Chapter 15 - D.A.R.E (Don't Anger Red Eyes) {PART 6}

"Was that ever good!" Naruto grinned as he leaned back in his seat and stretched, fox tailed twitching contentedly. "Ahhh, I'm full!"

"Hmmm, yeah." Nozomi nodded in agreement as she slurped the last if her ramen noodles up and leaned back against the booth she and Naruto were sitting in. "Though, it doesn't compare to Ichiraku's ramen, if you ask me."

"Well duh!" Naruto grinned. "That's cause NOBODY can get it like Teuchi-san does...hehe!"

Nozomi nodded absentmindedly as she looked up and gazed around the room, frowning in surprise as she found that everyone here, customer and employee alike, was watching her and Naruto with expressions that could only be described as fearful, hints of nervousness in their eyes.

'I knew people would be scared to see me but this is ridiculous!' The cat girl sighed quietly as she shot the people a warning glare, and they went back to what they were doing, 'I mean, come on! They're acting like Naruto-kun and I are aliens from outer space!'

"Umm...is something wrong, Nozo-chan?" The blond across from her asked, noticing the glare on her face. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

"I'M not looking at anything..." Nozomi mumbled as she turned her attention back to her boyfriend, "It's everyone HERE...do you not feel their eyes on you?" She demanded, voice barely above a whisper.

"Ohh...so that's why it's so awkwardly quiet in here?" Naruto paused and lowered his voice. "Well then, you wanna leave now?" he asked softly as he glanced up and shot a glare at the woman working the counter, who was too busy watching him and Nozomi to listen completely to the customer who's order she was taking.

"Yeah...let's." Nozomi nodded in agreement, smiling slightly as the blond boy stood and extended his hand out to her. She accepted his hand, still smiling and blushed as the boy pulled her not only to her feet, but into his side, and wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her there as they walked outside.

Once Naruto was sure the door had closed behind them, he let go of the cat girl and looked at her. "Geez, what was WRONG with those people?! They acted like they thought we were gonna eat them, or...something!...It made me mad!"

"It's because of me.." Nozomi gave a sad smile. "They all thought I was dead this whole time, so seeing me return is kind of a shock for them...and now that you have ears and a tail too, they're also scared of you..."

"Pfft! Well THAT'S stupid!" Naruto muttered, pressing his ears flat against his head in disgust and sighed. "So, what do you wanna do now?" He glared back at the doors behind them. "I am NOT going back in there!"

"I wasn't going to suggest that." Nozomi giggled slightly. "Hmmm..umm, well...." The cat girl paused, trying to think of something for them to do. "I could show you where I used to live before I ran away."

"That sounds great!" Naruto grinned. "I was wondering about where you lived all this time...so let's go see then, Nozo-chan!"

"Ok....but it's not really anything special." Nozomi warned him, grabbing his hand and starting to walk, glancing around at everything and everyone they passed by.

Naruto just grinned wider and glanced around as well as he was led by the hand, feeling a little sad. This place seemed so harmless...as did the people...it was hard to believe it was the same place his kitten had grown up, beaten to the point of bleeding, hated, misunderstood...

"We're here." Nozomi said softly, stopping abruptly.

"Oh, great, I!-" Naruto broke off as he glanced up, and his face fell. Sure, it was just a tiny little apartment....but....even here he could sense the sadness. The sorrow that came from the little house was almost overwhelming. From the looks of things, the place obviously hadn't been touched in years, probably not since the day Nozomi had run away.

"I know...it's a total dump," Nozomi said quietly, "but this is where I grew up....so...what now...?"

"Do you think we'd be allowed to go inside?" Naruto paused, flushing a little. "Just curious...I'd like to see the inside if you think that'd be allowed."

"Sure, go ahead." Nozomi gave a small wave of her hand. "The clan obviously doesn't care who goes in or out, since this place hasn't been touched in years."

"Ok then, so are you coming with me?"

