Chapter Seven: Come Whatever May

Naruto paced back and forth outside of the Hokage's office, taking in little attention to the irritated grumble of the Chuunin secretary watching him.

Naruto's thoughts were heavy, yet they were few, as the most pressing recent events were the ones that were laying heavily on his mind.

Prior to coming, Naruto thought it be best to cover the sides of his face with bandages to offset any questions or uncomfortable stares that he might have received upon first glances.

Naruto sighed as he stopped in the midst of his pacing and set his body against the wall as he drew a hand up to his face.

These "marks" so far had no side effect other than their feeling upon being touched and their overall appearance. Yet, as with everything else in his life, he knew that sooner or later that these things were going to have some sort of outcome.

Naruto looked up hopefully as the door to the Hokage's office opened and several people filed out. He then looked expectantly at the secretary who sighed, mournfully, and then removed herself and went inside the Hokage's office to announce his being there. In the past, same said secretary would have done everything in her power to prevent Naruto from ever coming near the Hokage in an unscheduled time. yet, as the recent turn of events, her regard to him had been lifted and she treated him with less disdain but with the same amount of annoyance as before.

It wasn't long before she emerged back outside the office and nodded her head to him, clearing for him to enter.

Naruto nodded politely and went on through.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat back in his chair and puffed solemnly on his pipe as he watched Naruto come into his office. At first, he was happy upon seeing the dramatic change of wardrobe the boy had as a sign of things turning out for the better in his life. He then noticed the odd bandaged wrappings on the sides of the boy's face and then the air about him which made the Sandaime feel very cautious at the moment. Something was surely wrong, at the moment.

"Hello, Naruto. It's good to see you."

Naruto nodded politely, again, before placing himself in the chair in front of the Hokage.

At first, there was no further discussion made by the two of them. Naruto's eyes seemed firmly planted to the floor below him, his cerulean irises moving back and forth as it was obvious he was contemplating on what he was going to say.

Sarutobi, in an effort to disstill the air before things might turn to somewhat sour, smiled and commented, "I see you've updated your look. Those clothes look nice on you and make you seem older and confident. Very befitting for a shinobi on the rise."

Naruto's eyes snapped up and nodded before he sighed. "Tenten picked them out for me after a sparring match we had. My jumpsuit got trashed." He then looked down at what he was wearing and gave a small smile accompanied by a light shrug. "I actually like these."

Sarutobi nodded as he pulled out his pipe. He decided to get to the point as he had a feeling that the wrappings on Naruto's face were the reason, or the partial reason, as to why he came in today. He decided to be casual about addressing it.

"Those bandages on your face. Are they too an effort to update your appearance?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head before fingering the ends of the bandages and slowly removing them.

As soon as the first few strips were removed, Sarutobi's eyes widened at what appeared before him. Just two inches away from the slope of his nose, cutting down diagonally to the side of his jaw, Narutohad a shimmering sliver of a mark, roughly less than a quarter of an inch wide that shimmered almost in the same brilliant color of his eyes. Upon further removal of the rest of his wrappings, five others took their place, making three of these marks on each side of his face. In a way, it seemed that they were there in substitution for the absence of the wisker-marks that had previously donned his face, which led Sarutobi, at first to speculate as to whether or not that this last physical change was not something left over from the Kyuubi's absence.

However, other thoughts came to Sarutobi's mind, those of the boy's, unspoken, lineage.

"I see you've inherited them." He said in a low-toned voice.

Naruto's eyes scrunched up in annoyance but he soon closed them and breathed calmly. "I was hoping, Old Man, that you could tell me more about them and......what they might do."

Sarutobi nodded. Seeing as how Kushina must still not have contacted him yet, he could give a little knowledge to the boy about these before setting him in the right direction to her to gain more information.

"Those marks, Naruto, are your family's kekki genki; or rather, the Uzumaki's kekki genki, to be precise."

Naruto slowly nodded. "Why are they here now, of all times?"

Sarutobi put his hands on his desk and interlaced his fingers as he breathed deeply. "From what I understand, this particular kekki genki manifests only when the Uzumaki turns twelve, or some time after. The name of it is called "Mizuno kiramekusukooru (shimmering squall of water)" that's a nikutaijutsu (flesh/body jutsu). It enables you to utilize the air and moisture around you, manipulates it, and bends it specifically to your will. From what I gathered, those marks 'inhale' all the air and moisture surrounding it, thus giving you more to work with than what you would should you try to call upon the elements by normal methods."

Naruto'e eyes widened and they blinked owlishly. "Kekki genki? 'Mizuno kiramekusukooru'?"

Sarutobi sighed as he closed his eyes. He really wasn't prepared to explain all of this to him. He had hoped that Kushina, by now, would have approached the boy and explained all this herself. But, he wasn't called "The Professor" for nothing.

"Yes, Naruto, you have a kekki genki. Your, 'Mizuno', lets you overcome the handicap of not being near water to use water jutsus just by taking in vast amounts of moisture in the air. It also makes any wind jutsus, you use, more powerful."

This simplified version of the previous explanation made Naruto understand a lot better. However, as with every young mind, as with every other kind that had only gotten a fraction of the answer; it led to more questions.

"Ok, I think I get it. But how do I use it?"

Sarutobi sighed. "That, I can't answer. There is, however, another who can." To his surprise, Naruto's face grew stern.

"I can guess who're you're talking about." Naruto said, his eyes, once again, on the floor. "Let me guess, this 'person' has long red hair and claims to be my mother?"

There was silence as Sarutobi observed Naruto. He put his pipe down as he closed his eyes, taking in a breath of air before opening them slowly.

