Yo. Second chapter. I got it going.
Suna's Fire Fox
"Speaking"
"Thoughts"
Flashbacks
"Demon/Summon speaking"
"Demon/Summon thoughts"
Jutsu name or Jutsu
Disclaimer: I own nothing but a car.
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"Oh, Naruto-kuuuuuuuun. Please, don't stop!"
"Sakura-chan? You don't want me to stop?" He stopped.
"No! Naruto-sama, give it to me! Put it in my mouth!"
"You want it in your mouth? Tell me Sakura-chan…What does it taste like?"
He put it in. "Hmmmmmm Naruto-sama. It tastes like pork! Maybe sausage?"
He gasped. "Sakura-chan. I'm going to have to punish you. Because you know what miso tastes like. You shouldn't have gotten that wrong. Sakura-chan….I'm sorry but you fail your ramen test. I'm going to have to punish you for that… bend over Sakura-chan…"
She started bending over and Naruto brought back his hand, smirking. Naruto swung and right when he was about to hit her…!
*Splash*
Naruto jerked upward, sputtering as the ice cold water dripped from his hair and face. Eyes wide and heart beating fast he looked around for the assailant. Naruto found Denkou and pointed at him.
"You fucking bastard! I was just getting to the good part!"
Denkou chuckled, "Oh, I remember when I was your age. Everything started earlier. No foreplay, but somehow….it still lasted longer."
Naruto growled and lunged at the man who sidestepped, which in turn caused Naruto to fall to the ground face first. Tangled in all of the bed sheets he pulled to the floor with him.
He glared up at the man, "I'm going to tear your throat out! You asshole!"
Denkou chuckled, "The only thing your tearing out of, is those bed sheets. You have five minutes to get dressed and outside ready for the day ahead of us."
Naruto blinked finally coming to realize that it was still dark…very dark.
"What time is it?"
Denkou looked around at him, "Ah, it's only 4."
With that Denkou shunshin'd out of the room, leaving a very pissed off Naruto.
Naruto let a streamline of curses fly, while he struggled to untangle himself from the bed. He got up and took off his night clothes, taking his time. And obviously not believing what his sensei had said. Then he put his regular orange jumpsuit on. He was attempting to put his pants on, at such an early time in the morning for Naruto it was nearly impossible to function correctly. Naruto fell over.
"Dammit!"
Naruto walked down the stairs trying to put on his jacket. He opened the door and jogged outside towards Denkou. Stopping in front of the man, he grinned.
Denkou raised an eyebrow. Naruto grinned at him and put his hands behind his head cockily. Naruto's eyes almost popped out of their head as he felt a sudden flaring pain rocket through his stomach. The air was forced out of him as crumpled to the ground. Naruto, if he had any food in his stomach, would have puked from such a harsh blow. He couldn't catch his breath, he tried to breath but his lungs would allow themselves to work.
Denkou dropped his fist back towards his side, staring contemptuously at Naruto.
"You were late."
Naruto saw Denkou's foot at the last second. His kick had connected with the entire left side of his head. His head shot to the right, twisting at an impossible and quite painful angle. The rest of his body followed. Naruto lied there, feeling blood ooze down the side of his mouth. He held his head as the flaring and pain throbbed, with every heart beat, the pain would almost double.
Naruto forgot about Denkou and the blood as he clutched his head. It was a searing pain. Tears threatened to spill out of the corners of his eyes. He refused them pass though.
After a little bit sitting there, Naruto gathered his bearings and looked up towards Denkou, who had a sneer on his face.
"And after you were late, you even had the balls to grin at me and act like nothing was wrong. You cocky little bitch."
Naruto felt a raging hot anger boil inside of his body. Spitting the blood at Denkou's feet he stood up and glared at him the best he could.
"What the hell was that about you asshole!"
Denkou smirked, "That. Was the very first thing I taught you."
Naruto felt like punching him. Anything to cause this man in front of him pain. "Taught me! What the hell did you teach me! You just punched me and then put a fucking boot in my head! What does that teach me?"
Again, Naruto didn't even see the man move, but he did feel the hand around his throat in an instant.
"When I said you had five minutes to get down here, what did you do? You fucked around! And you were late! Are you going to be late next time!"
Naruto tried spitting at him, "Fuck you!"
Denkou slapped him harshly across his face, Naruto blinked back hot tears as the stinging pain remained in his face. He turned and glared at the man.
"Answer the goddamn question or I'll cut you in half!"
"NO! I won't be late next time! Alright! Jesus fucking Christ! You fucking ass. HOLE!"
Naruto dropped like a sack of potatoes, not expecting the psychotic man to release him from his clutches. Naruto stood up glaring daggers at the man, who stood there smirking at Naruto.
"See what I mean? I just taught you your first lesson. Never be late."
Naruto blinked at the guy's sudden change of attitude. He felt the need to say a highly inappropriate and snarky remark, but decided against it. He settled for grumbling under his breath, wiping blood off his chin.
Denkou sat down, and waved for Naruto too as well. Naruto flopped on the ground, glaring at the man in front of him.
Denkou chuckled, "Naruto. I need you to listen to my words. They are very important for these two years that you will spend with me. Do you understand?"
Naruto rolled his eyes, and waved him off. "Yeah. Yeah, whatever."
Narrowing his eyes dangerously, he tried to show Naruto just how serious this really was. "Do. You. Understand?"
Naruto sighed, "Yes I understand, okay?"
Denkou nodded, accepting the answer. Despite the boy's obvious lack of respect and his completely rude attitude. He had a willingness to learn. He could see it in his eyes. Something that many children with attitudes like his lacked.
After reading about Naruto in the scroll Saru-ji-san gave him yesterday, Denkou knew he had his work cut out for him. But he also knew that he was blessed with the knowledge that Naruto could take any kind of torture/training he could throw at him. Naruto, in the literal sense, was a humanized version of the old saying that goes 'whatever doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger.'
Which when he read the line about Naruto's abnormal healing abilities that borderlined regeneration, Denkou knew exactly how he was going to train him.
Naruto would never feel good while he's training.
Being a retired shinobi, the man knew that in order to train one's physical body, they would need to break down the muscles and allow the body's natural healing process rebuild them back up stronger. Which in a way creates the soreness the next day after intense training sessions. Which is why normal people only do 4 to maybe 5 days of physical training. The other days are dedicated to allowing their body to recuperate. Which in the end, makes them stronger than someone who trains themselves to the point of breaking physically, everyday.
Naruto, however, did not need to worry about that.
His healing abilities would allow him to push himself past his physical limits every day and come back the next day, ready to go. That added bonus for Denkou was, by far, his favorite thing about him already. Besides the fact that the boy was a fairly good kid.
