Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Narutoverse.
Chapter 3
Setting Off...
Shikamaru found himself way more exhausted than he thought he would be after what was supposed to be a simple "meet-and-greet" with his new sensei. The relationship that had sprung out between Naruto and Jiraiya-sensei was going to be the biggest pain in the ass he'd ever experience. Especially after Naruto had christened Jiraiya-sensei with his new nickname, 'Erosennin'.
"'Cause, y'know, you're a pervert and a sage!" Naruto had reasoned.
Jiraiya had not taken kindly to the nickname, "DON'T CALL ME THAT, BRAT! I'm your teacher, and with that comes respect, get it?!"
"Fine, fine. Erosensei."
Jiraiya had groaned loudly. Shikamaru knew Naruto well enough that Jiraiya-sensei was going to be on the losing side of this argument. Hinata had tried to convince Naruto of the proper respect that should be shown to one's superiors, again, but Shikamaru shook his head and looked directly at the girl.
"Hinata, don't bother with it. Naruto only gives that sort of respect out of experience rather than perceived distinction. Jiraiya-sensei'll have to show Naruto what exactly makes him so respected in order to get Naruto to show him at least a somewhat proper amount."
Hinata had looked rather down at that. So far, all the interaction she was able to muster with Naruto-kun was when she tried to fix his mistakes. If she wasn't able to do that, then what was she going to say to him? It was too difficult for her to even consider talking to him normally; she would simply die from the embarrassment.
"Don't worry, Hinata. It'll just take some time." Shikamaru had tried smiling as best he could at the girl he knew had a die-hard crush on their new, blond teammate. Hinata had looked at him, horrified for a moment that he knew of her feelings, but calmed down a little after Shikamaru tried smiling a little wider and closing his eyes in the process. Being calm for Hinata at the moment, however, was really just turning a lighter shade of pink and poking her fingers together in a nervous habit.
After all was said and done, though, Hinata hadn't really been able to say anything else. Not that she had had much of an opportunity what with Naruto and Jiraiya-sensei going at it every other minute. Shikamaru sighed heavily as he dragged his feet back to his house, not wanting to remember the headache he had developed.
As he stepped into his house, he was suddenly confronted by his mother, Nara Yoshino. The calculating look he was getting was enough to send a shiver of dread throughout his body, and his eyes tried darting around looking for an escape-route.
"Not so fast, buster," Yoshino had placed herself in a very difficult place for Shikamaru to get away from; right in front of him with her arms spread out to the sides, "You're going to sit down and tell me everything, or no supper for you, got it?"
Shikamaru winced painfully at the prospect; he was starving since he and his other two teammates had been forced to skip lunch in order to make it to the Hokage's office.
"Er..Mom..I'm not entirely sure I can tell you anything that you'd actually want to know.." Shikamaru knew that he hadn't been given any exact orders to remain quiet, but he was going to try everything he could to avoid this sudden pain in the ass.
"Hmmm..Is that so?" Yoshino knew Nara men better than Shikamaru probably thought; Shikaku was just as bad at this sort of thing, "Well, why don't you tell me what you can and I can probably fill in the rest, hmm?"
Yoshino had moved her head very close to Shikamaru's sweating brow, she could practically smell the fear emanating from her son and she relished in her control.
"Let's go to the living room and talk a bit then," Yoshino grabbed Shikamaru by his shoulders and, with her vice-like grip, directed her son to the living room and seating cushions, "Your mother is just a little bit interested in your life, sweetie. This won't hurt you, I promise."
Shikamaru just groaned.
Outside, Shikaku had nearly grabbed the shoji's handle when he felt...something. Something that he really didn't want to step into it at the moment, so he quickly spun on his heel and headed to the nearest sake bar.
Hinata had quietly and discreetly stepped into the Hyuuga's main house and made her way quickly to her room before anyone could notice her. She had become very good at avoiding any direct confrontation with her family over the years; it never went well and she really wanted to be alone right then. She closed the door behind her and, leaning against the cherry-wood, sunk down onto the floor.
