Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Reading Totems	By : GrizzlyTeddyBear Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1242 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Author�s Note:� See
below fic for responses to reviews. �
Shino entrance countdown:�
Shino will appear in 2 more chapters!� But he�s actually mentioned in this one!

Title:� Reading
Totems
By:�
GrizzlyTeddyBear
Disclaimer:� I
don�t own Naruto, and this makes me sad.�
I do own Paige Stone, my OC!� All
information regarding totems was taken from Dancing
the Wheel by Sun Bear and Animal
Speak by Ted Andrews
Main Pairings:�
Eventual ShinoxOC, NaruxHina,
SasuxSaku
Rating:� M for
mentioned adult themes
Warning:� AU,
Post-series start time.� Rookie 9 is 23-24
years old.� Fic
mentions pagan religions, if you can�t handle it, don�t read! Also is
OC-centric.� Hold your pants, all will be
revealed as the story progresses.�

Chapter Summary:�
Sakura discovers Paige�s medical secret.�
Paige discovers she has friends willing to help� and understand her.

***Chapter 6***

She tried to take a deep and calming breath when they
reached the streets of Konoha once more.�
It didn�t work too well.� Paige
noticed her hands were still shaking.�
She was more than a little rattled after the meeting.� She was beginning to dread the council
meeting already!

A hand landed on her left shoulder.� �Ba-chan likes
you!� Otherwise she wouldn�t have
assigned one of us to keep an eye on you,� Naruto declared with utter
certainty.

�How do you know that?�

�She knows she can trust us,� Naruto replied.

�It�s more than that,� interrupted Kakashi.� �She can trust us to keep an eye on you, but
she can also trust us to �lose� you if you need to be alone.�

�Huh?�� Paige was a
little �lost� already, and everyone was still standing next to her!

Sakura tried to explain it a little better, �She realizes
meditation isn�t always a group activity, but she needs to know you�re not a
threat.� So she assigns people who
already know more about you than she does, who she trusts the judgment of.� And well, if we happen to look the other way
while you go to meditate��

�Plausible deniability.�
She can plead ignorance to the council, but still trust that you didn�t
do any harm since we were the ones who let you go,� Sasuke finished.

Naruto�s hand squeezed her shoulder slightly before letting
go, �You�ll be fine Paige.� But I need to
get home to Hinata, or maybe some ramen with Iruka-sensei.�

�Naruto, you better go see to your wife first.� Then you can take her out to ramen too, and
you�ll have everything you ever wanted,� Sakura advised.

Paige smiled at the interaction, glad for the break in the
tension.

�You�re right!� Bye
Paige!�� And with that, he was an orange
blur on a mission.

�Wife?� she questioned to anyone willing to answer.

�Yup, he didn�t want to reveal too much about her before he
knew he could trust you,� Sakura explained.�

Paige thought Hinata was only his
girlfriend!

�Well, I�m off to go home.�
Paige, I�m giving the team the next few days off from training.� We�ll help you settle in.� One of the team will come by and pick you
up.�� Kakashi made it more of a statement
than a question if she had wanted the help, but she understood.

�Sure.�

�Alright, then if you follow me to the hospital we can get
this physical over with and I can hopefully enjoy those days off before my real
shifts at the hospital begin.� Sakura announced while walking presumably
towards the mentioned hospital.

�I�m sorry to spoil your day off,� Paige apologized.

�Don�t worry about it.�
I can understand you wanting me to do the physical.� Sakura waved her
hand at her to emphasize her point.�
�It�s no problem at all.� It�ll
only take about an hour after we find an empty room.�

Paige noticed Sasuke keeping pace and decided to see if she
could make Sakura blush, �So if Naruto and Hinata are
married�are you still known as Haruno Sakura or Uchiha Sakura?��
Success!� Sakura was blushing.

�Both actually.�
Sasuke doesn�t mind me keeping my maiden name, but I use Uchiha when formality calls for it.�

The group of three continued their walk to the hospital
while Paige took in the new sites of Konoha and asked questions about different
things in the village which caught her eye.�
She learned about the Hokage Monument,
and how Naruto once repainted it as a prank when they were kids.� Paige smiled at the thought.� Before she knew it, they had arrived at the
hospital and were winding their way through more hallways looking for an empty
exam room.