Now, back to the matter at hand. Yesterday, when Denkou had tested him for those very brief moments. He had deduced that Naruto had been given no physical training regime at all when he was growing up.
So that's the first thing he's going to improve.
Denkou thought about what he was going to say, "Naruto, I'm going to have a set of 'rules'…so to speak. One of the first rules I want you to have memorized by right now, is to always call me sensei."
Naruto blinked, "Gotcha…you're sensei. Kinda already figured."
Denkou ignored his remark, but held up two fingers, "Second rule. If you do not take my training serious, you will be in a lot of pain. So much so that the only way for you to escape it is for you to beg for me to knock you unconscious. And if it ever comes to that. I will dump you off at Saru-ji-san's office. And leave you there. You will be done training with me. Understood?"
Naruto nodded, knowing that this training would be hard and was willing to battle against his lack of motivation. He needed to learn, he wanted to learn.
Three fingers held up. "The third rule is that you will not, I repeat, will NOT show or give away any fact that you are training with me when we visit the village. No one will know. The only thing that will even show that you've been training at all is that you will grow physically. And you can't help that. So that's allowed."
Naruto scowled, not liking the rule one bit. But he nodded. He would like to stay under the tutelage of Denkou.
Denkou stood up and smirked at Naruto, he held up his fourth finger. "And finally the fourth rule. I want you to understand that while I am your friend outside of training, I am your most hated enemy during training. I will push you farther than you've ever thought possible. You will hate me. But I am truly your friend."
Naruto could feel those affects already. "You're an asshole, your eyes are the most ridiculous color in the world. And I think you have multiple personalities! But I respect you. And I think that you are the right person to teach me."
Naruto gave him his most confident smile he could muster, trying to get Denkou to understand that he truly meant what he said, and wasn't being cocky. Thankfully the man smiled, understanding. Naruto put his hands behind his head.
"So what are we gonna do first sensei? You gonna teach me an awesome jutsu or something!"
Denkou chuckled, "Not quite. You see Naruto. Right now, your body is…in better words. Lacking. You are slow, weak, and while your reflexes are good, they could be better. So for a while. We are only going to be working on two things, before you even think about anything else."
Naruto scowled at how bluntly the man said it, but raised an eyebrow. "Which is…?"
"Your body and your chakra."
Naruto blinked, "My body? Chakra? What's wrong with my chakra?"
Denkou shrugged. "Nothing his wrong with your chakra other than you have huge reserves. Much more than anyone your age. Or chunin for that matter. Which means with large reserves, you'll have to work twice as hard to be decent with you chakra control. And when I say your body I mean, conditioning, speed, strength, your arms, core, legs, lungs, reflexes. Everything."
Naruto nodded, not sure if he was liking where this conversation was going.
Denkou grinned, Naruto gulped at the sadistic look he had in his eyes. "And every morning we are going to start off with a warm up and then start to do your physical work out. Okay?"
Naruto shivered, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous.
"So, Naruto, for your warm up I want you to run on the very edge of this valley, oh lets say 15 times."
Naruto paled, the clearing was humungous. Probably a half a mile wide. He was about to protest, but he saw his sensei's look and figured that if he said a single word of complaint that he probably would be on the ground again. In extreme pain.
Naruto started his jogging, grumbling. Denkou grinned and watched Naruto jog around the clearing. He frowned, he pointed a single finger at Naruto, and unconsciously pushed his elemental chakra out the end of it. His chakra element was lightning.
A streamline of bright blue lightning shot at Naruto and Naruto yelped loudly as he felt the electricity flow through his body, painfully giving a jolt to his body. Naruto stumbled and fell. He could faintly hear his sensei yell at him.
"Faster you little bitch! You need to go faster!"
Naruto growled curses at the man before he got up and started to run, instead of jog. Naruto felt another bold of lightning go through him and he grunted in pain as it rushed threw his body. He managed to stay standing this time.
"Faster!"
Not wanting to experience more lightning and/or pain he burst out into a sprint, panting at his body protesting the exercise. Naruto could feel the ache in his legs already as stayed sprinting. He was only half way done with the first lap and his legs were tired. Oh man this'll be a very long day.
Denkou watched, amused, as his clone brought him his breakfast. He ate it silently, watching Naruto sprint his fastest. His laps would be a very hard thing for the boy. He frowned as he saw Naruto slow down again, this time from being tired after finishing one lap. He sent another bolt at Naruto. Who yelped and in between breaths, cursed his existence.
Denkou chuckled.
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Naruto lied on the ground. Exhausted already. His legs were sore from doing all his running. After his 15 laps around the valley, Denkou made him stretch for 30 minutes, claiming that his flexibility was pathetic and it also prevented many injuries. So Naruto stretched, literally, every single muscle and joint in his body. With Denkou's help of course. After Naruto did that, he was told to do 250 push ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, pull ups (Which he found were much harder than any of the others) and also Denkou timed with other things such as planks, leg raises, holding a bucket of water in front of him, and handstands all for 15 minutes each. Even after that Denkou claimed that his running and reflexes were not done.
So Denkou made him do a drill that was called, suicides. Denkou drew 8 lines. From one valley to another and told him the point of the drill was to teach him how to stop and go, but maintain his speed. Naruto had to sprint to the first line, bend down to touch it then sprint to the starting line and bend down to touch it, then sprint down to the second line, bend down and touch it, and then come back and sprint to the starting line and touch it, etc.
All the while Denkou was shooting bolts of lightning at him, telling him to dodge. Or the man was throwing rocks at him, and they hurt. Doing all that too the 8th line and back to the start was only a set of 1. He had to do 25 sets. At full speed. Or face the consequences.
Now he knew why they were called suicides.
Thus, this was the reason Naruto lay there, thinking of how bad of an idea this was to do.
"Sensei, why am I doing this?"
"Because it increases all of your physical abilities. Duh."
Naruto scowled, "I mean, why? If I do all this I won't even break a sweat when a real challenge comes up! This is by far the hardest thing I've ever done."
Denkou chuckled, thinking back to himself at that age. Similar words coming out of his mouth.
"Naruto. Let me tell you something. For a hard 45 minute fight, you gotta train harder for 45,000 minutes."
Naruto blinked, he knew Denkou had a few random moments of geniusness but this man was probably as wise as the Old Man himself.
Denkou smirked, "Now get up you lazy bum, we still got chakra training to do."
Naruto sat up quickly, "What?" he immediately regretted it as he felt the soreness in his whole body catch up to him.
Denkou chuckled, "Training isn't over yet, you little punk."
Naruto fell over, "But sensei…"
Kicking Naruto slightly in the foot, "Oi, Naruto, you know what you are?"
"What?"
Denkou smirked, "You're a tomato."
Naruto blinked, "A tomato?"
Denkou nodded in confirmation. "Yeah and I'm training right now, not running some god damn soup kitchen. Now get up."
