Chapter 7: Making Bonds
The second day at the academy ran a lot differently than the first, and it wasn't that Naruto's lungs were desperately pleading for a breather, even though that was new. But rather, personal evaluations were taking place with orientation out of the way. This was standard protocol to update the official profiles and documents of young, prospective shinobi within the village. Well, at least for the sections that concerned the status of a ninja anyway.
Height and measurements, weight, blood type and all. But by far the most important process involved in the evaluations were the gauging of a student's chakra reserves. Although it was mainly done to easily scope out any prodigies or individuals bearing potential within a class cluster, one could roughly determine how early a student has unraveled his or her chakra coils. The general rule of the thumb was, the earlier the better.
Once the physical aspects of the evaluation concluded, Mizuki had all of his students sent back to the classroom. There was no need to stay any longer at the village's main hospital. "Alright class, today I will be gauging each of your chakra levels. To do this you will—yes, what is it, Uchiha?"
"I don't think half of the class knows what 'chakra' is, sensei. Maybe you can explain what it is first?" the young student pointed out. A good number of children in the classroom nodded in agreement while the rest looked at their sensei expectantly. It was made apparent that the concept of chakra was not exactly understood, much to the silver-haired Chūnin's dismay.
Mizuki mentally berated himself for overlooking such a fundamental aspect of the shinobi world. "Ah, forgive me. I was under the impression that everyone knew." He let out a sigh of disappointment, directed more towards the class rather than his mistake, before recomposing himself.
"For those of you that don't know," he began as his eyes darted to the left and right, "chakra is an energy naturally produced inside the body. It's like blood—while it doesn't flow through our bodies within veins and arteries, chakra instead flows through a network of coils. When this energy is molded, we can perform techniques shinobi commonly refer to as a jutsu." At that point, Mizuki had masterfully reeled in the attention of the entire classroom; not even the slackers from the first day of class were inattentive to his quick lecture, or for some, a detailed review. Now, it was time for the more interesting part of the lesson.
"However, it is imperative to know that our bodies run on a certain amount of chakra to function normally in our day-to-day lives. This basically means that, without an ounce of chakra running through your networks, you're as good as dead." A fraction of the class paled at that remark, something that didn't go unnoticed by Mizuki. The man's lips curled into a small smirk at their reaction.
"This is as much as you need to know for now. As I said before, I will be gauging each of your chakra levels. What I need you all to do is to make this hand sign," he said as he proceeded to demonstrate Ram hand sign, "and focus your mind." The moment Mizuki's hands locked into the after-mentioned sign, the sound of a lonesome ping echoed through the classroom; an audible indication of the molding taking place.
"Once that's done, you will begin to mold the chakra inside your bodies. But don't worry, it's not exactly dangerous since you won't be doing anything with it," he reassured. "Three of you will come up to the front at a time to perform this, and you are to stop the moment you begin to feel tired. When that happens, I will record your time." Mizuki took the clipboard from the lectern before returning his attention to the class. "This is not a competition, so don't overdo it," he added sternly. "The last thing I need is a student rushed over to the hospital for chakra exhaustion."
"Aburame Shino, Akimichi Choji and Akado Yoroi, please come up to the front of the class and perform the hand sign."
The three mentioned students calmly stood up from their seats before approaching the front, each of them conveniently lined up in the order in which they were requested. Shino and Yoroi's faces were collected and calm, but that was simply assumed. In actuality, it was nigh impossible to tell if their faces could form facial expressions at all, no thanks to their choice of clothing and preference of fashion. But on the other hand, Choji began to fidget nervously under the attention of his peers.
At the back of the class, Naruto lazily looked over the chicken-scratch he called notes as a steady flow of students brushed down the lanes and back up. With the concept of chakra largely foreign to his mind, he originally decided to write down notes first and review at home. But since the process was once again in alphabetical order, Naruto reconsidered the fact that now would be the most ideal time frame to review instead. Such was the perks of bearing a surname at the bottom of the list among others.
