No, there's no Disclaimer this time 'cause I really am Kishimoto -insert evil laughter- ... Erm, not really...sadly...
Thanks for reviews go to : KakashiKrazed, Pance, hentai18ancilla, living laughing dead, Absentminded Dreamer 1310, SilverPantherSM, KC and black_hole
A/N: Sorry for the wait but Naruto is turning out to be a real stubborn ass. And Kashi's always making fun of me -grumbles-. So I got annoyed at them last week and decided to ignore them for a while but really, that didn't make it better...
Let me present... the last introductory chapter. And YES, that means there will be some action coming chapter four!
Chapter Three
Kami bless the old woman that lived two floors below him, Naruto snickered to himself.
"Medic in position", came Mai's voice through the radio transmitter.
"Yeah, Mercury, too."
"Ummm, Mercury?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Do you see the target? Or Blondie for that matter?"
"Erm, now that you mention it…"
Naruto grinned. "Relax guys", he said soothingly, "mission's been a full success."
"… huh?"
"My thoughts exactly, Kenji", Mai added," Naruto, what did you… is that PURRING I hear?!"
"Hmmm, I don't know what you mean, Mai. Isn't that right my little Tora-darling?", some meowing could be heard, then, "yes, that's a good kitty…"
The radio went silent and Naruto used the time to give the orange cat sitting on his lap a generous back rubbing. When he heard some rustling in the trees beside him he turned slightly to greet his two teammates.
"Hey there, I was waiting for you. You see, this little fellow here was really hungry and seeing as my neighbor has some cats I asked if I could borrow some cat food…", Naruto said innocently.
"That is soooo not fair", Kenji grumbled and eyed the feline in Naruto's hands with distrust as if daring it to escape again.
"Next time give us a call, Naruto-senpai", Mai sighed and fingered her hair to get some leaves out that were stuck in it, "You know, there's this little button on your radio halfway between your mouth- and earpiece and when you push it-"
"Sarcasm doesn't really suit you, Mai. It makes you sound old and bitter", Naruto said blithely and stood.
"Ey, careful of who you're calling old, blondie", came Kenji's indignant defense of his female teammate.
"He's only joking, Kenji", Mai interrupted, "You know, as in being funny…"
"Sarcasm…", Naruto murmured but it went unheard.
"Joking?!", the silver haired boy snorted, "That guy wouldn't know a joke if it danced naked in front of him while juggling poisoned shuriken!"
Well, now that was a bit unfair, Naruto thought with mock hurt, he did know some good jokes but they simply weren't G-rated…
"Awww, come on Mai, you can't seriously expect me to…"
The bickering had already moved away from the original subject and Naruto took care to hide his amusement behind the high collar of his Chuunin west. His two comrades might not be the most talented ninja but he had to admit that spending some time with them wasn't completely unbearable…
"Would you mind terribly if we go to the Hokage's office and get our mission payment", he interrupted them blandly.
"Eh?! What's your rush?", Kenji asked, "So keen on doing another one of those lame D-ranks?"
"Hardly", Naruto yawned, "I just got home late from a retrieval mission last night and I was actually hoping to have some time to go to the Hot Springs."
Mai frowned. "Didn't Matsuri-sensei tell you to train us after we've finished our mission? I don't think we should just skip on that, Senpai."
"Ahh, what Matsuri-sensei doesn't know won't hurt her", Naruto countered carelessly, "Besides, I never said anything about skipping. I was just talking about … postponing it, really." He gave her a small grin.
"And you should stop with calling me Senpai", he added, "Just Naruto is good enough."
"Now you're just trying to change the subject, Senpai", Mai accused," I still think we shouldn't-"
"Alright, alright. I got the message. Fine, so we're going to be training now, get our money later and I'll get my relaxation afterwards. Sounds better?", Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.
And he had been so looking forward to that soaking! His mission had involved him sitting in a tree for nine fucking hours in pouring rain until the coast was clear to snatch some stolen jewelry back from some little thieves. Damn it, if he had known what a useless mission he'd receive, he wouldn't have bothered at all. This had be such a low C-rank that even a Genin could have managed. Well, maybe not, Naruto conceded quietly, the infiltration part did require some stealth. And they did have five Chunin nuke-nin guarding the perimeter… okaaaay, perhaps it deserved its low B-rank. Barely. But still, nine hours of icy rain! Naruto shuddered at the memory. No matter how well trained he was rain at the beginning of winter was never pleasant.