Naruto grumbled and slowly got to his feet, glaring daggers at the man that's torturing his body.
"Kid, have you ever heard of a training exercise called tree climbing?"
"Nope."
Denkou grinned, "Well then I'll explain it to you later. Right now! We are going to go have lunch."
Naruto blinked, for the first time, feeling the hunger in his stomach. He never noticed threw his exhaustion. He grinned.
"Yosh! Lunch!"
He got up and ran towards the house, ignoring Denkou's look of surprise as he passed him.
Denkou chuckled as the never ending bundle of energy passed him, running to the house. While he knew that he should have allowed Naruto to have breakfast, the boy would have puked after his warm up. No use in wasting food.
He followed after Naruto, knowing that the food was already done. He sent a clone about an hour ago, to prepare it. He wasn't exactly sure what they were eating.
He entered the house, close behind Naruto, and before Naruto could run onto the carpet, he picked him up by the back of his shirt. He glared at Naruto, who was struggling out of his grip.
"Shoes. Off. Now."
Naruto kicked his dirty, muddy, shoes off. Denkou watched in horror as they slowly descended towards the carpet. He threw Naruto to the side, and seemingly in slow motion, dived after the two falling shoes. He caught both of them in each hands. He let out a breath and glared at the source of the sound of laughing.
Naruto was standing to the left, pointing and laughing, the typical Naruto laugh. Mouth open wide, eyes closed, one hand grabbing his stomach, the other blatantly pointing at him.
Denkou's eyes narrowed.
The next second, Naruto fell over in pain. A dirty, muddy shoe glued to his face painfully. He groaned as he took it off his face and glared at Denkou who was pointing and laughing, the exact same way Naruto was a few seconds ago.
Naruto cocked back his arm, ready to throw the shoe back at his sensei. Only to smell the deliciousness coming from the kitchen. He drooled slightly, and sprinted toward the kitchen. Shoe dropped in front of the front door, safely off of the carpet. Denkou followed soon after.
Naruto sat down at the already set table, looking at the assorted foods gathered. Denkou sat down across from him.
The purple eyed man smirked at him, "Hunger eh? Well then, Itadakimasu!"
Naruto reached with his fork for a bundle of pancakes, he piled them onto his plate. He then reached for the sunny side up eggs on a separate plate, thinking that he could eat all the food set out before them. He grinned as he noticed the apple juice in his cup. He poured syrup on all of his food and dove into his food.
"So Naruto, I need to explain to you about a few things while we are eating, kay?"
Naruto nodded, his mouth to full to really make comprehensible words. Denkou continued.
"So over the next few months, I'm going to be training you to control your chakra better, and to get you in shape for the taijutsu styles I'm going to be teaching you. There's two of them. And they will be very hard to do. They both require an unbelievable amount of speed. Which after this month, I will put a seal on you that's called a gravity seal. I'll explain more about that later."
He took another bite of his food, chewed and then swallowed. He pointed his fork at Naruto, nonchalantly.
"We're going to find out what your chakra affinity is also so I can give you a certain amount of jutsu to go along with your elemental affinity. Which is why I'm going to improve your chakra control. But for now, we are just going to have to improve the basics of everything. I personally never was the best at genjutsu, but I'm very good at taijutsu and ninjutsu. And I like to think that I'm one of the greatest at kenjutsu."
Naruto looked up, confused. "Kenjutsu?"
Nodding, Denkou sipped his coffee in front of him, slowly withering down on his plate of food. While Naruto was chowing down, listening to Denkou intently.
"Yes. Kenjutsu is the where someone specializes in the use of weapons. Using kunai and shuriken is called your kenjutsu styles. Also, the use of a weapon like a sword or trench knives, or even a hammer is considered kenjutsu. Which I will teach you how to fight with a sword on year 2 of your training. But I will set up training dummies so you can improve you aim and form with kunai and shuriken."
Naruto nodded, not understanding how he would be able to get any weapon from the stores in Konoha seeing as they kick him out when he enters. But he went along with his sensei. The man knew what he was talking about. Who was speaking again.
"So also, I decided that on year two, we are going to be doing a lot of things. We'll mainly spar a lot but I'll still be teaching you jutsu and what not. But also I'll be training you to control and use the Kyuubi's chakra to your advantage. I'm not sure what 'power' he gave you, other than your healing abilities. So we'll just have to find out as we go. And I said that I'll teach you how to use a sword your second year. But I won't give away any other things I have in store for you."
He threw Naruto a wink as the two of them finished their meal, and simultaneously leaned back and sighed. Enjoying the break they both got from training.
Naruto felt a little bit of energy return to him. Denkou felt a little bit of calmness return to him. Denkou stood up and stretched.
"Let's go, Naruto, we aren't done yet."
Naruto whined, "But senseeeeeeeiiiiiii."
Deadpanned look. "Don't make me bitch slap you kid."
Naruto snickered but got up and obeyed, knowing that what the man would definitely keep his threats.
Once outside, Denkou waved Naruto over to the few trees in the area. It was very big. Denkou felt a little sorry about the fact that Naruto is going to completely mutilate this tree and be an eyesore to his beautiful valley, but he had a duty as a sensei.
He led Naruto to a tree, and three a kunai at Naruto's feet, who stopped walking, thinking that he did something wrong to deserve such an act.
"Pick it up, this is your chakra training. It's called tree climbing."
Naruto picked up the kunai and gave Denkou a deadpanned look.
"Sensei, what do you want me to use this kunai for? I mean, I could see climbing it barehanded, or give me two kunai to climb myself up but only one? I don't see how that'll help me."
Denkou smirked, "Oh Naruto, you wont be using your hands in this training exercise. Only your feet."
Naruto raised an eyebrow skeptically, but knew deep down that it was possible. After all, normal people shouldn't just be able to jump two stories high to get on top of a roof.
Denkou gave him one last cocky look before slowly walked towards the tree. He didn't stop however when he got to the tree, but instead put his foot on the tree and proceeded to climb upward. Naruto looked at him in awe. As Denkou continued walking up the tree, onto a branch, and hang upside down. He looked up to look down at Naruto.
He waved at Naruto. "You try. Only get a running start. Use your kunai to cut into the bark to show where you ended. Do it every time to mark your progress."
Naruto looked at the kunai, then at the tree. "Uh, Sensei? How exactly do I do it?"
Denkou shrugged, "If you were any other person I'd tell you to figure it out on your own. But you're not the brightest bulb in the box. So the trick is, you focus your chakra to the very bottom of your feet. Too much chakra, you'll shoot off the tree. Too little and you won't stick."
Denkou was a good teacher. This is what Naruto had decided that day, despite the pain this man put him threw. But he explained things so Naruto could understand them quite well.
