Summary: What does it mean to be a ninja? This is the question that guides Uzumaki Naruto through his life as a shinobi of Konoha. Along that path, witness as he meets friends, fights evil, and keeps his eyes fixed on the ultimate dream…
Rating Warning (T): This story will include fairly intense violence, occasional suggestive themes, and occasional strong language. Please use your judgment.
Disclaimer: "Naruto" and associated material belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo.
Date: August 11, 2014 (Updated September 3)
Naruto: Birth of a Ninja
Chapter 4: Quenching the Steel
Wherein everyone needs breaks, Naruto plays a game, and Sasuke gets drunk.
A common thread amongst the teachings of the five great ninja villages is that ninja are weapons, beholden to the will of their commanders, their villages, and their countries. Even Konoha, often thought of as the softest of the villages, holds to this common theme.
Yet amongst all these villages, ninja are still given days off to relax themselves and to tend to their own interests. Whether this is because their commanders fear that without time to rest, their soldiers will snap and descend into a murderous madness; or out of a simpler compassion for their comrades; ninjas, like workers in every other job, have time off.
It is often during these times that ninjas grow the most, as they interact with each other in unexpected ways – and more importantly, in ways unrelated to being ninjas. So it was with Team 7, given one day off per week even during the three months they spent being honed into a singular deadly instrument.
These are their stories.
One Week after Kakashi's Assessment
Naruto's hand reached out to turn off his alarm clock, groping around his bedside table to find the infernal device. Once he'd managed that he padded quietly to his bathroom for a shower, and then to his kitchen. Kakashi had stolen most of his ramen, leaving him with a series of strange leafy vegetables and pre-cooked meats, so Naruto, tired, grabbed something green and something that smelled like it had once been a pig and threw them onto a pan with some eggs. Along with a glass of particularly sour juice, Naruto's breakfast was complete minutes later.
It was only as he scanned the daily newspaper (on Kakashi's orders, he'd been told to at least glance at the headlines) that Naruto saw the date – and realized that it was his day off. Naruto's chewing slowed; he hadn't really contemplated what to do with his day off. He'd relished the idea, of course – Kakashi had worked him and his teammates all week, and it was time to relax! But what to do?
During his days in the Academy, Naruto could be found playing pranks all over the village, stealing into the village bookshop to read boy's magazines or (occasionally) adult magazines, when the shopkeeper couldn't catch him; or hanging around Ichiraku Ramen chatting with Teuchi and Ayame. However, this had all been around the time he spent training – or trying to train, at least. After a week of Kakashi's slave-driving, Naruto had to admit that what he'd done before wasn't training so much as flailing.
Naruto was a ninja now, and if he played pranks it would reflect badly on the ninja corps and more specifically on Kakashi – so that was out. He spent the week with clones reading already, though most of their reading was non-fiction, so perhaps the bookstore was an option – but really, Naruto sighed, he just didn't have a hobby. At least not an appropriate hobby, since pranks, as he'd realized, were off the table.
Naruto finished breakfast and dropped the dishes in his dirty sink, vaguely considering spending the day cleaning his apartment – then ignored the very idea. It was his first day off! He had to enjoy it somehow! Naruto made his way to his closet, where he stared at his clothes. Normally he'd wear his orange jumpsuit – but he'd destroyed that to create the vest he now used with his uniform. He wasn't about to wear his uniform on his day off, so he looked through the other, mostly unused, clothing sitting on the shelves. Eventually he settled on a white tee-shirt and a pair of battered green shorts. Slipping his ninja sandals on and tucking his kunai holster and forehead protector into a pocket, Naruto made his way out the door.
Not even an hour later, Naruto found himself slouching through the residential area on the outskirts of Konoha, terminally bored. He'd wandered through the marketplace, but without any real funds other than what Kakashi sensei had forwarded him as his training stipend, itself discounted for the food his apartment was now stocked with, he couldn't really buy anything even if he'd wanted to. He had made his way to the library, but with his clones' memories flashing through his mind, he'd high-tailed it away. That was NOT a place for his day off.
And so Naruto had found himself where he was now – bored and walking by old houses and clan complexes, each uniquely decorated and in their own styles that predated the village. It was as he walked by the Nara Clan complex (fenced off to prevent their deer from escaping, low-set with highly traditional architecture that mimicked the styles from the capital city, Naruto's mind told him) that he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, Naruto! Naruto, over here!" Naruto turned to see Akimichi Chouji hurrying up behind him. Chouji was a heavy-set, friendly boy with rosy cheeks and frizzy brown hair. Naruto vaguely remembered him wearing his forehead protector on some kind of underwear-looking headdress, but luckily he wasn't wearing it now, opting instead for the dark pants, clan shirt, green sweater and white scarf Naruto remembered him usually wearing in the Academy.
Though Naruto and Chouji had never been particularly close, they'd been on cordial terms and Chouji had always treated him well (not to mention that Chouji had often joined him, Shikamaru, and Kiba when they'd decided to play hooky from class). Naruto replied with a wave, "Hey there, Chouji! What brings you around?"
"Not much! It's our day off missions – must be yours too! I was going to visit Shika and see what he was up to!" Naruto nodded and made a split-second decision.
"I guess I could come too, if you wouldn't mind the company. I'm pretty bored, just trying to figure out what to do!" Chouji grinned in reply.
"Sure! I know what you mean – I didn't really know what to do with myself today either – it's sort of strange having the time off when you're getting used to a routine, right?"
The two young ninja chatted about their respective teams and sensei as they entered the Nara complex, passing along the clean, cobbled walkway. Naruto spotted a field where several beautiful deer grazed, and a porch overlooking, where a pair of men with pineapple-shaped ponytails of dark brown sat. He and Chouji approached.
The two men sat on either side of a game board on which were many pieces of two different colors. Arranged in opposing formations Naruto couldn't make anything of, they staying in place until the younger man carefully moved a piece forward. Naruto recognized him as his classmate Nara Shikamaru – with a bland face, slender build, and a patterned grey over-shirt over a mesh shirt and brown pants, the other boy was the very image of lazy boredom. Sitting across from him was a man who looked much like a taller version of Shikamaru, though with a dark goatee, a pair of deep scars across the face, and an older, wiser visage. The older man wore a jounin vest and blue uniform, and Naruto remembered that it wasn't necessarily everyone's time off.
As Naruto watched, the older man countered Shikamaru's move and smirked. "Check," he said in a low, growling voice. Shikamaru stared at the board and groaned.
"Troublesome. Whatever, I resign." The older man stood and nodded to Chouji and Naruto.
"Hello Chouji, Uzumaki-san. I am Nara Shikaku, Shikamaru's father. I'd love to stay, but I have to be going – Shikamaru, don't go ignoring them and staring at the board now." Shikaku turned and left, whistling. Chouji and Naruto approached Shikamaru, who was slouched over the board.
Chouji leaned over to Naruto to whisper, "Shikaku-sama is the Jounin Commander, you know – he's supposed to be the greatest strategic mind in Konoha, the Hokage's auxiliary brain." Naruto nodded and grinned at Shikamaru.
"Hey, Shikamaru! Nice to see you again, huh? What game is that?" He looked at the unfamiliar board, and Shikamaru spared a glance up, an eyebrow rising as he saw Naruto.
"Hey Chouji. Hey Naruto – what're you doing here? Didn't expect to see you for a while…" Naruto quirked his head to the side.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shikamaru just shook his head.
