Disclaimer: About three weeks in, and I still do not own Naruto. But I will, one day, probably, possibly, maybe, could happen… I probably won't.
Warning: Spoilers from the anime and manga ahead, read at your own discretion.
Chapter 2: 'D' Bane of our Existence
Sasuke was not a morning person, he knew it, his friends knew it, it was no secret. It was just his luck then, that it was routine for shinobi to begin training or missions early in the morning. In auto-pilot, he headed for the shower, turned it on, and headed in. The cold water ran down his head, to his back and legs, and to the ground, waking him up. After leaning beneath the water for about ten minutes, he got out of the shower, the cold had done its job, he was now feeling ready to do stuff. He headed out of the bathroom and got dressed. He put on his white shorts and blue, low collared shirt, and black sandals. Now clothed, he headed to the kitchen, where Izumi was already making breakfast, rice balls wrapped in dried tuna, showered lightly with tomato sauce. Sasuke was very happy to have her around, even if he didn't always show it, she stuck by his side even when he tried to push her away, and always supported and cared for him.
Noticing him from the moment he was going down the stairs, Izumi turned towards him with a kind smile, "Morning Sasuke-kun. Ready for your first day as a genin?"
"Morning Izumi-nee", replied Sasuke, a small smile of his own. "Yeah, I'll just have breakfast and head to meet my team", he explained as he sat down on the small kitchen table.
"Well, dig in then. No time to lose", said Izumi as she walked towards the table, placing Sasuke's plate in front of him, and serving him some tea to go with it.
Swiftly but politely, Sasuke finished his food, "Thanks for the food Izumi-nee. I'll be heading out now."
"No problem", assured Izumi. "Have fun", and with that, she returned to making her own breakfast.
Heading for the door, Sasuke took his kunai and shuriken pouches and strapped them both to his right leg. He put on his black headband, which he always left by the door. He grabbed his bow and quiver and slung them both over his shoulder. Finally, he grabbed eight water bottles and three soldier pills, and stored them inside a storage seal Naruto had drawn on his quiver. Confident that he was ready he went out the door and headed for the training grounds.
*Linebreak*
Mornings were easy for Sakura, she had always been a morning bird. Not needing an alarm, she woke up a good two hours before she and her team were to meet up. From the smell coming into her room, she knew her father was already making breakfast. Knowing she had time to spare, she headed into the bathroom, drew a hot bath, and took her time with it, enjoying every moment. After about half an hour, she finally decided to get out and get dressed. Heading back into her room she chose to put on a medium length, sleeveless, straight-cut, red dress, black bike shorts and sandals, and her blue headband. Now ready, she headed down the stairs. Once she did, she headed straight for the kitchen table, where her mother was already drinking her morning tea.
"Good morning mom", she greeted with a smile as she sat down. "Morning dad."
"Good morning Sakura", replied her mother, also smiling. "Ready for today?"
"You bet", replied a determined Sakura.
"Well, I'm sure you'll do great", said her dad, heading towards her, plate in hand.
"Damn right I will!"
"I'm sure you will, so eat your breakfast and get going, we wouldn't want you to be late", replied her father with a kind smile.
"It wouldn't really be a problem if I were to be late", said Sakura, already expecting Kakashi to be late, as she began eating her breakfast.
Both parents nodded slightly, they were aware of Kakashi's reputation.
"Thanks for the food dad", she said as she was done eating, and headed back into her room.
Wanting to make sure she missed nothing, she began.
"Shuriken pouch? Check", she said as she strapped it to her right leg.
"Kunai? Check", as she threw some in together with her shuriken.
"Towels? Check", as she wrapped three of them on the strap that held her pouch.
"All set then", she decided, again heading downstairs.
"Bye mom and dad", she waved as she opened the door.
"Bye darling", they both replied, as she headed out the door, her destination clear.
*Linebreak*
Elsewhere in the village, the third member of Team 7 was making sure everything was ready. He had woken up early that morning, and had been unable to go back to sleep due to excitement. Deciding to make the most of his time, he took a quick shower and got dressed. Noticing it was way too hot outside for his favourite jumpsuit, he instead donned a short-sleeved white shirt with orange sleeves and back, blue pants, and black sandals.
Once dressed he put some water to boil and proceeded to water his plants. Taking his time on each one, he made sure they were receiving the appropriate amount of sunlight. Hearing the kettle cry, he returned to the kitchen, poured half of the water into a cup, in which he also inserted a small tea bag.
The other half, he used for ramen. His ramen however, was not from a cup, during his time in the academy, he had asked Ayame to teach him to make ramen, and so she did. He wasn't nearly as good as them, but found it to be more satisfying to make it himself, rather than to eat from a cup. It was nothing fancy, he just boiled some water, added some stock, waited for the flavour to set in, added the noodles, and then added whatever garnish he was in the mood for; that day, it was eggs and pork cutlets. His breakfast made, he sat down and enjoyed it.
Once he was done eating he returned to his room to get his things ready, sitting on his desk. He drew various storage, explosive, trigger, and disruption seals and stored them all inside a small pouch that he then strapped to his right leg. Done with his seals, he grabbed his kunai pouch and strapped it right next to the smaller one he had used for the seals. He also remembered to seal a jacket, just in case, so he chose his orange one. He then grabbed his brush and three ink bottles, and put them all in a storage seal drawn on his larger pouch. He also remembered to grab his book on sealing, and seal it next to the rest of his equipment; reading it had become a part of his training, and he was, by then, almost done with it.
'I have to remember to ask the old man for another one', he made a mental note. He was already on his third book, having mastered the contents of the first two around a year before graduating. The second one detailed the specifics of basic seal enhancement and alteration. His current one explained the process of seal disruption.
Confident he had everything he needed, he grabbed his forehead protector from his night table and looked himself in the mirror.
'Today I finally begin my journey to being Hokage', he thought, full of determination as he put on his forehead protector. 'I will give everyone no choice but to acknowledge me!'
He then headed to the door and left his apartment, ready to meet his team, he just needed to make another stop before he did.
Walking through the streets of Konoha, he arrived at his destination after about ten minutes. Looking up at it, Naruto couldn't help the feeling of nostalgia that rushed over him as he stood in front of the Academy. Putting those thoughts on the back of his mind for the moment, he entered the building, walking in the direction of his former classroom.
Once he got there, he found the door open, and sitting on the des, the person he was looking for,
"Iruka-sensei!", greeted Naruto with a smile.
"Oh. Hello Naruto!", answered a surprised Iruka, as he wasn't expecting the blond to visit. "What brings you here? Don't tell me you got sent back?", he questioned with a smirk.
