Chapter 1 - A Fateful Meeting? {Oneshot}

A Fateful Meeting?

It was a bright, sunny day. Not a cloud was in the sky, as a gentle breeze blew by every now and then. Birds were singing, and bees were buzzing to and from flowers, gathering pollen. Yes, it was a perfectly wonderful day, and everybody was happy.

Everybody, that is, except for the blond haired boy under the tree. One look at his bright orange and navy blue jacket, and his insanely spiky hair, and you just knew right away. This kid was none other than Naruto Uzumaki, the boy who had the nine tailed fox spirit sealed inside him. This same kid was also the one who claimed he would be the Hokage one day.

Said ninja let out a deep sigh as he glanced at the pale blue sky above. "Man, this is boring." he grumbled, "I should be training, not laying around like this!" He jumped to his feet. "Pervy Sage, where are you anyways?!" he shouted, shaking his fist at the sky. "Aren't you supposed to be helping me with my training?!" The blond haired boy let his shoulders sag slightly as nobody answered. Ok, so he hadn't actually expected an answer, but still...

Naruto pumped a clenched fist into the air, a glint of determination in his eyes. "Ok, Pervy Sage! I know you're out there somewhere, and I'm gonna find you no matter what it takes!" A drop of sweat trickled down the back of his head as a thought hit him. "Knowing him, he's probably doing 'research' for his dumb book! Hah..why'd I have to get stuck with HIM of all people?"

Naruto shook his head as an undesirable mental image appeared in his mind, and he started to search for his teacher; the one who went by the Toad Sage, but had been dubbed the "Pervy Sage" by his younger student. As he ran on, Naruto glanced around him for any sign of the white haired sennin. He found nothing of the sort, but this didn't discourage the young ninja. He just kept on looking.

"C'mon, Pervy Sage! Where are you?!" Naruto growled under his breath, frowning as he came to the village gates. "You'd better be in the village!" He was about to take another step forward when he heard a loud thud nearby.

"Eh?" Surprised, Naruto glanced around the area, and his gaze soon landed on the form of a fallen girl. "Hey, girl, are you all right?!" he inquired loudly, hurrying over to her. He stared down at the girl in amazement.

She was clothed in a black and green zip up dress, held on snugly by a deep purple belt. On each side of her dress was a small slit, as well as a zip shut pocket for carrying things like kunai or shuriken. Her shoes were dark blue sandals, held on by a strap and a single gold buckle. Her medium brown hair was long, going just a little past her shoulders. Her pale skin glistened in the sunlight, giving her a ghostly white complexion.

However, all this wasn't the cause for the look of amazement on Naruto's face. Oh, no. What he was staring at in awe was the fuzzy black cat ears and tail that were attached to the girl.

Naruto chuckled to himself as he put his hands on his head, wiggling his fingers together in an attempt to imitate the twitching of the girl's cat ears.

Almost as if sensing what he was doing, the girl's eyes fluttered open enough for her to see what was going on. "Who are you, and what do you want?" she asked in a small, timid sounding voice.

"Eh?" Naruto stopped what he was doing and glanced sheepishly at the girl. "Oh, you're awake!" he bellowed loudly, an enthusiastic grin plastered on his face. This caused the girl to wince, and her ears flattened against her head.

"Oh, hehe, sorry." Naruto lowered his voice. "Anyways, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. Who are you?"

The cat girl smirked at him as she sat up, and Naruto was able to see her eyes clearly. They were a deep gold, with a glimmer of yellow in the center. For some reason, staring at them too long made you feel like you were in a trance, which Naruto found out the hard way. "S-so...what's your name?" he sputtered, the tone of his voice dull, as if he was under a spell of some sort.

"What's it to you?" the girl replied, this time her voice coming out hard and threatening.

The tone change was enough to snap Naruto out of his trance like state, and he sweatdropped. "Oh, I was just wondering. Since, you know, I told you my name."

"Ohh...whatever. It doesn't matter anyways." The cat girl glanced away. "...The name's Nozomi."

