The Trip
My very first Naruto fanfic! Enjoy and review, ok! And I think there will
be more chapters coming!
"I can't believe this! Kakashi-sensei is actually taking us on a holiday
trip!"
Sakura danced as she said these words. She was feeling happy. Why not? Sasuke
was near, the day was clear and the sky was blue, and there were birds singing
in the trees, and –
"Yeah! Isn't it cool?!"
- and hyperactive number one was along. "I thought you weren't interested,
Naruto?"
"Oh! Why did you think I wasn't interested!? Mountain air, the trees, the
–"
"- the fact that we're actually going to get some very rare herb for the Hokage
interests you, Naruto?" Sasuke snickered as he walked forward.
"SHUT UP, SASUKE!" Naruto made a move toward Sasuke who was prepared to bounce
back at him.
"Guys," Kakashi said from behind them, "if we want to arrive at the village
before sundown, we better stop talking and really start walking. Okay?
Okay. And, Sakura?"
"Yes, sensei?"
"This is not a holiday trip. What got that idea into your head?"
A little blank look appeared on Sakura's face. "Huh?"
"I said this is not a holiday trip."
"But – I heard you said that the other day to Iruka-sensei that you were going
to take a leave to the Amakura hot springs!" Oh no! And I won't be able to
show off my new – wait a minute… I smell something fishy. She turned to
Naruto with murderous eyes. "You set me up, didn't you, Naruto?" she asked with
a sickly sweet voice that Naruto knew something dangerous was about to happen.
"Huh? Set you up for what?" Naruto immediately walked away from Sakura but she
quickly caught his orange sweater tail. "Hey! Let me go, Sakura!"
"Admit it! You set me up! You used Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to create a clone and
Henge no Jutsu to transform into Kakashi-sensei while you transformed into
Iruka-sensei!"
"I am not that shallow, Sakura! Let me go!"
"Please, guys," Sasuke stared on at them disinterestedly. I can't believe
they're my teammates. How I managed to tolerate them I never know.
"Sakura! Naruto! Stop it!" Kakashi stepped forward.
"But he tricked me, sensei!" Sakura turned to him with the most innocuous
expression she could muster while her hands were wrapped around Naruto's wrists.
"He tricked me! That was just mean!"
"I was talking to Iruka-sensei about the holiday we are planning to have next
year in Amakura. The village we're going to is Imakura." Kakashi eyed her
with that one eye he always had uncovered, and as usual the eye revealed little
expression. "How did you manage to eavesdrop on us? And why did you do it?"
For the first time Sakura seemed uncertain. "I – uh… well…"
"Well? WELL!?" Naruto asked angrily, pulling her hands away from his
wrists. "I didn't do it, Kakashi-sensei, honest. I came along because I want to
get away. It's rather boring with nothing to do in the village, and Konohamura
always somehow manages to stalk me. It's irritating."
Now Sakura was confused. "Then I –"
"Yes, Sakura-chan. You misheard. Now, can we get on going? I want to get to
Imakura Village before sundown and I need a good bath. But there is a good
hot springs there… or so it used to be… I think I've been there ten years ago…
I'm confused myself… hmm…"
His students were looking at him with tons of doubts jumping off their faces.
Kakashi nodded to himself, ignoring them completely. "Well, let's get on.
Terazuma-san is waiting for us."
Imakura Village is rather a small village with population no less than a
thousand. It lies amongst Shibata, the dormant volcanic mountain ranges.
Although sparsely populated, the village enjoys rather good trade with
neighboring villages. Imakura Village is famous for its fur imports and fine
weapon smithy. Though there are of course better smithy villages around the
continent, Imakura is a good choice for those seeking balance between weapon
practicality and value for money.
So it was no surprise to see the village still active after night had fallen.
Group number Seven was already inside one of the inns (after Sakura pulled them
away from the red-light district) and presently a stately man with
salt-and-pepper hair entered their room.
"Terazuma-san. Thank you for this room. It is too kind of you to give us such a
lovely room and good food too," Kakashi said, bowing his respect to the
forty-something man.
Terazuma nodded, smiling at him and then the youths behind Kakashi. "I see that
you are in dire need of both food and comfort, and so I see it fit for you and
your helpers to have this."
"Naruto," Sasuke whispered, slapping Naruto's thighs beneath the table, "stop
eating so much. You look like a starving convict."
"Hmmh? Hmm *munch* grhhmm *munch munch* hrgg ghhm *chomp chomp*
nggh." The last noodle slipped inside past his lips. Naruto sighed, contented.
Then he gave out a loud burp.
Sakura couldn't resist the notion, and so she hit Naruto on the head. Naruto's
face fell into the fortunately empty ramen bowl. Bickering ensued. Kakashi hung
his head in shame.
"I apologize, Terazuma-san," he said over and over again, to which Terazuma
gracefully waved away. "Shall we sit down?"
