Happier Than Ever: A Naruto Uzumaki Love Story

Chapter Two: Be Still!

The water was warm - a byproduct of the hot summer air. Naruto released the girl once they landed safely in the water and, following the glow of the moon, he swam up to the surface. He gasped when he came up for air, but wasted no time scanning the area for the kunoichi, nearly panicking when he didn't see her anywhere among the surface of the water. When the sound of water dribbling against a rock caught his attention, he whipped towards the sound, finding the young woman perched on a rock at the edge of the pond. She used both hands to wring out her hair, one leg crossed over the other. She'd even had time to slip out of her soaking wet cloak. The smug little thing.

"You know, you were moving pretty fast for someone who wasn't running from me," Naruto said, swimming to the edge of the pond and hoisting himself out of the water.

"You were moving pretty slow to be chasing someone," she retorted, eyeing him with a grin. Naruto walked closer to her, shaking his hair out.

"So, that strange presence I was chasing, was that...you?" Naruto asked, placing a hand to his stomach.

"You felt it, too?" she started, swiveling around and jumping down from the rock, opposite of where Naruto stood. He walked around to meet her on the other side, but to his surprise, she wasn't there. He jumped when her arms slithered over his shoulders and he felt her chest press to his back. Her lips brushed his ear when she whispered, "You must be one of them." Flushed by her sudden closeness, Naruto snatched his body from her grasp and pivoted on his heels to look at her, just barely missing her as she hid behind him. He whipped the opposite way, hoping to catch her, but she was too quick.

"Stop movin, will ya?!" he beckoned as he turned sharply, only to find a view of the pond. A vein pulsed in Naruto's temple. When he felt two fingers tap his right shoulder, he instinctively whipped around, finally catching her within his field of vision - and what a sight she was. Her hair was nearly the length of her petite body, stopping just at her knees and cut precisely straight. Her bangs were cut just as succinct, perfectly framing her face. She was notably shorter than him, but what she lacked in height, she made up for in muscle. It wasn't until then he realized she hadn't worn shoes, but black thigh-high socks that exposed her heels, toes, and thigh as they stopped a few inches under her mock neck bodysuit. Maybe she'd lost them during their fall? Nonetheless, her physicality matched that of a well-trained ninja. In spite of having a curvaceous frame, her abdominal muscles printed through her wet garment.

The sinew of her arms and thighs were prominent even through the thigh-high socks and black elbow-length sleevelette. The bandages covering her right shoulder and bicep were soaked and would need to be changed, along with the wrap under her shuriken holster on her left thigh.

His face burned fiercely as he averted his gaze from her, embarrassed for ogling her. The luring smirk on her face never waned and, even with as desperately as he tried to hide it, she was amused by his fluster. In a desperate attempt, he redirected her attention, "What's your name? And what do you mean I'm 'one of them'?"

"One question at a time," she said, holding one finger up. "My name is Kazuna." Put off at her lack of a last name, Naruto continued.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Now, tell me what you meant earlier," he demanded.

"Ah, ah, ah. I have a question now," she said, her face growing increasingly close to his own as she inched toward him, distracting him from her true intention. "What's," - she swiftly lifted both his jacket and undershirt, exposing the eight trigram seal on his stomach - "this?" He jumped backwards, snatching his jacket back down as his face began to burn. How did she even know that was there? And how is it showing up without using the Nine-Tails' chakra? Who is this girl?

"Th-that's none of your business!" he protested, still pulling at his jacket.

"I answered your question," she pouted, insisting on closing the gap Naruto tried to keep between them. "You're not alone. I reacted to you, too," she said, prompting Naruto to relax his defensive stance. He rested his palm on his stomach, remembering the stinging drop he felt earlier. Is that what that was? I was...reacting to her? "We're the same, you and I," Kazuna hummed into his ear. Damnit, she's so fast, he thought as he scurried backwards. Against his efforts, she was able to follow his every move - step for step like his own shadow, maybe even better - consistently closing the gap he tried to create until his back thumped against the giant rock. The impact of his back against the blunt surface forced a grunt out of him.

"You've got something dangerous inside of you." Her voice was like velvet blanket dipped in sultry. She placed her right hand near his head and curved her fingers under his chin, "I can smell it in your chakra." Using her index finger, she traced the line of his bottom lip with a ghostly touch. Naruto didn't know whether to turn his attention to her adventurous finger or the closeness of her face and the shrinking distance between them. "It's strong and bold, like amber and spice, but with a sweet cinnamon undertone. I've never smelled anything like it."

His heart thundered against his ribs, pumping heated blood through his body, and painting his face crimson red. His mind scrambled under the gaze of her devilishly alluring eyes. Just as he felt her breath against his lips, Kazuna halted her movement and dropped her hands to her side before stepping away from Naruto.

"Too bad," she sighed. "Times up." Naruto could feel their presence closing in on them - Neji, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei - and before long, they'd emerged from the surrounding forest with Sakura carrying the weapon Kazuna wielded in her earlier battle.

"Naruto! Are you alright?!" Kakashi-sensei beckoned.

"I'm fine, where did you guys run off to?" he asked.

"That girl sent us off with a clone and lured you away from the group," Neji explained. "Are you alright? Why are you all wet?" he asked, looking over Naruto's body with a raised brow. Naruto looked back over to where Kazuna had just been, finding nothing but empty space. Even her cloak was gone.

"I was chasing the real Kazuna. She was just here," he answered, placing a tender hand to his mouth as his cheeks tingled. Surely he didn't need to tell them about that.

"She told you her name?" Sakura asked with a raised brow while Neji activated and scanned the area with his Byakugan.

"There's no one else out here with us now," he said defeatedly. Naruto turned and looked out into the pond where they'd landed together, the tickle of her finger still lingering on his lip.

yall. i am having so much more fun writing this now! i hope you all enjoy it! i've been kind of stuck between two different versions of chapter three, but i'm hoping to get it posted before friday (no promises, thoooooo)! thank you so much for reading! leave me a comment, tell me what you think (sometimes i reply)!