�I hope you aren�t going to follow us into the room,
Sasuke,� Paige joked.

He smirked and shrugged, �The dobe
said you might be competition.�

�Hey, as your wife
don�t I get to defend myself?� Sakura joined in with a teasing smile.

�Nope!� and with a wink at Sasuke, Paige dragged Sakura into
the exam room they had finally found.

After the door had shut on the still smirking Sasuke, and
the girls had had their laughs, Paige saw Sakura shift into what she figured
was �business-mode.�� Right.� We�ll get started with the eye exam
first.� I�ll give the prescription to
Sasuke to run down to the lab for me.�
Hopefully we can pick up your glasses after we�re done with the rest of
the physical.�

�Sounds good to me.�
It�d be nice to view the world in focus again.�� Paige added the after-thought, �and maybe
it�ll help with my headaches.�� The eye
exam was routine and Sakura wrote down her prescription on a small piece of
paper.� Suddenly Paige thought of
something, �Hey, Sakura, do you think Sasuke would mind me asking you about
what Sharingan is?�
While we�re on the topic of eyes.�
I know they change colors.�

Waving Paige�s prescription Sakura replied, �I�ll ask right
now,� and walked out the door.� After a
moment she returned.� �He doesn�t
mind.� Sharingan
is the Uchiha family�s kekkei
genkai, or bloodline limit.� It�s a special ability passed down from
generation to generation that lets them perceive movement more accurately to
the point of being able to copy other ninja�s jutsus
and predict another ninja�s movement� It
even has the ability to do hypnosis.�

Paige�s eyes widened.�
�His clan must be powerful.�

Sakura smiled sadly, �It was, there was a great tragedy many
years ago and many of the Uchiha were killed.� Sasuke has the burden of rebuilding the
clan.� �Sakura looked so upset.�

Paige didn�t want to press the issue.� She�d ask more questions later.� Right now, she wanted to lighten the
mood.� �Well, there is an up-side to
rebuilding an entire clan,� she said while waggling her eyebrows at Sakura
comically.� It worked, Sakura laughed,
and it was on with the physical.

�I want to take some pictures of your tattoos if you don�t
mind.�� Sakura paused, she looked unsure
how to phrase what she wanted to say next.�
�Um�it�s for�identification purposes�

Paige nodded, �I don�t mind.�� Lifting her borrowed shirt up, she let Sakura
take some pictures of her individual tattoos and then one big one of her whole
back.

The eye exam and the first part of the physical were
familiar to Paige, even those horrid gowns that she had to put on after the
pictures seemed to be a universal evil.�
The questions about her family history were pretty routine, but what
came after was new and she wanted to learn.

�I�d like you to lie back now.� I�m going to run my hands over your body with
chakra in them to do an internal exam,� Sakura announced.

�That�s kind of cool.�
Where I�m from, doctors had to rely on huge expensive machines to see
inside the body.� And even then, they
sometimes get it wrong.�

�You don�t have chakra where you came from?�

Paige thought about how to answer.� �Not like you do.� It�s not an every day skill like it is
here.� Some spiritualists believe in
chakra points and chakra energy, but mainstream science basically calls them nuts.�

�That�s sad.�

�Yeah, it is,� Paige sighed, �They�d think I was nuts too�If
they can�t poke it with a stick to see if it�s real, then they don�t think it
exists.�

�Well, for the record, none of us think you�re nuts.�� Sympathy.� Friendship.�
Calm.� Sakura smiled down at
Paige who was now obediently lying down.�
�Stay as still as you can to help me concentrate please.�

Paige obeyed, but peeked whenever Sakura�s glowing hands
came into view.� This time she wanted to
pay attention since she was conscious and hadn�t just run for her life.� The sensation was odd, kind of warm and
tingling, but not uncomfortable.� Sakura
moved in an odd pattern too, Paige figured she would move top down or bottom
up, but she started in the center and appeared to follow some wandering pattern
that radiated out of near her heart.

�I�m following your chakra network,� Sakura announced.� �I figured you�d want to know what I was
doing.��

Paige didn�t reply since she was told to be still and
talking was moving, but she silently appreciated the thoughtfulness.

