Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

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
- 20
- 21
- 22
Our hero fidgeted slightly in the silent street and shuffled closer to Hinata. The girls Naruto had walked over with, had slouched in defeat the minute the stunning Hinata had bounced over to him.
The Hyuuga heiress had recently become the talk of the village upon Hiashi's retraction of his previous statements concerning who would succeed him. It was originally Hanabi who would take the seat, but following Hinata's jump in maturity and decisiveness, the choice had once again become obvious.
Speak of the devil, Hanabi, who watched from her barrel could care less about taking the position of clan head; the only thing on her mind was a blonde ninja. Plan after plan, hypothetical after hypothetical, Hanabi's mind was racing as she watched from her hiding spot. This had a small chance to go ugly; but there was little chance of that happening. Just in case, Hanabi readied herself to interfere if necessary.
Naruto frantically tried to come up with a way to direct attention away from himself and his date, but apparently he didn't need to. Hinata, who either hadn't noticed the wandering eyes, or just didn't give a damn, had taken Naruto's hand. She had much smaller hands than he did, something Naruto noticed when he looked down. They were dainty and soft, two traits uncommon to the hands of a ninja.
Hinata, slightly pink in the face, urged him to come with her.
"Naruto-kun, let's go." The slight upturn of her lips put him at ease so he followed.
'Well, if it doesn't matter to her… Whatever, I've got Neji and Hanabi running interference for me.'
Naruto took a breath and discarded his worries for the evening. With a grin and an affirmative reply, the head-turning couple started down the street. Behind them, a barrel with two skinny legs sticking out of the bottom scuttled across the rooftops, scanning for any potential party crashers. With none in sight, Hanabi hopped out of her barrel and watched Naruto and Hinata from above. They'd stopped at one of the stands to play a game.
Naruto tried flipping a ring neatly onto a neck in the sea of bottles in front of him. This would be an impossible task, seeing as anything involving finesse was something Naruto was never quite adept at. Naruto's eye twitched as his ring bounced off of yet another bottle top.
"Ano, Naruto-kun? Perhaps you could let me try?"
Naruto hung his head and handed his ring to Hinata, she tossed it… and it too bounced away. Naruto became confused when this happened, because the plastic ring seemed to stick for a second and then flew out.
"Hmmm." Naruto grabbed his chin, appearing deep in thought. In reality, it was his special way of asking for mental assistance.
The lounging fox groaned and flicked the bars of his cage. 'What, is that my cue or something?'
'Yeah! What's up with this game?'
The fox mocked Naruto, referring to his earlier instructions.'Oh? If my memory serves correctly, you only wanted my input as it pertained to combat.'
'I'll be honest; I'm not to keen on… social stuff. You can at least warn me if I'm getting screwed right?'
'As you wish, kit.'
'What's goin' on here?'
'For starters, how do you think these establishments keep you ninja from taking home all the prizes every year huh? The bottlenecks are playing a trick on your eyes, they're closer together than they look. It's actually physically impossible to win this game without blatantly cheating, or being extremely lucky... I don't even know why you came over here in the first place.'
'How can you tell? This isn't genjutsu or anything.'
'No, it's better. Old-fashioned optical illusion, the first jinchuuriki you vermin sealed me into knew the one who created this game. I had nothing better to do at the time, so I took notes... Now get out, I'm trying to sleep.'
'What about my social problems?'
'You're on your own for the night, just don't get anyone pregnant and I'll help you with damage control tomorrow morning.'
Naruto was booted back into reality, he was about to pull Hinata away from the stand, but a flash of purple caught his eye. Naruto squinted and focused his vision so that he could see between the gaps in the wooden backboard of the stand.
Naruto's heart literally punched the inside of his chest when he saw the purple kimono's flowing platinum blonde hair in the gaps of the stand. Naruto appeared to be perfectly fine, but inwardly, his mind was racing.
'ABORT! ABORT! We gotta go!'
'What a coincidence... Well, I'm turning in for the night.' Naruto suddenly felt emptiness in his skull, as if the fox's heavy breathing had disappeared from his minds' eye.
Hinata looked at Naruto when he didn't answer her, to anyone else, he appeared fine. His gentle smile masked an internal hurricane, something Hinata was quite adept at sensing.
