A/N: Alright, it’s time to be honest with you. During Shippuden, many things happen that I do not actually know of. I’m gonna have to kind of work my way around all that. There will, inevitably, be plotholes, please forgive me for that O.o (I'll do my best though! :3)

Part 16

Sitting on the couch with Tsunade and Jiraiya, Uzu watched them exchange gazes with a serious expression on their faces.

“Uzu, sweetie, I’ve told Jiraiya about the things you told me about … and we need to validate whether they are plausible or not. Jiraiya needs to travel to many places and gather information … and since you already warned me about not letting him go alone, we’ve thought about who to send with him.” Tsunade said, before heaving a quiet sigh.

Uzu watched as her Mom gathered her words: “We’ve decided that it would be good if you were to go with him. We’ve also thought about sending Naruto with you … but the council and the daimyo didn’t agree … he will need to stay here. I’m sorry. I know that you two were just getting closer and you two like each other very much. I can only promise you that I’ll keep him safe and I hope that you and Jiraiya can come back soon …”

Uzu remained silent, surprised but not shocked. She was truly one of the best choices to go with Jiraiya. At this moment in time, she is already one of the strongest ninjas the leaf ever had. She honestly believed that she could at least escape with Jiraiya if they were to encounter Pain.

Closing her eyes, she saw images of Naruto’s smile flash by in her mind, already missing him.

In a shaky whisper, she asked: “And when do we leave?”

Opening her eyes again, she saw a sad smile on her mother’s face as she said: “In a few days. Team 7 will have no missions until that time, so make sure to spend some more time with Naruto. Maybe you can also give Sakura a chance when you come back … I’ve heard what she said about you in the beginning and I’ve been angry with her for a while. While I know of her obsessive infatuation with the young Uchiha, she shouldn’t have said that. After your mission in the sand, she has become much quieter, or so it seems, and she more than once voiced her relief at how you made sure Naruto was safe.”

Mulling over her words, Uzu nodded.

I don’t really care what Sakura does or thinks … but … Naruto seems to care about her, even with the way that she treated him all those years, so I won’t hold a grudge anymore.

For Mother and Naruto, I will give her another chance.

Raising her head, Uzu looked at Tsunade: “Who will make sure to keep Naruto safe? We’ll need someone there that can deal with the nine-tails, should it take over again …”

Yamato would be a good choice … Mom trusts him, and he never once disappointed me. He was a good teacher for the wood release, even though he can’t really use its full potential.

“I’ve already asked Yamato to join Team 7, or rather, Team Kakashi. Though … there’s another person that will join the Team after you are taken off of it. And I fear that we’ll need to keep an eye on that person.” Tsunade sighed.

Right … around this time in canon, Sai joined the Team to fill the void of Sasuke.

“One of Danzo’s men?” Uzu asked, a glint of worry appearing in her eyes.

She watched as Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed: “Yeah, we couldn’t prevent the council from going through with that. He is most likely sent there to keep an eye on Konoha’s Jinchuuriki.”

After a moment of silence, Uzu felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to look at Jiraiya, who had been silent until now.

“Don’t worry about him, Naruto will be fine. He’s strong, and you know that. Yamato was in Root before, so he’ll also keep an eye out for that youngster that Danzo sent over. Kid, I’m looking forward to traveling with you~.” Jiraiya said and Uzu noticed his eyes carefully roaming over her body.

Shivering slightly as his gaze passed over her chest, she nodded and felt her brows furrow slightly.

Jiraiya …

Maybe I’ll get to learn the Rasengan though?

…

Walking into the forest, Uzu intended to just spend some time drawing a few pictures. Mainly to preserve already everlasting memories on paper.

Before leaving the Senju compound, she had left behind a few clones to work on her storage seals. She predicted that it would take a few weeks to finish them as they were her most complicated and intricate project yet.

Before I leave, I need to try finishing the nightmare repellant tattoo for Naruto … he’ll be alone again after all …

Sighing sadly, she reached the familiar clearing and soon sat down on her white blanket.