"Hell no!", retorted Naruto. "I just thought I'd stop by to tell you I passed, and I am taking my first mission today!", announced Naruto, obviously very excited.
"That's great Naruto", congratulated Iruka, very proud of his student. "I'm sure you'll do great."
"Of course!", agreed Naruto.
"Well, get going then", said Iruka, smiling warmly, "We wouldn't want you to be late."
"Right, take care then sensei", said Naruto as he waved him goodbye. "Not that I would make a difference if I were late", he added under his breath as he left the room.
Iruka chuckled at the last part, Kakashi was famous in Konoha for his tardiness after all.
Naruto left the academy and headed straight for the training grounds, barely able to contain his excitement.
When he arrived, he found Sasuke and Sakura already there.
"Yo!, Sasuke, Sakura", he waved.
"Hi, Naruto", greeted Sakura.
"'Sup", said Sasuke.
Unfazed by the fact their sensei hadn't arrived, the three simply talked and waited, by that point expecting him to be tardy.
For about two hours they waited, talking about anything and everything that came to mind.
Eventually however, Kakashi arrived, walking nonchalantly towards them.
"Morning", he greeted cheerily.
"You're late… again", said Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke nodded.
"Sorry, sorry, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around.
'Bullshit', thought all three genin, as they sweatdropped.
"Anyway", diverted Kakashi, internally laughing at his students' reactions. "How about we officially begin our first training session as Team 7."
That immediately got their attention.
"Hell yeah!", exclaimed Naruto.
"Yeah", nodded Sakura in agreement.
"Let's", added Sasuke with a smirk, obviously excited.
"Well then", began Kakashi. "I got a pretty good idea as to your abilities from yesterday's test, so this is what we'll be doing. First, we will train your chakra control, I will teach you tree-walking, and have you practice it until you either get it right or I feel you've done enough. Then, we'll take a ten minute break, after which I will test you three to find out your elemental affinities, normally one would wait until they're a chunin, or at the very least advanced genin, before training with elemental chakra, but seeing as one of you already does, I figure it should be okay."
The three nodded, all curious as to which affinity they held.
"Then, we will take another short break, followed by stamina training, I will spar with all of you, three on one until none of you can move."
The last part made them gulp, but two of them were excited nonetheless, and the third would not be left behind.
"After that, we will go have lunch, and then take our first mission. Any questions?", he asked, smiling with his eye.
"None", replied all three.
"Very well, let's get started then", he said as he walked towards the trees on the training grounds, his students following close behind.
"This exercise is quite simple. All you have to do is concentrate chakra on your feet and then walk up the tree", he explained as he walked up the tree with ease. "Use a kunai to mark your progress whenever you go up the tree", he added as he jumped down. "Begin."
Naruto was confident he could walk up a tree, it looked very easy when Kakashi did it after all. He ran towards a tree, pushed chakra to his feet, and took his first step. That was as far as he got, the moment his foot connected with the tree, an explosion sent him back, denting the tree slightly.
Landing on his butt, he stood back up and faced the tree. 'Too much chakra and I get pushed away', he realised as he ran at the tree again.
Watching the explosion caused by Naruto, Sasuke decided against being blown up. Noticing the problem with adding too much chakra, he ran up the tree. His first step was firm, so he took another one, that one stuck as well, going for the third he felt himself slip, and only had time to slash the tree right above where his foot was before he landed painfully on his back, right next to the tree. 'Too little and I slip', he noticed as he stood up and rubbed his back. 'Got it', and so, he tried again.
Watching her teammate's failures, Sakura quickly deduced the problem with chakra amounts and gave it a try herself. She ran towards the tree and stepped on it. Noticing she was sticking, she took two steps more.
'I'm doing it', she thought excitedly.
Just then however, she felt her control slip, and the tree burst a little beneath her foot pushing her back. She slashed the position above her foot and stumbled as she landed. Looking at the tree, she smiled when she noticed she had climbed about four feet.
'That's impressive', thought Kakashi. 'That's almost a third of the way up.'
After his first try, Naruto had continued nonstop, inching upwards along the tree. Each time he tried, he was pushed away.
'Damn', he thought after a particularly nasty fall. 'This is way harder than it looks.'
Not one to be discouraged however, he ran up the tree again. He had managed three feet, and was getting better with every attempt, even if not by much.
Sasuke was doing better, even if just a little. Having also continued trying without stopping, he was now consistently managing between four and five feet. However, he found himself frustrated by the fact that he was getting stuck, his improvement was less and less noticeable every time he tried.
'I still haven't found the perfect balance', he reasoned. And so, he went at it again, determined to get to the top.
Sakura was actually very happy, as she found that she was doing the best out of the three. After some tries, she found that she never went less than six feet along the tree, sometimes even seven. She felt like every attempt taught her a little.
'But I still feel like I'm missing something', she complained, unable to figure out why her balance slipped every time.
Deciding to see if she could find whatever that was, she tried again.
Watching them, Kakashi couldn't help but be impressed. Sure, he knew a little about all of their abilities, especially Naruto and Sasuke, but they still managed to impress him.
He had expected Naruto's chakra control to be the worst out of the three, as his reserves were much higher than the others'. Even if he had been right, he had been surprised by the speed at which Naruto noticed his mistakes and corrected them, he was, without a doubt, the one making the most consistent improvements.
Sasuke wasn't that much of a surprise, his control was pretty good, and he was getting better. However, Sasuke's decision to begin by erring on the side of less chakra instead of more, had caught him off guard. It was an intelligent approach, there was no denying that, but it was one he thought no genin would take, it was a very collected decision, and had helped Sasuke understand the exercise much faster than if he had done it the other way around.
He had expected Sakura to be the best out of them, but he wasn't prepared by how good she was. Her control was far above the normal genin's, she just had to get used to regulating chakra and she would get the exercise in no time. 'Hell, she might have even less trouble with water-walking than this', he thought.
They were all good, and he was sure they would become incredible.
After watching them run up and fall down from trees for about an hour and a half, he stopped them, happy with their progress.
"You can all stop now", he announced.
Falling down from the tree one last time, Naruto turned to look at his final mark, he had made it five feet up. Happy with his results, he looked at how his teammates had done.
Sasuke was also content with his results, he had gotten out of the small hurdle that had stopped him for half an hour, and had finally managed to climb seven feet along the tree. "Almost halfway there", he noted with a smirk.
No one was more satisfied than Sakura however. In the end, she had gone up ten feet, and had even managed to do it after reducing her speed a little.
