I do not not own not Naruto nor not God of War, not...not.
XXX
Casually flipping through the pages of his favorite book as he finished them, Kakashi Hatake sat quietly by himself at an otherwise unoccupied table. Around him, the jounin of the Leaf milled about the crowded bar, conversing, laughing, and generally drinking each other under the table. The elite of Konoha would gather here once every year in order to catch up and have a good time.
Kakashi chuckled softly while he listened in on Asuma Sarutobi's latest horror story. There was a reason this event always occurred after the genin exams. The odds of getting a bad team were extremely high simply because of the number of students in every graduating class. With so many terrifying tales to tell, it became a tradition many years ago for the shinobi to come together and swap stories about one's own experiences with a bad team.
The sharp ringing of a bell was heard at the opening of the front door to the crowded dive. All sound halted for a few moments, but quickly enough, the other patrons went back to what they had been doing. Not even looking up from his book, Kakashi slid one of the other chairs at his table out just as a woman walked up to him.
"Still causing a scene even when you don't mean too, huh?" He said teasingly. Athena sat down on the offered chair and crossed her legs.
"Is my appearance here really so surprising?"
"Well, you have to admit that you and your housemate aren't the most sociable of people." This remark caused Athena to smirk.
"Indeed." The two sat in a comfortable silence for a short time, and a waitress came over to ask if Athena wished to order anything. After a polite refusal, Kakashi decided to breach the calm.
"So, anything you want to warn me about your son before I begin teaching him?" Athena looked back at him with feigned ignorance.
"I am not quite sure what you mean. Has something happened?"
"Oh no. It's just that I've never run into a genin so willing to cripple and gut me right off the bat. Usually it takes a few days of tardiness and poor excuses to do that." Athena had to laugh lightly at that comment.
"Yes, that sounds like Naruto. He is definitely taking after his father." A peculiar combination of emotions ran across Kakashi's face when she said that, but the vast majority of it remained hidden by his mask and forehead protector.
"In other words, I have to watch out, or he will try to cram a lightning bolt down my throat next time." The former goddess shook her head in amusement.
"Luckily for you, no. Naruto's training routine has mostly been the same one Kratos went through when he was young. We focused on his taijutsu, conditioning, and swordsmanship as his father's ninjutsu are still far out of his league, and my illusions would hardly fit his fighting style." Kakashi heard all of this and instantly saw an opening. It might end with him waking up from a horrific genjutsu, but the chance was too good to pass up.
"That's the cover your sticking too, hmm? I can't imagine any other reason you might want to focus on Naruto's taijutsu training." He said, his unique eye smile firmly in place. What he was implying actually managed to catch Athena off guard, leaving her a bit flustered. She hurriedly recomposed herself and answered him.
"While, yes, Gai did lend a... small hand when it came time for sparing practice, Kratos was and has always been Naruto's main teacher." Kakashi let out a laugh at her reaction. He would have continued teasing had the bar not begun to suddenly dissolve around him. Damn, he thought; he had lowered his guard too much in his enjoyment. Kakashi sighed and readied himself for whatever nightmares Athena had in store for him this time. Ah well, it was worth it.
XXX
Across the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood silently atop the Hokage Tower. He took a deep puff from his lit pipe and slowly exhaled, watching the smoke be gradually carried away by the cool night breeze.
"Tsunade would have a fit if she knew you were still smoking at your age, Sensei." Hiruzen took the pipe out of his mouth and tapped the smoldering ashes out over the side of the building.
"It is good you came here so quickly, Jiraiya." The toad sennin ran a hand through his long, white hair then walked forward and rested his hands upon the rooftop railing next to the Hokage. He could tell by his teacher's voice that this was no time for jokes.
"Yeah. I was already on my way back through this area when I got your message. So, Danzo has been rearing his ugly head again."
"It would seem so. Either that, or someone else has found a way to disrupt my observation jutsu. I am inclined to believe the former." Jiraiya grimaced at the thought of that man anywhere near his godson. His expression soured more with Hiruzen's next words. "Naruto has learned of the Kyuubi."
"I thought you said something was causing interference with your jutsu." The toad sennin already knew the answer that was coming.
"Kratos and Athena informed me about it after they checked on him." Grey eyes narrowed at the names of the one time gods. Sarutobi easily sensed the mood swing of his student. "You still do not completely trust them, do you Jiraiya?"
"Six years." He said, standing up to his full height. "My contacts have been asking around for six years, yet they haven't been able to find anything about them. Not a single damn thing, Sensei. It's like they just appeared from thin air the day they came to Konoha." Sarutobi nodded.
"It is unusual." The sannin turned his head towards the elderly man.
