Disclaimer: Constantine and RoM do not own Naruto. Constantine owns his OCs, however.

Chapter 2

Promises

"Ken-chan! I have to use the potty!"
Kensei's eyes opened slowly and he groaned, leaning up in his bed. His brain ached and throbbed. He must have slept four hours before Naruto managed to wake himself up. At least this time he /had/ woken up before he needed to use the bathroom. Kensei stood up and cracked his back, feeling his left pant leg being pulled quickly.
"Ken. Chan. I. Have. To. Potty!"
He looked down at his adopted son of five years. He had grown from the small bundle of yellow and tears. And poop.
Now he was two feet, maybe even three feet tall. His blonde hair had grown into a mess of untamed yellow, which Naruto refused to let Kensei cut. Anytime he brought scissors near the kid's head he freaked out and started crying and throwing wild punches which were getting closer and closer to the one weak spot all grown men have.

He had tried to instill as much respect into the boy as he could, but it tended to go in one ear and out the other. The same went for 'quiet time'. Those words just didn't make sense to Naruto.
"Alright boy, I heard you. Go on, give it a go and if you miss, don't worry about it."
"Ok Ken-chan!" The orange and blonde blur took off down the hall, feet pattering against the wood floor before he heard the door slam. He didn't understand what about orange Naruto found attractive, but once he had seen it, everything the boy wanted had to be in some variant of the color. Pants, shirts, coats, hats, pajamas, underpants.

He was fine with Naruto having an orange coat and shirt, but he drew the line there. Everything else had to 'be normal.' Greys, blues, blacks, whites, tans. Things that blended into a crowd.
Kensei guessed it had something to do with his own life back in Kusagakure. Anything other than earth tones got you looked at. And that wasn't something you wanted. Kensei's most rebellious piece of clothing back when he was growing up had been a blood red shirt he frequently hid under a black coat. To him, it was a way of telling his village that he was different. That he wasn't going to be stuck in the little village. That he was going to matter. That he was going someplace.

And they often did go someplace. Some places to be exact. Over the past five years, he had taken Naruto on every trip out of Wave. Konoha, Kiri, Suna. The thirty year old had made sure that wherever they managed to travel, Naruto was taken care of first.
"Ken-chan! I did it!" He heard the door open. Naruto never called him 'Dad'. He had tried to get him to, but once a customer had called him Kensei in front of his son, it was 'Ken-chan' from that day forth.
It brought up mixed feelings for the man. Kensei shook his head and walked down the hall as Naruto held his arms out for a hug.
"And I didn't miss this time!"
"That's my boy." He smirked and picked Naruto up, walking into the bathroom.
"See? It's all on the potty this time!"
". . .yeah. . .I see."

"KEN-CHAANNN! What is this thingy?!"
"That's a set of tongs."
"Tawungs. What are Tauwngs?"
"Tongs. They're what I use to hold hot metal so I don't get burned."
". . .They look like the things you hold clothes with on that line thingy outside with all my underpants!"
". . .Clothes-pins."
"Clothes-tawungs!"
"Pins."
"KEN-CHAAANNN! I have to pee. No wait, I don't."

"Ken-chan., I want some tawungs!"
"Naruto, you're not old enough to use those. I don't even think you can lift them."
"KEN-CHAAAN!" Naruto started crying, lifting his hands up to his eyes and weeping. His breath hitched every two seconds, like he couldn't get air fast enough into his lungs while he was whining.
"Ok ok ok! Shit, kid, take the damn tongs."

"Yay! Thanks Ken-chan!" Naruto immediately stopped crying and dragged the wrought-iron tongs off of the anvil, the weight too much for him. They clanged against the ground, Naruto holding onto the one lose arm of the tongs that were closest to his hands. He tried to pick it up, but his muscles failed him halfway, the clang sound echoing his mistake. Naruto stood there, staring at the tongs. He then immediately ran in the opposite direction, dragging them across the cement as he did, the grinding, skittering and occasional pinging noise making Kensei wince.

Naruto did this for a full hour.
And then, just like that, he stopped, letting the tongs fall to the ground and walking over to Kensei.
"Ken-chan, I have to pee again."

". . . . . .Why do you hate me?"
"I don't hate you Ken-chan, I love you!" Naruto answered worriedly. It was almost as if the prospect of sarcasm was unknown to a five year old. Then again, it probably /was/ lost on a five year old. Even if you explained what sarcasm was, they wouldn't retain that information or it would be misused. It took a few tries before Kensei had learned that part of parenting.
"I know kid, and I love you too. So you said you had to pee?"
"I did, but I don't have to anymore!" He said happily. Kensei sighed, smiling. Looks like he was good for an hour.
"I have to poop now!"

"And that's how you flush a toilet."
"Cool! Look at the water swirl!"
"Yep, but don't touch that stuff. You'll get sick. Wash your hands, Naruto."
"Ok! Hey Ken-chan, where does the poo go?" The little boy stood up on his tippy toes to wash his hands, wiping what excess water he had on his pants.

". . .someplace called a sewer."
"What about the pee?"
"Same place."
"Where does that go?"
"A bigger sewer."
"Where does /that/ go?"
"I don't know. Like. . .the river or ocean or something."
"Where does /that/ go?"
"Depends on the river or the ocean."
"What's a river? And a ocean?"
"A river is water that runs a narrow path. Usually comes from a spring or when ice and snow melts someplace higher up. You should know this, we go by it on the way to town."
"Oh yeah! What about a ocean? What's that?"

"It's like. . .a super big puddle. And it covers most of the Earth. It's what the boats in town float on."
"Coooool. . . ." Naruto seemed to try and piece together most of what he was just told. Kensei could almost watch the cogs in his brain working. It was like an active process for Naruto to picture what he was told before it became fact.
"What's a Earth?"
Kensei hit his head on the wall nearest to him. He had a question too. One he asked the spirits:

'When will he stop asking me questions?'