"That was exhausting", she said, the effort catching up to her. She felt her whole body was heavier, and her legs ached. She had pushed herself quite a bit.
Her teammates weren't doing much better, exhaustion had caught up to them at the same time. Both felt the pain in their legs and struggled much more than normal to move around.
"You all did great", said Kakashi, smiling. As he took in the state of his students, he knew they were taking things seriously. "Time for our little break."
All three genin immediately fell to the ground, resting their legs. As they did, Sasuke grabbed his quiver and pushed a bit of chakra into the seal on it, taking out four water bottles.
"There you go", he said as he handed one to each of his teammates.
"Life-saver", said Naruto, quickly emptying the bottle.
"Thanks", said Sakura as she took it. She looked quite pale, obviously tired.
Sasuke then offered the fourth one to Kakashi.
"Why not", said Kakashi, amused by his students. "Thanks, Sasuke."
"No problem", he replied, finally putting the bottle to his lips.
Once they were all a bit refreshed, Kakashi spoke up. "Sakura, I see you did quite well. However, it gets harder the higher you go. In your case, I can only recommend you try to get used to modulating your chakra, if you do, you should manage the exercise very soon."
"Right", replied Sakura.
"Sasuke, you started out great, but slowed down as you went on. First of all, I applaud your restraint, one should always exercise caution when possible. However, in this case, it's not enough. Try to get a sense for the failure points, find where the threshold lies."
Sasuke nodded in understanding. Thinking back to his various attempts.
"For your part Naruto, you will have to get used to smaller adjustments. You have a lot of chakra, which means that even if you think you're only adding a small amount, you could be adding way too much. Whenever you feel like that's the case, try to go even smaller, see how it works out."
Naruto hummed, signaling he understood. In his mind, he was comparing what Kakashi had told him to when he first started making seals. How he constantly added too much chakra to activate them and they ended up blowing up in his face.
"Well, your little break is over", he said as he pulled four paper squares from his pocket, and handed one to each of them. "All you have to do is channel a bit of your chakra into the paper, and the way the paper reacts will tell us which element is your affinity", he explained as he channeled chakra to the fourth paper, in demonstration. They all watched as the paper suddenly wrinkled all over.
"Right now, the paper is reflecting my affinity towards lightning."
His students nodded in understanding.
"Cool", said Naruto, his eyes wide. "I'll go first", he said, already channeling his chakra into the paper. Once he did, they saw the paper slit clean in half.
"It seems you have a wind affinity", explained Kakashi. "That's very rare in Konoha, but I think you'll find it useful. We could even ask Asuma to give you a few pointers."
"Awesome", replied the blond with a smile.
"I'll go next", said Sakura. When she channeled her chakra, the piece of paper crumbled into dirt and got carried away by the wind.
"It seems you are earth", noted Kakashi. "I think I'll be able to help you quite a bit, as I tend to like earth jutsu."
"Thanks", replied Sakura.
"Guess I'm up", said Sasuke. As he pushed his chakra into the paper, half of it began burning, while the other half became wet and damp. After a second or two however, the burning half was put out by the other one, and the whole paper ended up wet.
"It seems you have a primary affinity to water, with a secondary one to fire", pointed out Kakashi, quite surprised. "Fire is a very common affinity in Konoha, especially for the Uchiha, so you should have no trouble finding jutsu to learn or people to ask for advice. I myself have built up a decent library of fire techniques. Your primary affinity is surprising, as water is very rare for an Uchiha. Regardless, you should also find some who wield it in Konoha. Again, I have some experience with it."
Sasuke nodded, understanding all that Kakashi said, already knowing some of it. If he was honest, he was surprised as well.
"What now?", asked Naruto.
"As you know, elemental chakra is used for most regular ninjutsu, and can be added to most other forms of chakra manipulation in order to change the effect or efficiency of a technique. With that in mind, I will begin training you all as to the best way to harness you affinities", said Kakashi. As he did, he opened one of the scroll pockets on his vest, and pulled out a small scroll. He pushed some chakra into it, releasing a cloud of smoke. He now held eight slightly larger scrolls in his hand.
"I have two jutsu here for each of your affinities", he explained. "Today I will teach you the basics for them, and you will review them whenever you have free training, understood?"
All three nodded.
"Good", he said. He then threw two of them at Sasuke. "Those two hold the Fire Style: Dragon Bullet and Fire Style: Flame Flower jutsu."
"Right", said Sasuke.
"Those are Earth Style: Earth Wall and Earth Style: Fissure", he told Sakura, as he threw two scrolls at her.
"Naruto", he said, throwing him two scrolls as well. "They are Wind Style: Gale Palm and Wind Style: Mountain Wind."
Finally, he threw the last two to Sasuke. "Water Style: Water Whip and Water Style: Water Trumpet."
As Sasuke caught his last pair of scrolls, they were all ready to begin.
"One more thing though", added Kakashi. "In order to become jonin, one is generally expected to have, among other things, mastered two chakra natures. There are exceptions of course, but this is normally the case. One can master an element even if they don't have a natural affinity for it, but they will find it much harder. In the spirit of starting early, I can teach you all, especially Sakura and Naruto, the basics of lightning style, as it is my natural affinity. Of course, I can teach you as well Sasuke. If any of you wants to learn another nature, then you can just ask each other, you have four of them covered after all", he explained.
Thinking it over for just a second, all three found that they liked the idea, and so they agreed.
"Sounds cool", said Naruto.
"I would like that", said Sakura.
"Wouldn't hurt", said Sasuke with a smirk.
Kakashi smiled. "Just remember, it will take you much longer to learn it than your natural affinities, so don't expect it to be easy."
"Right", they all nodded.
"Let's get started then", announced Kakashi. "Spread out a bit so you all have room to work. I will explain the basics to each of you, beginning with Sasuke, then move on to the next, and leave a clone to help you."
Quickly, the three genin spread out along the field, leaving more than enough space between them. Kakashi created two clones and walked over to Sasuke.
"Ok, as you already know some fire manipulation, how about we start with water?"
"Sure", replied Sasuke. "I am curious as to how I'll do."
"Very well. I assume you are familiar with the leaf-burning exercise?"
"Yeah", answered Sasuke. "Izumi-nee explained it to me."
"I also assume you've completed it?"
"Right. I managed it consistently around my second year at the academy."
"Good, that makes things easier", said Kakashi as he sat down, and instructed Sasuke to do the same. "This exercise is similar to leaf-burning. In order to accomplish that one, you heat up your chakra, and focus it on the leaf. In this case, I want you to separate your palms slightly, and then focus on condensing your chakra, you should eventually be able to create a small sphere of water out of air", explained the jonin as he did just that, a liquid ball forming between his hands. "Any questions?"