"Never mind. This is "Shougi" – it's a strategy game…" Shikamaru's mouth turned into a small smile. "Want to play?"
Chouji groaned. "Don't encourage him, Naruto. Shika beats everyone – everyone except his dad, that is. He just wants to beat someone to make up for losing." Naruto, though, stared at the board. Strategy, huh? And Shikamaru's dad was the Hokage's extra brain?
"Sure! Let's do this!" Naruto sat down across the board from Shikamaru, who seemed a tad surprised. Chouji shook his head slightly.
"This is gonna be bad…"
Sure enough, the game was brutal. Shikamaru had first had to explain what all the pieces were, and how they moved, which itself was enough to set Naruto's head spinning. The many varieties of pieces, promotion mechanics, concept of 'dropping,' and more left Naruto barely capable of playing the game – yet with Chouji's assistance, a game was had, nonetheless, and Naruto found himself fairly amused by the slow-paced game, especially by the interplay between Chouji and Shikamaru.
"No, no, not that one! Shikamaru definitely left that open so we'd get caught in a trap!"
"Or maybe I made it look like a trap so Naruto wouldn't go there?"
"Oh no…" Though the game moved slowly, Naruto got the feeling that it had been a devastatingly short game based on the looks on Chouji's and Shikamaru's faces. Naruto grinned though – he'd enjoyed it, and thought he now understood how to play.
"Let's go again." The others looked surprised and Chouji spoke up nervously.
"Naruto… are you sure? I mean, most people don't want to play against Shikamaru even once – and that game was…" Naruto smiled.
"Terrible? Yup! But it was fun – and if I did bad the first time, it just means I can't possibly do worse the second time!"
The second game was nearly as bad, but Naruto occasionally spotted tricks Chouji missed, and was able to make some moves on his own. He lost again, of course, but Chouji merely looked resigned rather than shocked when Naruto demanded a third game.
Halfway through the third game, Naruto spotted an open pawn on Shikamaru's side, and smelled a trap. But, he noticed, if he didn't take the pawn, Shikamaru would be able to protect it next turn and advance it, probably all the way to promotion. Allow Shikamaru the promotion, or fall into what was most assuredly a trap.
Or take another option. Naruto took his lance, on the other side of the board, and went on the attack. Shikamaru's eyebrows rose and he sat without moving for several minutes. Chouji, too, stared – and once Shikamaru moved, nearly twenty minutes later, the game ended in a flash. As they reset the board, Shikamaru spoke, frowning.
"Hey, Naruto, why'd you make that move with the lance?" Naruto shrugged.
"I just figured that taking the pawn or moving my rook were both things you'd expected and planned for – but that doing something totally unrelated on the other side of the board might have passed you by. I mean, you had a plan, I thought, so if I could do something you hadn't planned for, maybe I'd have more of a chance." Shikamaru smiled wryly.
"I think this is my line, but… another round, Naruto?" Chouji gaped slightly, but Naruto shook his head.
"Nah; it's getting pretty late, and I need to grab dinner at Ichiraku's stand. Wanna come along?" Shikamaru took one look at Chouji's hopeful face and nodded.
"All right, let's go. But seriously, Naruto, anytime you'd like to play some Shougi – just come on by on our day off. I like your way of thinking."
Naruto studied the earnest, if still bored look on Shikamaru's face and saw the cynical mind behind it – a mind that felt like it had seen everything coming its way, and that was dying for a breath of fresh air. Naruto smiled.
"Don't mind if I do – I'll drop by next week!"
Three Weeks after Kakashi's Assessment
After Sakura's meeting with Kurenai, she had decided that the thing she needed to do most to get serious about her training was to turn Sasuke from some kind of sex symbol in her head into just another teammate, like Naruto or even Kakashi. To that end, Kurenai had suggested "normalizing" him by inviting both Sasuke and Naruto to dinner, where she could see their unaffected behavior.
This went together well with her parents' repeated insistence that she bring her teammates to meet them. Thus, the evening before the team's next day off, she approached the boys as they walked home from their training ground.
"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke… I was wondering if you guys would like to come to my house tomorrow for dinner?" Her teammates looked at her oddly, and she hurriedly continued. "My parents have mentioned that they'd like to meet you, and I thought it could be… I don't know, something like a bonding exercise."
Naruto was the first to grin. "Sure, Sakura-chan! I'd be happy to! Uh, that is, if that works for Sasuke?" Sakura smiled – Naruto had been making as much of an effort as she was to rid himself of his own crush on her – she got the feeling that it was easier for him, for some reason, but didn't worry about it. Not having to deal with Naruto's advances made figuring out her own feelings that much easier.
Sasuke looked uncertain. "I don't know. I haven't… that is, for a long time. Perhaps we should invite Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto snorted.
"Sensei would show up after dinner was already over, and we'd be lucky if the worst he did was read porn at the dinner table. He'd probably set us doing push-ups too." Sakura shrugged.
"We could invite him, though, if you'd prefer, Sasuke?" Sasuke shook his head.
"No, it's fine. Sensei should have time to himself." Sakura realized with a tremor of sympathy that neither Naruto nor Sasuke had ever done something as simple and ordinary as going to a friend's house for dinner – at least not since his family's death, in Sasuke's case. Naruto was masking his fear by acting like it was no big deal, while Sasuke was as skittish as a colt. Sakura tried to smile comfortingly.
"All right then. I'm sure you'll both enjoy it, and my parents will love to have you over. I'll let them know, all right?"
Naruto grinned. "Sure! I'll head over after my game with Shikamaru and Chouji!" Sakura remembered Ino telling her that Naruto had been meeting her teammates to play shougi during their days off. Though Ino had been rather annoyed by it, considering it a meeting of the three laziest members of their graduating class, Sakura had been more positively-minded, happy that Naruto was taking up a thinking activity.
Sasuke nodded as well. "I will be there in the evening. Will 1700 do?" Sakura nodded, and they headed back to the village in relative silence.
The next evening, Sakura found herself dashing about in a panic. Her teammates would arrive at any moment – neither had picked up their sensei's tardy habits, thankfully – and she wasn't anywhere near ready. Rather, she didn't FEEL anywhere near ready. Sakura's mother, Haruno Mebuki, stood in the kitchen with an exasperated look on her face.
"Sakura! What's all the commotion about – the food is ready and the table's been cleaned. Why are you so nervous?" Mebuki had the same green eyes as her daughter and blonde hair, and had dressed up for the occasion with a white dress and pink pants that matched her daughter's and husband's hair. A well-trained chuunin before her retirement, Mebuki ran her household with a stern, if warm hand. She looked to her husband for support as Sakura ignored her reassurance.
"Kizashi! Calm your daughter!" Kizashi had retired to the living room, head buried in the newspaper. This naturally didn't block the view of his heavily-styled dark pink hair, shaped similarly to a cherry blossom. Kizashi looked up with blue eyes, revealing his spectacularly groomed sideburns-and-mustache combination. He'd dressed in a loose blue kimono jacket and green shirt along with dark maroon pants. Settled in his favorite seat, Kizashi was clearly reluctant to get up. Instead he simply called out.
"Sakura, your teammates won't judge you based on whatever imagined problem you're worrying about, and if they do they're no good anyways." Kizashi looked back to his newspaper, but sighing realized that his reading time was over. Having retired from the active jounin lineup, he spent most of his time working at the archives, and didn't regret the decision – still, he missed having free time between missions.
