Double the Trouble! Chapter 14: Restart, a naruto fanfic

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed, I'm too lazy to go look at all your names, but you know who you are! You're awesome! This chapter clears stuff up from the previous one in areas that may have been a bit blurry and ties a lot of stuff up, and yay for me updating fairly quickly! (if you didn't notice-hah!)

Episode 14 : Restart

Even though Kitsune didn't want this warmth and feeling of complete peace to end, she knew she had to draw away from Naruto sometime to describe what happened and tell him all she'd learned.

"Naru-chan, I have a lot to tell you," she voiced as she drew away from him and brought her legs up to hug instead. At the action, Naruto's eyes slightly narrowed as he knew from past experiences that she tended to do this habit when either unsure or scared.

"Yeah?"

"I...I could have stopped Sasuke," she blurted out in shame, hiding her face in her legs.

"Then why didn't you stop him?!"

"I don't know!" Kitsune whispered viciously, "It was like my body wasn't listening to me and I felt like it was falling apart. It was...horrible," she couldn't think of a word that would hold as much pain as she'd felt.

"Your...body? Did he hurt you or something?!" Naruto demanded as he grabbed her arms, forcing her to look into his cerulean eyes.

"N-No," Kitsune stuttered as she shook her head along.

"Then why were you in pain?" he asked, the blond obviously confused as to what Kitsune was trying to convey.

"I-" Kitsune felt her heart beat was suddenly loud in her ears and she gulped, thinking about the concequences of telling him what she'd learned. How she was like him in how she held something so dark and dangerous inside her, yet would he turn her away? Feel like she was going to hurt him? Although she knew all demons were vicious, it seemed like hers had a special case of stick-up-the-ass crazy. And when she really was on the spot like this, the irrational fear of him leaving her because of the demon got to her enough that she decided to withhold it from him.

"I don't really remember much," she outright lied as she looked away, "I think it was just how I sped there so fast I forgot to maintain my body and it just shut down from being pushed so fast for so long."

"Ah..." Naruto said as he moved to bring his legs onto the bed, crossing them so he could prop his elbows on his knees and then chin in his palms.

There was silence once again as Kitsune fiddled with her hands while Naruto spaced out and stared out the window. Daring to look up, Kitsune felt that light feeling in her chest resurface and she suddenly had the desire to touch him, to make sure he was safe. That image of him at the waterfall practically dead crept into her mind and she bit the inside of her cheek to bring her back.

"Tell me what happened with you," she plead as she reached out for his bandaged hands, wrapping her long fingers around them before giving him a bright smile.

"There isn't much to tell other then I fought Sasuke and lost...and then he ran away to Orochimaru."

Kitsune felt her eyes widen as Naruto continued with, "I think he believes that snake bastard can help him get strength to go against his brother."

Not knowing what to say, Kitsune prompted to simply bring Naruto into a crushing hug once again.

"You don't know how glad I am that you're still here," Naruto said as his arms brought Kitsune as close to him possible, her curly mane of hair tickling his nose.

"Same here," she giggled and she could have sworn she'd felt Naruto stiffen up for a second, but she ignored this.

"Promise me you won't leave like Sasuke," Naruto's voice was desperate as his grip on her turned so tight it was almost painful.

"I'll never do that. I promise," Kitsune was fast to respond, the words making a smile come to her pretty face and a giggle to burst forth. For reasons she couldn't explain, she felt so happy right then that she felt nothing could take her down. Naruto really did care about her, he would care if she just got up and left. Maybe to the same extent as Sasuke.

"Hey! Don't laugh, I'm serious!" Naruto was angry as he let her go to see her practically glowing face. When he saw the her stretched smile, closed eyes, and cascading tears he felt his chest clench before he was smiling himself.

Kitsune hummed a merry tune as she walked through the streets, people giving her stares and odd looks at not only her customary orange jumpsuit but in how there was such an aura of happiness that it was practically shocking and blinding to those around her.