"No", replied Sasuke as he turned to focus on his hands. Closing his eyes, he concentrated chakra to his hands, he tried to close in on it from all sides, trying to form the sphere. Once he opened his eyes, he found that he had only managed to form a few drops of water that fell to his hands. "Again", he said, determined to get it right, as he tried again.
Seeing Sasuke had gotten the idea, Kakashi created a clone and left it with him, in case he needed help, and then moved on to Sakura.
"Right", began Kakashi, motioning for Sakura to sit down. "The earth exercise is simple. You just have to place both hands on the ground, and then try to use your chakra to shape the earth, in order to create a small mound beneath your hands." Just like before, as he explained, he performed the feat himself. "Got it?"
"Yeah, I think I do", replied Sakura, nodding her head. She then placed her hands on the ground and focused her chakra into them, trying to picture it forcing the earth to change shape, pulling it out of the ground and into her hands. Feeling something move below her hands, she moved them out of the way. When she did, she saw that she had created various small distortions on the earth.
'Impressive', thought Kakashi. "Remember Sakura, earth is firm, you can't just push or direct it. You have to change its shape, think of it like creating a sand castle, or working with clay, using just your chakra", he explained.
"Right", said Sakura after thinking about it for a minute. 'Shaping clay. I think I get it.' She tried again, picturing her chakra pulling the earth and pushing it together, trying to change its shape. Once again moving her hands to the sides, she saw she had improved, she had formed various little clumps of earth. "Yeah!", she exclaimed. 'I'm not done', she thought, trying again.
'Not bad', noted Kakashi. 'Her control really is impressive. Well, I'll let her work on it.' Kakashi then moved to his third student, leaving a clone with Sakura.
"All right!", declared Naruto. "Let's do this!"
Chuckling at his student, Kakashi directed him to sit on the grass. "The wind exercise goes like this", began Kakashi He grabbed a leaf from the ground and sandwiched it with his hands. "You take a leaf and press it between your palms, then you focus your chakra to it, just like you did with the chakra paper, until you cut the leaf." When he was done explaining he separated his palms to reveal the leaf had been cut straight through.
"Cool", said Naruto. "Let's go!" Naruto grabbed a leaf and pressed it between his palms, channeling his chakra into it. After a moment, he separated his hands to find he had only been able to make a small cut on the edge of the leaf. "Damn it", he said. "I can do it!" So he went at it again.
"Naruto", interrupted Kakashi, holding up his hand. "Try to think of your chakra as a blade. Wind chakra is generally used as a cutting tool. For this exercise try to make your chakra as sharp and focused as you can."
"Sharp and focused", repeated Naruto. "Got it!" Again, he pressed his hands on the leaf and pushed chakra into it. Opening them up again, he saw that he had managed a cut about double the size of the last one, even it if was still smaller than it should. "All right!", he exclaimed.
Yet again, Kakashi's expectations had been blown away by his students. Judging by their progress, they would have the exercises down by the end of the week. Sasuke was good, a prodigy. But that could only take him so far, and it seemed like Naruto gave him the extra push to go further. Naruto himself benefited from their rivalry, he never stopped trying, determined to catch up and be better. Even if Sakura's control was the best among them, it wasn't only that. Kakashi noticed that she was always pushing herself, she refused to get left behind by the other two. 'To learn elemental jutsu by your first week as a genin, not bad', he reasoned.
After watching them and giving them pointers here and there for an hour, he approached Sasuke again.
"Stop, Sasuke", he said. "You're doing great. Let's move on to practicing your new fire jutsu."
"All right", agreed Sasuke, standing up. "Which one first sensei?"
"Why don't you choose?", decided Kakashi. "Fire Style: Dragon Bullet shoots a stream fire from the user's mouth. It can also be used to ignite other projectiles, similar to your Phoenix Sage Flower. Fire Style: Flame Flower creates three balls of fire that hover above ground until the user drops them, either one by one, or all together. It can prove very effective when combined with taijutsu."
"Let's do the Dragon Bullet, it sounds similar to my Fire Ball, and should be easier to learn. Giving me more time with the other one."
"All right", agreed Kakashi. "Good choice." Moving to stand next to Sasuke, he explained the jutsu. "As you said, this one is very similar to creating a fireball, the only difference is that, this time, you have to let out your chakra continuously, creating the stream, like so." After explaining, Kakashi went through hand seals and breathed in a large amount of air. "Fire Style: Dragon Bullet", he announced as he breathed out a large stream of fire towards an empty spot in the clearing, surprising Naruto and Sakura, who were still going with their exercises.
"Sorry", apologized Kakashi.
Muttering something about irresponsible teachers, both went back to work.
Sasuke just sweatdropped at the entire thing. "R-Right", he said, as he prepared to try the jutsu himself. Going through the required hand seals, Sasuke focused his chakra on his stomach, then moved it up to his lungs; "Fire Style: Dragon Bullet" he said as he pushed the chakra out of his lungs, through his mouth. Being familiar with a similar jutsu, Sasuke actually managed to form a small stream, though it was very briefly.
"Just like that", said Kakashi. "But you're pushing it all out in a single burst. Remember, the point here is to maintain a constant flow of fire."
"Yeah", said Sasuke. "I get it." He went at it again, for another hour.
By the end of the second hour, Kakashi was satisfied. All three were making great progress with their exercises, and Sasuke had managed the new jutsu by the end, even if he still needed way too much chakra to pull it off.
"That's enough", announced Kakashi, stopping them. "Let's take another break." They all sat down, Sasuke again giving them a water bottle each to refresh them.
"Naruto", said Kakashi as they rested. "You don't get to keep the scrolls I gave you, as copying them down could be good training for your seal-making. I want you to copy both scrolls and return the originals to me", he said as he unsealed two empty scrolls from his vest and handed them to the blond.
"All right", replied Naruto. Not wanting to waste time, he immediately began copying the jutsu into the new scrolls. He didn't have much trouble doing it, it just took a bit of time. After fifteen minutes, he was done. He checked both scrolls to see if he had made any mistakes. Finding none, he handed the originals back to Kakashi. "There you go sensei."
"Thanks, Naruto", replied Kakashi with a smile. 'That was fast.'
"All right", began Kakashi. "Break's over. However, before we spar, there are two things more."
His three students turned to him, focused.
"First, I'll show you the exercise for lightning, you will practice on it whenever you have free training, and try it for a bit before going to bed. You will do this until you master it. When all three of you do, come to me and I'll give you two lightning jutsu for you to learn. Understood?"