"Naruto-kun? Something is bothering you."
Naruto was snapped out of his frantically planning stupor. "Huh? No I'm fine!" Naruto was thrown off by the fact that she hadn't asked a question, it was more like a statement, she could tell something was wrong.
Naruto pulled her close and whispered in her ear, Hinata turned pink at his sudden action and listened closely to her crush.
"Hinata-chan, I think I just saw Ino. We need to get out of here before she sees me and does something... clever."
Hinata's eyes widened and a look somewhere between fury and determination snapped over her normally blushing visage. She roughly snatched Naruto's hand and jumped over the nearest building, pulling him with her. As they were passing over the roof, Hinata passed Hanabi and nodded to her. Hanabi took this as her cue, she immediately went the opposite direction, toward Ino.
Hanabi whistled and used henge, her ninja gear became a black and silver kimono, Neji appeared next to her in his standard ninja clothes. They hopped from their spot on the roof and intentionally walked out in front of Ino. Ino perked up and hooked her fingers with Hanabi's as the young girl passed.
"Hey there Hanabi-chan!" She slipped a lollipop into Hanabi's fingers and exchanged greetings with Neji.
Ino bent down so that she was face to face with Hanabi, a bright smile was stretched across her face.
"You wouldn't happen to have seen Naruto-kun, would you?"
A devious upturn of the lips slithered across Hanabi's face, even though it was a tiny smirk, Ino slowly recoiled in suspicion, as any facial expression from Hanabi besides a neutral one was a warning of treachery.
"What is the location of Uzumaki-san worth to you?"
Ino looked to Neji in protest; he was obviously pretending to admire the paper lanterns, as if he weren't part of the conversation.
Ino scowled down at the preteen. "Whaddaya want?"
Hanabi placed her hands behind her back and innocently swayed back and forth on her toes.
"Take this earpiece and follow my instructions for the rest of the night. If you do, I'll engineer a situation in which you will cross paths with Uzumaki-san." When Hanabi brought her hands back around, she was holding an earpiece and a receiver collar.
Ino reluctantly took the earpiece and the collar and put them on. Hanabi stared blankly and Neji bowed to Ino, they promptly disappeared in a blur and a gust of wind.
Ino slapped her forehead. "Why did I just do that?"
Sakura had also decided to try her luck finding some level of entertainment at the festival for the night. She'd at first arrived with the Konoha 11, minus Naruto, Hinata, Ino, and Neji, but eventually, she'd slipped away when Lee had accidentally gotten a hold of some sake and started trashing the restaurant they were in. Her thoughts concerning Sasuke and Naruto were at first, clear-cut, her resolve had been tempered… at least until now.
The more she thought about it, the less it made sense, her desire to hunt Sasuke down and bring him back had only intensified over the years, but ever since Naruto had returned, only then did she have doubts about how it would all play out. She got the feeling that Sasuke will have moved on from them all by now, but her thoughts were cut short when she heard a familiar voice.
"Ne, Sakura-chan, you should watch where you're going in a crowded place like this."
Sakura's head snapped up and she saw Kakashi getting up from the dusty road, a woman with long purple hair smirked as she helped him up, Yugao something-or-other.
Sakura bowed and apologized. "Sorry Kakashi-sensei, I was lost in my own thoughts."
Kakashi patted the dust off his navy kimono and shook his head. "No kidding, that felt like walking into a steel door. If you were taller, you'd have broken my nose."
Sakura, emotionally confused at the moment, sighed and fired back. "Ah rub some dirt in it."
Kakashi scratched his head and raised his eyebrow. "Right… Aren't you supposed to be a medic? That's not very professional of you."
Yugao fished an errant pebble out of Kakashi's hair. "Don't push her Kashi-chan, she's love-sick." Yugao's eyes swiveled to Sakura, there was a playful light in them. "Naruto's got you all twisted in a knot, doesn't he?"
Sakura spoke freely. "Ugh, I wish it were that simple." Her eyes widened and she suddenly slapped her hands over her mouth, cursing her outburst. Kakashi, despite his mask, was obviously smirking, he found Naruto's situation rather entertaining. This was primarily due to the fact that Jiraiya would likely be writing a novel detailing these events sometime in the future, one he would take special interest in.
