The Last Chinoike [A NARUTO LOVE STORY]

Pursuit

"You have everything?"

"Yeah Hayami, I just double checked." Naruto and the entirety of the Konoha 11 had been on edge for the past 24 hours. The tension-filled atmosphere amongst the teenage ninjas was all because of the mission that nearly all of them were dreading: the capture of Itachi Uchiha. 

"Well, okay, oh- here's an extra scroll that has a few ramen cups sealed in it for you if you get hungry. Make sure you share if you can, I'm sure that they're all very on edge and could use the extra fuel. Especially Sakura," Hayami leaned against the countertop in Naruto's kitchen. "She might start to feel uneasy when you guys get closer to Sasuke and Itachi so try and make sure she eats something to keep her stamina up."

Naruto smiled, slinging his cloak over his broad shoulders. 'Hayami's past few weeks have been total hell, not to mention she can't stop poking at her tattoo.' The young man snickered at the memory of Hayami drowsily trying to prematurely peel away the clear wrapping that surrounded the new marking.

Shortly after Hayami's orientation, she returned to her apartment to find Naruto there waiting with dinner. The two had eaten and were lounging around her living room. "Naruto, it feels weird to have a piece of plastic wrap stuck on my arm! And not to mention- IT HURT! I think I need this wrapping off my arm right now!" Hayami began to attempt to mess around with the new tattoo. This caused Naruto to jump out of his chair and hold on tightly to the girl's hands.

Naruto snickered at the slightly juvenile actions of his girlfriend. To Naruto, Hayami was one of the strongest people he knew; she had gone through so much, endured everything she had ever known being taken away from her. Yet here she was, overly annoyed and irritated by a small tattoo on her arm of all things. 

"Hayami! Stop it, ya know! You said that the guy scolded you for trying to mess with it all throughout your orientation, you know you have to keep it on for a full day!" Naruto was just about ready to pull his own hair out, yet a part of him loved being the one to help her. Whether she be sick or just a little irritable after an unwanted tattoo, he wanted to be there to help her through it.

The memory made him smile, 'oh geez, I bet she'll be a pain in the ass whenever she gets sick.' Even though his word choice was less than stellar, Naruto truly looked forward to when he would get to show how much he cares about his girl, both when she's sick and perfectly healthy. 'Whoever she ends up with must be super strong, ya know!'  Naruto smiled at the thought of himself filling the role of Hayami's knight in shining armor, the one who will care for her when she's sick. 

Despite the daydreaming blond, Hayami continued to check over him to make sure he was truly ready for the expectantly long and strenuous mission. Like mentioned by herself previously, Hayami knew how tumultuous this journey was going to be for her boyfriend, both physically and emotionally, and she wanted nothing more than to join them on the mission.

However, upon appealing to Lady Tsunade to postpone her ANBU training until after the mission, she was quickly shot down. Her sensei had said that this team that was constructed, Team 7 and Team 8, would have a challenge but could most likely get the job done.

Recently, the more that Naruto heard about what Sasuke was up to and how he was assembling his own team to find Itachi, he had felt less than all over again. To his girlfriend, it almost looked like there was this gray cloud of angst and inferiority practically hanging over the blond's head. 

But then there was Hayami, a brunette and purple-eyed sweetheart who read the young man like a book. This girl, despite hearing and understanding his very realistic concerns of not being able to bring his friend back on the right path, always kept a very positive outlook.