Naruto was sitting on the steps to the house the village had given them, waiting for Hinata to get back. It was almost his time to head out on patrol. He had finally gotten used to no one staring at him hatefully, and except for when he almost revealed his secret to the shopkeeper, which he hit himself on the head for, he had had a excellent day. The village was really nice.
He was worried, though. The villagers were off the beaten path but they weren't isolated. If they were curious they might be able to find out more about him and discover what he really was. He didn't want to lose his status as someone normal.
He resolved to not give the villagers any idea he contained a demon, even if it meant shutting up.
---
The first week passed quickly for everyone.
Kiba and Akamaru, being their usual selves, immediately got into trouble by terrorizing one of the villagers cats. They immediately became liked by the younger children in the village and spent time playing with them. Hinata buried herself in her medical jutsu, only stopping her studies to go eat or do her shift patrolling. Asuma was a little concerned about her single-mindedness, but the assertiveness she showed towards her studies seemed positive. Naruto seemed his usual cheery self, but around the villagers he became unusually quiet.
On the eighth day Hinata woke to Kiba loudly clomping though the building on his way to leave on patrol. She yawned and stretched, then threw off of the covers and dressed. She put the eye patch on last, looking at the mirror sadly. She forced the feeling away and left her bedroom, heading for the restaurant to get breakfast.
" Good morning, ninja-chan!" greeted the little girl who's parents ran the restaurant. She smiled and greeted the girl back. The girl ran off quickly to tell her parents Hinata's order.
" Such a sweet little girl, isn't she?" Hinata turned and saw elder Kei walking up. The old woman took a seat by her.
" She is, elder Kei." Hinata replied, trying to sound respectful.
" So, what do you think of Ganshou? We don't have much to offer, but it's a nice place." asked Kei.
" I like the village. It's quiet and peaceful." Hinata said, wondering why the old woman asked.
" Yes, it is. That's why I fell in love with it. I used to be a ninja myself." said the old woman with a smile.
" Really?" Hinata asked, surprised. The old woman didn't seem the type.
" Oh, yes. I retired about forty years ago and left Kohona. I wanted a slower pace of life." The old woman looked lost in memory for a moment. " I've noticed that your team mates, the boys, both have facial tattoos. Has that become the style these days? I don't remember that many back in my day."
Hinata blinked for a moment, thinking. Kiba has the Inuzuka clan facial tattoo, but Naruto didn't…then she remembered the whisker marks.
" Kiba and Naruto's clans both have traditional tattoos." Hinata lied. " But most people don't get them."
" Oh, good. I never liked them much." The old woman looked at her forehead for a moment. " Do the Hyuuga still mark the branch families?"
" Yes. Why?" Hinata replied.
" Oh, just wondering. It's rather hard to keep up of the news of Kohona, but I try. There's been a great deal happening lately, hasn't there?"
Hinata tried not to react, seeing exactly where this was going. Elder Kei had heard the rumors about the demon from the ninja they replaced.
" That Kiba boy, for instance. I heard there was a rather rowdy boy about his age in the village that bore a particular seal." The old woman said, glancing to make sure no one was listening to them.
Hinata blinked.
" I am not asking you to betray your teammate…but if he happened to be that boy, I would like to know." Elder Kei looked at Hinata, obviously trying to read her face. " He is, isn't he?" she asked.
" I…" Hinata could only stutter. Her only choice in clearing Kiba was revealing Naruto, which she refused to do. But if the villagers turned against Kiba, her friend…
" Well, I've pried further than I should. But I would suggest finding a new teammate. Keep that Naruto boy around, though. He's a quiet, nice boy." the old woman said, turning and walking away.
When her food arrived, Hinata didn't feel much like eating.
---
" Man, this is a great mission!" Akamaru woofed, leaping over a small fallen log.
" Yeah! Even if we don't get to fight anyone, getting paid just to run around is pretty awesome!" Kiba agreed, leaping to the branch of a tree. He'd came to the end of the patrol route where there was a copse of trees on a small peninsula, overlooking the ocean.
Kiba looked out over the sea, hoping to catch a glimpse of a sail or ship. Naruto had raised a false alarm twice already, so he was going to make sure he didn't mess up. He stared out, wishing he had Hinata's eyes.
He nearly fell out of the tree when an arrow thumped into the wood by him.
" Akamaru!" Kiba called, leaping down. " Can you smell them?"
" Follow me!" Akamaru yipped, bounding though the brush. Kiba followed and soon came face to face with a pair of rough looking men with bows and swords.