Sakura, in the meanwhile, had stopped fretting openly, but was still worried – she'd heard her mother disparage Naruto as a menace before – would she say anything? Naruto hadn't played any pranks in weeks… Kizashi had never said anything one way or the other, but had never seemed as impressed with Sasuke as most of the other villagers – would his usual bluntness offend Sasuke?
Sakura didn't even know why she was concerning herself, since intellectually she knew it didn't matter. This was just a team dinner, and her teammates weren't going to abandon her because of it no matter how badly it went. She leapt up from her seat as the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" She raced to the door and opened it just as Naruto was about to ring again. Naruto had put on his uniform pants and a simple white shirt with a spiral on it - Sakura noted that if Naruto had no other fairly decent pants, she'd need to drag him shopping for casual clothing at some point.
"Hey Sakura-chan! I'm not late, am I?" Sakura smiled slightly. Naruto would be fine – he took things in stride, and his natural buoyancy would connect with her father immediately.
"No, you're right on time. Have you seen Sasuke yet?" Naruto shook his head as he entered. Kizashi was just behind, and extended his hand. Sakura caught just the slightest hint of wariness in his posture, and wondered again what about Naruto put so many people on edge. Maybe he'd played a prank on the Archives.
"Hello, Uzumaki-san. My name is Haruno Kizashi – I am Sakura's father. Why don't you come to the table and sit down? Sakura's told us a lot about you." Naruto's grin, if anything, brightened, and he vigorously shook her father's hand. Sakura found herself relaxing as Naruto's voice filled the air with commentary regarding his game with Shikamaru earlier in the day – apparently he'd lasted a particularly long time, and had surprised the Nara boy – Sakura wondered if this was a particularly rare occasion, or if Shikamaru really was just that good. Mebuki gave Naruto a very strained smile as he entered the dining room.
"Uzumaki-san. I am Haruno Mebuki – Sakura's mother. Please, sit down." Naruto seemed to sense the tension and relieved it all at once with a smile and waved hand.
"Ah… just call me Naruto! I mean, Sakura-chan and I are teammates, right? So we shouldn't be so formal – it'd be awkward!" The blonde's natural magnetism seemed to calm her parents, and Naruto found in Sakura's mother another avid shougi player – Mebuki herself had been born into a distant corner of the Nara clan, and the pair chattered about the clan complex aimlessly.
Several minutes later, as Naruto was describing how a particular fountain Mebuki had once played in had changed, the doorbell rang again and Sakura hurried to the door. Sasuke was wearing the outfit she'd seen him in at the Academy – white shorts and a turtleneck blue shirt with a wide collar and the Uchiha symbol on the back. Sasuke nodded stiffly in greeting as he entered, but seemed to relax slightly at the voices he already heard conversing. Sakura had the sneaking suspicion he'd arrived a tad late to make sure he wouldn't be the first guest present.
"You're late, Sasuke – don't go picking up any of Kakashi-sensei's habits!" Sakura smiled as she led her other teammate into the dining room, where her parents' eyes turned to the new arrival. Kizashi's eyes narrowed very slightly, but Naruto seemed oblivious.
"Hey, Sasuke, you're late! This is Kizashi-san and Mebuki-san – they're Sakura's parents! Mebuki-san was a chuunin and likes shougi, and Kizashi-san works in the Archives!" Sasuke bowed, still stiff.
"Thank you for inviting me to your home, Haruno-san. It is an honor." As Kizashi gravely returned the bow, Naruto scratched at the back of his head.
"Hah, don't be so formal – you'll make me look like I've got no breeding!" Sasuke smirked slightly in reply.
"I didn't think you had any, so it's not a problem." Naruto frowned for a moment before his face erupted into a grin. Sakura was relieved that at least Sasuke was acting civilly, and that Naruto hadn't insulted anyone. Once the plates were set out and the food readied, everyone made their way to the table. Naruto seemed to wrinkle his nose slightly at the leafy vegetables and Kizashi noticed.
"Naruto-san, is something wrong?" Naruto shook his head.
"No, no! It's just that Kakashi-sensei raided my cupboards and replaced most of my ramen with vegetables and stuff." Mebuki nodded sagely.
"That's good – it's important for growing children to have good diets – ramen is good for a little energy, but it won't help you grow." Naruto nodded in response, filling his plate with the steaming meats and vegetables. Kizashi chuckled.
"I understand how Kakashi feels – Sakura here spent the last two years claiming she was on a diet and eating nothing but salads and seafood (he ignored Sakura's exclamation of "Dad!"). Luckily, for the last couple weeks she's been eating properly again, so I've been enjoying the new variety of dishes." Naruto nodded.
"It's probably because of Kakashi-sensei's crazy training. He works us to the bone! I guess if I was just eating ramen, I'd have to eat… a whole lot of it." He finished lamely, not sure what to say. The table lapsed into silence for a moment before Sasuke unexpectedly spoke.
"Kakashi replaced some of my tomatoes with meat." The others looked at him surprised, not expecting this. Sakura replied uncertainly.
"You… like tomatoes?" She looked at his plate, noting that alongside the healthy portions of stewed vegetables and meat was a heap of tomatoes carefully picked from the salad. Sasuke nodded, and Naruto shrugged.
"Tomatoes are pretty nice – better than some of those weird green things Sensei stuffed in my fridge. Mebuki-san, these veggies are way better than when I make them!" Sakura's mother smiled slightly and she could see that regardless of whatever Naruto had done to annoy her parents, they were being won over by the boy's sincere enthusiasm.
Dinner continued with the various participants speaking, and Sakura was surprised at how articulate Naruto was on recent events like the civil war in Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village, and the rising price of Wave Country oysters. "Naruto, how do you know so much about that stuff? You never used to read about current events in the Academy…"
Naruto shrugged. "Kakashi-sensei told me that when my clones dispel, I get their memories – so if I make a bunch and send them to the library while we're training, I can learn stuff and not be dumb." He went on to explain how his shadow clones worked at Kizashi's request, and the older man was impressed at Naruto's diligence.
"I'll make you a list of some basic reference texts that you may have missed which will catch you up on things the Academy probably didn't teach you – I remember how boring it was myself." Mebuki huffed in annoyance and shoved her husband, and the two descended into the fond bickering Sakura was used to – she was strangely gratified by this, since it signaled that they had accepted Naruto's and Sasuke's presence. She was surprised to see her teammates' confused looks.
After dinner came dessert, during which Sasuke had revealed that he hadn't eaten sweets since his family's demise – Sakura had been horrified, but Naruto declared that it was better to make new memories than worry about old, bad ones. Finally, with Naruto reluctantly pointing out that he had to meet someone named 'Gai' the following morning for taijutsu practice, Sakura's teammates made their way to the door.
"I had fun, Sakura-chan! The food was great, and your parents are really cool! Thanks for inviting us over!" Naruto was cheery and Sakura couldn't help but smile. Sasuke nodded.
"It was an… enjoyable evening." Sakura smiled back, feeling less of a sensation in her stomach than usual. While civil, Sasuke had behaved much as she'd expected – awkwardly and almost shyly. While the mysterious, cool boy she'd known in the Academy was someone who her mind may have fixated on, Kurenai had been right in saying that a better, more realistic view of Sasuke, especially away from his comfort zone, would help cure her of her feelings.
Sakura watched her teammates disappear into the night and closed the door. Her mother waited silently behind her.
