Naruto: Myoushuu no Fuuin
Chapter Four
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Sasuke had known since the first seal he'd seen Naruto draw that there was more to his idiot teammate than most people would ever look for. Of course, producing a seal that could disable a Jounin was a rather large slap in the face, practically forcing him to look for more than the class clown, dead last loser he'd always seen before that. After the bell test, though, Sasuke had thought he'd had his eyes fully opened about Naruto.
And then he'd been slapped in the face again. This time, by his teammate's strange past and the connections that stemmed from it, which had let him lead them straight to one of Konoha's most famous ninja.
He'd thought they were close enough that there were no big secrets between them. Apparently, he'd thought wrong. But then, he'd never really asked, either.
So when they'd stopped for the night and Kakashi-sensei set them to sparring, Sasuke had been only too eager.
"Aw, shit, you're a vicious bastard, you know that?" Naruto asked as he turned his head to the side and spit out a mouthful of blood. Sasuke just smirked and began another sequence that had Naruto scrambling to get out of the way. A foot planted in his torso helped those efforts immensely. Though, Sasuke supposed as Naruto flew into a tree with a sharp exhalation of breath, it was likely not quite how Naruto would have preferred.
Then again, in a straight taijutsu match, Naruto should know not to expect much better.
In a less regulated spar where it was anything goes, they were much more evenly matched—the bruises that were currently running all down the left side of his torso could certainly attest to that. But it wasn't a less regulated spar, and so they weren't even matched at all.
Naruto groaned, but got up and came again. Sasuke grinned. In taijutsu, he dominated. And as an added bonus, head trauma sometimes loosened lips better than anything else.
Because Sasuke had questions for his teammate—about what his secrets were, and why he was keeping them—but he could be patient. He could wait for Naruto to come to him. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't also work off some of his frustrations at having to be patient at the same time.
Then Sasuke realized that he'd let his mind wander a hair too long and that Naruto had maneuvered him into a disadvantageous position where he was forced to sacrifice a blow to his ribs to protect his jaw.
He was about to retaliate when Kakashi called the spar.
"Maa, maa, I think that's enough for the night," he said. "We still have a ways to go to get to Hifu in the morning still, ne?"
They nodded and began their cool down exercises.
"Any injuries I can practice on?" Sakura asked eagerly. Sasuke sighed. On the one hand, it was great that he had a teammate who was developing medical skills, as it meant easy access to medical jutsu. On the other hand, it was somewhat terrifying to be a novice medical nin's test subject. And since she'd met Tsunade-sama, Sakura had wanted to test everything she'd ever learned or read about.
"Mou, Sakura-chan," Naruto said with a pout. "It's almost like you want us to get hurt now."
Sakura promptly smacked him. Sasuke promptly edged away from them, hoping to be long gone before Sakura thought to try healing him. Because he wasn't sure Naruto wasn't right.
"See, see?" he demanded, holding his head dramatically. "I bet you did that just so you could fix it, didn't you?"
Sakura rolled her eyes even as her hand became enveloped in green healing chakra.
"Just get over here so I can see what marks Sasuke left on you," she ordered. She began to slowly run her hand over Naruto's torso, then frowned.
"How can this be?" she asked. "You don't have any injuries at all."
Naruto ducked back so her hand fell off him and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he laughed.
"Well, you know, I've always healed fast," he said, trying to minimize it. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, wondering what it was that Naruto was trying to play off about this whole thing. Wondering if it was yet another secret he was keeping from his teammates.
"That's all, that's all, ne? Now you better fix Sasuke quick or he might not be enough of a pretty boy for you anymore."
Sasuke glared at him. Not for the pretty boy comment (though Naruto could be ridiculously annoying when he wanted), but because he'd managed to divert Sakura's attentions to him. In theory, he had full faith and confidence in Sakura and had no problem with her practicing medical jutsu. In practice, he found he vastly preferred his iryounin to be fully certified and in a hospital. And he'd discovered a strange phobia of his 12 year old teammate trying out things she'd only read about in books on him.
"Shirt off, Sasuke," she ordered. He sighed but did as she said without complaint. The things he did for his team.
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"So, this is Hifu?" Sasuke asked.
"It's… big," Sakura said.
Kakashi nodded, watching all of their wide eyes look around the city. He'd been to Hifu a handful of times for various missions, and he understood the reaction. From where they stood at the top of a hill, they could see into the bustling downtown where a ridiculous number of vibrantly painted buildings almost as tall as the Hokage Monument were all squeezed together as they lined streets teeming with masses of people and vendors and horses and carts, all yelling and singing and bartering and talking in a mad cacophony of sound.