Denkou waved for him to go. "The reason why we start with the feet first is because the foot is the hardest place to concentrate your chakra. Don't be frustrated if you don't get this right away. It's difficult for someone at your beginning level to get this."
Naruto nodded, and made the ram seal he was taught in the academy. He concentrated his chakra. He felt it going to his foot, it was going good. Very good. Concentrate….he continued to pour his chakra to his feet…almost there…good.
Naruto opened his eyes, grinning. He was sure he put the correct amount of chakra into his foot. He sprinted forward, kunai in hand. He took one step onto the tree, grinning, almost instinctively knowing that it was perfect and that this training exercise wouldn't take him any longer than an hour.
He put that foot down, ready to take the second step. He wasn't expecting his foot to rocket off the tree, dragging his body along with the momentum.
Naruto screamed as he was thrown 50 feet back, towards the very middle of the valley. He landed roughly and continued to roll and slide across the ground. He groaned as his body stopped moving. His face down. Man that had hurt.
Denkou appeared in front of him quite suddenly, chuckling. "Whatcha doing on the ground?"
Naruto growled at him, "Eating dirt, you asshole. What's it look like?"
Denkou grinned, "It looks like you're messing around, kiddo!"
"I'm not a kid!" Naruto snapped at him, getting up. "I'm 12 years old!"
"Point proved." Denkou retorted, smirking at him. He grabbed the back of Naruto's shirt and pulled him to feet. Handing him the kunai he dropped.
"Keep at it. Until you master this, you're not going to be doing any other chakra training. Now remember, not as much chakra as you put into that."
Naruto nodded and grumbled, but took the kunai. He dusted himself off and walked back to where they were training before.
He stood in front of the tree, glaring at it. He believed he could do this! No problem. He gathered his chakra at the bottom of his feet, making sure he put a lot less into it this time, and sprinted forward.
He put his foot on the tree…only to shoot off once again.
Denkou laughed at Naruto who was getting up and literally growling. He shot Denkou a dark glare. He gathered his chakra at the bottom of his feet again, putting barely any chakra into it at all, and sprinted forward. Determined to get this right this time.
He put one foot on tree and was about to bring the second foot up to take a step, only to have his chakra gripping slip. Naruto landed at the base of the tree. It knocked the wind out of him. He groaned as he got up and looked at the tree, glaring daggers at it. Wishing he could burn it to the ground. He peeked a glance over at his sensei who sat under a nearby tree, watching him.
He wanted to ask for a tip or advice or anything to help him but his pride got in the way. So instead, he settled for hating the man. Naruto groaned, stepped back and concentrated his chakra. He put it between the points where he would either shoot off or slip off. A perfect medium.
He got the right amount, he thought and sprinted towards the tree. He put one foot on the tree, and brought his other foot up. He grinned as his other foot grabbed hold, and he was in the process of taking his third step up the tree when he heard his sensei shout at him.
"Don't forget to mark your progress!"
Naruto's concentration slipped and he felt his footing slide out from underneath him. He growled as he slashed the tree with his kunai and hopped off. He looked at the tree, expecting it to be super high off the ground. But felt his jaw drop instead.
A measly 3 feet off the ground.
Naruto glared at his sensei, blaming him for the reason his concentration slipped. He sighed, and did the same thing as before. He sprinted, He took three steps, his foot slipped, he marked his spot, he landed, he looked…
And he got a whole 3 inches farther!
Naruto snarled at the tree, finally realizing this is going to be a lot harder than he thought.
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Naruto walked slowly inside the house, exhausted. It was about 10 at night and all he wanted to do was sleep. For the rest of that afternoon, Naruto slowly, very slowly, climbed the tree. Denkou would watch and occasionally give him tips. But nothing seemed to help Naruto better than the experience.
Denkou called him in for some dinner after a while. Naruto never noticed him go inside. He was too focused on his training. At dinner, they two of them talked about some small things. Denkou asked about the village, and told him about some of his adventures when he was young.
Naruto learned something about the man for the day that he's been there. And that is that Denkou talks. A lot. More so than Naruto. Which is already a lot. It was good natured, and Naruto rather enjoyed him talking. He wasn't annoying at all, it was very nice.
There was another thing Naruto learned from his one day there, and that was he enjoyed working Naruto to death. Naruto was crawling up the stairs to get to his room at the moment. It seemed like it took forever. Once Naruto got into his room, he stripped naked and was tempted to just crawl in his bed with out a shower. But he knew that would have been disgusting.
Naruto went into his bathroom and tiredly turned his shower on. He let it warm up, before he hopped it. He washed himself on instinct. Almost consciously unaware of what he was doing. He scrubbed his body and washed his hair, almost asleep. He rinsed, dried off, and left the bathroom, He knew he had the decency to put some boxers on. And then he crawled into his bed. He didn't give a second thought about anything. Right when his head hit the pillow. He was out.
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For the next two months Naruto's training continued this way. At first Naruto thought everything they were doing was useless. But after a month or so, he could not only feel the results, he could see them also. Naruto has always had a thin body, but after the first month he could see a leanness also. Gone was a lot of the baby fat he still had on his body, and instead it was replaced with lean, firm muscle.
Naruto didn't necessarily have a chiseled chest or abdomen. Instead it was all compacted. He could see a six pack, but it didn't stick out. What caught Naruto by surprise though, was the sudden growths spurt he had. He gained a couple inches, which he thought it was because of the food he was eating. Naruto dearly missed his ramen, but he didn't mind not being as short.
Naruto's exercises increased every week. His 'warm-up' sprint laps around the valley, increased to 35. His sets of push ups, sit ups, pull ups, squats, and lunges were increased to 450 each day. Which he could hardly take at the end of the day. His timed workouts of planks, leg raises, water bucket holding, and handstands increased to 30 minutes each. And his sets of suicides went from doing 25 sets and having only one demented man throw rocks or shoot bolts of lightning at him, to doing 55 sets and having many demented assholes 'testing' his reflex's.
Once the first month was done, Denkou permanently imprinted a seal onto the middle of his back. It was the gravity seal. Naruto could honestly say that he hated that seal, almost as much as he hated Denkou. He wanted to rip the skin of the tattoo off and burn it, but despite his hatred towards the black seal, he knew that he was probably well above his age group, physically. He couldn't wait to beat Sasuke's face into the ground.
After the morning was done, Naruto would always swear at Denkou. Calling him many inappropriate names, and would always swear upon his death. He hated him. It was later in the afternoons did Naruto really appreciate him as a sensei.
It took him a week to complete the tree climbing exercise. And after that, Denkou introduced water walking. Naruto thought that was the coolest thing ever. But this exercise took him over two weeks to complete. It was much harder than tree climbing.
