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Chapter 4

"Follow your nose, Naruto-kun."

"I'm trying." He bumped into a wall and pressed a hand against it. "My nose ain't as strong as yours." Nevertheless, he could clearly pick up on the smell of meat. He swiveled his head to determine which direction the scent became stronger, and he walked in that direction but then bonked his head on a wall again.

"Are you focusing chakra to your nose?"

"I dunno. I think so." He rubbed his head belatedly and followed the wall, hearing Tsume walking beside him. "It's kinda hard to tell." The wall ended, and Naruto was in an open space. "Where's the wall?" Someone took his hand and pressed it against the nearest wall. The blonde smiled. "Thanks, Kaa-san." He sniffed again. The pork scent was stronger, and he carefully picked his way down the long straightaway.

He and Tsume were in the maze used for scent training for clan members and ninken alike. Tsume had walked through it earlier carrying a chunk of cooked meat and then led Naruto to where she had wanted him to start. There were several openings into the maze so someone couldn't memorize a single path, and the walls were seven feet high and five feet apart. The sky was visible overhead, but the walls cast the entire walkway in their shadow. It gave the maze an unsettling feeling, something that Naruto couldn't be affected by.

Naruto sniffed again, and when he reached the end of the straightaway, he turned right, hand never straying from the wall. The scent faded, and he came to halt, concentrating more chakra to his nose. It was an odd feeling, he thought. It was something like a sneeze but without the urge, and then the feeling would pass and the plethora of smells would flood in. Every time Naruto stopped and focused on his nose, he would have to take time and separate them. Tsume said that the trick of doing it instantly would come with time, and Naruto was determined to shorten that time as much as possible.

He turned back around and went the other way. He followed the scent around another corner, but then it faded again, and he cocked his head in question before he backtracked to the last intersection and turned right. Naruto's hand never, ever parted from the wall even with Tsume's gentle but firm rebukes. Every time she tried to pry him away from the wall, he would press himself against it. He was scared, Tsume knew. She could smell it and see it in his bunched features, and it killed her, but he needed to learn how to walk in open space. Either he learned or he failed the admittance exam.

But for now, he could cling to the wall. Bit by bit, she would cure his fear, and he would face that open space of complete, utter darkness. He came to a stop at another intersection, and Tsume sniffed herself and nodded. The braze of meat was near, mostly likely down the left turn of the intersection. Naruto was still for a minute before he first headed to the right, rethought his move, and then turned back to the left. She smiled, and they followed it until the end.

Shiro was curled up and fast asleep near the empty plate which used to hold the meat, a content smile on his features. Tsume made a scoffing sound, and the pup jerked his head and barked in greeting. Naruto broke into a wide grin and bent down to beckon him with a hand. "You ate the meat, didn't you, Shiro?" Shiro made a sheepish face, if that possible, and licked Naruto's hand. The blonde laughed. "I figured. I could smell you when I was lookin' for it."

"You caught that?" Tsume asked in surprise. She had noticed almost immediately after they had started, but she didn't expect a beginner to pick a smell of a live animal, let alone identify it.

"When we were walking down that last part," replied Naruto, picking up his ninken and placing him on his head. He was slightly off, and Shiro scrabbled for purchase for a second before settling. "I guessed it was him. Clever little guy." He smiled at her, and Shiro grunted his thanks for the compliment. Tsume shook her head, a smile on her face.

"Well, I'm damn impressed anyway. C'mon, it's time for braille lessons."

Naruto, with an encouraging squeeze of the hand from Tsume, knocked on a door on the first floor of the apartments. There was shuffling and the thump of a cane, and an old man leaning on a cane opened the door. His milky eyes reflected the two of them, and he frowned before bowing his head. "Hello, Tsume-sama. And Naruto." He reached out and took hold of the blonde's shoulder. Naruto laughed as the old man ruffled his hair. "Yes, I take it he's here for more lessons?"

"Yep."

"Hm. Alright then." His hand slid from the shoulder down the arm to Naruto's hand and held it. "Come, little one. I hope you still remember the alphabet."

"Yeah, Teru-ji! How could I forget that?" The door closed behind them as Naruto was led to a small desk and chair in Teru's spacious living room. Shiro hopped from his head onto the ground and curled up in a corner. Naruto gripped the chair tightly before lowering himself into it and patted the desk in search for his slate, stylus, and paper. Teru set them before him, and Naruto found the stylus, a short, sharp metal needle with a wooden handle, and let his hand form the correct grip. He slid the paper between the two hinged slats of the slate, an implement that held rectangular cells, each with six hidden indentions under the paper.