Slightly angling her legs so that she could place down a white paper on them, she started drawing.

[A/N: I don’t really know how to describe this particular sitting position (my English is failing me :c), but you can just imagine the usual way that she hugs her knees … but this time she leaves a bit more space between her upper body and her thighs, carefully placing a white paper down on them.]

Her brush gently flowing up and down the paper, she filled it with different colored inks.

A beautiful lake, grassy areas that seemed to sway in the wind, massive and healthy trees with the occasional animals appearing on the branches and the grass. In the upper area of the picture, she added a beautiful starry sky, looking exactly as she remembered it.

Being totally focused on her drawing, she did not stop even when she felt a familiar presence approach.

When she felt gentle, calloused hands curl around her waist and meet on her lower stomach, she felt a warm and muscled chest gently press against her back.

Leaning into him, she stopped drawing for a second to bask in the gentleness of his embrace.

She felt his legs spread around her rather small form as he pressed his face into the back of her head, taking in the smell of her hair.

She felt his lips touch her head, making her smile.

How does he manage to make me feel so safe and warm …

She angled her head to the side, meeting his gaze.

Sending him a sweet smile, she felt a blush rise on her cheeks before she completely relaxed in his arms and leaned into him.

For a few minutes she just closed her eyes, enjoying his touch and especially the hands that curled around her stomach.

No one had ever held her like this, and she just realized how much she even missed this, even though she never experienced it before. Of course, she had thought and dreamed about what it would be like to be this close to someone, but she had never even dared to think that it would someday become reality.

Thinking about the fact that she soon needed to leave him again, she suddenly felt a wave of sadness overcome her. She put her finished drawing and brush away and instead moved her now free hands to weave into his. She squeezed tightly, making sure that he knew that she really liked this.

For a few hours, they just sat there, enjoying the sight of the sunset and basking in the warmth and comfort of their closeness. Today, they had spent most of their time together in silence, and both of them appreciated that. They didn’t need to chatter away endlessly just to fill the time because silence would be awkward, no, they enjoyed just being near each other, that was all they needed and wanted.

…

Walking back to the apartment, she squeezed Naruto’s hand, getting his attention.

“Is there any particular animal that you like?” She asked, giving him a gentle and sweet smile.

He seemed to consider her question for a while before he looked at her intently for a while.

She noticed that his eyes lingered on the top of her head, her cheeks and her waist.

…

She’d look cute with a pair of fox ears, whiskers and a tail …

…

Curios as to what he was thinking about, she watched as he chuckled: “I like all the animals that you like, but if I needed to choose one … then … it’d have to be foxes, right? I have one living inside of me after all~. Why though?”

Giggling at his words, she let go of his hand. After forming several hand seals, she slammed her hands onto the ground and watched as a small version of Kurama grew from the ground.

“Any preferences as to his fur color, or should I just choose his natural one?” Uzu asked, smiling up at him.

He seemed stunned for a while before he said: ”How do you know what Kurama looks like in such detail- … sigh … well, could you … uhm … give its fur the same vibrant red color that your hair has? It’s very beautiful~.”

Feeling her cheeks burn slightly, she willed the fox’s fur to turn red before carefully inscribing several permanent seals onto the inside of its mouth.

Getting up from her crouched position, she slowly picked the fox up before gently handing it over for Naruto to hold.

Giving him a sweet smile, she asked: “Like it? It’s yours~, take it as an early birthday gift.”

“Early birthday gift?” He asked, looking down at the red fox, sporting nine majestic, but small tails on its back.

She watched as his gaze turned towards her and his eyes took on a sad hue.

In a whispery but hurt voice, he said: “You … you are leaving, right? And quite soon too …?”

She felt her heart ache at his facial expression. Feeling a tear form in the corner of her eye, she said softly: “I’m sorry … Naruto, I’m sorry …”

She felt the tear run down her face as she watched him hug the little fox tightly as the furball buried its small head in Naruto’s face.