"What do you know, Sensei?"
"I know enough, Jiraiya." It was the same old song and dance they did every time Jiraiya returned to Konoha. He would try to wiggle any information he could from his teacher, only to be constantly shut down. In the end, Jiraiya would always give up and trust his sensei's judgment. Besides, even though he did have other valid reasons, Jiraiya had to admit a part of his distrust of them simply stemmed from jealousy.
His heart had broken even further in the aftermath of Minato's and Kushina's deaths when Jiraiya found out he would not be allowed to adopt Naruto. Because both of the married couple had died that night, they were unable to officially declare him one of Naruto's legal guardians. It was a small technicality, as everyone close to the spouses knew who they were going to chose, but it was all Danzo needed. He used that fact to bar the sannin from taking custody of the boy right away, and he then strong-armed the orphanages into denying his adoption requests. Supposedly, it was because his long stretches of absences and well known perversion would make him a sub-par caretaker, but Jiraiya knew it was all that bastard's doing.
"So what do you want me to do?" Jiraiya's inner contemplation had refocused his mind on the reason he was here in the first place.
"Nothing for right now. I have warned Kratos and Athena to be on the look out for anything suspicious, and Kakashi will be sure to keep a close eye on Naruto. Should Danzo continue to contact him, you may need to take Naruto on as your apprentices sooner than we had planned." Sarutobi reached up and patted his student on the shoulder. "Do not worry, Jiraiya. Everything will work out for the best." He turned and began to leave, saying as he did so, "Remember to stop by for a drink before you leave again."
The toad sennin chuckled. His sensei always knew how to get him out of a funk, and he was right. Brooding had never done anything for him. He was Jiraiya, the great toad sage of Mount Myobuku. Envied by men and lusted for by women, he had no time to dawdle on thoughts such as those. He was in the greatest village of all with a full wallet, empty notepad, and raring to do some research.
XXX
Life in Konoha continued on as the days turned into weeks and then months. Team 7 was returning to the Hokage Tower having just completed their latest mission. Above them shined the afternoon sun, bathing the village in its golden radiance. Not a single cloud marred the clear blue sky. Naruto led the group while holding a tan colored cat with a bow on its left ear by the scruff of its neck. He made sure to keep the monstrosity at arms length from him at all times. The feline refused to go quietly, constantly struggling against her captor;s grip and trying to tear her tiny claws into him. Behind them was the rest of the team, the other genin keeping a close eye on the cat in case she managed to break free for the fifth time. They were about to enter the building when the doors were opened from the inside to reveal the members of Team 8. A moment of silence passed between the genin squads before being interrupted by a harsh cry.
"Aaagh! Damn it!" Tora, having sensed a slight loosening in the Kyuubi jinchuuriki's hold, twisted the lower part of her body to scratch Naruto below the eyes with her back paws. Naruto dropped the cat in surprise and covered his injured face. This roused the rest of the groups from their stupor; Naruto's teammates scrambled to grab the feline as Kiba began roaring with laughter. His mirth was soon halted because of Tora leaping onto his face. Instead of trying to escape again, she decided to take out her pent up frustration on the first thing that she saw. It was too bad for the Inuzuka that fate went ahead and handed him the short straw.
Kiba stumbled back, trying to desperately to get the cat off of his head. Akamaru quickly entered the fray to help his partner out. He bit Tora by the tail and hopped out of Kiba's jacket, dragging the irate cat behind him. Akamaru let go of the furry appendage once they hit the ground and began to square off. Hair prickled straight up and growls filled the air. These pre-fight intimidations were abruptly put to a stop by Sasuke and Kiba picking the each of them, albeit a little reluctantly on Sasuke's part.
"Umm, are you alright Naruto?" The sun-kissed blond removed his hands from his face and looked up to see Hinata Hyuuga standing a few feet from him. She was staring intently at the ground beneath her feet with her index fingers pressing together in front of her face. Naruto picked himself up, brushing the dirt off of his pants.
"Yeah, I'm fine; it's not that bad. I really only covered my face as a reflex. Good thing Tora hates dogs, or we might have had to catch her all over again." He said laughing. Hinata began to blush slightly at the fact she was actually talking with her crush, but Kiba intruded on the conversation before anything else could be said.
"You think that was funny, Uzumaki?" The Inuzuka stalked up to Naruto, trying to look intimidating despite all of the shallow cuts covering his visage. Said Uzumaki grinned at the other boy,
"No, I think it was hilarious, mutt." The two butted heads, tension rising between them. This would have continued had not a cold shiver that Naruto knew well and Kiba was beginning to recognize ran down their spines. Beside them stood Athena with a strict look on her face, looking down at the boys. They hastily took a few steps back from each other, and she nodded in approval. Turning towards Kakashi, she addressed her fellow jounin.