"And that. . .is what fire is."
"Cool! Ken-chan, what do you do?"
"Hmm?"
"Like. . .why do you hit those. . .metal sticks that make a swoard and all the water that goes swoosh and stuff?"
"I'm a smith, Naruto. It's my job."
"What's a jobe?"
"Job. It's what people do to make money."
"I want a job!"
"Heh, alright kid. . .what do you wanna do when you get older?"
"I wanna hit things and play with the water that goes woosh- I mean swoosh- and stuff like you do!"
"You want to be a smith?"
"Yea-yea-yea-yeeaa! I want to be a smith like you, Ken-chan!"
Kensei coughed once, trying to hold in his laughter. Naruto had a smile on his face, but his eyes were all business. He could tell Naruto was already making one of his many 'life-time promises'. This one was to himself, however, and that made Kensei proud.

"Alright kid. I'll teach you how to smith. It won't be easy. It's going to be a lot of work, and it doesn't just end when you sleep. This isn't a job you just get to learn and forget about. It's a career."
"What's-"
"A career is a job you stick with until you /die/." Kensei stated, knowing that at least for now, the explanation would last.
"Once you agree to be a smith, you can't take that back." Naruto's eyes were wide. He was essentially being told what his future was if he said 'yes'.

"But. . .I. . .what if I'm not good at it!?" His words were quick and full of doubt. He didn't want to let Kensei down.
"That's ok Naruto, no one's good at anything the first time. And what do we call that?"
"Practice!"
"Practice. . .I think you'd make a fine smith."
"Yeah! I wanna make swoards and axes and bigger swoards and. . .even bigger axes!"
"It's settled then. You'll be a smith."
"Yay! Thank you, Ken-chan!" He ran over and hugged his adoptive father's leg. Kensei chuckled and picked Naruto up, hugging the blonde with one arm while Naruto adjusted to trying to hug Kensei's chest. This was what Kensei hoped having a child would be like. You take care of them, you try and point them in the right direction and if you weren't a shitty parent, they reminded you with hugs.
"Hey Ken-chan."
"Yeah Naruto?"
"Where do babies come from?"

Tingting-Twang.
Tingting-Twang.
Tingting-Twang.
Kensei kept bringing his hammer into the heated metal, watching it fold slowly and straighten. He could see Naruto standing on his toes trying to watch Kensei work, following every swing of the hammer.
"Ken-chan, why are you making it like that?"
"Because. . .Naruto-" Kensei spoke between hits. "- by folding. . .the metal. . .it becomes. . .stronger." After a few more hits he stopped, using his tongs to carry the crudely formed blade back to his furnace and heating it up.

"A katana is graded by the metals used, the amount of folds and the amount of metals as well as how they are wrapped. In all of those, more is better." Naruto jogged over to the furnace and watched the light red stick grow orange and brighter.
"Why doesn't it just turn into soup?"
"You mean liquid. It's because metal has a higher melting point than most other objects. Different metals have different melting points. Ones that take longer to melt are usually stronger."
". . .Whats the strongest?" Naruto asked, semi-entranced with the fire.
"Titanium. Very rare. Chakra-infused metal can be stronger, but as far as natural materials go, Titanium."
"Tietanieaniaum? Tietanium? Titlelanium?"
"Ti."
"Ti!"
"Tani"
"Tani!"
"Ummmmmm."
"Ummmmmm!" Naruto laughed, jumping up and down.
"Alright, now say it all at once."
"Ti. . .tanium!"
"Perfect!" Kensei pulled the molten steel out of the furnace and placed it carefully on the anvil. "Now I don't just make swords, Naruto. I make anything that requires metal. What else can you think of is made of metal?" He started hitting the steel, folding the blade over like he did previously. Naruto hopped up and down, closing his eyes.

"Ummm. . .Ummm.. .forks!"
"Good, what else?"
"Spoons! Knifes! Pots! Pans! Axes! Yeah yeah yeah! Axes!"
"You really like axes, don't you?"
"Yeah! Chop chop chop!"
"What else do you like?" Kensei already knew the list.
"Ramen! Orange! 'sposions! Frogs!"
"What about Toads?"
"What's a toad?"
"It's like a frog."
"Then yes! Also I like that clang noise that happens when you hit things with the hammer. And I like Ken-chan!" Naruto beamed up at Kensei, still hopping.

"Kid. . .Seriously, you and I need to go into town more. Girls are going to be all over me, what with the single father and cute son thing we have going."
"Ewwwwww! I don't like girls! They're weird! And gross!"
"Eh, you say that now. . .wait 'til you're my age."
"But I'm not eleventy billion!"
". . . . . .Naruto, I'm thirty."
"Eleventy billion." He stated as though it were fact.
". . .sure. Why not. . ." Kensei sighed in frustration as he finished hitting the half-formed sword. With a dunk in the chemical water, he figured that was enough for today. They had food to buy.

"I can see the boats from here!" Naruto called from atop Kensei's shoulders. He was always excited to be in the town itself. Hell, he was always excited. It was the only thing that annoyed Kensei about the boy. He would run, skip, jump, bounce, question everything, talk at all hours of the day, grab whatever he could get his hands on and either throw it, swing it or drag it someplace and almost as soon as he had decided upon something, his brain seemed to give up and reboot. Whatever ideas he previously had wiped clean and replaced with new, far more hyper-active ones. But there was an entirely different thought process too. It was mildly frightening to Kensei how different his mind worked at times.
Naruto found out what the word 'promise' meant, and it burrowed deep inside his skull. It managed to stick and never fade. Much like whatever he promised.

He never took the word lightly: Whatever he said he promised to do was as good as done. Getting him /to/ promise was relatively easy as well. Kensei didn't know if it was that whole 'childhood innocence' thing people talked about or if Naruto was just naturally trusting, but he saw the best in everyone. You could have punched a puppy in the snout and he would still find some way to see the good in you.
And strangely enough, he'd pull that good to the surface.
Like the 'unique' nickname Naruto had given to "Ken-chan", his promise-oriented mindset brought up strange feelings of deja-vu.