"Are you ready?" asked Teru, hearing the rustle of paper into the slate.

"Yeah." The old man nodded and guided Naruto's hand to the first cell.

"First off, let's start with the letters..." Ten minutes later, Teru's hand was running over the bumps that were Naruto's writing, and he nodded approvingly. "Good, good. You know the alphabet very well for the two lessons you've had." Teru licked his lips as he thought. "It might be time for you to start on whole words," he mused aloud.

Naruto brightened. "Really?"

"Basic words, of course. Now, start on the word 'cat'..." Naruto filled out an entire two pages in an half-hour, absorbing the braille easily. Teru hummed with pride and patted the blonde on the head. "Very good. Didn't take you long to make entire sentences, did it? I think it's got something to do with knowing another written language, but that's just my opinion." He chuckled. "I think we're done for the day."

"Can you play that thingy for me?" asked Naruto eagerly.

"Hm?"

"The thingy that makes all that sound. You called it a...pienio? Pyno? Piany?"

"It's a piano," corrected Teru gently, "And, yes, I'll play it for you, little one." Naruto clapped his hands excitedly, and the old man hobbled over to a simple vertical piano and sat in the stool in front of it. He lifted the cover from the keys and placed his long, spidery hands on them. He visibly relaxed, and Naruto heard him sigh in comfort. Then, Teru began to play.

He was following not any music sheet, which were useless to him, but instead bent to whatever whim came over him. His hands moved with slow but undeniable skill, and sweet sounds came from the small piano. Naruto, still in his chair, swayed in tune with the notes, and then Teru, with a small smile, started to quicken the pace. The blind boy grinned and stood uncertainly and tapped his foot, hesitant to do anything else. Eventually, however, the music grew to a irresistible quick tempo, and Naruto laughed and spun wildly, discarding his hesitance. The music enlivened Shiro as well, and he barked and bounded from his spot in the corner.

As Naruto spun, his outstretched hand hit a dog-shaped ceramic piece on a table, and before Naruto could react, it fell to the floor but made no sound. The blonde blinked, not hearing the expected shatter, and he carefully searched the floor with a hand. He didn't even notice that the music had stopped. "It's alright, Naruto," said Teru, having caught the piece, "I've got it." He placed back on the table. "I heard you knock it over and rushed to catch it."

Naruto blushed. "Sorry, Teru-ji," he mumbled guiltily, staring down at his feet.

"It's fine, Naruto. I have plenty of things. I don't mind if one breaks." Teru smiled. "Now I think it's time for you to go." Tsume, having leaned against the wall and listened to Teru's music since he had started, cleared her throat, startling the blonde.

"C'mon, Naruto-kun," she said firmly, "We've got one more thing to practice." He nodded and made his way toward the door, hand touching the wall as he went. Tsume bowed her head in thanks to Teru but then flushed as she realized he couldn't see it. "Thank you, Teru-san," she thanked belatedly, "I hope he's not any trouble."

"Oh, no. Not at all. I think of him like a grandchild." Teru sat back down at the piano stool. "Besides, he appreciates my music. Few do." He then returned to playing his piano.

The evening sun shone orange while Kiba,now back from the Academy, held a small gong in his hands. Naruto was at the center of a large, circular field and clutched tightly to a short pole, Kiba standing about ten feet away. Tsume and Shiro sat at the edge of the field on a bench, the clan leader watching closely. "You ready, Naruto?" asked Kiba, rubber mallet at the ready. The blonde nodded, and Kiba tapped the instrument lightly.

"Heard it."

"What about now?" Kiba barely tapped it.

"Yep."

Kiba back up ten feet and tapped it like he had the first time. "Now?"

"Still heard it."

Kiba tapped it softly.

"Heard it." Kiba backed up ten more feet and repeated the process.

When he was finally a hundred feet away and barely tapping it was the point where Naruto couldn't hear the gong anymore. Kiba moved back up, both he and Tsume impressed. Tsume got up from her spot and walked over. 'He sure is making quick progress,' she thought, 'For someone who's never had any kind of sensory training, Naruto-kun has the talent to become a formidable tracker.' She then frowned. 'I wonder if it has anything to do with the Kyuubi inside him.'

She filed that thought away for later investigation, and Naruto turned toward her as she came near. "Kaa-san!" he shouted, "How'd I do?"