"Forgive us for disrupting your team's mission Kakashi. We did not mean to cause you any hindrances." The masked man casually waved off her apology.
"Meh, don't worry about it. I'm sure it would not have been that hard to recapture her." His students glared at him for that comment. The memories of him leaning comfortably against a tree while they chased down that fur covered annoyance were still fresh in their minds. "Are you done for today, or are you taking your squad on another D-rank?" Kiba finally regained his confidence enough to speak up with a grin.
"Nope, we get the rest of the day off to prep for our C-rank tomorrow." Naruto gaped at his fellow genin.
"What? No fair." He whirled to face his sensei. The blond summoned up every ounce of remaining cuteness he had and put on his best puppy dog eyes. "Can we get a C-rank next, pretty please, please, please, please, please!" Kakashi rubbed his chin in mock contemplation.
"I don't know, C-ranks can be incredibly dangerous." The truth was he thought they were ready for it and had been planning on requesting one after this mission, but there was no need for them to know that. And so began a stand-off between the master and student, each unwilling to be the first to give in. This would have continued indefinitely had a loud shout not impeded on their contest.
"Dynamic Entry!" Naruto and Kakashi's eyes widened. Their bodies locked up as they tried to determine who the intended target was. The next second they let out a sigh of relief when Athena took a small step backwards to allow an airborne Might Gai to pass by harmlessly, mere inches from her. The eccentric jounin skidded to a halt and spun, holding his left hand out with his thumb pointing up. "A most youthful dodge, Athena. Your reaction time is as good as ever."
"Hello, Gai. I would ask that, in the future, you refrain from ambushing me while I am with my team." She said in return, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Certainly. Forgive me if I interfered with you teaching your most youthful students." The spandex-clad man brought up his left hand and held it firmly out in front of him in a thumbs up. He winked an eye and gave a giant smile, solidifying the promise in his mind.
Sasuke and Sakura stared dumb founded at the strange man who had come out of nowhere, and they looked at Team Eight to see if they knew what was going on. To their dismay, it seemed that their fellow gennin were as lost as they were. Naruto, on the other hand, was connecting dots in his head at a rapid pace. If Gai was here, then that meant the rest of his team was back from their mission, and if that were true...In a flash, Naruto drew his xiphos, moved the blade behind his shoulder, and blocked the diagonal cut from the ninjato heading straight for him. The two swords clashed together, emitting a harsh clang.
"Hey, Tenten. It's nice to see you too."
"Darn it, Gai-sensei! You messed up my sneak attack." Gai threw his head back and laughed loudly.
"Do not despair, my dear Tenten. Our failure is only motivation to work even harder so that next time our flames of youth will burn even brighter and light our way to victory." While that conversation was going, Naruto and Tenten continued to struggle against each other. Tenten gritted her teeth as she tried to overpower the younger boy, but it was to no avail. Naruto let up the pressure on his sword to throw her off balance. The kunoichi stumbled forward to his left side. Her ninjato slid past the blond as he pivoted around behind her. He wasted no time grabbing her wrists and pinning them to her chest, pulling Tenten into a massive bear hug. Her ninjato fell from her grasp in the process, leaving her with limited options when her friend bridged his back and lifted her off the ground, holding her in the air.
"Put me down, Naruto." She exclaimed. The nine-tail jinchuuriki only grinned and turned so he could face his teammates.
"Uchiha, Sakura, look what I caught. Can we keep her?" His teasing had two immediate effects. The first was it caused Sasuke and Sakura to relax, for they had tensed up and drawn their kunai in case Naruto needed help fending off the random, attacking girl. The second one was Tenten began fighting even harder, eventually managing to catch the blond in the shin with a foot. Naruto promptly got the message and dropped her back down. The two glared at each other briefly before laughing and giving the other a hug.
"Tenten, these are my teammates, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura and Sasuke, this is Tenten Suzuki; we've known each other for years." Naruto said as his teammates broke off from the main group and approached the old friends. Tenten waved at them while she shook off the dust from the fallen ninjato she had bent down to retrieve.
Something inside Sakura instantly said she did not like the other girl. She could not figure out why, considering they had just met, but she did not say anything. The pinkette did not want to upset Naruto by insulting someone he was obviously very close to.
"So you two were the ones paired up with the munchkin?" Tenten asked, ignoring Naruto's indignation at her nickname for him. "He may be an idiot at times...well, most of the time, but don't worry. The good outweighs the bad, usually." The Uchiha simply grunted to show he had heard her while Sakura nodded.