Kensei fell to the ground, out of breath. Physical activity was not exactly his forte. Especially running. He just never got the hang of it, the whole act involved far too much energy just to do something mildly faster than walking. Then again, he was in an academy primarily made for ninja-in-training. He had originally asked his father to put him in a trade school, but after much coercion from his dad and threats of bodily harm from Kasumi, he was a 'proud' student in Kusagakure's only Shinobi Academy.
Whatever excuse he managed to give, it didn't change the fact he was an average student with average scores and sore muscles every day. Chakra didn't really run in his family, he didn't have a bloodline power or even muscles. He was lean. The only thing he had going for him was how fast he could use a kunai.
He had much practice hiding and quickly exchanging knives with students when they were buying the weapons from him. Kensei guessed it was a positive by-product.
"Aww, is my little Ken-chan tired?" He heard a light thump to his side, Kensei's eye's still looking up at the sky.

"Just. . .a little." He managed to get out. Kensei caught himself suddenly trying to breath slower and less embarrassing in front of Kasumi. It was pathetic: She could run the entire length of the village twice and not even remotely seem winded. Maybe focusing on Taijutsu helped.
"That's alright. It just means we'll have to start jogging together on our days off. Don't want you getting flunked for not being able to pass the physical exam, that'd just be sad!"
"Agreed." Kensei brought his hands up to his forehead and covered his eyes for a moment before wiping the sweat away.

"So. . .are you busy tomorrow night?" He heard the voice next to him ask in a low tone. He could imagine the red on her face. And knew she would punch him for noticing if he /did/ turn towards her.
"My dad wanted me to go with him to Iron this week, so I was supposed to start packing tonight."
"Ahh. Nevermind then-"
"But it's cool. I wanted to stay home this time anyways. Maybe the old man could find himself a lady if I wasn't always 'cramping his style'. Like he had any or something." Kensei smirked, hearing a light giggle. "So yeah, I'm free."
"Cool."
". . .What did you want to do?" Kensei asked hesitantly. This was very strange waters they were treading in. When one of his customers asked how things were with his 'girlfriend', Kensei was confused at first. He only had one friend who was a girl.
And then he wasn't confused. He was nervous.

"I don't know. Whatever really. I haven't seen you too much outside of school lately."
Entirely his fault.
"Y-yeah, sorry about that, dad's having me run errands around the shop. Uhh. . .hang out at my place?"
"That sounds boring!" He could hear the huff she spat out afterwords.
"I have a house to myself and a fully stocked liquor cabinet. /How/ in the /hell/ is that boring?"
"Oh shit, you're right! My bad!" Kasumi laughed.

"S'ok." Kensei heard the whistle, knowing it meant they had to make it back to class. "Shit." He muttered and stood up, his bones and muscles cursing back at him, burning with pain, promising to come back with twice the fury tomorrow.
At least he'd be able to drink.
"Hey, Ken-chan-"
Kensei turned his head.

"Ken-chan, what's a 'rack'?"
"The hell did you hear that from?" Kensei's mind caught the question, pulling him abruptly back to the present. Like usual, he took a second to get readjusted to his surroundings.
"That weird old guy over there said that and he pointed at that lady over there and he said it and I wanna know what a rack is now." The boy always did have obscenely good hearing. He pointed at an elderly man across the street from them, who in turn was looking at a young woman close to Kensei's age that. . .Kensei had to agree, had a very nice- he closed his eyes and shook his head lightly. Those were thoughts for a lecherous old man. Not him. At least not in public and with his son around.
Kensei's brain clicked in a very mischievous way. A way he had long since forgotten about.

". . .go ahead and ask the young lady, Naruto. I'm sure she won't mind. Oh, and be sure to tell her about the nice old man that said that." Kensei calmly helped Naruto off of his shoulders and let him go, watching the young boy take off down the street. He was a little envious of Naruto; the boy had never seemed to tire. . .well, until /exactly/ nine at night. He also seemed to wake up /exactly/ at nine in the morning. It was like his brain had some kind of flawlessly designed internal clock.

Kensei saw Naruto tugging the young woman's arm lightly, his little mouth moving and his hand raising to point at the elderly man. Kensei could see the quick look of shock the girl had. And then it was replaced by a very serene smile. It was a little too nice. And then Naruto looked back at his father and turned his hand to point at Kensei. The woman's eyes locked with his and he could swear he had felt this kind of fear before. It was something akin to being close to a bear. And a lion. And a cliff. That wonderful feeling of inevitable doom.
The woman then took Naruto's hand and they made their way towards Kensei. He could feel his lifespan slowly growing shorter. 'This is how it ends. I live thirty years, accomplish this little and I die. . .because my adopted son. . .is stupid. Yep. Dad woulda been proud.'

Kensei took quick note of the girl's features – he might need to flatter her in order to not be maimed. She had long, black hair, deep brown eyes and was shorter than Kensei by a foot. She also was two shades paler than him, but that was common around Wave: He left the land so often the overcast never really got to him. As she stopped in front of him, Naruto smiled broadly and held his arms out to Kensei, signaling he wanted to be picked up. Kensei obliged, assuming that the woman wouldn't hit him in while he was carrying a child. She had a calm smile on her own face, watching the two boys.
"Ken-chan! I know what a rack is now! But I'm not supposed to say it. Ever. Jiyoon-chan told me not to."

Kensei turned from his son to the woman. "And she was right. It's not really a nice word."
The woman laughed slightly, turning her at attention to Kensei now. "And yet instead of just telling your brother that, you just let him go off and ask me."
"Ah, well that's half the problem. He's actually my son."
"Oh, I'm sorry I just assumed with him calling you Ken-chan. . ."
"Don't worry about it. He's always done that. Kinda wish he'd call me dad but hey. . .what're you gonna do." He smirked.

"So. . .would his mom be angry with him knowing that particular word when he gets home?"
Kensei's smirk faded slightly. "She's. . .not with us. Well, him.-"
"Ken-chan adopted me!" Naruto shouted happily. Kensei had guessed that while the boy wasn't exactly /excited/ his family had been taken from him, as far as he was concerned or even remembered, he only had one dad. And that was Kensei.
". . .That's actually really sweet." Jiyoon stated, her eyes soft as they glanced over Kensei. "I'm sorry, with all this talk, I haven't properly introduced myself. Jiyoon Takomi." She bowed to Kensei. He returned it.