Her mind had been nearly blank practically the entire day. From the moment she figured out she was going to be on a team with Naruto-kun, she hadn't been able to think straight or even concentrate very well. It had been on her mind and in her dreams constantly before graduation, and when she had heard he had failed she had been crushed. She had seen him on the swing, his downcast eyes not taking anything in other than the rope the swing was attached to. Hinata had so wanted to go over and offer her comfort to the boy, but she was far too shy around him and hadn't ever really spoken directly to him. Suddenly going and offering her support would probably not have gone very well, she thought, and her father had also immediately ordered Kurenai-san to see her home as soon as possible. Too many obstacles and too little time.
But as she walked home from their meeting with Jiraiya-sama, '-sensei' she mentally corrected herself, her mind had gradually started buzzing with all the information she was given. By the time she reached the Hyuuga compound itself, her head and heart were pounding; threatening to overwhelm her and send her into a state of unconsciousness. That was why she didn't want to see anybody at the moment; she was worried any new information or "conversation"s would be too much and send her completely over the edge.
She still couldn't quite wrap her fragile mind around the fact that she was going to be studying under the Great Sage Jiraiya-sama, let alone outside the walls of Konoha. All with Naruto-kun! Her vision started swimming a little at that, and she had to ball her small fists up to focus on remaining conscious. Hinata had to get ready for an extended period of time. Jiraiya-sensei had specifically told them that they would not have a set time-table for their return; it would be solely based on their individual growth and performance. She had been also instructed, after Shikamaru had asked Jiraiya-sensei about equipment, to pack relatively light. Most of their provisions would be gathered on-site or on the road itself.
Hinata gradually stood up, using the door itself for balance. She looked around her room, a very tastefully, yet minimalistic, decorated area. There was her desk, with a picture of her whole family that had been taken before her mother passed (she had been only 6 at the time), a vase with a few sunflowers sticking out, and a calligraphy utensil next to a large script-pad. Her bed sat catercorner to the desk, beneath a large sun window. It's lavender covers and pillow cases matched the slight lilac tint her Byakugan eyes held; a unique trait that had been passed along to her by her mother. There were a few stuffed animals on her bed, she was a young girl with a liking of cute animals, but the one that was obviously touched the most was a stuffed fox that was nearly half her length. She unconsciously blushed at the sight of the stuffed animal, though she didn't notice. Hinata had never understood why she liked that particular stuffed toy so much; she slept with her body wrapped around it every night. It gave her a sense of warmth she simply couldn't describe to anyone who would even think to ask. A wardrobe stood opposite her bed, but there really wasn't much inside. There were a few formal pieces that she was required to own as a Hyuuga: a plain, white yukata and a more decorative kimono that was reserved for especially important occasions. Other than those two pieces of clothing, there was her training clothes that she normally wore underneath her baggy tan jacket of which she had two of each.
She quickly took note of what she should bring: Obviously she'd bring her clothes (she figured all of it might be necessary; you never knew), and she also packed the calligraphy items as they helped her and her developing chakra control. She wasn't sure if she should pack the picture, but she decided to take it anyway, just without the frame; Hinata was slightly worried her father would get rid of it if he saw it. He didn't like to be reminded of her mother, and most of her items had been discarded ages ago. Hinata's wall next to her wardrobe was full of pressed flowers hanging on strong threads. There were at least twenty different kinds hanging there. It was a small hobby of hers, but she truly did like flowers, even if she didn't really know the meanings behind any of them. They simply gave her peace of mind in an otherwise dreary and dark household. She convinced herself to pack some pressing instruments as well since she was surely going to be seeing many types of flora she'd more than likely never see ever again.
And that was that. She didn't think anything else was necessary to bring with her, but her mind briefly flashed to her stuffed fox. Hinata quickly wiped that thought out; that would be utterly embarrassing if anyone caught her hugging that fox in her sleep like a baby. And if Naruto-kun saw her..Oh, she would just die. With that thought she was determined not to bring it with her. As the sun's waning light shone outside her window, she made her way over to her bed and sat down. Tomorrow was going to be an almost overly eventful day, she thought, and the day she had just experienced was already bursting with outrageous events and memories. Hinata curled up on her bed after laying down, and instinctively gathered the fox to her chest; hiding about half her face in doing so. Her eyes gradually drooped as she inhaled the smell of the stuffed animal. It had always had that effect on her, in addition to the warmth that passed over her body. She was thankful she had already taken her coat off or it might have been too much. And with that silly, last thought she was out like a light.
