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The Orange Flash: Lost Chapters	By : Breath_of_the_Wiz Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 120666 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 16
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did, it wouldn't suck so hard. Also, I am not the owner of the fandom, nor am I doing this for any monetary gain or profit. Enjoy.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
After his late night (and early morning) with Anko, Naruto had an uncharacteristic smirk on his face. Though it was early, many people were out and about, starting their day. Today was the day, the day that he would tattoo the Hiraishin seals to his palms. Sure, he didn't have an appointment, but the place couldn't be that crowded this early in the morning. As Naruto practically bounced down the streets, he grinded to a halt as he nearly ran over someone and caught her by the upper arms, as to keep her from slamming into the ground.
Naruto was in his own world up until then, so he didn't notice the bubblegum pink hair for a split second, however impossible that sounds. Naruto effortlessly picked her up and plopped her on her feet. Sakura. She had obviously been grocery shopping, judging from the large bag in her hands.
The Haruno girl was the same color as her hair by the time she realized who she ran into.
'Oh no. Why now?'
'SHANARROOO! JACKPOT!'
'Quiet you.'
Sakura was the first to speak, she had a few things she needed to say to her teammate. "Hey Naruto-kun… I owe you an apology, you know, for attacking you last night. I jumped to a conclusion before I heard your side of the story."
Naruto smiled. "It's fine. Truth be told, I kinda miss the occasional beat down from you!"
Sakura's stomach churned a bit at the mere thought of the amount of physical abuse Naruto had suffered at her hands during their genin days.
"Oh, hey Naruto-kun? You left this at my house last night, I was going to give it to you yesterday, but… well, things got out of hand."
She reached into her wallet and pulled out a green crystal necklace, Naruto took it from her nonchalantly.
Sakura cocked her head to the side. "I'd figured you'd be more excited to get it back."
Naruto chuckled answered her as he put the necklace on. "I actually was going to stop by your house today so I could pick it up. You get really, really grabby when you faint, so I gave you something to grab that wasn't part of my body while I took you home."
Sakura turned bright red and dropped her groceries. Her hands went up to her face in embarrassment. "Oh no... Naruto! I'm so sorry!" Sakura squealed as she tried not to implode on herself. "Did I hurt you?! Oh god. Please tell me I didn't do anything inappropriate while I was out!"
Naruto grinned and put his hands up. "Relax, it was nothing I couldn't deal with… but… be careful next time, you're extremely strong. –Heh!- You almost crushed my-"
Sakura squeaked and put her hands forward, signaling Naruto to stop talking. "NO! Please don't say anything else, I can happily go to the grave without knowing the details!"
Naruto grinned in amusement. "I was gonna say neck."
Sakura simmered down somewhat. "Oh. Really?"
In simple terms, Naruto, had a penchant for foolery, so he wasn't going to let Sakura off with a lie. "Hah! No."
Sakura bounced up and down in a medley of frustration and mortification. "Oooooh! Naruto!"
He bent down and picked up her bag, which had miraculously not spilled anything. "Meat huh. I thought you went vegan like everyone else when you heard Sasuke-teme liked thin girls."
Sakura's face twitched a bit as she took the bag. 'I still am vegan. This stuff's for him the next time he stops by… Maybe I can get him to visit me more often if I offer…'
Without thinking, Sakura took the opportunity and made her offer. "I still am, I like to cook all sorts of things though, e-even food I don't actually eat. If you come over tomorrow, I'll give you some se- ... steak… I'll give you steak."
Sakura slammed her mouth shut before she could ponder whether or not it was a good idea to do what she just did.
' Where'd that come from?! … WHY AM I STILL TALKING TO HIM?! THIS IS BAAAAD!'
Inner Sakura started to dance with joy and do flips everywhere. 'AWESOME! NICE GOING FOREHEAD!'
Three feet away, another mind was also mulling over what just happened. 'Hey, asshole, you're good at reading people right? What was she gonna say?'
'Freudian slip. The pink one wants to mate with you but her conscious mind keeps overriding her subconscious desires. Knowing you, you're gonna wait this one out since you're so opposed to just taking a female and making her yours without question.'
'She… she what? … And who the hell is Freud?'
'Try reading a book for once, fool… -sigh- That's just my guess, I could be wrong though, females are generally insane.'