Needless to say, Naruto appeared to love it.
It was one of the richest cities in Fire Country, being the main port used for ships arriving from Water Country, and the Eastern Continent beyond. All of the foreign trade had led to a number of foreigners immigrating there, which had in turn led to the city becoming the pulsating, dazzling melting pot of a city. According to Tsunade, it was also where Jiraiya was.
Now all they had to do was find him. In a massive city. When he was supposed to be on a ship to Water Country in just a few days time. The Hokage had given them plenty of leeway in this mission, but following Jiraiya to Water country was a bit beyond his mandate.
He motioned for them to follow him and to stay close as he led them through the swarming crowds as they made their way to the docks. And, it turned out, they were in luck as it seemed they managed to hit it during the slight lull that occurred whenever there wasn't a ship about to berth or set sail.
"You three wait out here," Kakashi said when they found the Dock Master's office, thinking he'd have better luck in there on his own. "Make sure not to wander off. I'll be back in a few minutes." When they nodded, still a bit wide-eyed, he headed inside. Most Dock Masters required copies of all passenger logs for ships that came into the country under their watch, and Kakashi was sure this Dock Master wouldn't be any different.
It took a bit of convincing and a minor genjutsu to persuade them to let him see the records he wanted, but Kakashi got his way in the end. And found that Jiraiya had come in the night before, which was a relief as he'd been slightly worried Tsunade had sent them on a wild goose chase out of spite. He didn't find record of Jiraiya being listed on an outgoing passage, though, so Kakashi had to assume he either hadn't purchased it yet or had done so under a different name.
He considered both possibilities as he went back outside to meet his team.
"Find anything?" Sakura asked.
"About what I was expecting," Kakashi replied with a shrug. "So, you three come up with any ideas on how to find Jiraiya?"
"Er, sensei, if he's here, you know he'll be in the Akasen, right?" Naruto asked.
"Mm, but do you know where Hifu's red light district is?" Kakashi asked. Naruto shook his head. "Me, either. So I repeat myself. Any ideas?"
"Er… we could spread out and look for it," Sakura offered.
"With you two, that's just asking for trouble, I think," Naruto said, looking them up and down.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked defensively as Sasuke frowned at him.
"Means you're both too pretty for your own good," Naruto said. "Or mine. If we split up, I'd spend the whole time terrified one of you would somehow accidentally manage to sell yourself."
"Aw, don't you think I'm pretty, Naruto-kun?" Kakashi teased, batting his visible eye.
Naruto grunted. "You're too old for the skin trade. And if you couldn't keep the local yakuza from buying you, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be a Jounin in the first place."
"Accidentally… sell… ourselves?" Sasuke asked incredulously, unable to get passed that.
"Mm," Naruto agreed. "For a night if you were lucky, forever if you weren't."
"So, I vote for not splitting up," Sakura said firmly.
"I think we should go wait at a ramen stand while my clones find an akasenko to find Jiraiya for us," Naruto suggested. "One of the kids who grew up in the red light district here will be able to find him quicker, easier, and safer than we could splitting up."
"Sakura and I aren't helpless, you know." Sasuke scowled. "We're shinobi too." Naruto just shrugged.
"Yeah, but you're also a pretty-boy virgin who's never dealt with yaks," Naruto said.
"And you're not?" Sasuke retorted. Naruto blinked.
"Well, no," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. It did nothing to calm Sasuke down. Or satisfy the rampant curiosity about the things Naruto left unsaid. Patience, he reminded himself. Naruto would share his secrets when he was ready. Sasuke just had to be patient.
"How much do you know about the skin trade, Naruto," Kakashi asked cautiously, worried not only about Naruto's answer, but also how he came to have that knowledge.
"Enough," Naruto replied with a shrug.
"What's the skin trade?" Sakura asked. Naruto and Kakashi both looked at her. "And what's a yak?"
Naruto noted Sasuke was paying close attention, too.
"And you want them to go into the Akasen to find someone," Naruto said with a sigh, running his hand through his hair.
"We're perfectly capable…"
"Not in the Akasen you aren't," Naruto said. Sasuke looked furious.
"Stop babying us," he demanded. "We're just as capable as you are."
"They are genin. I think you're overstating it a little bit there, Naruto," Kakashi interjected as Sasuke gave Naruto a dark look.
"Maybe, but I don't think so," Naruto said, shaking his head. "And even if we are all shinobi, you're the only one of us who looks like it, Sensei. It would be… very troublesome to have to dissuade the locals they were wrong if they got it into their head they wanted to add to their stables."