"You know, that Naruto boy was less of a… problem than I'd heard. He seemed quite nice, actually, if a little over-exuberant." Kizashi, appearing behind his wife, shook his head.
"I don't know what you're talking about, woman. There' nothing wrong with a boy being energetic – and the other one may have been shy, but he seemed polite enough as well." Mebuki frowned and replied.
"Well of course YOU'D think so; Naruto-san seems as much of a goofball as you…" Sakura left her parents to their bickering again and headed upstairs.
It had been a nice evening. She smiled – she'd have to make sure to repeat it sometime.
Seven Weeks after Kakashi's Assessment
It had been a particularly grueling day on Training Ground 21 – even Naruto had begun to show the effects of fatigue after Kakashi had set him to sprinting around the entire training ground with weights attached to his ankles – with a rather fearsome summoned attack dog chasing him. Not that Naruto had initially shown a problem, easily outlasting the dog – but when Kakashi's first dog had tired, he'd merely summoned another – then another. By the end of the day, even Naruto's absurd stamina had waned.
Sasuke and Sakura had found the day even worse – Sasuke had been thrown into the river and forced to swim all day – with Kakashi sitting on the bridge submerging him with gouts of water every time he'd tried to surface. Every muscle in Sasuke's body ached, and he was dripping wet to boot.
Sakura had been told to stand upside down on a tree limb – after which Kakashi had promptly used an earth technique to crumble the ground beneath into a pit filled with spiders. Though Sakura was fairly certain that the spiders had been illusory, she hadn't been able to spare the chakra to break the illusion – and so had spent the entire day petrified, doing squats on the underside of the branch. Her legs and abdominals were sore, and she could feel the near-empty throbbing of her chakra coils, where just a trickle of energy remained.
The next day was their day off, but Kakashi had decided that Naruto's day off wouldn't start until the sun was up – Sasuke wasn't certain what the other boy had done to deserve Kakashi's ire, or if this was just Kakashi's way of amusing himself. Nonetheless, the jounin's other two students had gratefully stumbled away from the training ground at sundown. While Sasuke's legs felt like jelly, Sakura looked somehow even more exhausted, so he made the decision to help her home.
"Thanks for helping, Sasuke, but I promise I can make it on my own…" Sakura protested, but Sasuke wasn't about to let his teammate fall over. He'd let her walk unassisted most of the way, but as they'd neared Konoha, Sakura had slowed significantly. Sasuke didn't reply, but Sakura continued.
"You know, it's kind of funny… Once I would have given anything for this?" Sasuke knew – oh, he knew. He shuddered as he remembered the hordes of girls who'd surrounded him like hounds baying for a fresh kill.
OK, perhaps Kakashi had a point that Sasuke's inner monologue was slightly disturbed. Perhaps he should get that counselling Kakashi had suggested. Sakura spoke again.
"I mean, we'd all have given anything for it before, but now, it doesn't work up that same fervor." Sasuke spoke at last.
"Why is that?" He was genuinely curious. In the same way he'd started smiling unprompted sometimes, and that Naruto almost never insulted him or flirted with Sakura, Sakura's change was a welcome one for their team's cohesiveness.
Sakura shrugged in reply. "Maybe it had something to do with seeing you collapse after training one too many times – or listening to you and Naruto bicker. It probably helped that you never responded."
Sasuke nodded; that made sense. "You won't relapse if I offer you a compliment, will you? You have grown, and I consider you a worthy teammate." Sakura's eyes grew at this.
"You don't offer compliments often… In fact, I don't think I've ever heard you do it unprompted before." Sasuke shook his head.
"I've told Naruto he fights well, I guess. He puts a lot of effort into that, and it's rather absurd how much he's grown since the Academy. We all have, but him most of all. I can't believe the Academy instructors ignored the benefit his bloodline provided – it's almost criminal." Sakura considered this.
"What's with you and this bloodline talk? I mean – I know you have one and all, but you've mentioned it like it's some kind of… game-changer… before." Sasuke frowned.
It was, he thought. Konoha and Kumogakure, Hidden Cloud Village, were the only two of the Great Shinobi Villages that really saw bloodline abilities as an important part of their villages' make-up. While Kumo typically considered them tools – assets of the village – Konoha instead offered bloodline clans rights and privileges which had attracted others to its banner. Bloodline abilities had made Konoha what it was.
"I just… find the waste of a talent like Naruto's frustrating. He could have been an asset and a good sparring partner in the Academy. I could have measured my growth against another student with the power and drive to excel. Instead…" Sakura nodded, understanding.
"Instead it's taken until now for you to realize how similar you and Naruto actually are." Sasuke's head snapped towards her at that, but he couldn't deny the remark. Instead, he remained silent for the rest of the walk.
Nine Weeks after Kakashi's Assessment
It had been a strange day off for Naruto. He'd made his way to the Nara Complex only to find that Shikamaru was ill and that his mother wouldn't let him infect others – he'd spoken to his friend for a bit and had been given several venison strips by Nara Yoshino, Shikamaru's usually inflexible mother, but had to go without his usual gaming fix for the day. He and Chouji had spent most of the day at an all-you-could-eat barbeque restaurant in the merchant district, but had been evicted once Chouji's vast appetite and Naruto's absurd metabolism had broken every record the restaurant had held.
Now, with little else to do, Naruto had made his way back to the training ground, where he simply watched the water run under the bridge. It really was a beautiful place, and in his opinion the ruts and edges the field had acquired from his team's practice there only made it lovelier – it had a character all of its own that made it like home.
As he sat, he felt a prickling sensation at the back of his neck that told him someone was watching him. Who would be watching him here, Naruto wondered – after all, he was in the middle of Konoha, and it had been years since he'd required one of the masked caretakers the Hokage had left him with. Inu-san, the dog-masked warrior who'd been his favorite, hadn't been around since he'd started the Academy.
Naruto stood up slowly and approached the treeline, calling out, "Whoever's there, you'd better come out! I know you're there, and if you don't, I'll have to kick your ass!" A quiet gasp sounded from the woods, and from the brush emerged a figure he hadn't seen since the Academy.
"Hinata! What are you doing here?" He remembered the quiet girl who'd been in his Academy class, and vaguely recalled Sakura mentioning that the two were training together under the same instructor at the hospital. Hinata trembled slightly, and Naruto hoped he hadn't scared her. He grinned comfortingly, but was dismayed to see that she just seemed more nervous, looking slightly away, so that her hair fell over her eyes.
Naruto approached her, waving. "Aha… I didn't mean it that way. It's nice to see you again – so, what brings you around here?" Hinata shrugged slightly.
"I… I w-was just walking through from the t-training ground m-my team usually m-meets at, and thought I heard someone?" Naruto wondered what he'd done that was that loud. Maybe she'd heard him arrive; he hadn't been at the training ground long.
"I didn't mean to bother you, Hinata; I was just going to go back to the village!" Naruto turned to leave, but Hinata spoke up again.
"No! I m-mean, you don't h-have to. Not on my acc-account…" Naruto looked back at the girl for a moment, wondering if she was just saying that to be polite, but he supposed Hinata had always been kind to him, even during the Academy. For all that she stuttered and sometimes fainted randomly, she seemed a good sort.
"Nah, sun's going down anyways. I probably would have headed back soon. Say, you want to walk with, if you're done around here?" To Naruto, Hinata seemed practically terrified of the very idea, and he was about to rescind the offer to save her having to reply, but she nodded then.