It was at this point that Tora made her move. Hanging forgotten by her collar during the bizarre events that had transpired, the feline had managed to maneuver her neck so she could begin biting through her collar. When she finally did, Tora hit the ground running, taking off like the Shinigami himself were hot on her tail. By the time Team Seven realized she had done this, all they could do was gape in the direction their mission had just gone.
"I guess I'll see you later." Naruto groaned to Tenten as the three trudged off once more to retrieve the cat, each one silently cursing whatever evil was responsible for spawning such a creature. The older girl watched them go, trying hard to contain her laughter. Before they disappeared, she managed to call out between fits,
"Don't forget we're having dinner at Uncle's house tonight, Naruto."
"Come, Tenten, we must hurry if we wish to finish our youthful laps around Konoha before conditioning this evening. If we can not do that, we shall run an extra ten laps afterwords. The flames of youth must be even stronger in the future if we are to defeat our numerous rivals." Tenten's glee vanished at the sound of her sensei's yells. She honestly did not know who would have it worse now, her or Naruto.
The teacher-student pair took off, leaving Team Eight standing in the growing shadow of the Hokage Tower. Kiba looked around bewilderedly and voiced his question at Shino.
"What the hell just happened?" For once, Shino's lack of response had nothing to do with his quiet nature.
XXX
Three hours later, Team Seven was finally at the Mission Assignment Desk. They had managed to capture Tora once more and return her to her owner. The three genin were off to the side near a corner of the room, waiting until their team was called to receive their next mission. Sakura and Naruto were both sitting on the ground, staring into space while Sasuke stood a few feet away, leaning against one of the walls with his eyes closed. Kakashi was off somewhere else doing whatever it was he did when it came to waiting around here. All about them milled other shinobi who created a subdued din that helped alleviate a small part of the children's boredom by giving them a large number of conversations to listen in on. Luckily for them, the monotony was soon broken up by a familiar yell.
"Sasuke!" Out of the bustling crowd appeared Ino Yamanaka, promptly wrapping her arms around Sasuke's neck from the right side. "I haven't seen you in so long. Did you miss me?" A fire lit in Sakura's eyes at the sight of her rival draping herself on her crush, so she shot up and yanked the platinum blonde off the boy.
"Get off him, Pig! Sasuke doesn't want you getting your stench all over him." Ino freed herself from Sakura's grasp and stuck her tongue out at her.
"Go away, Forehead! Its obvious that Sasuke would rather spend time with me after having to look at your ugly face every day." The girls glared at each other silently before hurling insults at each other with renewed passion.
"Man, this is such a drag." Sasuke and Naruto looked back to the front and saw they had been joined by the other two members of Team Ten, Shikamaru and Choji. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck and gave Sakura and Ino an annoyed look. "Do they have to do this every time they're around each other."
"Honestly, I would be scared if they didn't." Naruto said with a laugh. It was then that he noticed the scraps and bruises that covered the boys of Team Ten. "What happened to you guys? You look like you just got your butts handed to you."
"Our sensei, that's what happened." Shikamaru answered flatly. His posture slouched even more than usual as his bones remembered just how exhausted he really was. When he declined to elaborate any further, Choji stepped in for his friend.
"Kratos-sensei has been running us into the ground almost every day; Even training with my clan was never this tough." He said in between bites of potato chips from the bag he had just opened.
"Oh yeah, I forgot you got my dad for a teacher." Naruto looked at the boys with a skeptical gaze. "It can't be that bad for you guys." Choji and Shikamaru gaped at the sun-kissed blond. If anyone could get what they had been going through, it would have been Naruto. His statement was so unbelievable to them that it even called away Ino's attention from her squabble with Sakura. She immediately decided to add her two cents in.
"Are you kidding me? During our gennin test he badly bruised the bones in my wrist and cheek, shattered Choji's nose, and almost crushed Shikamaru with Choji's expanded form." Ino squawked, her quarrel forthwith with a different member of Team Seven. "He ended up having to take us to the hospital to treat everything." Naruto gave the Yamanaka a deadpanned look and shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, and?" Ino growled and yanked her hair in frustration. Of course the boy who had been living with Sensei for years did not see anything wrong with that picture. "I think you just need to calm down for a little while. He's really nothing but a giant softie once you get to know him." To Shikamaru, it was as if the Uzumaki had suddenly grown a second head.