Naruto shook himself off his thoughts. "Well then, meet me at training area 12 in …", he glanced at his watch," five minutes. If you don't make it in time I'll have you doing kunai-dodging with extra weights on. Ja ne!"
He disappeared in a flurry of leaves and left his two teammates turned students to catch up with him.
"He doesn't mean this, right?", Mai asked horrified, "right?! Last time we did that…"
"Ohhh, don't remind me", Kenji groaned," this was your stupid idea anyway! I don't think we should just skip on that", he mimicked her.
"Shut up and move", his teammate growled, "only four minutes left."
"SHIT!!!"
While his two temporary students sprinted across town as fast as they could go Naruto leaned lazily against a training post at area 12 and amused himself with reading a scroll on an earth jutsu he had just started learning. While his arsenal of offensive jutsu was nothing to scoff at he found his list on defensive ones glaringly short. Now that he was on a team permanently he supposed he needed some more supplementary and defensive techniques. It wouldn't do to leave Mai unprotected while she was doing her duties as a (aspiring) field medic, after all.
When he sensed two chakra signatures at the edge of the training field he put the scroll away and looked back at his watch for the countdown.
"23…22…21"
Dust rose from the ground as Mai and Kenji stopped before him and promptly bent over to catch their breath.
"Your speed really isn't up to par", Naruto observed unimpressed as the both of them wheezed away in front of him.
"Gah", Kenji panted, "you just had to use the training ground farthest away from us, bastard."
"Now, that's no way to treat the one in charge of your training, Kenji", Naruto said and nearly grinned in anticipation. They wanted training? Hell, he'd give them training!
"Get up", he ordered when he saw them dropping to the ground. A groan was his only answer.
"I said, get up", he repeated a bit more sharply," You asked for training and now you're moaning like some first year Academy students?! I want you to do 15 laps around the ground at your fastest pace. NO holding back, clear? If I see you going slower than your maximum speed you'll start the count again."
They started off with much grumbling and dark looks which Naruto promptly ignored. They wouldn't have the energy to complain before too long, anyway. While he watched them for any signs of cheating he once again returned to his jutsu scroll.
Half an hour later two panting and sweating Genin approached him to fall flat faced before his feet.
"Oh, you're finally finished?", he asked nonchalantly –he had, of course, kept track of their counting, "That took way too long. I guess I'll have to bring that up with Matsuri-sensei next time."
"…stupid…. fu…cking….stuck…up…"
"Save your breath, Kenji", Naruto admonished, "You get 15 minutes to cool down some. Use it to do some light stretching or whatever. When you're done, tell me."
A quarter of an hour later the two teens stood before their younger stand-in sensei.
"Okay", Naruto began and put his scroll into a pouch at his hip, "seeing as you are training to be a medic nin, Mai, I thought that some more chakra control exercises wouldn't go amiss."
He walked over to her and pulled one of his kunai from his holster. Seeing as they had already done the tree walking and water walking exercises – never mind the fact that Kenji was still getting wet feet from time to time- there weren't many new training method's left that were suitable for their chakra capacity.
"It is especially important for medics to regulate the chakra flow in your hands, as most healing jutsu require to be applied superficially and for you to direct the output from your hands. So here is what you do."
He proceeded to show her how to keep the kunai hovering on its tip over various parts of his hand.
"Contrary to tree climbing or water walking this exercise requires a much more finely tuned control. As far as I know, the Hyuugas use this as the first step to apply their Juuken. Do you have any questions so far?"
Mai mutely shook her head and went to stand over at the edge of the training field.
"Sooo, what about me?", Kenji asked.
"You?", Naruto allowed a small amused grin onto his face.
"You are going to spar with me. Because just as Mai said your taijutsu is truly awful."
"It's not that bad…"
Naruto raised an eyebrow and regarded him seriously. "Your stance is sloppy, your punches leave glaring holes in your defense, your sense of balance is on permanent vacation and I really don't know how you managed to not break any of your bones when using kicks. Shortly, your taijutsu sucks."
