How long had she been rotting in the Konoha prison?

Once again Tayuya found herself trying to play a flute that wasn't there. She missed her flute more than she missed the sun. More than she missed talking to people. She didn't even want it for her genjutsu. She just wanted to play it.

At first she was flattered that they saw fit to put her in maximum security, as if Orochimaru would come try break her out someday. But now that he had Sasuke she was probably the furthest thing from his mind. Still, she supposed helping kill the Hokage was a pretty good reason to lock her up and throw away the key.

At Least she wasn't dead...yet.

Ninja prisons sucked. The food was in pill form. There were no windows, no courtyard, and depending on how you behaved you had the choice between crucifixion or a room small enough to always feel claustrophobic.

Tayuya had such a room due to good behaviour. The cell came with the dullest stone walls they could find. It even had the toilet right next to the bed, really convenient. Most of the idiots in here had tried to escape at one point or another. Tayuya hadn't bothered.

It was hard to run away in a wheelchair.

The mechanisms in the door began to turn. There were several loud clanks and a whirl before the door open.

Tayuya spun her chair to look at her guest. She kind of recognized him, it was hard not to remember the faces of the last ten people she saw. It was the Konoha nin that had first encountered her and the sound four when they were leaving with Sasuke. How long ago was that?

"Sup cock sucker?" Or at least that's what she wanted to say but it came out as a hard cough. It had been a while since she had spoken. Her vocal cords needed to adjust. She had a lot of swearing bottled up.

Genma stepped into the room. Two Anbu joined him on either side. "Tayuya of The Sound four." He said in a calm and almost pitiful tone.

"Finally decided to kill me off eh?" She managed to choke out. "About fucking time, I've counted the number of bumps in the wall at least twenty times. There's even a picture of your mom getting-"

"Your presence has been requested in Konoha." Genma said flatly. He stepped into the cell and moved behind her.

"What for?" Tayuya asked. She felt her wheelchair being put into motion and she felt a sense of excitement well up inside. She was desperate to see the sun again, to be able to breath fresh air. The sun had been in her dreams for so long. "I already told you guys everything."

She could hear the bastard swashing that stupid senbon around in his mouth. If she remember correctly he could spit those out with deadly force. It was probably aimed at her head. "You're going to be tested."

That got Tayuya's interest. "On what? How to count? Cause I got real fucking good at that in that cell."

Her motor mouth would have continued to go on and on but they passed the threshold of her cell and all sound vanished. Another reason she hated this place. Any voice beyond the walls of the cell became mute. Her cell door clanged shut. And was locked. Tight.

Tayuya wanted to say good riddance to it. To never return to that place again was a dream come true. They'd have to kill her before she went back into that box again. The outside of her cell was something Tayuya had only seen once. And from what she remembered, it was different on the way in.

The first time she was rolled through hallway after hallway, endless twists and turns just to reach her cell. This time they only went as far as the end of the hall where a narrow elevator waited for them. The elevator was caged with barely enough room for her wheelchair, let alone her guards. The ceiling was low as well. A tall man would have had to squat to enter. It dangled over a reflective black liquid that mirrored everything.

Genma rolled her into the cage. She found a trace of panic blossom in her mind. Another box, she told herself. Just one more box and then she would be out of here. The cage door slammed behind her.

The elevator shook and began to move. Down. Towards the liquid..She turned to look at the leaf shinobi behind her. To see if they were confused that it was going down. Up was freedom right?

They were gone.

The bastards were going to drown her.

She wanted to kick herself for believing that they were going to set her free. That they weren't just going to sweep what she did under the carpet.

Konoha was filled with cruel bastards. To raise her hopes like that and then kill her in the worse way possible. Tayuya couldn't swim. She hated water. Drowning, was her worst fear.

Tears streamed down her eyes. She began to shake against her wheelchair desperate to escape. The cage was solid and her efforts were in vain. Liquid streamed in around her feet and began to rise. It was then that she became aware of another fear. One she didn't even know she had. Claustrophobia.

Her space grew smaller and smaller as the black liquid rose higher in the cage. There was less room to breath. There was less room to move. She tried to stand to get closer to the surface. To try squeeze out.

It was too late.