Naruto couldn't sleep. How could he sleep? Tomorrow he was setting off on the most exciting adventure of his lifetime! It didn't help that his apartment rattled with unnecessary distractions: the faucet to his sink dripped, the piping below his floorboards hummed with activity, and the full moon was shining directly into his face. The moon itself didn't bother him so much. It had never really bothered him. He liked it, actually; that luminescent glow seemed to calm him whenever he was feeling depressed or hurt. Naruto knew the moon would never hurt him. It couldn't; it was physically impossible. Sometimes he would just stare at the different shapes carved into the surface of the giant, pale orb. He always saw a rabbit for some reason. Naruto had heard someone once talking about the rabbit on the moon making mochi, but he could never see the mochi bit. The rabbit alone was enough for him, he thought.
He rolled over to stare at the moon once more, thinking about what was awaiting him the following day. Was this Jiraiya character really as great as he said he was? Naruto assumed he would find out fairly quickly, but he had the bruises and ego busting to prove Jiraiya was at least semi-capable as a ninja. He hadn't seen any cool jutsu from the white-haired man, but he figured it would only be a matter of time. And what was with the toads, anyway? Naruto grinned at that; how would toads ever be useful on the battlefield? That was going to be hilarious!
Naruto didn't really have anything to pack. He lived a sparse lifestyle, so he had only packed an extra set of clothes and underwear. He would pack his pajamas and night-cap when he got up in the morning. Naruto couldn't sleep without the night-cap. Before it had arrived, he was a fitful sleeper; never really finding true sleep attainable. He couldn't really remember when he got it, it had just been placed at his doorstep around the time he was five. He had laughed originally at the goofy face the hat had; he was never sure what it was supposed to be. The buck teeth really threw him off, but after he had tried it on he wondered how he had ever slept without it. It was a permanent fixture on his head from the time he planned on going to be until after breakfast was finished. So, it was definitely going into his bag when he woke up. Other than that, though, he didn't really have anything. He had put some playing cards in his bag if only to mess around with if he was bored, which he hoped wouldn't happen but always seemed to anyway.
Naruto briefly paused in his thoughts to wonder if he had some sort of boredom disease. He was horrified for a minute or two until his enlarged eyes settled back on the moon. With the full moon taking up the majority of his window, he settled down quickly and soon felt his mind drifting off. His last, ridiculous thought was that maybe Hinata had a boredom disease, and that's why she always looked like she had a fever and was passing out. He would have to cure her, then, if that was the case.
Jiraya and the Sandaime were busy writing seals and signs on a large piece of parchment in the Hokage's library, an area of the Hokage Tower that Hiruzen had personally crafted into a repository of jutsu knowledge and history; though it was a bit on the cramped side. Earlier, the Toad Sage had come back to Hiruzen and asked for his help in transferring and creating a unique scroll that he had said was going to be instrumental in the future. Hiruzen had hesitated for a moment, but after hearing how it would work out he had agreed to lend his assistance. It was definitely an interesting idea, and he was curious to see how it would work out. Hiruzen wasn't labeled as a "Professor" for nothing.
Whenever Jiraiya worked on seals he was always quiet in concentration. It made for fast work and time, but Hiruzen always found it unnerving when Jiraiya was silent. As if something in the world was off kilter.
"So, Jiraiya, what do you think of the students you hand-picked? Having any second thoughts?" Hiruzen decided to at least create some sort of background noise, for his own peace of mind at least.
"Hmm? Oh, those kids? Mmmm.." Jiraiya hummed to himself for a minute before making a statement, "Well, I've got no problems with the Nara kid. He's got a decent enough head on his shoulders and should be fairly easy to work with despite his protestations."
Jiraiya leaned back from his work a bit and examined it, making sure it was done properly. "As for the other two..well, the Hyuuga girl is going to take quite a bit of work to bust her out of that shell that she's created for herself. Now that I know what she's like, I can't say I didn't have second thoughts about her, but that Hiashi...Once I heard what he had said about his daughter I was convinced that she had to be the one I had to take." Jiraiya frowned and narrowed his eyes subconsciously as he continued appraising his handiwork.