Noozmi glanced at the door reluctantly before nodding. "...Yeah, I'm coming.." The cat girl heaved a sigh before walking up and gabbing the door knob, taking a quick step back as the door swung open with a loud creak.

"Ok, c'mon." Nozomi glanced over her shoulder at the blond before walking inside and flipping the light switch, not surprised to find that the little bit of light that still burned was faint, dim, making it hard to see.

"Well, here we are...sorry if it's hard to see everything..." The cat girl shrugged.

"Hey, I can see just fine." Naruto smiled. "Every good ninja knows how to adjust to all sorts of different situations, including ones with bad lighting."

"Ok then." Nozomi stepped further into the tiny house, as did Naruto. His heart sank as he glanced around at the sight before him. On one wall was a medium sized, moth eaten mattress; On the wall left of it was a small sink, a refrigerator, and a big, round faded blue rug on the floor. On the right wall there was a door, which Naruto found led to the small, box shaped bathroom. It consisted of a small sink, a toilet, and a shower, and just like everything else inside the small apartment, everything in there was coated with a thick layer of dust, and there were spider webs everywhere.

Naruto backed out of the bathroom and glanced around the room, trying to imagine how things must have felt here for Nozomi. She must have shared the bed with her parents, seeing as that was the only piece of furniture in here suitable for sleeping on; the rug on the ground was quite possibly where the family had sat down for meals together.

How lonely, the boy thought with a pang of sadness, it must have been to have stayed here after your parents' death. To have slept in the same bed that used to be cramped because of there not being enough room for everyone, only for it to be big and empty on either side of you now; the warmth of the mattress gone and in its place, coldness, serving as a reminder of just how alone you were now.

How sad it also must have been to sit on that large, faded rug and eat meal after meal, day in,day out, alone, with only your memories of the family discussions that had taken place during dinner, yet another bitter reminder that you no longer had anyone else in the world to care for you.

The blond fought back tears as he imagined all this. No wonder Nozomi had been so willing to die; she had literally had NOTHING. In an attempt to keep his tears from falling, Naruto glanced down at the floor and was immediately surprised to find most of the floor was stained red.

At this moment, Nozomi glanced over, and seeing what he was looking at, she nodded, confirming his suspicions. "Yeah...that's my blood..." The cat girl closed her eyes, fighting back her own tears as memories, unwanted memories flooded her mind. "I tried to clean the floor every time I got blood on it after being beat, but it was just impossible to keep up with that AND keeping myself clean...So I kinda just...gave up after awhile..."

"So..." Naruto pointed over by the bathroom door where the stain was much darker, and larger and frowned. "What happened there to cause so much blood?"

"That..." Nozomi looked away and sighed, "That's from the day Suoh tied the bell on me and beat me until I was barely alive..." The cat girl lowered her head so that shadows covered her eyes. "I could barely get home, and just as I was headed for the bathroom to get cleaned up I collapsed there."

Naruto, hearing the sadness in the girl's voice walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her gently, hoping to comfort her, even if only a little.

The cat girl heaved a shaky sigh and let herself lean against his chest slightly, grateful for his company. 'I couldn't deal with these memories on my own...thanks for being here with me, Naruto-kun.'

Naruto smiled a little, sensing the calmness that was slowly but surely washing over his "kitten", and rested his head on her shoulder, glancing around the room absently. During his second glance around the room, he noticed the cracked walls, as well as the torn curtains on the window above the bed...the picture frame laying face down on the mattress...Wait. Picture frame?

Slowly Naruto unwound his arms from around the cat girl's waist and approached the bed, carefully picking up the rectangular frame and looking at it. There was a picture of three people inside, but the glass was coated with such a thick film of grime and dust, Naruto couldn't see much, even when he wiped some of the dust away.

"Here, let me help." Nozomi took the frame from Naruto then and threw it onto the ground, watching emotionlessly as the aged glass shattered into millions of pieces. "Hehe, watch your feet." She warned as she used her dig through the glass, carefully digging the photo out of the broken frame, and handing it to Naruto. "There you go."