Denkou told him it was simply because he had enormous chakra reserves for anyone at his age. But after water walking, Denkou taught him the art of leaf sticking. Which Naruto learned in about two days. He found that it was a lot easier than the other two.
After the leaf sticking, was leaf floating. It was were he had to float a leaf above the palm of his hand. Too much, the leaf blew up and away. Too little, the damn thing didn't go anywhere. Needless to say. Naruto got frustrated very fast.
But even he managed to master that. But he soon cursed Denkou as he threw a kunai at him and told him to do that with the kunai. Naruto hated the man with a passion. Nobody, and he means nobody, could ever cause so much frustration in Naruto other than Denkou.
During the months, the Hokage had visited once or twice, complementing Naruto on his dedication and congratulating Denkou on the good work he was doing to Naruto. Naruto always enjoyed the Sandaime's visit's because it took Denkou's attention off of Naruto for a little bit, so he could slack off a tad. And because the old man would always bring the three of them Ichiraku ramen.
But through out these months, Naruto had to wake up every single day at 4 a.m…which is part of the reason why Naruto was very confused at this very moment.
Naruto was sitting up, looking around his room. Very suspicious. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong…
Naruto just woke up. And there was light flooding into his room.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, and took out a kunai from under his pillow. Something that he had hoped to use on Denkou one of these days. He slowly climbed out of his bed, wearing nothing but his boxers and a pair of pajama pants.
He went down to the door and opened it slowly, he peeked out in the hallway. He looked at the mirror to see if anyone was standing on the stairs. Nothing. He opened his door all the way and looked around the corner, all the way downstairs. Still nothing. Slowly he crept down the stairs, making sure to stick very close to the walls. Once he got down the stairs, he peeked around the corner to make sure nobody was there. Still nothing.
Naruto very quietly crept into the kitchen…
"Good morning!"
Naruto yelled in surprise and instinctively sliced at Denkou's head. Denkou 'eeped' and ducked under the slash.
"Hey! It's me, you idiot!"
Naruto blinked and grinned slightly, "Serves you right. You scared the shit outta me."
Denkou stared at him, "By saying 'good morning?'"
Naruto glared, "Yes."
Shrugging, Denkou went to the table and sat down at it, eating pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage. A cup of coffee next to him as he ate. He gestured Naruto to sit down where there was an identical plate next to Denkou. Naruto silently did as Denkou told. He took his eating utensils and started munching on the food Denkou made for him.
"We have a very important day today."
Naruto looked at Denkou, who was sipping his coffee. "I kinda figured that, since, you know, I was able to wake up later than usual."
Denkou nodded, "I let you sleep in. We're heading to the village today so we can get you the tools you'll need for the rest of the year. We'll go back every once in a while just to visit. But we also need to get you new clothes, which I think we can hold off until you're training is done with. You know, growth spurts and what not…."
His eyes lingered on Naruto's orange jumpsuit in disgust. It really wasn't orange anymore. A mixture of a brownish color and dark red stains were all over the…clothes. Denkou's lightning had left Naruto's clothes singed many many times, combined with a lot of training and being on the ground the whole thing was just nasty.
It was the same with the rest of his jumpsuits, which Denkou silently cheered about.
"For the rest of your training, and for today when we go into Konoha, you can just wear a some of my old clothes. I don't really have any use for them anymore. But just to avoid the village's glares," he spat out the word, over the past few weeks, he couldn't help but grow attached to Naruto and hearing about how the village treated him, angered Denkou. "I'll letcha wear a mask to cover your whiskers."
Naruto nodded, knowing about Denkou's growing fondness of him. Naruto knew the exact same thing was happening to himself also. Despite hating him while training, Denkou always made up for it after training. Usually the two would talk about themselves or just talk about really random subjects but occasionally, Denkou let Naruto get done with training early and the two of them would do really random activities.
Like Denkou trying to teach Naruto how to play an instrument.
Or teach him how to cook, fix his clothes with patches or sew it, or even just show him some interesting books he thought Naruto would like.
"When are we leaving?"
Denkou shrugged, "Probably after I get you some clothes, which'll be after breakfast."
Naruto nodded and finished his breakfast. He went up to his room, which Denkou had fallowed. Naruto flopped down on his bed and watched as Denkou went into his walk in closet. He was looking through the clothes he already had in there.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at what Denkou brought out a little bit later. He threw the clothes at Naruto. Naruto let a few hit him in the face, not bothering to lift his hands to catch the articles of clothing.
Naruto held up the shirt. It was a some sort nuance between a brown color and an orange color (think the color from the Texas Longhorns). It was fairly fashionable, but simple. Naruto shrugged, it might not have been a bright orange, but it'll do.
The pants were pure black cargo pants with many pockets. Twin matching belts were already around the waist. The orange/brown color matched the shirt.
Lastly Naruto held up a…. something in his hand. He gave Denkou a questioning look and pointed at it, "Uhhh, what's this?"
Denkou held it up the proper way and held it in front of his face, showing Naruto that it was a mask. And it only covered to the lower half.
"It's that mask I told you about. I got this idea from a friend of mine. His name is Hatake Kakashi. He's really cool, I think you'd like him. Maybe he could teach you a few jutsu's….another time. But go ahead, try on the stuff. I'm not entirely sure if it will fit you, but that's what I wore when I was your age. Minus the mask thing."
Naruto stripped out of his clothes, not caring if Denkou saw him naked. He was never raised to be ashamed of being naked in front of people. That and Denkou was a guy, and it's not like he hasn't seen something on a guy that he hasn't seen already. Naruto, quite frankly, didn't care.
He put on all of the clothes and the two went to the full body mirror that was in the room. Naruto smiled, he was liking the look.
The shirt fit him just fine, as well as the pants. The twin belts didn't do much to hold up his pants however as his boxers were still showing, but Naruto liked the way they looked when they were baggier. He put on the black mask, to match the pants, and pulled it down over his head. The mask was form fitting, so it covered everything under Naruto's eyes. The ears were left uncovered too.
Naruto blinked. Wow, did he look different. Nothing was too noticeable, so Naruto wouldn't stand out for being different, but enough to blend in with the crowd. His characteristic hair and eyes were really the only thing that was unchanged. Naruto felt Denkou's hand on his shoulder and turned to look at him.
Denkou was smiling at him, and holding his goggles in his hand. Naruto grinned and took them from Denkou, the only sign of his grin was the curving of his eyes. Naruto placed them on his forehead as they once were and felt very comfortable in his new clothes. Not only comfortable, but he felt….attractive. Something he didn't feel before.
Denkou made a 'hmm' noise. "Here, kiddo, lemme try something."
Naruto let Denkou face him and grab tufts of hair from underneath his goggles and pull on them slightly. Naruto relaxed, he always liked it when someone played or touched his hair. He felt Denkou place the tufts at the side of his face and he let go. Naruto couldn't see his what he did, but by the look of surprise and shock on Denkou's face, he was slightly nervous.
