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Chapter Three
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Drip
Drip
Drip
Every single drip from the tap made all his hair stand on end, jumping up from his seat he stalked over to the offending, infernal kitchen sink and grabbed the leaking faucets with his hands. They groaned pitifully as he jammed them closed, and metal shrieked as they were contorted into foreign shapes, bent in odd directions.
"Damn!"
At least water wasn't spraying everywhere.
The lights from the festival caused the sky to light up, making the usual, comforting, inky blackness turn to an orange glow, he wondered what happened at the festival…What did people do? They were supposed to be mourning…remembering those lost…not celebrating like they did. He could hear laughter, and the tinkling of the small bell-like toys the children waved on the sticks and could imagine the lanterns drifting off into the night sky, like man-made stars.
Naruto closed his eyes and breathed out as his resolve wavered.
Perhaps he could just… His eyes snapped open.
What was he thinking?
Nestling into the warmth of his arm chair, he rested his head and drifted away.
When had he fallen asleep? He never remembered falling asleep…and what had woken him up?
Budum Budum
He sat very still for a few seconds, his heart beating like a drum in his chest, mouth as dry as the paper in the book that had been thrown to the floor.
Budum Budum
Naruto got silently to his feet, padding towards the kitchen door, instinctively making each footstep as noiseless as the last. He restricted the urge to ask if someone was there, waiting in the shadows of his hall…
Budum Budum
There!
A noise, if only for a second and the whisper of cloth against skin as someone carelessly shifted their weight from one foot to another…An intruder? Yet he had locked his door earlier...so that meant that whoever was in his hallway was either a ninja, or a very talented lockpick. He glanced around the room for any possible weapons to defend himself…Kunai? Why had he given Kakashi all his damn kunai?
"I don't need them anymore…"
He handed over his kunai pouch.
The single grey eye looked up at him concerned.
"You don't have t-"
The kunai pouch was thrown at the silver haired man.
"Take it"
At the time it had seemed to be the right decision, even yesterday that idea was a good idea, but right now this second, that idea had not been thought through enough. How was a normal civilian boy supposed to look after himself?
He would have parents… Naruto thought bitterly as he leant into the shadows of the kitchen wall, blending in, as he formulated a plan to combat his late night intruder. All his knives were hidden in the dirty cluster that were his unclean dishes and empty ramen cups, he had no kunai, no shuriken, and he had given his ninjato back when he had left the service of the Black Ops.
That just left Taijutsu or Ninjutsu and he silently cursed. Those where some of the things he had sworn never to use ever again. Perhaps if he just left by a window? He looked up at the grimy windows and tried to remember the occasion when had he last opened them. The rust seemed to have melded them shut from the look of it, they were obviously not on his list of options right now. So maybe he could sneak past? The intruder was making his way carefully up the hall now and his chakra signature well hidden. The only thing that had Naruto alerted to his presence was the small rasping noise as the intruders feet came into contact with the wooden floor. He readied his hands into the correct seal and breathed in.
Damn! Why does this have to happen?
"Meisaigakure no Jutsu" he whispered, hoping that whoever was creeping up his corridor had not heard him. It was if new life had been poured into his veins, like a refreshing wave that washed away the staleness beneath his skin. But he couldn't allow himself to be overwhelmed by the fresh power coursing through his pathways. This was the only way he could think of that did not involve violence, he had promised that day he would never commit an intentional act of violence towards another human being as long as he lived Now completely unseen, Naruto waited without movement, until the intruder had begun to make his way up the stairs and into the upper rooms. The footsteps came closer still, and now Naruto could see the figure of a full grown man, kunai in hand, creeping down the corridor. Naruto waited for the intruder to step on the squeaky floorboards, but the familiar sound never came and it made his blood run cold. The intruder had scouted the house before, it was the only way he could have known about the floorboard..
"This is it…"Naruto thought to himself "Now or never"
He stepped carefully from his hiding place, not making a sound. The jutsu might make sure no-one saw you, but they could as sure as hell hear you if you put one foot out of place. The door was in front of him now, the silver blue moonlight looking even more inviting than usual, bathing part of his hall in an otherworldly glow. His breaths were shallow and controlled, each and every footfall silent as falling snow, his pulse should have been racing; like anyone else in that kind of situation, but his pulse was merely quickened, and his mouth a little dry. Warm flesh touched cool metal as his fist enclosed the door handle; he stole a quick look back. No sign of his intruder returning yet, but he had to leave quickly. He threw open the door and the hinges squeaked wildly, echoing around his silent house and Naruto swore. The door was flung shut behind him as his heart beat hard rhythms against his ribcage as he disappeared like a wraith into the darkness of night, ghosting towards the main street with his feet gliding over the street cobbles, like he wasn't a being of this world.