'How can Sakura-chan like me? She loves Sasuke! I thought she was just nervous because she wasn't used to me being around anymore! Geez, I can't read her at all.'
'All the other females want to mate with you, what makes this one any different?'
'… Well I…'
Sakura started to turn red like her tank top as the pause became increasingly long. Naruto seemed to be deep in thought as a look of sheer surprise started to roll across his face. Sakura began to think it was due to her verbal slip just seconds earlier and became more nervous as she awaited Naruto's reply.
Naruto started to feel his stomach flutter, it was now or never and he became deadly serious as he grabbed Sakura by the shoulders. This scared Sakura half to death, what she wasn't prepared for was what Naruto was about to ask her?
"Sakura-chan, please, be completely honest. How do you feel about me?"
Sakura went doe-eyed as her pupils dilated in fear, covering her green pupils in black. She managed to keep her consciousness, but not her composure.
'No! No! DO NOT FAINT AGAIN!'
Sakura let off a sequence of unintelligible sounds, and then exploded into a shower of nervous energy. "I-… I DON'T KNOW OKAY! I DON'T FUCKING KNOW! IT'S COMPLICATED NARUTO!"
Sakura summarily sprinted off and jumped out of view. Naruto could feel his heart begin to shatter and his head started to droop, but his tenant's booming voice abruptly cut off the boy's descent.
'She didn't say no you pussy. If you go all wangsty on me, I swear, I'll cut the blood circulation to your penis. Let the female sort out her insanity on her own.'
'What if she just couldn't find a way to spare my feelings?'
'Stop it. She wants you... It's not even worth thinking about, kit! Now go find the tattoo parlor!'
'Right! Tattoos.'
The Kazekage had just gotten out of a meeting with her village council, and was walking back to the tower with her brother and sister. It was safe to say that Gaara was completely thrown off balance by her whole situation.
She'd been forced to discuss a political marriage with her council, and was repeatedly silenced by her power hungry moron of a regent. She'd have to put up with him at least until she was 18 though, so no point fussing over it now.
They'd at first decided to marry her off to a middle aged man in the Konoha council, but a bit of coaxing, or in this case, loud swearing from Kankuro gave her the chance to speak her opinion. Gaara was in it now though, she'd said the first name that came to her when they asked if she had any viable suitors in mind for a political marriage, and she was unsure of the consequences of making such a choice.
Kankuro was the first to speak after the long silence. "So, Naruto Uzumaki huh? I haven't seen the guy in a while, but… if anyone's gonna treat you right, it'd be him."
Gaara fiddled with her crimson side-tail and untied it, letting her long crimson hair flow free. "Nothing's set in stone yet Kankuro. Naruto probably won't be very receptive toward a political marriage."
Temari, gingerly filing her nails, chimed in as well. "Again, I have no idea who you guys are talking about."
Kankuro, who was more than a head taller than Gaara, peered over her head and raised his eyebrow. "Really Temari? He was pretty hard to miss in the chuunin exams, BRIGHT ORANGE jumpsuit? He knocked that Neji kid out, remember?"
Gaara turned to Temari with a blank expression. "He's Konoha's jinchuuriki, a fact he made quite clear during his battle with Neji Hyuuga and myself."
Kankuro looked down at his rather short sister. "How exactly do you know that?"
Gaara's eyes swiveled to her older brother. "I know what I saw."
Temari flicked a ladybug off her kimono. "Oh! So 'Orange Boy' is Naruto. I just didn't have a name to go with the face, that's all… So, Gaara-chan, why exactly was he the first person to come to mind for you?"
Gaara turned to her sister and gave her a strange look; Temari recoiled a bit, as she still had trouble adjusting to her sister's notable lack of bloodlust since the Chuunin Exams.
Temari caught on immediately. "Why am I even asking? If someone could turn you around like this, it's pretty obvious as to why… but then again, how long's it been since you've seen him?"
Gaara counted on her fingers. "Two years, eight months, six days, thirteen hours, twenty seven minutes, and… fourty three seconds, since we've seen each other."
Gaara's siblings paid no mind to her disturbing accuracy, mainly because she was the kind of person that always knew the exact date and time of day, probably due to years of insomnia. That, and her quiet obsession with Naruto had slowly become visible over the past two years, time and again, she'd be caught absentmindedly staring out the window of her office, writing his name all over her reports, or her sand would spontaneously spell out his name while she was sleeping.
