Chapter 6: I Beg Of You

The early sun was rising upon the faces of Naruto, Nia, and Jiraiya. Currently, the sannin was still waiting for an answer out of Nia's mouth.

"Well..." He said, "Are you gonna explain yourself? What are you doing away from your village?"

Nia quivered but remained tall. Her hands trembled but she placed them behind her so that neither of the male ninja would notice her uneasiness.

Would Jiraiya accept her? Would she have to head back to her village disappointed or would she somehow force the man to accept her as a pupil?

"Mmm..." She hummed, "I left... my village. I went rogue."

"What?!" Naruto gritted his teeth. This reply had made him agitated, "Why would you do something like that? Do you even realize what you've done?"

"Of course!" Nia barked back, " And I don't regret it at all! Not a single bit!"

"But-" Naruto leaned forward before Jiraiya puts his arm in front of the younger male.

"That's enough, Naruto."

Nia looked away from the blonde when he made eye contact with her. It wasn't shyness that made her do it but the fact that she didn't want to look in the eye of someone who appeared either disappointed or angry with her. It greatly bothered her.

"Nia... What made you leave your village?" Jiraiya asked softly.

Nia's eyes drifted to the ground. She thought of all the insults, laughter, bitterness, loneliness, and depression she dealt with.

"I left because... Because..."

The dark-haired girl shook her head, "Just forget about all that! The main reason I left is because I wanna be a better ninja! But most of all, I wanna be just like you, Jiraiya-sensei!"

"Eh? Just like me?" Jiraiya pointed at himself.

"Yes!"

Naruto chuckled, "You don't wanna be like Pervy Sage at all, trust me. This guy is a scatterbrain, pervert, and overly dramatic. You don't want to even know the rest."

"Like you're one to talk. You're just as much as a pervert and dramatic as I am, Naruto." Jiraiya retaliated.

"Nuh uh! I'm not the one who writes all those dirty books!"

Jiraiya glared at Naruto, "They're not dirty! They're just something to arouse a man's imagination."

"Heh, whatever you say."

Nia became suspicious after seeing the bond that teacher and student shared. It made her slightly jealous.

Even Samoi and I aren't very close like those two are and she's been my sensei for years.

"What I meant by being like you Sensei is that I also wanna be known across the five great nations as a accomplished novelist! I wanna be as great of a writer as you are one day!" Nia told the truth.

Jiraiya seemed flustered.

"I see!"

He then began to laugh obnoxiously with his hands on his hips while his back pushed backward.

Naruto sweat dropped.

Great... He'll probably be in this mood all day since this is the first time someone other than a few adults actually like the books that he writes.

"So err... Which Makeout series book do you like the most?" Naruto whispered to Nia.

"Actually, I hate all his Makeout books." Nia answered loudly.

Jiraiya immediately stopped laughing like an idiot.

"I bet the only reason you don't read is because you're so young. You don't even look as old as Naruto here. I take it you're about fifteen at most."

Nia sweat dropped, "I really look that young to you?"

Naruto and Jiraiya nod.

"I'll be seventeen this October. More specifically, on the tenth." Naruto said.

"I guess that means I'm older than you by atleast two weeks." Nia smiled, "My birthday is towards the end of September."

"Eh? September?" Naruto replied,

Wait, I think Shikamaru and Ino have birthdays in the same month as her...

Jiraiya smiled at the blonde boy.

You would've been born on the tenth of September if Kushina weren't a jinchuuriki. Her pregnancy lasted roughly ten whole months!

"Anyways, as I said earlier, I'm not into perverted books like the Makeout series. My favorite book is the Tales Of A Gutsy Ninja. That one is incredibly amazing." Nia got back into topic.

"What?" Naruto tilts his head, "What's that about? I thought Pervy Sage made only those Makeout books."

"Uh uh, he wrote that one too." Nia pointed at the book in Jiraya's hand.

Naruto took a closer look at it then laughed, "Wait! That's the book that didn't sale! Ahahaha!"

"Why you..." Jiraiya's face scrunched up.

"Huh? Not one?" Nia asked with a confused look.

"Of course they sold!" Jiraiya quickly attempted to reassure the young girl, "In fact, lots of people own my book."

"Stop lyi-"

Jiraiya threw his hand over Naruto's mouth to keep him quiet.

"That's wonderful! I knew you were awesome, Master!"

Jiraiya removed his hand away from Naruto's mouth and became serious.

"I'm sorry... But you shouldn't refer to me as your master." He locks eyes with the girl in front of him.

"W-What do you mean?"

"I can't take you in as my pupil. I can't just let anybody be student just cause they asked."

Nia's disappointment clearly showed.

"But that boy right there... He's your student, isn't he? So why does he get to be one?!"

"Naruto is a very special and rare case. I'm his master because it's what I was meant to be."