"Yo," a voice suddenly sounded behind Kitsune and she readily turned around to see the lanky persona of Kakashi standing there, one hand in his pocket while the other held an orange book to his face.

"H-Hello Kakashi-senpai," Kitsune stuttered as she scratched the back of her head, her feelings of invincibility gone as his lone eye looked down at her.

"We need to talk; where are you going?" the silver haired teacher asked as he went to her side and started walking, his long strides making it easy to keep up with Kitsune's own.

"To pick up Kota. It seems that he was admitted to Kiba's house for a check up, even though Lee told me that he wasn't hurt," she was quick to reply.

"Then I shall escort you there, all the while you telling me what actually happened." When Kitsune looked up after this statement, she found his visible eye still focused on her and she felt a shiver as she felt his chakra flare up in warning if she should say no.

"I understand why you said you're afraid of me. I met my demon inside of me, and it sure as hell wasn't friendly," Kitsune admitted as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"And?" he pried.

"I...learned that the thing actually wiped out my entire people, except it was weird in how the demon made a point of saying full-blooded only, as if there still might be some of partial decent out there."

Kakashi closed his book as he stared up into the clear blue sky of today, thinking of how Sarutobi really was right all along. She was one from the forgotten people, yet there was still others of their blood. The silver haired jounin wanted to laugh at the situation of it all, considering her blood-family was much closer to her then she could guess if the past Hokage had been right about all his predictions.

"It also said how it wants to...kill the demon inside of Naruto. Apparently they're enemies," the teen continued on as she stared at her dirty feet that walked on the hot road.

"Ah, yes, that is a given," Kakashi sighed as he looked down at Kitsune once again who had gone silent. Knowing that was probably all, he asked a new question of, "You went after Naruto to help retrieve Sasuke? Did you meet up with him?"

Her arms snaked around to hug herself and Kitsune felt the wave of guilt and worthlessness wash over her like yesterday with Naruto.

"I did but for some reason I couldn't do anything to stop him," she admitted, "It felt like my body was on fire and I could barely move around. When I tried to get him he simply...walked away." She willed herself not to cry as there were so many around, and Kakashi no doubt didn't want to deal with her emotions that seemed to overwhelm her now a days.

"Tsunade told me that when I brought you in, your insides were practically non-existent," Kakashi revealed, causing Kitsune to snap her head up to look at him.

"I don't understand," she said as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Your musceles, tissues, organs; everything looked like it had gotten melted or burned away. While you looked perfectly fine on the outside, there was nothing supporting you other then your bones that had even begun to dissintegrate on the inside."

"I..." Kitsune was speechless as she knew something had been wrong with her, but not to this extent.

"So it really wasn't your fault that you couldn't get him," Kakashi sighed as he patted her head, "Technically you shouldn't even be alive right now, yet your body somehow managed to heal yourself fully. Tsunade was quite entranced, I dare say you may become a test subject," he allowed a breath of laughter as Kitsune stiffened.

"Goodbye for now Kitsune," he said as he brought his book out again, giving her a wave with his other hand, before he was gone.

Sighing with relief at finally telling someone the truth, the teen continued on with her trek to the Inuzuka household.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was speeding to Tsunade. When he arrived just out her window, the temperamental woman stopped reading her paperwork and turned to look at him, moving her arms to cross over her endowed chest.

"Come to report something?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

The skilled jounin gave a curt nod before relaying everything that Kitsune had just told him. At the end, Tsunade's eyes were wide as she remembered everything that Kakashi had told her before and about Sarutobi's hunch on her heiratige. It seemed he'd been dead on.

"We cannot have her leave the village. Here she can remain neutral, guarded and not get in the hands of those who will use her for destruction," her voice was cold and controlling, and Kakashi had no choice but to nod in agreement.