Kakashi put his arm around Yugao, who also had an amused smirk on her face. "So, are you looking for Naruto?"
Sakura pouted. "No! … Yes." She hung her head in defeat, seeing as she was speaking to someone who could easily find Naruto for her.
Yugao piped in. "We saw him with Hinata Hyuga a few minutes ago, so he's at this festival somewhere… Kashi-chan can help you find him if you give us good show."
Sakura shifted nervously when she heard Hinata's name. "H-hinata? … What's she doing here with him?"
Kakashi decided to press a few of Sakura's buttons for shits and giggles. "They're on a date. What, didn't he tell you?"
Sakura's emotional stability was already off-kilter, but now, she'd completely boiled over in anger, confusion, jealousy, and fear. She kept a straight face, but the bulging vein on her forehead said it all.
Sakura slid over to her teacher and for once, gave him an order. "Kakashi-sensei, get your dogs and find Naruto for me. Now."
Kakashi smirked. "Thought you'd never ask, I guess we are getting a show tonight Yugao-chan." He made a single hand sign and from that point on, this night would be one to remember.
On a distant rooftop, Jiraiya and Tsunade watched, their eyes still and focused in anticipation… Well, one of them was focused on the exchange between Kakashi, Yugao, and Sakura, the other… on a note pad.
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Jiraiya, shouldn't you be focused on the situation as it unfolds, you know, like a normal person?"
Jiraiya held his finger up to shush Tsunade, much to her annoyance. "Hold on, let me finish this note… Now whadja say?"
"Isn't your only pupil's safety more important than your perverted books?" Tsunade poked him in the temple, really hard.
Jiraiya grunted in pain and glowered at Tsunade, he chirped back. "The ones that you seem to enjoy reading? … If you're bored, I can give you a free mammogram. You are around that age you know."
Tsunade glared at Jiraya and paused, he was busy ignoring her though, leering through his binoculars and taking notes. Tsunade took the opportunity to twist Jiraiya's ear, she whispered.
"Jiraiya, do you know how easy it is to rip the human ear from the skull?"
Jiraiya swallowed to bite back some of the pain, he was scared, but deep down, he knew she wouldn't do anything to him that she couldn't stitch back together. In light of that, he decided to push an entirely different button on Tsunade's emotional circuit board.
Jiraiya gave a lecherous chuckle and delivered his one two punch. "You can have my ear if you want, but in return, I want you to start using the handcuffs on me again. I kinda miss'em… don't you?"
Tsunade sputtered in surprise mixed with annoyance, she immediately let go of his ear and went to the opposite end of the roof, choosing to face away from him as she sat on the edge.
Jiraiya chuckled as he scribbled down a few more notes. 'Every time.'
Just then, an ANBU agent appeared behind Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, I've located Naruto Uzumaki. He's on a date with Hinata Hyuga at the Black Lotus Restaurant. Shall I give you directions?"
Tsunade shook her head and dismissed the agent. "No, that's all… Black Lotus is it? Jiraiya, when was the last time our reservations actually came through at that place?"
Jiraiya, still concentrated on his notepad, answered Tsunade without thinking. "It has been a while, pre-menopause at least."
Jiraiya promptly caught a foot to the back of his head, sending him flying from the roof.
A yelp of pain, followed by a dazed call to the Hokage made her smile in a somewhat sadistic manner.
"Love you too, Tsunade-hime."
The Hokage rolled her eyes and started to laugh a bit, thinking back to the days when everything made sense for her. For the 5th Hokage, the only real constant left in her life was Jiraiya, everyone else was either dead, or Orochimaru. Tsunade looked over the edge and called down to her Ex-Boyfriend/Not Really Ex-Boyfriend/Almost Husband But Not Quite/Former Teammate/Emotional Crutch.
"Get up here, you old fool, we're going to the Black Lotus. I have a betting pool to win."
Jiraiya appeared on the roof in a blur, looking dejected. "You can't go yourself?"
"Remember our anniversary? You still owe me dinner."
Jiraiya hunched slightly and smiled nervously, his failure to show up on time to his own anniversary was still fresh in his mind. "Oh. Right… How are we getting in exactly?"
