Naruto internally debated over whether or not to put the eraser in the doorjamb again. On the one hand, he was somewhat irritated over being made to wait for Kakashi, especially since he had forgotten to pack a lunch in his excitement at actually finding himself in the past, and was now going hungry, but, on the other hand, it wasn't up to his current pranking standards which were far higher than they had been when he was this age. The eraser would be a nice cheap shot that would relieve some of his irritation at yet again being made to wait but, he would be getting his revenge for that ass poke that would have been considered molestation if it hadn't been a jutsu tomorrow anyways. So, maybe instead of pulling something so juvenile, he should just add to the pranks he had planned, and get back at his perpetually tardy teacher for this then. In fact that, sounded like a better plan.

Coming to a decision, he left the eraser at the chalkboard and started pacing around the room, ignoring the strange looks he got from his teammates the first few times he went up one wall, across the ceiling, and back down the other wall. After waiting for what seemed like half an eternity, Kakashi finally arrived. In actuality, it had only been about three hours but, it hadn't felt like that as he'd taken to pacing around the room in different directions, and had invented a game that had involved not touching the floor.

The first thing his sensei did when he arrived was run over to him and start hugging the stuffing out of him. The hug was nice, heartwarming, exceedingly uncomfortable and frankly - once the reality of who was hugging him like that set in - fucking creepy. Then, after letting him go and giving Sasuke a glare that, if looks could kill, would have left a smoking pile of ashes where the boy was sitting, he told them to meet him on the roof and disappeared. Knowing it wouldn't be wise to show off too many skills he shouldn't have learned yet, he followed Sakura up the stairs instead of Shunshining after him.

Finally, after half of an afternoon of waiting, the team was seated as they had been four years earlier according to his personal timeline, and they were ordered to introduce themselves. Kakashi was just as vague as he had been the first time around, though he had looked at him and smiled when he was mentioning his likes, and glared at Sasuke when mentioning his dislikes, which was new. The only point of departure that he could think of that could have conceivably caused these new events to happen since he hadn't run into the man during his tour of the village earlier that day was the eraser he'd placed in the doorjamb the last time around. If he had known that sticking that eraser in the door would have made such a horrible first impression, he wouldn't have done it the first time, as it apparently seemed to be the reason why Sasuke had become his sensei's favorite student instead of him.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen. I especially like it when Iruka-sensei takes me to Ichiraku for ramen. I dislike traitorous, revenge obsessed bastards who decide to destroy an entire village because of the actions of a couple of its citizens, and the three minute wait for my instant ramen to be ready. My dream is to become the Hokage so I could be powerful enough to protect those who are precious to me!" he said, bouncing in his seat when Kakashi had indicated it was his turn to introduce himself.

"That was...unexpected." Kakashi said when he was finished, before turning and indicating it was Sakura's turn to introduce herself.

As far as he could remember, Sasuke and Sakura's introductions were the same as they had been the last time around, with Sakura squealing over Sasuke and yelling about hating him, and Sasuke doing that whole cool aloof Lone Avenger act. After the introductions, which Kakashi had frowned over, the man once again informed the team of the unexpected pop "survival test", handed handed them the forms that told them where to go the next morning, and warned them against eating breakfast as he had the last time as well before dismissing Sasuke and Sakura.

"Naruto, can you stay here for a minute, I have something for you." Kakashi said as he had turned to follow his new teammates.

"Okay." he replied, sitting back down and looking over the paper he'd been given as Kakashi disappeared. Considering how long the man liked to keep people waiting, he would give the man until he was finished reading the form he'd been given and then he'd leave, as there was no way in hell that he'd be willing wait the rest of the day for the man to return from whatever errand he'd been running. As he read the form that he'd been handed, he was glad that Jiraiya had sat him down and taught him to read properly when he had finally noticed that he was practically illiterate thanks to the caregivers and Academy instructors who had never really took the time to teach him how to read, and left him to his own devices in that area, since he could actually read the paper this time instead of making educated guesses at its contents.

"This is for you Naruto." Kakashi said the instant he returned when he was two-thirds of the way through the form he'd been given, giving him another hug and a huge bag full of what looked to be just about every kind of candy there ever was, including lots of the red ones like the one Chouji had given him when they first started at the Academy, giving him that bit of false hope before he learned that everything was going to be the same as it always was.

As he looked at the bag full of candy that he'd just received, he felt like he was going to cry. If he hadn't dropped that eraser on Kakashi the last time, the man would have liked him right away and given him candy. Considering that, maybe he shouldn't set all of those traps and pranks he was planning on getting Kakashi with tomorrow.


"So, let me get this straight." Tenzo's ANBU squad leader said. "You traveled back in time so you could prevent the fox brat from releasing the Kyuubi and, in order to do so, you need to find Tsunade the Slug Sannin and get the First Hokage's necklace from her because it has the power to control the fox?"

"Yes." he Tenzo replied with what had sounded like complete honesty.

Shaking his head at the tragedy that was unfolding before him, he scrawled "Leave approved for mental health reasons" across his subordinate's leave request form. Up until now, Tenzo had been completely reliable, and had previously shown absolutely no signs of having been anywhere close to snapping.

"Don't come back until you get your head straightened out, you hear me?" he said as he handed the poor man the paperwork he'd be needing. "You're a good man, and I'd hate to lose you."