Within a span of ten minutes, Mizuki eventually reached the end of the roster. "Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Yamanaka Ino, the last three of you are up."
Karin abruptly woke up from the middle of her peaceful slumber. No longer within the good graces that would be sleep, her ruby-lit eyes slowly fluttered open only to be greeted with the vibrant color of red. She let out a lazy yawn, which ended up more muffled than intended, as her sleepy mind reluctantly pieced itself back together again. Hell, even breathing ended up to be more akin to that of a chore. Karin blinked once, then twice, before finally remembering just what she got herself into. Mostly. She found herself extremely close to a solid, warm object wearing something red and soft: the boy.
She remembered that she had decided to be a little selfish with the warm-natured chakra by simply sleeping right by the source. It was just completely irresistible, and she highly doubt she could snag another opportunity as good as the one she got. Why yes, he was a stranger and she had never, in the short nine years of her entire life, seen the boy around Kusa before, but it didn't matter. The Kusa gate guards obviously recognized him if they were waiting for him to come back, so that was good enough for her. If anything, she was bound to get to know him sooner or later. Besides, he couldn't be that much younger or older than herself, and he looked relatively harmless with him asleep like that. Well, mostly harmless. But either way, she was sure she could handle herself well.
Karin tensed in surprise as two arms gently but securely wrapped themselves around her delicate neck, but she forced herself to relax and remain calm. The majority of her morals and common sense were shot out the window when a light blush glazed her cheeks as she snuggled more comfortably in his embrace. She didn't care. The chakra rolling off the golden child felt great and she didn't exactly have the luxury for hugs anyway. Mm... I could definitely get used to this. As long as he doesn't try anything funny.
An audible sniff reluctantly drew Karin from her world of comfort as she slowly tilted her head up, her gaze now closely observing the still-sleeping features of the boy's face. Did he just... smell me? The thought slightly embarrassed her, but she was entirely grateful that she had washed up before working with her technique at home. Regardless, being sniffed by a complete stranger was quite unnerving, even for herself.
As if things couldn't get more weird, Karin became the target of yet another odd action, but this time by something very uncomfortable. A very warm and wet presence slowly slid across her forehead right above the brows, leaving a very red and wide-eyed Karin struggling frantically in the golden child's arms.
E-e-ewww! H-he licked me! He just licked me! her mind reverberated as she attempted to worm her way out of his grasp. Unfortunately, her arms were tightly pressed against the boy's chest, preventing her from simply pushing him away to give her space. Additionally, her squeals of displeasure were partially muffled in the red shirt that her mouth was somewhat planted against. Karin certainly wasn't in the most ideal scenario. The blond-haired boy in response made a disapproving expression as his embrace tightened, yet still not awake.
His face caved in closer to Karin's own, capturing the many silky bangs of her bright red hair in his mouth as if her were eating it. It was then that the damsel in distress finally gathered the strength to press the boy's chest back away from her face, ultimately halting him from continuing to chew on her precious hair and granting her arms their mobility back. She took advantage of that window of opportunity to deliver a powerful and resounding slap across his cheek—forcing him to wince in pain and loosen the death grip on her—as Karin forcibly pushed the boy as far away from her as possible. It was then that the boy finally awoke from his slumbering trance.
Naruto groaned painfully as he tenderly rubbed his reddened cheek, quickly shaking off the many tendrils of drowsiness within his system. What the hell was that?
The rippling sensation of a hundred needles pricking the surface of his right cheek caused him to search for its instigator from his seated position. As he raised his gaze, a girl with red eyes and matching scarlet hair came into view from the tall grass. She sat no more than six feet away from him, allowing his eyes to slowly travel and evaluate her being. She's beautiful, he thought to himself as he quickly found himself captivated by her flowing locks of vibrant red, a slight tinge of pink slowly spreading across his face. The beige and black colors of her attire were quickly tuned out of his sight. For all he cared, only red and green existed.
"Oi! Just what the hell did you think you were doing, huh?!" the beige-clad girl shouted, her flustering face almost the same shade of color as her hair and eyes.