"Yes sensei", replied the genin.
"Good", he said. He then picked up a leaf and closed his hands around it. "For this exercise, you have to focus your chakra into your palms and separate them, the objective is to get the leaf to float between both hands." As he explained, the three watched as the leaf indeed began floating.
"Awesome", said Naruto. Though all three were impressed.
"Well, that's it", said Kakashi. "Good luck with it. Now, for the spar. In order to make this spar challenging, and to really test and improve your stamina, I forbid you all from using anything aside from taijutsu."
All three gulped.
"Also", he added as he unsealed three sets of weights from one of his best pockets. "You are to wear these as we fight. Of course, you will take them off afterwards. From now on, you will use them every time we spar or train on stamina. Got it?"
"Yeah!", answered his students.
"All right then. Put these on", he said, throwing a set of weights to each of his students. "One on each leg, and one on each wrist."
As they caught the weights, they all stumbled back, them being heavier than they had expected. They all put them on and walked around for a second, trying to get used to the feel of the weights. Once they were done, they turned towards Kakashi, ready to begin.
"All right then, seems like you're ready", he said. "Well then… begin."
As soon as he said that, all three ran at him as fast as they could, which, considering the added weight, wasn't much. Once they got close, they began throwing kicks and punches at him, all of which he dodged with ease. He noticed that they sometimes got in each other's way as they attacked, obviously not used to fighting at the same time. He also noticed however, that they weren't faring as horribly as normal genin would, it was evident that they were doing their best to adjust their strategies to work with each other.
'I should start them on team tactics and planning', thought Kakashi as he dodged a punch from Sakura.
As the spar continued, Kakashi focused on dodging their attacks, weaving between them with ease and skill. Whenever he felt that they were getting used to the weight or slowing down to compensate, he would start to push more, sending out a punch or two that they would have no choice but to block, the weights adding more power to them. They were slowly but surely getting worn out.
They were also getting frustrated. None of them had been able to land a single hit on Kakashi.
Eventually, Naruto had had enough.
"Hey, Sakura! Help me out here!", he screamed. Right after he said that he began moving faster, pushing past the pain of the weights, determined to press Kakashi.
"Got it", she replied as her eyes widened, realising what Naruto had in mind. Immediately, she also started to rush Kakashi. Both of them ignoring the effort it took to move even slightly faster, they showered Kakashi with kicks and punches, forcing him on the defensive.
'Not bad', thought Kakashi.
Naruto swung a kick at Kakashi, which he jumped over. Capitalising, Naruto threw a second kick with his other leg, which Kakashi took hold off and used to flip himself in the air. Seeing her chance, Sakura jumped at Kakashi, aiming a kick at his head.
'Damn', thought Kakashi. Not wanting to give them the pleasure of landing a hit, he again grabbed the kick that was thrown at him, and used it to propel himself to the ground, keeping an eye on Sasuke, who hadn't done anything yet. He soon swallowed his words.
Just as Kakashi was about to land, Sasuke rushed and flailed a kick at him. Reacting quickly, Kakashi sidestepped the kick, never turning his back to his students.
Taking advantage of his position, Sasuke threw a roundhouse at his sensei's side.
Showing his skills and reflexes, Kakashi leaned out of the way of the kick, avoiding it.
"Naruto!", yelled Sasuke as he followed up with a three-punch combo, which Kakashi again dodged.
"Yeah!", replied the blond, turning to look at Sakura. "Ready?", he asked.
"Let's go", she replied.
The two then rushed in to support Sasuke, throwing indiscriminate punches, always trying to surround him. Once they had done it, Naruto and Sasuke ran at him, Sasuke locking Kakashi in a taijutsu exchange, Naruto simply jumped at him. Just as Naruto was about to make contact, Sasuke jumped back. Kakashi took advantage of the space by also jumping back, evading Naruto.
The blond smirked as he flew past Kakashi, Sasuke immediately engaging him again.
Naruto made sure to land next to Sakura, and once he did, he grabbed her by the waist and shoulder, and, just like he would with one of his clones, threw her at Kakashi.
Sakura couldn't help but yelp a little at the sudden contact, even if she had expected it. She ignored it however, and focused on punching Kakashi, who had been so focused on his spar with Sasuke that he could do nothing but take the fist head on, as it collided with his face.
The three genin were shocked. Sure, that had been their plan, but they hadn't actually expected it to work as well as it did. As Sakura landed, she turned to face Kakashi and quickly got in her stance.
"I think that's enough for today", said Kakashi. 'They actually got me, not bad.' The jonin felt like he had been saying that a lot in regards to his team.
As soon as he said that, all three dropped to the ground for the third time that day, the adrenaline quickly leaving their bodies, the pain and exhaustion taking over. 'Damn', they all thought.
"Well, how about we go get lunch then?", asked Kakashi with a smile.
*Linebreak*
"We're here to take a mission Hokage-sama", explained Kakashi, standing in front of the Third's desk, his three students behind him. After their training, they had eaten lunch, which Kakashi bought, and rested for a while. At around three o'clock, they headed to the Hokage's office to finally take their first mission.
"Very well", responded the Third with a kind smile as he went through some papers, which Kakashi knew were mission requests. How about this one?", he suggested, handing a piece of paper to Kakashi.
"It's perfect", answered Kakashi after reading the mission request over. "We'll take it."
"I'll prepare your reward for when you return then", said the Hokage. "Good luck out there." As he said it, he couldn't help but laugh inwardly, a team's first D-rank was always amusing.
"Thanks", said Kakashi with a nod, before turning to his team. "We better get going then", he told them.
As they exited the office, Naruto spoke up. "So, what's the mission sensei?"
His teammates leaned closer, also curious.
"Well", began Kakashi. "It seems like someone's gone missing, so we, and by that I mean you, are going to find them and bring them back."
"So kind of like a rescue mission?" asked Sakura.
"Of sorts."
"What do you mean?", asked Sasuke.
"Well", replied Kakashi, rubbing the back of his head. "This is who you're looking for." As he said that he showed them the picture of their target.
"Is that…", began Sakura.
"… a cat?", finished Sasuke.
"Yup", answered Naruto, nodding his head. "Why the hell are we looking for a cat?!"
Kakashi simply shrugged his shoulders. "Because he got lost."
"I can see that!", answered the blond.
His teammates sweatdropped.
"Well then", said Kakashi, trying to appease his student. "Let's get to it, shall we?"
An hour later, the three genin were running through rooftops, chasing what they had discovered to be a very fast feline.