"You must tell Naruto that she cannot leave, even for missions, but do not specify why. I do not want to inform him of something Kitsune should do herself," Tsunade sighed as she leaned back, intertwining her fingers in thought. She knew that although what Kitsune was holding from Naruto was very controversial and might make him look at her different, the blond was almost annoyed at the girl that she didn't have enough backbone to admit to what she really was to the person she no doubt cared about most in this world, and would probably understand the most as he was in the same predicament.

"You know, Hokage-sama, you can be very considerate sometimes," Kakashi noted as his visible eye crinkled in amusement.

The pigtailed Hokage simply smiled before dismissing him with a wave of her hand.

Naruto stared down at his steaming hot ramen and huffed, putting his chin in the palm of his propped arm. While he had been craving the food, he just couldn't get his stomach to settle or the heart to eat it as a problem that had been plauging himself once again resurfaced.

"Hey Naruto my boy!" Jiraiya suddenly sounded from behind the spiky blond, causing Naruto to jump.

"Don't scare me like that Pervy Sage!" Naruto growled as he glared at his mentor as he took a seat to the right of him.

"So much for sensing me with your shinobi skills is more like it," Jiraiya said as he gently elbowed the teen in the ribs before continuing with, "So where's Princess Foxy?"

"Picking up Kota," Naruto sighed as he picked up his chopsticks to play with his noodles.

The silver haired sage wasn't too oblivious to the odd body language and how this was probably the first time Naruto wasn't shoveling the ramen as fast as he could down his throat.

"Is it about the trip you're going to take with me?"

"Yeah...I just feel really bad about leaving everyone here. It's my home, ya know?"

"If I were you I'd probably miss Foxy the most, am I right?" Jiraiya asked with a quirk of his eyebrows, the blush on Naruto's face being enough of a sufficient answer. "You know I'd like for her to come, too, right?" Jiraiya said with a grin.

At the statement, Naruto whirled on him with wide eyes, "Really?" he asked in a slightly frantic voice.

"Yes. But just make sure you want that. Remember how distracting she was, in more ways then one, when you were learning the rasengan?"

Naruto groaned as he covered his eyes with his hands, "She always gets my attention." He knew he could have mastered the move down in a fraction of the time if she hadn't been there with him, constantly talking and bringing his focus on her and not his assignment.

There was silence for a few seconds as Naruto reminisced before he turned to Jiraiya with furrowed eyebrows and asked, "And what do you mean distracting in more ways then one?"

When the toad sage simply waggled his eyebrows before innocently whistling an old tune, the blond felt lost and that he was missing something major.

"Ah, Naruto, there you are," another new voice sounded behind Naruto, making him jump for the second time and curse how he still wasn't aware of his surroundings as he was getting lost in his mind and decisions to come.

"Do you need something Kakashi-sensei?" the blue-eyed boy asked as he twisted on the stool to see his past teacher.

"I am aware that you are scheduled to go on a trip with Jiraiya."

Naruto blinked before nodding in agreement.

"Are you thinking of taking Kitsune along with you?" he asked as he brought out his customary orange book.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his teacher's antics, Naruto answered, "I'm not sure. I'm really thinking about bringing her."

"Sorry. No can do," Kakashi said as he flipped a page.

Naruto was silent for a few seconds before asking with a straight face, "What?"

"Tsunade just ordered me that Kistsune is to not be allowed outside the village for some time. I just needed to inform you of that so, goodbye."

Before the teen had a chance to demand why, his teacher was gone with a puff of smoke, leaving Naruto once again at the ramen stand with Jiraiya.

"What was that?!" Naruto hissed as he turned back around.

"Well...maybe it's because Foxy has been in some suspicious activity lately with going after you without permission and is now being penalized for it?" the toad sage offered as he scratched his chin, actually thinking about how Tsunade might have discovered something about Kitsune that would make her do this harsh decision. Obviously he had to go talk to her soon and learn what she had.

"Damn... so I'm really going to have to leave her," Naruto mumbled in a mix of annoyance and anger.

