Future Walker(Fem Naruto x Harem)

thirty one

"You should eat more vegetables Sasuke" Naruko said dumping more cabbage on Sasuke's plate. The raven haired boy rolled his eyes "Would you stop mothering me? Mind your own plate" he said returning the portions Naruko gave him to her own plate

Tsunami watched their exchange with fond eyes, really the two reminded her of her and her husband. "Naruko-nee, give me more vegetables! I'll eat them up" Inari said from across the table. "Unlike SOME people I'm not a picky eater"

"That's new" Tazuna muttered with an amused smile. "What are you talking about Grandpa! I ALWAYS eat my vegetables" Inari said with a blush, causing Naruko to giggle.

Tazuna turned to Kakashi who seemed to be deep in thought, he was moving his food around his plate, but hadn't taken a bite. "Uhh, I was wondering...you see I wanted to ask you this for a while now" the old man said. "Why did you choose to stay here? I lied about the mission, you could have left but..you didn't"

Kakashi lifted his head and met Tazuna's questioning eyes. "Well, a certain blondie convinced me that staying here and helping you was the right thing to do" he said eyeing Naruko who was looking at him with widened eyes.

"Come on, the words of a little girl couldn't have been enough to convince you" Tazuna said.

"It was plenty convincing" And the looks she kept sending him and Sasuke might have done the trick too.

"And I'm NOT  a little girl mind you! I'm a ninja capable of kicking your wrinkly ass!" Naruko piped up, causing the table to erupt with laughter, except for Sakura who made a disgusted look "Eww language Naruko!" She chided

Inari looked at Naruko, his eyes full of admiration for the girl. But still, he could not help but feel afraid of the consequences of Naruko and her team's decision to stay with them. His heart thumped against his chest out of fear and anxiety, he didn't want Naruko to be harmed

"I think you should go while you have the chance" Inari whispered

Naruko looked at Inari "did you say something?"

Sasuke, who already sensed an incoming out burst from the child, glared at him and snapped "Are you going to have another tantrum kid? If you have a problem just spit it out and get it over with". Naruko groaned at Sasuke's rudeness to the younger boy, seriously he was NOT good with kids.

"I just don't understand why you force your bodies to work hard until you drop to the floor! There's no way you can beat Geto's men even with your training! No matter what you say or do, the weak ones will always cower before the strong!" Inari yells standing up so suddenly that the chair fell backward

"Have you ever fought before?" Sasuke asked, eyes dark. "Have you ever woken up at the crack of dawn to train, so you can achieve your goals, your ambition? Have you ever worked SO much that your bones are screaming for mercy, but you know you can't stop?" he glared down at the boy "No...because you're just a stupid kid. You don't know what we've been put through, you don't know what we've seen"

Tears gathered in the corners of Inari's eyes but the boy refused to back down

"Shut up, you make me sick" he spat   "You know nothing about this land, you're going to die unless you leave immediately! And if you REALLY care about Naruko-nee, you'd grab her hand and make a run for it and not look back"

"Naruko is a strong, capable ninja, she can protect herself, I've seen what she can do" Sasuke was seconds away from throttling the little brat. "You dont know anything"

"Even the strong ones can be broken, it wouldn't matter how strong you are, you will ALWAYS break" Inari spat, his tears running down his face. "YOU'RE the ones who don't know anything!"

"Enough!"

Everyone looked over at Naruko, whose bangs covered her eyes. Her hand was gripping the edge of the table. Tsunami worriedly placed a hand on Naruko's shoulder, but the girl shook it off. Then, the girl stood up and straightened herself up, with a soft look, she held out her hand towards Inari

"Inari...can you walk with me?" She asked, as gentle as a breeze.

"If it's alright with Tsunami-san" she looked at the worried woman. "I'd like to talk with Inari for a moment"

"I--...yes" was all Tsunami could manage to say.

Sasuke scoffed and stormed out of the kitchen.

"Let's talk outside" Naruko whispered leading Inari out.

*

Inari and Naruko sat outside, looking up at the bright full moon. "I'm sorry about Sasuke's out burst back there" Naruko began. "It's just that...he can be a hothead, but believe me Sasuke has good intentions, he's just not good at showing it"

"I can see that" Inari said. "He really likes you....he was so mad when I said he should take your hand and run away. He looked, offended even, by the idea"

Naruko giggled. "He knows how strong I am, and he's gotten...I don't know..defensive? Protective? Of me. He knows how I'm perfectly capable of causing mass destruction with just a kick and a punch, but it doesn't stop him from worrying over my well being. It also means that's he'll be offended if anyone thinks of me as a pampered princess" she explained with a giggle

"I don't think you're a pampered princess!" Inari exclaimed. Naruko raised a brow "Really?"

"Yes! I've seen you train, you're so cool! And you move so fast it's hard to keep track of where you are and how you got to another place" the boy practically had stars in his eyes. "Thanks" Naruko said with a smile. Then she turned serious "You know, you can't...you can't cry all day"

"What?"

"I know how hard it's been for you, I know your life's been tough and...you're still suffering the loss of a father" She placed a hand on Inari's head. "There are others who suffered greater losses Inari-kun, I'm not saying your loss doesn't matter...I'm saying you're not the only one whose known pain. Sasuke and I are orphans. I grew up without parents, and Sasuke lost his entire family"

"Oh" Inari said softly. "I didn't know"

"For a long time, I had no one. I was ostracized by my village"

"You were?" Inari looked shocked. "W-why?"

"I was too different" Naruko shrugged. "The whole village treated me like a freak, and I was always alone, without a single friend. As for Sasuke, he wasn't given the chance to grieve his family's loss properly because all eyes were on him. The last Uchiha, do you know how difficult it is to grieve when so much unwanted attention is glued on you?"

"I'd say it's pretty hard" Inari whispered

"Exactly. And Sasuke's still grieving till this day...but I'm helping him. I don't want him to grieve alone anymore, because I understand his pain. I know what it's like to come home to an empty house, alone, with nobody to greet us"

Naruko looked up at the moon, remembering her past life. A life of pain, abandonment, hurt, and loneliness. She wished she made more effort to reach out to Sasuke in her past life.

"However, I decided I wouldn't sulk or keep my head down. I'm going to become the best in Konoha, and be acknowledged and admired by everyone. So I wouldn't have to feel alone, and helpless ever again"

"You're really amazing" Inari said in awe

"You're amazing too" Naruko said "You just need to believe in yourself"

The two stayed outside talking for a few more minutes, before Naruko decided it was time for them to catch some shut eye. Inari agreed, but before he that, he decided Sasuke deserved an apology