"Hmm," Kakashi said consideringly, rubbing his chin. He didn't like how much Naruto seemed to know about these things. It made him very concerned over the hows and whys of his acquiring it. But his concern seemed genuine, and Kakashi was never one to take concerns lightly. Even if he was pretty sure Naruto was over-reacting.
"Look, can we at least try it my way?" Naruto asked.
"Do you think an akasenko would really be able to locate Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked.
"Yes," Naruto said, in a way so certain Kakashi had no choice but to believe him.
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It didn't take them long to find something to eat as they waited. Unfortunately for Naruto, it wasn't at a ramen stand. This did not phase Sasuke in the least, as he much preferred the yakitori they'd ordered. He did find it rather regrettable that they'd bought the sticks at a street vendor, which meant that they were meandering through some of the less populated parts of the city now instead of sitting somewhere Sasuke could carefully angle himself to watch Naruto without looking like he was watching him. Managing to guilt Kakashi into paying for them all completely made up for it.
"So how will you find one of those children anyway?" Sakura asked, inadvertently stumbling upon one of the topics Sasuke so desperately wanted answered.
"Eh?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head. Sasuke tilted his head so it would appear he was looking up at the laundry lines that spanned across the width of the street from window to window all up and down the buildings. About half of them were covered with all sorts of drying laundry in every shade of the rainbow. It was certainly different enough to deserve a glance under normal circumstances, but he was much more interested in using it as an excuse to watch Naruto as he answered Sakura's question.
"What did you call them again?" she asked. "Akasenko? Those are kids who were born in the red light district, right?"
"Um, yeah," he said. "Well, you know, on our way to the docks, we passed at least half a dozen boys running games. I'd be surprised if even one of them wasn't an Akasenko. They aren't really that hard to find, it's just that nobody really wants to see them."
Naruto was clearly uncomfortable. Oh, he was trying to hide it, of course, and was actually doing it very well. But he couldn't hide it from Sasuke, who was watching far too closely and knew his teammate far too well to be fooled.
"I don't understand," Sakura said, cocking her head to the side. Sasuke took the opportunity to throw away the wooden stick, then paused in confusion as he saw the trash can was shaped like a fox and painted a blindingly fluorescent pink. He quickly turned away before it blinded him, and caught sight of Kakashi eyeing Naruto over his ever present book.
"They're just kids," Sakura continued. "Why wouldn't anybody want to see them?"
"Well, you know what goes on beyond the red line, right?" Naruto asked.
Sakura flushed a deep red.
"Baka," she scoffed, hitting his arm to hide her embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, sometimes, the men who visit aren't as careful as they should be, and sometimes those actions have consequences," Naruto said, looking anywhere but his teammates. "But the men who visit don't like to know about it, and nobody else wants to think about it at all. Sowhen the consequences happen to be boys, when they get old enough they sometimes learn how to pick a pocket clean, or how to run a dice game, or run a con, or any one of a hundred ways to fleece a mark."
'You told us that you ran games, once upon a time,' Sasuke wanted to say but didn't. Little bits and pieces of things Naruto had done and said were all shoving their way to the fore of Sasuke's mind as he bit his cheek, taking it all in as he considered everything and wondered whether he were beginning to understand.
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Naruto hadn't missed how Sasuke had been watching him when he thought he wasn't looking. Though, honestly, Naruto wasn't sure why Sasuke was so carefully considering him. He wasn't any different now than he was in Kimato or Saijin City.
Then he considered the fact that Sasuke was from a noble clan, and was rightfully considered to be a genius. And though he hadn't advertised it, neither had Naruto been overly cautious about hiding his origins. And for the first time in a long while, he wondered whether he'd be shunned for them again. Because high born geniuses weren't exactly known for associating with kids who'd fought their way out of the gutters.
The whole thing was very disconcerting. When one of his clones dispelled after getting the info on Jiraiya, Naruto found himself inordinately glad for the distraction.
"Success," he said. "Jiraiya's location isn't far from here."
"That was really fast," Sakura said. "How'd the kid find Jiraiya-sama so quickly?" Naruto shrugged.
"The Akasenko—the children of the red light district?—they know more about what's going on than most anybody gives them credit," he said. "And Jiraiya isn't exactly inconspicuous."
"Good, Naruto," Kakashi said, putting his book away now that it was time for work. "Show us the way."
"Er, are you sure?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head. "After all of that, you're going to let them go into the Akasen anyway?"
"They'll have to learn about it sooner or later," Kakashi said with a shrug.
"Aren't you even going to tell them what to expect?" Naruto protested.
"Hey, we're not some little kids that need to be sheltered, Naruto," Sasuke pointed out.
