his gaze to the girl beside him, who was getting quite upset the more Konohamaru seemed to speak. "Just doesn't make sense to me why someone would want to be a samurai and not a shinobi."

Her eyes narrowed, her hand reaching out to wring it around his neck but Naruto grabbed them in time and pulled her back. "Hehe, that's not what he meant, Taiga." He tried to calm her anger.

"I meant exactly what I said." The young boy insisted. "Shinobis are better than samurais."

The blond yelped as he felt his hand being crushed by the strength Taiga was sending to her hands. "Listen here, kid. You better turn around or I'll knock your face in!" Gritting her teeth, "Samurais are just as important as ninjas! Samurais hold importance, and history! There was a time where ninjas haven't even existed when we had! We are the reason why most of you are still here! Generations of shinobi are here because of us!"

"Why are you picking a fight, Konohamaru?" Moegi whispered, not trying to break their resolve in front of Taiga.

Konohamaru kept his eyes fixated on her, showing that he wasn't backing down. "Well, looks like we need more ninjas than samurais, that's why there are less and less of them."

Naruto had wrapped his arms around Taiga's middle, keeping her at bay. "Konohamaru, that's enough! You're acting like a stupid brat!"

"You're the one that's not acting like yourself!" The boy pointed at Naruto accusingly, "Hanging with samurais, getting a samurai sword… It's like you're totally forgetting that you're a ninja! We have ninjutsu, what's so great about kenjutsu?!"

Placing his hand over Taiga's mouth to mute her obscenities, he kept his eyes trained on Konohamaru as he spoke. "Samurai and ninjas are both important people. We protect the regular civilians and we keep peace. Kenjutsu is amazing, just as great as ninjutsu and it something you can combine together too! When you learn to mesh cultures and the way of lives together, you can become even stronger!"

It was obvious that the young boy was hurt that Naruto wasn't on his side. His averted his gaze, his fist balling up angrily. "Then I'll learn kenjutsu too, and I'll be even greater than you!"

Taiga kicked her feet, constantly pushing her body to attack the little runt. Naruto grinned, "I'd like to see you try!" And just like that, Konohamaru and his ninja squad left and the boy was looking even more determined than before.

Once he was far from sight, he placed Taiga on her feet as she huffed angrily. "What the hell?! You've should've let me whack him!"

"It's not worth it." Naruto folded his arms, "He's always competing with me." He explained, "I think he was just a little jealous."

"Jealous?! That doesn't give him the right to be disrespectful and look down on my people!" He winced at how loud she was yelling, but he took it since he felt like he deserved it in Konohamaru's place.

"He doesn't know better." He tried to insist, "I'm not saying he was right. It's just no use in getting worked up, dattebayo."

He could tell that his words didn't sit well with her. In fact, her eyes looked like a storm was washing over them. "I was raised to be honorable, and I will always defend my honor whether you think it's silly or not."

She brushed past his shoulder roughly, walking past him as if he was a stubborn wall that she was bent on passing. Naruto quickly turned around, brows furrowed. He wanted to kick himself. Maybe his words were insensitive or maybe she was really just overreacting, right?

It was best to give her some space. If he followed her now, he was sure there would be an argument and he would be left in the dog house until she found herself cooled down.

Taiga didn't care where her walk would lead her. As long as wherever her feet took her to, she was nowhere near Naruto. There was quite a stomp to her step and her fists were into tight fists, so much that her knuckles were going pale. 'What does he know? We live in two different worlds! Fucking asshole kid with his shitty ass non-factual opinions!'

Next thing she had knew, she was in front of Naruto's apartment. Out of her angry daze, she stared at the door in confusion. Why was this the first place she chose to go back to? Her hand slowly moved to the handle, but the sound of footsteps had alerted her.

"Excuse me," a feminine voice said and Taiga looked to her left, "is this the home of Naruto Uzumaki?"

Before her was a young woman very slender with long black hair that reached to her hips. Her eyes the same shiny red as an apple. Her outfit looked very civilian, but with the oddity of revealing of cleavage. Did she have something going on with Naruto? She seemed a little too old for that. The woman had to be in her early to mid twenties. Well, maybe she was one of those women that liked younger men.

"No, he's not." Taiga answered, "He should be later on. I don't really know."

She nodded, her eyes looking around in thought before returning to look at her. "Ah, I see. Then who are you? His girlfriend? I didn't know he was living with someone."

Taiga immediately shook her head, raising her hands defensively. "N-No! I am not… his girlfriend." With a sigh, she tried to shake off her embarrassment. "We're temporarily living together."

"Oh~ I see then." This girl seemed as if she had no intention on leaving. Was seeing Naruto that important? "So, do you mind if I spend my time with you?"