"Well, might as well go tell her that now," Jiraiya encouraged as he patted Naruto on the back before getting up to go see Tsunade.

"This is gonna suck," Naruto continued his laments as he got up himself and started back for his apartment in a sluggish pace, and not because of his wounds.

"Naruto?" Kitsune called as she opened the apartment door, Kota jumping in and heading straight for the bed where he curled on top of one of the pillows to take a nap.

"What's up?" Naruto said from the bed, arm slung over his eyes as to block out the inferring sunlight that still streamed through the closed curtains.

"Nothing much," Kitsune smiled out before continuing, "Just glad that I have Kota back."

Naruto grunted lightly as he took away his arm and sat up from his lying down position to look at Kota, his head quirking to the side at the sight. "Has he always had two tails? And been this big?"

"Ah..." Kitsune blanked on what to tell him, not wanting to reveal how she'd taken the extra chakra that accumulates in her body because of her demon and then transfering it to Kota, so she simply went to, "I guess he's just growing faster then we thought." She turned away as she felt guilt for lying to him again. It was disgusting to herself in how she'd hidden two very important things from him in just two days. She hadn't lied about anything to him, and yet now she felt like she was withdrawing her whole world from him.

"Seems he's more special then I thought," Naruto laughed it off as he fell back down again.

There was complete silence in the shared apartment for a few seconds before Kitsune padded her way over to the large bed and lied down next to Naruto. When she looked his way, it seemed that he'd already been looking at her and quickly averted his eyes away. As she narrowed hers, she noticed that he was sweating as if nervous about something to come, or was holding something in.

"Naru-chan..."

"Yes?" he asked, and cursed himself as his voice was a little higher then normal, which really didn't put down Kitsune's suspicions.

"Is something wrong?" Kitsune asked as she sat up, leaning her arms on her knees.

"Uh," Naruto didn't even know what to start with and so lied there blankly staring at the ceiling for a good half minute before Kitsune whacked him upside the head.

"OW!" he complained as he cradled his head, "What was that for?!"

"Just spit it out already," the older teen ordered as she crossed her arms and huffed, "You can tell me anything you know." With the statement, she had to hold down a wince as she felt like the biggest hypocrite in the world.

Naruto swallowed before looking back up at her face that was still looking at him, eyes narrowed in waiting. He sighed before he ran a hand through his gravity-defying hair before he took a deep breath to start.

"I'm going on a training trip with Jiraiya for two years."

Having been afraid of her reaction, Naruto had closed his eyes. Yet as the seconds ticked by and there still wasn't any noise, he dared to crack them open to see Kitsune sitting ther calm, collected, and smiling.

"When do we leave?" she asked excitedly, practically bouncing in place.

"Ah..." Naruto felt his throat start to close up again as there was still the bomb of her not being able to go to drop.

"When should I start packing? I'm so happy!"

"Kit-chan."

"Usually I travel around and I've been here for so long, it'll be nice to stretch my legs again!"

"Kit-chan!"

"I really can't wait to go taste all the food too! Or see the animals, oh! And the people, hopefully they'll be-"

"KITSUNE!" Naruto yelled, finally succeeding in interrupting her.

She blinked at him before grinning a smile full of fangs and asking, "What is it Naru-chan?"

"It's just..." he paused to take a big breath, "You can't come with us."

Kitsune stared at him for a few seconds before giggling and playfully punching him in the shoulder (Naruto groaned as it really hurt) before she waved her hand in front of her face, as if dispelling what he'd just said. "Don't kid around with something like this, Naru-chan."

When he was silent, she turned to him and seeing his stone-serious face, her smile dropped.

"You're serious."

"Kit-chan, I'm...I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say, how to make up how much of a...horrible person I'm being to you."

"No, no!" Kitsune argued as she saw his eyes drop, "It's not your fault!"

When his dejected face still didn't change, she found herself sighing before scooting over to him and hugging him from the back, letting her chin rest on the top of his head.