"Naruto, I used to think my mother was single most troublesome person in the world, but your dad proved me wrong." He shook his head in defeat, realizing how pointless it was to try and explain that fact to his fellow genin. He sighed. "And now Sensei wants us throw us into a C-rank mission already for some reason. This is all such a drag." The pineapple haired shinobi shook his head. All he had ever wanted was to live an average life and be an average shinobi, but nooooo, these days he had two people in his life who were pushing him to actually... work. The Nara eventually gave into his weariness and collapsed to the floor. He laid sprawled out and placed his hands underneath his head. His sensei was off getting their next mission and Shikamaru did not see the point in continuing that conversation any further. The only thing he cared about at this time was taking one of the beloved naps he had been cruelly denied so much more often in the past few months. His hopes were all dashed by Naruto's next words.
"Hey, Dad." Kratos nodded towards his adopted son in greeting. He had returned to his team in order to dismiss them for the day and had arrived in time to here Shikamaru's last remarks. The demigod glared down at the dark haired boy.
"If that is how you feel, Nara, do not bother attending the next mission. You will only get our way." Shikamaru tried to gulp down the knot that had formed in his throat and nodded that he understood. "We leave at dawn tomorrow. Anyone not there will be left behind." As quickly as he had appeared, Kratos was gone, vanishing in a cloud of smoke.
XXX
After a few awkward minutes, Team Kakashi was called forward to get their mission. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke said goodbye to Team Kratos in their own ways before heading to the assignment desk. There they saw Kakashi already waiting for them in front of the Hokage. The aged leader smiled at them as they walked up.
"Good work successfully capturing Tora you three. Hmm, let me see here;" Sarutobi picked up a pile of papers, shuffling through them. "For your next mission, you may help an elder woman clean out her gutters, help weed a farmer's crops, or aid a daycare that is currently shorthanded."
"Actually, Lord Hokage, I think my team is ready for a C-rank mission." Kakashi said, taking in the beams of his students with a hidden smile.
"Do you know? Well then, I'll look and see what I have." He put down the files he had been holding. He was digging through a smaller stack when a voice interrupted the proceedings.
"If I may, Lord Sarutobi, I believe I have the perfect mission for this team." Naruto looked at the man who had just spoken. He had been conversing with the Hokage when they had entered about something, but Naruto had paid him little attention. The first thing Naruto noticed was how well-rounded the adult was. His loose robes hid some of the girth, but it was clear he could stand to miss a meal here and there. Said clothing was extremely elegant in style and design, much more exuberant than Naruto regularly saw. The cloth was divided into medium sized, dark purple diamonds by thick, navy blue stripes. Both his leggings and undershirt were a vibrant yellow that clashed horribly with the rest of his attire. A couple of rings adorned the stubby fingers of his hands. He wore traditional sandals carved from very high quality wood.
As far as his other physical attributes, the man was in his late forties at least. Small wrinkles were beginning to form on his face, underneath a drastically receding hairline. What remained of his jet black hair laid flat atop his round head. He had dark brown eyes and was slightly under average height. His short, thick neck was almost nonexistent. His mouth was pulled upwards in a pleasant smile.
"Are you sure, Mr. Fukui? I know before you were considering a more experience team of chunin for your mission." Hiruzen questioned. The named Mr. Fukui waved off Sarutobi's concerns.
"Yes, yes, you're right, but there is no need to worry. I'm sure they will be able to handle it. Besides, it is not every day one is able to hire the Kakashi Hatake for such a low price." The Third Hokage did not seem convinced however. He addressed the jounin.
"This is Mr. Akihiro Fukui. Recently the lands near his estate on the eastern edge of the land of fire have seen an increase in raids by group of organized bandits. He wishes to hire a team to escort him back to his home and guard his residence until his own private forces are able to put down the marauders. I leave the decision to you, Kakashi." The silver haired man rested his face in his palm while he thought. It seemed straight forward enough. With any luck, they would not have to even do anything on this mission since the client was taking care of the problem himself. On the other hand, the mission might be a bit too important for a genin teams first C-rank mission.
"We accept, Lord Hokage." In the end, Kakashi had faith his students were up to the task, and should things get out of hand, he could always step in and help. The old man nodded.
"Very well then. Here are the mission scrolls with more details. Review them tonight and meet Mr. Fukui tomorrow morning at nine at the eastern main gate. Good luck."
XXX
To answer your questions: yes, I did just do that, and yes, I am that awesome.
Now that that's out of the way *clears throat* BA-BAM!
Ha, admit it, some of you did not believe. Some of you thought this would be a mere rehashing of the Naruto story line except with two additional characters. WRONG! Man, I wish I could see your faces right now. I am such a dastardly damsel.
So here's to the start of my "Wave" Arc, where you get three for the price of one, and that price is free. Woohoo! Strap yourselves in, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