"Y-yes! That would b-be most agreeable." Naruto smiled – so it wasn't that she was nervous; she was just shy! Well, he could deal with shy. Sasuke was shy too – though Sasuke was arrogant, while Hinata's entire self-confidence could probably fit in a thimble. The pair began to walk back to Konoha as Naruto thought of something to say.
"So… I hear your training at the hospital's going well?"
"Yes, it is… S-sakura-san and I have b-been enjoying our time th-there, and our instructor is v-very patient." Naruto smiled again – he'd made a good choice. Sakura was always happy to talk about her training, and it seemed Hinata wouldn't be any different.
"Yeah, it sounds like medical training is a lot of fun! Have you learned any techniques yet?" Hinata shook her head slightly, burying her face in her beige coat's collar.
"N-no… Kabuto-s-sensei has said that we aren't to l-learn a real technique until w-we know how the b-body functions… but we've just s-started learning to summon m-medical chakra." Naruto nodded slowly.
"Cool! How's, uh, medical chakra different from the usual stuff? Like, what does it do?"
The two spoke for a while before Hinata mentioned something else that piqued Naruto's interest. "… It's m-much easier for me to see what's wrong with the p-patients than for Sakura-san, b-because of the Byakugan…"
Naruto's mind fluttered, dragging up what he'd read in the library. The Byakugan, like most bloodline abilities, was only sketched out in the vaguest of terms there – it could see all around, he remembered, and was said to see through things – and particularly into peoples' chakra and internal systems.
"You can see organs with that, then, I guess? That's pretty awesome."
"Not j-just organs – chakra systems too. It's s-surprising how many people damage their s-systems somehow." This gave Naruto an idea.
"Hey, Hinata – would you mind doing me a favor?" Hinata stopped, tilting her head.
"What f-favor? I mean, of c-course! But what do you n-need?" Naruto smirked.
"Just watch my chakra system and tell me if you see anything strange." Naruto picked up a nearby leaf and applied it to his forehead, allowing his chakra to reach into the now-familiar exercise. He could have performed the tree-climbing exercise instead, but he thought this one, which he knew better, would be more useful for his purposes. Hinata flashed through a short series of seals and called out "Byakugan!"
Naruto watched, fascinated, as the veins around Hinata's eyes bulged, her eyes growing paler, if anything. He almost-unconsciously recycled the chakra holding the leaf to his head as a swirl of wild energy nearly displaced it, and Hinata's eyes widened. Naruto smiled – he'd been right.
"Th-there's… something in your chakra! It's a different color, and it feels… darker. It's twisting around… What is it?!" Naruto just shook his head slowly.
"It's part of my… uh… bloodline ability. Basically that 'wild energy' makes it tough for me to use my chakra without wasting a whole bunch – I figure that if you can tell me when it's coming, I can figure out what it feels like inside of me and get control over it!"
Over the next hour, Hinata warned Naruto as he pressed the leaves to his head, telling him just as the dark energy moved towards his techniques. He could feel them, but initially not in time to do anything about it. Slowly, though, he felt the strange, hot, bitter energy that emanated from his seal even as it came out of his chakra core. Trying something different, he reached into himself, grasping at the dark energy and redirected it away from the leaves. Hinata gasped.
"The energy! I-it's receding! It's not m-moving towards the technique anymore!" Naruto let the leaves fall from his face and smiled radiantly – he'd done it! Now that he knew what the Kyuubi's energy felt like as it flowed into his system, he could just redirect it away from his techniques – and thereby make chakra control exercises a thousand times easier to perform. He grabbed Hinata's hands, spinning her around as she gasped.
"It worked! It worked! Thanks, Hinata-chan!" Hinata's smile and widened eyes met him as she swooned – Naruto blinked. What had happened?
"Hinata-chan? Uh…" Not knowing what else to do, he picked the girl up and continued on his way. And here he'd thought she was over that.
Naruto decided to drop the girl off at her clan's complex – the Hyuuga Clan complex was, if anything, even more formal than the Nara complex. It was also bigger, spanning multiple blocks and surrounded with a whitewashed stone wall topped with slanted eaves. At each side was an ornate, traditional gate guarded by pale-eyed Hyuuga in white robes. As Naruto approached one with Hinata in his arms, one of the guards vanished inside. Naruto, unable to wave, simply approached.
"Hey, there, uh, Hyuuga-san? She sort of just fainted… Can I just leave her here?"
"You can leave Hinata-sama with me." An unfamiliar voice accompanied a familiar face in the form of Hyuuga Neji; a teammate of Lee's that Naruto had seen a few times at the end of his training sessions at Training Ground 27. Neji was tall, pale, and had long, dark brown hair, and he wore the same pale robe as the other Hyuuga. His pure-white eyes were full of a strange sort of malice as he looked at Hinata and Naruto felt immediately uncomfortable.
"Uh, Neji-san, I'm not so sure about that. I mean… are you sure she'll be safe?" Neji's eyes flashed.
"Hinata-sama will be safe with me. Fate has decreed that I protect her." Naruto had no idea what the other boy was talking about, but it sounded fairly final. Having no real recourse, Naruto settled Hinata in Neji's arms.
"Well, OK. Um… Is she all right? She just sort of fainted out of nowhere." Neji nodded stiffly.
"Hinata-sama is perfectly healthy. Do not trouble yourself any further, Uzumaki-san." Neji returned through the gate and Naruto watched them go for a bit.
Living as part of a clan sure was strange – and though Naruto would have done anything for a family, he didn't think even he wanted a family like that.
Evening Before Present Day – Twelve Weeks and Three Days after Kakashi's Assessment
Naruto watched Sasuke staring at the water unbelieving, and wondered what was wrong. Sakura seemed too shell-shocked from their other teammate's near-death experience to say anything.
"YES!" The cry that erupted from Sasuke's throat was the last thing either of his teammates had expected, and Naruto was on his feet with a kunai drawn before he knew it. It found no purpose, though, as he watched Sasuke leap into the air, practically spin around, and land with an enormous grin that looked positively disturbing on his face.
"Yes! Yes! YES!" Sasuke made his way back to Sakura and Naruto, almost bouncing. Sakura's lips had quirked into a smile, but her face was otherwise full of confusion – much a mirror of his own, Naruto guessed. Sasuke nearly leapt at him and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Naruto! Naruto, do you realize what this is? Do you realize what you've done?" Naruto stared for a moment.
"Uh… almost impaled you in the face with molten kunai-bits?" Sasuke laughed gaily, his eyes red and shining with delight. Wait, red?
"What the heck is up with your eyes?!" Sakura's face, which had closed into a thoughtful frown, suddenly lit.
"The Sharingan!" Sasuke grinned as he turned to her.
"Yes! I have it! Near-death experiences – oh, I should have let Naruto nearly kill me before!" Naruto chuckled in disbelief. Sasuke had once mentioned that the Sharingan appeared in times of great distress, often when its bearer was about to die and needed it most. He supposed flaming metal shrapnel racing at one's face counted.
Sakura smiled. "I'm glad you've got the Sharingan, Sasuke. Now – WHOA!" Sasuke was clearly not ready to stop celebrating, grabbing one of Sakura's hands and whirling around as he spun about. Sakura almost fell, but giggled slightly, clearly being dragged along by Sasuke's good mood. Good mood nothing, Naruto thought, grinning. Sasuke was ecstatic in a way he'd never seen before. Sasuke persisted in babbling about how thankful he was for another minute, even dragging Naruto into his strange dance, before finally slowing, allowing a gasping Sakura to sit down. He turned back to Naruto.
