Chapter 10
Rin slowly removed the bandage from Naruto, revealing the pale skin beneath. It was marked by the bandages that had pressed against them and even paler than usual, almost pallid, from the lack of exposure to any kind of light. Yet, it was whole, unmarked by the alkali burns that had covered it. Dropping the bandage onto the table, Rin slowly shook her head.
"It's amazing," she said as she leaned back, taking in Naruto's appearance. He was naked from the waist up and sat on a stool with a pair of standard issue trousers on. In not one place was he marked now, even his hair had recovered. Most would have been scarred for life, Naruto was now unhurt. "Your recovery is really fantastic," she told him, "It's almost scary in a way."
"I am a scary person," Naruto said with a wry smile. He was at the moment so incredibly happy to be out of that blasted bed which he had spent the last few weeks in. At last he could move. Indeed, at last he could get out of this place! "Anything more you need to do?" he asked, eager to get out of the hospital.
"No," Rin said, slowly shaking her head. "This is everything. You're a free man. Come back in one month for check-ups, but until then there is nothing."
"Were I the kind to do so I would do backflips down the halls," Naruto said as he stood up, flexing his muscles. He was stiff after one month in more or less a hearse. Gods it would be great to get to do some exercising. He couldn't wait, there was so much to be done after all this time.
"Oh gods no," Rin said, as happy as he was. "We already had one of those last week."
"Let me guess, Gai?" Naruto asked, knowing full well how destructive that man could be when overjoyed. Rin nodded and Naruto chuckled. Putting on his clothes for the first time, he enjoyed the feeling of the fine fabric immensely. He was back now, reborn almost, and it made him uncharacteristically giddy. The giddiness kept up as he left the hospital, savouring the fresh air. He'd be cleared for active duty by tomorrow, it would mainly mean the laboratories. However, he wasn't going to wait that long. With one single seal he vanished in a swirl of leaves, reappearing outside the laboratory building the next second.
Walking into the building, he realized that after all this time at the hospital he didn't even feel the antiseptic smell any more. Never the less, he was happy to see this place again. By chance, Kabuto came walking through the corridor now.
"Naruto-sensei!" Kabuto exclaimed, Naruto motioning for him to come up which the boy did quickly. "Finally recovered I see," his assistant said, "it's good to see you on your feet after all this time."
"Believe you me, I share that sentiment," Naruto said, "one month in bed is something I don't want to do again. What is the situation here? I want to know everything that's been going on while I was away. Compile the daily reports and give me an overview. I want it on my desk tomorrow."
"It shall be as you ask," Kabuto responded, "I take it you'll go back to full time service?"
"I need to work out one month of stiffness first." Naruto told him, "Besides, at three in the afternoon I cannot get much done. Either way: report, eight o clock tomorrow."
"I'll get right on it," Kabuto said before leaning in. "Really, it's great that you're back," he whispered, "Karin-san was put with the science division and has been pulling rank on us all." Naruto grimaced.
"I'll take care of that," he said. In one way it made sense that Karin had ended up with him. On the other hand, had the integration of the Oto nins gone that swimmingly? That needed to be looked at. Heading out from the labs after that, he set his sights on the Hokage tower. That'd be the most sensible place to find out what exactly had happened. Cracking his neck and flexing his shoulders, he leaped up on a nearby building, choosing to run towards the tower this time. With light and quick steps he shot across the rooftops, feeling how his body nevertheless was sluggish, not responding adequately. When he landed it was much harder than he had wanted, instead of a near soundless tap upon landing it became a thud, a sound that made him cringe. He had been taught to move gracefully by a man who had punished his lack of grace with punishments he strongly suspected would be considered torture by the Torture and Interrogation division. Should he look into that perhaps?
Heading up the stairs, he managed to find just the kind of people he was looking for. The two Chuunin Izumo and Kotetsu were both walking down the stairs, stacks of paper in their hands.
"Long time no see, Naruto-san," Kotetsu said when seeing him. Naruto responding in kind.