Naruto always tucked his side bangs behind his ears or underneath his goggles so they wouldn't get in his face. But when Denkou moved away to let Naruto see himself, he couldn't help but stare. He just looked so much….older. He also looked familiar. Which was an incredibly weird feeling.
Denkou gulped. Boy, how much Naruto looked like the Yondaime…it was scary. And Denkou knew that it wasn't a coincidence. He was there when Minato wasn't, for Kushina to give birth to Minato's son. It wasn't so much for Minato himself, but more for the love of Denkou's life. Kushina.
Denkou, himself, was considered as powerful as the Fourth Hokage, the difference between the two of them though was the fame. Denkou preferred to keep his power hidden, so nobody knew about it. While Minato was a noble, strong, and kind man. He was also a little bit of a show off. The only reason why people knew about his name more so than Murasaki Denkou.
He was the man at the side lines. His best friend got the power he worked so hard for, his best friend got the fame he longed for….his best friend got the girl he would die for…
And to see Minato's son standing here, looking just like his father, smiling happily. He couldn't help but think that Naruto was his son for a second. Denkou, for the first time, realized something about Minato. Minato had everything Denkou wanted, except for one thing.
A son.
Denkou smiled, the woman he loved gave birth to this beautiful boy, and he grew up just fine. But he'd be damned if Minato claimed this boy as a son which he didn't deserve. At this very moment, Denkou unofficially adopted Naruto. He didn't tell anyone, but he promised to himself that he would protect Naruto with his very life and soul before anything ever happened to him.
After all, it was his responsibility as his godfather…
Naruto coughed to get Denkou's attention. The man had just spaced off for a few moments, staring at Naruto with a look he's never seen before. It was kind of freaking the blonde out.
Denkou came back to real life and blinked a few times. He looked down at Naruto, who was crossing his arms.
"Are we going to go to the village soon sensei?"
Denkou licked his lips, trying to shake the strange feeling he had off. He nodded, "Yeah, we'll go right now."
Naruto grinned and walked out of the room, leaving Denkou standing there, staring. Shaking his head, he followed Naruto out of the room and to the downstairs. He followed Naruto out of the house, which they both had their shoes on their feet. Naruto's old and holey sandals were replaced with a pair of Denkou's old black sandals. They fit perfectly.
For the occasion, Denkou felt it necessary to dress up in something other than civilian clothes, He had a pair of navy cargo pants on, baggy, just like Naruto's but had his kunai pouch and shuriken holder in place. He threw on bright yellow extra padded t-shirt. The padding was put in strategic places to look unnoticeable but protect him as much as possible. Over top the yellow t-shirt he put on a hooded zip up jacket. This was also a navy color.
White ninja sandals was on his feet, making him look very snazzy. Naruto grinned at him, "Trying to impress the ladies, sensei?"
Denkou chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair, "Always. I wouldn't mind getting some while I was in town."
Naruto scowled at the sexual talk. While Naruto had stayed at Denkou's house, he also came to terms with a few other things about the man. He was very good with the ladies. A few times he brought back some random girls and spent the night with them, and like a gentleman he fed them in the morning and escorted them back to their homes in Konoha.
Another thing was, no matter what Denkou wears, the man looks good. Constantly. Something Naruto was severely jealous of.
The last thing he decided about Denkou was that he would space off very randomly. Almost as if remembering something.
Naruto laughed and headed off in the direction of the valley entrance, excited to finally go back into Konoha.
Denkou chuckled, and followed after Naruto, ready for the day.
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The two of them were standing on top of the Hokage monument, walking down towards the actual village part. Denkou walking, hands in his pockets looking up at the clouds and Naruto walking, hands behind his head. He was grinning from ear to ear, though you really couldn't tell besides the small squints he had for eyes due to his mask. Naruto couldn't help but like the mask on his face. It felt really cool, and Naruto felt a little more secure about his identity with it on. He kind of liked the mask.
Naruto giggled like a man, "I can't wait to find Sasuke and show him how strong I've gotten."
Denkou glared at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, "Remember my rules Naruto…my third rule…"
Naruto scowled and rolled his eyebrows. "Oh right, your stupid 'no one must know I'm training you' rule."
Denkou smiled slightly, glad that Naruto remembered the rule at least. "I'm telling you, no fights. And don't get cocky. Right now your physical ability is about equal to that of your class. Your chakra control however is above theirs I can bet that…."
Naruto stopped and gave Denkou a incredulous look, "What? What are you saying I'm still as strong as the rest of my class! I thought I was way above them."
Denkou stopped walking also, he gave Naruto a bored look. "You've only been training for two months Naruto. To truly get strong Naruto you have to train for a long time. The training we did was enough to prepare your body for my taijutsu styles I'm teaching you. Which, really, I just needed to bring your physical strength up to about a genin. You're only a little in head of your class…"
Naruto felt himself get disappointed. Was he really that far behind before?
Sensing Naruto's distress, Denkou decided to cheer him up. "But with the way you've been training, you will be way above their level at the end of our two years. Granted they're still training too, but you just train harder. So, you'll get stronger faster."
Denkou shot Naruto a smile, who brightened at Denkou's remark. It was so easy to cheer him up.
"Hey, Naruto, I'm gonna go talk to Saru-ji-san for a little while, I'm going to get all of your supplies on my own, but go ahead and go around the village for a little while and just reacquaint yourself."
Naruto grinned and ran off, he knew where he was going to go first.
"Naruto! Don't go to Ichiraku's yet, 'cause I want some food too. Head there in about an hour and a half and I should be done."
Naruto's glared at his sensei but waved at him, "Yeah, fine! I'll see you at Ichiraku's in an hour and a half!"
Denkou felt a his stomach drop a little bit. "Don't get into any trouble!"
Naruto was already out of hearing range. Denkou felt his stomach drop some more. He felt like Naruto was going to do something. And Saru-ji-san won't be happy. He shrugged.
It couldn't be that bad…could it?
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Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha, hands behind his head, studying everything that changed. Which was nothing. But Naruto couldn't help but feel like he was on cloud nine. He had to admit. He missed being in Konoha.
He also admitted that he didn't miss the cold glares and the whispers as he passed. But today was different because nobody even looked at him. A few shot him friendly smiles, but that was all. Naruto guessed it was probably because he was out of the village for so long, and because of the mask. The villagers only knew him by the only mark he had of the Kyuubi, besides the seal.
They couldn't see his whisker marks.
Naruto shook his head, not caring really about why they weren't glaring at him, but enjoying the feeling of walking down the street without being disturbed.
Naruto walked in a random direction. Not exactly sure where to go. Naruto thought about pulling a prank, but he was afraid that pulling one would somehow break a rule and Naruto wouldn't be able to train under the man anymore. So Naruto decided to go to the only place he thought would keep him entertained.