"Really, though, thank you, Naruto." Naruto shook his head.
"I didn't do it on purpose, you know – and I didn't want to hurt you. It's great that you got your Sharingan out of it, but…" Sasuke laid a hand on his shoulder.
"No. I understand that it was an accident, and I understand that it could have been bad – but you didn't mean to, and not only did everything turn out all right, they turned out better than we could have hoped. Just take the thanks, Naruto." Naruto smiled at this, and nodded.
"Well, this is a cozy scene! You must all have extra energy to burn today if you're ready to hop around like that." They all turned to face their teacher. They had no idea how long Kakashi had been watching them act like fools, but his eye was filled with an emotion Naruto couldn't place.
"Kakashi-sensei! I have the Sharingan!" Sasuke cried excitedly. Kakashi nodded, making a motion as if to dispel a genjutsu, and Naruto understood how he felt, looking at the frenzied look on Sasuke's face.
"Yes, I see – now you'd better turn it off before you tire yourself out. It uses chakra to stay open, you know." Sasuke sobered slightly and focused, letting his eyes darken back to their usual black.
"Now, that seems to have come at a good time – after all, today is the last day of our training break. Tomorrow, we'll be proceeding to missions – and I'm sure you're looking forward to testing the skills you've been learning, hmm?
All three genin nodded. Naruto's spirits soared – missions! He'd finally get to prove how awesome he was, and how awesome his team was! Kakashi continued.
"We'll spend the day working on cleaning up your techniques, so they're useful. We'll end a little early, and tomorrow we'll meet up early to get a hold of the best mission Hokage-sama has."
Despite the supposedly-easy day, Kakashi drilled his students' techniques relentlessly – they had been told to make sure they could use the techniques under pressure, even in a combat scenario; to use the minimum number of hand seals necessary, and to minimize the chakra wasted on each technique. Whenever he saw one of his students faltering, he assigned additional work until the problem was shored up to his satisfaction – and Kakashi, his students found, was never quite satisfied.
Nonetheless, as the day ended and Kakashi dismissed them, the genin found themselves still brimming with adrenaline for their first mission. Naruto turned to his teammates.
"We should do something special! We should celebrate making it out of Sensei's crazy boot camp!" Sakura smiled but shook her head.
"I'd love to, Naruto, but I'm going to eat dinner with my grandparents tonight – they're visiting from one of the outlying villages, and I can't miss it." Naruto nodded as Sakura made her way off, and turned to Sasuke hopefully. The black-haired boy shrugged.
"What did you have in mind?"
"This is an awful idea."
Naruto and Sasuke stood outside a bar-and-restaurant Naruto had coaxed Sasuke to attend with him. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke had ever drunk before – unsurprisingly, since Sasuke, the elder of the two, was barely even thirteen. Naruto had decided that it was time to correct that.
Being genin, the two were technically adults, and as the two approached the door, Naruto nervously wondered if the waiter would allow them in – he didn't think he'd pranked this restaurant before, but the owner or staff might be among those prejudiced enough against him to find some way of keeping him out. Luckily, the waiter simply nodded at the two genin with a slightly colder-than-usual look in his eye as they passed by, and they found a seat at the bar.
The bartender approached them, and Naruto was gratified to see nothing in his eyes when he looked at Naruto other than a mild sense of recognition, mirrored when he saw Sasuke. "Hello, there, young… ninja. What can I get for you?"
Naruto took a deep breath. "Sake! For both of us!" Sasuke nodded next to him, and the bartender raised a single eyebrow.
"Sake, huh? You sure?"
"Yes!" Naruto kept a damper on his nervousness. This was their day to become adults! The bartender nodded.
"What kind of sake." Naruto looked at Sasuke nervously, but his teammate only shrugged, his eyes showing a hint of confusion. There were different kinds of sake?
"Um… Something good! Whatever you'd recommend!" The bartender just nodded and smiled, and returned a minute later with a clay bottle and a pair of porcelain cups. He poured a mostly-clear, very slightly milky liquid into each cup and nodded at the two boys.
"Something easy for starters. Good luck." Naruto didn't know what he meant by the last part, but Sasuke reached forward, wrapped his fingers around one cup, and in a single motion, tossed its contents down his throat. Naruto's eyes widened – he'd looked so cool! Naruto himself reached for the other cup, but was stymied by Sasuke's sudden coughing as his eyes bulged. Sasuke coughed violently, leaning over the bar.
"Sasuke?! You all right?" The Uchiha waved a hand.
"It's… agh… I can feel it burn…" Naruto stared, wide-eyed at his own cup. Sasuke looked up at him.
"Come on… you have to do it too…" Naruto stared a moment longer.
Perhaps this had been a horrible mistake.
"Urp."
About an hour later, both genin were slumped in their seats, the bottle empty between them. The bartender had brought them a bottle of plum wine, which they were passing back and forth – despite its strong aftertaste, the boys found it easier to drink thanks to the warm, fruity flavor. Naruto could feel a mild, warm buzz in his mind, and though things were a little blurry, he was enjoying it. Sasuke, he realized suddenly, was saying something.
"… and then I was just thinking – maybe if she would just GO AWAY I would like her more – but she didn't, so I just thought I'd put the fire out… but there wasn't one anymore, and it took forever to start another one, and that's why I didn't do as well in that survival lesson. Naruto, you listening?" Sasuke looked at him, bleary-eyed, and Naruto didn't know what to say. So he nodded.
"Yeah, that's right. So… um… this is good stuff!" Sasuke waved the bottle of plum wine in his hand, and Naruto felt a smile overtake his face. He wanted some more! He reached for it, and Sasuke clumsily passed it over. Naruto frowned.
"You git! You almost spilled it!" He drank straight from the bottle, and as he put it down was worried to see Sasuke leaning over the bar, his eyes wide.
"Yeah, I am a git… I mean… I was a git… Maybe that's why he did it? But that would mean he was a git, not me, right?" Naruto patted Sasuke vaguely on the shoulder.
"Nah, you're not really a git. I mean, Sakura-chan and I like you! And Kakashi-sensei likes you too, in his weird torturing sensei way. You must not be a git, then!" Sasuke nodded again, looking uncertain. Naruto looked over his teammate's head to see another group of people he recognized at a nearby table.
"Hey, look! It's Gai-sensei! And Lee! And Neji! And that girl whose name I can't remember!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the hand and hopped off his stool. Sasuke, stumbling slightly, grabbed the plum wine bottle and followed him. The two approached Team 9's table.
"Hey Gai-sensei!" Naruto called out as he approached. Gai's eyebrows rose as he looked at Naruto, and Naruto grinned. Lee was sitting next to him, happily eating teriyaki, while Neji sat quietly with a tray of sushi and a small cup of green tea. The girl with them was pretty in a friendly sort of way, with expressive brown eyes and brown hair tied into a pair of round buns, one on either side of her head. She wore a sleeveless pink shirt of a traditional style, and blue uniform pants much like Naruto's own.
"Hello, Naruto-kun! We are having a celebration of Lee-kun's birthday! Would you and your honorable comrade like to join us?" Naruto saw the girl – 'Tenten,' his mind reminded him – looking agape past him. He turned to look at Sasuke, who was half hunched over, holding the plum wine bottle and looking very red-faced. Naruto turned back to Gai and his team.