Normally the rooftops would have been a better option, as the streets were usually crowded or blocked off during the festivals, where the roofs were almost always empty, unless there were other shinobi going places as well, but a civilian moving on the roofs at night during a festival attracted a certain amount of unwanted attention. Naruto was certain that he had lost whoever had tried to attack him earlier, but he wouldn't slow down until he reached a main street, where there were more people to fade into… Even if it did mean going to the festival, he didn't have to enjoy himself.
"There's…too many…people…" Naruto thought to himself as he avoided being crushed by the masses of bodies that engulfed him from all sides.
He longed to go back to his house, where there was only him and the silent books, but he wouldn't be able to go back there tonight, just in case whoever it had been earlier had stayed there in wait for him to come back. Naruto needed to find Kakashi, and ask if he could crash at his for the night, but there was no telling where he'd be able to find the one-eyed Jounin teacher. Ichiraku's would have been nice and relaxing right now, but it would be full to the brim with loud, laughing people, and he had left his wallet back in his rooms. As he got towards the main square, the crowd began to thin out a little, which allowing Naruto breathing space and he accepted it gratefully. After 2 years of living a pretty solitary life; so many people in the same place became a bit unnerving. He scanned over the faces of the people surrounding him, searching for the face of the silver haired jounin.
Kakashi always came to the festival…so where was he?
Market stalls lined the street ahead of him, selling all manner of things, from toys and sweets, to clothes and trinkets, people crowded around each one, bartering with the stall owners for the best price. Perhaps Kakashi was along here? Naruto wandered along the street with his hands pressed deep into his pockets.
Why did people come here? He had never thought to ask anyone that before…Why did they come to a festival that celebrated death and destruction…? The street was bathed in a golden glow from the hundreds of fairy lights strung along the walls and the various stands selling their goods, small children, awake far past their usual bedtime, ran through the crowd, weaving in and out of the people, laughing and shouting. The bell toys jingling with their footsteps. Naruto took the opportunity and smiled a little. It was nice to see them so happy and oblivious to the rest of the world, but looking around, it wasn't just the children. Adults had a certain spark in their eyes, smiles on their faces, civilian and shinobi alike… It made no sense, but there was just a...feeling of happiness that surrounded the whole street, if not the whole of Konoha.
He absent mindedly side-stepped a cream blur, a ninken, if his eyes didn't lie, even if this one was a little on the runty side.
"Akamaru! Come back!" Naruto turned to where the voice had come from, but couldn't see whoever it was who had shouted. An Inuzuka? A boy around his own age burst from the crowd, wearing a grey jacket with a black fur lining, looking frantically left and right.
"Mom was joking! Honest!"
Had the ninken run away? He had known an Inuzuka once, she had been a friend of Tora's, not that they had ever really been introduced. Naruto stopped his nostalgia to stare at the feral looking boy, who seemed to be getting hysterical at the loss of his closest friend. Naruto guessed that he and his dog didn't really separate much, and was asking the people around him if they had seen the ninken pass.
Naruto sighed.
"Hey!" he shouted and the Inuzuka turned.
"Your ninken went that way!" Naruto shouted again, pointing towards the street where he had last seen the nin dog. The Inuzuka smiled, canine teeth flashing in the orange light.
"Thanks…?"
"Naruto" the blond replied. It was most likely he would never talk to the Inuzuka again, what was the harm in telling the boy his name? He began to run towards the street that Naruto had pointed out.
"My name's Kiba, Inuzuka Kiba, nice to meet ya Naruto!"
The Inuzuka, Kiba, disappeared after his dog and just like that the encounter was over.
"Well…that was interesting" and wondered what time it was. Byy the height of the moon it was sometime after 11, but he had left his watch behind when he had to escape the house. And wherein the world was Kakashi? The last market stall held no sign of the elusive man and Naruto couldn't help but sigh for what felt like the millionth time that night. Perhaps Ichiraku's wasn't such a bad idea. It was certainly no worse than sitting out here in the busy street, even if he had already been to Ichiraku's that morning. It was just up ahead, he could see the sign from where he was on the street, and it didn't seem too full, there were only a few customers at the counter. Perhaps it was too late for some people to eat, and the plethora of sweet treat stalls were no doubt drawing away the usuals.
His stomach rumbled, painfully reminding him that he had forgotten to eat that evening. There was one free seat, at the very edge on the left, he ran and vaulted on to it before anyone else got there before him.
"A miso please."