Kenji gaped at him, too angry to even find words.
"I'll show you sloppy", he ground out and tried to charge at Naruto.
Feinting to the left he tried to sweep the blonde's feet out from under him with his right leg while throwing a punch at his face. Naruto simply dodged the fist and sidestepped Kenji's leg. Now behind him, a swift chop to the back of his knees brought the teen to the ground and before he could wonder what had happened he was in a secure if slightly painful hold.
"I am not trying to ridicule you or to offend you personally, Kenji", Naruto said calmly even as he tightened his grip some more to keep his teammate from struggling, "I'm simply trying to point out where you've got problems so you can work on them. If you're too stubborn to see the truth and accept help when it's offered then you have no business being a shinobi. An attitude like that will only endanger our future mission success."
"I did graduate the Academy with my taijutsu, you know", Kenji panted, "So what the fuck is wrong with it now?!"
"Yes, you did", Naruto allowed and left up on his hold, "but do you really want to stagnate there? Academy taijutsu is nothing to be proud of it's just a step up from street brawling."
Kenji stood and rubbed the elbow and shoulder Naruto had used as leverage. "But I'm not even interested in taijutsu, I'm more into ninjutsu and weapons", he grimaced, "isn't it enough if Mai is good at it? I mean, we are a team so that could be her part…"
Naruto sighed internally and prepared for a small lecture. "Yes, that's true. In our team you will most likely take the part of a long ranged fighter but that doesn't mean you get out of learning at least the basics. Imagine Mai is injured or tending to someone and an enemy gets inside your range. What are you going to do then. You can't just rely on me coming to your help especially if we're dealing with more than one enemy. Or what happens when you get Chuunin and you are designated a solo mission? A ninja is always better the more well rounded he is."
Kenji frowned and looked at the ground. "Sounds sensible", he muttered dejectedly, "but I don't have to like it, anyway."
"Ok, then let's start with the basic stances and work our way up."
Naruto took time to correct Kenji's feet and arms and talked him through some simple katas that were mainly designed to improve the flexibility of the user.
"Let's stop here. You should do those exercises as often as you can in your own time."
Kenji nodded.
"Now, we're going to have a light spar", he went on, "come at me with your best and remember, keep your defense up!"
Kenji looked dubious but moved in on him to throw a punch. A slight tip to his shoulder alerted him to the fact that Naruto had just scored what would be a disabling hit.
"Again."
They went at it for another hour until Naruto called it quits. Mai slowly made her way over to them, looking as exhausted but not nearly as dirty as her Genin teammate.
"Ok, that's it for today. I'm going to tell Matsuri-sensei about what we covered so that you can continue with it in your training with her", he said and added in a fake innocent voice, "Now was that enough of a training for you, Mai?"
"Urgh, thanks a lot, Senpai", she answered a bit scathingly.
"No problem", Naruto said amusedly, "I suppose we have to go and get our mission payment now?"
"Don't bother", Mai muttered sulkily and shook her hurting hands, "I have to go there anyway. I want to get permission to help out at the hospital a few days a week so I can just get the money for us."
She turned and was just about to walk off when she hesitated. "Ano…would you care to come with me Kenji? I know your apartment is on the way there…"
Naruto bemusedly noticed a very light blush that had spread across Mai's face.
"Ahhh, thanks Mai but I wanted to ask Naruto if it's ok for me to go with him to the Springs", Kenji answered and yawned, "I'm really beat and hot water would be soooo good…"
"Oh, okay then." Mai shrugged, "have fun then. Bye!"
The two boys made their way to the onsen in relative silence. Relative meaning Kenji pointed out things he thought funny while Naruto only 'hmmm'ed in reply. He looked at the white haired boy out of the corner of his eyes. Kenji really was something else, he thought.
The boy was about half a foot taller than the blond and had a much stockier build. Instead of the usual shinobi pants that Naruto preferred he wore dark forest green shorts held up with a leather belt; a simple unadorned tanto was attached on its left side and a small supply poach at the right. Not surprisingly, his shuriken and kunai holster was on his right thigh over some bandages. At the moment he sported a washed out black shirt which seemed to be at least two sizes too big and a small bag was slung over his shoulders.
