Disclaimer: You already KNOW that I don't own Naruto, so why do I bother with this?
Chapter 4
All he wanted right now was to shower and then go to bed. The smell of blood clung to him, and his clothes. He hadn't bathed in almost three days, and his chakra was nearly nonexistent after he'd been forced to use Obito's Sharingan so many times. He was so tired he couldn't jump from rooftop to rooftop as he usually did. Instead, he walked through the quiet streets of Konoha to his apartment building. He thanked Kami that he only lived on the second floor as he slowly climbed the stairs. Quickly, he turned down the hallway towards his apartment. As he drew closer to it, he saw a body sitting on the floor, leaning on his door. He narrowed his uncovered eye, wishing the landlord would put better lights in the hallways.
"Kakashi-sensei?" a boy's voice asked.
Kakashi-sensei? "Naruto? Is that you?" he asked, his voice harsh and grating on his ears.
The body rose and stepped closer to the light. His spiky hair was usual held back from his with his hitai-ite, but now, he wore it loose with his hitai-ite hanging loosely on his neck. The blonde boy had (finally) discarded his usual orange and blue jacket and instead wore a black t-shirt with the Konoha symbol embroidered on the front. He wore dark green shorts that reached just past his knee. Bandages were wrapped around his legs till mid-calf. His right arm was wrapped in the same bandages up to his elbow. The Shodaime's necklace lay just underneath his hitai-ite. In his left hand, he held a small comic book.
"Yeah, sensei. It's me." Naruto grinned, his canines gleaming in the weak light. "You've been gone for three weeks, sensei, and you've already forgotten how I look!" He laughed to himself. "And if I left for a year or two? Would you remember me at all?"
Kakashi smiled a little under his mask and continued on to his apartment. "What are you doing here, Naruto?"
"I needed to talk to you, and Tsunade-baa-chan told me that you'd be arriving today. So I waited."
He unlocked the door, and invited the blonde in with a gesture. "I'm sorry you've found me like this. I'm sure I smell."
"It's alright. Take your time, sensei. I don't mind." Naruto quickly sat on the empty couch, flipping open his comic. "Go ahead and do whatever you planned on doing—I'll wait here."
A little wary of this different kind of Naruto, Kakashi headed for the shower. Kakashi really didn't care if the blonde destroyed his apartment while he showered. All the mattered was getting the smell of blood of his body, and, quite possibly, burning his uniform.
The hot water washed over his body, cleansing him of blood, dirt, and something that he wasn't quite sure of. After six months of only D-class and one C-class mission, Kakashi had almost forgotten the sticky feeling of blood drying on your clothes, of adrenaline pumping through your body as you ran. Actually, he would have been happy to not remember the feeling of blood drying on skin, but you can't have everything right?
He shut off the water and reached for his towel. Muttering to himself about blondes who destroyed nice, comfortable habits, he dressed himself in the cramped and humid bathroom. Then he reached for the door and walked out. He half expected to walk into a trap or some type of prank left by the blonde, but instead, he found his apartment exactly the same. Naruto was still sitting on his couch, head bent over his comic book. The only change in the room was the sun that shone through the window, and crept further along the floor.
He seated himself on the couch carefully, trying (in vain) to not hit any of the bruises on his legs and torso. Naruto closed his comic, and gave him his full attention. "So what can I do for you Naruto?" he asked.
"It's been three weeks, sensei. Where have you been?"
"On a mission."
"I know—I'm just curious to know where."
"Oh, you know. Around. I was a little late because I had to fight of a crowd of pirate ninja monkeys, but at least I'm back, right?"
Naruto grinned, and then turned his face away from the older shinobi. "I'm sure you haven't heard yet, but Sakura has asked Tsunade-baa-chan to teach her. Baa-chan's still thinking it over."
Kakashi was surprised. He hadn't expected this. He guessed that it was time that Sakura start taking her career seriously and maybe Tsunade was her best bet for that. "I guess that means it will only be you and me, then?"
"No. It won't."