" Hey, its just a kid." said one of them.
" He's from the Leaf!" the other said, throwing his bow down and drawing his blade. He leapt at Kiba, who dodged back.
" Sweet! Akamaru, I can take them." Kiba said, smirking and lowering into his position for the Four Legs jutsu. Akamaru sat down and smirked.
The pirate with the katana swung it at Kiba with a yell, but Kiba dove under the blade and launched himself in a flying punch into the mans stomach. The man was thrown back into a tree, which splintered. The other man panicked at this and turned to run. Before he had even taken a step Kiba was in front of him and knocked him out with a single punch.
" Good job Kiba!" woofed Akamaru. " Lets take these guys back to Asuma."
" Yeah, but I can only carry one of them. Your going to have to use the Beast Clone." Kiba said, drawing some cords to tie the men's hands.
Akamaru yipped in agreement, and soon they were heading towards the village with the prisoners.
" Lets take the left trail." he suggested.
" That one's got all that mud. I'm going to take the right one." Kiba said as they came to the fork in the path. " Its quicker."
" No it isn't!" Akamru snapped back.
" Race ya?" suggested Kiba. Akamaru smirked and took off down the left trail."
---
Elder Kei was not happy.
The fact that the "demon boy", who scared most of the ninja of Kohona, was in her village was a serious problem. She had never dreamed of the boy being in her village. She's even seen the creature playing with some of the village children! She walked down the street, contemplating her options, fingering the kunai she kept hidden up her sleeve. She hadn't fought or trained in years, but she could still remember some of her old moves.
She could send message to Kohona that she wanted a replacement team, but that would cost extra and the village didn't have that. She could also warn the villagers about the boy and have them keep away from him, but she had heard Asuma threatening to kill the replacements when they mentioned the boy. Her hearing was rather bad and she hadn't been as close as she wanted, but she had understood that. The jounin's defensiveness about the boy was strange. More than likely he was making sure the boy was not bothered to keep him under control. She had heard that such containers were unstable.
Then, Kiba, landed in front of her, a severely beaten man tied on his back. He was wearing a broad fanged smile and has grown claws, his entire body and posture taking on a monstrous form. He let out some sort of snarling sound.
Elder Kei quickly drew her hidden weapon, knowing the village was in danger.
---
" All right!" Akamaru yipped, taking a massive leap off a branch and into the village. He landed triumphantly with his prisoner. " In your face, Kiba!" he barked.
He suddenly coughed, looking down. There was a kunai embedded in his chest.
" Die, demon." Akamaru looked up and saw Elder Kei standing a short distance away. Akamaru coughed again and felt the jutsu failing. He transformed back into a dog and fell to the ground.
---
" Stupid Akamaru." growled Kiba. " You could have reminded me the right trail had all those spiders, but no, don't tell me."
Kiba came out of the trees and into the village. He was tired from the dash and felt the jutsu fail. He began walking up the street, looking for Akamaru. Had he beaten him?
Then, he saw Akamaru and the still unconscious prisoner laying in the middle of the street, a shocked looking old woman he knew he was suppose to recognize a short distance away.
" Hey, Akamaru., you win." Kiba said, trotting up. He then noticed the kunai embedded in Akamaru. " Shit! Hey, old lady, who did this?" Kiba asked, dropping his prisoner and rushing to Akamaru. The old woman looked to Kiba, visably stunned.
Kiba inspected the wound. The kunai was in Akamaru fairly deep and he had lost a lot of blood.
" Make sure these guys don't get away! I have to get Akamaru to Hinata!" Kiba picked up the dog gentily and rushed towards their lodging.
" Hinata!" Kiba yelled as he walked in. The girl looked up from a scroll immediately. " Akamaru's hurt!"
Hinata and Kiba swept the scrolls off the table and set Akamaru down on it. Hinata began inspecting the wound.
" Kiba, go boil some water. We'll need it." Hinata ordered. Kiba rushed off to the kitchen with haste.
" Why?" whined Akamaru softly. Hinata was able to guess the meaning.
" To get rid of Kiba. This is going to hurt a lot, Akamaru." Hinata said, performing the Heavenly Palm jutsu. The small dog nodded and braced himself.