The only thing that deviated from the norm was his hitai-ate. Instead of a blue or black cloth that was standard issue and preferred by most ninja his was a shade of dark blood red. Surprisingly enough, it didn't look awkward or stood out compared to his normal dark attire.
Though honestly, that wasn't what had Naruto interested. At first he had thought that Kenji was exactly as he portrayed himself to be; a bit too loud, a tad too overconfident, much too proud and pretty much talentless.
Naruto's curiosity was first piqued when he got somewhat upset about his lack of surname but he discarded it soon, there were many people without a clan and without a name to them. But then, a few days ago had he had stumbled across his teammate in one of the smaller out-of-the-way training grounds. The boy had cut away at one of the training posts with his tanto and hadn't even noticed Naruto sitting in the trees behind him. Granted, if Naruto didn't want to be detected no one below Jonin level would be able to spot him.
He was just about to come out of the foliage and rib the Genin a bit about his unrefined technique when someone else entered the clearing. The lithe woman wore a long beige coloured trench coat which was open in the front to reveal a short-legged fishnet bodysuit with a rather tiny brown mini skirt over it. If that wasn't already a dead give-away then the way she lovingly played with the kunai in her left hand identified her. But what exactly did Mitarashi Anko want with his teammate over whose shoulder she was now hanging.
Naruto wasn't near enough to hear what they were saying but decided to stay and observe. Kenji suddenly tensed and pushed the woman away rather roughly. He was gesticulating agitatedly and from what Naruto could see his words hit home. Anko seemed furious and for a moment he thought she would attack his teammate which she was prone to do to people who pushed her buttons. But without warning her face suddenly blanked and she stood straighter. She said something short and clipped to Kenji, turned and stalked off rather stiffly. Naruto watched her go curiously until his eyes got drawn back to Kenji who had collapsed onto his knees and had his head hidden in his hands. A few minutes later he got back up and resumed training though his strikes seemed even more uncoordinated than before and much more intense.
Naruto had watched the teen for a while longer and then decided to leave him be.
Curious, Naruto mused again as they neared the Bath House. He wondered what that had been about.
He drove his thoughts off as he noticed the moisture in the air thicken with every step they got nearer to the Hot Springs. He took a deep breath and smiled slightly in anticipation. Mitsuri-sensei got that right, he thought, he really did love to come here. Although he didn't take the time to do so very often. Pity, really. Maybe he should change that.
The two boys nodded silently to the old woman who oversaw the use of the Springs and the women's part especially before they stepped into the men's changing room. It was empty apart from one young father who was desperately trying to convince the small boy at his side that peeing on the room's floor was not the way to go.
Naruto quickly shed his clothes and stowed them away before the disheveled father lost the argument. He grabbed a fresh towel from a stack by the sliding door and wound it securely around his hips.
"I'm going in already, Kenji", he said quietly, "I'll probably be on the far side, close to the partition wall to the women's part."
Kenji nodded as he struggled to pull his shirt over his head. Obviously, his muscles were already stiffening. "I'll be there in a minute", he grunted.
Naruto silently slid out the door into the saturated fog that was hanging over the numerous basins that made out the Springs. He swiftly made his way between them until he reached a slightly smaller one to the back of the area. Most of the pools were already occupied with numerous people so he was glad to see that only one other person was sitting in this one. He didn't pay much attention to the man who had his face hidden behind a small paperback book.
Naruto sighed inaudibly as he finally stepped into the hot water. Taking a breath he dipped under for a moment. The warmth on his face and the muted sounds did wonders to relax him but he swiftly surfaced again when a blurred shadow appeared over him.
"Hi Kenji", he greeted and raised his eyebrows in question at the tortured look on the Genin's face. Then his eyes travelled down his torso and took in the already forming bruises. "You don't look so fresh", he said innocently although the small grin on his face gave him away.
"No fucking shit", the teen ground out as he ever so slowly made his way into the water. As it reached his raw knees he let out a low yelp.