"Kensei Uzumaki. And this little bundle of crazy is my son, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto smiled broadly, not bowing. "I'm five!" He shouted, as if he was asked for his age. Kensei covered his eyes with his hand. 'That boy is a down right embarrassment sometimes.'
"So you let your five year old son ask me about the meaning of the word 'rack'. . ." What was once a happy smile returned to what Kensei had dubbed 'The Female Death Stare'. Calm, polite, happy at first glance, but with a subtle feeling of doom.

"I. . .didn't really. . .think this through that much. . .uhh. . .did I mention I'm a smith? And I can make things like pots? Pans? Teapots?" There was only one thing Kensei knew of to get out of being maimed to death by an angry woman: Bribery.
". . .Actually, a teapot would be nice." A look of surprise was now on Jiyoon's face. "I work at the tea shop across the street and I was going to try and replace one of our old ones."
'Thank Kami. Or God. Or whatever magical floating-thingy that helps me out in times like these. I knew training to be a blacksmith would save my life.'
"Well then, you're in luck. I'll make it steel, polished, put a spout on that bad-boy. . .the whole works." He watched Jiyoon laugh slightly. "And all it took was a threatening glare."

"That sounds about right." He coughed once, trying to mask his own laugh and flushed cheeks. "So I'll stop by next week- that is if you're open. Or even working. Or you want to wake that long." Kensei's mind was pushing very strange thoughts into his head which made it hard for him to talk. It had been a while since he had spoken to a girl like Jiyoon. Or a girl. About anything, really.
"Perfect." Her smile faded slightly. "I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, but I do need to take care of a few things. It was a pleasure to meet you." She bowed once more to Kensei and Naruto. "Bye Naruto-kun. Ken-/chan/." And with that, she walked across the street. Kensei's brain stopped when he heard the way she had called him 'Ken-chan.'

'. . . She's an angel.' He said to himself, watching her walk away.
And then, for the first time in many years, Kensei knew he would have to dress nicely.
And then, for the first time in many years, he watched as an old man was beaten to near-death by a woman.
And for once, it wasn't him.

"Ken-chan! Someone's at the door!" Naruto stumbled into the living room, a big smile on his face. He was almost jumping up and down. He always loved when someone visited. Kensei shook his head and walked down his hall, the blonde and orange mass that was his son close behind. Kensei opened the door slowly, prepared to say hello, but the words got stuck.

A Kiri-ninja was on the other side: Kensei knew he was from Kirigakure by the tilted headband covering the left side of his forehead. The man- if Kensei could call him that: He looked closer to nineteen or twenty – had short, black hair and Kensei guessed he would have had black eyebrows. If he had eyebrows. His nose, mouth and neck were covered in bandages. Other than that, he seemed to be dressed like a jounin: Gray flak vest, black sleeveless shirt, black pants and gray sandals. Color-coded for Kiri. He also had the Kiri-tailored kunai holder that Kensei knew very well. Slanted with three slots, housing a far more jagged and dagger-like kunai, more akin to a knife. But despite this, he seemed to be missing something. Like part of him wasn't there.

"Kensei Uzumaki?" The gruff voice asked, a dead tone behind it. It reminded Kensei of a serial killer he had seen when he was younger and his father was trading with a village-run prison. That weird sense of death. Like a pressure surrounding you that scared you and made you feel uneasy. And sick. Kensei stood in front of Naruto, making sure the boy was close by.
"Yeah, I'm Kensei. . .the hell wants to know?" Kensei spat the words out. He didn't know the man, and for all he knew, he could be like one of the few psychos that asked him for weapons. Kensei put his hand calmly into his pocket as he waited for the man to answer, the handle of his switchblade now in his palm.
"Zabuza Momochi." The man bowed slightly. "And while I appreciate the caution... I'm not here for something like that." Either Kensei was sloppy or this guy was good. As good as the horror stories he had heard about that name.

"Looks like the Demon of the Hidden Mist has me at his mercy."
'Be friendly. Be funny. Be polite. Don't aggravate the man.'
Naruto tugged Kensei's arm once. "What's a demon?" Zabuza chuckled and looked down at Naruto. "Me." The answer didn't seem to register the young boy.
"...so what's a demon do then, mister?" And why is your face wrapped, did you get hurt? And why don't you have any eyebrows?"
'Yeah, why doesn't he?' Kensei thought, turning from his son to Zabuza.
"Cooking accident." Zabuza quickly stated, his eyes closing in what Kensei assumed was a moment of sadness. Zabuza shook his head and looked back at Kensei. "But that's besides the point. . .I was hoping I could have a word with you." Kensei thought for a few moments, then sighed and rubbed his forehead. He knew this was the authentic "Demon of the Mist", and from what he could tell, the man had ample skill to just have killed Kensei whenever he pleased. The fact he didn't spoke volumes about him.

"Fine. Come in." Zabuza bowed once more then made his way inside, slowly walking into the house and the living room. He sat down at the table, quickly followed by Naruto who sat across from him, excitedly bouncing up and down in his chair.
"Hey mister, what's your name again?"
"Zabuza." He answered, watching the child.
"Hey mister Zabuza, do you like orange?"
"It's alright, I guess."
"What about frogs?"
". . .they're alright."
"What about-"
"Naruto, stop bugging the man." Kensei sat down next to his son, rustling his hair. Naruto laughed and kept bouncing in his chair, looking at his father then the new man in their house. "Now I have to talk to our guest. . .after we're done, I'll cook you some ramen if you wait in your room like a good-" He never had to finish his words, Naruto was already scrambling to the back of the house as soon as the word ramen was used. A usual bribe.
"Let's just get down to it. Why are you here?" Kensei stated, watching Zabuza closely. He still had his reservations about him.