Akamaru let out a whine as Hinata pulled the blade out. She immediately held her palm to the wound and began focusing the healing energy. She had practiced a lot since the last time she had treated someone, and the wound began to heal quickly. She accidentally sealed the opening too soon, however, making it impossible to see the internal injury. In a stroke of inspiration, she activated her Byakugan, allowing her to see the injury completely. The chakra drain was heavy, though, so she didn't linger, knitting the tissue as fast as she could. When she finished she deactivated her eyes sat back, breathing heavy.
" Eat this." she told Akamaru, digging though her medical pack and holding out a plasma pill. Akamaru munched on it weakly and lay down, resting. Kiba came back a moment later with a steaming kettle.
" Akamaru! Is he all right?" Kiba said worriedly.
" He's going to be fine, Kiba. I healed the wound completely. He'll need a few days rest, though." Hinata said.
They were interrupted by Asuma walking out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Naruto also emerged from his room, still wearing his walrus cap.
" What's going on?" asked Naruto, surveying the scene.
" Akamaru got attacked!" Kiba said quickly.
" Explain." Asuma ordered.
Kiba told them the story of catching the two men in the forest, the race against Akamaru on the way back, and finding Akamaru. Hinata gasped and covered her mouth when he mentioned seeing elder Kei.
" Kiba, come with me to get the prisoners. Naruto, send out a group of clones on every patrol route." Asuma said, pushing his chair back and running from the room. Kiba followed quickly. After the teams of clones had left, Hinata pulled Naruto aside.
" Naruto-kun…I think what happened to Akamaru is my fault." Hinata said, looking ashamed.
" Hey, hey, that's not true! It's not like you threw the kunai." Naruto said, trying to sound cheerful. " You didn't, did you?" he asked.
" No, but Elder Kei…when she saw Akamaru in the Beast Clone form…might have thought he was…" Hinata said, tearing up.
" I know they look scary in that form, but if he didn't attack anyone, I don't think anyone would be afraid." Naruto said, trying to be reassuring.
" But Elder Kei asked about the demon!" Hinata cried, tears streaming down her face. " She thinks Kiba is the one with the demon in him and I didn't correct her because I didn't want her to know."
Naruto was stunned. " Why did she think Kiba was the one with the demon in him?"
" She heard from the ninja that there was a loud boy his age with the demon in him. She also said you were quiet." Hinata replied tearfully.
" No way…" Naruto said, guilt striking him. He'd been quiet around the villagers for the last few days because he was sure if he talked he'd slip up and mention the demon fox like the idiot he was. Now, Akamaru had been hurt because he'd hidden his secret.
Hinata and Naruto looked at each other sorrowfully, each blaming themselves.
---
" There they are!" shouted Kiba, running behind Asuma. Asuma had already spotted the tied up prisoners. Elder Kei was standing nearby, as was a group of villagers.
" See if you can wake one up. We need to interrogate them now." Asuma said, leaning over to one of the men and slapping him in the face lightly. Kiba went to the other and began to shake him.
" What's going on?" demanded one of the villagers.
" I think these two could be part of a scout party. They attacked my student while he was patrolling." Asuma snapped back.
" Or, they could be innocent travelers your pet terrorized." said Kei, walking forward. " I know about the demon fox." A murmur went though the villagers.
Asuma looked at her in confusion. Naruto hadn't been involved in the fight. Then, he looked to Kiba, understanding. The villagers were already backing away from him.
" Sensei, he's awake!" Kiba called, oblivious to what was going on around him. " What are we going to ask him?" Kiba looked up and noticed everyone's stares. " What?" he asked, looking confused.
" Get this kid away from me!" cried the prisoner. " I'll talk! Just keep him away! I saw what he did to Irsu!" The man began to struggle.
" Kiba, give me some room." Asuma said, moving to the man. " Are you scouts?"
" Yeah. We were going up the coast, checking for easy villages to hit. This was supposed to be a good one." said the prisoner.
" This is just a fishing village. There's nothing here worth stealing." Asuma growled.
" Were not looting. We slavers. A village like this is worth a lot more than any ship."
Asuma held his knife to the mans throat.
" When is your ship coming?" Asuma said, holding his knife to the mans skin just enough to scratch it.
" Tonight. We were going to join up with them a ways from here and tell them about this place."
Asuma smiled, formulating a plan.
" Your going to tell us where you were going to meet them. Kiba, help me move them to our lodging. I want to get them secured better." Asuma said, hoping to get Kiba away from the crowd. Kiba grabbed the unconscious man and hauled him into the building.
---
" They think I'm Naruto?" Kiba asked incredulously.
Once they had gotten back to their building and made sure no one was listening, everyone had explained what they knew of the situation.