"That it is," he said, thinking back on the "utmuscht reschpegt" evening. "It is several months since Anko's birthday now."
"Yeah about that..." Izumo asked, "was it a good party?" Naruto raised an eyebrow and the goateed ninja smiled awkwardly. "Last thing I remember is that we sang to Anko and then I wake up in the net below Machi's," he admitted, Naruto rolling his eyes.
"Drooling on my pants no less," Kotetsu chuckled.
"At least I wasn't topless," Izumo retorted.
"As illuminating as this is," Naruto cut in with a dry voice making both chuunin remember just who they were talking with. "I was hoping for some information."
"Sure, take your pick." Kotetsu said, raising his pile somewhat.
"How is the integration of the former Oto shinobi going?" he asked, making the two chuunin share a glance which in turn made Naruto wonder what exactly it meant. Had something gone badly? Shrugging after a second, the two chuunin turned back to look at him.
"Would you believe it, it's pretty much gone perfectly." Izumo said, making Naruto raise his eyebrows in surprise. "Yeah I didn't believe it myself either but apparently the Hokage decided to tell the lords to eat a dick and simply let the Tsubaki clan as they're called now do some trials and get ranks after that. Apparently some of them razed half of training ground 22 during those."
"Those dudes are jonin now." Kotetsu added. "You know that crystal-using woman?" he asked and Naruto nodded. He remembered keenly Guren's visit and the offer she had given him. "She's become acting clan leader and apparently she's also slated for a genin team next graduation. A lot of the others have gotten, what did Hokage-sama call it... Right: "contact persons" amongst the jonin and tokubetsu jonins. They basically hang with that guy or girl, go on missions with them and whatever. Some of the kids got booted into the academy and were told to endure it, they're all gonna graduate here soon and the teachers been dancing through the streets about the whole thing.
"Really?" Naruto asked, "how does that work?" Kotetsu grinned
"Apparently the Tsubaki kids were not amused by their Konoha peers," he said with mirth in his voice. "Most of them have seen battle already and they've made our kids feel inadequate. Apparently discovering there's kids your age that already are veterans made a lot of them double their efforts. The Sarutobi kid got humiliated by one of those kids and a sound jutsu a few weeks ago and after that he trains until sunset on a daily basis."
"And there's been no catches?" Naruto asked. This sounded a bit too good to be true.
"Well there's a whole lotta snags here and there," Izumo informed him, "but Hokage-sama usually responds boot first to that and stomps it into the ground. The Uchiha had some issues about the whole thing and Hokage-sama apparently gave them a three hour lecture, something about "gathering scattered clans being the foundation of Konoha" and so on."
"So..." Naruto said, grinning internally. Perfect... "And your personal opinions?" he asked now, both the chuunin shrugging.
"If we can be chummy with people who grow bugs inside them I can be chummy with the Tsubaki folks," Kotetsu grinned. "I'm all for giving them a chance."
"Same for me," Izumo said, "long as it works out, why not?" Naruto remembered once again their claims of respecting him and found himself thinking that Konoha really needed more of this attitude.
"That's good to hear." he said sincerely. "On another note, are any of the training fields taken? I'm looking for sparring partners."
"I think field seven's got some people at it," Kotetsu mused.
"Yeah, Genma and some others are there with their Tsubaki charges," Izumo supplied.
"That's right, that special fuuin squad," Kotetsu agreed. "Genma, Hayate, Raido and Aoba all got a charge each, they're apparently fantastic with special seals but kinda blow at the basics. They only got to chuunin through that and Genma and the others have been drilling them ever since," Izumo chuckled. Naruto got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He couldn't possibly imagine that they had taken to that well. He know how proud the Sound Four were, taking orders from Konoha tokubetsu jonin couldn't be easy to stomach at all. He needed to take a look at that.