She was trapped.

Drowning.

Dying.

Birds chirping.

What?

A fucking bird was chirping. Here she was drowning and a bird had the audacity to chirp.

And then there was the smell. Why the fuck did this water smell like dirt? And why didn't it feel like water. It almost felt like the wind was blowing across her face. She opened her eyes.

Why was it so bright?

Tayuya's eyes slammed shut again. She had to squint and slowly open her eyes. Was the sun always so bright? Did dirt always smell so dirty? Were birds always so fucking annoying?

More importantly wasn't she drowning just a minute ago?

And why was she so hungry?

"Nice to have you join us." said Genma. She could hear the amusement in the smug bastards voice. He was still pushing her wheelchair. "About time too, you'll be able to see Konoha in just a minute."

Tayuya strained her eyes she saw specs of green. Hints of blue. Actual color! The world was more than just dull brown stone. The only other color she had grown used to seeing in her cell was the red in her hair. She'd come to love it. It was such a vibrant color. Beat the snot out of shit stain brown. "The fuck was that?"

"Oh it's a genjutsu so that you won't see the exit." She could hear that stupid senbon in his mouth sloshing around. If she was lucky he'd choke on the fucking thing. "It's different for everybody it seems. What was yours?"

Tayuya wanted to glare at him. But everything was still too bright for her to glare at her for long.. "You guys fucking drowned me." She didn't want to let them know that that was one of her deepest fears.

"That explains the crying."

Tayuya didn't give a shit if she would be staring into a thousand suns she shot her eyes open and glared at the son of a bitch. Her gaze said a lot. But her mouth said more. "I will piss on your grave do you hear me you fucking bastard?"

Bastard had the audacity to chuckle at her. Like she was some cute little kitten throwing a hissy fit. "You know, being rude to me is not going to help you stay out of there."

That shut her up.

"Ahh the sound of swallowed pride."

Tayuya bit her tongue. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the hard armrests of her wheelchair. "So why am I out anyways?"

Genma took on a serious tone. "We need a flute player."

XXXX

Tayuya sat in the wheelchair she'd spent almost three years in. It was a good thing she couldn't feel her ass because it would probably be sore right now. She sat in front of the person that had sentenced her to that small horrible box.

She didn't hate the woman for it. It was a lot better than just killing her off.

"Alright brat." Tsunade said in a harsh whip of a voice. "Let's get right down to business. We need to see if you can play a certain flute. And the only reason we've turned to you, a criminal in maximum security, is because nobody else can. We need a master flute player. Apparently that's you."

Tayuya felt herself blush. She had never considered herself a master, but then again she had never heard of anybody else that could summon a genjutsu with just sound. Even Orochimaru couldn't figure out how she did it.

"I might be a bit rusty."

Tsunade snorted and pulled out a box that was covered in seals. An orange spiral was on top. "This." Tsunade presented a pure white flute with hundreds of seals on it. "Is my grandmother's flute."

Tayuya licked her lips. She felt the need to play it. It didn't matter what for. She just had to touch it, feel it in her hands. It was like an itch that she hadn't been able to reach in years was about to get scratched. She would agree to anything if they would just let her play that flute.

She reached for it, but Tsunade pulled it away. "Let me set some ground rules before you we begin." Tayuya wanted to protest. She wanted to shout that she would agree to anything if they'd just give her five good minutes with the thing. "First, if you can't activate the flute, You go back into the hole."

Tayuya froze at that. And a small flicker of hope blossomed in her chest. Her freedom rested on her ability to play a flute. There was no way she could

"Second, should you activate the flute, you will be given a mission, and be placed under house arrest here in Konoha. You will be monitored, and you will not be allowed to leave without my permission."

Tayuya licked her lips once again they seemed to become drier each second. She would do it. She would make this flute her bitch and make it sing.

"Third, should the mission be a success, I will restore your legs."

Tayuya felt her heart skip a beat.

Her legs.

She had thought that she'd always be bound to a chair. Never able to run again. Never able to kick ass again.

"I agree." The words came out louder and faster than she'd thought.

Tsunade looked surprised for a moment before she composed herself. "You never had a choice."

Tsunade presented the flute to her.