Naruto blinked at the sudden outburst before coming back to the good graces of reality. "I was taking a nap, had a pretty nice dream, and woke up with my cheek stinging..." he replied blandly, now sort of irritated that he had been interrupted from his rest and stargazing session. "Why, is there something wrong with me sleeping in the grass?"
"No, but there is something wrong with licking people's foreheads and eating their hair!" she growled, directing an accusing finger straight at Naruto.
He simply narrowed his brows in confusion. "Uh, just what are you talking about?"
"You, idiot!" the girl quickly retorted.
Naruto shook his head. "I don't know about you, or why you're angry with me, but I fell asleep, dreamed a bit and then I—" he abruptly paused. A few brief images flashed through his mind that he recognized from his most recent dream, mainly of the mysterious red object. The details were scattered in the wind, but from what he could catch in the breezes of his mind, the girl being that red object in the dream sort of fit if her story were true. Now, if that were so, it left a pretty big question in mind. "Wait... were you really close to me before everything you said supposedly happened?" he asked suspiciously.
She flinched slightly and her eyes averted away from his own, but quickly returned them. He got her red-handed. "Y-yeah, I was..." she hesitantly replied before quickly adding in, "but what do you mean supposedly? You really did do all that to me!"
"Great," Naruto mumbled irritably, but the hue of his face betrayed his tone. He really couldn't think on how to properly apologize to her. No use in getting embarrassed over something you weren't even remotely aware of. "If I really did all that you said I did... then, well... I'm sorry for all of that."
The girl crossed her arms. "Oh, so you think you're going to get off that easily? Far from it."
"Come on, I said I was sorry! I wasn't even awake for crying out loud!" Naruto pleaded.
"You really expect me to let you off with a slap on the wrists?"
He began to grumble to himself, wondering just how he could redeem himself; he didn't want any problems with this girl, the first of his possible peers that he officially met. So after some contemplation, he decided to say the only thing that came to mind.
"Fine... how about I owe you... a favor for your forgiveness?" he hopefully asked, albeit strained. Naruto wasn't sure if it really was a good idea to do this, but the last thing he needed were people holding grudges against him. Not only that, but it certainly wouldn't do him any good to make the first person he met in Kusa hate his guts. Didn't most people make friends well before they made enemies?
The offer piqued the girl's interest. "A favor you say?" Naruto nodded. "So... I can just about ask for anything I want?" she asked, a mischievous glint present in her ruby eyes.
"As long as it's possible for me to do... then yeah, I guess," he sighed. He had just dug himself his own grave as far as he knew. There was just no telling of what she would have him do.
She gave it some thought, but found it rather difficult to come up with anything meaningful or beneficial to her on the spot. "Hm, I don't know... I'll just figure that out later!" She gave Naruto her own grin. "I'll accept the favor, but you won't be forgiven until then."
He merely sighed in defeat. It's a start... I just hope it isn't too bad...
"Since I'll be holding you to it, mind telling me your name?"
Naruto mentally slapped himself. That's right, how can I pay back a favor if we don't even know each other's names?
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and you are...?" He let the question linger in the air all by itself but was, unfortunately, only answered by silence. Naruto took in the beige-clad girl's surprised expression as a frown started to form on his face. "What? Did I say something funny?"
She simply stared back into his azure eyes, her look of shock not faltering for a moment. "...what did you say your name was, again?"
Naruto's brow twitched in annoyance. "So, you didn't hear me the first time?"
The girl shook her head. "N-no... I'm just not sure if I... heard it right."
"It's U—zu—ma—ki Na—ru—to," he started, enunciating every syllable slowly. "Did you get it that ti—oof!" The red and gold child found himself tackled roughly to the ground, his back splayed over the tall grass with his chest cavity being crushed by an intense amount of pressure. "Oi...! What's... the... big idea?" he managed between heaving breaths.