After arriving at the academy, Naruto stared at it. He had so many memories here. Many of these memories weren't the happiest. But Naruto did have one good memory about this place. He wasn't IN it per-say. But it was about it. And that was him being trained currently by Denkou.
Naruto went around back and henge'd himself into a squirrel. He didn't want to be seen watching the classroom full of students. That would just be weird.
Naruto came to the classroom he knew would have belonged to him and his fellow classmates. He jumped up to a conveniently placed tree and sat down on the tree branch, using a little bit of chakra to keep him balanced. He focused some chakra into his ears like Denkou had told him once and he could hear all of the conversations going on in that classroom.
He studied all of the students. He could honestly say none of them had changed really. At all. He listened to the new instructor teach the class. His hair was brown and pulled back into a high ponytail. He had a very thin scar going across the his nose and under each eye. Naruto thought about what could have happened to him to get a scar like that.
Naruto continued listening to the man ramble on about history and what not. Naruto leaned back against the tree, he was tempted to leave, but something made him want to stay. He felt like he was apart of the class again. Sleeping, not paying attention, not getting lightning bolts shot at him whenever he day dreamed…
Naruto blinked when he heard the sensei yell for everyone to go outside for taijutsu practice. He watched in slight interest as they all headed towards the door. Several girls chased around a raven haired boy. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he growled slightly.
Uchiha Sasuke stepped out onto the training field, face set in a smirk. He obviously thought that he owned the world. After Sasuke, came two of his most loyal fan girls. Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura.
Naruto felt his stomach flutter when he saw Sakura, and he couldn't help but smile. He watched all the students file out towards the training ground and separate into twos. Naruto frowned as he watched several of them practice quite pathetically.
"Wow, these academy students are quite….pathetic."
Naruto nearly fell out of the tree when he heard Denkou's voice. He whipped his head in his sensei's direction. He felt his heart slow down as he finally saw his sensei.
"Don't do that! I could have had a heart attack!"
Denkou chuckled lightly and gestured towards the academy students, "Have they always been so…weak?"
Naruto frowned, "I never thought they were weak when I was with them. I was the dead last."
Denkou frowned, "When I was that age…geez everything is so different. But it could have been because it was in a time of war."
Naruto didn't know how to respond to that, so he leaned back against the tree again and just watched the students below. All of them oblivious to the two civilians in the tree. Denkou crossed his legs and sat next to Naruto.
Naruto shot him a glance, "How did you find me anyway? I was under a henge…"
Denkou chuckled and patted Naruto's shoulder, "Kiddo, I still have a lot to teach you. While you henge'd perfectly, that doesn't mean you suppressed your chakra level to that of a squirrel. I bet that teacher knows you're here right now."
Naruto blinked and looked at Denkou. "Do you think he knows about you?"
Denkou shook his head, "Na. I specialized in three things when I was a shinobi. Assassination, front line combat, and Heavy combat. Assassination was my passion but I was much better at being powerful, not stealthy." He looked at Naruto and smirked, "But I was still the best at being stealthy."
Naruto smiled, "No wonder you can sneak up on me so well. You scare the shit out of me every time you do it."
Denkou chuckled but didn't say anything. The two of them watched the students. Denkou knew in one month of taijutsu training Naruto could easily defeat all of these students. Naruto had a determination that always pushed him farther. Even if he only knew the kid for two months, he was able to read that much from him anyway.
Naruto was content on watching the students, though his eyes constantly drifted to Sakura and her butt. Naruto smiled softly. Ah, the joys of the female anatomy.
Naruto watched her, and saw her send many glances off into an entirely different direction, which he followed with his eyes. At the end of her glances was Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto couldn't help but feel a growl emerge from his throat.
Denkou looked over at Naruto curiously, after hearing the growl. "What is it?"
Naruto didn't take his eyes off of Sasuke, but responded. "Sasuke…."
Denkou followed Naruto's glare and looked at the boy. He was wearing a blue shirt with a higher collar and white shorts. Strange white arm…warmers….things were on his arms and the boy himself just radiated self-confidence. Denkou didn't see anything special about the boy. He was just a normal teena- oh he turned around so his back was facing them.
He raised an eyebrow when he saw the fan on his back. An Uchiha huh? He narrowed his eyes, so this is the one Itachi had decided to let live…? Denkou peeked back at Naruto, who was seething.
Did Naruto truly hate this kid that much? Denkou smirked, stowing away this little piece of information inside, planning on using it to motivate Naruto to work twice as hard.
Denkou slapped Naruto's arm and jerked his head in a different direction, "Come on, lets get some Ichiraku ramen and head home. I already have all of your gear and other crap. We'll visit again soon."
Naruto grinned, completely forgetting about Sasuke and jumped down from the tree and started yelling running towards the ramen stand. Denkou blinked as a few students looked at Naruto in shock and confusion, most of their thoughts based on, how the hell did he get in the training ground? Denkou chuckled and left, still very well hidden.
He followed Naruto to the stand, listening to him talk about random subjects, most of it involving ramen. He, himself, winked at a few cute women walking down the streets.
When the two of them got to Ichiraku ramen, they sat down. Naruto grinned and took a huge whiff of the fresh ramen they were smelling.
"Hello and welcome to Ichiraku Ramen! How may I help you?"
Denkou blinked as a rather attractive young woman leaned against the counter, the only thing separating the kitchen and the dining area, and smiled brightly at them.
Naruto grinned and pulled down his mask, "Hey Ayame-chan! Start me off with 5 bowls of miso ramen, please!"
Ayame blinked and looked at Naruto, she smiled very happily, and ran around the counter to give Naruto a hug.
"Ah! Naruto-kun! It's so great to see you! You haven't been here in forever."
Naruto scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Yeah well I've been…busy."
Ayame could see that he didn't really want to talk about it so she smiled and kissed him on the cheek, earning a very confused look from Naruto.
"Well, we missed you here at the stand, I'm glad you're back."
Naruto smiled at the display of affection, fighting down (And doing a really good job of) a blush from tinting his cheeks at the kiss.
Naruto hesitated however, "Well, I'm just visiting. I'm not really back back. But I am…kind of back? Do you get what I mean?"
Naruto scratched the back of his neck again, trying to find the right words to tell her this without breaking rule three. Ayame looked confused, but nodded at Naruto.
"Naruto-kun you don't have to explain. If you don't want to tell me, or if you can't, I understand. I'm just happy to see you."
Naruto smiled at her, glad he didn't have to say anything, but before he could respond, Denkou spoke up.
"I'm training him for the next two years out of Konoha. I'll let him visit whenever he can."
Naruto looked at Denkou, shocked. "I thought you said you didn't want anyone knowing you were training me!"