"Uhhh thanks..." Naruto sweatdropped as he took the picture from the cat girl. He hadn't told her to break the frame!.....Oh well, at least he could see the photo clearly now. On the back of the photo there was writing, which read: "Kazuki, Izumi and Nozomi Kubota." At another, closer look,Naruto saw more writing, scribbled in the same handwriting that said: "Together forever, no matter what." The blond turned the photo over and looked at it, eyes softening at the image he saw.

The photo was of a young Nozomi and her parents. The cat girl was perched on the shoulders of her father, a man with twinkling, green eyes, and messy brown hair that was constantly in his eyes. The grinning woman next to him, Nozomi's mother, had warm brown eyes, and her curly, dark brown locks of hair were obviously being ruffled in a gentle breeze. The three of them all looked so happy in this picture, Naruto felt himself tear up a little as a pang of sadness shot through him.

'It's ironic...They promised to be here with her, and yet here we are years later...them dead, and Nozomi...on her own...' The boy thought, now fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. 'Now I REALLY don't want to leave her alone...'

"Naruto-kun? What are you thinking about?"

Naruto glanced up from the photo and was immediately mesmerized, caught up in the cat girl's golden-yellow eyes. When had she moved so close to him like this?

"N-nothing really." Naruto sighed and handed her the photo. "Here....They look like they were really nice people.."

"Yeah, they were...really nice." Nozomi nodded as she stared at the picture. Naruto could've sworn he saw a glitter of tears in her eyes, but whatever had been there was gone in a quick flash of the girl's sleeve. Her jacket may have hidden her tears, however, it did NOT hide the sadness on her face.

Now overcome with a sudden need to protect her, to reassure her he was there, Naruto lunged forward and pulled the cat girl into his arms, hugging her tight. "Nozomi, I know what you're thinking about...and I promise, I'll never leave you," The boy swallowed hard, fighting back the lump in his throat, for if that gave way so would his tears, "I promise you...I'll stay with you forever!"

Not even her sleeve could hide her tears now, as they spilled from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, and Nozomi returned Naruto's hug just as tight, sobbing softly.

"...Nozo-chan..." Naruto sighed inwardly and began to stroke the girl's cat ears lightly, in an effort to soothe her.

A few minutes later, the cat girl was calm no longer sobbing as she had been before. "Naruto-kun..." she murmured, her voice muffled by the blond's shoulder, which she had her face buried in.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, pleased to find he could understand her muffled voice thanks to the new, improved hearing his fox ears blessed him with.

"Please....don't promise me forever.....that's not a promise you can keep...things happen everyday...people die everyday...and the line of work you and I are in endangers our very existence...it's impossible to keep a promise involving forever.."

"Wha...what do you mean?" Naruto frowned.

"For crying out loud, Naruto-kun!" Nozomi pulled out of the boy's embrace and stared at him, exposing her wet, tear streaked face. "Aside from LIFE being dangerous and hazardous each day...look at the job we do. We're NINJA! Trained in the arts of ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, whatever...we're trained to fight, and to kill if we must! And we're sent out against other ninja with the same goal, who will gladly kill US to accomplish their mission!"

"Our lives are never guaranteed to last even a day, let alone a WEEK! We're shown grace when we return from a mission!" The cat girl lowered her head now, shadows casting over her eyes. "So Naruto-kun...please...don't promise me forever when you have no way of knowing what's gonna happen...I don't wanna get my hopes up....not again.."

"Nozomi.." Naruto stepped forward and pulled the cat girl into another hug. "What you said is true...but you forget...you and I aren't ordinary ninja. We have demons sealed inside of us! The demons make us stronger and harder to beat! Sure, we can be defeated still, but nowhere near as easily as a normal ninja! So I'll promise you my whole life- which to me IS forever...and even when we die, my soul won't leave yours...so please, calm down.."