"Very well. I was hoping you would craft a weapon for me."
". . .Aren't you a member of the Seven Swordsmen?"
"Yes, I am." Zabuza smiled behind his bandages.
"Then where's your sword?"
"I was asked to leave it in our sword-bearer's hands while I took a leave of absence. The weapon you would be making actually wouldn't be /mine./"
"Then who would it be for?"
"My apprentice."
"Alright. . .hold on. A member of Kirigakure. . .a ninja – who is also one of the village's strongest swordsman group and talked about like a real life demon – wants me to make his apprentice a weapon. The man who /killed/ one hundred students before he was even a member of the academy and probably killed close to another hundred so far over his time in ANBU. Yeah. . .that seems like a smart thing to do. Make a weapon for a mass murderer." Kensei had a sarcastic smile on his face. "Think I'll pass."
". . .I thought a smith such as yourself would have seen my actions for what they were, not as they appear." Zabuza seemed disappointed. "What I did in my earlier years was not an act of blood lust as I make it seem. . .it was merely a way to show my village that our traditions, while tested, sometimes need to be altered. Or removed." Kensei thought for a moment.

". . .I'm sorry, I'm still getting over the murdering thing. Could you explain it better?"
"Surely you've heard of the results of my 'graduation.'"
"Yeah, they stopped all pitting of students to the death as their final exam."
"One hundred students die in one year. Even without me, there would have been fifty dead. One hundred the next year. One hundred and fifty the third." Zabuza counted the years on his fingers. "Since the exam was canceled, five hundred and fifty more people are alive. Five hundred and fifty /friends/ are still here with their teammates because of me." Kensei never thought of it like that. "A village where we only had fifty active ninja -who had just murdered their friends to pass- to replace those that retired or died each year now has one hundred happy and mentally competent graduates." Zabuza's words never faltered. Kensei knew he had done the math over the years and made a decision that even /he/ had to argue was for the better.

". . .Then why play it off like you did? Like you killed them just for the hell of it?"
"Fear works better than any ideal. Could you imagine a council talking about what I did? The nightmares they must have had about our future generations being a legion of psychopaths? That works better than any altruistic speech I've heard."
"I understand the reasoning. . .but still. . ."
"And I understand your apprehension. . .but don't think of this as helping me. Just. . .think of it as helping my apprentice."
"With what?"
"The next generation of Kirigakure needs to be able to fight against the corrupt of this world. They need to have the proper tools to defend themselves with."
"There are a lot of other weapons and blacksmiths you can buy from."
Zabuza smiled once more, the bandages moving up with the corners of his mouth.
"But then they wouldn't be an Uzumaki blade."
". . .I'll need to meet him." Kensei said, already resigning himself to the next few months being filled with crafting a weapon. Zabuza nodded and stood up, holding his hand out for Kensei to shake.
"I'm sure Kai would love to meet you."

"Do you like ramen?" Naruto asked the newcomer, staring at him intently
"Yes. It's one of my favorite foods." The young boy answered.
"What about frogs?"
"No, not really."
"What about swoards?"
"Swords? Yes."
"What's your favorite color?"
"Blue."
"What's-"
"Naruto! What the hell kid, I thought I /just/ got done asking you not to bug our guests!" Kensei picked his son up, ruffling his hair and tossing him up once before catching him. The boy laughed and swung his arms around as he was caught. "Again! Again!" Kensei obliged, throwing Naruto into the air once more and catching him, the whole time Naruto laughed and flailed. "Again!" Kensei set Naruto down carefully and shook his head.

"Sorry kiddo, but I have to speak with Kai and Zabuza for a moment. After, maybe you can show Kai your smith tools." Naruto's eyes brightened and he ran outside. "Yay!" His screaming carried out the house with him. Kensei laughed nervously, looking at the two Kiri-nin in front of him.
"Sorry. What can I say. . .boy is energetic."
"It's fine, some kids are like that. Some are a bit more stoic." Zabuza nudged Kai's arm with his shoulder, the boy looking embarrassed.
"Sensei-"
"Hey, wouldn't kill you to be happy for once. It would be creepy seeing you smile, but I'm fairly certain it wouldn't kill you. . .Ok, so one in ten shot it won't kill yo-"
"Sensei!" Kai punched Zabuza's arm, warranting a light chuckle from the elder ninja.

'Elder.' Kensei said sarcastically to himself. After a short conversation with Zabuza, he found our he was right: The 'Demon of the Hidden Mist' was only nineteen. His apprentice Kai only at the ripe age of thirteen. Kai, for all intents and purposes, was almost a mirror image of Zabuza, and while he tried to hide it, Kensei could tell the boy idolized him. He kept his hair short like Zabuza, but it was brown and unlike his 'sensei', he had a pair of brown eyebrows as well. His clothing consisted of a gray flak vest, blue shirt hidden under a black, cloth hunting coat, gray pants and black sandals.

He also draped bandages around his neck similar to a scarf, and his forehead protector calmly rested on his right bicep, angled sideways. He hadn't seen the boy smile other than his initial 'hello'. He was almost constantly wearing a look of complacency. Like he was just there. It was a little unnerving. It was also unnerving to see Zabuza crack jokes. The swordsman had laughed and smiled – at least what Kensei guessed was a smile behind his bandaged face – almost the entire time his apprentice was there. It was a strange sight.
"Alright Kai. . .before I make you this weapon, I have a few questions and I want you to answer them truthfully and as much as you can." Kensei watched the young boy turn from Zabuza back to him and nod.

"Ok."
"Ok. Why do you want a weapon?"
". . .to protect myself."
"Not good enough. What do you plan to do once you have this weapon?"
". . .what do you mean?"
"Don't worry about what I mean. . .just answer the question. If I made you a sword- or a spear or whatever the hell – what would you do with it?"
Kai looked back at Zabuza who just pointed at Kensei, signaling he wasn't going to give him the answer. After a few moments of contemplation, he answered.
"Protect myself and my people."
"From what?"
"Everything. The tainted, the weak, anyone that tries to harm my village. I want to make Kirigakure a place people /want/ to live. I don't want our land to be a horror-story of what happens when ninja 'lose it' or where all the villagers are insane. I want to make it a proper place to be."