Denkou shot one Naruto one of his sincere smiles, "Naruto, I can tell these people mean a lot to you. I just don't want any bad people to find out about this…do you know what I mean?"
Both Naruto and Ayame nodded, and to which, Ayame took her thumb and pointer finger and made a zipping motion over her closed mouth, twisted it, and threw the 'key' over her shoulder.
She smiled at both of them and Denkou relaxed slightly. Naruto grinned, "So Ayame-chan! How bout those delicious ramen, eh?"
Ayame perked up instantly, "Of course! And you sir, would like…" She shot Denkou a questioning look.
Denkou smiled and stood up, holding out his hand. "The name's Murasaki Denkou. And I'll have one pork ramen."
Ayame smiled at him and shook his hand. "Coming right up! I'll let Tou-san bring out the food to you, Naruto-kun. You know, let it be a surprise…"
She shot Naruto a wink as she left into the kitchen. Denkou turned to Naruto and gave him a sly look, "So…..Ayame-chan, eh?"
Naruto blushed and nudged Denkou in the side, "Oh shut up. We're just friends."
Denkou chuckled, "Whatever you say, Naruto-kun."
He let it drop but laughed a little bit more at Naruto's increased blush, which he fought down very well. A moment later, Teuchi, the owner, came back later, holding a tray of 6 bowls. His eyes were closed as he happily said to his two customers.
"Thank you for ordering at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand! I hope you come by again!"
He opened his eyes to give the food to the customers, but instead saw an amused look on a man he's never seen before, and a grinning face of Naruto.
Teuchi gave a very broad smile, "Ah! Naruto, my boy!"
He also went around the counter to give Naruto a big hug, which he complied easily. Denkou looked amused as he watched the two. Teuchi went back to behind the counter and smiled at the two.
"I'm guessing the five miso ramen are for Naruto, here. So your's must be the pork! I'm sorry but I never did catch your name…"
Denkou smiled, amused at the friendliness these people had. "Murasaki Denkou."
Teuchi blinked and shook the younger man's hand who was in the process of sitting down now. "As in…. THE Murasaki Denkou?"
Denkou blinked and looked at Teuchi, realizing that he was old enough to really realize who he was. He nodded, but put a single finger up to his lips to do a 'shh' thing. And jerked his head towards Naruto, who was too engrossed in his ramen to know what was going on.
"Don't tell Naruto."
A sad yet stern expression came across Teuchi's face. He nodded, "What are you to Naruto?"
Naruto heard his name the second time and looked up. Denkou chuckled, "I'm his sensei."
Teuchi smiled and patted Denkou on the shoulder, "Welcome to the Ramen Family Denkou."
Denkou smiled and shook his head, muttering his breath, "This is why I became a civilian. Everything is so much easier."
Naruto watched as Denkou ate his ramen in silence. Both Teuchi and Ayame in the kitchen working on…things. Naruto looked forward, finishing his second bowl and starting on the third.
Denkou was the strangest man he'd ever talk to. He was strong. That much Naruto already knew about the man. He said that he was a teammate to the Yondaime. Some of his stories from when he was younger made Naruto smile. The two of them were best of friends.
But whenever Denkou said the Yondaime's name, real name, Namikaze Minato…he said it with such distaste that Naruto knew something happened between the two of them that Denkou had repressed for years and years.
Naruto knew that Denkou preferred to hide his pain, much like Naruto. But those unique purple eyes….Naruto could see the pain. He was very nostalgic. It was almost depressing. Naruto knew that whenever Denkou had gone into his study, all he did was drink and drink. Naruto always had advanced senses and he could smell the sake threw the door. Naruto wanted to know so much about him.
He had the strangest connection with him. Naruto never lived with anyone his whole life. He lived in an orphanage for half his life, true, but he never lived with any of those people there. He tried to avoid them. But Denkou was…caring. Naruto told him about the treatment of the villagers, and Denkou actually listened to him.
He was one of the few people that listened to the blonde. During training he listened to Naruto complaints, but would always smile and get lost on memory lane. Naruto might not be the smartest kid around but he could definitely tell that something incredibly tragic had happened in Denkou's like some point in time.
Naruto knew Denkou never 'retired'. He just plain, flat-out quit. Due to some form of accident.
Naruto finished his fifth bowl of ramen, not realizing he drifted away in thought. Naruto peeked a glance at Denkou who was sipping a small glass of sake. Naruto frowned. He may have only known the man for a couple months. But Naruto felt this really odd connection to him. He wondered if this is what it felt like to have…a father.
Naruto smiled into his ramen. He liked the feeling. Naruto made a silent promise to himself, that with Naruto's strength that he'll get, He was going to protect his 'dad'. with his life. Naruto smiled sadly, He promised himself.
Naruto finished up with his ramen and patted his stomach. He sent a grin towards Denkou, who smiled at Naruto. He stood up and stretched.
"Ready to go?"
Naruto nodded, and pulled up the mask. Adjusting it so it fit comfortably around his face. Denkou fished for his money and placed a hefty amount on the counter. Teuchi and Ayame came by to pick up the money.
The two Ichiraku's watched as Denkou talked to Naruto about their training they'll have in the future. They knew Naruto said something, because Denkou suddenly threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, his hand wrapping around Naruto's shoulder's fatherly-like. Naruto grinned at the older man.
Ayame cast a glance at her father, "I'm really glad for Naruto-kun."
Teuchi gave a very soft smile, "It's about time someone participated in Naruto's life. I think that Denkou guy is a very good father figure for Naruto…"
Ayame picked up the ryo and blinked, "Tou-san…he left way more than he should have!" she gestured to the money.
Teuchi blinked, "Why…this is at least three times the amount he had to pay…"
Ayame smiled, happily. The two of them watching as Denkou turned the corner, their last image of them was Denkou ruffling Naruto's hair. "I like him, Tou-san…"
Teuchi smiled and nodded, "Yeah. I do too Yame-chan." Then he narrowed his eyes and pointed his ramen spoon at Ayame, "But don't get any ideas! Always remember! Boys are from the devil!"
Ayame giggled and patted her father's shoulder, "I've gotta grow up sometime, daddy."
Teuchi grumbled. "You ain't gotta grow up never."
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A/N
Second Chapter!
It's like one here. Awesome. I was dedicated. LOL!
Well anyway, I'm tired, I have to pee, and I thought I did a really good job starting off the actual character development between Naruto and Denkou. I also really love the Ichiraku's and I always imagined them to have a deeper relationship with Naruto than what the manga/anime/ and/or other fanfics describe between them. I feel like it's very important to incorporate those feeling between Naruto and them.
Well anyway, this girl is gonna hit the sack! Goodnight!
Ja'Ne
11-Tailed Demon Wolf