"No, you're not," Naruto agreed. "But you are twelve year olds who have never been in a whore house before." Sasuke pursed his lips, unable to argue with that. It was true. That it wasn't true for Naruto… Patience, Sasuke reminded himself. Then he decided that patience really wasn't his thing and that it was time for him to push a bit.
"You're only twelve, too. How is it you have been in a whore house," Sasuke asked. "How is it you know so much about the Akasen? And the Yakuza?"
Naruto froze, eyes widened in shock as his mouth couldn't seem to move the right way to form words.
"Maa, I was under the impression we were in the middle of a mission just now," Kakashi interrupted lazily. Sasuke wanted to kill him. He'd been this close to getting his answers. "Now really isn't the time for such things. Naruto, show us the way to where Jiraiya-sama is. And all of you should watch out for pickpockets and generally be on your toes. You never know what kind of trouble you might run into once you pass the red line. Understand?"
Sasuke wasn't sure he did—he'd never been in the Red Light District before, so he wasn't sure he could—but he nodded anyway. Sakura nodded, too, then frowned and tugged on Kakashi's vest.
"Ano, Kaka-sensei, will you make sure I don't accidentally sell myself?"
He grinned. "Would I let something like that happen to one of my cute students?"
Sakura frowned and scrunched her nose a bit, then turned to Naruto.
"Naruto, will you make sure I don't accidentally sell myself?"
Kakashi pouted.
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Naruto threaded his way through the streets of Hifu's Akasen like a native, avoiding the thieves and drunks and other dangers with the ease that only came with long practice. He deftly navigated his team to a small detour when he saw a small gang of local yaks set up to demand 'taxes' and did the same when he saw a group of young boys he was sure were pickpockets all running interference for each other.
When they were only fifty or so meters from their destination, Naruto couldn't detour anymore, even when he saw a boy make a clean pull of some john's wallet. Even when he saw the boy's eyes light up at the sight of them, and come their way. So instead, when the boy brushed passed them, Naruto watched the play and grabbed him.
"Hey, what're ya doing?" the kid protested, shaggy hair falling across his smudged face. "Leave off. I didn't do nothing to yas."
"Sure ya didn't," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. The kid was probably only eight, with dark blue pants that were far too baggy on him and a shirt that might have started out white, but had seen better and cleaner days.
"Naruto?" Kakashi asked. In response, Naruto plucked two wallets from the kid's baggy pants and threw them to Sasuke and Sakura. They both blinked, then felt the rest of their pockets for anything else that might have been stolen.
"Don't know how those got there, Mister," the kid said suddenly perfectly polite though still trying his best to squirm out of the iron grip Naruto had on his wrist.
"Of course you don't," Naruto said. He lifted three scrolls and a comb off the kid before shaking his head.
"Really? A comb?" Naruto asked, shaking his head. The kid hesitated, then shrugged.
"Thought it might be something else," he said. "How'd you know I did it? Didn't even try to lift anything from you."
"Kid, you may be a pickpocket, but I'm a better one. I saw you coming three marks back."
The kid looked at him, puzzled.
"Now let me give you a piece of advice. Do you see this?" he pointed to his hitai-ate. " You see anyone wearing one of these, it means they're a ninja and you want to steer clear—they're faster, stronger, and better than any mark you might ever imagine. I saw a kid try to make a lift once and get a knife through his hand before he could even stash it. You understand?"
The kid's eyes went wide and he nodded frantically, clearly terrified Naruto was going to stab him where he stood.
"Don't worry, kid. I'm not gonna do anything, I just want you to pick your marks more carefully," Naruto said, letting the kid go. He rubbed his wrist and made to dash off, then hesitated.
"Think I could be a ninja, too?" he asked, curiosity winning out over self preservation. Naruto grinned.
"Maybe, but it's harder work than anything you've ever done before."
The kid scrunched up his nose. "Nah, never mind then."
And he dashed off. Naruto turned to give the scrolls and comb back to Sasuke and Sakura, who were staring at him.
"Um, thanks?" Sakura said. Sasuke grunted.
"Mou, you used to be a pickpocket?" Kakashi asked.
"Well, it's not really something you ever stop being," Naruto said with a shrug.
"…were you any good?" Sasuke asked. Naruto grinned.
"I could pick any of your pockets clean and you'd never notice."
"Really? I am a Jounin, you know," Kakashi countered. Naruto shrugged.
"Of course the more aware a mark generally is, the more careful you have to be about it. But Jounin or no, I've never had a problem." Naruto smiled, holding up Kakashi's wallet.