" I probably started it with my joke, not giving them your name." Asuma said guiltily. " We can't worry about that at the moment. We need to plan for the pirates."
" Right." agreed Kiba.
" So, according to our prisoner they were going to meet up with their ship before the attack. I'm going to make a shadow clone, transform, and board the ship. Naruto, make a bunch of shadow clones. We'll lure them into the village first and ambush them. Hinata, you take the villagers a short distance away and give them out extra weapons. It's your job to keep them safe. Kiba and Akamaru, you'll help me and Naruto in the village."
" Akamaru shouldn't move for at least a day." Hinata interrupted.
" Yeah, I don't want him fighting in his condition. I can't use my Beast Clone or Piercing Fang without him either, so I won't be much help." Kiba said, sounding downtrodden.
" Don't worry, Kiba. I'm sure you can take these guys without those jutsu." Asuma said reassuringly.
" Hinata, go tell the villagers to head out. Your in charge of them."
Hinata bowed and left.
---
" Are you sure this plan is wise?" asked Elder Kei as the villagers left the village. Hinata had to force them to only take their most precious possessions with them so they could move quickly.
" Asuma-sensei is a good leader. This way we can keep you all safe." Hinata said, not making eye contact with the old woman. She was very angry with the town elder and didn't want that to cause a problem.
" Since the demon is going to fighting, it probably is for the best." Elder Kei suddenly got a cold look on her face.
Hinata was sure if she hadn't had years of practice not reacting to her father, she would have killed the woman where she stood. It was like she was insulting Naruto and Kiba at the same time, and she felt ashamed at not standing up for her friends.
" It would be rather convenient if he was killed here, don't you think? Perhaps that is what the Hokage was hoping for, sending him on these missions."
Hinata didn't realize she had moved, but she found herself holding her fingers inches from the old woman's face, a glowing Jyuuken strike charged.
" If you say one more thing, you filthy hag, I will kill you." she hissed though her teeth. The old woman blinked, looking terrified. Hinata withdrew her arm and walked with the villagers into the forest.
---
" There you guys are!" shouted one of the pirates as the longboats neared the meeting place. Asuma's clone and he were disguised as the two pirates, though they looked dirty and cut up. " What the hell happened to you two?"
" This damn village's surrounded by shit. We can't get though by land. We're going to have to come up into the harbor." Asuma said, entering the long boat. He counted nearly sixty pirates in seven boats. " But, the good news is, there isn't a single guard in the place. Guess they didn't want to shill out for any guards."
Asuma felt triumphant as the pirates laughed in glee, believing the misinformation.
---
" Nice little village." said the pirate next to Asuma as then pushed the boat onto shore. " How stupid can you be? The sun's barely down and there isn't a person in sight."
The pirates began to creep up the small beach into town, weapons drawn. To Asuma's relief most of their weapons looked rather shoddily made. He doubted there were any real professional fighters in this group.
" Hey!" yelled Naruto, who was standing on a roof. The pirates looked up at him, surprised. " You guys better get out of town or I'll kick your ass!"
The pirates laughed.
" Damn kid. Probably woke everyone up." said one of the pirates. " Dib's on killing him!"
" No need to call dibs. There's plenty of me." Naruto said with a foxy grin. Dozens of clones appeared on the roofs, surrounding the pirates. They were each holding a oversized shuriken.
" Crap, we got a ninja! I thought you said they had no guards!" shouted a pirate, turning to Asuma. He stepped back, since the pirate had been replaced by a large, tough looking man cracking his knuckles.
The clones threw the large shuriken in unison. Some of the pirates were hit, but the throws were not very accurate. However, after they struck, the oversized shuriken all transformed back into the clones they really were. Suddenly, the pirates found themselves flanked, surrounded, and trapped.
" Lets get them!" shouted Asuma charging in.
In unison the army of clones began to attack. The pirates tried to fight back, but they were scattered and surprised. Within seconds they were breaking and running, groups taking off in random directions, trying to fight their way though the clones.
Asuma blocked one of the groups with a cloud of ash and hacked and beat his way though. All at once these guys would have been a problem, but they weren't much more than rabble at the moment.
Kiba bowled though another group, sending the pirates smashing to the ground. With the Four Legs jutsu he was way faster and stronger than any of them, and he was rather pissed because of Akamaru. He knew he was beating the pirates harder than necessary, but he didn't feel like pulling punches today.