". . .Good answer." Kensei smirked, watching Kai almost smile himself. "Now for a far more important question. What kind of weapon do you want?"
"A machete." Kai said quickly. Kensei laughed.
"Jeeze, someone put some thought into that."
"A machete? Nice idea kid. Works with your strengths." Zabuza patted Kai's shoulder, the younger boy turning to face him.
"What strengths?" Naruto said, his head peering from behind the door to the outside. He had managed to sneak back in to hear the others talk.

"Silent Killing." Zabuza said. "Little Kai here was real quick on picking it up."
"What's that?" Naruto said, walking back inside holding his arms out for Kensei to pick him up. He sighed and lifted Naruto onto his lap, the blonde watching his new 'friends'.
"It's a Kirigakure specialty. We cover the area in a thick cloud of mist infused with our chakra. Makes it impossible to sense the attacker. If you're good-" Zabuza mussed up Kai's hair, the boy stubbornly pulling away, his face a light red. "Then you can make it so thick no one can see either. And if you're /really/ good, the user can close their eyes and kill their target just by listening for their heartbeat."
Naruto looked mildly frightened, turning back to Kensei. "Ken-chan, can you do that?"

Kensei shook his head. "No, Naruto. I don't have much chakra. And what I do have I can only use on a few techniques I learned back in Kusagakure."
"What about me?! Can I do ninja-stuff?!" He shouted happily, imagining all the cool things he'd be able to do.
"Uhh. . .we'll talk about that when you're older, Naruto."
"But-"
"Please. . .Naruto."
". . .Fine." The blonde looked down, mumbling to himself. Kensei tickled Naruto's sides, the young boy laughing immediately.
"No being sad. Ever!" Zabuza shook his head lightly.
"So how long does it take to make a machete?"

Kensei stopped tickling Naruto and set him down, watching as he ran back to his room, probably to play with one of his toys. Quite a few of them had been made by Kensei himself, the smith also having a bit of skill in whittling. He turned back to Zabuza, scratching his neck and stretching his free arm into the air.
"Depends, but I can usually get a short sword out in about a month, month and a half." Zabuza nodded, pulling out a leather handbook from his pocket and a pen from his vest, writing a bit onto a piece of paper. He tore it out and slid it across the table.

"I hope that's enough money." Kensei took the paper and looked at it.
'Holy shit, Kiri must really pay these guys.'
"Yeah, that'll do."
Zabuza turned to Kai. "We'll get a room at the hotel in town, I'll train you in the forest while we wait-"
Kensei cleared his throat for a moment.
"Um. . .actually. . .you could stay here. I just. . .have a small favor."
Small favor, big favor, same difference really. It's still a favor.

Kensei looked at himself once more in the mirror. He had to admit, he looked so different even /he/ could barely tell it was him staring back. Kensei had shaved his beard /off/. Usually it was kept short or when he was too busy, the unkempt red mass reached 'hermit proportions'. Not today. Today his face felt cold. And mildly itchy. He was wearing a rather nice blue shirt that had a small red symbol for Kusagakure on it hidden under his gray coat. He also wore his usual gray pants and his favorite black boots.

It had been a week since the two Kirigakure ninja had taken up residence in his home, and Kensei had to admit, it made his life a bit more relaxing. From the moment he had taken Naruto to be his son, he never had anyone watch the young boy; Naruto stayed by his side when he was working on a new weapon, went on trips into or out of town and even his talks with the various council members or prospective buyers. Now, he had Kai and Zabuza to preoccupy the boundless tornado of energy that was Naruto. Zabuza seemed to love it; He was always a willing party to indulge Naruto in one of his stories or when he wanted to show the older man a blacksmith tool – of Kensei's – that he claimed was his own.

Kensei and the swordsman also had frequent talks about the current state of Kiri and the path of the newer ninja. Zabuza was hopeful, but Kensei had seen enough in his years traveling to know it was still a long way from getting anywhere near peaceful in the elemental nations. The closest he had ever seen to peace was the Land of Iron. Kai made sure the wild mass of questions and tears that was Naruto was fed and even sleeping some nights. The young Kiri-ninja still wasn't much for talking, but he was far from the same stoic, silent boy Kensei had first met.
Which made Kensei feel all the better with leaving Naruto, for the first time, with his two temporary room-mates. After all, he did have a pretty young woman he needed to deliver a freshly made teapot to. A woman by the name of Jiyoon.

"So you know where the tea shop is, right?"
"Third street in town from the west, next to the pottery store and across the road from the grocery store."
"And tonight Naruto's going to 'cook' for you, so make sure he's not screwing around with the burners too much."
"Kai's going to watch him from the kitchen table. He's been instructed to watch only." Zabuza said turning to Naruto, the boy already a mix of emotions: Anxious to be a 'chef' for the first time in his life but also scared to be left alone.

"Ken-chan, you're not mad at me, right?" Naruto asked, worried.
"Of course not kid, matter of fact, without you, I wouldn't be able to even see Jiyoon." He smiled and walked over to his son, picking him up and hugging him tightly. He felt two little arms try to wrap themselves around him as well, no where near meeting.
"I don't want you to go Ken-chan, just get Jiyoon-chan to come visit here! She can meet Zabu and Kai!"

He had since given up on trying to say Zabuza's full name, consistently butchering it at every attempt. Kensei did have to restrain himself from agreeing with Naruto. It hurt him deeply to even think about leaving the house without his son. But this would be good for the two of them, he kept reminding himself. He didn't want Naruto to grow up too reliant on him.
Kensei sighed heavily and set Naruto down, smoothing his dark red hair back and looking at his son. Tears were already forming in his blue eyes, looking up at Kensei.

"Ken-chaaannn-"
Kensei picked Naruto up once more and quickly tossed him into the air, Naruto's tears replaced his happy laughing and his arms swinging through the air. He did this twice more before setting Naruto down and ruffling his hair.
"If you're a good boy, tomorrow we'll have a nice barbeque."
Naruto's eyes lit up, his mouth opening to speak, he was cut off by Kensei.
"And ramen." The boy quickly started pushing Kensei's leg, trying to rush him out of the house.
"Bye Ken-chan! Tell Jiyoon-chan I said hi! And I'll be good! And remember to pick up more ramen for me!" Kensei heard Zabuza laughing, turning back to the elder Kiri-ninja he opened the door before Naruto tried to push him /through/ it.