"How can a cat be outrunning us?", asked Sakura, panting. Multiple scars covered her arms and face, remnants from the time they actually got close to it and it fought its way out.
None of them were faring much better than she was. Both Naruto and Sasuke were also covered in scars and out of breath. They were already dead tired from their training, and chasing the cat around wasn't helping.
"Catching one cat shouldn't be this hard damn it!", complained Naruto as he jumped from one rooftop to the next.
"Damn cat", added Sasuke, following his teammate.
It didn't take long after that for Naruto to snap.
"Ok, that's it!", he exclaimed. "We're not gonna be chasing it around all day." After saying that, he put his hands up in a hand seal and created two dozen shadow clones.
"Sasuke, Sakura, come up with a plan. I'll try to push it into a corner."
"Right", replied Sakura, her mind already working.
"Sure, just don't let it get away", quipped Sasuke.
"As if", answered Naruto, sticking out his tongue.
Sasuke turned away from Naruto and faced Sakura. "What's the plan?"
"I don't know", admitted Sakura. "But we need to trap it somehow. We're never going to just catch it."
"We need to set up a trap then", reasoned Sasuke. "And then simply have Naruto lead it straight there."
"Right", agreed Sakura. "How about ninja wire?", she asked. "Did you bring any?"
"I didn't", admitted Sasuke, mentally berating himself for forgetting.
"Damn."
"Yeah", said Sasuke, it was a good plan.
Sakura hummed in frustration as she tried to think of something else. "Wait", she said, and idea popping up in her head. "How about your bow?", she said. "Could you shoot it?"
"Well yeah, but we need a net or something", said Sasuke with a smirk, it was also a good idea, but their mission wasn't to hunt the thing. "Naruto!", he yelled, catching the blond's attention.
"Come up with something yet?!", replied Naruto.
"Yeah!", answered Sasuke. "I need your jacket", he said, Sakura catching on to what he wanted it for.
"What for?!", asked the blond.
"Just give it to me already!"
"Fine! Fine", he said, and threw his kunai pouch at Sasuke, before turning to catch up to the clones chasing the cat.
Sasuke caught the pouch and unsealed the jacket, already knowing where it was.
"All right", he said, nodding to Sakura, who nodded back. "Let's do it."
Sasuke handed the jacket to Sakura and stood up. Once standing, he took his bow from his back, grabbed a dull-tipped practice arrow from the quiver and pulled it back on the bow string, and took aim.
"Sakura", he said, getting her attention. "Make a small hole on the back of the jacket and stick it on the arrow."
She quickly pulled out a kunai and did as Sasuke said.
Once everything was ready, Sasuke focused.
"Naruto!", he yelled yet again. "Get ready to catch!"
"Yeah!", assured the blond, still chasing after the cat.
Sasuke held his breath to still his aim, he focused on the moving cat, tracing its path. He felt the summer breeze on his skin, learning its speed. He tilted the arrow slightly, trying to get used to the added weight of the jacket. Once he was ready, he let go of the string, and watched the arrow intently as it flew through straight for the cat, almost as if chasing it.
The arrow hit the cat on its side, startling it as the jacket began to wrap around it.
Not wasting a second, Naruto immediately jumped at the cat, grabbing it and closing the jacket around it, making sure it couldn't escape.
The whole team let out a sigh of relief as Naruto caught the cat, relieved to be done with it.
Right after Naruto caught it, Kakashi jumped down in front of him.
"Great job", he congratulated, smiling with his eye.
"You could have helped, you know?", asked Sakura, jumping down next to Naruto.
"Scratch that!", added Naruto, clearly annoyed. "You should have helped!"
"Now, now", tried to appease Kakashi, raising his hands in surrender. "These missions are supposed to be training."
"Lazy pervert", muttered Sasuke.
"Let's just go and finish the mission", said Sakura, her face betraying her exhaustion. "I want to take a bath."
So they headed straight to the Hokage's office, none of the three genin ever taking their eyes off of the orange bundle, fearing the cat might escape.
"We're back old man!", said Naruto once they got there, annoyance evident in his voice.
"I assume everything went well?", asked the Hokage, pointing to the bundle in Naruto's arms.
"They did great", answered Kakashi, smiling.
"Good to know", said the Third with a kind smile.
As he said it, a large woman burst through the door. "Is my Tora ok?!"
"Yeah", said Sasuke. 'We are the ones who aren't', he added in his head.
Sakura then took the bundle from Naruto and handed it to the woman. "There you go."
"Oh Tora!", exclaimed the woman, unwrapping the cat from the jacket and pulling it into a tight hug, which the cat evidently hated. "Mama's been so worried!"
'Poor thing', thought Sakura.
'Screw that cat, it deserves it', though her teammates.
The woman then left with her cat, leaving only the five shinobi in the room.
"Well then", said Hiruzen, and pulled out four envelopes from his drawer. "Here are your rewards." He handed one to each of them.
"Wait, wait, wait", interrupted Naruto after taking his. "He gets part of the reward as well?!", he asked, pointing at Kakashi.
"Naturally", answered the jonin with a smile. "It was a team mission after all."
"The hell it was!", complained Naruto.
Sasuke and Sakura simply glared at their sensei.
"Now, now", said Kakashi. "I think we're all tired. Why don't you all head home for the day, we'll meet again tomorrow. Same place, same time."
Too tired to complain, the three genin simply accepted and started heading out of the office, Naruto grumbling about 'lazy senseis.
"Naruto", said the Hokage before they could leave. "I would like you to stay behind for a minute. You too Kakashi."
"Sure", said Naruto, turning to face Hiruzen.
"See you tonight then, dobe", said Sasuke, waving goodbye as he exited through the door, Sakura close behind him.
"Yeah, see you guys later", replied Naruto.
Once the three of them were the only ones left, Naruto spoke. "So, what's up old man?"
Kakashi had to admit he was also curious.
"Well, Naruto, Iruka let me know he told you the truth about the day you were born", said the Third, looking both tired and apologetic.
Kakashi's visible eye widened.
"Yeah", said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head. He still wasn't sure what to think of what his teacher had told him. "He did."
"How are you feeling?", asked the Third.
"Honestly", replied Naruto. "I'm not sure. I mean, it's a lot."
"I understand. Take your time", assured the Hokage, giving the blond a warm smile. "But remember, it's better to talk about it when you're ready than to bottle it up. Maybe share it with some of your friends."
"Yeah", said Naruto, still looking conflicted. "I will, thanks."
