章節 99: Chapter 099

After getting a unanimous 'Yosh!' from his clones, Naruto walked over to one of the trees and sat down in a meditative pose. It was not necessary but Naruto found he could sort through the information much easier if he was meditating. For about half an hour he went through the information his clones had on cutting a leaf with wind chakra. It was actually kind of interesting since his clones had independent thought; they did things differently from each other giving him different perspectives from each clone.

Once all the knowledge he gained was sorted Naruto picked up one of the leaves that had fallen from the tree he was under. Channeling his chakra he imagined two edges grinding together and sharpening. He nodded in satisfaction as the leaf split in half.

Standing up Naruto went back to his physical training.

Smiling a bit to himself Naruto entered the small ramen stand that had been one of his safe havens from the world when he was younger. After finishing his morning training he decided that since he had not been to Ichiraku's for a while he should go ahead and splurge.

"Oi! Teuchi-ojisan! Ayame-chan! How about some ramen for your favorite customer!" he shouted as he sat down in the stool reserved for him.

"Hey Naruto-kun!" Ayame greeted with a large smile as she came out of the back. It turned into a frown however as she placed her hands on her hips, "You know, you haven't been in very recently…"

"Sorry Ayame-nee-chan," Naruto rubbed the back of his head and gave a sheepish laugh. "I was out on a…mission away the village. I just got back yesterday."

Ayame pouted for a second more before grinning, "Well I suppose that's alright since you were out of the village. So the usual?"

"You know me too well Ayame-nee-chan." Naruto said with a grin.

"Alright then, it will be comin' right up!" Ayame said, enjoying the odd new nickname he seemed to have added to her title. As she began making Naruto's ramen, said blond decided to make some more conversation.

"So where is Teuchi-ojisan?" asked Naruto, curious about where the old man was since he was usually the one to greet the blond.

"He's out of the village getting some supplies for this new ramen he's trying to concoct," Ayame said as she stirred the pot with ramen noodles in it. "So I've been working on my own for the past few days."

Naruto nodded as Ayame brought his first bowl of ramen, "Thanks nee-chan," he said, snapping his chopstick and say a quick 'Itadakimasu' before digging in. "Awww ramen, how I missed thee!"

Ayame giggled at Naruto's antics. She went back to making some more ramen, knowing Naruto would want at least six more bowls before feeling even remotely full.

Naruto slowed down his eating a bit as he savored their flavor. Ramen from Ichiraku's had always been his comfort food, ever since he had found the place. He was so caught up in his eating that he did not notice the presence behind him until it was too late.

"You know you should have told me you had returned."

A pair of arms slid around him and Naruto stiffened at the contact, an image flashed through his mind.

He was sitting in the clearing, spreading out the things he had prepared this morning for his and Haku's picnic. As he reached into the basket a pair of arms slide around him. Despite knowing who it was he turned around and laid eyes on the beautiful girl he had come to know so well in the past three days.

Anko frowned when she noticed Naruto's reaction. The way he reacted was similar to how he always did, getting stiff as a board, except this time he did not blush and get all flustered like usual. Instead he was pale and looked like he was barely holding himself together.

"You alright gaki?" Anko asked, releasing Naruto and noticing how he seemed to sag afterwards.

"Y-yeah," Naruto said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he felt himself calm down he opened them again and gave Anko his typical grin, "So I'm guessing there's a reason you came all this way to find little ol' me?"

Anko frowned as she watched Naruto for a moment, he seemed tenser then before. Shaking her head she decided not to bother with it, it wasn't any of her business. "Well, Kakashi's been so busy bragging about you to the other Jonin in the lounge I figured I had to see you and figure out what the Cyclops seemed to be so proud of."

"He's bragging about me?" Naruto asked, blinking a bit. That Kakashi would brag about him was surprising.

"Well Team Seven," Anko corrected, "but mostly you. He says you've improved quite a bit and that you were an integral part on your first mission out of the village." Once again she frowned when Naruto winced, "Are you ok gaki?"

"Y-yeah, of course I am," Naruto lied, not ready to let Anko in on what happened, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Anko's frown deepened, "Because you're not acting like yourself. Did something happen on the mission?"

"I…I really don't want to talk about my recent mission Anko," Naruto said, looking away from Anko.

"Why?" Anko asked, sounding confused. "I want to know what happened! Kakashi won't tell us anything about the specifics but-"

"I said, I don't feel like talking about it," Naruto glared at her as he spoke. Anko was taken aback for a second as a look of rage flashed through his eyes, but there were many other emotions as well, though they were too fast for her to pick up.

"Sorry," Naruto said, sagging in his seat a bit as a concerned Ayame brought him another bowl of ramen, "Please just drop it."

Anko sighed, "Well I suppose I can." She looked over at him with a smirk, trying to get a lighter mood in the atmosphere, "But only because you're my favorite gaki."

Naruto gave her a smile, "Thanks Anko."

Finishing up his ramen Naruto paid for his meal, "I'll see you later Anko." He said, tossing a wave over his shoulder.

Anko once again frowned. There was something wrong with Naruto. Normally she would not bother with something like this, but she was concerned by the way he had acted. She was going to find out what was wrong with him.

(One Month Later…)

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned around and grinned as he saw Haku walk into the clearing. "Hey Haku-chan! How are you…doing?" He blinked when he noticed that her chest was decidedly…larger than last time.

Haku, noticing where he was looking blushed and, despite being fully clothed covered her chest. "You know, it's kind of embarrassing when you look at me like that."

"Huh?" Naruto looked at her face before his eyes widened as his face took on the hue of a tomato. "I'm so sorry! I was just…I was surprised because well…because of yesterday and all! And I! erm…"

Haku giggled as Naruto got completely flustered. "It's ok; I suppose it would be surprising. I usually wear chest bindings to hide them."

"Oh…" Naruto said in realization. "So…about we start again?" he asked sheepishly. "How are you doing?"

Haku brought a hand to her mouth as she giggled from Naruto's behavior. "I'm doing well, thank you. And what about you? Did you have a nice sleep?"

"I am sorry." She gave him a brilliant smile. "Know that even if I can't go with you, I will always love you."

And with that she disappeared in a burst of speed.

"Haku…" Naruto mumbled, staring wide-eyed at the spot that Haku had left from. "HAKU!"

"HAKU!"

Naruto shot up in his bed, his eyes wide and his breathing far heavier than it should have been for something like sleeping, or even training. He pressed a hand to his face and closed his eyes, his face, and most likely his entire body, was covered in sweat.

It was that dream again. The same one he had been having since the battle at the bridge. How many times have I had this nightmare? Thirty-one? I've had this nightmare every night since Haku-chan's death. Naruto shook his head and looked around, his eyes blurry and unfocused because of the tears that were in them.

Turning his head Naruto looked at the clock.

5:30 a.m.

That's earlier than the last time I woke up from this nightmare. Was it yesterday? The blond wondered.

"I doubt I'll be going back to sleep now," Naruto mumbled before sighing and getting up. He headed into the bathroom, taking off his boxers on the way.

Closing the door behind him Naruto walked towards the shower, turning on the water. As soon as the seal on the shower head sensed the pressure it began to glow with a soft green light as it began to use the ambient nature chakra around the village to heat the water.