"What?"
"Tsunade-baa-chan has decided to disband Team 7. Jiraiya has asked me to become his apprentice." Cerulean blue eyes bore into his black one. "I'm leaving, sensei. Jiraiya wants to train me outside of the village. He's promised that it wouldn't take any longer than three years."
He was shocked. He hadn't expected to lose both his students so quickly after Sasuke. He hadn't expected to lose Naruto, for that matter. He had always counted on the blonde staying close to him out of loyalty to his first Jounin-sensei.
"Jiraiya filled out all the paperwork; Baa-chan helped me with the last parts of it. All that's left is for you to sign it now—your legal consent to pass my training on to Ero-Sennin." The blonde didn't speak quickly or even nervously as if he was afraid of what his current sensei might think. His words were sure.
"What if I don't want to give my consent?" he asked sullenly. "What if I choose to keep you as my student?"
Naruto let out a harsh laugh. "Really, sensei, you and I both know you had only one student, and he's gone now. Don't try to fool me." He opened his mouth to sputter a half-hearted protest, but Naruto stopped him. "Don't bother, Kakashi. We both know it to be true, so don't waste my time pretending. It's fine—Jiraiya explained it all to me. You want to repay your dead friend Obito through his younger cousin, Sasuke. That's fine. Just…just, please, sign the form, okay?"
"Why Naruto?" he whispered harshly, his hands clenched tightly. This was happening too fast. He just wanted to go to bed. He just wanted to sleep…He shook his head. "No. Don't answer that." He stood up from the couch and headed for the door. "I don't want to hear this nonsense. I'm very tired, okay Naruto? I just got back from a mission, remember? So, we'll talk later, okay?"
"No, Kakashi." The blonde boy also stood, but he didn't go to the door. He just, calmly, stood there. "I'm telling you now that you have to go to the Hokage Tower tomorrow and sign the forms, okay? This isn't about you, or Sasuke, or even Sakura. It's about me, and what I want to do right now. So…sign the forms."
Exasperated, Kakashi asked, "Why would you want to leave the village? Your friends? Team 7?"
"Team 7 is disbanded," Naruto answered slowly, clenching his fists tightly. "My friends don't need me right now."
"Is this because I didn't train you during the Chuunin Exams? Is that it? I promise I'll train you better now. Just why would you want to leave?"
"Sasuke's gone!" Naruto bellowed, his cerulean blue eyes flickering red for a moment. He took three quick steps to stand in front of Kakashi. "I didn't bring him back. I lost. I'm too weak to fight Sasuke at this level, so I have to train! You could only teach Sasuke; you wouldn't teach me. I'm leaving this village to become stronger because you can't do the job right!"
"I'm sorry that I didn't train you," Kakashi said softly. "But I did what I had thought was best for you, and for Sasuke. For all of you."
"No. You did what was best for Sasuke. Sakura's doing what's best for her. Now, I'm doing what's best for me." With that, Naruto left the apartment.
Kakashi sighed softly to himself.
The smell of ramen noodles filled her nostrils. The sounds of friendly chatter, noodles frying, and the chef and waitress serving customers blocked out all the other sounds of the passersby on the street. She looked around searching for the blonde head of her former teammate. She wanted to tell him the great news—Tsunade-sama would take her on as an apprentice.
She headed walked out of the stand and stood by the curtain watching. Maybe he'd show up…A flash of yellow caught her eye, and she shouted, waving her hand, "Naruto!" She grinned as the boy turned his head over to her.
"Sakura-chan?" he asked loudly, as he made his way over to her. "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you," Sakura answered. "Tsunade-sama said she'll take me on as her apprentice!" she said bouncing on her heels, grinning widely.
Naruto beamed. "Congratulations, Sakura-chan. I knew that you'd do it! Just be careful that she doesn't make you into a drunken hag just like her!" He laughed at his own joke, dodging Sakura's slap.
"That's not even funny, Naruto!" Sakura retorted.
Still chuckling, "Of course it's funny, Sakura. You just don't know funny."