Silence reigned over the room for a minute, as the evening sun flooded the room through the windows, all their faces acquiring a red tint.
"Hey old man", Naruto broke it. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course Naruto-kun", replied Hiruzen.
Naruto steeled his nerves. "Why me?", he asked, his eyes watering.
Hiruzen sighed. Kakashi's face fell.
Silence again came over the room, the three present thinking about Naruto's question
"There was no other way", replied the Hokage finally. "The Fourth had to protect the village, so he had to seal the fox. I'm sorry you had to get the losing end of the solution."
"Why didn't you tell me before then?!", asked Naruto, a few tears falling from his eyes.
"I'm sorry Naruto", replied the Third, regret in his voice. "The Fourth wanted the village to see you as a hero, so I tried to make that happen by forbidding anyone to speak about the sealing. I thought it best you didn't know until you were ready", he explained. "It seems I may have been wrong", admitted Hiruzen.
Naruto was yet again confused, he didn't know what to feel. A million emotions were battling in his head. "I-I…", he began.
He was interrupted when the door flew open, a blue and yellow blur entering the office.
"Prepare to hand the title over gramps!", exclaimed the little kid that had just entered. His most obvious feature was a blue scarf he wore, which was obviously too many sizes too large for him. He ran towards the Hokage, shuriken in hand, prepared to strike… and tripped… on the scarf.
Kakashi and the Hokage sweatdropped.
"Who did that?!", demanded the child as he stood up. "Who tripped me?", he asked, looking around, his eyes landing on Naruto. "It was you wasn't it? You were trying to foil my plan, weren't you?!"
Kakashi and the Hokage sweatdropped again.
"The hell I was!", exclaimed Naruto as he walked up to the boy and grabbed him by the scarf. He was definitely not in the mood to deal with the kid.
Just then, a slim man dressed fully in black, complete with sunglasses, burst through the open door, and saw Naruto holding the kid.
"Naruto!", he said, anger evident in his voice. "Let the honourable grandson down this instant!", he ordered.
Kakashi glared at the man, whom he recognized as Ebisu, an 'elite' teacher, as he didn't appreciate the tone he was taking with his student. "Well then Hokage-sama, I'll be leaving now", he said, heading for the door. "I leave my student in your care", he said as he walked past Ebisu, making the underlying meaning in his words as obvious as possible. "See you tomorrow Naruto."
Naruto just nodded. "Sure."
Ebisu gulped, he had understood. "Naruto, put the Hokage's grandson down for the love of god."
"This is the old man's grandson?", asked Naruto.
'He won't dare hit me now, just like everyone else', thought the kid. "Go ahead", he taunted. "Hit me if you dare."
"Like I care!", said Naruto, and drove his fist down on the kid's head, before walking out, feeling quite angry.
After walking for fifteen minutes with no particular destination in mind, he decided that he had had enough of the kid who had been following since he left the Hokage building.
"All right", he said as he approached a wooden fence and pulled a cloth with a wood pattern held up the wrong way up, giving the disguise away, to reveal said kid hiding behind it. "What do you want?"
"I knew you were good. Only a great ninja would be able to see through my perfect disguise", he said, making Naruto narrow his eyes. "I want you to teach me!"
"Huh?", was all Naruto said.
"It was you wasn't it?", asked the kid. "The one who used some weird technique to defeat my grandpa."
Naruto couldn't help but laugh a little, remembering how he had knocked out the Hokage with his original jutsu.
"So what if I am?", asked Naruto, still not in the mood.
"I want you to teach it to me so that I can defeat gramps and become Hokage."
Even in his bad mood, Naruto couldn't help but laugh again. "Sure, why not", he said after wiping some tears from his eyes. "Follow me."
Naruto then led him to a park, and found a nice, clear area where they could train.
"All right. First things first", he said once they got there. "What's your name?"
"I'm Konohamaru boss", declared Konohamaru.
"Boss?", asked a confused Naruto.
"Yeah, I'm your apprentice now", explained Konohamaru.
"Oh well", decided Naruto. "Why not?"
"All right, teach me your technique boss, please", requested Konohamaru again.
"Yeah, yeah", he said, and began explaining the technique to Konohamaru, even performing it himself to give him an example of how it was done.
An hour and a half went by, and Konohamaru still couldn't get the technique down. He would succeed sometimes, but he mostly failed miserably.
"For the hundredth time…", began Naruto.
He couldn't finish however, as he was interrupted by the arrival of Ebisu.
"Get away from Naruto, Konohamaru. Ignore whatever he's trying to tell you!", exclaimed the tutor. "Come with me, we don't want you to stray from your shortcut to being Hokage."
At that, Naruto let out the biggest laugh he'd had in a good while.
"Oi", he said to Konohamaru, still laughing. "Is he an idiot?"
"Huh?", asked Konohamaru.
"How dare you?!", complained Ebisu. "I am an elite tutor, studying under me is the fastest shortcut to becoming Hokage!"
"All right", said Naruto, determination in his eyes as he got closer to the special jonin. "Listen to me, there is no shortcut to being Hokage, it is a long road, one that takes effort and determination!", declared Naruto.
"Don't worry boss", said Konohamaru before Ebisu had a chance to speak. "I'll deal with him." He put his hands up in a hand seal. "Sexy Jutsu!", he announced as a cloud of smoke covered him, only to disperse and reveal a naked, drop-dead gorgeous brunette, with just enough smoke lingering to protect 'her' privacy.
"Nice", admitted Naruto.
"What kind of perverted techniques are you teaching the honourable grandson, Naruto?!", questioned an exasperated Ebisu.
"How is he immune to the jutsu boss?!", asked a very shocked Konohamaru.
"Don't worry", said Naruto with a smirk. "I'll take care of him." He made a hand seal. "Harem Jutsu", he declared, as a cloud of smoke covered him, along with the whole clearing. When it dispersed, it revealed dozens of beautiful blondes, all cuddling together, approaching Ebisu.
"Wha-", was as far as Ebisu got before he fainted out of excitement.
"That was amazing boss!", cheered Konohamaru. "It seems like I still have a long way to catch up to you. You are my new shortcut to being Hokage."
For the second time that day, Naruto hit Konohamaru over the head.
"Hey!", complained the kid. "What was that for?!"
"I'll say it again, there is no shortcut to being Hokage, you have to become strong on your own two feet, through hard work", explained Naruto. "Why do you want to be Hokage anyway?"
"Well", said Konohamaru as he nodded at his boss's words. "You see, my grandpa named me Konohamaru after the village, but no one ever calls me that. It's always honourable grandson this, honourable grandson that, no one sees me for me. So I'll become Hokage, and then everyone will have no choice but to see me."