"That wasn't training, that was torture!", he complained darkly, "It probably made that Morino Ibiki-guy look like a fluffy bunny in comparison."
There was a slight rustle of pages to Naruto's left and he could have sworn he heard someone chuckle.
"Now, Kenji, that's just unfair", Naruto said and put his hands up in defense, "I'm sure Ibiki-san would resent that. My training wasn't that bad!"
Kenji just scowled as he sat down next to the blond.
"You saw my bruises, didn't you?! I nearly can't move right now. I don't wanna think about getting out of bed tomorrow! You really are one cruel bastard, Naruto. Thank Kami Matsuri-sensei is back soon!"
Again there was some quiet chuckling from the other side of the basin. Naruto looked up curiously and found his gaze held by a lazy black eye.
"Sooo… this is our short prodigy Kazama Naruto – unmasked." The lone eye gained an amused glint.
Naruto felt caught slightly wrong footed. It was just his luck to run into the one ANBU captain turned Jonin he actively didn't want to meet.
The slender man had the lower half of his face hidden behind his book – Icha Icha Paradise as Naruto recognized – and had foregone his usual slanted hitai-ate. Instead the silver hair was weighed down by water and hung loosely around his head obscuring his left Sharingan-eye completely. It made the famous Copy Nin seem younger, Naruto mused. If he didn't know that the man was really 23 years of age he would have estimated him to be around eighteen or nineteen.
"Good evening, Hatake-san", Naruto replied politely, outwardly unfazed by the slight on his non existing height.
"Seems like someone played drill instructor and overdid it a little", the renowned Jonin continued to poke fun at Naruto," Nothing like torturing unsuspecting victims to compensate for being vertically challenged, is there?"
Naruto felt his ire spike shortly. Who the hell did that guy think he was?!
"You know, if the rumor is true then they still threaten Rookie ANBU with setting you on them if they don't take their training seriously. And what was that about you scaring some poor Genin team to tears a few months ago… Much to compensate for?", he shot back challengingly.
There seemed to be something akin to honest interest in the Hatake's lone eye for a split second before it was suppressed beneath a lazy expression. Obviously there weren't many people who dared to talk back to the famous Sharingan no Kakashi.
"Aww, that was below the belt, Naruto-kun", he answered, "It was all in the job description as Captain. They pretty often require a … strong hand… If you choose to sometime join the Black Ops I might decide to take back my old job. Just for you…" He wriggled his eyebrow suggestively.
Naruto was very sure that any other ten-year-old would have completely missed the innuendo Hatake put into his words. Sadly, spending most of his life with people considerably older than himself he was quite versed with this kind of 'underneath the underneath' and, just as sadly, Hatake very obviously didn't seem to mind that he was just indeed conversing with a 'child'. Thus Naruto found himself valiantly fighting the mortified heat rising to his face as he floundered for a comeback.
Fortunately, this was where his so far conspicuously absent luck decided to make itself known in the form of a confused Kenji.
"Ano… who is this guy?", the Genin demanded of Naruto with the delicacy of a sledgehammer.
The blonde grabbed his ticket out of embarrassment with both hands.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Kenji", he said cheerfully, "I should have introduced you to begin with. This", he motioned somewhat exaggeratedly to the man across them, "is one of Konoha's most famous and feared Jonins. His name is Hatake Kakashi but I think you know him better as the Copy Ninja…"
He trailed off as he saw disbelieve and recognition flitting across his teammates face until it settled for awe. Naruto nearly laughed at the dawning look of horror in the Hatake's eye just as Kenji opened his mouth.
"Sugoi! I heard so much about you! Is it really true that…"
Naruto quickly tuned his teammate out and shot his temporary adversary a victorious smirk to counter the dark look he was receiving.
