CHAMELEON
Don't be afraid to show your true colors
"Excuse me, excuse me. Coming through." A thin figure slipped through the thick crowd. She was followed closely by an angry women of equal age, both fairly young, probably not much older than the newly arrived Konoha shinobio trio - Uzumaki Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi - especially the former two.
The girl whizzed past them in no time. His blonde hair ruffling as he caught sight of her twinkling eyes. A smile naturally formed at the corner of his lips. He looked around for her pursuer, but she was long gone. Strange, maybe she decided to take a different route.
"Is that...?" Sakura wondered out loud, looking up to Kakashi.
He nodded, and Sakura could only imagine the smirk hiding beneath that mask. "The princess of Samidare."
"Really?" Naruto refocused his gaze onto her disappearing back.
"Yes, Naruto. The girl we're supposed to protect," Sakura clarified with a sigh.
"Along with the rest of the family," Kakashi reminded.
Naruto saluted to his teammates. "I'll protect her!" And he was gone.
"W-wait Naruto!" Sakura called after him, her voice thinned into a whisper as she continued, "We're supposed to meet the royal family first."
"Ma." He laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "He'll find his way back sooner or later. She's part of the family isn't she?"
"I guess you're right," Sakura mumbled and reluctantly left the spot.
Meanwhile, Naruto ran along the crowded streets, searching for the princess. The town was beautiful, decorated with various strings of paper balloons. Light dimly illuminated the small space around each of the bulbs. He made a note to ask someone, anyone, about the upcoming festivities. Maybe good ramen would be served.
After some mesmerizing minutes of weaving in and out, turning left and right, he found her leaning against a wooden fence, eyes fixed on the sky. Naruto looked up as well, wondering what had captured her attention.
"Um." Naruto hesitated, not knowing how to properly address the stranger, now that you think about it.
"Hi." She turned around with a soft smile. "I'm Tomokachi Rei. Welcome to Samidare."
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. The shinobi assigned to protect you. And the future hokage of Konoha!" He exclaimed cheerfully.
"You mean, assigned to protect my brother. He's now officially the prince of Samidare." She pointed to the decorations. "Hence the crowd and the lights."
Naruto looked over his shoulder, finally getting the answer to his question.
"Nice to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto-san." She pushed herself off the wall and added, "the future Hokage."
He beamed happily at her statement. "Shouldn't you go back?"
"Maybe a bit longer." A bit of silence ensued as Naruto glanced around his surroundings uncomfortably. "It gets too confining back at home. Mother telling me what to do and what not to do."
[How s i m p l e their first encounter was...]
It was silent in the great royal house. Not a single soul moved. Rie smirked and slipped through the half-open door after making sure the coast was clear. The outside world, beyond the encompassing walls of the castle, always offered her the most liberty. And thus, it was her escape.
"He's not a bad guy you know?" He called from beside her, like all the other days he was on patrol.
She stared at the eerie glow of the lake. "I know, he's just not the right guy."
Naruto smirked and directed his gaze to the odd flicker. Rie, noticing this, crumpled her face. "Why are you grinning like that?"
"You just admitted he wasn't a bad guy." His smile made her heart flutter. "Why don't you give him a chance?"
Rie pulled her slender knees toward her chest, resting her chin on them. She didn't think it was fair. Naruto changed her life; Tomo simply resembled the footprints of her past. She didn't want to go back to the life of a chameleon. Wasn't the choice obvious? Or did she have to spell it all out?
"I don't know," she finally mumbled.
She remembered how the hours turned into days as the Konoha shinobi resided with the royal family. Rie had found Naruto to be strange from the beginning. For the first time, she felt no obligation to adjust or to conform, to change her true nature to please her guests, just like her mother had instructed. Right, her mother, the figure that always loomed in the background.
Naruto always encourged her to be Tomokachi Rei, her true self untainted by the remarks of her mother.
She remembered the first time their lips met. It was an accident, no doubt, but the kindness and the relief that settled into her system shortly after was not. Her body longed for him. She used that as an excuse; desire spurred the second, the third, and the many kisses afterward. Nothing else...