Hiruzen had stopped briefly at his comment as well and raised an eyebrow. He knew Hiashi to have become a somewhat cold man after the deaths of his brother and wife, and he had a good idea as to what the Hyuuga head had said concerning his shy daughter. Hiashi had never been one to tolerate hesitance.
"And Naruto? What do you make of him?" Hiruzen was especially curious about Jiraiya's opinion on Naruto; the sage was practically the closest thing Naruto had to a relative at this point.
Jiraiya barked out a laugh. "He's definitely their kid all right. If he didn't have that blond hair, and I didn't know better, though, I would have thought Kushina had had an affair. The brat is so far away from Minato's personality that it's almost unimaginable. After I saw him pull off the Kage Bunshin, though, I knew he had the Namikaze chakra reserves. Even with the Kyuubi inside of him, he didn't use any of that power to manifest those clones. That was his own doing, through and through. That's why we're doing this in the first place, anyway."
Hiruzen nodded to himself at Jiraiya's words, "Yes, he certainly does have a lot of potential. The problem with him is his constant need for attention, though. I'm afraid all the years he's spent alone has created somewhat of an attention monster," Hiruzen said as he chuckled lightly at some of the more precocious of Naruto's calls for attention that he labeled as "pranks".
Jiraiya stopped what he was doing all of a sudden and turned to Hiruzen, "'Alone'? What do you mean 'all the years he's spent alone'? I thought he was being taken care of?"
Hiruzen turned sharply to Jiraiya, "Didn't you know? Naruto was banned from the orphanage when he was five after he had a run in with some bullies in the streets one day. I swore I wrote to you about that."
Jiraiya stood up immediately and glared at Hiruzen, "Yes, you did, but you didn't say he was 'banned from the orphanage'! You said he had had gotten into a couple of fights and he'd be all right! What the hell were you expecting me to think?!"
Hiruzen stared in shock at Jiraiya, "Jiraiya, I'm sorry, son, but I thought you would have known that the orphanage doesn't tolerate violence. You were in the exact same orphanage when you were younger!"
Shutting his eyes tight in frustration, Jiraiya sat back down and leaned heavily into the back of his seat. He did know that; Hiruzen was right. The Sage had simply forgotten that one rule. It was never an issue for him, so it had completely escaped him.
"However, when I said he'd be fine I truly meant it. I don't think he liked living in that orphanage; he was always appearing in front of me pale and weak, as if he were sick or malnourished. Once he was out of the institution, he suddenly started gaining weight and life into his body; even with the measly stipend I was allowed to give him."
Jiraiya had reopened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a minute. "They were torturing the boy."
It was all he said, but it was enough for Hiruzen who had already had it investigated. "Yes, I had it looked into shortly afterward. The orphanage was overrun at the time due to the recent attack by the Kyuubi, and the caretakers blamed Naruto not only for the lack of money for the other children, but also the fact that those same children no longer had parents in the first place. They had placed all that blame on a single child who could barely determine left from right."
Silence reigned in the narrow halls of the library.
Jiraiya had taken a few minutes of staring at the ceiling before returning to his work in silence, but Hiruzen could have sworn he saw something wet fall onto the parchment as Jiraiya moved his head downward, quickly, to focus on his seal crafting. The Sandaime didn't question his former student any further.
The sun had settled somewhere just above the horizon as Jiraiya and Hiruzen stood at the western gates of Konoha. He and the Sandaime had worked late into the night and early morning, and the testament to their hard work lay between the sage's left hand and the ground: a massive scroll standing vertically with a strap hanging loosely from its edges. Jiraiya was used to not having much sleep, so he was fine; this first day wouldn't be too strenuous anyway. All that was planned for the majority of the day was travel. He did yawn a small bit, though, as he waited for his charges to arrive.
Not surprisingly, Naruto was the first to arrive. This, to both men, was a combined blessing and curse. The Sandaime, in particular, had needed to speak with Naruto before he left, but his natural exuberance may have been a bit too much for the two sleep-deprived, older men.
"'Morning, old man! Erosennin!" Naruto waved enthusiastically as Hiruzen glanced at Jiraiya at the usage of the new moniker.
Jiraiya groaned lightly, rubbing his face roughly with his right hand, "I told you not to call me that you little twerp! And what happened to 'sensei'?!"
Naruto scratched his head, "Eeeehhh...Didn't sound right, y'know? 'Erosennin''s much better!"