Tsunade walked to another edge of the roof, her back was to him. "I'm the Hokage Jiraiya, I'll make something happen... Just show up on time. I swear, if you're late again-…"
Meanwhile, at said restaurant, Naruto and Hinata were busy trying to break the awkward silence in a non-awkward way. The Black Lotus was easily the most exclusive restaurant in the entire village, so it was rather quiet. There were only about five or six other couples there for the night, so the task of breaking this silence was entirely on Naruto and Hinata. Doing so without seeming crude is generally dubious, but that didn't stop Naruto from trying.
He took a deep breath and addressed Hinata, who was nervously looking at everything in the room but him. "I don't wanna to sit here in silence all night, sooo… What've you been doing since you returned?"
Hinata smiled a bit and paused; she looked Naruto in the eye and spoke, but what he heard had nothing to do with his question.
"I love you, Naruto-kun."
"Um… thanks! Heheheh!"
Naruto flushed slightly and grinned, rubbing the back of his head. Hinata continued to speak, but not before she took his hand from across the table.
Hinata started to become dejected as she continued her sentence. "Naruto-kun, I just want to make my intentions clear to you… Everyone else has their own reasons for pursuing you now… I'm afraid of getting drowned out."
Naruto stared at Hinata's dainty hands. "So, what are your reasons?"
Hinata unconsciously squeezed, her soft voice forced Naruto to listen closely, what he heard made him feel a lump in his throat.
"I admired you, your determination, your ability to love unconditionally. The things I strived to be at the time came so naturally to you, and I found that amazing... That was nearly ten years ago, over time, my admiration for you had evolved, I didn't want to be like you anymore, I wanted to be with you. It's like… you complete me."
Naruto stared directly into Hinata's eyes, his face displaying an expression somewhere between flattered and proud.
"Ano… Naruto-kun? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Hinata turned a shade of pink Naruto had never seen before.
Naruto did his fox grin and and gestured for her to continue. "Ah, it's nothing. Keep on talking."
She fidgeted and looked down for a few seconds, Naruto stared in anticipation. When her head came back up, she had some sort of look on her face, Naruto couldn't quite find the word for it, but it was akin to the sensation of waking up from an incredible dream.
"I can honestly say, with all my heart, that these past two years have been the emptiest of my life without you… Naruto-kun, you're my hero, and I want..."
She trailed off, primarily because she realized how long she'd been staring into Naruto's eyes, she felt like she was being sucked into them.
Naruto's mind was racing, and with no input from the Kyuubi for the night, his thoughts were left un-interrupted. Hinata's love for him was hands down the purest of the any of the girls, something he found endearing. Ino's love for him was intensified by envy, she meant well, but in the end, her love is based on a negative emotion. Anko was… ambiguous at best, likely spurned on by lust. Mitsuki's desires and intentions were clouded by pride, she was moving out of that, but the question remained, whether or not she could see beyond her duty and look at the bigger picture. As for Gaara, she'd chosen this, but her hand had been forced by the greed of others. Sakura on the other hand… well... she hasn't been making much sense since he got back.
Naruto snaped back to reality, surprised at his ability to stop and analyze the intentions of those around him. With his newfound deductions in mind, he grinned at Hinata once more and followed up on her confession.
"So I'm your hero… It's nice to know I've been doing something right. All I wanted was to find someone who would acknowledge me, turns out, my biggest fan had been right behind me the whole time."
Naruto sighed and looked slightly remorseful. "I wish I wasn't so dense back then, I mean, I'm no social butterfly, but I can at least comprehend what I mean to other people now. I makes me feel... wonderful, knowing that I mean so much to you."
"Hinata-chan, If someone here deserves my attention the most, it's you. Even before all… this stuff happened to my body, you've…"
Hinata was practically lying on the table, trying to close the distance so she could hear him.
Naruto, thrown off by her strange posture invited her to make the moment less awkward. "Uh… do ya wanna sit next to me?"
Hinata, still holding Naruto's hands, turned beet red. Adorning an anxious yet picturesque smile, she gave a childish nod and strolled around the table. She sat on the edge of the booth, almost a foot away from Naruto. She started pressing her fingers together, afraid to move closer. Naruto, growing impatient, swiftly grabbed her by the hips and slid her next to him.
Naruto chuckled. "You've gotta sit right next to me if you're gonna be on this side of the booth."
