The Promise

                                    

                                          
Chapter 36: The Promise
"We will reach the Leaf Village tomorrow," Jiraiya announced as we made our way to our hotel room for the night.
"Great," I muttered. I should have looked forward to seeing all my friends again, but I dreaded the explanations that would require. And the attention. Then something occurred to me as I glanced at Naruto. "I'm sorry."
Naruto looked over his shoulder while he entered the room. "What do you mean?"
"You deserve a magnificent homecoming, but everyone will probably be worried about my situation. I'm sorry for ruining everything."
Naruto merely grinned at me. "It's alright. Everyone should be worried about. I know I am. And I don't need the attention. I'll just be happy to be home. I can catch up with everyone later."
I followed him into the room, Tadeo at me heels. "Still, if you could keep their attention off of me, I would appreciate it."
Naruto laughed. "I'll see what I can do."
Tadeo hopped onto the closest bed. "Try to summon Kiku again. If she's still trapped, I'll lead a search party."
For Tadeo's sake, I hopped Kiku had been freed. Who knew what the Akatsuki would do to him otherwise? I took a deep breath and performed the summoning jutsu. I released my breath in a wave of relief when the calico cat appeared on the bed beside Tadeo. "Good, you're back," I said.
"Hey, good timing," Kiku said. "The Akatsuki are all moved out." She brightened when she noticed the other cat. "Tadeo! Long time no see."
"Kiku!" Tadeo exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how worried I - I mean, all of us - have been worried about you?"
Kiku swished her tail. "I'm sorry. I was on an important mission: helping Katsumi survive the Akatsuki." She smiled at me. "I think I did a pretty good job."
"But she's been miserable since we found her," Naruto said.
"That is to be expected after such a sudden separation." Kiku offered him a friendly smile. "It's great to see you, Naruto. How have you been?"
Naruto grinned at her. "Really good!"
"Excuse me," said Tadeo, "but you did not handle the situation well. You let Katsumi get close to Akatsuki members - the bad guys!"
Kiku gave him a critical look. "If she was cold and hostile, she would have ended up just like those 'bad guys.' It is the good guys who show compassion and kindness, regardless of the target. She retained her identity by treating them the same as everyone else. If anything, she had an influence on them because they responded in kind, acting like 'good guys."
"That makes sense to me," Naruto said.
Kiku beamed at him. "Thank you, Naruto. I always knew you were quite sensible."
"Thanks!" Naruto paused. "Hey, what's that around your neck?" He pointed to the small sack tied lightly with rope around the cat's neck.
"Oh, that's for Katsumi." Kiku looked at me, her ears flat. "It's from Deidara."
I froze at the mention of his name. When the cat moved closer, I took the sack from her with shaking hands. I let the contents fall on my palm. I took in a sharp breath at the sight of the beautifully sculpted phoenix in flight. "It's perfect." I retrieved the clay cat from my bag and set it next to the phoenix on the bed.
Kiku gave me a weak smile. "Hey, at least they're together."
"H-How is he?" I leaned against the wall and focused on my breathing, my hands clenching the blankets.