'How on earth does that make any sense?' Jiraiya thought to himself, but decided it wasn't worth the effort and tossed the huge scroll at Naruto, knocking him flat on his rear from the sheer weight of the thing.
"WHOA! Hey, watch it, Erosennin! What the hell was that for, y'know?! And what the hell is this?!" Naruto fumbled with the massive parchment as he stood up, leaning his weight onto it; it was nearly the same size as he was.
"Wait a second, I recognize this thing! HEY! You can't take this out of the Tower, y'know! I got into a lot of trouble over this thing!" Naruto was right to be upset; the scroll looked almost identical to the Forbidden Scroll he had stolen just two days ago.
"Relax, Naruto. That isn't the Forbidden Scroll you're thinking of," Hiruzen stepped in to calm the boy down, "You can't actually open it yet, but it is a facsimile of the same scroll you took. Though it doesn't contain any of the actual forbidden jutsu that are contained in the real scroll."
Naruto had been messing with the seal placed over the middle, trying to undo it as the Sandaime spoke. Sure enough, the thing wouldn't open. "If it doesn't open, what's the point, y'know? I thought scrolls were meant to be opened!"
"That's not how this one works, kid," Jiraiya started explaining, "It's got a seal that will only open at the right time; when that is, is entirely up to you and your efforts. We'll go over it some other time, but for right now I want you to get used to the weight and carrying it around like this," Jiraiya motioned to a similar looking scroll, though smaller, around his back, "Just tie it on and get ready. Oh, and place your luggage here."
With that and a flourish, the white-haired man laid down a long scroll with assorted seals on it and a large circle in the middle. Naruto took the obvious hint and placed his bag in the circle.
"Right then, Fuuin!" Naruto's bag immediately disappeared with a poof of smoke.
"What?! Hey, where'd my stuff go, y'know?!"
"Of course I 'know', brat. It's sealed in the scroll," Jiraiya pointed to the circle, where the symbol for 'bag' was now splayed, "You don't need to carry anything as long as I'm around. We'll take it back out when we make camp or you need it for anything."
Naruto looked a little confused, but since the old man wasn't saying anything he figured it was safe, "All right, but nothing had better happen to it, y'know! There's stuff in there I can't lose!"
"It'll be fine, Naruto," Hiruzen calmly walked over to the boy, placing his hand on his shoulder, "I needed to speak with you personally before you go, though, and I think it's best we do this in private so why don't you come with me for a minute?"
Naruto scrunched up his face at the Hokage, wondering what he could possibly want to talk to him about, but he never questioned the man before so why start now? He nodded slowly and followed the Sandaime outside the gates and to the left into some brush.
"Now, Naruto, I know this is rather sudden, but we have to talk a little bit about what happened with Mizuki the other night. Due to the nature of things, I haven't gotten a chance to talk to you yet about anything," Hiruzen spoke slowly and steadily so as not to frighten the boy as he crossed his arms in a loose hold.
Naruto, though, was still caught off guard and started looking around nervously to check for any imaginary ears that might be listening, "U-uh..Hey, old man..I dunno what you're talking about, y'know? That bastard Mizuki was just a traitor. I thought Iruka-sensei told you everything already?"
Hiruzen frowned slightly at Naruto's attempt at avoiding the subject, "Naruto, I know about the Kyuubi."
Immediately Naruto froze up. His eyes mirroring that of a caught animal.
"It's all right, Naruto. What Iruka told you is true: You are not the demon itself. In fact, you are it's jailor; a person who should be regarded as a hero and sacrifice for the greater good of the village. I tried my best to get that across to the villagers, but the damage that had been done went far too deep and affected far too many people for me to be able to control their actions towards you," at that, the Hokage bent down and onto his knees, placing his forehead to the ground in a submissive position, "And for that I am deeply sorry. I can no longer change what was in the past, but I can only hope that one day you can forgive this old man for his follies."
Naruto was suddenly extremely uncomfortable. The Hokage was in a dogeza apologizing to him. "Er..well..y'know.." He was at a loss for words for one of the first times in his life.
"It's all right, Naruto. Your pain can't be let go that easily," the Hokage leaned back into a kneeling position, still on the ground.