Hinata tensed at Naruto's sudden action, but didn't resist or protest in any way, after her flightiness subsided, she slowly, but surely began to rest her head on Naruto's shoulder.
Her voice was soft and airy. "I'm sorry for being so nervous around you. I'm… still reeling from the thought of us being together like this; only in my dreams did moments such as these happen. Now, I'm actually here…"
Naruto twitched slightly, something Hinata caught on to, but she had no idea why he would move in such a way. From Naruto's perspective however, it was for rather obvious reasons.
He'd only just now realized how well endowed Hinata was, primarily because she was pressing her chest into his arm. Along with that, her act of leaning on the table had forced her kimono to loosen at the neck, revealing a noteworthy amount of cleavage.
Hinata could tell Naruto was on edge again, so she flipped her Byakugan on. Nothing noteworthy. She leaned in and put her other hand on his shoulder. Looking up at him, she inquired.
"Is there something wrong Naruto-kun?"
Naruto shook his head. "Nah, it's fine."
There was a draft from an open window and the sudden chill made Hinata realize that her kimono was starting to open, well, that and she'd failed to realize up until just then that she'd been pressing her chest all over him.
Hinata became tomato red at her realization and covered her face, her voice was completely muffled, but Naruto caught the gyst of what she was saying to him.
Naruto chuckled a bit, and jokingly retorted. "Nah, it's fine, really."
Hinata tightened her obi and looked the other way, hiding a bashful smile. "Ano, Naruto-kun?"
"What is it Hinata-chan?"
She fidgeted and started twiddling her thumbs, slowly. "So I… I've told you how I feel, but I'd like to know what you think of me."
Naruto looked out the window and allowed his thoughts to run free, saying whatever came to his mind.
"I don't know what to think at anything this point, I'm just taking it all day by day... So many people want to have everything to do with me all of a sudden, but you… you've been there from the start, even if I didn't know at the time. Just like Kakashi-sensei, just like Iruka, just like the 3rd Hokage, and even Ero-Sannin. All I know for certain, is that I feel a connection with you that I don't have with anyone else… and it makes me feel-"
Naruto peeled Hinata off of him and took a good long look at her.
"close to you."
Naruto started to lean toward Hinata, and she toward him. Their lips nearly met when they both felt chills run up their spines. They simultaneously snapped backward and halfheartedly looked around the restaurant. The other couples were paying them no mind, but there was a bit of a commotion at the door.
Naruto's heart sunk when he heard a nervous 'Hokage-sama?' and hushed voices in conversation.
Naruto slid Hinata out of the booth and placed her on her feet, standing up right behind her. "Hinata-chan? I think we should leave, Obaa-chan's here."
"Who exactly is 'Obaa-chan' Naruto-kun?"
"Oh, right… that's what I call the Hokage. I can tell ya for sure that she'll mess up our night if she sees us."
Hinata looked at the bill and left the correct amount on the table, this amount happened to be a fat stack of cash, so Naruto took a look at the bill. He'd eaten the equivalent of a B-rank mission's paycheck. Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head, as he'd failed to realize how expensive everything at the restaurant was, not to mention the absurdly small portions they dolled out.
Naruto slid over to Hinata to apologize. "Sorry about the bill Hinata-chan. I didn't mean to eat away that much cash."
Hinata became confused. "What? Oh no, it's fine, my father gave me some money for the night."
Naruto continued counting the zeroes on the bill and muttered to himself. "Some?"
Their waiter for the evening interrupted Naruto's train of thought.
He was an older man with a bushy mustache and a serious look in his eye. "Hinata-sama, do you require anything else?"
Hinata paused a moment, since only one person addressed her as such. She turned beet red. "Neji-san?! You were the waiter this whole time?!"
The man nodded in affirmation. "Yes, it is I. I'm sorry for spying on you, but Hanabi asked me to help her ensure the smoothness of your date… You said that you needed a way out, correct?"
Hinata was busy dealing with the thought of Neji seeing her previous exchange with Naruto, so her date made the decision on her behalf.
"We gotta get outta here Neji."
The man looked around the restaurant and gestured for the two ninja to follow him.
"Alright, follow me then."