"So, you've met her?"

Naruto nodded and then let go of his anger as his eyes opened and he sighed. "Is what she said true?"

Sarutobi, wordlessly, nodded.

"Then....Then that means you lied to me? Why?"

There have been many instances, many reminders, that Sarutobi felt old and limited. But none of those stood out more than at this moment.

"Naruto..." He began carefully, "Some things are not as simple as they appear to be. Yes, I told you something completely different than it actually was. Your mother...was, is, in fact alive. The woman you met, Uzumaki Kushina, is your mother."

"But why! Why keep this from me!" Naruto was now standing, his whole body shaking. "I've been alone for so long, watched as kids had someone! I HAD NO ONE!" Naruto breathed in and out raggedly as he sniffled loudly, tears cascading down his face and causing the marks on his face to shimmer brightly, unbeknownst to the distraught blond.

"It's because of what I had in me, isn't it?" He whispered. He looked up with a hateful scowl as his clenched fists began to tremble. "That's why. She's only back because you or someone told her that it was gone."

Now it was Sarutobi's turn to scowl. "Do not presume to make assumptions lightly, Naruto. I suggest, before you start waving accusations, that you talk to all those considered." Sarutobi sighed as he got out of his seat and walked around to face Naruto. "You're right to feel angry, though. By keeping you away from her we caused you a disservice. One we may never be able to fully repay. To answer your question, or rather accusation; no, your mother DIDN'T leave because you had the demon within you. Rather, others forced her to leave because of her association with you and for another matter which I will not discuss here at this time."

Naruto's face lessened, a little, yet the eyes still remained firm. "Then why didn't she take me with her? I'm sure everyone would have been happier to know that I was far away instead of in the village."

Sarutobi sighed and looked up at Naruto with sad, aged, eyes. "Because...I ordered her to, Naruto. I felt....I felt that the 'Will of Fire' still remained in this village and its people would have treated you better than they did. I honestly thought they'd give you the chance to prove to them that the Yondaime's choice had been a right one and not to over look it and only see what you held at bay."

"But they didn't. I got cursed, spat on, occasionally had things thrown at me; no one would let me into their businesses and they never even let their children play with me." Naruto said, his voice shaking slightly.

Sarutobi sighed as his eyes went to the floor.

Neither of them spoke for a moment and then the secretary knocked on the door, which had both looking at it in surprise for the disturbance.

"Yes?" Sarutobi called out.

The door cracked open and the secretary popped her head in. "Hokage-sama, I have some forms here for you to sign for the security for the attending Kages in the Chuunin Exam."

Sarutobi nodded and when the secretary left, Naruto took the interruption as a sign that their meeting was over and began to walk to the door.

"Naruto?"

Naruto stopped but didn't turn around.

"Do you think you can forgive an old fool for his past mistakes?"

Naruto sighed and looked back over his shoulder at the Hokage with tired eyes. He smiled, reluctantly. "I guess, maybe."

"What of your mother?" Sarutobi asked, carefully.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know her. But...Maybe in the future, but not right now."

Sarutobi sighed and nodded his head. He supposed that this would be the best for right now and dismissed Naruto.

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Walking out of the tower, Naruto's thoughts wrapped around everything the Hokage told him and what may come later in the future. He still couldn't think of the woman he met earlier today as his mother. She didn't have that right, not yet anyways. He reluctantly knew that he'd have to spend sometime with her as his 'Mizuno' would be a huge factor in his life and he'd need to learn everything about it.

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted as he was walking when he spotted Tenten leaning against a side of the building, her own mind seemingly absorbed in her own thoughts.

Naruto smiled and bounded over to her.

"Hey, Tenten-chan!"

Once again, Tenten looked up and slightly blushed by the, still, unfamiliar suffix attachment to her name. Regardless, she smiled and walked forward to meet Naruto halfway.

"Hi, Naruto. How was the meeting with the Hokage? Do you feel any better?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Not really, but at least, this time, I have more information than I had before." He then grinned and pointed to his face. "You know what these marls really are? It turns out I have a kekki genki!"

Tenten smiled. It was so good to see that smile of his once more brightly lit upon his face. "Really? What kind is it?"

Naruto took her hand and this time Tenten refrained from blushing as he led her down the street, talking a mile-a-minute about everything he learned from the Hokage.

The two reached Ichiraku's and had late early dinner before Naruto took her home. Both revealed to one another that they'd be participating in the Chuunin Exams in a couple of weeks.

"I hope to see you there, Tenten. It'd be awesome if the two of us became Chuunin!"

Tenten giggled at his enthusiasm. "Yeah, it'd be great. But come whatever may, it'd be nice to say that we did it, and that we did it with our all, right?"

Naruto nodded. "No regrets, I hear ya."

Tenten nodded. "Well, I'll see you around, Naruto-kun." She winked after saying the last part before turning back to the door of her house and then retreating inside.

Naruto, still standing at the threshold of her home, whispered.

"See ya around, Tenten-chan."

To be continued....

A/N: This chapter was to TRY to explain what Naruto's bloodline ability was and what it did as that was the most infuriating part for me to try to come up with. Regarding the suggestions I've received in reviews, I am going to be taking a back seat with Naruto and Kushina meetings and have them limited as to what pertains to plot and story development. Certainly, after the arrival of Jiraiya, her character will have a more prominent role, but until then it she'll be a background character.

As far as Tenten and Naruto's fledgling relationship's concerned, it'll still be in it's enduring innocent semi-platonic stage and won't go farther until a timeskip I have planned ahead.

I'll try to be updating this more often, but it'll be rather slow. Just bare with me.

Q-n-P