AN: Disclaimer: If I really owned Naruto do you think I'd be writing fan fiction?
Also this chapter may seem a bit boring, but bear with it. It lays down ground work for later. As I said before reviews are welcomed and encouraged. Flames are always welcome. They will warm my dorm room.
What They Don't Know Can Kill You
Chapter 2) Hey Stoopid
"Ah-ah-choo!" Naruto whipped his nose on his sleeve and moaned.
"You'll get no sympathy from me Naruto." Sakura remarked. "I warned you that if you stayed out in the rain that long you'd get a cold."
"I was training, Sakura. Like Grandma Tsunade and Iruka-sensei keep saying 'you need to be prepared for anything'. So I was training in the rain." Sai chuckled at Naruto's tone. He was currently learning about persuasion and how to use sympathy to win your case.
"Naruto training in the rain for eight hours straight will give anyone a cold." Naruto's shoulders slumped in defeat. Kakashi nodded to the guards as they passed through the gates of Konoha.
"Well as much fun as this has been, I really should be checking up on my dolphin. The poor thing has probably been worried sick about me. So let's meet up in an hour at the Hokage Tower to hand in our reports. That sounds good right?" He didn't wait for their responses before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"So go home, clean up, change and meet back in an hour then?" Sai asked with his fake smile firmly in place. Sakura and Naruto both nodded before all three darted off in different directions.
An hour later the three meet up in front of Hokage Tower. Sai and Sakura seemed to have been freshly bathed and had on cleaner clothes, while Naruto on the other hand wore, uncharacteristically, a pair of black pajama pants and a white t-shirt with the hidden leaf symbol on it.
"What?" He asked as he rubbed his nose.
"No orange? It looks weird, not a bad weird just weird." Sakura said. She grabbed the door handle went inside.
"Weird indeed." Sai followed Sakura's example and went inside. Naruto threw a glare and followed.
"Where's Kakashi?" Tsunade asked when they walked in. "Never mind, he'll show up eventually." They sat down and started the oral part of their report. After the hundredth sniffle for Naruto, Tsunade slammed her hand down on her desk.
"What's wrong with you, gaki?" she demanded. He fidgeted in his seat.
"I . . . uh . . . heh I kinda got a cold while we were on our way back from the mission." He scratched the back of his head as he spoke and looked away from her, knowing that there was a good chance he was going to get wacked in the head for his stupidity. She sighed loudly.
"Fine stay after and I'll check you out." He stared in shock for a moment before grinning.
"Thanks grams." She glared at him before signaling to Sakura to continue.
"So what did you do this time, gaki?" She asked when the others left. HE gave a sheepish grin before answering. She rummaged in a drawer looking for the first aid box.
"Well, I was training for like eight hours. . ." She rolled her eyes.
"How do you get a cold from training?"
"It was kinda raining for the full eight hours. Haha."
"Of course it was. Open up." She trusted the thermometer at him. "So you brilliant plan for yesterday was to stay out in the rain for eight hours. Naruto you are a genius. Arm." He held out his arm and she drew blood.
"What's that for?" He handed back the thermometer when it beeped.
"To make sure you didn't bring anything back with you besides the runny nose that could be making you sick."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense. So, about the whole cold thing, you're not going to suspend me from missions are you? You know I heal fast." She threw a death glare at him which he ignored.
"No, I'm not suspending you, but if you are still sick when you get the next one you are staying here no questions asked. Now stay still while I finish the exam."
Naruto glared at the piece of paper in his hand. He hated medicine and now he had to get three prescriptions filed. Today sucked, he thought. He crumpled the paper and shoved it into his pocket before heading towards the far side of downtown. He still had work to do. He came to a stop outside his favorite hardware store. The place seemed to have everything and anything you could want to improve, or in Naruto's case rebuild, a house. The tiny set of bells rang as he entered the door.
"Welcome back Naruto." A man said from the back. When he came around to the front Naruto smiled. The man was middle aged and was starting to get gray hairs, but Naruto knew better than that. The man could easily break him in half with his bare hands.
"Hi Akira, how's it going?" Akira gave him a strange look, almost as if he was sizing him up.
"Are you feeling ok, Naruto? You look under the weather." Naruto chuckled.
"I have the sniffles, but nothing serious. They'll be gone in a day or two." Akira nodded. He headed over to the cash register.
"Your usual shipment or are you getting something different this time around? Oh, I got something in the back I want you to look at. I think it might help you if you need it that is." He ushered Naruto towards the back of the store where Akira kept his workshop. "So what do you think?"
