Disclaimer: I'll own Naruto when the Eskimo wear bathingsuits.
A/N: A little drabble. I might make it a collection of randomness later on, but my evil uncle wouldn't leave me alone until I posted this so...
§
Jiraiya watched his student trudge slowly back home, blue eyes unsettlingly defeated. He knew what was wrong of course, why his only pupil was acting out of character.
Naruto by nature was a messy creature. His apartment was filled with old, stained(not dusty, nothing near the blond could ever be still enough to collect dust) furniture. Empty ramen packages, dented kunai, spilled paint, and an assortment of unmentionables littered the floor. The walls were dented with shuriken and suffered the untalented art of its owner. And no matter how many times Sakura or Hinata had cleaned it (His teammate because she said it would be very dishonorable for a ninja to be killed by ten-day all food that sprung to life or tripping over a wrapper and falling on a broken knife. His girlfriend because she said that he deserved to have it clean.) the room always reverted back to its discorded state. It was like the Kyuubi vessel. Neglected and trashed, but unwilling to back down and fall apart.
The Frog Hermit was messy too. When they were younger, Tsuande lost a bet to him and had to clean his room. It took her two days. The furniture was splattered with failed attempts of cooking and various explosions.(He always ate out now.) The walls were covered by nude posters and sketches he had done himself during peeping. X-rated magazines, kunai, and sexual items of various assorts covered his floor. The first time his team had entered, Tsunade nearly destroyed it with her freakish strength and even Orochimaru blushed a little. But after the debris were scattered (and the sanin stopped hiding in his closet) all adult content went back up. It was the only way the ninja could feel at home. Perverted(but artistic) he told himself.
However, the nine-tails child had cleaned up. He had fixed his biggest mess and that left the dull resignation on his face. As the perverted teacher watched, he felt a long forgotten stab of guilt. His student had to clean up because he had failed to.
Naruto killed Sasuke. Jiraiya left Orochimaru go.
But it wasn't right for the Uzumaki to be tidy and neat like that. It went against everything he was—the number one blond, hyperactive, knucklehead ninja. He shouldn't have had to make a choice between his home and his friend. He shouldn't have had to kill Sasuke in order to save everyone else. But he did.
The boy had picked up where his teacher had failed.
But as Jiraiya watched him go, he knew the price had been too high.
After all, Uzumaki Naruto was a messy creature by nature.
§
The submit review button and cursor are a little girl and her lost puppy. Wouldn't it just cheer everyone up to reunite them?