"I really understand Naru-chan. I don't hate you for going, you want to get stronger right?"

"Yeah..." he muttered as he grabbed her hands that were wrapped around him.

"Then I don't blame you, and you don't have to worry about me. I'll just wait here for you," she decided her agenda for the next two years quickly as her grip tightened.

"I'll be back," Naruto said stubbornly.

"Two years, right?" Kitsune strained a laugh out.

"It'll pass by in a flash," he laughed as he made an attempt to lean out of her embrace, yet she kept him still.

"Don't go just yet," she said seriously.

He was silent for a second before, "We still have a week you know."

Burying her face into his hair, she thought of how she'd never viewed seven days as being so short.

"So are you going to release me?" he half-heartedly joked as he looked down at her arms that were still around him and felt the weight of her head against his.

"Not yet," she said, yet the young shinobi could have sworn there was a pleading undertone beneath the command. So Naruto blinked before sighing, knowing that even though he felt his face was going to explode from all the blood going to it, she deserved at least whatever she asked for before he left.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Kitsune choked out as she moved to rest her cheek in his hair.

The blond didn't know how to respond in words, so he simply grasped her hands a little tighter, letting her know that he was at least here right now.

As her head was filled with the comfort of his scent and the warmth of his body, Kitsune was glad that he'd let her hold him like this for a little longer as she couldn't hold the tears back in any more.

"Kit-chan," Naruto panted, "I'm going to fall."

"Aw, come on Naru-chan," Kitsune said as she punched a new hand-hold in the cliff side, "This cliff isn't so bad. It's not nearly as vertical as some of the other cliff faces and it's rough, not smooth."

"Can't we just chakra enhance our feet and jump up? Or just walk up?" Naruto continued as he swung his leg to get to a crack, wedging it in slightly painfully yet enough so he wouldn't lose his hold.

"It's more fulfilling when you do it without chakra enhancement and anyway we're almost there. Seriously," Kitsune grunted as she swung her own leg higher. And true to her word, they were at the top of the cliff side in about five more minutes.

Lying on his back right after he swung himself over, Naruto sighed as he looked up into the clear blue sky.

"Wow..." he said as he got up to look at the view, finding himself breathless now not only because of the climb.

"I thought since you showed me the sight of the Hokage monument, I'd show you this one," Kitsune said as she smirked.

"I think you've outdone me. How'd you find this anyway?" Naruto questioned as he sat down at the edge, allowing his legs to swing under him.

"Um..." Kitsune bit her lip for a second, "I found this when I was running around after you yelled at me because of you fighting with Sasuke."

"Oh," Naruto blinked, "Did I forget to apologize for that?"

"Ancient history," Kitsune snorted as she sat next to him. "It was actually fun cause I screamed my lungs out here and no one could hear," she went on as she took off the bag she'd been carrying.

"What stuff did you yell?" Naruto questioned as he took off his own backpack.

Kitsune grinned coyly for a few seconds before, "Only nature knows."

"No fair," Naruto whined but when Kitsune shrugged he knew he wasn't going to get it out of her, so he might as well drop it now.

Looking out at the vast landscape below them, Naruto didn't think twice before he sucked in a huge breath and yelled, "I'm going to become the strongest ninja, no matter what!"

Shocked for a second by his loud voice that was still echoing around him, Kitsune turned to the blond to find him laughing. "Your turn, Kit-chan," he said between his bouts of laughter.

She put a finger to her lips in thought before her eyes lit up with what she was going to declare. So, taking in a huge breath, she exclaimed, "You've changed my life for the better Naruto! More then I ever expected from anyone!"

Catching her breath, she didn't dare look across to him but before she knew it, he'd latched onto her side and began squeezing the life out of her in a rib-cracking hug.

When he finally let her go and Kitsune had the guts to look him in the eye, she found them glittering and filled with so much warmth she felt herself begin to choke up too, but she refused herself that.