Ah yes, sleep, something that came easy for Gaara after having her seal improved, it had almost become a hobby of hers. Her regents and assistants had to be vigilant in their efforts to keep her awake during the less physically oriented tasks assigned to the Kazekage. That aside, Temari and Kankuro couldn't normally tell when Gaara was excited, but this was rather odd of her.
After the short and awkward silence brought on by Gaara's clock-like time keeping, Kankuro questioned Gaara once more.
"How're you so sure that they'll go through with your proposal? Isn't Naruto just another Ninja in Konoha?"
The dust on the street started to whirl around her, something that happened when she got emotional or excited, there was of course no change in her facial expression.
"He told me once, that true strength comes from the desire to protect others. That's why he wanted to become Hokage. He taught me that the people I care about are what validate my existence, not some kill count. Without them, I'm alone, and if I spend my life alone, they can just as easily say I never existed to begin with. He will be Hokage one day, I know it… That's why he was the first to come to my mind, he's the only one the council would accept."
Temari had made it her business to help increase Gaara's emotional capacity over the years, and as such, she would drill her sister with a few important questions now and then.
"Gaara-chan? Is that the only reason? My gut tells me there's more to it than that. You've been thinking about him an awful lot lately."
Gaara bashfully fiddled with a tassel on her sash belt, her face hadn't changed, but her body language obviously gave off an air of mild discomfort.
"He's… the most logical choice for such a proposition."
Kankuro anxiously scratched his head and ushered his baby sister into the tower. "Okay, Gaara. You're getting all excitable again, and when that happens, sand gets in places I didn't know I had."
Temari covered her hair with her hands. "Gaara-chan. I just took a shower before the meeting, please, simmer down, okay?
Gaara looked behind her sister and cocked her head to the side in surprise. Small dust devils were following them to the door. Gaara gave a smooth yet bashful "My apologies everyone!" and stretched her hand out. All of the sand in the street instantly went still, and every single grain of sand on her brother and sister floated out the door into the streets. The staring pedestrians paid it no mind however, spontaneous dust storms tended to happen around the Kazekage, they just made sure to shower only just before going to sleep, as to avoid becoming dirty again before the day was over.
Temari checked her war fan's hinge for sand. "I just want you to be sure of yourself, you can always call these sorts of things off. That's why I asked."
"Naruto will be the next Hokage. If our villages are connected in such a way, my ability to protect my people will be twofold."
Temari smiled a bit and grabbed the bridge of her nose. Temari and Gaara made their way up to the Kazekage's office and Gaara immediately pulled out some paper. She needed to contact Tsunade and explain things to her so that she wouldn't be surprised.
"Dear Tsunade-sama,
In the following days, it may come to your attention that a lucrative and mutually beneficial agreement is achievable between our villages. However, you may object to its' conditions. As such, I'd prefer to discuss it with you in person once I have all of the details. Just as a warning, it will likely involve Naruto.
~Godaime Kazekage"
Gaara inscribed her signature in sand and folded the letter into a small cylinder and whistled. A ninja came in through the window.
"Make sure the Hokage gets this letter. I want the reply brought directly to me."
"Yes ma'am." The ninja took the wooden cylinder and disappeared, Gaara was about to take a well deserved nap on her desk until Temari placed a thick stack of papers in front of her.
"These are the various ninja-related issues we have right now. The regent wants you to sign off on them, and they said they'll fine me if they catch me forging any more of your signatures, so you're gonna have to actually do your paperwork for once."
Gaara lifted her head up and wearily stared at the stack of papers.
"Temari, do they all sign across the bottom-left, like this top sheet?"
"Yeah. You should be able to blaze through this stack pretty quickly. Here's a-"
Gaara looked around her desk and spied a letter opener, she picked it up and stared at the blade. Temari became confused. "Gaara? What're you doing?"
Without answering, Gaara slammed the blade through the stack of paper, right above the dotted line. She popped the opener out of the table and through the cleanly made hole.
"Signed."
Gaara handed the stack to her big sister and walked over to her favorite spot in the room to sleep, her gourd broke down into a pile of sand and she plopped down on it, back first. Within seconds, the Kazekage was asleep, and a bewildered Temari called out to her sister.