Naruto smiled, he liked the kid. "Well", he began. "It's not like you could be Hokage anyway."
"What the hell?!", yelled Konohamaru. "Who are you to decide?! I thought you were cool. I don't want you to be my boss anymore."
Naruto just laughed. "Well", he said his eyes full of determination. "I'll be the one to become Hokage, so you'd have to beat me in order to do it."
Konohamaru's eyes widened. "I still don't want to be your apprentice then", he said. "From now on I'm your rival!", he declared. "I'll fight you for the title!"
"Get ready to lose then", said Naruto with a smile. "I look forward to it."
"Just you wait, I'll surpass you and every other Hokage before me!", said Konohamaru. He then left, intent on getting even more training.
"I better go home myself", said Naruto as he watched his new rival leave. 'I still have to take a shower and get changed before tonight', he thought.
So he headed home. Once he got there, he headed straight for his room, and threw his sandals on the floor. He went to the bathroom and started the shower. He undressed and got in once he saw the steam form from the hot water.
He hadn't noticed how tired he was and how much his body ached until he got in. Once he did, and the hot water hit his head and back. Everything faded away. His muscles relaxed, letting out tension he didn't know he was holding. The pain in his limbs slowly melted away. Even his bad mood left his body to make way for bliss. He stood under the stream of water for who knows how long, just letting the water wash everything away. After who knows how long, he got out, his body already feeling much better.
He headed into his room and looked at his clock.
"Seven thirty", he said. "Perfect."
He approached his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of black pants, a red, long-sleeved shirt, a blue jacket similar to his orange one, with white details, and black sandals.
He got dressed and headed out, not wanting to pick up on Kakashi's tardiness.
As he headed out, he felt the cool night breeze against his face.
Ten minutes later, he arrived.
"Yo!", he greeted, his hand up. He was still some feet away from the entrance to Yakiniku Q, but so was the new arrival.
"Oh?", responded Shikamaru, looking up. "Hello Naruto", he greeted, before noticing something. "Hey, what's up with the scars?"
"Oh, just some demon cat earlier today", said Naruto, his eyes full of fury and hatred. "Anyway, let's go in, no?", he said as he walked through the door.
Shikamaru just shrugged his shoulders as he followed after the blond.
Once inside, they had no trouble finding their table, it was easily the loudest. They could even distinguish some of the voices; more specifically Ino's. "Hey, what the hell mutt?!"
"I guess that's us", said Naruto with a smirk as they both headed in that direction.
"Oh look!", said Kiba, trying to get Sakura's attention before she pummeled him. "Naruto and Shikamaru are here."
"Yo, Kiba", greeted Naruto, as he and Shikamaru moved to sit, Naruto next to Hinata, Shikamaru next to Naruto and Choji.
"Don't worry guys", said Choji, munching on some chips. "We've already ordered."
"Ah, thanks", said Shikamaru.
"Right", chuckled Naruto. "Good to know."
"Hey!", interrupted Ino, who was sitting next to Choji and Sasuke. "Now that you're all here", she said, turning to look at Naruto, then at Sakura. "Will you tell us what's up with the scars? Even Naruto's all banged up."
Team 7 shivered.
"Some demon cat we had to catch turned out to be an actual, real demon!", answered Sakura, clearly still angry.
"Come on", said Kiba. "It couldn't have been that bad."
"Demon. Cat", said Sasuke, his desire to kill evident.
"I mean-", began Choji.
"Yup", interrupted Naruto. "Demon cat."
Ino, Hinata, Kiba, and Choji gulped.
Shikamaru and Shino sweatdropped.
"W-Well", began Hinata, blushing slightly. "H-How was y-your first d-day?"
"Well", said Sasuke. "Kakashi-sensei had us climb trees."
"Then started us on elemental jutsu", said Sakura, a bit of pride in her voice.
"And then had us spar with weights until we dropped", added Naruto. It was obvious to those listening that they had actually dropped.
Most of the group were slightly taken aback. They all knew Naruto and Sasuke did not drop easily.
"How about you guys?", asked Naruto, facing Hinata.
"K-Kurenai-sensei a-also had us c-climb trees", began Hinata.
Shino nodded.
"Then we spent the rest of our learning to detect and dispel genjutsu", added Kiba. "Genjutsu are scary."
Shino nodded yet again.
"And you guys?", Sakura asked Ino.
"Well", she answered. "Asuma-sensei also had us climb trees."
"Then he had us spar with each other", added Shikamaru. "Which was troublesome."
The rest of them sweatdropped.
"And spent the rest of the day drilling team strategies and planning into us", said Choji.
His team nodded.
Right then, a waiter approached them, various plates in hand.
He handed placed them on the table and left, leaving them to cook their food whichever way they wanted on the charcoal braziers in the middle of the table.
"Awesome!", said Choji, quickly grabbing a few pieces of meat and leaving them to cook.
They all followed soon after, their respective missions had left them all starving.
"By the way", said Naruto, his mouth half-full. "What was your mission?", he asked Shikamaru.
"We had to babysit some child", he said. "It was troublesome."
"Why am I not surprised?", deadpanned Kiba.
"What about you?", Choji asked Shino.
"We helped a lady weed her garden", he answered.
"So", decided Naruto. "We all got stupid missions", he said. "Great."
"Yeah", nodded Ino. "But I think we can all agree none of them quite live up to having to catch a 'demon cat'.
Yet again, they all nodded.
A/N
Well, this was a bitch to write. But I hope you enjoyed.
First of all, a reviewer pointed out to me how Hanabi is actually much younger than Naruto, which she is, much more so than I realised at first. With that in mind, it is very unlikely that she will be paired with him. Regardless, I still encourage you all to share your opinions on the matter, especially concerning the other girls.
Also, while I personally much prefer the metric system over imperial or customary, I feel like 'feet' read better than 'meters' while reading/writing in English, especially when it comes to fantasy, or non-modern periods. For those of us who don't really get imperial units, a quick (not exact) guideline; three feet are roughly equal to one meter.
Third, and probably most important, I have taken inspiration and ideas from other stories and authors, which I will do my best to reference the first time they come up so as to avoid confusion. Therefore, if you see (or rather; read) anything that you believe is inspired/copied from someone else or yourself, please do mention it, I'll do my best to clear things up. I have asked some authors for permission, and will ask the rest when I feel it's timely and appropriate, however, if someone does not answer, I will try to avoid using concepts that are too similar to theirs.
Thanks to everyone who followed, reviewed, and/or added to their favourites.