The Ninja from Nowhere (Naruto fanfiction)

Chapter 18: Enter the Tower

"Naruto, you awake?" Yukana nudged him in her lap.

"Uhh. . . what?" The blonde's eyes slowly opened. "Yukana, get down!" He gasped as he grabbed the white haired girl and flung her beneath him. "The grass ninja, where is she?" Naruto frantically searched the area.

"That ninja has been long gone for a while now." Yukna blushed at how embarrassing the situation must be for him, if only he knew. "Don't worry, I'll fill you in." Naruto got off of Yukana who then proceeded to explain everything she could to him of the past day. The blonde reached out and pinched some of her hair which made a crunching sound between his fingers.

"Ugh, Yukana, what's in your hair?"

"Oh, um, it's snake eye juice from when I attacked Orochimaru's summoning." The white haired girl explained while shooing his hand away out of embarrassment over her appearance. Hiruzen taught her manners while growing up and personal hygiene was one of them. Unfortunately, her killer instincts would end up replacing all of that.

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The Genin teams departed from each other and team seven came upon a river to rest and recover. "Um," Yukana stopped in her tracks just as the flowing water came into view. "We're not camping by that are we?" The white eyed girl hugged herself and pointed a shaky finger towards the river.

"It's the best spot, Yukana." Sakura pointed out. "Besides, you could use a bath."

"No, no. I don't do baths." The pale girl shook her head.

"Just sit over there." Sasuke pointed to a nearby tree. Yukana was happy to oblige as long as it was far enough away from the water. After searching the area for enemies and traps, Sasuke and Naruto left to catch fish downstream.

Yukana volunteered to gather wood for a fire and Sakura fetched a few small buckets of water. The pale girl returned with arms full of wood and set it down. "Now, what?" She looked around for Sakura to tell her how to build a proper fire.

"Yukana, over here." Sakura waved her over in which the pale girl followed. "While the boys are away, let's get you cleaned up. Take off your jacket and leggings so I can wash them. There's buckets of water you can clean yourself off with, so you don't have to go in the river."

Yukana stared at Sakura, unsure how to take the pinkette's hospitality. "Sakura. . . you did this for me? Thank you." The pale girl bowed.

"Hey, don't act so formal. We're friends after all."

"Friends? Huh." The pale girl mumbled and untied her kimono and slipped off her leggings to hand to Sakura. Yukana only had on her fishnet tank top and pants with black underwear beneath.

Sakura couldn't help but stare at the atrocious scars adorning Yukana's arms. Some were raised while others left chunks of skin missing. The pinkette was happy for the netting covering the rest of her so she couldn't see the others as clearly. Before her stomach could begin to churn, she quickly looked away and took the bloody, crusty clothing to the river.

Yukana sat on her knees and lifted a bucket over her head and slowly poured the water on her hair and scrubbed her white, sticky strands with her fingers. She did the same with her bloody face and the rest of her body and netting, which would dry easily enough without having to remove it. With the last bit of water, she gargled and swished out her mouth to get rid of her bad breath.

"Sasuke! I need you to light the fire with one of your fireballs!" Sakura called out and the ravenette eventually came into view. Sakura had Yukana's clothes hanging on a tree branch to dry and Naruto came back with four fish.

"Is that all you got?" Yukana pointed to his catch. Naruto gave her an annoyed look while he walked over to the fire. "Well, hey, let me have mine." She reached out and took a fish from his hands and bit down on it.