After they all were properly seated – and the bickering had ceased – Terazuma
took out a small lacquer box from beneath the table. "This is what you all came
for," he said with a dramatic flair as he opened the cover. Inside lay a
wrinkled, blackened root… or something. They all stared at it as if it would
leap up and run away. It didn't.
Naruto was the first to break the prolonged silence. "We came for that piece of
dry plant? What a joke."
Terazuma smiled at Naruto, and Sasuke thought, I can't stand it. How many times
he smiles a day? And doesn't it get boring?
"Naruto! Be respectable," Sakura hissed at him. Naruto stuck out his tongue at
her.
"It does look undesirable, yes, but Naruto-kun, it's a very rare herb. It grows
only here on the volcanic soils of Shibata, and it only blooms for one day in
fifty years. When it blooms, it's the only proper time to take its roots."
Naruto wasn't impressed. "It still looks like cow dung to me."
If Terazuma was losing his patience he could hide it very well. "It's a very
delicate herb! Very hard to cultivate, very hard to come by, and takes fifty
years to grow and bloom! And in one day it blooms and then the next day, it will
die! You see how impressive this herb is?"
A strained silence followed. Naruto scrutinized the root under the light and
looked up at Terazuma with a straight face. "Ah, I think you have an old man's spot under your left eye, the one like our Hokage has -"
For the first time in 8 years Terazuma-san lost his patience.
"You couldn't have administered a more just punishment on Naruto. I apologize
deeply on his behalf. Yes, Terazuma-san, we will take good care of it."
Kakashi was about to close the door when suddenly Terazuma's hand held the
screen door open. "Kakashi-san…"
"Yes?"
Terazuma looked down, and slowly he searched Kakashi's face. "I – need to ask
you something."
Kakashi's uncovered eye was open wide. "I'm listening. Or do you prefer to come
inside again and talk about it?"
"No – not in front of those kids. No – definitely not."
"Then we shall discuss it on the doorway. What is it?"
Terazuma still looked uncertain. Then he took a deep breath and stared into
Kakashi's eye. "Have you ever heard of the Murashi Incident?"
"Eh?"
"That old man shouldn't have done it," Naruto complained the next morning as he
rubbed his tender ass. "How dare he spanked me?! I'm not a baby anymore! Ouch…"
"Served you right," Sakura said sleepily from behind the sheets. It was morning,
but the temperature was cool, as if the sun hadn't yet risen. Outside, though,
the signs of life were present. A cockerel crowed and somewhere someone was
chopping firewood just outside the window.
Sasuke looked as if he had had a bath, and Naruto decided he should get some,
too. "Oi, Sasuke, is there a public bath in this inn?"
"Where do you think I had my bath, in the toilet bowl?"
"I was asking! For goodness' sake…" Mumbling to himself, Naruto walked out and
brought along a towel. He followed the signs, (to his delight the inn had hot
springs! Or so the signs said) wondered briefly whether he should transform into
a girl and go inside a women's only bath, thought better of it, and stepped
inside the men's only bath.
Inside there were three figures. The steam made it hard to recognize, but later
as he settled down, Naruto realized his sensei was one of them. "You're up
early, Naruto. Your ass still hurts?"
"Very funny, sensei. I should've used my devastating technique and left him
breathless." Naruto dunked his head and came up for air after some time.
"Sensei, are we going back today? Can't we have a small tour, a little
look-about? You know, like a small vacation."
One of the bathers cut in. "You should go to the dormant volcano. It's not far
from here, just a few hours' walk." Another suggested that they should go to a
small temple at in the Abemori. Soon the four spoke at length almost every
historical and titillating spots around the village, and Naruto listened with
great delights to it all.
"Ah, I heard that Murashi-no-mori is a nice spot for hot springs!" Kakashi mentioned
conversationally. "I remember I came there maybe ten years ago… it was a great
spot if I remember it correctly. There were trees all around, like a big
umbrella, covering the springs. And the temperature! It's nice and warm and –
ah? You're leaving already?"
The two bathers rose and said the proper goodbyes and promptly left. Naruto
watched this rather rushed exit with wonder. "Ah… Kakashi-sensei? Why did they
leave? Sensei? Hello, sensei…"
But Kakashi wasn't paying attention to him. There was this strange look on his
face. He seemed to be deep in thought as he rose and left the bath. Naruto was
left alone. Just as then Kakashi called from outside:
"Come, Naruto! We'll have a small tour around Shibata."
Naruto immediately forgot about the strange look and leapt out of the bath,
screaming with joy. But then he stopped and peeked outside. "Kakashi-sensei, do
you think we can have breakfast first?"
Unwillingly Kakashi nodded.
Author's Note: I seriously need feedback. My knowledge on anything Japanese is bad at best and worthless at worst. So, if I used any Japanese words that are improper, please say so in the review section or better yet, email me. And I need a beta-reader! Email me on that too! Till then, itadakimasu (my current hot phrase!)!