She scowled slightly. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since I visited you at the hospital!"
"Ah…Tsunade-baa-chan wants me to stay nearby," he answered sheepishly. "Apparently someone heard about me and Gaara's fight during the invasion, and she wants to make sure that nothing happens. So, I've been staying at the Hokage mansion with her."
Sakura's green eyes widened. "You've been living with the Hokage!"
Laughing again, Naruto replied, "Ha, ha! Yeah! Did you know that Tsunade-baa-chan is horrible in the mornings? Oh, and if you try waking her up—she'll beat the crap out of you! Oh, and—"
Sakura interrupted, "Shut up, Naruto. You're going to make me regret asking Tsunade-sama to apprentice me."
"Oh, and she drinks! The other night she had at least three bottles of sake."
"Stop it, Naruto!"
"Oh and when she and Ero-Sennin get together—"
"Who's Ero-Sennin?"
"Oh…er…he's Jiraiya, but he's a huge pervert. But when he and Baa-chan get together they're hilarious! 'Cause Ero-Sennin's always hitting on her and being a big pervert, but Baa-chan just has to flick her finger and it's 'BAM!—he's smashed against the wall."
"Be quiet, Naruto!"
"Oh, and Ero-Sennin's asked me to be his apprentice!"
"…That's new." Sakura took a half step back, surprised.
"Hehe. I thought I should tell you before I lost the nerve." He scratched the back of his head nervously.
She smiled broadly at him. "Wow, congratulations Naruto! Now we'll both get stronger. Have you told Kakashi-sensei yet?"
"I just came from his apartment," the blonde answered pointing in the general direction of the Jounin's apartment building. "I need him to sign a form before it can be official."
"A form?" This was new. She hadn't heard of anything like this.
"Yeah, didn't Baa-chan tell you?" He seemed to grow a whole two inches before her, happy to know something that Sakura-chan didn't. "This whole apprenticeship thing needs you to sign a lot of papers from your new master, yourself, and if you have one, your current sensei. Don't ask me why, though—Baa-chan got boring halfway through."
"…Idiot, you should've paid attention," she deadpanned. "Well, what did Kakashi-sensei say?"
"Hehe—he didn't take it too well." He scratched the back of his head again, sheepishly as he stared at the ground. "
"Don't worry, Naruto. I'm sure that he'll come around. He has to, right?"
"Y-yeah! Hehe, you're right, Sakura-chan! He'll come around even if he doesn't want to, 'cause Baa-chan will make him come around! Haha!"
"…People are looking at you weird, Naruto."
"Sorry."
"Whatever."
"Hey, do you…er…do you want to come eat dinner with me?"
"Naruto…"
"N-not like a date! I mean we could like…we could go to the Hokage Mansion and eat dinner there! You can meet Ero-Sennin, and see what Baa-chan's really like, and—have you met Shizune-nee-chan? You have to meet Nee-chan! Oh, Tonton, too!" Naruto grabbed her wrist and led the pink haired Genin straight for the Mansion, disregarding any protests along the way.
He took her to a large room. The floor was made of long planks of polished wood. Three of the four walls were covered with tapestries of old legends and stories. The fourth wall was one long floor-to-ceiling window that looked out towards a peaceful garden. In the center of the room, a low table was set for at ten people with elaborate tableware.
She gazed at it all through wide green eyes. Beside her, Naruto beamed, his toes curling under his bare feet.
"Ne, Gaki (brat), who's the girl? Is she your…ehehe…your girlfriend?"
Naruto suddenly blushed as he whirled around to face the speaker. "Ero-Sennin! This is Sakura-chan! Be nice or else she won't come to dinner again!"
Sakura turned a hair slower than Naruto to see the speaker. 'Ero-Sennin' was a tall man, with broad shoulders. He's spiky white hair was tied in a ponytail that hanged over his shoulder as he leaned on the doorway into the room, his thick, muscled arms crossed. He had dark colored eyes, with a red line coming down from under each eye to his jaw. "Aww! My little Naru-chan's growing up!" Ero-Sennin crowed "Aren't you going to introduce me, Naru-chan?" He moved away from the doorway.
