Behind the Waterfall

#38 Janpugakure

The rest day did wonders as everyone was smiling when they reached the village's gates.

"Welcome to Janpugakure, may we ask why you have come?" The guard asked, his friendly demeanor almost hiding the fact that he would not let them enter without a satisfying answer.

Mi Kuramoto answered his question, explaining that they were traders with Naruto and Fuu as their escort, apparently convincing the man, as he stepped aside and gestured for them to enter the village.

"Have a pleasant stay." The guard said, before walking back to his post watching the path leading out into the light forest.

"I guess, here is where our paths split." Arkemi Jurkian, one of the merchants said, as they arrived at the town's marketplace.

"It seems like it." Fuu replied, smiling at the trio although the masks she was wearing hid it.

"Thank you for the escort, here is your payment." Mi said, handing Naruto a small scroll. Opening it and pushing a bit of chakra into the storage seal, a bag of money appeared in his hand. Quickly skimming over the bills, he nodded, satisfied that the agreed amount was there.

"It was our pleasure." Fuu replied, shaking the merchant's hand. They said their goodbyes and parted ways, the two shinobis leaving their former clients in the marketplace.

The pair walked through the village, admiring the scenery and carefreeness that the people showed, laughing with each other in the streets and almost always smiling. They used a small alley where nobody could see them to take off their masks, Naruto's red hair growing a bit more until it almost hit his shoulders, while Fuu's raven curls growing until they reached her lower back.

"Want to grab a bite?" Naruto asked as he saw Fuu looking at the sign of a Dango shop. She smiled at him, her eyes shining as she grabbed his hand, not even bothering to respond and pulled him into the small house.

They had quickly ordered and received their food when Naruto felt one of his clones' memories come back to him. He had sent a few of them back the way they had come as a precaution to make sure that the team from Konoha was not following them.

It took him a few moments to sort through the memories the clone had made, before he sighed and leaned back.

"It seems that they are not following us." He said, earning a smile from the girl across from him.

"That is good." Fuu replied, as he put his hands in a hand sign and dissolved the last few of his clones.

"So, where do we go from here?" Naruto asked, taking a bite from his Dango.

"I don't know. Honestly I was thinking about something you said." Fuu replied, her voice getting quieter with each word.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, curiously watching the young woman in front of him.

"Remember when we talked with the owner of Ichirakus? You told them that you would send them a letter when we settled down. You want them to move to whatever village you will be in." She trailed off, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

"We." Naruto corrected her, earning a confused look as she was brought back to their table by his voice.

"... Whatever village we will be in." He repeated, a small smile on his face.

"I know that we won't break up anytime soon, I won't let you get away from me that easily, so it will never be just me. Decisions like that will always be us together." He explained, Fuu smiling at that.

"Good." The raven girl replied, putting the last of her dango into her mouth with a grin. Naruto waited for her to finish chewing so that she could continue with her thought, as he knew she would, because she did not suddenly drop a topic, just because the conversation took an unexpected turn. As expected, she quickly got back to her previous concern.