"It's not that, old man..It's just..y'know..I only found out about it the other day. It's not like I've been thinking a lot about it. To be honest, nothing's changed except that now I know why everyone's been so weird to me my whole life," Naruto blushed a little at his predicament, and started scratching the back of his head in a nervous gesture, "I don't blame you or anything, y'know. It's my problem, but it hasn't gotten me down, yet. I figure so long as nothing happens everything'll be good, y'know?" Naruto grinned at the old man who was now smiling softly with slight moisture in his eyes.
"You don't know how much that means to me to hear you say that, Naruto. You are truly your father's son," Hiruzen didn't mind letting that slip. As far as Naruto knew, his father had been a ninja like the majority of people he knew and had simply died in the attack twelve years ago.
"Heh..Don't really know what that means, but whatever you say old man," Naruto had stopped blushing and instead plopped himself on the ground, cross-legged, "Still, I dunno why the Yondaime selected me of all people for this...thing."
Hiruzen, now sitting along with Naruto, smiled slightly, "Naruto, do you know what a 'jinchuuriki' is?"
Naruto shook his head at the Hokage, "No idea. What is that, some kind of food?"
Chuckling, the Sandaime shook his head, "No, Naruto, a 'jinchuuriki' is an ancient word used for those that become sacrifices for the greater good. It is commonly used nowadays to describe people in your unique situation. You're not the only one, you know."
His curiosity peaking, Naruto tilted his head in concentration, "What'd you mean I'm not the only one? You mean there are others with something inside them, too? Like, all over the place?! That's crazy! Why would anyone do that, y'know?! That's super dangerous!"
"Actually, it's the exact opposite of dangerous. It's the only way to prevent destruction like the Kyuubi caused twelve years ago. And as for why you were chosen, a jinchuuriki is best when they are newly born and their chakra pathways are just developing. You happened to be the only child born that day, and so you were chosen to be the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. And jinchuuriki aren't all over the place, there's only a select few of you out there; each village has at least one in order to maintain balance."
"Okay...I kinda get that. But why don't you hear about 'em, y'know? Why's everything gotta be a secret and stuff? I mean, I get why I don't want to tell anyone, but I'm the only me out there, right?"
Hiruzen scratched his beard, wondering where to go from here. Too much information might be a bad thing at this point; he was already worried about the amount he had given Naruto already, "I think we'll have to save that for some other time, Naruto. As for why no one knows, that's actually my responsibility. I enacted a law that forbade anyone who knew from telling you in order to keep you safe from some of the more...radical types that would have wanted you dead. You have the right to tell anybody you want, whenever you want; that is your right."
Naruto frowned, "I dunno if I want to tell anybody about this thing. If I do, they'd probably hate me, y'know? I don't think..I dunno about that.." his voice was gradually losing its power, and Hiruzen noticed Naruto was now looking at the ground with worry and fear.
The Hokage placed his warm hand onto Naruto's shoulder, "Naruto, somewhere out there in this world there are people you can trust. People who appreciate and will know you for who you are. Your teammates will more than likely be those very people. They are those who's lives are in your hands, and yours in theirs. The trust that comes from that is something that is indescribable. You will understand when the time comes," Hiruzen was now looking at the upturned eyes of Naruto, so full of fear and past pain that he didn't quite seem to acknowledge what the Hokage had said, "At that time, you should tell your teammates. It is only fair, as they will begin sharing with you the things they themselves fear and their own pain and sorrow. That will be the very foundation of the trust you will build amongst yourselves, and that is something that will never be broken. Do you understand?"
Naruto looked away for a minute then turned back to face the Sandaime, the previous anxiety slowly drifting away, "I think so, old man. So, what you're saying is that if we don't trust each other, we're gonna end up being totally worthless, y'know?"
Hiruzen chuckled and shook his head slightly, "Yes, that's somewhat the gist of it. But you'll understand the more difficult parts as you grow and learn more about the world. Now," the Hokage stood up, helping Naruto up in the process, "Let's go back and rejoin your team. I'm sure both Hinata and Shikamaru have arrived by now."
Naruto nodded his head quietly and walked silently back with the Sandaime's hand on his shoulder the whole time.
As they turned the corner back into the village, sure enough both Hinata and Shikamaru were waiting for their return; their bags already sealed into one of Jiraiya's scrolls. Naruto quickly put on one of his trademark grins and waved to his team.