"Nozomi...?" Naruto pressed, waiting for the rest of her name.

Nozomi heaved a sigh. "Just Nozomi." she said, twisting a piece of her hair around her finger carelessly.

"Ehh?" Naruto blinked at this, eyebrows raised in surprise. "You mean...you don't have a last name?!" he gawked. "How is that even possible? Do you guys not have last names in your village? Hey...where are you from, anyways?"

Nozomi scowled at the babbling blond in response to his question. "Look, kid! My last name and where I come from are none of your business! Don't be stupid enough to ask me when you barely even KNOW me! Ya got that?!"

A drop of sweat rolled down Naruto's face as he recoiled slightly. He hadn't expected such an outburst from the cat girl. "Err..yeah, sure...got it." he mumbled in reply, frowning. How was he supposed to get to know her if everything he said made her lash out like that?

"Good." Nozomi muttered, rolling her eyes.

A long silence followed as neither Naruto nor Nozomi said a word.

"...Soo...what brings you to the Leaf Village, anyways?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence.

Nozomi blinked, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Leaf Village? What?" she said.

"The Leaf Village!" Naruto repeated. "You know, the Village Hidden in the Leaves...Konoha. Any of that ring a bell?"

Nozomi just shook her head back and forth. "Sorry. Never heard of it." she mumbled. Then she got to her feet, appearing to be in pain from the grim look on her face.

"Hey Nozo, are you all right?" Naruto asked, beginning to look concerned.

Nozomi was about to answer, but at that moment, the boy's words sunk in, and she glared slightly. "What did you just call me?" she demanded, taking a menacing step toward him, her ears lowered.

"I called you Nozo." Naruto said cheerfully. However, his grin faded as he saw the look on her face, and he gulped. "..Is there something wrong with that?"

"Don't give me any special names like that!" Nozomi hissed. "It's not as if we're friends!" She said this in a cold tone, then turned her back to him and crossed her arms in what Naruto guessed was annoyance. As she turned so suddenly, a jingle sounded from somewhere.

"Eh?" Naruto stepped in front of Nozomi and gave her a good examination, (which made her want to slap him) trying to find what had caused the noise. Soon he located the source: a gold bell on a black strap, tied around her neck. Naruto winced and clutched his neck. The bell sure looked uncomfortable, being tied on so tight.

"Heh, nice bell." he said simply.

The only answer he got was a snort. "Gee...you could at least say thank you, y'know." the young ninja grumbled.

"I'd rather not." the cat girl huffed.

"Why not?!" Naruto demanded, getting annoyed.

"Because...I HATE this bell with a passion." Nozomi muttered.

"What? Then why do you even wear it if you hate it so much?" Naruto questioned her. "Can't get it off? Cause if that's it, I could help you!"

"Look, just mind your own business, ok?!" Nozomi snarled.

Naruto just eyed her for a minute or two, a perplexed look on his face. "You know, you're kinda weird." he said bluntly.

"Your point?" Remarked Nozomi with another snort.

"What are you, anyways?" Naruto questioned, curiosity finally getting the better of him. "Are you somebody's pet cat? Wearing a bell that looks that much like a collar, I think you are! Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!" he teased, flicking the bell that was around her neck, causing it to jingle again and again.

Nozomi just rolled her eyes. She was used to being called "kitty" and the likes. This wasn't the first time someone had done something like this to her. But usually when that happened, she beat the person up.

This time around, though, she was just too tired. Too weak. She'd traveled too much and eaten too little. Needless to say, Nozomi wasn't in the best health at the moment. To pick a fight with someone would practically be asking for death. This, Nozomi wouldn't particularly mind, however, she'd rather drop dead than lose in a fight with this kid. He infuriated her so!

The cat girl heaved a sigh and turned her back to Naruto (who was still going on with his teasing), plopping down onto the ground and letting her head hang, eyes shut in annoyance as she waited for the cat jokes to stop. Her eyes shot open a moment later, however, as she felt a sudden tingle go through her. "What the..?" She glanced sideways and snarled in annoyance as she saw the cause of the tingling sensation she was experiencing.