"I'll be back in a bit."
"Not too soon, I hope."
Kensei turned red at that statement and walked out of the house, Naruto running up to him and hugging his leg tightly.
"I love you daddy." Kensei stopped everything. His breath didn't come out, just stayed in his lungs, trying to help him beat back the tears. He closed his eyes and with much effort, took a deep breath.
"I love you too-"
"Remember the ramen!"
Naruto shouted, already back inside the house, he then slammed the door.
". . .Naruto."
His eyebrow twitched.
Kids. They were weird.

"Zabu-chaaan, I wanna make my ramen now! Get me the pot!"
Naruto shouted, jumping up and down in the kitchen. He was still far too young to reach most of the instruments with which to cook, Kensei learning early on that a child around metallic objects made for a lot of noise. The only place he allowed that to happen was outside. Zabuza stood up slowly from his seat on the couch in the living room and made his way into the kitchen. He looked at Kai, the young ninja watching his sensei and the blonde.

". . .you couldn't get it for him, Kai?"
"Hey, he asked for you."
Kai smirked, earning him a light smack across the back of the head from Zabuza.
"Next time I use the pot on you before he cooks with it. Understand?"
"Ohhh, you're so scary!"
Kai mocked being frightened, putting his hands in front of himself. Zabuza was unamused.
"I could always show you exactly how I lost my eyebrows. I believe it actually involved a gas stove like this one. . ." Kai quickly got up and jogged to the pot, putting it atop the stove and starting it for Naruto, patting his head as he did.
"You need any help Naruto, feel free to ask me instead of Zabu-chan, eh?"

He still had nightmares about the story his master had told him of. Of flames, of grease and of over-cooked pork. Zabuza chuckled and walked back to the couch, sitting down and closing his eyes. It had been a very relaxing week to say the least. Outside of Kirigakure, he didn't need to kill, maim or even train Kai as much as usual. When the two of them were in the building designated for the Seven Swordsman, he constantly had to watch their back: Most of the sword-wielders did not get along. Kisame and Zabuza were the only two that had openly sworn a blood oath to help each other out should the situation call for it.

He didn't have many good memories in his life – most were flashes of bloodshed and hiding, pain associated with practicing his skills – but the few he had that made him happy involved his student or his shark-like friend. Missions spent joking about what body parts they'd lop off of a target, eating barbeque in the forests they camped out in, discussions about their village, their swords, hopes, skills, what they'd like to do with the girls they had seen around Kiri – that was if they weren't deathly afraid of them. He knew that Kisame was one of those rare people he had met in Kiri that gave him hope for fixing the next generation of ninja. Devoted to a cause, whatever it was. With time, they'd be able to do so much for Kirigakure. Of course, he'd have to talk privately with the Fourth Mizukage about their plans, but the time would come for that later on.

"Zabu-chan! I made you ramen!"
Naruto tugged Zabuza's arm once, a bright smile on his face. He had put a bowl in front of the mist-ninja, which for some reason, wasn't steaming. It actually looked like almost clear water and a semi-solid chunk of noodles with some kind of powder /almost/ submerged in water, but instead was using the floating square of ramen as a form of life raft. Zabuza looked over at Kai who shook his head 'no' and pointed to the kitchen: Somehow, despite only requiring a pot and looking like ramen in water, Naruto had managed to either get Kai to pull every pan, bowl and plate out of the kitchen or he defied the laws of gravity and physics to amass the cookware himself. Zabuza was hard pressed to think of which one being the more likely of the two.

"Uhh. . .I think it needs a little more time, Naruto."
"Nuh-uh, I made sure it was on there until bubbles started happening and then I poured the bubbly water out and put it normal water and then I put the ramen in and let it sit on the counter and then I put the powder on it and now it's here!"
He jumped up and down, excited.
"I made the ramen! Eat it! Eat the ramen! Tell me how awesome I am at making the ramen!"
Zabuza nervously scratched his head then turned from Naruto to Kai.
"I'm sorry Naruto, I'm not too hungry. You see, Kai and I had a big lunch today and-"
Naruto's eyes started to water. And he started to sniffle.

"But. . .I made it."
"I know, and you did a great job, but-"
"And Ken-chan's not home and I want him to be home now and-"
The blonde covered his eyes and started bawling, what little logic his argument had with food somehow transitioned, as most conversations with a child do, into something totally unrelated. And Zabuza might have done a lot of heartless things in his life, but making a child cry was not going to be one of them.

"It's alright Naruto, I'll have some, but I won't be able to eat too much since I'm so full, ok?"
"Alright!" Naruto quickly wiped his eyes, the same smile on his face now. Zabuza took a deep breath and picked up the chopsticks Naruto had left next to his bowl. He tried, with much difficulty, and managed to pick up the half-falling apart block of ramen, most of the powder sliding into the luke-warm water. He cringed and lifted the noodles up to his mouth, taking a bite and slowly chewing it. Zabuza's eyes opened wide and he looked down at Naruto.

"Jeez kid, this is actually pretty good!"
"See! I make good ramen!"
Naruto ran down the hall to his room.
"I'mma make Ken-chan a drawring about how awesome I am at cooking so he knows how awesome I am!"
Kai, with a look of surprise on his face looked at his sensei.
". . .is it really that good?"
"Yeah, I know, right? For a second I thou-"

Zabuza heard a very distinct growl and stopped eating. He dropped his chopsticks and ramen back into the bowl with a splash and a thud, his eyes staring blankly at a wall. Kai leaned in front of the wall Zabuza was staring at, waving his hand in front of his master's face.
"Uhhh. . .sensei, are you alright?"
"Yes. Now if you'll excuse me. . ."

He stood up slowly and made his way down the hall and into the bathroom. And while Naruto happily drew his painting for Kensei, Zabuza felt some of the worst pain he swore he had ever experienced in his entire life. And that included the day he had lost his eyebrows.