Sakura started listing off the different medical conditions
she already was aware that she possessed, �Asthma, rhinitis, tendonitis,
arthritis, plus all of the damage from the bandits�you certainly have enough
joint and tissue damage that you could be mistaken for shinobi.� I think I understand why you had so much
trouble with running.� I can help ease
the swelling and inflammation if you�d like me to.� I can�t get rid of it completely, but I can
ease some of the partially blocked chakra paths and encourage blood flow.�

�Please, whatever you can do to keep down on the stuff I
used to take for everything to function normally would be awesome,� Paige broke
her silence.� �I kinda
didn�t follow doctors� orders and decided to get into sports anyway when I was
younger.� I�m paying for it now.� She
then felt the warm and tingling feelings intensify as Sakura did whatever it
was that she does to heal people.� After
a few minutes she resumed the internal exam.

Suddenly Sakura gasped, pulled her hands away, and looked at
Paige with tears in her eyes, �Oh�I�m so sorry.�

�About what?�

�You�.you can�t have children.� The scar tissue is too severe,� Sakura looked
down.

She sighed, and figured she should explain�at least some of
it.� She hated that kind of reaction from
people.� �Don�t be sorry, it�s not your
fault.� I�ve known since I was 16.� I had a very bad infection, but it went
unnoticed for too long.� By the time the
doctors figured out I was sick, the damage was already done,� Paige
explained.� She reached out and took
Sakura�s hand in her own.� �I�ve come to
terms with it.� I see my other abilities
as my gift to the world instead of having children.� Please don�t feel sorry for me, and please
don�t tell anyone else that isn�t medically necessary�including the council if
I can keep it from them.� I hate
pity.� I don�t like being treated like
I�m less of a woman because I can�t have children.�

Sakura had tears running down her eyes as Paige spoke.� �I�m sorry I reacted badly.� I�ll honor you�re wishes about the
records.� I don�t think Tsunade will mind.�

�Thank you.�

The rest of the exam was finished silently between the two
women.� Afterwards Paige redressed back
into her borrowed clothes.� �Not that I
don�t find blue flattering, it is my favorite color, but think you�d like to
accompany me on some shopping before we find where I�m staying?�

Sakura opened the door and replied, �Sure.� I know some good places for bargains.�

�Great, I don�t need much right now.� I figure buy for the week or so, and then
after the council meeting I can do more thorough shopping.� I need all the time I can to prepare and
meditate.�� As Paige followed Sakura out
the door to join the waiting Sasuke; a pair of glasses appeared in front of
her.

�I picked them up for you.�

�Thank you, Sasuke!��
Paige couldn�t contain the quick hug she gave him after she put them on
and took an experimental look at a world in focus.� �I even like the frames too!� It�s so great to be able to see again!�

�I heard you wanted to go shopping.�

�Yeah, I�d love some clothes of my own plus I need to
probably buy some food.� I definitely
need to buy some meditation supplies too.�

�It should wait until tomorrow, it�s late.� I brought you more clothes.�� He held up a bag filled with another of what
Paige figured was a jounin uniform.�

She accepted the bag.�
�Um, thanks.�� She peeked
inside.� It also contained some showering
supplies along with a towel.� Sasuke was
just full of thoughtful surprises.� �What
time is it?�

�6:00PM.� We should
find dinner and then walk you to your new place.��

Paige shared a shocked look with Sakura.� It took that long?� Where did the time go?� Paige shrugged, �Is it still light?�

�Yes.�

�Can we find my place first?�� She offered as an explanation for her
previous question, �I do better with directions when it�s light.�

Sakura smiled and answered, �Let�s eat first.� I took a peek at the address and it�s near
Naruto�s old apartment.� And speaking of
Naruto, I bet we can find him at Ichiraku Ramen Bar
which is also near his old apartment.�

Paige shrugged, �Sounds good to me.� I�m hungry.�

***

She blinked at the sight in front of her.� Was it humanly possible to eat that much and
not explode?� Naruto must have had 10 empty
bowls in front of him!� He also had a
dejected looking Iruka sitting next to him.� She guessed he was stuck with the bill.

�Naruto, where�s Hinata?� Sakura
asked as she, Sasuke, and Paige found stools near the two already eating.