"Now," she sniffed, "I brought lunch. What would you like?"

"You know, Naruto and Kitsune have been closer then ever this past week," Kakashi noted to Jiraiya as they sat at the ramen stand in waiting for their shared pupil Naruto and his attached-at-the-hip Kitsune.

Jiraiya sighed, "It's gonna be hard for both of them."

"But it's unavoidable," Kakashi said as he lightly shook his head.

The sage didn't have a chance to say anything as the two teens were suddenly in sight, bounding down the street with Kitsune in the slight lead, her long legs no doubt giving her the advantage. Yet Naruto pushed even harder at the sight of the stand and because of it broke through to have slightest lead. He was so engrossed with now being in the lead, he didn't notice how he needed to have begun slowing down as he was about to collide into the ramen stand. But Jiraiya was all over it as right before he skidded into the bar face first, he yanked the teen by his collar up into the air where he swung a few times before being placed down.

"Cheater!" Kitsune cried as she jogged up, "You got help! If I hadn't had to slow down I would have won!"

"Whatever," Naruto shrugged with a chuckle as he sat in a stool and turned to his former sensei Kakashi.

"I'm just here to talk some business with Jiraiya, I'm off now," the silver-haired shinobi said as he gave a sloppy salute before taking his leave.

Kitsune, slightly wary of what Kakashi had told him as she hadn't had a chance to tell the toad sage herself about what she'd discovered about herself, stood in the street rubbing her big toe in the dirt for a few seconds as she wondered how to approach Jiraiya.

"Come on Foxy," Jiraiya sighed as he motioned for her to sit in the seat that Kakashi had just vacated, "If you don't hurry Naruto will eat all the ramen in the shop."

"Well, course," the blond said before he scooped in a load of noodles he chewed and swallowed quickly before continuing with, "I won't be able to eat here for some time. Have to eat a lot now to make up for it later."

Kitsune rolled her eyes before breaking her own chop-sticks. Yet as she was about to take her first bite, she turned towards Naruto with a gleam in her eyes. "Hey, Naru-chan."

"Mwah?" he managed to get out with a mouth full of noodles.

"Promise me something?" she ventured a she held her chopsticks in her clasped hands.

Naruto swallowed before, "What?"

"Let's promise to not eat ramen until we're together again," she said with eyes gleaming hopefully.

Jiraiya, seeing Naruto's face drop like he'd just heard his apartment had caught fire and was now gone, managed to hide his laughter with a cough.

"B-But-" Naruto stuttered as he thought about how painful it'd be not being able to eat his favorite dish for the long amount that they'd be separated for.

"Please?" Kitsune pleaded as she leaned across of Jiraiya to be closer to the blond.

Suddenly feeling cornered, the teen could do nothing but sigh and nod his head.

"Pinky swear," the bright-haired girl said with glee, having learned this from Ino at the flower shop one day.

Himself not knowing what it was, he reached his pinky out to intertwine with hers.

"Now if you break this promise, I get to break your pinky," she giggled gleefully, at to which Naruto's face paled even more.

"Hey guys, seems you got here early," Iruka voiced as he flipped the cloth flaps to sit down next to Naruto with his warm smile.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto marveled as he suddenly perked up.

After Naruto downed a few more bowls and said his short goodbye to his first mentor but more importantly the first person he ever truely loved, the odd trio were off towards the gates. When the arrived at the huge doors, Kitsune came to a standstill as the other two stepped closer to the gates.

"I guess... this is goodbye," she said as she forced herself to smile, constantly yelling thoughts to herself of how not to cry.

Jiraiya, sensing they needed some time alone, turned towards the open road again and began his way. Seeing as he was leaving, Kitsune cried out, "Pervy sage!"