Neji took them through the kitchen just as Tsunade and Jiraiya walked into the restaurant, dressed in their finest clothing. Their heads swiveled around as their waitress took them to their table. It was only after they sat down that they recognized Naruto and Hinata's absence from he restaurant.
Jiraiya started to grin. "They're not here anymore… you know what that means." He whipped out his note pad and got up from the table… or at least attempted to get up from the table. Tsunade had grabbed a fistful of his ponytail and yanked him back into his seat.
Tsunade slid a menu across the table. "We'll find them later, you still owe me dinner and a satisfying anniversary."
Jiraya pouted, but didn't complain. Unbeknownst to Tsunade, her favorite plunging dress was Jiraiya's favorite plunging dress as well.
"Jiraiya, what're you staring at?"
Jiraiya took his eyes off Tsunade and flipped open the menu, eying the appetizers. "... The reasons my standards are so screwed up."
Tsunade paused and poured herself some sake. "You've never been to good at giving complements, you know that?"
-bzzt- "I want you to purchase them for me." The radio chatter was full of static, but Ino still understood Hanabi's orders.
The blonde looked at the items quizzically. By themselves, they were relatively innocuous, but there was no telling what Hanabi's devious little mind had concocted. She'd asked Ino to buy her a spool of ninja-wire, some epoxy adhesive, a broom handle, some metal rings, and lastly, some bricks, of which she was extremely specific concerning their color and size.
Ino was in the back of a hardware store… in a kimono… during Konoha's annual Summer Festival. The scene in general was rather outlandish, but nobody was in the store but her, so it didn't really matter. Ino had the items laid down in front of her, organized in order of weirdness. She stared down at the items in bewilderment, she could think of several uses for these items, most of them benign. However, Hanabi was the one who wanted them, so there was no telling what she planned to use the odds and ends for.
Ino whispered into her earpiece. "Hanabi, what exactly are you planning to do with these items?"
"It's of little concern to you. It's for a project I'm working on… Now, there is one more task I need you to complete, then I can take you to see Naruto."
Ino growled a bit. "How do I even know you're going to follow through on this?"
Some static followed by a bout of sincerity put Ino at ease. "Hyuga always keep their promises, that's what my father told me, I assure you I will uphold my end of the bargain… I've observed that Sakura is using a ninja dog to track down Naruto. You must either side track her, or put the dog out of commission. If you succeed, I'll allow you to cross paths with Naruto."
Ino narrowed her eyes. "There's still something you're not telling me… what's the catch?"
"Of course there are some conditions to your meeting with him. We'll discuss the specifics of said conditions should you manage to succeed in your task. Bring me the items you purchased, and then go to Sakura, she's currently in the plaza."
"Alright Hanabi, I'm gonna trust you… for now at least."
Sakura was walking down the street, holding a hilariously indifferent Pakkun in her arms. There was almost steam coming off her ample forhead, between Pakkun's smartass remarks, and his inability to get a bead on Naruto's scent, it seemed like she was shit out of luck.
"Ne, Sakura-chan? Why're ya lookin' for Naruto anyway? You never told me your reasons. You're not mad at him are you?"
Inwardly, Sakura wondered why Kakashi-sensei gave her Pakkun specifically. He had like… seven other dogs, all of them significantly less talkative.
In reality, Kakashi chose Pakkun because it would be funny to watch Sakura fumble around for a while, he and Yugao wanted a show after all. They hung back about four feet, just in case Sakura decided to start causing collateral damage out of sheer frustration.
Pakkun turned his head as far back as he could and prodded once more. "You still didn't answer my question."
Sakura's eye twitched. "Why's it matter Pakkun?"
"Meh, I just wanna know why you're dragging me around the town. It's way past my bed time and it seems like ya got me out here for no reason at all. I might just go to sleep on ya if I don't know why I'm here."
Sakura tried to brush the pug off. "Just find him for me!"
The little dog snorted. "Why? What're you gonna give me in return huh?"
"I don't know! Doesn't Kakashi-sensei have treats for you or something?"
The dog narrowed his eyes and looked in Kakashi's direction. "No. Now tell me why we're looking for Naruto or I'll bite you."
Sakura sighed and her walking pace slowed a bit. "I just… wanna talk to him, our last conversation didn't end on a high note so our relationship is a bit strained at the moment."
Pakkun nodded. "Ah, lookin' to have a litter of your own are ya?"
