Sometimes, in the darkest hours of the night, Naruto wishes he doesn't have to return to Konoha. Yes, everybody who means anything to him lives there, but there are also a lot of people living in the hidden village who'd rather see him leave and never come back.

Over the course of his arguably short life he's been thrown out of shops, barred from restaurants and has been deliberately walked into more times than he can count. And that's just the people who notice him. For most of the populace, he's invisible. They just ignore him, let his eyes glaze over as soon as he walks by.

But here's different. Here's a country where nobody knows him, or at least nobody knows what he's housing. They treat him like every other person. They recognize him as a Leaf ninja, and some even treat him with respect instead of contempt.

It's something else, that's what Naruto knows. Ero-sennin also gets respect, a whole heap more than a mere genin gets. But he grasps at every passing sign of acknowledgement like a drowning man grasps at a boat.

"Oi!" A voice in his ear breaks his flow of thoughts and like any good ninja Naruto's got a weapon in hand almost immediately, eyes hard and focused on the perceived threat. He quickly lowers the kunai when he takes in white hair and the scent of sake.

"I'm gonna need you to find yourself something to do for the night."

That's when Naruto notices the giggling woman behind Ero-sennin. Her cheeks are flushed as well, and she smells of sake and perfume. She's not the youngest lass around, but her blonde hair and rather large boobs make up for that fact.

"But I'm exhausted! Go to that woman's room!" Naruto says in a token protest, but he already knows what's going to happen. Ero-sennin is sober enough to bodily remove Naruto from the room (and succeed at it) and when he returns in the morning, the room is gonna smell like sweat and the woman will be snoring in his bed. Ero-sennin will be suffering from a hangover by then and order Naruto to fetch him and his 'prize' some coffee. In the morning light Ero-sennin will see that the prize isn't as shiny as he likes it to be. He'll offer her some breakfast or minor medical ninjutsu which relieves headaches, depending on whether she's hungover or not. She'll take a shower, dress and leave, never to be seen again.

"Shut up kid, I paid for this room so go make yourself useful outside. Like, train or something."

"Aren't you a cutie? This your son?" the woman asks in a way-too-drunk giggle. Naruto avoids her outstretched hand which aims to pat him on his head and quickly gathers his essentials.

"Fine. But I'm not fetching you coffee tomorrow. And don't switch my kunai with yours, I just sharpened them so I'll know," Naruto warns and slips outside. Behind him Ero-sennin closes the door a bit too hard and Naruto quickly sprints off. He can already hear them kissing through the door and that's a mental picture he'd rather avoid.

But he hadn't been lying when he said he's exhausted. Where to go, where to go… The village they are currently residing in is a small village, populated mainly by farmers. No bustling nightlife to grab his attention then, but also a lesser chance of a criminal going after a 'defenseless boy' for his full frog-wallet.

Aimlessly he wanders around the town square. There is no one in sight, and he doesn't detect any presences either. So either they are asleep or too far for his senses to pick up. He sits down on the edge of the village well and thinks about his options.

He can stay awake all night and suffer through sleep deprivation tomorrow. But Ero-sennin will work him hard and sleep deprivation is the last thing he needs when he is focusing on the finer points of chakra manipulation, so that isn't really an option.

He can knock on people's doors and ask for a sleeping place. But it is already two in the morning and he doesn't know anybody here. It would be just his luck to find an empty mattress in the house of a maniac. He doesn't feel like keeping a kunai close enough to cut himself and sleep with one eye open.

So that leaves… Naruto eyes the forest, or more specifically, the trees. They are large, old and have large enough branches to sleep comfortably on. So a tree it is.

With some quick leaps he lands on one such branch and assesses it with a trained eye. Sturdy, hidden from view down below and with enough branches nearby to set traps. With some thin wire he rigs a couple of alarms and soon drifts off, exhaustion claiming him.

The vague sound of ripping clothes reaches Naruto's ears.

'Whuh?' he thinks very intelligently as he muses on why exactly he'd hear the sound of ripping clothes in a tree. There are no clothes around, except for his own. And why would they be ripping?

Naruto really doesn't want to sit up. His body aches from the brutal training yesterday, but his back is killing him the most.

"Damn branch being so damn wooden," he mutters and turns on his side, attempting to chase the foggy feeling of half-sleep. But he jerks awake when he feels the bark on his arms. He isn't supposed to feel the bark on his arms, because he has his awesome orange jacket to protect his arms from evil, evil bark biting into him.

With trepidation he glances at his arms.

"AUGH!"

Several birds call out in fear as they take to the skies, alarmed by Naruto's scream. His jacket is torn to shreds! The bark hadn't been as soft as he thought last night. The already thin and worn material has given way completely, and every time he turned over during the night the tears had gotten bigger, until all that is left of his jacket are some orange shreds and the surprisingly sturdy white collar.

"My precious!"

He shrugs out of the remains and holds it up in front of him to inspect whether it is salvageable. But he has destroyed enough clothes to see that it is hopeless. Something occurs to him. Is the necklace given to him by Tsunade still intact? He only has to glance down to spot the shimmering jewel, so he returns to pouting at the loss of his jacket.

This is his last one. The spare he'd taken with him has been damaged beyond repair as well. He'd have to get new clothes, but in this stupid farmer village there most likely wouldn't be any clothes this shade of orange. People are too chicken to wear orange, because it stands out too much or something. Naruto isn't sure why, because he's never had any trouble with screaming to the world with his clothes 'here I am!'.

His black shirt has gained some tears as well, but nothing he won't be able to mend. But first he needs to take this out on Ero-sennin and maybe coerce him into buying him some new clothes. He is the one responsible, after all. If the old pervert hadn't brought a woman back and kicked Naruto out, he'd be able to enjoy his jacket longer.