"Stop calling me that! I'm not a baby!" Naruto shouted angrily, before his cerulean eyes suddenly gained a mischievous glint in them. He turned to his pink haired friend, grinning broadly. "Sakura-chan, this is Ero-Sennin. He used to be Baa-chan's teammate, but then Baa-chan got tired of his stupidity and beat him up so bad, not even the Shinigami could tell what he was. But then, Baa-chan had pity on him and brought him back to life."
"BAKA!" Ero-Sennin smashed his fist onto the top of Naruto's head, only for the boy to be replaced with one of the many chairs in the large room.
"HAHA! ERO-SENNIN, YOU SUCK!" Naruto shouted, making a face at the old man.
With a roar of (mock) anger, Jiraiya-sama chased after him, going (comically) around the table several times as the two shouted insults at each other.
Sakura watched the scene before her with a half bemused, half amused face.
The night proceeded without too many incidents. Tsunade-sama appeared some ten minutes after Naruto and Jiraiya-sama's fight had begun, 'Shizune-nee-chan' following behind her. Tsunade-sama literally used one of her fingers to flick Jiraiya-sama down the hallway, after which she scolded Naruto on lowering himself to Jiraiya's level and making a bad impression on her "future new apprentice." All of this was said with an amused smirk dancing on the older kunoichi's lips.
Dinner was a loud affair—Naruto and Jiraiya-sama insulted each other from across the table (sometimes chucking food at each other), Shizune-san stopping what fights that she could. Tsunade-sama, however, ended all the fights with just one look. Shizune-san and Tsunade-sama both spoke to her about medicine and the job of a medic-nin while Naruto and Jiraiya-sama fidgeted lightly in their chairs before they resorted to making faces at each other (Tsunade-sama then proceeded to yell several profanities at Jiraiya-sama for acting like a child). Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama both drank numerous bottles of warmed sake, sometimes offering some to her and Naruto (Shizune put an end to that before Naruto could accept).
All in all, Sakura thought the night was a rather fun affair and promised Naruto that she'd come by more often. Now that she knew that Naruto was more or less confined to the Hokage Mansion, as he waited for Kakashi-sensei to sign whatever forms that were necessary for him to begin his official training under Jiraiya-sama, she promised the blonde to stop by as often as she could and to bring as many of the Rookie Nine that she could.
But as she was escorted home by one of the Chuunins that Tsunade-sama had called, she couldn't help but wonder how on earth Naruto had become so familiar with two of the Dentetsu no Sannin (literally: Legendary Three Ninja)!
A/N: Hello! So this chapter feels a little short, but whatever, right? It was the right place to end it. I think Naruto and Jiraiya both acted a little childish at the end, but I was in a good mood (big surprise there, right?), so I left it like that. Personally, I was starting to get a little tired of all the angst that I was creating, and I needed a little happiness. I mean, sure, being depressed and sad is a natural human emotion, but I do think that too much of it is bad for your body. It HAS to be--we weren't made to be sad all the time.
I mean, LOOK AT THE WORLD AROUND YOU! IT'S TOO BEAUTIFUL TO BE SAD ALL THE TIME!
Anyways, so someone noticed that in one of the chapters (i forget which...) Tsunade left Naruto thinking that he was a failure, and then the next chapter they're all happy together again. So...um...just assume that everything's ok in that department, becuase I couldn't make it fit into this chapter, and it would just destroy the flow of the plot if I wrote out the scene. I mean, if you guys think that it is TOO essential to the story, I'll find a way to fit it in, but let's put an end to all the angst, right? Who needs more tears?
So, as I get ready to close, I leave you with the usual questions: What do you guys think? Was it too OOC in some parts? Are you tired of the angst, too? What about the grammer and spelling? Any problems with the flow of the story? Is there something that I didn't explain clearly enough?
Don't forget to review!