Tayuya took the flute gently. It tingled in her hands. It felt different. Not quite metal, not quite wood, and too light to be stone. Despite the differences she knew exactly where her fingers went. Exactly where her mouth went. For a long moment everything in the world seemed like it was made out of daisies.

She didn't waste a second.

Her eyes fluttered shut and her soul poured out for the first time in over three years. She didn't play from a sheet. She didn't play her genjutsu she played from her heart and soul. And the music came flooding out.

A melody as swift and as frantic as a bee echoed throughout the room for a second, before it shifted into that of a lumbering bear, then again into a cacophony of toads, a duet of fluttering birds, a mighty beast roaring. Tayuya and the flute became one as her fingers blurred along it.

In a flourish that sounded like a spring day just after it rained Tayuya finally took the flute down from her mouth.

She looked at the Hokage. The woman had a nostalgic smile on her face.

She looked at Genma who applauded softly.

She looked at the flute and the seals glowed a soft green.

Tayuya smiled. She wasn't going to go back in the box. And she was going to get her legs back. She was going to run. She was going to work out. She was going to do squats until she had the best ass and legs in all of Konoha.

"So what's the mission?" she asked.

Tsunade coughed for a moment smile turned back into the hard expression she had when Tayuya first entered the room. "Do you know who Naruto Uzumaki is?"

Tayuya's face scrunched up as she tried to remember. Wasn't one of the brats that beat them called Naruto? Might be the stupid looking blond kid. "Short, blond, kind of stupid?"

Tsunade laughed. "Well he's not short anymore but yea." Her amusement died down quickly. "That flute was used by Mito Uzumaki to calm the nine tailed fox in the past."

Tayuya's eyes widened. "Don't tell me it's inside of that brat?"

Tsunade nodded. "Correct and he's currently doing intense training, training that might put a strain on his seal. Your mission is to use that flute if the Kyuubi starts acting up."

Tayuya looked at the flute in marvel for a long moment. This was used to calm the nine tailed fox. This put it in the same league as the First Hokage and the Sharingan. And she got to play it.

"When do I start?" There was a giddiness in her voice that she couldn't contain.

Tsunade smirked. She was starting to like this girl. "Yamato, Kakashi asked for you today correct?"

Tayuya turned to where Tsunade was looking to see one of the jonin in the room step forward. He was tall with a flat face and wore head gear. She immediately labeled him as a massive nerd.

Yamato stepped forward, a sheepish smile on his face. "I'm actually late to meet him."

"Fine take Tayuya and get to work, Naruto should be able to use a lot more of its chakra with that flute around." Yamamoto Nodded and Tayuya found herself being pushed out the door. "And if she tries anything funny, kill her."

Tayuya couldn't hold it in anymore. "Oh yeah because I'm totally going to be able to roll away from the village."

Sarcasm just came naturally to her.

XXXX

Tayuya's voice came back in full force. "I'm not a fucking sack of potatoes you god vanilla faced cock sucker!" Her reason for shouting was simple. This Yamato bastard had decided that they were going to be late and had tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "As soon as I get my fucking legs back the first thing I'm going to do is shove my foot so far up your ass, I'll be playing footsies with your lovers ballsack!"

"It's faster this way." Yamato said once again. He braced himself for her continued outburst of insults but they never came. For a long moment there was silence.

"Why are you all being so casual about this?" Tayuya asked eventually. It had bothered her by how quickly the Hokage had given her a flute. A regular one was dangerous in her hands and this flute was powerful in its own right. She could feel it.

"You're not the only one that was experimented on by Orochimaru." Yamato informed her. He kept his eyes straight ahead lest he give the girl a reason to think he was a pervert. "Konoha is a village of second chances."

Tayuya touched her curse seal lightly. They had sealed it of course. It's draw was more a leaking faucet than the raging tsunami it had been before. She was used to it now, barely even noticed it, her periods were worse by far.

"Still I helped kill the Third Hokage, and now you're giving me a tool that can tame the Kyuubi. Doesn't seem very smart."

Yamato laughed. "The fact that you're concerned about it is good. We're not trusting you blindly. But right now just focus on the mission."