Kakashi blinked, then swiped it back and put it away.
"Ok, ok, enough. Now where's this place Jiraiya is supposed to be?"
"This is it," Naruto pointed to a three story structure across the street.
Kakashi nodded and started to head for the front door.
"Tch," Naruto scoffed, grabbing his arm. "Don't you know anything? Do you see a lantern in the window? No? Me either. It's closed. Going to the front door will only attract more attention to us than we've already managed."
He had, of course, visited brothels before—both on personal time and for missions—so he knew very well that the lantern missing from the window meant it was closed. But he also knew they had to get in there, and had found over the years that knocking was often times the easiest way.
"Oh? Then what do you propose we do?" Kakashi asked, eyebrow raised.
Naruto rolled his eyes.
"We go through the back door, of course," Naruto said. He slipped down the alley and was knocking on the back door before Kakashi could stop him.
An older woman with her hair pulled back in a fashionable knot opened the door.
"Ah, honorable sir, please forgive this one but it must be said that this humble establishment is closed," she said, bowing.
"We just…" Kakashi began. Naruto cut him off.
"Are you the Mother here?" Naruto asked. The woman cocked her head to the side, then shook her head. "She's who we need to talk to." The woman paused in confusion, unsure whether or not she should let them in.
"We'll wait here for her," Naruto said.
"Thank you, honorable sir," she said. "This one shall only be a moment."
When she was gone, Naruto could feel the curious stares boring into the back of his head. He didn't dare turn around. He was certain they would figure everything out after this, and was suddenly terrified they'd no longer want him around. It had happened before, after all.
"I'm told you have business with me?" asked the woman who came to the door. Her hair had turned a steely gray, and she wore a kimono that was nice, but ultimately utilitarian in nature. Naruto could make out the knife she had hidden in the obi as well as the one in her sleeve.
"I'm not in the market for new acquisitions," she said, eying Sasuke and Sakura. "And even if I were, I don't buy virgins, much less boys or little girls. You could try Wari's establishment a few streets down."
"They're not for sale," Naruto said, even as they gaped at the idea someone might want to purchase them; he ignored Kakashi shaking his head in amusement. "And we're not here to cause you any trouble. We've been sent with a message for your guest, and would like to wait for him in one of your parlors so as not to bring any extra or undesirable attention to your establishment."
"Oh?" she said, raising an eyebrow; Naruto nodded. "Very well. This way."
She led them to an empty sitting room.
"Some of the girls may wander through. I expect you to not bother any of them, especially if they decide to practice," she said.
"I understand," Naruto said, bowing slightly and pressing a small pouch into her hand. "For the trouble." This time, both her eyebrows rose. Then she tucked it into her sleeve and bowed back.
"Thank you, honorable sir," she said. "I will send a girl in with tea for you and your companions."
As she left, there was a sudden roar of male laughter from above, followed by girlish squealing. Naruto sat on one of the plush couches and finally allowed himself to look at his team out of the corner of his eye. Sakura and Sasuke looked more uncomfortable than he'd ever seen them. He opened his mouth to say something to take their minds off of where they were, then abruptly shut it with an audible click, afraid anything he might say would wind up working against him.
"You're very comfortable here, Naruto," Kakashi mused, eyeing him and thinking of how easily he'd dealt with the Akasen as a whole. "I'd almost think you'd spent time in a similar establishment before."
Naruto gave him a crooked look, seeing how attentively Sakura and Sasuke were to their conversation at the moment, and shrugged. They were going to figure it out sooner or later, he supposed. So he was damned if he did, and damned if he didn't. And Naruto always preferred to be damned for action.
"I have spent a lot of time in similar establishments before," he finally agreed. "Where do you think I grew up that I know so much about how the red light district works?"
And with that pronouncement, he looked down at the table, then took a deck of cards out of his jacket and began to shuffle them. Not that he didn't notice his teammates' reactions. And realize it was definitely the wrong thing to say. Sakura, apparently, hadn't even begun to put things together with how shocked she looked. Sasuke looked triumphant for some reason. And even Kakashi looked dismayed. Without really thinking, he began to run the cards through the various tricks he'd plied years ago, his hands still remembering the intricate moves that made the cards dance.
A girl with a tea tray entered, and the flying cards immediately caught her attention.
"This one has brought tea for the honorable sir and his companions, if it pleases," she said, eyes still caught on the cards. With a flick of his wrist, Naruto brought the cards back into a stacked deck and nodded.
"It does," he said. "You can call me Naruto."
He twisted the cards into another trick as she poured and offered the cup.
"If this one may be so bold, it appears you are quite the master of the cards," she said.