The girl who was once six feet away from Naruto was now glued onto his chest, trapping him in a bone-crushing embrace. His red shirt quickly began to feel moist as he struggled to lift himself back into a seating position. It took but a moment to realize the reason of why his shirt was getting wet: she was crying her heart out. But for what?
"Hey... are you... okay?" Naruto meekly questioned, absolutely unsure why the girl was weeping in the first place. He just hoped he didn't say anything wrong, if that's what it was all about. Nice job Naruto, now just how are you going to tell sensei about how the whole 'making friends with your peers' reallyworked out for you? he silently contemplated. As he finished the thought, a few murmurs escaped the girl and into his chest.
"I'm not alone... I'm not alone," she managed to say in between her choked sobs, although they were somewhat muffled with her face in his shirt.
A small part of him was tempted to cry alongside the girl, for reasons unknown to his mind but all too knowing at heart. For that, a second and unfamiliar pain erupted within his chest while tears began to slowly, but gradually build up. Sympathy, perhaps? No. While akin to that sort of emotion, it was something else. But regardless, he resisted its urge and bit back the tears.
With the limited freedom of his arms and hands, he instinctively held her, returning the hug without the back-breaking element that she held on him. Naruto was mainly unsure of what exactly was going on, but he decided to do his best to comfort the red-haired beauty in his arms. He wasn't exactly an expert when it came to offering a hand of comfort, but it was the least he could do rather than do nothing. And maybe, just maybe, she'd loosen up that death grip of hers in the process. It was really becoming a chore to speak, let alone breathe.
Naruto rested his chin lightly upon the girl's head, stroking her back in reassurance. Or at least, as much as his arms could do. "It's going... to be... alright... Don't worry... I'm here."
One figure watched an affectionate exchange composed by two Konoha Chūnin from the shadows in the distance, intelligently obscured by the leaves and branches it hid in: the perverse giggle-fit, Jiraiya.
Or, that's the mess he would be if he wasn't taking the observation of the secret couple so seriously.
This peeping session in particular, along with the previous one hours before, was quite unlike the several hundred others he had taken before. In just about every case up until recently, he'd sport the lecherous grin he was widely known for as a trickle or stream of blood would eject itself from his nostrils, depending on how good of a view he had. In several sessions, he'd snicker perversely at his scenes all the while scribbling notes and small drawings in his carry-on journals. They contained all of his research as he called it, along with the collective experiences of his interactions with women. In a way, it was almost like a diary, with Jiraiya's life mostly led on a leash by perversion alone.
Not this time. While he did give into his perverted tendencies today, not once did he grin the slightest, nor did a single ounce of blood escape his nasal cavities. He did not giggle. He did not ferociously jot down notes and doodles as fast as his fingers could take him. He did not black out from his excellent view. But most of all, he didn't get caught.
Jiraiya calmly began writing in a small leather-bound journal, its front cover engraved with the number 'three' with a gold-like fill, as he continued to carefully observe the couple's interactions with each other. Love in secrecy was something he didn't run into often, let alone experience on a personal level, but it was something that he needed to include in the upcoming third series of Icha Icha.
The Tactics installment, he named it, would be designed to introduce the ins and outs in the system of passionate love; to raise the bar of graphic content for detail that the previous two installments couldn't manage before. In addition to the pleasurable aspect of reading, it would be a potential learning tool for many, unlike its predecessors. Icha Icha Tactics would boast top-notch material to get the ball rolling for those tip-toeing around the subject, or begin popping cherries immediately for those stuck somewhere down the line.
That was the plan, at least, but Jiraiya was not one to give up. It was a complicated and rough process to compile everything together, but it was certainly not impossible. If he could pull through with it, the road to immortal fame and fortune would be in sight. That was just a bonus, though. He made ryō off of the one thing he enjoyed most in life: the subject of women. Jiraiya really couldn't ask for anything more.
Even long after the couple had departed from the spot they shared together, Jiraiya continued to write and draw from the lower reaches of the tree that he took temporary refuge in. The old geezer scratched out a few of the lines he previously made on the page and resumed his work. However, a voice from below broke his concentration and thought processes.