Sitting cross legged next to her was Naruto, and he was stroking her ears! "Does the kitty kitty Nozomi like having her ears stroked? Good kitty!" he teased, breaking into laughter as he saw the look Nozomi was giving him. "Hey, don't look so mad...How about a chin scratch?"

A drop of sweat ran down Nozomi's head, and she growled under her breath. "You do that...and you'll regret it." she threatened, trying to hold back the urge to purr. This was one thing she really hated about her cat demon. SHE disliked being petted...but the feline in her ENJOYED it immensely! Of course, she didn't go around telling people like Naruto that. What Nozomi REALLY hated was that as hard as she was trying, she knew she wouldn't be able to contain herself for long.

Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurr.

Naruto blinked in surprise. He stopped stroking Nozomi's ears and just stared at her, blue eyes wide.

Nozomi, in turn, blushed faintly and shot him a death glare that clearly said "You say ONE thing and I'll KILL you!"

For a minute, nobody said anything. It was completely silent as Naruto just stared open mouthed at the annoyed and blushing Nozomi. Then, a few seconds later, the boy threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"Ahahaha! Man, Nozo, you really are a cat! I mean, c'mon, purring? Ahahahahaha!"

Nozomi growled, her eyes twitching in annoyance as her blush darkened. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was being laughed at! It was just so embarrassing!

Finally, her anger reached its limit, and before either of them realized what was happening, Nozomi lunged at him, clamping her jaws down on his hand, hard.

In response, Naruto screamed like a maniac, his eyes going wide with pain. "AHHH! What are you, CRAZY?! Let go!"

And Nozomi did. A few minutes later, she freed his hand from her jaws and turned away, a smirk on her face. "It's unfortunate what happened, yes, but you had that coming, kid."

Naruto scowled at her as he held onto his bitten hand. "What, can't you take a joke?! I was only messing with you! Apologize!"

"Hmmm...let me think..." Nozomi placed a hand on her chin, appearing to be deep in thought. "......No can do, kid."

"Yes! Hey, stop calling me kid already!" Naruto yelled, getting angrier. "My name's Naruto, and besides that, I'm the same age as you!"

"Whatever." Nozomi rolled her eyes as she once again got to her feet. "Well, it's been real, kid, but I gotta go now." she said over her shoulder.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?! ....It's Naruto! Na-ru-to!" The blond ninja protested.

"I'm out of here." Nozomi said, ignoring him. "Later." She gave a slight wave as she began to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" Naruto yelled, grabbing her arm. "I'm not finished with you yet! Stay here!"

"Well, I'm finished with you." Nozomi said, trying to remain calm even though she was getting extremely ticked off. Who the heck was this kid that he thought he could treat her the way he had, then demand she stay like some stupid dog?!

"I won't let you leave. Not yet!" Naruto insisted, tightening his grip on the cat girl's arm.

Nozomi sighed and rubbed her temples. This kid was giving her such a headache! "Fine then, I guess there's no other choice!"

Before Naruto could figure out what she meant, Nozomi turned and, with amazing speed, slashed his hand with her claws.

"Yeow!" he cried, falling backward and losing his grip on her arm in the process.

The brown haired girl just smirked at him. "See ya, kid."

"I already told you! You're not going anywhere!" Naruto growled, and grabbed the nearest part of her to him, which was her tail, and gave a rough jerk, stunning Nozomi. A wave of pain washed over her as she suddenly felt even weaker than she had before. The cat girl's eyes snapped shut, and she collapsed face first onto the ground.

Seeing this, Naruto's eyes bulged. He released her tail and hurried to her side. "Nozo? Hey Nozo, you all right?" he asked, shaking her.

When she didn't answer (or budge, for that matter), he panicked. "Oh man! I killed her! GAH! What do I do now?!" An idea hit him then, and he scooped Nozomi into his arms, then hurried into the village.

"SAKURA!!"