" You guys! Go head those guys off!" shouted a clone on a roof to a squad of clones that had just finished off a pair of pirates. " All right!" shouted the clones, racing after the feeling slavers. Another clone got hit and vanished, giving the others the location of the attacker. Naruto formed a team of reinforcements and sent them towards the area the clones had been taking the casualties in.
Asuma sent a man crashing into a wall with a lazy boot. These guys fought about as well as Naruto had back when they'd first formed the team. There was just one pirate left, who timidly held his sword out towards Asuma. Asuma channeled chakra though his knife and swung, lashing out with the wind energy. The pirates sword was cut in half neatly at the handle. The man looked at his sword, let out a small cry, and fainted.
Kiba punched a pirate, sending him to the ground in a spray of blood and teeth. These guys were losers. Cat number two hundred and four put up more of a fight.
" Got ya!" said Naruto, delivering a kick to a pirates midsection. " Anyone see any others?" he called to the rooftop clones, how gazed around before shaking their heads no. " All right everyone, lets clean these guys up! Bring them to the main street and tie them up!" The clone's saluted and began to haul the defeated pirates away.
---
Hinata stood on the top of the hill the villagers were hiding behind, watching the battle unfold. It had gone well, and she was waiting for Asuma's signal to bring the villagers back. They were going to clean the battle up first and make sure things were secure, so it was going to take a while.
Suddenly, five fleeing pirates came running out of the forest towards them. Hinata signaled for the villagers to stay put and ran to intercept.
" Get out of our way, girl!" shouted on of the pirates, waving a sword. Hinata activated her Byakugan and deftly rolled under the blade, coming up and delivering a Jyuuken tap to the mans head. He slumpe heavily to the ground.
" L-lay down your weapons." Hinata said commandingly. Three of the pirates looked willing, but the other swung his sword at her. She dodged to the side.
" Divine Sixty-Four Strikes." she whispered, channeling the chakra for the jutsu. Suddenly the world slowed and she stuck forward, her arm a silvery blur. The shut every chakra point on the pirates body, paralyzing him, then knocked him back as hard as she could. The man flew limply nearly twenty feet, landing and rolling down the hill. The other pirates set their weapons down hastily and moved away from them, sitting down.
Thanks to her Byakugan, Hinata could see the astonished looks on the villagers faces.
---
" We kick ass!" Naruto cheered as Hinata and the villagers came into view. " Hey, Hinata-chan, did you see us?"
" I did, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, smiling to him. " Is everyone all right?"
" Think so, Hinata." said Asuma, strolling up. " I sent a messenger pigeon to Kohona. Their sending ANBU to pick up the prisoners. We have them all tied up near the beach so no one go down their."
" Where is the demon? I demand he stay outside the village." said Elder Kei.
" Okay. See ya! I'll be by the start of the patrol route." Naruto said, waving goodbye. " Hey, Hinata, tell Kiba I hope Akamaru gets better soon." Naruto raced off. Elder Kei and the villagers looked confused.
" Naruto's the one with the demon fox sealed in him." Asuma said to Kei coldly. " It doesn't have any control over him, but some idiots are still afraid of him."
" But I thought the other boy…" began Kei.
" He's just a Inuzuka. Hinata told me you used to be a ninja, so I guess you weren't very good. The Inuzuka are one of Kohona's clans that use their dogs as helpers in battle. One of their techniques transforms the person and dog, giving them claws and things like that." Asuma said, turning his back. " The puppy you attacked is currently healing up and Kiba's guarding the prisoners."
Elder Kei stood silently as Hinata and Asuma walked towards the beach.
---
Naruto was sitting on the hill overlooking the village. It was a unfortunate he couldn't go back in anymore, but Kiba didn't deserve to be ostracized by the villagers. It had been about a half hour when Kiba and Hinata came walking up with a box of food. Akamaru was peering out from Kiba's jacket, looking tired.
" Hey." Naruto said as they sat down.
" Naruto, why the hell did you tell them the truth?" asked Kiba as he sat down.
" What?" Naruto said, stunned.
" I mean sure, it sucked how they were gonna treat me, but they all were treating you nice." Kiba said, opening the box of food and taking out a bowl of fish and rice. " You have to go though that stuff at home, so I'd have been okay dealing with it for a while."
" I didn't want you to." Naruto said somberly. " Any ramen?" he asked, hopefully. Hinata shook her head no. Naruto accepted the fish and rice reluctantly. " Thanks for bringing me something to eat."
