The Color Blue

I would like to thank the two people who have already reviewed. :D This was a story I began several years ago mostly for the lolz and the interest of my friends and I.



Dame_Loli.



I already have over 100 pages on word for this fanfiction. Everything before this chapter fits on ten of those pages. I'm just pacing my posting. I realize that I have been posting short chapters. One reason for the short chapters right now is mostly for breaking scenes. Later, I will go much longer without breaking scene, and the chapters will be bigger. So don't worry, that should be picking up soon. The other reason is that soon, every character starts having scenes in the story, and I plan to break them up (if not one person per chapter, than a few people with short scenes).



Lady



I purposely left what I had posted as a cliffhanger. Everything begins to get revealed in these next few posts :D







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"Well, that was certainly informative," Ino drawled.



"What should we do, sensei?" Sakura turned to Kakashi.



"I think it's probably best if we take her advice and explore this place the best we can. We're going to be here a while, and clearly we don't know our way around," Kakashi announced to the group.



The sixteen ninja split up, walking down the hall and disappearing in different directions. Most of them found themselves walking in pairs as they explored. By some force of luck, Naruto found himself walking alone. Grinning wide, he backtracked to his room, pulled out his secret uniform, and dressed.



Clothed in his new attire, Naruto left his room and made a beeline for the nearest side door. As he walked the maze-like hallways, the blonde met up with the seven ninja who had led the leaf-nin to their rooms.



"Hey, Sparrow," Naruto waved, catching the group's attention.



"Fox!" several of the ninja shouted in surprise. Naruto's grin widened, and Sparrow ran over, giving him an enormous hug.



"You came back!" she cheered, smiling brightly.



"Sure did," he grinned back at her before addressing the others. "What? None of you missed me?"



"Fox!" two more girls tore from the group, joining Sparrow and Naruto in a group hug. Naruto laughed riotously.



"Okay, guys, that hurts," he chuckled nervously. With sheepish smiles, the three backed off, grins still etched on their faces.



"Ne, Foxy, it's been a while since you've worn that, I bet," said the taller of the two new girls. Naruto was dressed in a silky, dark blue, long-sleeved shirt that loosely covered his torso, and pants made of the same silky, dark blue material. On his head he wore a bandana similar to a hitai-ate without a forehead protector, and he wore a golden chain as a belt around his waist. His fox earring and his belt shined with the same golden hue.



"And how long have you been wearing the same thing, Fennec?" Naruto retorted.



Fennec had light brown hair with a shock of dark blue near the front. She wore a fishnet tank top limned with dark blue under a sleeveless, dark blue tunic banded in light blue. The dark blue lining of the fishnet connected to a dark blue collar around her neck by a thin strip of dark blue cloth, while a light blue belt kept her tunic closed around her waist and a silver clasp in the shape of some animal kept her tunic fastened near her chest.



On her arms rested dark blue arm warmers with silver hand guards. The arm warmers fastened with light blue material further up her arms. Her pants and sandals, unlike the rest of her clothes, were simple, dark blues exactly like his own.



The most shocking of her features, however, were her eyes. While her left eye was bright blue, her right eye was brilliantly green, emphasized by the three scars over the eyebrow.



"Hey, Oriole still wears the same outfit, too!" Fennec pointed at the other girl. A hair clip in the shape of a bird pinned back her black hair on the left side of her face, keeping it out of her green-hazel eyes.



"Come on now, Fox just got back," a large boy walked out of the group, interrupting Oriole's retort. "He doesn't wanna talk about fashion."



Smiling, the large boy walked over and shook Naruto's hand. "It's been a while, man. Glad to have you back."



"Thanks, Boar," Naruto nodded at the sandy-haired ninja, who stood aside as the final three ninja in the group approached.



"Squirrel, Bat, Wolf." Naruto greeted each in turn.



"It is good to see you again, Fox," Squirrel, a brown-haired girl in a dark blue haori and hakama, greeted him politely.



"No kidding. Thought you were gone for good," Bat, a spiky-haired, brunette boy, smirked.



"I'm glad you could come and help," Wolf acknowledged. He wore an outfit identical to Fennec's, though his was silver, and had long, black hair.



"Well, I think we should go out and celebrate!" Fennec cheered, latching onto the blonde and hauling him down the hallway.



"Wait for us, Fennec!" Oriole shouted in surprise, snatching Squirrel and Sparrow's hands and dragging them along in an attempt to catch up.



Halfway down the hall, Fennec turned and shouted, "Hurry up, guys! We can't go drinking without you!" As Bat and Boar ran after them in excitement, Wolf shook his head and followed at a more sedate pace.



At the door, Naruto finally broke free and laughed, "Okay, Fennec, calm down. I can walk you know."



"We know," Sparrow broke in, poking the blonde in the side. "But we're excited. We haven't seen you in eight years."



"Okay, okay, let's go," Naruto followed the others out the door.



Down the hallway, Sasuke, Kiba, and Neji walked by just as Naruto walked out the door.



"Was that Naruto?" Kiba turned to the Uchiha as he pointed at the door.



"Let's go," Sasuke sighed, heading down the hall. "We can't just let him run wild and disobey orders in another city while he's on a mission."



Agreeing, the three ninja walked down the hallway and threw open the door in time to see Naruto turn down an alleyway and disappear. Just as they walked out the door, they heard a piercing squeal.



"What are you doing?!" Sakura yanked the door open and shouted. Ino stood at her side with a frown on her face.



"Naruto went into the city. We're going to get him back." Sasuke said quickly.



"We need to go find Kakashi-sensei," worried, Sakura turned to search for the silver-haired jounin.



"It'll take you too long to find him in that maze," Sasuke took off after Naruto with Kiba and Neji at his heels. Akamaru, ordered to stay behind, curled up for a nap by the doorway.



"He's right, you know," Ino pointed out.



Growling, Sakura grabbed Ino's hand and sprinted off after the boys.



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