The Other Jinchūriki - A Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 41

"OWWW, MAJI?!" Rizaki sat up and rubbed her head, noticing a long, averagely-thin stick Kiba was holding before snatching it. "Bastard...why are you guys here anyway?"

"We just came to help you with a few enemy ninja," Shino responded. "You all were in a pickle for a bit."

"A-Are you okay?" Hinata asked worriedly, sitting on her knees next to her friend. The blunette nodded and gave a thumbs up.

"Yeah, thanks for asking!"

"You are truly one of a kind," Kiba sighed. "And not the good kind either. I can't believe you slept through all that."

"Shut up, you asshole!"

"Well at least you're awake now," Sōma said with a small smile. "I guess we can now go our separate ways?" Shino nodded.

"Yes. We'll see you later, hopefully at the third exam."

"Can't wait, Shino!" Team 8 waved goodbye to Team 6 before leaving the cave and through the trees.

"Do you think it's best to find Team 7 now?" Rizaki asked, before getting anime tears. "I miss 'em...!"

"More like you just miss Naruto," Sasumi rolled her eyes, making Rizaki pout at her. "I swear, you guys can't even stay away from each other for a few days.."

"What?! I miss Sakura and Sasuke too!..Maybe!"

Sasumi sighed, before she froze at a realization. Crap, now I might have to tell Sasuke about this curse mark. How inevitable. "Fine, let's go find them." Rizaki cheered and ran out of the cave faster than the wild animals in the area, with her new hiking stick. Before Sōma could follow her, Sasumi put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sasumi?" He questioned, waiting for an answer.

"Sōma, don't tell Rizaki about my curse mark."

"Why? She's our teammate!"

"She'll freak out, and we don't need that right now. We'll just wait for the right time." Sōma looked down but hesitantly nodded, leaving the cave with her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Man, I'm worried about them!!" Naruto exclaimed as he flopped back on the ground, a campfire unlit next to him. Since it was still daytime they didn't need it yet.

"You mean Team 6?" Sakura asked. Her hair was a lot shorter than what she first came in with. They fought a few Sound Ninja as well, at least her, Sasuke, and Team 10 (for Naruto was knocked out as well due to Orochimaru). She cut her hair to escape from one of them who grabbed it. The blond nodded, making her smile reassuringly. "I'm sure they're fine."

"Still," Sasuke said, agreeing with Naruto. He was worried about his sister. He was bitten by Orochimaru, who told him that he and Osakabe were going to use him and Sasumi as their 'vessels'. If I can find her before Osakabe does we'll be okay, he thought. "Maybe we should look for them so we can go together." Naruto sat up and nodded.

"Yeah let's—!"

"GUYSSSS!" Everyone perked up and turned around, and Naruto's smile slowly was turning to a grin when he saw Rizaki running towards them with, one, a huge stick, and two, the rest of her team trying to catch up with her.

"RIZZY!!" He yelled happily as he dashed towards her and tackled her into a hug, the girl dropping her stick to hug him properly as he spun her around with glee. "I'm so glad you're okay!" he chirped with a grin.

"I can definitely say the same! Maji!"

"God, Rizaki," Sōma glared sternly, stopping behind her to catch his breath. "You need to slow down!" Rizaki held onto Naruto like her life depended on it and pouted innocently.