"...Fine...I-I'll trust you." Nozomi looked up sheepishly. "S-sorry for going all...dark on you...it's this place. The memories are too much to bear."

"In that case, let's leave...I've seen more than enough of your old home." Naruto grinned, and Nozomi found it hard not to do the same. "Ok...let's leave." she agreed, taking his offered hand and leading them both out of the tiny little house she had once called home...

---

"Nozo-chan...you ok?" Naruto waved a hand in the cat girl's face, and she blinked, snapping back to reality.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"Oh." Naruto paused. "So, whatcha thinkin' about?"

"Nothing important." Nozomi sighed and looked away, patting her jacket pocket as she walked. She'd made sure to grab the one photo of her and her parents, since it was her only memory she had left of them, aside from the kunai that had been used to kill her father, but...that was another story..

"Hey, come on," Naruto reached out and gently turned her head so she was facing him. "If it wasn't anything important, you wouldn't be frowning like you are...now tell me what's going on in that head of yours."

"Ok, fine." Nozomi sighed. "I know we've only been here a little over a day...but...I'm fed up. I'm sick of this place...of the people...staring at me like I'm some monster bent on destroying all of human kind...everything..."

"Suoh?" Naruto asked softly, and the cat girl nodded in response.

"Especially him!" She paused. "So...I was thinking...more like wondering...we've found out all we came to find out....so...can we leave?...Just pack up and go home?" Nozomi stopped walking and stared deeply into the blond's blue eyes, making sure to put on her cutest kitty face. "Please?"

Naruto, in response gave a wide grin and nodded, unable to resist her cat like charm. "Sure we can...but if it's alright, can we sleep tonight, and leave first thing tomorrow?"

Nozomi nodded, looking up at the sky. It would be dark in a few minutes anyways. "Ok, let's go back to the clearing then, get a good night's sleep, then leave tomorrow."

"As you wish." Naruto smiled as he held out a hand to the brunette. "Let's get back then, kitty cat."

Nozomi smiled back and took the boy's hand, blushing faintly. "Ok."

Naruto's smile widened and he began to walk, soon arriving back at the clearing in the forest which they had dubbed their campsite.

The cat girl next to him took one look at the space and yawned softly. "Man...I'm suddenly so tired ~nyaa.."

"Heh, me too." Naruto replied, yawning as well.

Without another word, Nozomi opened her bag and dug out her sleeping bag. Naruto followed suit, digging his out and laying it on the ground beside hers. Then he removed his jacket and crawled into the sleeping bag. Nozomi crawled into hers beside him, only removing her jacket once she was under covers, to avoid "flashing" Naruto with a glimpse of something he wasn't allowed to see...yet.

The cat girl blushed at this and quickly pushed that thought away, laying her folded up jacket next to her.

"Good night, Nozo-chan." Came Naruto's voice in a soft tone that was quiet for him.

"Hmmm, good night, Naruto-kun." Nozomi smiled and closed her eyes, pulling the sleeping bag up to her chin. A few seconds later, a soft, warm pair of lips on her cheek caused the cat girl to open her eyes quickly, a blush spreading across her face as she saw Naruto, out of his sleeping bag, crouched over her with his face only centimeters away from her own.

Naruto saw the blush on her surprised looking face and laughed softly. "What? You didn't think I'd go to sleep without a good night kiss, did you?"

Before Nozomi could answer, the blond closed the little space between them, catching her lips with his in a slow, lingering kiss that made her entire body tingle with both shock and excitement.

After a couple seconds, Naruto pulled away,grinning as he took notice of her now crimson face. "Sweet dreams, my princess...I'll see you in the morning." This said, the boy laid back down in his sleeping bag once more, closed his eyes, and was almost immediately fast asleep, snoring softly.

Nozomi heaved a shaky sigh, waiting for her heartbeat to return to normal speed, and burrowed deep into her sleeping bag, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. Whether it was Naruto's snoring, or how awkward she was feeling, Nozomi didn't know. However, she DID know one thing, and that was that she couldn't sleep.