"Gaara, what if they don't accept this?"
The Kazekage's eyes fluttered open in mild annoyance. "Tell them not to bother me unless they need something killed... Or if something important is on fire." She flicked her wrist at her sister and some sand gathered beneath her feet. Temari was floated out the door, looking rather exasperated. Once again, Gaara fell into a dreamless sleep.
'I wonder how Naruto's doing.'
"I'm sending you two to Sunagakure."
Sasuke and Kabuto stared blankly at Orochimaru, questions bouncing through their thoughts. Kabuto was the first to voice his concerns, "Will we be able to move openly or not? I have a feeling that they'll be a bit more weary of our ninja following the Chuunin Exams."
"I'd prefer you stay undetected. I have a platoon of agents imbedded there, and from what they've gathered, Akatsuki will be making a move soon. They've spotted Zetsu on the outskirts of the desert a handful of times, you two should be enough to turn them back should they make a move on the Shukaku."
After replying, Orochimaru looked up from his work and paused. Adjusting his white and purple kage garb, he spun his chair and looked out the window at the city below. Otogakure was a sprawling, well-lit location, especially since it was located in a cavern deep in sound counry's mountains. They only got natural lighting through a huge grated sky-light, so Orochimaru's office was illuminated via fluorescent lighting.
Sasuke cocked his head to the side and scratched the back of his neck. "Wouldn't this be more effective as a joint operation with Sunagakure?"
Orochimaru's back was to them while he shook his head, staring down at his village, they could hear the excitement in his voice. "I'd like you to bring me the body of either Deidara or Sasori." He smirked and licked his lips. "I'd like to see just what they've done to themselves, that, and the Edo Tensei needs some new… inspiration. Kukukukuku… belay that, bring me both of them if you can manage it."
Kabuto bowed and left so that he could prepare a bag. "Hai! Orochimaru-sama!"
Sasuke remained however, and flicked some lint off his shoulder as he stood expectantly; right on cue Orochimaru gave his apprentice some incentive.
"Oh that's right, Sasuke, if you bring me one or both of their bodies, I'll allow you to sign the Snake Contract."
Sasuke nodded in agreement and silently left the room, he followed Kabuto to the living quarters within the Otokage's Tower, and they began gathering supplies.
"Sasuke-san, I have good news."
"Yeah?"
"Orochimaru-sama has heeded the soldiers' complaints and requisitioned some flavored food pills for our consumption."
Sasuke perked up slightly at that bit of information. "What's so difficult about actual food? … Whatever, what flavors did he give us?"
After opening the boxes, Kabuto's smile unceremoniously shattered into a look of raw, unadulterated, disappointment.
"… Rice flavor."
"Fuck."
(AN: Yup, I'm making Otogakure an actual ninja village, I never understood why it wasn't one to begin with. I got all excited to see it, and then it turned out to be a series of labs and hideouts… lame.)
Naruto grunted while he miserably tried to eat his ramen, his palms were still raw, raw enough to bleed through the bandages somewhat. Teuchi stared at him, miserably fumbling with his chopsticks.
"Hey Naruto? You sure you're okay?"
Naruto smiled, but winced when the sticks rubbed against a tender spot. "I'm fine Ojisan. I just got some new tattoos on my hands, that's all!"
Teuchi scratched his head. "Why would ya do that?"
Naruto puffed his chest out and beamed. "It's for a jutsu I'm working on!"
Teuchi began to de-feather a chicken while he pried further. "What kind of jutsu?"
"Oh, just the Hiraishin, with a personal spin on it."
"… That rings a bell… The Yondaime had a technique called the Hiraishin didn't he?"
Naruto nodded. "It's a teleportation technique, the fastest one around too!"
Teuchi grinned. "That's great Naruto! I'd like to see it in action one day… You sure you don't want a fork for that?"
Naruto gave Teuchi an intrigued look. "What's a… fork?"
Teuchi paused, and then shrugged. "Not sure how to explain it, they use them in Tetsu No Kuni for their tougher cuisine, and they don't require as much coordination as chopsticks. Should be less painful for you to use."
Teuchi handed Naruto the strange metal utensil and the jinchuuriki stared at it with extreme curiosity. "Weird, but I can see how it'd be easier to eat noodles with the teeth on this thing." Naruto stuck the fork in his ramen and twisted the noodles into a ball and stuffed them in his mouth. "Wow, I can eat ramen even faster with this 'fork' thing!"