Tayuya couldn't deny that logic. If she completed the mission she would get her legs back. And even if she was stuck in Konoha for the rest of her life, it wasn't a fucking box. And there were more people to talk to! It didn't matter if most of them were fucking idiots. It beat talking to a wall.

And if the people of Konoha sucked too much she could just become a crazy cat lady.

Her musing on her life with legs was interrupted when she was unceremoniously dropped to the ground. "Oh what the fuck!" Tayuya wailed. "I know I'm already fucking broken but you don't need to give me the whole rough prison bitch technique." Her wheelchair was set up next to her.

She was going to burn that fucking thing when she got her legs back.

Yamato smiled down at her. She was going to burn him to… That would put her back in a box though. He looked stupid, he'd probably die quickly. She'd piss on his grave. "That's for calling me a cock sucker."

"Talk about holding a grudge." Tayuya moaned as she pulled herself up into her wheelchair. Once was was sitted properly she looked out onto the large clearing. There was Kakashi one of the leaf's most powerful shinobi. And then there was the shithead.

He certainly grew up.

"Oh, Captain Yamato what are you doing here?" Naruto asked halfway to confusion. Already he was about to ask another question but then he saw Tayuya sitting in her chair. "And who is she?"

Tayuya smiled. "Long time no see shithead."

"My name's Naruto." Naruto pouted. This girl seemed familiar but he couldn't place his finger on where he'd seen her. She seemed to know him.

Kakashi sighed he was so close to getting Naruto to start his training. Now it was going to be an endless stream of tangents, likely starting with Naruto accusing the girl of being why Sasuke left the village, followed by a tangent of what chakra nature Yamato had. The last tangent was fine as Kakashi actually had need of some earth and water jutsu in the near future.

It was good that Tayuya was here with the flute. Kakashi had requested to use the flute to make Naruto's training go smoothly. It rejected nearly everybody that touched it. The requirements were rather complicated, a shinobi who played the flute. Most shinobi didn't choose music as their hobby. It was a stroke of luck that Shikamaru remembered the Sound ninja he captured years ago.

"Naruto, this is Tayuya." Kakashi introduced the girl who had a smile he didn't quite trust on her face. "She's a prisoner who will be doing a mission for the leaf to earn some of her freedom back."

Naruto furrowed his brow and looked at Tayuya in frustration. "What'd she do?"

"It doesn't matter." Kakashi attempted to wave the whole thing off.

Unfortunately Tayuya had a stubborn streak a mile long, combined with a complete lack of subtlety that even Naruto couldn't miss. Well maybe. And a directness that could cause blunt force trauma to people's emotions.

"I created the barrier for Orochimaru and the Third Hokage to fight. Oh, and I was sent to retrieve that Uchiha punk." Tayuya paused reflecting for a moment. "I think that's all"

"What!" Naruto exploded at Kakashi. "What's she doing here then? She helped kill the old man and take Sasuke away! How can she be of any help?" Naruto finished with a dark glare at Tayuya.

"And I got locked into a box for three years. Oh and in case you didn't notice I kind of can't fucking walk!" Tayuya shouted, she returned Naruto's glare with one of her own.

Kakashi decided to intervene. "Now now, Naruto Tayuya is here because she's the only one that can play that flute… or at least the only one we had access to." Kakashi pointed to the bone white flute that Tayuya clutched like it was her lifeline.

"Why's the flute important?" Naruto's anger twisted into frustration once again.

Kakashi sighed. It was getting troublesome to explain Naruto's every question. And he still probably had to explain what chakra natures were. Why couldn't his student be more academic? Maybe he should have had Sakura here to explain all this. She seemed to know how to do it.

"The flute was used by the first Hokage's wife to calm the kyuubi, the training we're going to do today is going to use a lot of your chakra so you'll probably end up accessing it. Tayuya is here to help keep the Kyuubi calm should that happen."

That got Naruto's attention. He completely forgot Tayuya for a moment. "What kind of training are we going to do Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto beamed at his teacher.

Kakashi smiled it seemed like things were finally back on track. "It's simple Naruto. You're going to use shadow clones."

"How are my shadow clones going to help with training?"

Kakashi sighed. So much for getting back on track.

