Kapitel 53: Chapter 053

Unfortunately for her, her little study session was to be short-lived.

Finally responding to the set of eyes boring into the side of his head like drill bits Naruto glanced across at his curious companion with an expression conveying his own puzzlement. "What's up, Tayuya-chan?"

The red head responded in alarm to suddenly seeing him turn to her and looked away quickly. "N-Nothing. Nothing at all."

Blinking, the jinchuriki placed a hand against his cheek, causing the swallow on his shoulder to hop onto the other one while ruffling her feathers. "Is it something on my face? You were looking at me pretty hard a few seconds ago."

Though Tayuya would normally be more composed for being found out for even worse things, she still couldn't help but blush brightly from the boy's inquisitions and gulped nervously. "I… I was just wondering what you had planned next? You know… after saving the Land of the Great River. Are you going to head back to your village or do you plan on traveling some more?"

Making a sound that indicated forethought, Naruto gazed up towards the sky. "Traveling does sound good right now. I never really thought about it much when I was in Konoha, since there was so much to see and do in there. I'm already all the way out here, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to visit some of the other countries surrounding the Land of Fire." He then scratched his head as he pondered on the idea a little more. "I've always wondered how different the outside world was compared to the hidden leaf… buu-t after everything that's happened; I think that's an adventure for another time." He grinned back at the girl whom tilted her head at him. "One unexpected trip's enough for now."

Tayuya gave a small smile and nodded gently. "So it's home then?"

"You got it," Naruto exclaimed, earning a cheerful chirp from the bird riding on his shoulder, who then fluttered up to perch on his head. His eyes blinked up toward the swallow. "Swift-chan wants to get back to her boyfriend as soon as she can. She's worried that the other girls across the street might start taking an 'unhealthy' interest in him… whatever that means."

The red head looked at the bird, "Really?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. Even though he didn't really get it, he still trusted the words of his friend and his heart, and all compasses from both were pointing him down the road back to Konoha. "I guess it must be tough being in love; you just can't stop thinking about the person you like."

Tayuya blinked at this and switched her focus toward his face again. "Y-Yeah," she mumbled timidly, not taking her eyes off of the blonde for even a second as they continued to walk along.

The girl watched him laugh out in delight when the swallow fluttering around him pecked at his head before landing on his outstretched finger. The sight of his actions had the redhead's stare unconsciously deepen and her cheeks warm, as if she was becoming entranced in some form of genjutsu. Tayuya didn't even realize how rapt her attention in the boy was becoming until minutes later and she looked away from Naruto with a start.

She brought her hands to her chest and clutched the space above.

Why was her heart pounding so much?

Was she coming down with something? Was she falling ill? The girl just couldn't explain it, even after fifteen minutes of more walking and pondering over her condition.

She'd never experienced anything like this before. All of these new feelings and emotions that have been happening to her all started when the blonde haired wonder walking beside her jumped in and rescued her from those gangsters. It was like the act itself tripped some sort of switch inside of her and was filling her with moods and feelings she never felt or thought she could feel before. After being all alone, hungry and cold for the longest she could remember, these warm buzzes filling her stomach and making her feel as if she was walking on air, it was beyond both explanation and comprehension.

Questions plagued her mind and continued to hold her attention as they strode along until they finally arrived at a 'T' junction that split their route in two. Using the map he had bought back at the village Naruto was quick to find his bearings and the road he needed to take in order to get home. He turned right, moving down it while Tayuya paused at the junction and considered both roads for a minute longer, her gaze averting left.

Realizing his friend was no longer walking beside him and was still standing at the junction Naruto stopped and looked back, where he saw Tayuya staring down the other road in deep thought. He looked back with concern, wondering if something was troubling the girl, while another part of him figured she was going to head off in another direction. Was she thinking about it?

It sure looked like it.

With that possibility in mind, the young jinchuriki inwardly started to panic. He didn't want Tayuya to leave, nor did he want to leave her behind either. No way.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Naruto asked, stepping forward when he saw the girl turn to look back at him.

He saw her conflicted expression transform into a confused one as their gazes locked. Upon meeting the boy's eyes the musician then lowered her head and looked away with red in her cheeks, Tayuya's face once again taking on an appearance of doubt, worry and uncertainty.

She didn't say anything for the next minute or so, but the jinchuriki was determined. Thinking it over a little more, Naruto then gave a smile when he figured what the problem troubling the girl could be and nodded her towards him. "Aren't you going to come back to Konoha with me?"

This question immediately got a rise out of Tayuya, her head suddenly snapping up to look across at him in astonishment. "What?"

Naruto grinned, "I asked you if you want to come back to my village with me. It's not far, it's just…" He looked down the road again, made a quick count, and then looked back with an unchanging expression, "Three days away. Sure it looks like a long trip, but it'll be a quick walk, I promise."

Silence fell, in which Tayuya used that time to stare at the boy and try to see if he was messing with her. When Naruto saw her unflinching gaze, in which he could see her mind working at a million miles an hour behind her eyes, his grin widened. "What? Did you think that I was going to continue my journey to becoming an awesome shinobi without you, Tayuya-chan?" He saw her blink. "Nope. I don't want that. I want you to be standing right there next to me when I become Hokage someday."

Tayuya gawked at him. "Y-You seriously want me to come with you?" She saw his grin widen and his head nod, "For real?"

"Believe it! I want you to be there by my side every step of the way. You're my friend, Tayuya-chan. There's no way in hell I want to leave you behind and there's no way I'm gonna. I want to spend as much time as I can with you and learn more about you."

The girl's eyes started to shimmer. "W-Why?"

"Why? Because you're an interesting person who plays awesome music," he said before ramming his fist into his chest. "If you want to become a ninja too, I can help you, dattebayo."

"Really? Y-You…" She then realized her upcoming response and bit her tongue. Frowning, Tayuya attempted to feign a little more indifference to his proposition and looked away with her nose in the air. Sure she tried to pull off the snobbish act now, but this failed to cover up her previous reactions to his leaving and offering of companionship, and so the power she had with her gestures were only half of what they could've been when she retaliated. "And what makes you think I want to become strong like you, shithead?" A cocky smirk appeared on her face. "Honestly. Getting into fights, saving villages, putting your life on the line for complete strangers… why the hell would I want to become a shinobi like that?"

Able to read her like a book, Naruto let out a boisterous laugh and slipped his hands behind his head. The swallow on his noggin chirped happily at the exchange. "It's more fun when you have somebody there to share your adventures with." He extended his hand towards the musician, whose expression visibly brightened. "I want to share this with someone who is precious to me. You're my friend Tayuya-chan… and you're one of the people I want to protect and share great adventures with!"