And he remembered the shocking revelation, the truth behind her mask, the reason behind her absolute obedience. Kaori (her pursuer from day one) was the one who begged for change. From that moment, Naruto felt his obligation and his yearning for her grow. His initial mission of protecting the prince was shoved into the back of his mind, long forgotten, and replaced with a more urgent need to bring her smile back to life.
The feelings he developed must have been the reason for the frustrating jealousy that swelled inside his chest. Her mother had already decided her life partner. No matter how hard he struggled, some facts would never change.[How c o m p l i c a t e d their first encounter was...]
"Uzumaki Naruto, correct?" His voice was low and cool, untouched with emotion, almost robotic. So unlike his face that seemed so human, contorted in disdain.
"...yeah. Who are you?"
"Natsuri Tomo."
"Oh." Naruto studied the man in front of him. "You're the guy..." He gulped and looked down. "engaged to Rie."
"And you're the guy she always mentions." He pulled his lips into a tight frown. "Her mother is not pleased."
Naruto bit his lip, the usual convivial atmosphere shrinking into a small circle that barely surrounded him. There goes the jealousy; it burst through his heart and traveled the length of his body, not a single space was spared. He curled his fingers into a fist. They could hold each other close, they could share every memory, they belonged together, but he couldn't do anything. Rie belonged to someone who didn't even care.
"Who cares what her mom thinks?" Naruto couldn't stop those words from spilling out his loose lips. "You're going to spend the rest of your life with her, right? Then." He chocked back the resulting emotions which hindered a coherent sentence. "Why don't you look past everything and help her? Rie's not happy getting bossed around by everyone. Why can't you see that?" Tears rushed to the edges of his eyes. He squeezed them shut. "Shouldn't you care about Rie's feelings not her mom's?"
Tomo stayed quiet for a moment, staring at the tears streaking down the boy's cheeks. How many times had he seen tears fall from her eyes? Too many...
"You should get this through your thick skull, you're not the only one who wants to see her smile." His tone was icy, on the verge of a threat, but there was a sense of kindness hidden beneath his statement.
Naruto returned to the present day. Eventually, his hand found hers. "I'm leaving tomorrow."
Her eyes slowly met his eyes. She twisted her lips, not a smile or a frown. "Mhhmm." She merely hummed, a reaction Naruto was not expecting.
"You'll come right?"
Rie submerged herself in preoccupation. She held his hand tighter. "Maybe. If Mother lets me."
Just one last time... His lips fell onto hers.
[If I close my eyes tonight, would you be there, waiting, in my dreams?]
"Tomo, I'm going!" She declared, scurrying toward the door then to the window. "Which way should I go?"
He laid back on his chair, watching her with an amused expression. "Does it matter? She'll catch you whichever way you go."
"Hmph. Way to be supportive." She ran out the door, sticking her tongue out as well, only to meet the angered look of her mother. "Oh, Good Morning, Mother." She bowed, folding her hands behind her back, fiddling with her fingers.
"Where do you think you're going?" Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, an air of dignity floating around. "If you think you're going to see that lousy ninja, you're mistaken."
Rie took in a deep breath. She opened her mouth, but couldn't find the courage to continue. Bracing herself she yelled, "He's not a lousy ninja, he's Naruto and you know what? He's going to be the Hokage someday. And then you're going to be sorry that we didn't give him our full hospitality."
She pushed past her mother, exchanging a smug expression with Kaori. Rie's mother, on the hand, was shocked by her daughter's display of blatant disobedience. She was never like this, never... until those stupid shinobi came from Konoha. The queen gritted her teeth in irritation.
"Naruto!" She shouted, jumping into his arms.
"Rie." He called, surprised by her sudden appearance. "You came..."
"Of course." She winked. "I told my mom you're going to be the Hokage one day, so you better keep your promise."
"I told everyone you'd show the real Rie someday, so you better keep yours too."
She smiled brightly, better than a thousand words or a million promises or a billion kisses. He'd come back to see that smile any day.
He waved good-bye, but both Rie and Naruto knew that this was not the end, oh no, it was only the beginning.
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Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
Icon © rightful owner :]
Plot & Original Characters © me/meijichoco