" Not a problem." woofed Akamaru.
" Anyways, thanks Naruto." Kiba said between mouthfuls.
" If you can't stay in the village, I won't stay either, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, with a blush. " I-I brought a tent up."
" Really? Thanks, Hinata-chan! That's really nice of you." Naruto said, smiling widely. Hinata blushed and smiled at the compliment.
Kiba almost gagged.
" Those two ever going to stop that?" yipped Akamaru.
" I doubt." Kiba whispered back.
---
Asuma arrived shortly with the tent and sleeping bags.
" Naruto, I don't want any funny business out of you, you hear me?" Asuma said in a joking yet serious tone. Naruto nodded, wondering what Asuma meant. " I'm going to head out on my patrol. See you all in the morning."
" See ya. I'm heading back to the village." Kiba said, waving and running off with his loping gait.
Naruto made a team of clones to set the tent up. He couldn't convince them to do the work for him, though, so he and Hinata had to set it up. It was rather small but looked otherwise fine. They crawled in and unrolled the sleeping bags. Naruto fell asleep instantly. Hinata watched him, listening to his light snores as she felt sleep overtaking her.
Suddenly, her good eye snapped open.
She was sleeping by Naruto. She was alone with him.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Hinata let out a high pitched shrill as she dove for the tent entrance before she panicked.
---
Naruto woke. He sat up and yawned. He's been having a dream about being back at the ramen stand in Kohona with Hinata. And the ramen had been free. He smiled instantly at the thought. He looked over to where Hinata had been.
" Hinata?" Naruto asked. " Hinata!" He dove for the entrance of the tent. He opened it and found Hinata in her sleeping bag outside, still asleep.
Man, Hinata is so weird. he thought to himself.
---
Asuma and Kiba watched as the ANBU lead the prisoners away. They had spent about a half hour helping the ANBU prepare them for transport.
" We'll check to see if any have bounties on them when we get them secured." said a ANBU in a cat mask. Kiba had to hold Akamaru to make sure the dog didn't pounce the ninja.
" Well, your on patrol, Kiba." Asuma said, slapping the boy's back. " I'll take Akamaru back and get him some breakfast."
" See you, Akamaru." Kiba said sadly, rubbing the dogs head. Akamaru yipped as Kiba ran off.
" Hey, check on Hinata and Naruto too." Asuma called as the boy ran off.
---
The rest of the mission was a rather awkward affair.
Naruto stayed out of the village, as did Hinata. They built a nice little camp on the hilltop, and it luckily didn't rain. Kiba kept away from the villagers as much as he could, angry at how they had treated his teammates. Finally, no matter how hard she tried, Hinata couldn't bring herself to sleep in the tent, to Naruto's utter confusion.
Asuma noticed the villagers all seemed very tense at their presence. Finally, the morning their replacements arrive came. Hinata came into town and dropped off the tent as fast as she could, joining Naruto at the gate just outside of town. Asuma and Kiba arrived shortly after that. The crowd of villagers kept their distance from them, giving Naruto a lot of rude looks. Finally, the replacement team came into view.
" Good to see you." Asuma said, greeting the chunnin leading the squad. " I'll give you the area details real quick." he said, leading the ninja to the lodging.
The genin were left standing alone. The crowd dispersed, much to their relief. However, a man Naruto recognized as the tailor came over.
" Sorry it took so long, but the details I had to work from a picture. Give is back to Mr. Sarutobi for me." The tailor handed a photo of the three of them sparing to Kiba. " Here you go, Naruto." The man handed Naruto a box. Naruto opened it curiously. Inside he found a bright orange jacket, virtually identical to his old one.
" Whoa, thanks!" Naruto said, holding the jacket up.
" Its not a problem. The other villagers treated you quite badly, so it was the least I could do. Oh, and here's a little something for you." The man took a dog cookie out of his pocket and held it out for Akamaru. Akamaru happily snapped it up. The man smiled and walked off. Naruto tried his new jacket on, which fit very well. It was a little baggy, but he figured he'd grow into it.
" Ready to leave?" Asuma said, walking up. " I am."
" Sensei, here's your picture." Kiba said, handing the photo to Asuma. " Why'd you have a picture of us?"
" Well, pictures remember things better than people do. It's kind of a tradition to have a photo of your genin." Asuma said, putting the photo in his pocket and lighting a cigarette.
" When we get back, lets get one with you in it too." Naruto said. The genin nodded and Asuma sighed. He hated having his picture taken.