"I picked up a few things here and there," Naruto said with a shrug. "And you can cut the hostess speech; I'm not a customer."
"But Mother told me to keep you entertained?" she asked blinking and looking confused. Naruto sighed.
"You know how to play, Neechan?" he asked, gesturing to his cards. Her eyes widened and gleamed.
"I'll take that as a yes," Naruto said. "But only if you really play. Like I said, I'm not a customer."
His team watched as they played a game that seemed ridiculously intricate and fast paced. When another girl entered and saw them playing, she clapped and begged to join in. Then another few girls joined in, and the game got even faster and more intense.
"Perhaps I should have charged you the same as Jiraiya-sama, given how many of my girls you are distracting." Naruto didn't even look up from the card game as he responded.
"But Mother, it's not my fault all the Neechan wanted to play," he said innocently, even as he slapped his hand on the table, claiming a handful of cards.
"No fair!" one of the girls protested.
"Mother distracted us!"
"But Neechan, it's not my fault Mother came in," he said innocently.
"Actually it is," Mother said. "Jiraiya-sama is washing himself, and will shortly be down to meet with you."
"Finally," Naruto said, twisting his head back and forth to crack his neck. "I bet the old man took even longer than usual, just to make us wait for him."
"Serves you right," said a deep voice. Naruto and the rest of Team Seven cut their eyes to Jiraiya as he descended the steps, hair still wet from the shower and his yukata only half-tied.
"Mother, Neechan, will you excuse us," Naruto asked. The mother nodded and left as the girls quickly bowed and followed.
"What do you brats want," Jiraiya asked.
"Sandaime-sama sent us with a message," Kakashi answered as he held out the sealed scroll. Jiraiya scowled as he accepted it, slicing his thumb over it to break the seal. He read it quickly, then burned it with a small fire jutsu.
"You can tell the old man I've received and acknowledged it," he said.
"Did it ask you to come back to Konoha, like the one we gave to Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked.
"Oh? You had to try to find my old teammate, too?" Jiraiya asked, chuckling. "I'm surprised none of you have any broken bones."
"Why would we?" Sakura asked, eyes wide. "She was very nice, except when she made us buy her drinks. And she's going to teach me when we get back to Konoha."
"Good luck with that promise, girlie," Jiraiya said. "She'll never go back."
"She assured us she was," Kakashi disagreed.
"Of course she did," Jiraiya said, rolling his eyes. "I bet she's halfway across Wind by now. The only way she would go back to Konoha is by force."
"Or with blackmail and bribery," Naruto offered.
Jiraiya gave him an odd look.
"Hmm, whatever," Jiraiya said dismissively. "Now scram, brats."
"I had something else to discuss with you," Kakashi said. "Kids, wait outside."
"…We'll wait in the kitchen with the Neechan," Naruto countered.
"I'd really rather wait outside, Naruto," Sakura said softly. "I'm not comfortable in this place." Sasuke only grunted.
Naruto refrained from clenching his hands, though he didn't quite manage his jaw, and he headed out without another word. He made a brief detour through the kitchen to say goodbye to the Neechan and thank the Mother, then sat down on the back stoop, facing away from the door.
When Sakura and Sasuke followed a moment later, he was careful not to look at them, looking instead at the pair of older boys and a younger one down the street, splitting up to go their separate ways, the older two likely off to wait with a cosh in an alley somewhere for the younger to bring back their mark.
He sighed and put his head in his hands, wishing his team had never taken these stupid missions. Wishing he'd never clued them in to where he was from at all. Wishing his team still thought as well of him as they had in Kimato.
But apparently, even shinobi didn't care about how good you were when you were an Akasenko.
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"Naruto, what's wrong?" Sakura asked. Sasuke was glad she had, though he'd never say it aloud. He did not like the bitter look on Naruto's face, and it was easier all around if Sakura asked questions like that.
"I'm fine," Naruto said, ignoring them completely as he eyed a young boy coming towards them. Which only made Sasuke annoyed. The least Naruto could do was give them his attention. Because how could he show Naruto that it was alright to share his secrets with them if he wasn't even paying them any notice?
"But you…" Sakura was cut off when the approaching boy called out to them.
"Hey, hey, Misters, Lady," he said. "Please, can you help me?"
If Sasuke hadn't been repressing his expressions for years, he would have raised an eyebrow in interest. Because Naruto wasn't reacting at all how Sasuke had thought he would. Usually Naruto was the first to offer to help anyone on anything.
"We're not interested," Naruto answered.
"Please," the boy repeated. "My little brother is hurt."