'C'mon, Nozomi, just fall asleep already! You're gonna need energy for the trip back home!'

Nozomi sighed and shut her eyes tight, trying desperately to fall asleep. She was just starting to nod off when a hushed whisper and a nudge in her side jerked her wide awake again.

"Nozomi!" the whisper said, just before she was nudged again.

Realizing that whoever was there wasn't going to go away, the cat girl gave a defeated sigh before straightening up and peeking half her face out from under the sleeping bag. "What is it...?"

"Aww, you look sleepy...did I wake you, kitty?"

Nozomi gasped in shock as her stare landed on none other than Suoh, and she scowled. "What are you doing here?!" she demanded, sitting up straight and pointing an accusing finger at him.

Suoh was about to answer, but lost his train of thought as the sleeping bag slid off her to rest in her lap, and in the process, exposed her medium sized chest wrapped in nothing but her fish net top, which, unfortunately for her was see through. "Well, I, umm--" the boy stammered, blushing deeply, unable to raise his eyes from her bust now; a typical guy.

"What's your problem-" Nozomi started to growl, only to gasp in realization and astily grab her jacket, pulling it on quickly. "Quit staring, you stupid pervert!" she snarled, blushing furiously.

"If you don't want me looking, then don't SHOW me!" Suoh snickered.

"But--I--I didn't know that!--I mean!--You shouldn't have been!--" Nozomi sighed and folded her arms tightly across her chest, scowling at the boy. "Tell me why you're here!" she demanded, changing the subject.

"Oh, I think you should KNOW the answer to that." Suoh smirked.

A drop of sweat rolled down the back of Nozomi's head and she groaned. "You're not here to try and make me be your girlfriend again...are you...?" she asked, eying the dirty blond haired boy warily.

"Ding ding, we have a winner!" Suoh snickered. "Now for your prize, a lifetime of happiness with yours truly!" The boy grinned and winked, pointing a thumb toward himself.

"Suoh-kun..." Nozomi facepalmed at his cheesiness. "My answer is still no!!"

"Oh but you haven't heard my offer yet." Suoh said quickly.

Nozomi growled and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Suoh-kun, I don't care what you say...I will NOT be your girlfriend!"

"You don't care..." Suoh paused, pretending to be sad. "...Even if it involves your fiance's life??"

"No, I do n-" Nozomi broke off as his words sunk in fully. "...What do you mean? What about Naruto-kun?"

Suoh smirked, pleased by her reaction. "I mean...you won't change your mind about being my girlfriend...even if it was the only way to save him from- oh I don't know, the extraction jutsu?"

Nozomi frowned, speechless. "...Essence no Jutsu...? Wha-what about it.?!"

"Ok, I'll be blunt." Suoh sighed as he formed handsigns. "I KNOW how to perform Essence no Jutsu...and unless you agree to stay and be my girlfriend, I'll use it on Whiskers, here...get the picture now?"

Nozomi just stared at him, eyes wide in horror. "...B-b-but---what about--" she paused and smirked slightly as a thought hit her. "Sorry but you CAN'T kill Naruto-kun with that...he's got Kyuubi, the ninetailed fox demon sealed in him. No jutsu can kill HIM!"

"Ah, but you're wrong about that." Suoh sneered. "The Essence no Jutsu CAN kill Kyuubi."

"Oh really." Nozomi smirked challengingly at the boy now. "If that was the case, then why didn't the 4th Hokage use THAT on Kyuubi instead of sealing him in Naruto-kun like he did?"

"Because," Suoh grinned deviously, "he didn't know the jutsu!"

"I don't believe you." Nozomi frowned, crossing her arms again.

"It's true." Suoh snickered. "The Hokage and our clan had a disagreement about whether or not it was right to kill the 'Kubota demons'...Hoever, the Hokage couldn't stop our clan from doing it, because he never learned HOW they were killing the demons. Because of this, the 4th was unable to kill the Kyuubi, which is the reason he had to seal it in another being's body."