He leaned back onto the edge of the basin and closed his eyes to finally relax. Only after a few more minutes could he discern the reason why he still didn't feel fully at ease; the constant stream of questions and exclamations of Kenji had yet to cease and was making it hard for him to shut off his brain. Sighing, Naruto once again submerged himself into the hot water. The distorted voice of his teammate reached his ears only faintly in contrast to the rushing and slight gurgling of the water. The light painted curious shapes behind his closed eyelids as it travelled first though the swirling fog and then into the water. Breathing out, he let himself float deeper. Some of his hair caressed his cheek and distantly Naruto felt relief that he had taken pains to growing it out long enough to conceal much of his facial structure if he so chose. He was, after all, very much his father's son. He didn't want to think about how his life would be like if random shinobi recognized him as the Yondaime's son. Much less, if one of those random shinobi happened to be Hatake Kakashi. His back hit the washed out, rough bottom of the pool. A sudden increase in water pressure to his left ripped him out of his near meditative state and he quickly rose to the surface just in time to catch Kenji who had obviously slipped and nearly crashed into Naruto.
The sudden rush of noise hit the blond Chunin like a wall. Dismayed, he eyed his teammate.
"Kenji, this is a Hot Spring", he said slightly clipped, "people usually come here to relax, so could you please be a bit quieter and save your questions for another time?" Out of the corner of his eyes he caught Hatake rolling his single black eye at him as if to say 'You set him on me…'
"Spoilsport", Kenji murmured acidly to Naruto before he turned around, "Gomennasai, Hatake-san. I'll leave you be now. Thanks for answering my questions."
"No problem", the man responded and, when Kenji had looked away, nodded to Naruto with a small smile in his eye and turned back to his book.
Ahhhh, blessed silence…
Naruto came back to awareness when a light scuffle behind the wooden wall that was sectioning off the women's side caught his attention. Running a hand across his face he tried to get rid of the drowsiness that had claimed him. His fingers were pruney already he noticed distantly.
The harsh voices behind the high fence got louder; one was that of a young girl, the other he identified as the old rough sound of the overseeing matron they had met at the entrance.
"But I didn't do-", the teary voice of the girl was cut off by the sound of flesh hitting flesh. A slap, a hard one at that to be heard this loud.
"Don't you dare to come here again, you ungrateful brat!", the old woman hissed.
"But…", a sniffle reached Naruto's ears.
"I said OUT!", the matron very nearly screamed. By now the altercation had gotten the interest of most of the visitor's on the men's side and Naruto was fast to discern the identity of the dressed down girl. Now if only the old woman didn't let this get out of hand…
"We don't want the likes of you here scaring away the guests! Go, get LOST, you filthy de-"
Too much to hope for, Naruto internally groaned and tensed in case he was required to step in.
"EY!", the voice of one of the present ninja timely interrupted the matron, "KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN!"
The noise on the other side instantly died down and Naruto only heard naked feet rapidly hitting the ground; the Kyuubi vessel had beat a hasty retreat.
Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed a metallic glint as the Copy Nin relaxed his right hand he had been resting outside the basin. A kunai, Naruto identified. So he had been ready to step in and enforce the Third's Law by force if necessary. Somehow that thought calmed Naruto while at the same time his stomach started to churn slightly. As always when his mind wandered to Ami he felt a myriad of emotions clouding his head, from anger to pity and sadness everything was present but, as always, the prevalent one was gnawing guilt.
Naruto closed his eyes for a second to regain his bearing then he stood abruptly causing steam to rise from his overheated body into the chilly night air.
"I'm sorry Kenji", he said quietly to his teammate who had thought nothing of the exchange, "I just remembered that I was supposed to meet with some other Chunin tonight and I'm afraid I'm already late."
"That's alright, Naruto", Kenji yawned, "I guess I'll stay a bit longer. Do we get to see you soon?"
"Only when you're ready to take the first C-ranked mission. But that shouldn't be too long now. After all, you've been a Genin for nearly four months already."
"Really? That's cool! Those D-ranks are really kinda stupid, if you ask me… Well, see ya!"
Naruto held his hand up in a short wave and gave a nod to the Hatake before he hastily left the bathing area.
Back in the changing room he quickly dried off and slipped into his clothes then he left trying to find the old matron. He found her scrubbing the floor at the entrance and watched her silently for a few minutes. Her long hair was of a light grey colour, her posture was stooped and the face held many wrinkles. While she must have been a real beauty many decades back several bitter lines around her mouth and a perpetually narrow gaze depicted a woman who had not born her life's burdens with dignity but more like quarreled with them every step of the way.
Naruto squared his shoulders and detached himself from the wall he had slouched against.