"Yeah, sure! We'd love to!" He and Sasuke seated themselves, and Sasuke leaned over the table. Tenten looked at Naruto, seeming concerned.
"Is… is he going to be all right?" Naruto waved dismissively.
"He'll be fine. Just had a bit too much to drink." A quiet snore emanated from Sasuke's mouth, and Naruto looked down at his teammate. Turning his face downward so there was no chance of him choking, as Iruka-sensei had once warned them, Naruto turned back to Tenten.
"Like I said, fine!" Tenten still looked doubtful, but Naruto was enjoying himself too much to worry about that. Turning back to Neji, he grinned.
"So, Neji, was Hinata all right after that whole thing a couple weeks ago?" Neji's eyes flashed and his eyebrows lowered, but he spoke in a neutral tone.
"Yes, Uzumaki-san. Hinata-sama was quite fine, as I said." Barely acknowledging this, Naruto then turned to Lee.
"Good, good! So, it's your birthday, Lee?" Lee grinned, nodding vigorously.
"Yes, Naruto-kun! It is my birthday, and Gai-sensei and my teammates have been so kind as to bring me to this fine establishment to celebrate! What has brought you and your teammate here?" Naruto shrugged.
"Well, we were celebrating because he activated his eyes today, and because our first real mission is tomorrow!" Gai's students all looked at him funny, and Naruto hurried to clarify.
"Our team's been training for a while, because Kakashi-sensei wanted us to really kick ass! So we were given a few months off to prepare ourselves and get strong!" Naruto found himself standing at the end of this, and couldn't be bothered to mind, so he merely drank from the wine bottle instead. Gai raised an eyebrow.
"Naruto-kun, are you certain you should be drinking that much? I understand that as a genin, it is legal, but the warmth of alcohol may dampen your flames of youth!" Naruto, having heard this phrase many times during his training with Gai and Lee, shrugged it off.
"Nah, I don't plan to drink very often! We just thought we'd do it this time, to see what it was like!" Naruto grinned and looked at Gai's genin. "Have you guys ever had alcohol before?"
Neji stared for a moment, and then nodded shortly. "I have – during specified Hyuuga clan events."
Tenten had as well, as it turned out. "My dad lets me have some from his glass sometimes."
Lee, though, blushed violently. "I…I have not…" Naruto smiled.
"Try a little then! Not much, just see what you think?" Gai frowned, but shrugged – he was drinking sake himself, and wasn't about to be a hypocrite. Lee bit his lip and looked at the others at the table – but eventually the peer pressure was too much and he picked up the plum wine Naruto had put before him, tipped it up, and swallowed once, then twice…
Naruto's eyes widened. "Hey, not so much! You'll finish it!"
But it was too late, as Lee put the empty bottle down with a loud burp. Tenten chuckled, while Naruto mourned the wine. Sasuke stirred at the loud noise and looked up blearily.
"Ugh… My face feels weird…" But Naruto was more concerned about Lee's face, which had pinked in mere moments. His eyes drooped and he slowly stood up, stumbling. Neji frowned.
"Lee, stop your foolishness. You've only just barely drunk -" But with a snapping motion, Lee's foot caught Neji under the chin and sent him catapulting backwards through the paper wall of their booth. The group in the next booth shrieked in surprise as Neji dazedly looked up, but Lee was already on the move. Even as Gai and Naruto stood up, Lee had spun around and smashed his foot into Naruto's chest, hurling him into the aisle, before nearly falling out of the booth himself into the restaurant proper. Gai called out.
"Lee-kun! This is hardly youthful behavior!" But Lee was already going after Neji again, slurring.
"Err… Neji…. You my rivallllllllll… come back and I'll kick you…." Nearly falling over onto Neji, Lee slugged him in the face. The Hyuuga's eyes narrowed, and his hand flashed up, fingers aglow with the light of his Jyuuken style, which Naruto had only ever read about – but Lee's backward lean took him out of range. Lee fell backward, his feet slipping up and catching Neji in the chest. The force blew Neji over the bar, where he landed on an unknown number of bottles. Shocked, Naruto cried out,
"I'm sorry Gai-sensei! I didn't know!" But Gai merely shook his head.
"It is not your fault, Naruto-kun! You had no knowledge of Lee's particular weakness for alcohol – though I hope you take this as an important notice about why you should be careful!" Naruto nodded, desperately fighting the buzz in his head that was already dampening. Sasuke, in the meanwhile, giggled slightly as he stood up, swaying.
"Looks like fun... Maybe I should too…" As Sasuke's hands began to move into misshapen seals, Naruto's heart nearly stopped – nothing good could come of that, either if the techniques went right and sprayed fire and lightning through the bar, or worse, if they went wrong and Sasuke sent his chakra into the abyss to do who knew what. Luckily, Tenten nearly tackled Sasuke, grabbing the Uchiha's hands. She looked up at Naruto frantically.
"I'll deal with him! Help Sensei and Neji-kun with Lee!" Naruto barely had time to nod as he was knocked over by Neji, who Lee had somehow dragged over the bar again before drop-kicking him – straight into Naruto. Both boys sprawled as Lee slurred something about flames, leaving Gai to hop over a collapsed table to confront Lee.
"Lee-kun! Control yourself and reign in your youthful power! You must, or your flames shall burn this innocent place!" For a moment Lee seemed to realize what was being said, before he cried something that had no words and side-kicked Gai through the window.
Naruto and Neji stood up, and Naruto saw Neji's hands twitch again, this time towards his weapons holster. Naruto grabbed his hand and shook his head. "No! It's not his fault – we can't hurt him!"
Neji frowned slightly. "If we do not, it will be the very devil to stop him."
The two cautiously approached Lee from either side, and the swaying genin leapt into the air, a leg swinging impossibly quickly towards either of them. Neji managed to dodge the blow, but Naruto was caught full-on in the chest, throwing him back into their original booth and collapsing the table. Sasuke, who'd stood up, looked at him with a frown.
"Hey… that's my teammate…" Stumbling towards Lee, Sasuke raised a finger as if to reproach him. "Hey, Lee-san…"
Lee turned in Sasuke's direction, accidentally head-butting the boy in the face. Blood fell from Sasuke's nose with a crunch as Sasuke fell back, knocked unconscious by this latest indignity. Tenten grabbed a pillow from the shattered booth and sent it whizzing across the floor with a flick, allowing Sasuke to land on it lightly, and then stepped up next to Naruto, who had managed to stand. The two watched as Neji barely dodged a pair of quick jabs before being hurled to the floor by a powerful haymaker.
"What are we going to do?" Tenten asked desperately. Gai emerged from the door, looking slightly grim, and moved towards Lee, who was now approaching Neji as the Hyuuga rubbed his jaw. Naruto moved in on the other side of him, Tenten settling into a stance and following him. The three slowly moved around Lee's sides and back – and even as Lee almost fell on Neji, They all leapt, crashing into Lee.