"You did damn good, Naruto-kun," she said with a grin, "But now it gets harder." She made ten clones, each holding gongs, and assembled them at the seventy-five feet mark. Kiba hurriedly moved out of the way and toward Naruto, and she nodded before signaling to her clones. One tapped its gong, and Naruto turned toward it. Another one did the same, and he turned toward it as well.

"Faster, Naruto," urged Kiba. The gaps between gongs were becoming smaller and smaller, and soon Naruto was pivoting in place. He spun one-hundred eighty degrees at one point and nearly lost his balance. Kiba reached out to catch him, but Naruto held onto the pole to stop his fall. The gaps were almost gone by now, and Naruto ceased to move his body and instead whipped his head from side and used his free arm to point behind him.

Tsume signaled, and the clones stopped and dispelled. Naruto was breathing hard, and Shiro trotted over to him, whining in worry. The blonde grinned. "I'm fine, Shiro. Geez, you're not my Kaa-san."

"But I am," said Tsume, "Are you fine?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just...out of breath."

"Just from that?" teased Kiba, "I could do that all day!"

"You wanna prove that point, pup?" asked Tsume. He froze in terror before shaking his head vigorously. "Thought so." Naruto laughed at his mother's words, and though he couldn't see Kiba's reaction, he could picture it. "Now let's go. Dinner's ready. I'm starving."

"Heck, yeah," agreed Naruto, "I smell barbeque!"

Hinata pored over the various clan scrolls in the Hyuuga archives, a dark, cool room with shelves that seemed to go on forever. She had a small flashlight grasped in her hand while the other hand held down a part of an unfurled scroll. Her eyes skimmed the scrawled words, some of them so archaic she barely knew what they meant. But her determination never wavered. This was for Naruto, the boy who had taken the beating for her. The boy who never let anything touch his optimism. Nothing except for his own blindness.

Her grip on the flashlight tightened, but then she relaxed. He was in good hands with the Inuzuka. They accepted him as one of their own, and once that bond had been formed, there was no breaking it. They never betrayed their own. She knew it for a fact.

So now she had her part to do. She reasoned, with the Hyuuga being one of the leading users of dojutsu, that the archives would hold some sort of secret that would help Naruto. She couldn't think of what it could possibly be, though. She was going on hope and a prayer. Right now, she was searching the section dealing with the vision of the Byakugan. It was all facts she knew. Three-hundred sixty degree vision. Ability to see chakra pathways. Ability to 'throw' your vision for miles. The fact that non-Hyuuga could adopt a jutsu like it...

Hinata froze and flipped back to the last page. She dropped the flashlight as she read, and she scrambled to pick it up and trembled in excitement as she finished reading. This could work. It was a longshot, and it required Naruto having attributes that Hinata wasn't sure he possessed. But it could work, and that all the reason she needed.

She rolled the scroll up, shoved it under her shirt, and sneaked from the archives.

Hana and Tsume stood outside the Inuzuka compound wall, looking at the spray-painted graffiti that covered a small but noticeable portion. It was childishly derogatory, like a twelve-year swearing in curses they failed to understand, but who it was aimed at was what raised the pack leader's and her daughter's choler.

Kill that bastard Fox!

The little bitch deserves to suck it and choke!

The Inuzuka and the Fox brat are breeding together!

Hana could still smell the perpetrators, and she wanted nothing else than to hunt them down and unleash her ninken on them, but Tsume warned her off of it. It didn't stop her from growling lowly in her throat as she read more of the hateful language, however. Tsume's face was impassive, a sign of her growing anger.

"What are we going to do, Kaa-san?" asked Hana through clenched teeth.

"Nothing," replied her mother dryly.

"What! Why?"

"Because if we do something, this will escalate."

"Not if we find the ones who did this!"

"Then others will come. And then more after them. And more after that."

"They'll be scared, though! They wouldn't dare!"

"Exactly. They're scared. They've been scared of us, and now since we've taken in Naruto-kun, they believe they can move against us."

"Why?"

"Because, my pup, cowards are courageous once they have numbers and hated focused on one place." Tsume snorted. "I was warned about this on the day of when I argued for Naruto. Why didn't I listen to him, dammit?" Her voice was almost rueful, and Hana turned on her, aghast.

"Are you regretting taking Naruto-kun?" she demanded.

"No. I'm regretting not listening to that damn man, even though he wasn't talking to me." She stared up at the graffiti. "This is definitely more than I could imagine. And this is just the beginning."