After hurriedly finishing a mouthful he replied, �Mission.� She got called out only a day after we left
for her medic abilities.� She�s on a team
with Shino and Kiba, so she�ll be fine.

Paige felt eyes watching her, and when she turned to figure
out who, she was met with the quizzical gaze of Iruka.� She wondered if Naruto told him details and
which details they were�the meeting with the Hokage?� Knowledge of his totem?

�Hello again, Paige.�
Naruto was telling me more about you in between mouthfuls.� How do you think you�re meeting with Hokage-sama went?�� Iruka turned to his own ramen while waiting for her to
respond.

She figured she�d have a little fun while finding out how
much he knew about her.� �Swimmingly,�
was her simple answer.

Iruka nearly choked on his
ramen.�

Paige figured he knew about his totem, at least.

Naruto got up from his stool to pat Iruka
on the back and keep him from asphyxiation.�
�That wasn�t necessary.� I told
you he was safe.�� Naruto looked a little
hurt.�

She didn�t mean to hurt his feelings.Paige
sighed and figured she should explain a little more about herself.� �I didn�t mean any harm.� I just wanted to know what he knew about
me.� It�s a habit.� Remember when I told you I got used to being
an outcast?�� Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto
nodded while Iruka just watched the conversation with
a knowing look in his eyes.� �It�s more
than that.� My own family threw me out
and told me to never come back.� All of
the friends who I thought I could trust with my secrets slowly
disappeared.� I ended up splitting my
life in half so that other people would even talk to me.� My public self, and who I was in private with
my abilities.�� She looked Naruto in the
eyes as she said, �Because of running in to Team Kakashi, I�ve made four true
friends in the past 8 years.� I�m not
used to trusting people with my secrets.��
Paige looked at Iruka when his hands grasped
her fingers which had been rapidly tearing up a defenseless napkin in her
nervousness.

�Now you have five friends,� was all he said.� Suddenly he beamed and turned to the cook
behind the counter.� �Add this lovely
lady�s bill to mine!� She has something
to celebrate!�� He turned back to Paige,
�I�ll try to help however I can.�

�We all will,� echoed Sasuke.�

Paige smiled in return.�
She then proceeded to eat her own ramen while listening to stories of
Team Kakashi when they were younger and known as Team 7.

After the meal Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and even Iruka walked her to the apartment she would be staying
in.� It wasn�t anything big, but that
suited Paige.� She wasn�t a person who
needed much.� The front door lead into a
small living area with a couch and two chairs arranged around a low table.� No television, but Paige preferred the
company of books anyway.� Off to the left
was a small kitchenette with modern appliances, a few pots and pans, and
dishes.� Between the living area and the
kitchenette, was the dining area with a table with four chairs.� There was one full bathroom also to the left,
but further down, past the kitchenette.�
And through the doorway in the rear of the living area was the bedroom
complete with single bed, night table with lamp and alarm clock on it, chest of
drawers, and a closet.� Paige sighed at
the lack of personality, but resolved to fix that after she was done with the
council.� �One thing at a time,� she
thought as she closed her eyes for the night.

***

Author�s Note:�
Please review and let me know what you think.� If you reviewed this story once, Thank
You!!� (OX King, HumanInfiltrator,
Lady Slave, kodama, MsMina,
eva24, Alaskantiger, Darksteel1992) and review it
again!� I feel special to have repeat
readers & reviewers who give lovely feedback.

Author�s Response to review questions:� Ox King brought up a good point. �I�ve announced that the eventual main pairing
will be Paige x Shino, but how does this work with Paige unable to have
children and Shino as the heir of the clan? �The answer is creative licensing by yours
truly.� Without giving too much of the
future plot away, I�ve taken the liberty of making the Aburame
a bit more�unconventional than some of the other clans. �I reasoned that because they were small, they
were forced to adapt:� Heads of families
and heirs serving as shinobi face the possibility of death, and the Aburame have chosen to have a (for lack of better phrasing)
non-linear, line of succession. �I know
this doesn�t go well with some of the traditionalists, but this is how I
resolve the issue. �Shino is allowed to
chose an heir from within the family that is not his own offspring.
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Reading Totems