With that goal in mind he jumps down from the tree and lands softly on his feet thanks to his mad ninja skills. With the ruined jacket flying behind him like a flag of an obscure country he tears down the road towards the inn Ero-sennin is hopefully sleeping off his drunkenness. It's a lot more rewarding to yell at the old pervert if he is suffering from a hangover.

Wasting no time at all Naruto arrives at the inn and kicks the door open. At least, he attempts to, because as it turns out the door is a lot less solid than it appears. Instead of kicking the door down, Naruto kicks a hole into the door.

With some choice words he yanks his foot back out of the hole and uses the door handle the way it was meant to function.

"YOU!" he yells at Ero-sennin, and points dramatically at the empty bed where Ero-sennin is supposed to sleep.

"YOU!" he tries again, this time pointing at the closed bathroom door.

"What's the fuss, young man?" questions a soft female voice.

Naruto stops his dramatic pointing and focuses on the woman. It's the same woman from last night. And as usual, she's not as pretty as Ero-sennin prefers. She has a certain sadness surrounding her, like life had promised her a book and all she got was the prologue.

"He ruined my clothes! My precious, precious clothes!"

"How could he have done that? I'm pretty sure he was with me all night."

Naruto's brain chooses not to dwell on that last statement and directs the attention part to the first sentence.

"Because he made me sleep outside, and I slept in a tree. The tree bark has torn holes in my clothes and this is the last set I own, and we're I don't know how many miles from home. A lot. So I can't get any new ones, so he ruined them. Are you listening, Ero-sennin?"

The woman laughs at the nickname Naruto has given the white-haired man and beckons Naruto closer.

"You're his son, right?"

Naruto fiercely shakes his head but takes a few steps closer to the woman. She gets up from her sitting position on the bed. Naruto smells dried sweat on her, but she also smells like… laundry detergent, actually. It's an old scent, something which has seeped into her skin over years and years of exposure.

"I'm his pupil."

"Right, he mentioned you. I think. Sorry, last night is a bit fuzzy. But anyhow: maybe I can help with that jacket. Let me see it, please."

Naruto doesn't dare to hope as he hands her the shreds of orange which used to be his jacket. He can't imagine how it would be salvageable, but maybe, just maybe... He watches with his heart audibly thumping (at least, to him) as she examines the material. Then his heart plummets as she shakes her head and hands him back the jacket.

"I'm sorry, even I can't fix this. But-"

Heart thumping again.

"I'm a seamstress. I run a small business in the neighboring town, along with a dry-cleaning business. Maybe I can create a new jacket for you. If I recall correctly, I've got some orange cloth in this shade left. Enough for a jacket, at least."

Naruto wants to hug her until he hears something pop, but he settles for hugging her until he hears the bathroom door open. Naruto releases the slowly choking woman and turns around, once again dramatically pointing.

"YOU! Ruined my clothes! But this nice lady is going to make me a new set! And you're paying!"

"Brat. Too loud. Too early. Get out," retorts Jiraiya in curt tones. Naruto puts his hands on his hips and scowls.

"I refuse. Acknowledge your huge mistake and apologize."

"Get out or I will kick you out, brat."

Jiraiya's threat falls on deaf ears. The woman raises her hands placatingly.

"He's got a point, Jiraiya. But like your pupil said, I can make him some new clothes. You should look after your student," she says. Jiraiya turns hurt eyes on her.

"Not you too, Sayuki. This loudmouth is always demanding things. If it were up to him, I'd pay him for the privilege of training him."

Sadly the hurt eyes don't work in Sayuki. She puts her hands on her hips and squares her shoulders. Naruto sees why Jiraiya would bring her back to his room: she reminds him a lot of a certain other blonde woman.

"It's partly my fault, so I will make this boy some new clothes. It's the least I can do. And you, shame on you for kicking your student out. You're the adult, you could've taken another room. We could've taken another room. Instead you kick this boy out, barely twelve years old-"

"I'm almost fifteen," interrupts Naruto, but Sayuki waltzes over him too as she continues her lecture.

"So let's go to my studio and I'll make you some new clothes. Come on, kid."

Sayuki strides out the door, Naruto following in her wake. He turns around at the last second and sticks out his tongue at the dumbfounded Jiraiya.

"But first I'll need my clothes," announces Sayuki and turns around mid-stride. Naruto didn't expect that and he bumps into her. She grabs his shoulders to steady herself (and him, since he's sadly still too short for his age) and looks at him.

"What's your name, anyway," she asks. Naruto grins at her and announces with a loud voice:

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Pleasure to meet you," says Sayuki gently with a smile on her face.

"Likewise," says Naruto, as per the courtesy rules Iruka has drilled into him. Sayuki marches around the room, gathering her clothes, and says:

"Now, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

And so it comes to pass that Naruto gets new clothes tailor-made for him. Sadly, Sayuki doesn't have enough orange cloth to recreate his jacket, so she and Jiraiya persuade Naruto to add some more black to the design.

When Naruto zips the new jacket up, he smiles in the mirror. The proud smile of Jiraiya is also reflected by the glass, and it makes him happy that someone is willing to give him such a gift. Sure, he had to lose his beloved old jacket, but the new clothes fit far better, and he has to admit that the black complements the orange.

Naruto wonders what Sakura will think of the new clothes. And Iruka, Konohamaru, Kakashi, everybody who is dear to him.

Sometimes he remembers Konoha, and he knows that he'll always go back there, drawn there like a compass needle is drawn to the north. It's inevitable.