When he turned around and saw her face twisted in worry and guilt, probably for not telling him about her demon herself, he smiled lightly before sighing and waving his hand in the air, as if telling her to wave off her worries. At the motion, Kitsune felt a weight lift from her shoulders as she knew he understood and from the warm expression on his face, still cared for her, and so enthusiastically waved back before he turned around down the road once again.

"I'm sorry Kit-chan," Naruto said as he looked down at his shoes in shame, feeling the guilt wash over as he knew he was essentially leaving her and the village for a good amount of time.

"I know you'll be back soon," she whispered as she leaned down to touch his forehead with hers. They stood like that, simply leaning on each other, before Naruto lifted his face and gently rubbed noses with her, causing Kitsune to really tear up.

"It'll be short, the time will fly by fast," he said as he looked into her hazel eyes, his own blue burning with determination.

Nodding her head and trying to hold down her sobs, Kitsune felt like her emotions were running amuck again.

Naruto grabbed her hands and gave a final squeeze, feeling that odd tingling once again, before he turned to catch up with Jiraiya who was almost out of sight now.

Feeling her chest rise and fall as she saw him take his first step away, Kitsune shot her hand out to grab his wrist.

"Kit-chan," he sighed before he began to turn around, "I know that y-"

But he was cut off as her lips collided with hers.

He was shocked, and so stood there eyes wide open as she kissed him and when he finally began to compute the situation she had withdrawn with her face pure red. Before he could ask why she'd done something so unexpected and bold, he noticed her fishing around in her pant pockets before extracting two chains with hearts on them.

"Necklaces?" he questioned as she handed them to him.

"They're lockets," she whispered as she took one and unhooked the clasp, opening the small heart to reveal pictures from the photo booth at the festival, this one in which Naruto was making a goofy face on one side and the other had them both grinning and making a heart with each of their hands.

"This one is for you," she said as she opened the other, this one holding the picture of when she'd kissed him on the cheek while the other side was empty.

"Why's one of the sides empty?" he asked, as to which Kitsune's face became even redder.

"I-I was hoping you'd..." she drifted off for a second before taking a breath and daring, "put a picture of me on that side."

She looked into his crystal blue eyes and grinned in relief as he was smiling. "Will do."

Kitsune's grin widened as she took her locket from his hand and closed it before unhooking it and began putting it on herself. But Naruto was quick as he grabbed it from her and motioned for her to turn around, Kitsune getting without words that he was going to put it on for her. He did so quickly, and it fell just a few inches below her collar bone comfortably. Grabbing the other locket from his hand, she did the same for him, although she fumbled a little.

"Come back soon idiot," Kitsune sniffed as she hid her lips with her hand, her blush still prominent as she couldn't seem to forget that she'd kissed him fully on the lips.

"Y-Yeah," Naruto stuttered, almost forgetting how to speak for a second, before he turned once again to leave, wondering why he suddenly felt like he could take on the world. As that feeling manifested in his chest with every step he took, he turned around once again to see her still standing there, hands clasped around her locket.

Taking a deep breath, he sprinted back over to her and tippy-toed up to her height to kiss her on the lips, this time her being as shocked as he was, before sprinting away.

When he got to the top of the hill, he turned around to see that Kitsune was still at the gate watching him till the very end. Feeling his chest swell with pride, he yelled "See you soon!"

Although he knew his vision couldn't be good enough to see her smile, he knew that she was doing just that, with probably a still very red face, when she yelled "Be safe! I'm not going anywhere until you come back!" loud enough for him to hear.

He gave a final wave before he continued, both of them losing sight of the other.

Kitsune sighed as she aimlessly watered the plants on the roof of her and Naruto's apartment building. She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought about how it was more like her own apartment now that he was gone. It had only been four days since he'd left the village and already she felt bored and empty.

When she heard a whoosh of wind, her nose twitched as Kakashi's scent filled her nose.

"Hello Kakashi-senpai," she said as she didn't need to turn around and look at the person to identify him.

"Watering?" the silver-haired shinobi asked with a raise of his visible eyebrow.