Sakura sighed in exasperation, choosing to ignore his question.
Pakkun smirked and pointed one of his paws off to the left. "Alright, Naruto is… in that general direction. I'll give ya more as we get closer."
Those who were searching for Naruto were having a reasonably smooth time of the night… Of course, this is relatively speaking. As mentioned before, Sakura didn't originally come to the festival on her own, she came with Tenten, Lee, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji. Sakura was lucky she left when she did, because the group's night was rapidly taking a turn for the worse.
Kiba was the first to awaken, his head felt like it was splitting open… probably because the drunken Lee hit him over the head with a table.
Kiba, crass as ever, and now even more so with his splitting headache, decided to wake up the cause of their current situation. "Oi! Lee! Wake up you tard!"
Lee, who was lying exactly in the center of the completely trashed bar, sat up, like a vampire rising from the coffin.
Lee clutched his throbbing skull and looked around the room, visibly dazed. A wave of regret and abject horror washed over the very core of Lee's being. "Someone gave me sake, didn't they? ... I feel as if I have been head-butting a tree all day!"
Chouji struggled to stand up and shook his head; he then realized that a trickle of blood was running down the side of it."Well I feel like I head-butted the bottom of your foot with my forehead!"
Kiba stumbled around, visibly annoyed with his dizziness. "Lee, how'd you get sake?"
Chouji leaned back and cracked his spine. "Yeah, that was me… sorry. I didn't know you were that bad at holding your liquor. I mean, you only had one shot of the stuff!"
Kiba, still holding his aching head rushed over to Chouji and growled. "So this is your fault! Everybody knows not ta give Lee anything with alcohol in it dumbass!"
Chouji cracked his neck. "How was I supposed to know ONE SHOT could make him blackout drunk?!"
Kiba shoved Chouji a bit. "HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT?!"
Just then, they heard the sound of a door opening in the back of the room. It was a tiny broom closet. Shikamaru was the one who stepped out, he took a disinterested look around the room sighed.
Shikamaru stared down at Lee as he walked over to the group. "So I take Lee's done trashing the place?"
Lee pouted. "I'm sorry! Chouji told me it was soda!"
The Nara heir groaned. "Chouji, really? What good could have come of that- … where're Tenten and Sakura?"
Kiba's eyes darted around the room. "Ah shit… well, Sakura left to find Naruto before we came in here, but Tenten? ... I know she was with us when everything went to hell."
The boys scoured the trashed bar, checking beneath knocked out patrons and flipped over tables. Failing to find her on the floor anywhere, they started to search the holes in the walls and the floorboards. It wasn't until they got to the last hole that they realized the gravity of their predicament.
This specific hole was behind the bar and on the floor. It was pitch black, which meant it was at least fifteen feet deep. Shikamaru frowned and cupped his ear with his hand; he could hear wind rushing through it.
Shikamaru spoke first. "Tunnels."
At that moment, Lee found one of Tenten's hair bands hanging from the destroyed ladder.
"Oh no! I must have knocked her down this hole!" Lee jumped in, about four seconds passed before the boys heard a loud thumping noise.
Chouji frowned. "That's loooong drop."
Shikamaru stood up and climbed over the bar.
Kiba poked his head over the bar. "Hey Shikamaru, where're you goin'?"
"Home." He started for the door, but through the damaged glass, he saw a squad of ANBU land outside, likely to book everybody in the bar for questioning. Shikamaru cut and ran back to the bar and jumped over it, flying through the hole in the floor.
Chouji stuck his head in the hole. "What made you change so quickly?"
A voice came from the darkness. "There's ANBU outside."
Kiba didn't even say a word, he snatched Chouji's wrist and jumped through the hole in the floor, dragging the Akimichi heir into the dark abyss with him.
Chouji wasn't one for heavy profanity, but this was a special occasion. "FUCKING BALLS! LET GO OF ME KIBA!"
A few minutes later, Shino Aburame awoke from his minor concussion. "What?" He looked around the room and picked up his shades, which were completely destroyed. He tossed them in the garbage and scoured the bar for his compatriots. He failed to find them amidst the injured patrons after scanning the room, and silently fumed.
"They forgot me again."
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The Orange Flash: Lost Chapters