He drew back the curtain and saw the most elegant bed frame he'd ever seen with intricate wood work designs wrapping its way around the post and the headboard. There was canopy cloth off to the side that Naruto figured was going to eventually be attached to the beautiful bed.
"It's gorgeous Akira. Out of my price range, but it's incredible. I can't use it though which sucks. If I wasn't rebuilding to be an exact replica of the original, I would so buy it and pay you in installments for it." Naruto's fingers traced over the designs upon the smooth wood the whole time he spoke. Akira smirked at his comments.
"That's too bad Naruto," He grabbed Naruto's arm and dragged him to another part of the workshop. There was another bed there too. Naruto's jaw dropped when he noticed the design in the head board. "Because I made this one for only you free of charge."
The bed was made of dark Mahogany wood and the designs on it were wood burned and painted in silvers and blues. The head board was what impressed Naruto the most. Two family crests were interwoven with each other with two signature chakra jutsu fanning out from the crests. The posts had an intricate pattern of what almost appeared to be ivy growing up them with small orange flowers blooming in it and disappearing into the canopy. Dark red and blue satin sheets and comforter were layered on the bed. There was cloth for a midnight blue and blood red interchangeable canopy covers. Naruto turned to look at Akira.
"Akira, I don't know what to say. But why did you use those two crests?" Akira rolled his eyes.
"Naruto I'm not as stupid as I look. If you're willing to single handedly rebuild that entire place from scratch exactly as it was for someone who isn't even here, the only logical reason would be that you really love that person. So I though it only natural that I make something to show it." He smiled at Naruto that all knowing look in his eye.
"Don't tell anyone ok? Well I think I need to get going if I want to get any work done over there tonight." Akira nodded understandingly. "I was thinking about working on the interior this time around. I kind of have a cold."
"No problem, I got just the stuff you'll need. This way, and don't worry about the bill, I'll put it on your tab and you can pay me later." Naruto smiled.
"And that is why I love you Akira."
Half an hour later six clones and Naruto arrived at their destination. They dropped the materials in the front room before dissipating into smoke. He grabbed the rolled up floor plans from the shelf and started laying them out one by one in order of where the building was located within the compound.
Mentally he went over what each needed immediate work and which could be put off until latter. The roof needed to be finished on one of the far building but that would have to wait until tomorrow when he had more light outside. A few needed electrical work done which also needed to be put off until he could get Neji or Hinata to get back from their missions and had some time to spare to help him. He glanced at the clock on the floor to his left. He could pick up the furniture he ordered, but the shop would be closing in ten minutes and that wouldn't be worth it in the end.
"Well the interior of here and six other buildings are finished enough to where I don't need to do anything in the walls or anything so I guess I should start cleaning over there." He grabbed two of the plastic bags and put them in the bucket and grabbed the broom, dustpan and a mop. He had cleaning rags over there all ready and headed towards the door.
Kakashi knocked on the door to Naruto's apartment. After a short wait he knocked again. When a few minutes past with no response he sighed. "I guess I should go check there next" he thought. He jumped off the landing and landed gracefully on a rooftop not far away heading toward the compound. Twenty minutes later he landed outside the main gate. He pushed to gate open, not surprised that the blonde had left it unlocked. Only a few people ever came here.
"NARUTO!" There was no response. Kakashi sighed again. He made his way through the compound heading to the far side. "Naruto, are you there?" He was about to yell again when he heard a faint crash. He rolled his eyes and headed toward the source of the sound.
Naruto moved in his sleep again except this time he stretched his legs and knocked over the broom that was leaning against the wall not far from where he crashed last night. Kakashi knocked on the door before entering the shop.
"Naruto, are you in here? Iruka was looking for-" He stopped when he turned the corner and saw Naruto passed out on the floor. He chuckled before shaking the boy. "Naruto wake up."
"Five more minutes, Iruka-sensei." He moaned as he rolled over. Kakashi him harder and his eyes fluttered open. "Huh? What are you doing here Kakashi-sensei?"
"Well, I was looking for you. Iruka was desperate to see his gaki so he begged me to find you with tears in his eyes. It was so adorable."
"You're lying again Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi's grin fell.
"Fine, so he wasn't begging or crying but he was looking for you. From the tone of his voice it did sound important." Naruto sighed deeply before yawning and stretching his arms above his head, arching his back in the process.
"Ok, ok, I'm coming."
A/N: I know it's kinda boring, but hang on it will get better. Sasu-sama should appear in the next chapter. . . I hope.