"Yo! About time you guys showed up! I was just talkin' with the old man about taking over his job when he's too old to move, y'know? Someone's gotta do it!" His grin was so wide his eyes were shut.
This act was not new to Hinata. She knew that smile. That fake smile when his eyes wouldn't show. It always saddened her, and she suspected that what Naruto had talked about with the Hokage did not involve his job; it was a pretty poor excuse in the first place. "U-um...G-good morning, Na-Naruto-kun, Hokage-sama." Hinata bowed slightly to the Hokage.
"Yes, good morning, Hinata. And you as well, Shikamaru. I hope you both have said your proper good-byes to those you'll be leaving behind?" Hiruzen smiled at the two, ignoring Naruto's comment about his age completely.
Shikamaru had the same inkling of suspicion that Hinata had, but for different reasons, "Yeah, though having to deal with my mom was a real pain in the ass. I barely got here a couple minutes ago." Shikamaru still had a crick in his neck from the tight squeeze of his mother.
"Y-yes. M-my father knows t-that I've g-gone," Hinata went back to her go-to nervous habit of fidgeting with her fingers and blushing as she tried to avoid directly stating what had occurred, not wanting to remember it.
Jiraiya picked up on this, and clapped his hands together, "All right, then! Well, it's about time we set off. We've got a long road ahead of us, and we can't keep it waiting for too much longer."
Hiruzen nodded at his student, understanding the rationale, "Yes, you three are about to head out into the wide world and experience all its wonder and mystique. The world.." The Hokage stroked his beard, "Yes. Always seek your own freedom, and your world will stand stretched out before your eyes. If your dreams guide your spirits, conquer them! Always bear conviction behind your beliefs and you will never stray from the path that is right and true. Return to Konoha with the plan of having more wisdom than strength, and you will find yourselves with more strength than you will have planned on achieving from the start. Never waver from your convictions, and you will truly become fine shinobi that we all can respect."
Jiraiya smiled at his old sensei's words, "Couldn't've said it better myself, honestly. That's what you get for being such an old geezer!" The Sannin laughed and clapped the back of the Hokage. Hiruzen just smiled and narrowed his eyes a bit at the clearly over middle-aged man plainly ignoring his own age at the moment.
"Yes, well, you're getting here yourself, Jiraiya. Don't ever forget that, or what you told me when you came to me in the first place. That was the only reason I ever agreed to this little idea of yours." Hiruzen had a sly smile on his face and Jiraiya just barked out another laugh.
Naruto, meanwhile, was still enraptured by what the Hokage had said. He couldn't quite piece it all together, but he knew that his previous talk with the old man and his parting words were not so far away from each other in meaning. He might have to ask somebody about it later, maybe Shikamaru who seemed to get it, but for now he'd just mull it over to himself and see if he couldn't figure it's meaning out for him.
It was with that the quartet of Team Jiraiya set off onto the road and away from Konoha and its Hokage and its gates.
"That reminds me, Jiraiya-sensei. You never did tell us where we were going. I didn't ask before, since I figured it was probably supposed to be a secret, but now that we're on our way shouldn't we have an idea?" Shikamaru was the first to say something after about five minutes of walking in silence.
"Huh? OH! Right, I guess that's probably important, huh?" Jiraiya grinned at the trio, "Well, for now we're headed to Amegakure."
…
'What did he just say?!'
The rabbit in the moon: The deal with the rabbit and mochi making (an ancient sticky rice manufacturing process) is a common idea in Japan. It's their version of the Western "Man in the Moon". If you think about it, you can kind of see it. I have the same problem as Naruto and can't see the mochi bit, though.
Dogeza: A dogeza is that kneeling position with the head on the ground and fingers pointed in a triangle pattern you see quite a bit in anime if you watch enough. It's a sign of complete submission to the person it's being performed in front of. Usually reserved for signs of extreme apology or deference to the intended person. It's not something done on a whim or sarcastically. The placing of the head on the ground is actually the important bit as it shows complete humility. Basically, the lower you go in a bow, the more respect you're giving the other person by showing how much lower than them you are. A sort of complicated idea, but once you see it so often you get used to it and don't even think about it.