As soon as Tenzo left, he began grumbling about how it was always the best ones that went completely whacko as he began on the paperwork he would have to give to the Hokage to make Tenzo's medical leave official. An hour later, he left his office and made his way toward the Hokage Tower, passing the drawing that a six year-old Uzumaki Naruto had done on the infamous day that he had somehow managed to sneak into ANBU headquarters and make his way as far as Torture and Interrogation where he had been caught drawing on a sleeping Morino Ibiki's head, on his way out.

He'd thought giving the kid the set of bright orange jumpsuits the next day had been a stroke of genius at the time. It had been supposed to make the boy easier to spot and therefore capture, and it had...For a while.


Kakashi discreetly followed Naruto home, noting which candies the boy ate first and which ones he gave away to the local children who had started trailing after him when they'd realized that the boy had candy and was willing to share. Seeing as they appeared to be Naruto's favorite, he'd have to get more of the cherry flavored suckers later, but first, he would have to buy Naruto some groceries so he would have something nutritious to eat as well since, if he remembered correctly, the only food the boy currently had that wasn't rotten was instant ramen. If Minato-sensei were alive right now, he'd be yelling at him for not doing something about the boy's poor diet, which had obviously contributed to his below average height, and Kushina would beat the crap out of him the instant Minato-sensei was through.

Once Naruto was safely in his apartment, and looked to be settling in for the evening, he made his way to the shopping district and entered the twenty-four hour market that catered to the needs of the local shinobi. Making his way through the store, he selected a wide variety of healthy foods that could be quickly and easily prepared by a twelve year old child. After he left the store, he waited until Naruto was asleep and let himself into the boy's apartment, hoping that the memories of his last visit wouldn't overwhelm him and distract him from the task at hand.

Once he was inside, he made his way to the miniscule kitchen area and started putting the groceries he'd purchased for the boy away, making room in the cupboards and refrigerator by chucking out any spoiled food he found. As he was doing this, a rather sleepy looking Naruto who'd apparently been woken up by the noise he was making caught him in the act.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"I noticed that you were practically out of food, so I bought you some groceries." he replied as he put a box of breakfast cereal into one of the cupboards.

The boy's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he walked over and began inspecting the produce that was still on the counter. Finding nothing visibly wrong with it, he began carefully inspecting the canned goods in the next bag over. He then started inspecting the items that had already been placed in the fridge and cupboards. Apparently satisfied that the packages didn't appear to be compromised in any way, and that the safety seals had indicated that they hadn't been opened and resealed by ninjutsu, the boy moved towards an isolated corner of the kitchen.

"How much did all of this cost you?" Naruto asked.

When he had told the boy the cost, he'd looked surprised.

"Alright, what's wrong with it?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing, why?" he replied.

"I can't get even half as much for that price." Naruto said, sounding highly irritated.

He was barely able to control his anger, and his guilt at ignoring Naruto's situation even after he saw some of it first hand. He'd seen the fridge stocked with little more than mold and spoiled milk and the near-empty dresser the last time around. He'd seen how most of Naruto's furniture appeared to have been rescued from the curbside or the dumpster. He'd just chosen to ignore it. He wasn't going to ignore it this time though. He wasn't going to fail the boy again. He was going to do everything he could for Minato's son.

"It looks like I'll be having some words with some shop keepers then." he snarled, before he turned away and started angrily slamming canned fruit onto the nearest shelf.


Even though he could have continued going, Jiraiya got a room for the night. At the pace he was going, he'd be back in Fire country in a day or so, and in Konoha in another three. While he was traveling faster than most civilians could, he was not going all out despite the fact that he wanted to. If he went all-out, anyone who was keeping tabs on him would wonder why he was doing so, and those he most definitely did not want to alert to the fact that he was aware of their plans could become suspicious.

He still had time. There were still several more months before Orochimaru would bring himself out into the open, and therefore into a position of vulnerability. Hurrying up and waiting was not his style, and that was pretty much what he'd be doing if he ran to Konoha like he wanted to anyways. If he continued at the pace he was going, he would also have the peace and quiet of the open road in which he could plan before he found himself taking care of a loud, rambunctious twelve year-old when he arrived in Konoha three to five days from now.

He would be changing things so he could save Konoha, and more importantly, save his godson soon enough. For now though, this town possessed a rather nice hot spring, and many of the girls he had seen on his way to the inn were rather attractive. A relaxing evening of research to take his mind off of things would not go amiss. Besides, people would find it quite out of character for him to stop at a town with hot springs and not visit.

With that in mind, he left the room he'd rented and made his way to the hot springs. At this particular onsen, the men's and women's baths were separated by a wooden barrier. Instead of being discouraged, as most perverts would have been by the seemingly solid and impenetrable barrier that separated them from the heavenly view on the other side, he did as he had done several times before, and put some chakra into one of his fingers with which he then used to create a barely noticeable hole. He then carefully moved away from the hole that he had created and waited a moment to make sure that none of the women on the other side noticed the hole being made.

No general alarm went up in those moments he'd spent waiting to see if it was safe. In fact, all he could hear from the other side were some excited whispers and a bunch of feminine giggles. Deciding it was safe, he made his way back to the peep hole, and then looked through it. Unfortunately, something appeared to be blocking it on the other side.

Suddenly, there was a yell of "Crap, all I can see is an eye!" from the women's side of the baths.

Edited 10-9-12