"Glad you like it, that bowl's on the house. I gotta go put out an ad for some kitchen assistants, so I'll see you later."
Just as Teuchi went into the back of the stand, Ino poked her head through the curtain and gave Naruto a pleading look.
"Hey, Naruto?"
Naruto mumbled an answer, but it was unintelligible, mainly because his mouth full of noodles
"Mhmmm?"
"I wanna apologize for attacking you last night."
Naruto swallowed his noodles and smiled. "It's fine, Hanabi-chan just has a little crush on me, that's all. She'll grow out of it!"
Ino looked off to the side and smirked, muttering a soft "Sure. Of course she will."
Naruto cocked his head to the side. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing important."
Ino sat on the stool closest to Naruto and took his hands, worriedly staring at them, she questioned him. "Did you go all Rock Lee on a training log or something? You should be more careful with your hands."
Ino's hands glowed green, and Naruto could feel the throbbing pain subside. "You're a medic-nin too?"
Ino shook her head. "Nah, I just know basic stuff. I'm all about Taijutsu and Ninjutsu now… What did you do to your hands exactly?"
Naruto unwrapped the bloody and inky bandages, showing Ino what he'd been up to for the past few hours. A seal of some sort had been etched into his palm, and there were a series of small kanji running from the seal to the tips of his fingers.
"What's this for?"
Naruto silently put the bowl of ramen in his left hand, there was a flash of orange light, and the bowl had instantly moved to his right hand. Naruto grinned, "I learned my Dad's signature technique, Hiraishin."
Ino's eyes widened, she'd almost forgotten about the time she'd visited Naruto and learned the truth of his lineage. She began to feel sorry for him, having been kept in the dark and so alone for such a long time.
"Hey, there's something I've been meaning to tell you, Naruto-kun."
"What is it?"
"When Kakashi brought you back from that mission where Sasuke was 'kidnapped' by Orochimaru… I visited you in the hospital."
"Oh I never knew… Thanks Ino-chan."
"That's not all, I couldn't imagine Sasuke being kidnapped at the time, so I took a peek at your short term memory while you were sleeping. I saw everything, what you went through to save someone who didn't want to be saved. I know he tried to kill you, Naruto, I know how you really feel about all of this… It just tears me up inside to see you put on that fake smile for Sakura."
"Aw Ino! I'm fine! Don't worr-"
Naruto could see Ino tearing up a little.
"I know a fake smile when I see one Naruto, you can't fool me, especially not now. I've been keeping an eye on you since the chuunin exams, when you beat Neji, you proved that there was more to you than everyone else thought… You've always said that you wanted to be Hokage, and up until then, I didn't think you were cut out for it. Nobody will think any less of you if you give up on this whole Sasuke mess, you've gotta respect yourself more than this, right? You're the son of the 4th Hokage."
Naruto squeezed Ino's hands back as he stared at the wooden floor. "I understand your concern, but I made the promise of a lifetime to Sakura. A man's only as good as his word, but more importantly, I want Sakura to smile like she used to when Sasuke was around, she's just not the same anymore, that's why I have to do this. So what, it sucks, but to see her smile like she used to… I'd do anything."
"You must really love her, don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess I d-"
Naruto was cut off when he looked up, tears were streaming down Ino's face, even though she was smiling.
Ino sniffled. "I… I'd kill for someone to love me like that. It's not fair! Why her Naruto? I actually care about your wellbeing! What if you get yourself killed over something like this?!"
Naruto, taken aback by Ino's sincerity pulled her in, to the point at which their foreheads were touching. Turquoise eyes met royal blue ones, and for a moment, time stood still. Ino's whimpering faded as she hung onto his every word.
Naruto kissed Ino on the forehead and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Will you wait for me, Ino-chan?"
Even more tears welled up in Ino's eyes as she wrapped Naruto up in a bear hug. This time, they were tears of joy, as Naruto had told her, in so many words, just what she needed to hear. "No. –sniff-… I'm gonna chase you down and make you mine, Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled at her. "I'm lookin' forward to it, Ino-chan."
- 18
- 19
- 20
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The Orange Flash: Lost Chapters