"You had better be careful of where your treacherous mouth runs next time, lady", he murmured quietly and stepped out of the shadows.
The woman whirled around as fast as her age allowed. She looked afraid for a moment but her face grew slightly haughty and contemptuous when she spied him.
"I don't know what you are on about, boy", she said dismissively and made to continue with her work.
"Don't play me for a fool", Naruto responded calmly as he took a step closer, "That girl didn't do anything to you. There was no reason to treat her like you did."
"Did nothing?", the woman hissed, "You don't know anything, child! She is a vile, evil thing! She must have dozens upon dozens of people on her conscience! Didn't your parents tell you to stay away from her?!"
Naruto's eyes grew cold as his blood roared in his ears. How could Konoha's people be so hateful and ignorant? If it wasn't for her… It would have been him, an insidious vice whispered at the back of his mind. It would be him they'd be talking about, him they'd be reviling… Ruthlessly, he squashed these disturbing thoughts and concentrated on his fury.
"Hundreds", he whispered icily, "It was hundreds that died that day, among them my father. And still, as much as you all loved and praised your Yondaime you put so little faith into his ultimate work."
The woman eyed him shrewdly. "You're too young to remember the Kyuubi's attack. How would you know about such things?"
"Perhaps from a few drunkards running their mouths loose, perhaps not", Naruto shrugged, "Just be aware that there are some that honor the Fourth's last wish and consider her a hero… as there are those that have taken the Sandaime's law to their heart. Speaking about what happened is still considered treason and I for one won't hesitate to deal the punishment, if it becomes necessary."
The matron had paled during his speech and now watched him slightly fearfully. "B-but you're still only a child…"
"I am a shinobi, first and foremost", Naruto countered, ", and loyal to the Hokage."
Instead of drawing it out and watching her sweat for a while he turned abruptly and left into the chilly night.
He didn't notice the tall figure that slipped out behind him and trailed him all the way over Konoha's rooftops to his destination: an old, shabby apartment building at the edge of the village's slums. The complex seemed abandoned except for two dimly lit windows on the first floor which gave view into a rundown looking living room. A pale girl with middle length purple hair was curled on a moth eaten couch. She stared dully ahead and there were tear tracks visible on her face. Ami, the Jinchuuriki…
The dark-clad figure was completely silent as he waited in the shadows behind Naruto. The blond haired boy sat still for an undeterminable amount of time and the watcher could not discern any emotion on his face as he kept his eyes glued on the defeated girl's features. Only when Ami trudged into the back of her apartment and the light got turned off, there got some life into the young Chuunin. His so far poised posture slouched slightly as he stood and bowed his head. He mumbled something but nothing could be heard over the distance, then he seemed to take a deep breath, straightened and sped off, presumably towards his own home.
As soon as he was gone the tall figure gave up his watch and moved slightly. The rather memorable face of Hatake Kakashi was illuminated by a street lamp as he rubbed his masked chin in thought. He was not an overly curious person by nature but something about Kazama Naruto kept bugging him. Since he had met the young and rather reserved Chunin the first time in the Hokage's office he had made some discreet inquiries and had so far only heard the best about him. But it really bore some thinking as to how the boy knew about the Yondaime's seal on Ami. Of course, he could have heard something about it in the seedier parts of Konoha but he doubted anyone there would have instilled such a high regard of the fourth Hokage's skills in Fujin Jutsu. Then there was the Sandaime whom the teen had reportedly a pretty good relationship with; but the old man wouldn't break his own law for a mere Chuunin as talented as he might be…
Kakashi stared speculatively into the direction Naruto had left for. He really didn't like mysteries or the hassle that came with them but he liked it even less to not know everything about something intriguing and potentially dangerous. Yes, maybe he'd try and keep his senses tuned to news about that Naruto…
(TBC)
Well, that was my try at a longer chapter. I didn't know where to break it off and if I even should. It has about 6500 words which I think is a bit much, actually. What do you guys prefer? Do you like short (like the last two) or long chapters better?
Next chapter: Our favorite team gets their first joint C-rank mission and the tentative team work goes down the drain... Stay tuned!
Cheers ginoeh