Seeing his lips tense up and his shoulders fall, she brought her hands to her face, trying to stop her already flowing tears.

Blinking sharply a few times, she didn’t see that Naruto had set down the fox and walked up to her, throwing his arms around her waist and tightly pulling her in.

Suddenly feeling a pair of soft lips connect with her own, she gasped, opening her mouth slightly. She felt his soft and wet tongue enter her mouth, as it almost a bit angrily and desperately explored her mouth, often touching her own.

Throwing her arms around his neck, she instinctively deepened the kiss, his taste and breath clouding her mind as his tongue continued playing with hers.

When they eventually parted, she felt her face burn and her knees felt weak, she could barely stand if not for his arms supporting her.

Exchanging an intense gaze with him, seeing desire and sadness inside of his eyes, she raised her feet, standing on her toes, in order to be able to properly reach his lips again.

Initiating a second kiss, greedily having another taste of his lips, she felt herself collapse against his chest when they finally parted.

Breathing heavily, she felt content and a warmth spread in her stomach as she felt her lips curl up slightly. All the while, tears still continued falling down her face.

…

Arriving at the Senju compound, they received knowing, but sad and guilty gazes from Tsunade and Jiraiya as they watched Uzu’s and Naruto’s tear stained gazes and their slightly swollen lips.

Tsunade and Jiraiya were slightly surprised when they first saw the new addition to their household, the small red furball, but they soon warmed up to it as it played in the house, eagerly walking around the house with curiosity in its eyes.

As Uzu experimented with her wood style, she noticed that she could create life with it, though it would be made of wood no matter what she did. She couldn’t create anything she hadn’t seen before though and she needed to store her memories of their behavior in the life that she created.

The small animals all behaved like normal animals would, but Uzu made sure that they would know who to cuddle with and who not to cuddle with.

…

Three days of resting later, she sat next to Naruto at their usual spot, creating a few seals when an idea hit her head.

Turning to him, she smiled, meeting his eyes for a second before getting up and walking onto the soft grass.

Feeling the soft grass beneath her soles and in between her toes, she flashed through a few hand seals before slamming her hands onto the ground: “Wood Release: Animal Creation Jutsu.”

She felt her chakra flow into the ground, making tens of animals grow out of the grass.

Standing up from her crouching position, she watched proudly as an army of fluffy little friends formed in front of her eyes.

Rabbits, birds, cats, dogs, giant mice, tigers, squirrels (+the flying ones) and foxes (fennec foxes <3) stood in front of her, all having different colored feathers or fur, but all equally looking cute and huggable.

She felt Naruto’s arms weave around her waist as he pulled her close, chuckling into her neck: “And what do you even intend to do with your little army of fluff~?”

Laughing happily, she said softly: “They’ll keep you company whenever you are here and create cuddle piles with you so that you can sleep safely! You’ll never be alone~. They’ll also make sure to keep this place as beautiful and clean as it currently is~.”

Uzu felt very proud, looking at the different animals that were busy running around the clearing and making noises of joy and happiness.

She had created a few bigger and stronger animals to make sure that even if enemies tried to destroy this place, they would be able to at least somewhat stop them. Of course, she didn’t believe that a few wooden animals would be able to really fight against any dangerous shinobi, but … she decided that this place would be even nicer with a few more animals around.

She, of course, didn’t forget to put the needed seals onto each of them.

…

No matter how happy and warm her past few days were, she still needed to leave, whether she wanted to or not.

Seeing how Jiraiya and Tsunade had grown a bit closer lately, she would make sure to protect Jiraiya if he wanted to do anything dangerous, as her Mom would surely want him to come back to her.

With her own two eyes, she could see that Tsunade was slowly, but surely, getting over the deaths of her brother and her previous lover. She knew that her own presence in Tsunade’s life was equally important for that development.

…

Looking at the lake in the clearing for one last time, she turned around, facing Naruto who had come to see her off.