"I'm sure the Mother here wouldn't be happy to hear about you hassling folks on her steps," Naruto warned. "Now scram."
"Naruto," Sakura chastised him. "He obviously needs our help. Let him talk."
"Yes, please, I just need you to help me get him out," the kid said. "Something fell on him, and I can't lift it off him by myself. I don't know what to do."
"Where is he?" Sasuke asked, deciding to go along with it. Because Naruto obviously knew more about what was going on here than he did, and maybe playing along would make Naruto let out more of the secrets he was keeping. Maybe.
"Sasuke, he isn't…" Naruto tried.
"Thank you," the kid said. "Thank you so much. He's just back this way."
"This is one of the oldest tricks in the book," Naruto said, not getting up from his place on the step. "Get the mark to follow you to an alley where your friend is waiting with a bat. Fuck, I used to run this trap myself." He sounded disgusted, though whether it was with himself, his team, or the kid wasn't clear.
"What?" the kid asked, eyes wide. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mister. Please, I just need to help my brother."
"Kid," Naruto scoffed. "I was in your shoes once, so let me give you fair warning. One: more agile fingers than yours already tried to pick their pockets and were caught out. And two: they're shinobi. So your partners better be damn good and damn fast."
The kid froze and looked to Naruto, then to Sasuke and Sakura.
"Aw, shit," the kid muttered. Then he took off running.
Sasuke immediately turned on Naruto.
"How do you know about all of this?" Sasuke asked, hoping to finally—finally—get an answer out of him. A real answer. A full answer, not just a fraction of one that served more as a diversion than a true response.
"Look," Naruto said, standing and facing away from him. "It doesn't matter anymore. So drop it, ok? It's not important."
"I think it is," Sasuke said casually, slouching as he sat a few steps up from where Naruto stood so they were close to eye level. "So you were a thief in addition to a pickpocket? And I already know you're a conman. And you grew up in brothels. With what you told us, you were probably an akasenko yourself. Am I right?"
Naruto kicked the house hard enough Sakura jumped. Sasuke gave her a moment of his attention, saw her hands twisting together in distress, then turned back to Naruto. Because he would have his answers now. He'd shared all that he was with them, damn it all, and the least Naruto could do was return the favor.
"Fine. Fine," Naruto said, voice bitter. He kicked the wall again before turning and facing Sasuke straight on, eyes dark and angrier than Sasuke had ever seen them. "If you want to do this? Fine. Yes, I'm a no-name orphan born in the wrong part of Konoha, way behind the red line. So yeah, I'm an Akasenko. And yeah, I grew up around people you'd never want to meet and stealing and picking pockets and staying in brothels and running numbers for the yaks. I did all manner of things nice boys and girls from good families would never even want to know about. Is that what you wanted to know, Sasuke? Are you happy now? Anything else you want to pick at me for?"
Sasuke shrugged, watching Naruto carefully as he breathed heavily.
"Don't know, are there any other secrets you've been keeping from us?"
He'd thought he was being casual and accepting about what he'd assumed was Naruto's big secret, that he was showing he didn't care about that by saying so what, anything bigger? But when Naruto flinched back then looked away, Sasuke realized that there was something bigger after all.
Naruto cursed and slammed his fist against the wall, and Sasuke bit his tongue to refrain from doing the same. Because somehow, that Naruto still didn't trust him hurt more than he'd thought it would.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Well," Jiraiya said as the genin left. "Here's hoping you still have a team when you go out to meet them. I'll take a bet their pockets are lighter " He held up a saucer of sake in toast and downed it. "Now what did you want to talk to me about that you didn't want the brats to hear?"
"You know who my blonde student is," Kakashi said, getting straight to the point.
"Of course," Jiraiya agreed.
"He's something of a fuuinjutsu prodigy."
Jiraiya's only reaction was a slightly raised eyebrow. Then he poured himself another saucer of sake.
"Of course he is," Jiraiya said. "And you—knowing I'm a Seal Master—want me to take the brat as an apprentice. No go. I told Sarutobi I was through with students years ago. I don't know why he persists in sending every Jounin-sensei who gets a genin that can draw an explosive tag out to 'deliver a message' to me."
Kakashi gave him an annoyed look.
"I'm not just some rookie Jounin-sensei," Kakashi said, voice tight. Jiraiya rolled his eyes.
"No, listen to me," Kakashi insisted. "I'm not some upstart young Jounin looking for reflected praise from having you accept one of my students. I was the student of the Fourth, and I'm a genius and a legend in my own right. Hell, if the Third has his way, I'll be more than just a Jounin in the not too distant future. And I'm not some idiot who knows nothing about seals. So listen to what I'm telling you: When it comes to seals, Naruto is a genius."