"Actually, I'm really not in the—Tch!" Just barely, she missed that line of silver that sped towards her. Her cheek was almost grazed but her instincts kicked in just time. Looking at her right, she had seen a strange weapon lodged into the wall. The long middle and the two, sharp prongs matched the wounds of the shinobi they had found yesterday. "You're… Kraehe, aren't you?"

"Oh, that's what the people call me?" Her eyes seemed to light up at that, a grin slowly spreading across her face. "I think I like it; yes, yes I am. I really wanted the Jinchuuriki but I guess you'll do."

"Why are you after Naruto?" Taiga asked, her hand resting on the handle of Honjo Masamune. She would have to choose how she striked due to the small space since this apartment was on the highest level.

Her head lolled from side to side, "I'm not really after him. We're after you, but Yuuma-sama said to capture you and make sure that, well, you're alive enough."

"Capture me? What does he want with me? Why doesn't he look for me himself? He did so before." Confused, she watched as 'Kraehe' shrugged. "Tch, he doesn't even trust his lackeys with information like that? What good are you?"

The taunt worked. The girl came flying towards her, but Taiga spun out of her way and jumped on the railing and jumped down onto the ground. Now she had free space, but the only issue were that the passerbyers risked getting caught up in the fight.

If Taiga could run and manage her way to the training grounds, she wouldn't risk anyone getting hurt. She began to sprint, Kureha following close behind her. People looked at the two running girls with interest, especially when Kureha pulled a table in front of her with her foot alone and kicked it towards the ninja-samurai.

Taiga looked over her shoulder, seeing the rolling table. She sliced Honjo Masamune into the table, splitting it straight down the middle and jumping over it. As she landed, she swung the sword down at Kureha, who deflected it with her sais and jumped backward while Taiga jumped onto a nearby table for leverage.

Kureha swung her sais through the middle of the table Taiga was on, slicing it clean in half. Taiga managed to step on one of the halves of the table and tried to create balance with one foot. The black-haired woman followed upon her attack by cutting through the legs of the half table that Taiga stood on.

Quickly, she hopped onto the other half that and is still standing in a pose that would remind one of a crane. It was hard to keep it balanced but Taiga was grateful that her ninja skills could come into use.

Kureha knocked the half onto the ground with a kick of her foot, but Taiga jumped into the air and swung her katana at Kureha's feet as she landed.

Her attacker somersaulted away and landed in a neat crouching position before charging forward at Taiga again. She swung her sword once more, just in time for both pairs of weapons to clash together in a heated standoff.

) o (

Naruto reflected back on the conversation, ruffling his hair in frustration as he was feeling guilty. Maybe he was really insensitive about the subject. Honor was important to being a ninja too. It wasn't the forefront of their beliefs, but it was still important.

"I… I am someone with a difficult and heavy heart. But meeting you… Naruto, you made it lighter."

Just thinking about her words and the smile that came along with it made his stomach feeling weightless. The fact that Taiga could smile like that, and at him most of all, made the rush of when he first heard the words swallow him all over again.

'What was I going to do?' He asked himself, 'Why did I get so close?' If Konohamaru hadn't interrupted him, what would he would have done? His body was far too impulsive and his head couldn't even keep up.

"Excuse me." Shaking his head from his thoughts, he turned around at the strange young man. He never seen this guy before, and so he was already wary.

The guy was also practically wearing rags.

"Yeah?" Naruto decided to entertain him.

"Have you seen a girl? I mean, you've probably seen plenty of girls but she's about this high," he motioned his hand to imitate this girl's height, "a huge rack and with white-ish kinda like hair?"

"You talkin' about Taiga?" His eyes narrowed some, "Why are you looking for her?"

"To profess my love of course!" The boy let out a rather strange, chuckle. "Nyahaha."

'What the hell is with this guy? Why is he laughing like some sort of cat?' Folding his arms he shook his head. "Your way outta luck if you think Taiga is gonna like some weird guy like you, dattebayo."

"Ya think so?" The boy feigned sadness, tilting his head back with his hands clasped together. "I've been in love with her for such a long time. Notice me, Taiga-senpai~ Notice me!"

'Euggghh… This guy is super creepy.' He couldn't even begin to feel jealous because he knew just from the guy's lack of care for his appearance that Taiga wouldn't like him anyway. "Uh, yeah, Taiga went away so… I have no idea where she is. I can't help you."

"Oh?" The blue-haired boy nodded, "I see. Well, I guess I'll have to settle for you then."

With his arms raised, Naruto shook his head aggressively. "Look, I'm not into that kind of stuff if that's what you're think—"

Too distracted by the conversation, Naruto had shortly missed the number of handseals the boy created with the blond's back turned. With a punch to the ground, a shock wave of earth suddenly appeared, coming out of it was a rock that traveled along the ground and making its way towards Naruto.