He had been discovered.
The two children held each other for just about an entire minute before the girl finally calmed down, undoing the vice-grip she held Naruto in. The only remnants of her sobbing were the sniffles she attempted to keep down, though she failed miserably. As he pushed her slightly back away from him, he couldn't help but notice the two wet fist-sized marks on his shirt.
"Feel better now?" Naruto gently probed as he used his thumb to wipe the final stream of tears away from her reddened and puffy cheeks. Tears didn't belong on that cute face of hers. His response came with a nod. "Okay, so how about your name?"
The beige-clad girl wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in Naruto's chest again and causing him to stiff up. Damn that felt weird; the hug wasn't bone-crushing like last time, but rather calm and warming. Naruto wasn't exactly sure if he could ever get used to such close or affectionate gestures. But instead of crying all over again, she mumbled a few incoherent words that half-escaped his ears. Naruto let out a sigh as he responded to her embrace; he understood that whatever she was dealing with must've been rough, but was it really that difficult to give your name?
"What was it? I can't really hear you if you're going to tell my shirt."
The girl turned her head to the side, half of her face still planted onto his chest but making her response much more audible. "Karin... Uzumaki Karin..." she murmured, but he heard it crystal clear this time. Man, he couldn't believe what his ears just picked up and now he was as stiff as a board. If breathing wasn't quite the involuntary function it just so happened to be, he'd probably forget how to do it.
"U-Uzumaki?" he stuttered out quietly. "Did... did I hear that right?" Out of sheer willpower, he brought his gaze down towards her face, awaiting a response to confirm or deny the shocking truth. She nodded.
Naruto's mind began to unwind. For nearly nine years, the surname Uzumaki held no real sentimental value or any relative importance in his life as far as he was concerned. In Konoha, the Uzumaki 'clan' was simply unheard of. When asked, the word Uzumaki rung no bells. Nobody knew who, what or where they were. So nobody shared Naruto's heritage. It simply didn't exist.
It was just some bogus clan name to him, yet he decided to keep it on a whim because that was all he was left with. This was his identity. Something so real, yet so fake at the same time. An enigma. But even the greatest puzzles of life could be solved, because there was no real problem to begin with.
When Karin had confirmed his thoughts, she had confirmed himself. He no longer bounced between what was real and what wasn't real anymore. Words were simply empty cups just waiting to be filled with the fluids of meaning. The word Uzumaki: now there was some value in it—for the both of them—even if it were just trickles and droplets of meaning. A sliver of family plopped into their canteens, and did it taste delicious.
That took him well over the edge; he couldn't hold it in anymore. Eight years of denial; it was just too much for him to take all at once, so allowed the flood roll out of his eyes. Kami be damned if this were a tease. He let the swirling whirlpool of emotions override his entire body. Naruto felt more alive than he ever did.
He laughed as well as he cried. He was sad, excited, happy and... scared. Naruto held Karin close and tight as if she were a fleeting dream about to disappear on a second's notice. He couldn't have that happen, he wouldn't let anyone or anything take her away from him. It didn't matter who it was—Kami, Jashin, or even the Shinigami itself—there would be no power in the world that could steal her away from him. Not after this revelation. He'd never live with himself if his only link to a real family disappeared.
Karin naturally responded to his gesture and smiled as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Now he understands. As for Naruto's thoughts, she's definitely real. A few stray tears plopped on the surface of Karin's cheeks, but she didn't care. Hell, Naruto made no real move to stop them. He just let them go about their own course, not caring where or when they would fall.
"It's funny... you know... of all the possible things... I never expected this," he laughed as his eyelids shut, tears still not ceasing their downpour. It was difficult to speak as he cried, laughed or did both at the same time, but Naruto forced himself to continue.
"The first person I meet when I come here... to start all over again... just happens to be a part of my family... A family that I thought for my entire life... never existed in the first place."
Through teary-eyes, he looked down on Karin's face and gave her his warmest smile. As for the whole 'making friends with your peers' deal, it couldn't get any better than it had.