"Are you really that stupid?" Tayuya asked Naruto. She didn't wait for an answer. "I saw you use shadow clones before, that was like what three years ago? Heck I figured it out the first time I used it."

Naruto pouted and glared at the girl. He wasn't stupid he just didn't know things. "What are you guys talking about? What's so special about the shadow clone jutsu?"

Tayuya groaned nearly slumping in her chair. Was this kid really so thick headed he didn't even notice it? "You know what your clones know." She said it nice and slow so that he would understand.

"Huh?" Naruto asked confused. He didn't get what they were trying to tell him.

Exasperated Tayuya threw her arms up. "Guh, Why am I the one explaining it in the first place. You're his teacher aren't you? This is your fault."

Kakashi sighed. She did have a point. "Naruto learns more by doing, than by lectures." Kakashi tried to explain. Mostly to himself. "How do you know the shadow clone jutsu though?" He looked at the feisty red headed. Her and Naruto were still locked in a contest of glares.

Tayuya looked at Kakashi like he was a dumbass too. "Orochimaru is a missing nin from what village?"

Kakashi could only hum in agreement. It made sense that Orochimaru would give the jutsu to those he considered his elite bodyguards. "Well then, I want both of you to make a shadow clone."

Naruto complied instantly and made a single clone appear with no effort.

Tayuya crossed her arms and glared at the man before realization came to her that she was on a mission. If she wanted her legs back she better listen to this one eyed asshole. "Guh fine, I'm out of practice though." she mumbled.

It took her a moment to gather her chakra. It was like stretching a muscle that she hadn't used in a long time. It didn't come to her as naturally as playing her flute did. That was programed into her, she could already feel her chakra wanting to leap towards the flute. After a few seconds a Shadow clone of Tayuya appeared wheelchair and all.

"Now what?" The clone asked clearly not happy about having been created.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "Alright, now the clones will go into the forest where we can't see them and do something."

"What do you want us to do Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked still confused by what was going on.

Kakashi sighed. Hopefully Naruto wouldn't get distracted by Yamato's elemental affinities. "I don't know, Tayuya, you come up with something." There was only so much he could do.

"Why does she get to come up with something." Naruto pouted as his clone started to walk into the forest.

"Hey dickwad." Tayuya's clone shouted at the Naruto clone. She was currently failing to get any real movement done with her wheelchair. It wasn't quite made for open fields and nature in general. "Fucking push me."

The Naruto clone groaned and turned around. With an exaggerated motion he pushed Tayuya out into the forest. Both Tayuya's looked quite happy at the turn of events. It took a bit before the clones were out of site.

"Don't say a damn thing, just wait." Tayuya knew exactly what her clone was going to do. She couldn't wait to see his reaction. It was going to be so much fun. She didn't want to ruin the mood.

It took a moment. And then Naruto's eyes widened. He looked at Tayuya and blushed. He looked at her chest and blushed even harder. "I… You… They… Me… Clones?"

Tayuya got her memories back a second later. Both reactions were priceless. She couldn't believe it. She started a violently laugh that nearly had her coughing.

"What did she do to your clone?" Kakashi asked confused.

Naruto's face only grew redder. "Nothing, she didn't show me anything! Can we just start this training?" He'd likely never forgot what Tayuya had shown him. Their image was burned into his mind.

Tayuya continued to laugh, it was a mad cackle that had her holding her sides. "Oh my god shithead." She breathed out between gasps. "The look on your face!" Tayuya's laugh slowly died down but she kept a smile on her face. "Thanks for that I haven't laughed like that in a long time."

"What ever." Naruto crossed his arms and pouted. His face still flushed. "It wasn't that funny." His blush grew darker when he saw Tayuya's smile. It was such a genuine happy smile and made her several times more attractive. She may be a ragged, pale, dirty, prisoner but there was just something about that smile.

Kakashi coughed. He could guess what had happened. He would have guessed that a loud brash girl like Tayuya would have been a bit more of a prude. Apparently not. "Anyways, Naruto in order to train your wind chakra I want you to cut this leaf with your chakra, you'll be using shadow clones to help you."

Naruto looked curiously at the leaf, glad to be looking at something besides Tayuya. "Okay how many should I make?"