The huge rock erupted once the shockwave neared him, landing squarely into Naruto's chest and throwing him to the ground. He winced in pain, feeling like the air had been knocked out of his lungs.

Opening his eyes with a yell of fury, Naruto pushed the heavy rock off with ease and spins himself up. 'This must be one of Yuuma's lackeys! If this one is after me then… the other must be…!'

"You're not here alone, are you?" He questioned.

The blue-haired boy let out his weird, signature laugh. "Nyahahaha~ I guess you figured it out, ne?"

"Tell me, who is after Taiga?! Is it Yuuma?!" Although he knew she could handle herself, there was no way that she could face Yuuma by herself.

"Nyah." He shook his head, "Just that stupid wench they partnered me up with." He tried to think of who it could be until he remembered what happened yesterday when they arrived in the Land of Fire.

"You mean…!"

He nodded, "Kureha is sure going to give her a rough time. She likes to taste people. Disgusting I say, but what works for her… works for her." Akechi shrugged his shoulders. "Nyow nyow, stop worrying about them and worry about me."

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" After the seal, four clones of Naruto appeared. The real Naruto stayed back, two of them preparing Rasengan in his hand, while the other two charged forward.

Akechi grinned as he was engaged in a battle of taijutsu. The first Naruto clone had sent a fury of punches, utilizing every opening that was before him before taking out his kunai to swipe at him.

The blue-haired male's feet were quick, his steps showing fluidity as he was able to dodge and slide away from the kunai's sharp end. The second Naruto clone guard the real Naruto and the two other clones. It had to make sure that Akechi didn't disrupt the attack.

When Rasengan was ready, Naruto charged forward and once Akechi was blindsided by the other clone, it had hit him square in the stomach and he was thrown into a tree, his back hitting the bark sharply as the tree collapsed on him after he impacts.

) o (

Kureha spun in a circle, steadily aiming to swipe at Tagia, but the ninja-samurai quickly advances and swings her sword in a horizontal motion. Kureha pulls her attack just in time to bend backward, avoiding Taiga's blade by a thin hair. The strike was so close that a strand of black hair from her fringe was cut clean off.

Shakily, Kureha regained her balance and jumps backward. Several civilians were in the street watching the fight until finally ninjas began to swarm to the scene.

"Don't step in!" Taiga yelled at the rest of them, "She has bombs, she'll hurt everyone if you try to."

"Ah, so you remember?" Kureha was almost sad the girl did. She would've loved seeing their gawkers dead from being too nosy.

Jumping into the air, she sent a flying kick towards Taiga, who swiftly backflipped away and swung Honjo Masamune toward her once she landed cleanly on her feet. Kureha parried the attack with ease and stepped to Taiga side, making them end up back to back.

Both of them tried to strike one another behind them, but neither could get past the other's defense.

) o (

Naruto waited until Akechi was in sight of again, slightly panting as his chest felt sore from the attack with the rock.

It was silent for a few seconds, Naruto's eyes searching for any sight of him until finally, jumping from out of thin air, Akechi lunged toward him with broadswords in his hands. Naruto was quick enough to draw the handle of Nakigitsune right into Akechi stomach, knocking him backwards but he managed to get himself upright and slid back on his feet.

He performed the same attack earlier, slamming his fist into a ground a rock came charging towards him. Naruto shattered it with his blade, keeping up the pace when Akechi performed the technique more rapidly. Each motion of Nakigitsune chopped several of the rocks, but the force of them sent him sliding back a few inches each time.

"Is that all you got?!" The Uzumaki taunted, a grin on his face.

A/N: Konohamaru is sooooo annoying tbh! He's basically Boruto the first! I mean, I think its cute he admires Naruto but is it fair that he basically steals everything from Naruto? He's basically a clone. Ugh.

I was going to make this chapter longer but my computer is acting insane lately. That's why it took me so long, but I'll be getting a new laptop soon.

I'm super excited though all these reviews, faves, and 101 follows?! This is crazy! I hope I don't disappoint with this chapter, even though I wish I could've added more but I know this all my laptop will let me. I'm glad so many of you like Taiga since her personality can be annoying and sweet at times. She'll be much nicer now since I've think her attitude is really starting to go in the right direction. You know, that's how Naruto's magical personality works.

KingKiger: Thank you so much! Oh yes, I'm planning on that but I want to make it realistic. I want to tread carefully on how I present that to Taiga because Naruto life is one hell of a rollercoaster. That's an amazing idea! That's pretty realistic too instead of what happened in canon, and I think Naruto deserves to hold some grudges. He can't be all forgiving sometimes, but hopefully Taiga can teach him that! This new Naruto feels like a stranger to me. I can barely connect with him anymore, so I'm going to give all of you the Naruto we know in love as best as I can. Thank you so much, that idea is amazing.