Ayame looked down and her face split into a wide, childish grin. "You came Naruto-kun!"
He looked up, face awkwardly trying to smile like it had forgotten how. "I guess I did after all."
"One extra large Birthday Ramen coming up!"
Naruto continued to smile awkwardly, before allowing his smile to drop as Ayame turned her attention to cooking. The mouth-watering, savoury smells drifting from the pans.
"Naruto-kun?" another voice asked and a single grey creased into an upside down U shape. "It's nice to see you out at the festival." It was then that the silver haired Jounin noticed the amount of killing intent the blond radiated. "What…what did I do…?"
"You've..been..here the…whole time…?" The blonde hadn't even turned his way, he was staring at the counter in front of him, face dead-pan and expressionless, but with hunched, tense choulders.
"Uhh" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. Which answer would get him killed? "I…just…got here?"
The blonde looked up and nodded, face still serious, but Kakashi felt like he had avoided a death sentence. He was surprised when he heard him say "I was just wondering…I need a place to crash tonight, can I stay at yours?" and Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"What happened?" he asked the young boy warily.
"Well…someone broke in so I escaped." Naruto shrugged "No big deal."
Kakashi lost his bored, half awake look, now he looked like he was ready to go and break some necks."Were they armed?" He growled.
"If a kunai counts." Naruto shrugged, leaning against the counter as Ayame delivered his bowl of ramen. Their conversation paused for a moment as the blond took a bite, despite Kakashi wanting to clarify the situation, and they were soon interrupted.
"Waaaatcha doin' Kakashi-sensei?" A voice questioned childishly. A boy with a wild mop of dark blonde hair and green eyes popped over Kakashi's shoulder. His name was Hikuro Kensuki, nephew of Hikuro Neruki, otherwise known as Tora.
"I'm doing nothing Kensuki-kun, absolutely nothing…"
His green eyes swivelled to Naruto.
"And who's this Kakashi-sensei?"
"A friend, Naruto meet Kensuki." He leaned backwards, so the other two members of Team 7 were visible.
"The pink haired girl is Haruno Sakura." She was pretty, Naruto thought, even if her forehead was a little on the large side but Sakura was currently focusing all her attention on the other member of Team 7.
"And the last member…" Kakashi hoped that Naruto wouldn't react to obviously "Uchiha Sasuke."
Naruto nodded, he had been friends with another Uchiha once. His second Anbu captain after Kakashi himself had been Uchiha Itachi. When Itachi had abandoned the village; Naruto had been promoted as the next Anbu captain for the squad. He had protested, refused and downright rejected the job with a vengeance, but after the Sandaime himself had asked the blond, he had no choice but to accept the promotion. But Itachi's desertion of the village had hurt him deeply.
"Interesting bunch you have there Sensei." Naruto nodded in acknowledgement, slipping in an old term which felt fitting for the situation. Kakashi hadn't been his Sensei in years.
"Sensei?" Kensuki opened his eyes even wider than they already were, making him look like an owl "Does that mean Kakashi-sensei is your teacher too?"
Naruto stopped and looked up at the fidgeting child. "No… it was a slip of the tongue" he said calmly, before he turned back to Kakashi. "So can I stay at yours?"
Kakashi nodded and laughed "It'll be just like the old days huh?"
"Yeah…" Naruto turned wistfully to his huge bowl of ramen "Just like the old days…."
Kakashi turned on the light to the spare room, before walking over to one of the cupboards to pull out some spare linen. "You can crash here, the fridge is yours, get up whenever you want"
"It really isjust like the old days…" Naruto noted and Kakashi felt like it really was like the old days and they'd just come back from a mission, those were always the rules when they'd crashed and burned after missions. Kakashi turned back towards the door.
"Wait…Kakashi."
"Hmmm?" Kakashi turned back to face the young blonde.
"Why do people celebrate the festival….? Isn't it sad for them?" Naruto looked up, and for the first time in a long time Kakashi saw a flicker of the shinobi the boy had once been. "I just don't get it."
"It is sad, but we honour the dead. We only won that day because of their help, their sacrifice, so we should be happy we're alive. We owe it to them." Naruto frowned, cerulean blue eyes staring. "They sacrificed themselves so that we could live happily." Kakashi continued.
"We should…be happy…?" Naruto's face turned towards the bed, clearly lost in thought. "Thank you." He murmured finally, but he never raised his head.
Kakashi nodded and smiled."Good night Naruto-kun"
The light flicked off.
Haha...finally Naruto's question that's been bugging him has been answered! and I fixed a few errors here and there...
Thanks all of you who are reading this! It means so much to me!