Gai wrapped his arm around Lee's in a classic arm-lock, but the drunken wonder was as slippery as an eel. Tenten kicked one of his feet out, but the boy implausibly remained on the other foot, stable as could be. Naruto, finally giving up, flashed through a few seals.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" His control vastly improved since Hinata had given him the key to mastering the Kyuubi's loose chakra, and the alcohol burnt from his mind, Naruto summoned two clones of himself in a burst of smoke. The two cried out as they leapt upon Lee, grabbing either shoulder and wrenching him away from Neji. Even as Lee was about to pull free, Gai landed on top of him and flashed through a few seals himself. Lee began to pull forward, but Neji grabbed the other boy's legs and locked them down as Gai finished his technique and swiped his hand against a shard of glass on the ground nearby.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" In another burst of smoke, a large tortoise, almost the size of a human, landed on Lee's back, dispelling both of Naruto's clones and leaving him with a distinct impression of what being crushed under a hard-shelled reptile was like. Lee wriggled, but under Gai, Neji, and the tortoise, he slowed until eventually his loud snores could be heard through the silence.
The bartender slowly looked up from behind the counter, and Naruto took in the devastated bar, multiple crushed tables, and shattered booth. Tenten weakly called out.
"Check, please?"
Afterwards, while Gai's team had decided to take Lee home, Naruto was left to help Sasuke up and lead him out. Sasuke, despite his broken nose, seemed quite cheerful.
"Aand… If we don't get any kunaaaiiiiii, then we'll put a fist in 'er face!" Naruto wasn't certain if Sasuke was singing some kind of shinobi drinking song he was unaware of, or just making something up, but either way his singing voice was absolutely horrid.
"Uh, Sasuke? Maybe you shouldn't sing… I think I'll take you by Sakura's place to get your nose fixed." Sasuke ran a finger over his nose, stared at the blood, and giggled.
"You know, I'm pretty used to blood. I mean, I saw a lot of it." Naruto remained silent.
"Itachi… I saw a lot of blood when Itachi was done, you know? It was everywhere. So much blood – it was like someone had poured it out of a hose. A hose made of Uchihas." Naruto bit his lip. Sasuke had lived with a lot of problems, and it sounded like he was about to pour them all out.
"Sasuke… you don't have to talk about this – don't just -"
"No!" Sasuke looked surprisingly stable as he pulled free of Naruto, though he almost stumbled. "No, I'll talk about what I want to! Itachi can't stop me anymore, he's gone and I'm still here, alone, and I don't know what I hate more!" Naruto was confused.
"What does that even mean?"
"It means that I don't know if I hate that he left, or that he didn't take me with him!" Sasuke slurred the end slightly, his eyes shining, but Naruto was too shocked to catch him as he pitched over his own leg and almost fell. Naruto helped him from his knees.
"I don't want to leave Konoha. But he was my brother. He killed everyone, but I still…" Naruto nodded, patting him on the back.
"He's still your brother, I get it." Sasuke looked up at him, bitter.
"How could you get it? You don't have a brother, Naruto. You never did." Naruto grit his teeth.
"No, maybe not. But I know what it's like to be lost and confused because of a choice that you didn't get to make." Sasuke searched Naruto's eyes for a moment before nodding reluctantly. Surprisingly clear, he reached towards him.
"Help me up. We need to get to Sakura's place." Arm slung across Naruto's shoulders, he stumbled along, and Naruto felt a strange feeling course through his chest. Maybe he didn't have a brother, Naruto thought, but he had a friend – and no matter what Sasuke thought, he wasn't alone.
That very fact was proven true several minutes later as the two boys stumbled up to Sakura's door. Naruto rang the doorbell, and fortuitously for their reputations with Sakura's parents, it was their teammate that opened the door, dressed in a simple nightdress and bathrobe.
"What?! Naruto, Sasuke… what happened to you?" Naruto shrugged slightly.
"Um… got drunk, bar fight… uh… that's about all, really…" Sakura face-palmed, helping Naruto lead Sasuke into her house by the shoulder and settling him in a chair at the dining table.
"All right, let's take a look at him. It doesn't actually look like a break, just some snapped blood vessels." Naruto thanked whatever spirits were watching for that as Sakura quietly cleaned out Sasuke's nostrils before carefully activating her healing chakra and passing it over the bridge of her teammate's nose. Naruto watched as the red coloration receded, leaving Sasuke's nose back in its original shape, though Sasuke still had a bright red face like the tomatoes he so loved. Naruto looked at Sakura and spoke quietly.
"Thanks, Sakura. This… I'm sorry for dragging him to you like this." Sakura shook her head and smiled slightly.
"No, Naruto – don't… I mean; you're my teammates. You two idiots and I are together now, and even if you do dumb things like this, I'll always be there to help." Naruto smiled, and Sasuke slurred something neither of the others could understand. Naruto leaned forward.
"What's that?" Sasuke looked up, his eyes still bleary.
"Team… We're Team Seven…" Naruto grinned widely.
"That we are."
Technique Library: Byakugan (Pale/White Eye): A bloodline doujutsu (eye technique) possessed by the Hyuuga clan. Sometimes known as the "all-seeing eye," the Byakugan allows the bearer (When the eyes' powers are activated) to see in a 300-degree arc around themselves, excepting a small blind spot directly behind them. This blind spot can be limited with training. Additionally, the Byakugan allows the bearer to see through solid objects, as well as into the bodies of individuals – this latter ability is most often used to see the chakra systems of other individuals, though it can also be used to observe organs and circulation. Finally, the Byakugan automatically sees through any genjutsu as if it were not present – though it reveals the genjutsu techniques' presence as a chakra shroud, such techniques are entirely ineffective against an activated Byakugan bearer's eyes.
Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique): A space-time A-ranked ninjutsu that draws a powerful being from another world into this one – it is often debated whether the beings are actually spirits or demons of some sort, and where they come from. Another subject of debate is whether the summoned beings themselves are drawn into the world or instead merely inhabit chakra constructs that maintain their presence. Regardless of the esoteric questions this technique inspires, the facts are simple – after signing a special contract with a group of summoned creatures, a user of this technique can summon forth a host of creatures associated with that contract to fight alongside them, provide them with various services, and generally to act as allies and assistance.
Author's Note: Hello again, readers!
As I said, this chapter was in sort of a vignette style – probably one which will be revisited during other training periods, so go ahead and let me know what you thought of it – especially in comparison to the montage I used last time.
Next chapter, we'll get to Team 7 (the new and improved!)'s first mission, and their first trip out of Konoha – and I'll just let you know now – it's NOT the Wave mission!
This seems like a good time to ask, since we're wrapping up the training segment of the story: Would any of you like any of the following (you need not pick only one; feel free to choose any or all of them):
A) A quick profile on Team 7 and what they've learned during their three-month training period (or would you rather just see what they've learned in-character?)
B) A list of new techniques/jutsu as they appear, either in its own chapter or at the bottom of the chapters in which they appear, with a brief descriptor
C) Chapters or a separate story with my conception of the Naruto world – things like how the elemental countries function and what I'm talking about in this story when I bring up things like the Fire Lord's Army or the Council
Please let me know if you'd be interested - otherwise, I won't know whether there's any demand!
A couple of replies to selected reviews (and again, thank you very much to everyone who's reviewed so far):
Freya's Doll: Wish granted!
theIrishWriter: As usual, I shan't say anything in detail about the future – only that at least one (maybe more) of the things you mentioned is on my storyboard.
ZrPx: That's definitely an interesting perspective – raw fist-based beatdowns are a personal favorite of mine to read about, so regardless of whether Naruto gets a weapon, he'll definitely be punching and kicking people a lot.
Please comment/review if you have suggestions, feedback, comments, or criticism. Thank you for reading!
- The Captain