With a slow drawn out motion Kakashi pointed to a tree in the middle of the field. "About as many as there are leaves in that tree."

Tayuya looked back and forth between Kakashi and his idiot student in shock. "What? There's no way this idiot could make that many clones!" She herself could only make like twenty, and then she was utterly exhausted. But the idea that this brat could make one for each leaf on that tree was insane.

Naruto smiled at Tayuya, just as much when people believed in him, being told he couldn't do something only stoked his fires more. "You're going to eat those words!" Naruto shouted as he gathered up a gigantic amount of chakra.

Tayuya ate those words when a gigantic army of shadow clones appeared. The tree was left completely bald and only a few clones didn't have a leaf. "How the hell does he have so much chakra?"

"Naruto has about four times as much chakra as I do." Kakashi stood by Tayuya, he wanted to start reading his book, but felt like overseeing Naruto's training was more important at the moment. It was still a miracle that Naruto hadn't gotten distracted by Yamato's chakra natures. "However with the Kyuubi's chakra it's over one hundred times, which is why you're here."

Tayuya clutched the flute tightly. "Should I start playing now?"

"It couldn't hurt." Even Kakashi had to admit he was curious what the flute that could calm the kyuubi, and it would make Yamato's job of keeping the Kyuubi's influence on Naruto to a minimum easier.

Tayuya didn't need to be told twice. She brought her lips to the flute. Her fingers danced along the holes. The first time she had rushed into it. Eager on so many levels. This time she was going to take it slow and simply enjoy the process of playing.

A calmness rushed over the field like a cool summer breeze. All of the grunting from Naruto trying to cut the leaf was drowned in an ocean of melodies. With long drawn out tones Tayuya played. Every note change echoed throughout the field like the change of a season.

Naruto felt something stir within him as he heard Tayuya play the flute. His chakra and the Kyuubi's chakra felt calmer. It made it easier to feel his chakra without having to worry about the Kyuubi. But more than the chakra, Naruto himself felt calmer. He could focus more on the leaf. Or focus more on Tayuya.

Every so often he would find himself looking over towards her. The way the wind blew her long red hair. The way she seemed to twist when she entered a new stride in her marathon. He could almost see her dancing as she played. Like she didn't play with just her hands but with her entire body and soul.

Tayuya played for nearly an hour before she had to rest. She took a long deep breath and then another. It just felt so good to be able to play like that. But the flute given to her drained her charka. She looked towards Kakashi and Yamato. "Are my wardens going to let me take a break?"

Yamato let out a small chuckle at that. "Sure, I think you actually put the Kyuubi completely to sleep." Yamato focused on the First Hokage's necklace for a long moment. His wood release jutsu made him sensitive to the Kyuubi's chakra. Compared to when Naruto went four tails against Orochimaru he didn't even have to put any effort to contain the beast when the flute was played.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei!" A Naruto ran up to the jounin, he didn't want to interrupt Tayuya's playing earlier but now that she had stopped he had the chance. "Do you have any tips for molding wind chakra?"

Kakashi sighed. He had hoped Naruto would by some miracle have lightning or perhaps water. He could easily give him tips for those chakra manipulations. "I'm sorry Naruto but I don't have wind as a nature, I don't really know how to go about it."

"Do you know anybody that does Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked he then turned to Yamato. "Wait what are Captain Yamato's natures?"

Kakashi sighed he had hoped to avoid this explanation. "Just tell him Yamato, If we dispel this clone all the rest will get curious and we'll have to explain anyways."

Yamato examined the crystal for a moment. Everything about the Kyuubi felt calm and stable. He could probably demonstrate his jutsu before the Kyuubi did anything. "Yea sure."

Tayuya watched the explanation of Yamato's techniques. How he used earth chakra to create a giant cliff side. How he created a self feeding waterfall. And how he could combine the two into wood release. Tayuya could see why Orochimaru had put a great deal of research into the technique.

"You know," Tayuya said to Kakashi like she was dangling a juicy tidbit. "If you really need a ninja with a wind nature, I can help you 's my nature." She wasn't fantastic, she preferred her genjutsu, but she was able to cast a blast of wind with just her flute. Hard to aim though.