"But maybe you're meant to be my master too!"

Naruto saw the look of desperation in the girl's eyes. This wasn't some kind of practical joke. She wanted to be the old man's pupil for real.

"Please..." She slowly became upset.

"Why do you want me to be your teacher so badly, huh?" Jiraiya questioned.

"I prefer not to answer right now! It's too personal!"

The long-haired male sighed, "You know what? I'll give you a chance to prove yourself worthy without using words."

He then pushed Naruto towards Nia.

"If you can come close to beating Naruto in a fight then I'll consider being your master." The sannin said.

"DEAL!" Nia grinned widely.

Yes! Yes! Yeees! This is my chance to PROVE that I'm worthy of being something awesome!

"HUH?!" Naruto's face dropped, "I didn't sign up for this!"

"Well I just made you." Jiraiya crossed his arms, "Don't tell me you're afraid of hitting a girl..."

"Of course I am! I don't want to hurt her if she's not my enemy."

"She is now."

Naruto looked to see Nia cracking her knuckles and stretching. He groaned but decided to spar with the girl.

Fiiine... I'll do it.

He walked up to her and made a pose with his eyes closed.

"Hey!" Naruto called while being confident at who he thought would be the victor.

"Just to make sure you understand: I don't like to hold back! I'm giving it my all, Curly Brow!"

Nia frowned at Naruto's little nickname for her.

I told him my name is Nia... Why is he still calling me Curly Brow? That's rude!

"If you say you you're giving it your all, then I guess i'll have to do the same... Whisker Cheeks."

Naruto dropped out of his confident stance and turned read as a tomato, "The name is Naruto! Learn to use it!"

Jiraiya shook his head.

Oh brother... Talk about double standards. This better be a battle to remember or else I'm gonna have to sneak off to see some more beautiful women. Oh wait... Naruto still has to show me his best yet performance of his sexy jutsu... Maybe I'll stay just a while longer hehe.

*****

The Hidden Leaf was having yet another peaceful day. Due to the talk Sakura's friends had with her, she was atleast now able to be outside. The pain of losing Sasuke still lingered in her heart but now she was fighting to keep it from depriving her of happiness and peace.

She sauntered through the streets looking for a certain artist.

Geesh, where could Sai be? I've been all over the village now.

Sakura wore a red top with a white circle on the back over a tan shirt with short sleeves. A blue pencil skirt and black long high heeled sandals were also part of her outfit. She did not wear her headband and black gloves.

"Sakura, there you are."

The kunoichi turned around to see the man she was looking for.

"Sai!" She ran up to her comrade, "Where in the heck were you? I was looking all over for you."

"Oh, I was getting some new books to read at the library." The black-haired male smiled, "Why were you looking for me."

"I had to tell you that Naruto took off on a journey. I don't think he'll be back for some time."

"Naruto did? How long will he be gone for?"

Sakura nodded to answer Sai's first question then said, "I don't know. For all we know, he'll be gone for a month or more."

"I see..." Said Sai before walking passed his female teammate.

"Hey! Where you going, Sai? Don't you care at all that Naruto's gone?!"

"Hmm?" Sai stopped and turned around to see concern in Sakura's expression.

I don't care at all that Naruto's gone... But am I supposed to?

In the bag that Sai carried, he took out a book that he checked out while visiting the library and searched the contents on the first page that could help him with the situation he was in.

Hmm... Oh, here it is: When a friend leaves what should you do? That is on page 48.

The artist flipped the pages on his book while Sakura crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Finally Sai found what he was looking for.

'When a friend takes off without notifying where they are headed to, you should feel sad.' He read in his mind, 'If you're dealing with someone else grieving the loss of their friend, then you should lightly put your hand on their shoulder and tell them that their friend is in a better place. After that, tightly grasp their shoulder then walk away.'

Sai, with new determination to comfort Sakura, he creepily walks up to her.

"Sai?! What are you-"

"Sakura, Naruto is in a better place now... " Sai then squeezed Sakura's shoulder roughly. He finished by calling her, "Mutt!"

Sakura's blood boiled with rage. She glared at Sai.

"MUTT HUH?!" She cracked her knuckles and approached her victim.

"That's right." Sai nodded.

"SHANNAROOO!"

Bam!

Sakura's furious fist connected to Sai's cheek. He went flying straight into the air. A white spark of light appeared in the sky soon after.

"That'll teach you not to call me a mutt!" Steam pushed out of Sakura's face.

She folded her arms then frowned. Suddenly, she remembered the first thing her comrade had said.

'Hold on... Did he just say to me that Naruto is in a better place...?'

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A/N: OMG THAT WAS SOO FUN TO WRITE! I like these characters lol. They're so interesting to write about :) hope you guys liked this. Pls comment and vote before ya go and thx for reading!