Jiraiya and Uzu couldn’t just blatantly leave through the front door of Konoha, they needed to travel inconspicuously and remain hidden from sight in order to properly gather information.

Seeing the pained expression on Naruto’s face, she felt her heart tighten.

Not knowing what else to do, she just wrapped her arms around his stomach, hugging him tightly.

…

Feeling her slender arms around his body, he knew … soon she’ll be gone as well. Will she even bother coming back?

She won’t forget me, right?

She won’t leave me forever, right?

Right?

…

Feeling him tense up in her arms, noticing that he hadn’t hugged her back, she released him again, carefully observing his face.

Seeing his unfocused eyes, as if he wasn’t even looking at her, but instead seeing something else, she felt her lips tense up.

I know that he already lost many people in his life, that’s become painfully obvious the more time I spend with him.

In an effort to get him to finally see her, she stood on her toes, kissing him on his lips.

It took a few seconds before he finally reacted.

Seeing his clouded eyes finally focusing on her, she saw tears flow down his face.

His arms wound around her body, squeezing the breath out of her and causing her to gasp slightly.

Gently stroking his back, she managed to get him to relax his hold on her and they parted soon after.

Looking into his eyes, she saw his fear, anger and hope all at once.

Feeling her throat constrict, tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she took her brush out of her pouch.

Quickly, but carefully drawing a seal on her left palm, she felt it connect to her chakra pathways.

Looking at him, making sure to meet his eyes, she grabbed his left hand and carefully drew the same seal onto it.

Using chakra to harden her nail, she cut into each of their palms, drawing a bit of blood before she pressed them together.

Her blood mixed with his and the seals glowed brightly for a while before dimming again.

She looked at Naruto, giving him a sad smile. After making sure that he was actually listening, she said: “Naruto … this seal connects us. If either of us infuses chakra into it, it activates and causes the other’s seal to glow. It’s a way for us to stay connected, no matter where we are … and it also tells us that the other is still alive, wherever they are. Remember this, okay?”

She saw him close his eyes and turn his head away.

Stowing her brush away, she moved her now free hands to cup his cheeks, forcing him to face her: “Naruto, I want you to know that I’ll never leave you, okay? I’ll come back … just wait for me, okay? Okay?”

He opened his eyes, regarding her expression for its truthfulness. Judging her words to be genuine, he nodded, smiling stiffly.

Just then, Uzu felt a presence arrive in the clearing. She saw Jiraiya arrive at a tree a few meters away from them.

Knowing that it was time for her to go, she kissed him one last time, before hugging him again.

…

She’s gone. She’s gone …

Naruto stared at the ceiling of his room in the Senju compound, letting his tears stain his pillow.

His thoughts were just about to spiral into deep darkness again, when his room’s door opened, and a small slit of light came through.

Naruto turned his head, watching as a small fox trotted into the room after nudging the door with its nose, causing it to snap shut again.

The fox jumped onto his bed before sitting down on his stomach.

Feeling the warmth of the fox’s body and seeing its vibrant red fur, images of the girl he loved flashed through his mind.

He pulled the fox into his arms and curled up, laying down on his side.

He felt his eyelids droop and yawned.

What he didn’t know was that a seal on the inside of the fox’s mouth lit up as soon as he hugged the fox. Peaceful and calm chakra flowed out of the fox and into Naruto, calming his mind.

Soon enough, Naruto fell into a dreamless, yet resting, sleep.

…

Traveling through the forests of the fire country, Uzu hoped that the fox she had left him would do its job.

While she didn’t manage creating a tattoo that would help him sleep, she did manage creating a seal that would help him chase away the monsters inside of his mind at least when he slept.

Honestly, she didn’t know whether it truly worked, but she hoped it did, he needed that. Especially since she could so imagine that some painful memories would arise in him as soon as she left him.

Suppressing a sigh, she followed after Jiraiya who had picked up his speed.

…

A/N: Please let me know what you think :/