"I thought I'd grow a garden to show Naruto when he comes back. Show him I can do at least something right," she sighed as she set down the watering can to turn to the lanky teacher. "Have anything to tell me?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Lady Tsunade has requested your presence in the hospital," he said as he opened his trusty orange-covered book.

"This is going to involve needles, isn't it?"

"Hn, you'll just have to find out yourself," he said before he was gone.

Kitsune lightly growled before she looked up into the sky and sighed. If this was what it was like with him only gone for four days, Kitsune shuttered to think about how it was going to be like in half a year, let alone two whole ones. But, as she sighed heavily again and lowered her curly head, she really had no choice in the matter and for once in her life was going to have to be patient and wait something out. And more importantly, she was not going to fail or run away.

And hey, she needed to start thinking more positively. Maybe Tsunade wouldn't really need her and just wanted to say hi.

As she was about to bound off, Kota came to her side and arched up against her leg in an affectionate manner. Smiling, she leaned down and rubbed under his chin, causing a rumbling to come out from deep under his throat.

"I guess you're here with me, too," she said through her smile as she looked into his chocolate-brown eyes, "I can do this." At the confirmation, she grabbed the golden locket from around her neck before nodding her head a few times.

Taking a deep breath, she leapt off the building towards the hospital, hoping needles and puncture marks weren't in her near future.

Naruto groaned as he staggered and then dropped onto his sleeping bag.

"If you don't dry yourself you're going to get your sleeping bag all wet and you'll get cold," Jiraiya said as he sat down next to him, rubbing a towel through his mass of white hair.

"Tch," Naruto sneered as he flipped over onto his back so he could see the night sky, thinking that the fire next to him would be a good enough heater and dryer.

When his eyes were filled with the inky blackness of night and glittering stars, a soft smile formed on his whiskered face. Although his arms were felt like lead and so he wasn't able to trace the constellations Kitsune had taught him with his fingers, he did it with his eyes before he closed them and allowed to bask himself in past memories of happiness.

"Oi, Naruto, get to sleep. We have a long way to travel tomorrow if we want to keep on schedule," Jiraiya said as he got into his own bedding and closed his eyes to go into a light sleep, yet keeping enough awareness to be able to detect enemies or unwanted others.

The blond, in turn, opened his own eyes to stare at the twinkling stars a little more. Putting his hand over his lips, he felt his face flush as he remembered how Kitsune had suddenly given him a surprise attack kiss and then he'd kissed her back. Those two kisses had practically melted his brain; that entire day he'd been tripping over stones and sticks on the road as all he could think about were her slightly rough lips and how her face had looked so peaceful and then shocked when he'd kissed her back, if only it'd been for a few seconds, both expressions were priceless.

He moved his hand to touch the heart locket and he felt his face further heat up even more. Darting his eyes over to Jiraiya to make sure he wasn't watching him, he sat up and opened the locket, holding it far away enough so he could see the pictures. True to his word, he had carefully cut one of the pictures of Kitsune from the booth to fit into the small area. Although it'd been hard deciding which one to choose, he had gone with one that she had a small, soft smile on and her face weren't twisted in some ridiculous pose, allowing for her beauty to show. Sighing, he closed it back and lied down again to look at the stars some more.

But eventually exhaustion took it's tole and he closed his eyes, thrown into his own dreamland.

END OF EPISODE 14!

END OF SEASON 1!

A/N: I liked the first half of this chapter and then...meh, hope you didn't gag at the overload of fluff DX But anyway, WOW! First part/season is done! Hoozah!! *fireworkslighted* I just want to thank everyone for their support in whether alerts, reviews, or simply reading this story that's gone much further and gathered a lot more support then I ever thought it would. I hope you stick around for when I go Shippuden, I'd love it if you all kept reading and enjoying! And I'm just going to continue on with this posted story, I'm not going to create a whole new one, so if you're on alert for this you have no fear! THANKS everyone again!