"Eager to get Naruto's training done are you?" Kakashi asked in his own knowing tone.

Tayuya just smiled like a kid that got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Well I'd kind of like to be able to walk sooner than later."

Kakashi just waved her explanation off, for a prisoner she had been more than willing. "If you can get his attention."

"Hey shithead!" Several hundred Naruto heads snapped towards Tayuya. "Not you guys, Get back to work!" Tayuya commanded and the legion of Naruto's did as they were told. The Naruto that was talking to Yamato also tried to get back to work. "I was talking to you, get over here."

Naruto bumbled over towards Tayuya. He had to admit was starting to begin to like the girl. She was loud and brash, and she didn't hide her emotions. He just wished she was slightly more modest. "What is it?"

"You want some tips on Wind chakra right?" Tayuya egged Naruto on.

"Yea, do you know somebody that has a wind nature?" Naruto asked excitedly. He forgot for a moment that Tayuya had been imprisoned for the past three years. "Wait are you?"

Tayuya grinned at Naruto. The last thing she had eaten was the pale slightly rust flavored goop that they gave her in the prison. She wanted something real. Something with flavor. Something expensive. "Yea, And I'll make a deal with you. I'll tell you my trick for wind chakra and you promise to treat me to dinner. I want real fucking food dammit."

After a moment's thought Naruto pulled out his wallet. It wasn't empty exactly. He could probably buy Tayuya a couple bowls of ramen. He had hoped to get Kakashi-sensei to buy him a round of ramen somehow. "Fine I'll take you out to dinner." Ichiraku's was cheap anyways. He hoped Tayuya liked ramen.

"Fuck yea!" Tayuya cheered. "Alright shithead pay attention." She held up her flute towards Naruto. "What do you know about flutes?"

Naruto frowned "Nothing."

The groan that Tayuya let out was one of utter disappointment. Of course a Konoha ninja wouldn't know the first thing about flutes. She doubted the idiot even knew the difference between a flute and a piccolo. "Okay fine. Do you know how to whistle?" To demonstrate it Tayuya let out a small tune from her lips.

"Yea!" Naruto shouted happily and stuck his fingers in his mouth to make a loud sharp whistle. "Like that?"

Tayuya nodded. "Not bad shithead. Now what did you do to make that sound?"

Naruto's face twisted into a frown of frustration. "I whistled?"

Another groan was added to the list. "Okay listen up blondie, You whistled by forcing the air into a small channel. That's what made the sound. Wind chakra is the same way. You want to get it as small and as thin as possible." Tayuya held up the flute once again. "Here watch"

Her chakra once again resonated with the flute except this time instead of just allowing it to drain Tayuya forced it through into the lip piece as she breathed out. From one of the open holes a blast of wind was sent flying out. The backlash was enough to cause Tayuya's wheelchair to almost roll back and inch. A branch from a nearby tree was cleanly cut off.

"Whoa!" Naruto cheered. She didn't even use a hand sign or anything to him it was amazing. She did it with a flute too! "That's awesome!"

Despite herself Tayuya felt a blush come on at the praise. "Yea whatever, just remember what I said. Pinch the chakra to make it as thin as possible."

The clone dispelled instantly.

Tayuya took the time to start playing again. The sound of a thousand birds calling at once flew through the field. A hundred cats purring and a dozen tigers roaring as Tayuya played that flute.

Less than a minute after the clone dispelled one of the Naruto's called out "Oh I cut the leaf a bit!" The clone dispelled itself instantly the remainder paused to gather what they learned.

Kakashi watched in amusement at what Naruto was doing and at what Tayuya was doing. If she kept this up he might be out of the job as Naruto's sensei.

Hey guys! been a while! Ya'll remember that Sasuke x Tayuya story I posted and then deleted? Well I decided it was bad, and made this instead. Naruto x Tayuya is so much better. As always expect a lot of fluff as I try to highlight a releationship between these two unusual characters.

I normally prefer to start in preshippuden. but at the same time So many other Tayuya fics start with her being found with her legs crushed. I felt like going a different route. And now I have this!

Special thanks to ILovetoph4eva for being a most excellent beta!

See you all next time!