"......I still don't believe you!" Nozomi growled, trying not to look convinced, even though his argument made a lot of sense.

"Oh really....well then, I'll prove it to you right now!" Suoh smirked as he finished his handsigns, and he turned to Naruto, who was still sleeping peacefully, not disturbed in the slightest.

"...You can't kill Kyuubi!" Nozomi insisted stubbornly.

"Do you REALLY want to find out if I can or not?" Suoh turned to her challengingly.

"Y-you wouldn't!" Nozomi frowned.

"I WOULD!" Suoh smirked. "...Unless you leave this guy here, and become MY kitty."

"You CAN'T kill him!" Nozomi cried, beginning to panic now. "It's not possible!"

"...Can you afford to find out?" A devillish grin was on Suoh's face as he spoke.

Nozomi just stared at the boy, horror written all over her face as panic flooded her entire being. 'He wouldn't really....WOULD he?! I guess...he would...if it meant he'd get me...GAH! I don't WANT this!'

The cat girl's eyes widened even more, if possible, as a new thought struck her, its force leaving her shocked as if she had been hit by a bolt of lightning. 'Wait...! Is this what my dreams have been trying to warn me about?!...It would make sense...ARGH! What am I supposed to do?!...I KNEW we shouldn't have waited till morning! We should have left TONIGHT! What do I do? What do I DO?!'

"Tick tock, tick rock, Nozo-neko-chan," Suoh grinned deviously, motioning to Naruto, who still slept obliviously. "Lives are on the line here."

'He's right..I don't really believe Essence no Jutsu could kill Kyuubi...but that story makes sense..and I REALLY can't afford to have Suoh use it and find that he was right...that would kill ME to see him kill Naruto-kun!' The cat girl hung her head to hide the glistening tears that were quickly springing to her eyes and sighed. 'I guess...if there's no other choice...I...I have to do this...I WON'T let my nightmares come true....Naruto-kun will NOT die because of ME!'

"Well?" Suoh pressed.

Slowly Nozomi raised her head, exposing the tears that had formed in her eyes. "....Fine." she uttered softly, sadly. "I'll...I'll be your girlfriend...just...PROMISE...not to do ANYTHING to Naruto-kun..."

A smirk was on Suoh's face as he nodded, looking all too pleased. "As you wish, my pretty kitty." he grinned and rubbed the cat girl's ears affectionately, though to her, his hands felt hard, firm...not the firm gentleness she'd known from Naruto...but firm and hard, cold, even...

'I can do this...' Nozomi heaved a heavy sigh. 'It's...not the first time I've felt this kind of pain in my heart..I'll get over it. I...I can...move on...and forget Naruto-kun...right...?'

"...Pinky swear on it." Nozomi said quickly, holding out her pinky, which Suoh hooked his to quickly and nodded.

"Pinky swear."

'No...I can't forget him...Naruto-kun has rubbed off on me so much...even his childish innocence of trusting a pinky swear...' The cat girl heaved another sigh as the tears in her eyes finally flowed down her cheeks, gushing like a waterfall. 'If I can't forget him...then I'l just go back to living numbly...and I'll dream of what could have been a happy ending, just as I did when I was young...forever hiding my tears from the world and their judging eyes...I can do this...I hope..'

"Hehe, I knew you'd come around kitty." Suoh was grinning maliciously now. "So...first thing's first...you need to break up with ramen breath here...and here's how you'll do it...listen closely.." The boy smirked deviously as he lowered his voice, and whispered softly in one of Nozomi's cat ears, his rushed voice making it twitch.

The cat girl listened, nodding numbly, and feeling as cold as if she were left out in the chilling rain, and it was pelting her, going through to her very bones. She winced discretely and lowered her head, tears still falling rapidly as she felt her heart break in two, damaged beyond repair, all hope lost now..