The front door unlocked and opened slowly, Kensei sighing heavily as he made his way into the living room.
"Hey guys, I'm ba-"
He was immediately tackled by Naruto. Or he would have been if the boy wasn't so young.
"Ken-chan! I missed you! And I made ramen and was good so we can have more ramen tomorrow!" Kensei smiled broadly and hugged his son tightly, picking him up and looking at him, not seeing a scrape or even a speck of dirt, he knew the boy had been true to his word. Or he had at least lied very well, and that was just as commendable.

"So where is Zabuza and Kai?"
"Zabu-chan is still on the potty cause I guess he's sick or something. He barely even got to eat the ramen I made. Annnd Kai-"
"Is right here."
The older boy announce, walking down the hall from Naruto's room.
"I made sure he was occupied. He played with his toys, I read him a story, he was really good."
". . .and Zabuza?"
". . .I'd give him another few minutes."
The boy scratched his head nervously, remembering the sounds of pain he had heard. They were truly nightmarish.
"Ahh. Well, as long as Naruto wasn't a total whirlwind of destruction and devastation, I guess he gets his special ramen tomorrow."

Naruto hugged his father again, happily shouting. "BBQ ramen! Yes!"
"Please. . .never talk about ramen again." Zabuza muttered as he walked out of the bathroom and back down the hall. Kensei smirked and set Naruto down.
"Alright kid, you did good today, but it's getting late, and you know what that means?"
"Time to sleep?"
"Time to sleep. Kai'll take you back to your room and I'll be in there shortly, I just need to relax for a little bit, alright?"
"Ok Ken-chan!" He sped off towards his room before running back and grabbing Kai by the hand, practically dragging the boy with him. "I wanna play with my toys before I have to sleep! Hurry up!" Kai tried to put up a defense, but every time he tried, he was yanked farther down the hall. Kensei sat down on the couch and covered his eyes, holding his hands there for a few moments before he heard Zabuza pull up a chair across from him.
"I take it that's not the action of a man who had a great time out."
"No. It is not." Kensei sat up and looked down at his hands, replaying the entire day in his mind.

"First, I barely talked. When I did, I couldn't really say another other than the price of metal and Naruto. I think she found it cute at first but. . .after a while she just seemed irritated. I asked if she wanted to get some food and 'something came up' so I took a walk around the docks. . .got a little drunk. . .and here I am." He closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"I'm a total disaster when it comes to. . .talking. Always have been. My fiance. . .she never really cared what I talked about, as long as I /talked/. So I'd just ramble about the job, the nations. . .anything. Now. . .it just doesn't work the same. I'm just not good when it comes to women anymore."
Zabuza laughed once, looking at Kensei for a moment then out the window.

"I know how you feel. I'm not exactly a 'catch' by most women's standards. Truth is, my image of death and destruction works a little too well. I'm the 'Demon of the Hidden Mist'. I'm the man who murdered a graduating class by himself when he was too young to even join the academy. I'm the hunter-ninja, member of the Seven Swordsmen. My teeth under this mask are jagged and sharp, my eyebrows are gone and I'm only 19. Women who know my past run away while the ones who don't take a good look at me and understand something isn't quite right. I don't think I'm really meant to meet anyone like that in my life, but it doesn't stop me from trying. So don't let it stop you, alright?"

". . .yeah." Kensei opened his eyes and scratched his neck twice before turning to Zabuza.
"But anyways, thanks for watching Naruto. Means a lot to me."
"No problem. Just. . .teach him how to cook right. Please. For me."
The two men chuckled. The sound of footsteps interrupted the two men as Kai walked back into the living room, taking a chair by the table.
"Naruto crashed. Little guy tuckered himself out. I swear, he actually fell asleep standing up."
Zabuza tried not to laugh, Kensei shaking his head.
"Yeah, he actually does that fairly often. I'll go tuck him in."

Kensei stood up and nodded to Zabuza as he made his way down the hall and into Naruto's room. Strewn across the floor was action figures and toys as far as the carpeting went. Many- save four – were made by Kensei himself in his downtime between trips to the other elemental nations. He found Naruto, half-sprawled across his bed and on the floor. Kensei lifted Naruto up and onto his bed, pulling the covers over his son and making sure the pillow under his head wasn't about to fall off the bed or anything. Naruto's eyes opened slightly and he hugged Kensei's arm.

"I missed you daddy. Did you say hi to Jiyoon-chan for me?"
Kensei smiled and sat down on Naruto's bed, next to him. "Yeah, she said hello too."
". . .don't go anywhere again, daddy. I missed you a lot." Kensei moved a few strands of Naruto's wild blonde hair back behind his ear and kissed his son on the forehead.
"Alright Naruto. From now on, I won't go anywhere without you."
"Promise?"
"Promise."

Naruto smiled, his eyes closing again, he continued to hold onto Kensei's arm. Kensei watched as Naruto calmly stayed asleep, his breathing turning into snoring and finally, he turned onto his side, letting go of his father's arm. Kensei stayed for a few more moments before standing up carefully and making his way out of his son's room, closing the door quietly.

'Promise?'
'Promise.'
Kensei ran the words over again in his head. If Naruto never broke a promise, than what example would he be setting for his son if he broke his?

Hey guys, it's Constantine here. Took a bit, but I managed to finish the second chapter within a month, at least. As I mentioned, college has been the main factor in keeping me from updating sooner, but I feel like I might be able to crank out at least a chapter of 10k or so a month at a time, minimum. I also had my laptop crash and finally die on me three weeks ago, wiping the entire chapter I was writing. As you can expect, it was a big blow to my writer's ego. However, I managed to scrape up enough money to build a new desktop and here we are. More likely than not, we won't have that issue again, as each chapter is now being backed up after it's written. Also, I messed around with the formatting on this chapter, so tell me if you like it more or less.
Anyways, I hope you liked the second chapter of this little story and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to PM me or review and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Later guys.

-Constantine

"True loneliness, I learned that day, isn't the lack of others. It's the lack of others quickly." - The Repossession Mambo, Eric Garcia