Kakashi paused to emphasize his point.
"He's already exhausted all of my knowledge, and he's coming up with things I've never even heard of before, much less seen. And he designs complete, functioning seal sets in the same amount of time it would take most masters to just write them."
"Tch," Jiraiya scoffed. "I'm sure whatever it is the brat's done can't be that unique."
Kakashi would have protested, but he saw the glint of interest peeking out from the corner of the man's apathetic eye.
"Hmm, well, I suppose that might be true," Kakashi mused, rubbing his chin. "But… Well… have you heard of the Great Naruto Lagoon? In Kimato?" He was the very picture of innocence and nonchalance.
"Just recently," Jiraiya agreed cautiously.
"That's because it was just recently constructed. And what Naruto do you think it was named after? Kid created it. With seals. Using them to control and divert millions of gallons of flood water…"
Jiraiya's eyebrows flew up beneath his bangs. "You can't be serious."
"I've told you," Kakashi said. "He's far outstripped me in fuuinjutsu."
"And you want me to take him as an apprentice," Jiraiya said, mind racing through all the possible outcomes of such a thing.
"Absolutely not," Kakashi said immediately. "He's mine. Naruto and Team 7 are mine."
"You don't want me to take him?" Jiraiya asked, surprised by the vehemence in Kakashi's voice. "Then what did you want?"
"What I was hoping was that you'd spend a bit of time with him. Talk to him for a while, make sure he understands what he needs to do to not get himself killed or blown up while trying to come up with something new."
"Hmm," Jiraiya said consideringly. "Well, I suppose I can at least meet the brat."
Kakashi nodded, certain it wouldn't take more than that for Jiraiya to agree to more.
"Thank you. I…" he cut himself off as he felt something giving him a light shock from the inside of the pouch on his belt. He pulled out a small tube and had just pulled out the message when Jiraiya snatched it from him.
"What is this?" he demanded, trying to make out the various seals inscribed over it.
"Another invention of Naruto's," Kakashi answered, reading the message and frowning. He scribbled a note back to the Hokage as he explained what he knew. "This is just the prototype. We're doing a field test before it's introduced into more general usage. I don't understand all of the theory behind it, but from what Naruto's explained, it's connected to another tube the Hokage has, and transports messages back and forth. He came up with it on our way back from Kimato, because he was annoyed at how long the messenger hawks took."
Jiraiya's eyes went wide at the implications.
"You understand now why I want you to talk to him," Kakashi said, wrestling the messenger tube out of Jiraiya's grasp. "Unfortunately, we have to go. Next time you're in Konoha, I would appreciate you stopping by to talk to Naruto."
He headed out the back to find his team, leaving a slightly dazed Jiraiya sitting in his robe. He cursed the timing; if this had happened a day later, he'd have had Jiraiya hooked. But emergencies were the life of a shinobi, he supposed.
"Ok, kids, we have to…" He stopped, noticing Sasuke and Sakura were cutting Naruto annoyed glares as the blonde sat with his back turned to them. This was not normal. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to deal with it just then.
"We've just gotten an urgent message from the Hokage," Kakashi said. "So whatever's going on, we need it canned until we're through. Understood?"
"Yes, Sensei," Sakura said abashed. Sasuke just grunted, and Naruto turned back to Kakashi in interest.
"The message tube worked this far away?" Naruto asked. "Was there any time differential? Was there any lag? What about the message, was there any damage to it? And what about…"
Naruto trailed off, noticing Kakashi's sheepish look.
"You forgot to note the time, didn't you?" Naruto asked.
"Er, well, that is… It was only a minute ago, so…"
"And did the Hokage mark the time?"
Kakashi was rarely more grateful that he'd been memorizing orders from top to bottom for years.
"Hmm, so time delay is negligible then," Naruto muttered. "Of course, I'll have to do it with more reliable test subjects." He glared at Kakashi.
"For now, it'll have to be enough to know that it works at a distance," Kakashi said. "We have an urgent mission from the Hokage. A genin team was sent on a C-rank mission to Wave, but Hokage-sama just got additional intel that re-classes it to an A-rank. We're only an hour away, so we're being sent to stop them and bring them back to Konoha."
"Ah, good, you're still here," came Jiraiya's voice from behind him. "I think I'll be coming with you for this."
"Oh?" Kakashi asked, eyebrow raised.
"Mmm. I'm not done looking at that tube yet," he said, extending his hand for it. "And I believe I still need to speak to the brat."
"…Right," Kakashi agreed. "Let's go."