"That will have to do," he said, "Good luck with your work and I'll see you later." Both the chuunin said their farewells as well and Naruto leaped up onto the rooftops again. More and more the tensions begun to be worked out of him, leaving him more and more softened up. Not enough however, he still felt sore when landing by training field seven, a large field, free from grass and most vegetation, instead only filled with rocks and sand. It was somewhat reminiscent of Iwa in many ways, bar of course the quartet of exhausted people standing a few dozen meters away. All of them were panting heavily, Tayuya leaning against a rock, Jiroubou was lying flat on his back, Kidoumaru leaning forwards with two of his hands on his legs . Sakon was the only one standing even normally. Naruto was a bit surprised to see that they were all wearing Konoha outfits, he really hadn't expected the sound four to be seen wearing those uniforms.
Looking around, Naruto detected the four tokubetsu jonin, tokujo as they were usually called, right before they appeared standing on the rocks surrounding the admittedly former sound four. Genma stood as always with the senbon dangling from his lips, his posture relaxed and his hands in his pockets. Next to him was the stoic, ever watchful Raidou; the scarred fighter looked as grim as usual. Gekko Hayate, the third man and one of Konoha's finest swordsmen, stood – deathly pale and absently coughing into his fist – on the other side of the group. Lastly, Yamashiro Aoba stood with his arms folded and a scowl detectable behind his sunglasses. Naruto had already stepped into cover and hid himself, wanting to see a bit more of this without being spotted. He willingly admitted to himself that quartet was a good selection of shinobi, each of the four tokujos picked for this was a highly competent professional. How did they work with their assigned Tsubaki charges however?
"Wanna take this Genma-san?" Raido asked, Genma shrugging. The sound four looked up at him, each of them clearly frustrated. It hovered over them, a massive cloud of sheer impotent rage.
"You're still not getting it," Genma begun, seemingly as weary as they were of this.
"Yes, yes!" Tayuya exploded, "Fucking teamwork! We fucking get it you needle-sucking prick! Why don't you go suck a dick and just..." she was interrupted now; Raido leaped off the rock he was standing on, landed in front of Tayuya and ended up with his face only a few inches from hers. Tayuya tried to step backwards but only hit the rock behind her. She swore now and her attempts to get away to the side were stopped by Raido stepping to the side to follow her. After a few seconds she stopped, only leaning backwards as Raido kept staring into her face.
"Behave," Raido said icily as Tayuta turned her face to the side, trying to get away from him in any way possible.
"You... fucking..." Tayuya's voice was shivering, she seemed terrified of him. Naruto nodded to himself. He had already suspected it and only got further confirmation of it now. Tayuya's anger was a defence mechanism, designed to push people, men especially, away. He wondered what that girl had suffered through. Raido, on whom her insults ran off like water and who pushed himself into her comfort zone without a second thought, was terrifying her. Raido only pushed himself yet another a bit closer, Tayuya flinched and fell silent for several seconds now, Naruto could see she fought with her anger and fear, eventually managing to get it under control. "Fine," she hissed and Raido slowly stepped back. None of the other former Oto nins had done anything to intervene, only looking at the whole spectacle. Naruto noticed how the other tokujos seemed to have been waiting for something. He decided to enter the stage now and stepped out from the rock he had been hiding behind. The very instant he did it each of the tokujos noticed him, as well as Sakon and Tayuya.
"Good day," he said calmly, becoming now a witness to the wide range of reactions his arrival caused. The tokujos greeted him quite casually, most of them with some eased up salute. Tayuya and Sakon got uncertain looks on their faces while Jiroubou got up and knelt towards him, Kidoumaru just about to follow suit before he realized that neither of the top two in the sound four would kneel.
"Naruto-sama," Jiroubou said respectfully, bowing his head. The young man showed his deep respect openly and without shame. Naruto decided to curb that trend however, raising one hand to stop him.
"Don't," he said, "we are equals now." The look on the four faces of the former Oto nins showed how absurd they found the concept but Naruto persevered. "You are Konoha shinobi now, like me, and I make no claims to Orochimaru's seat. So don't kneel to me Jiroubou-san."
"Too tired to stand up fatass?" Sakon said, booting Jriubou as his teammate got up from the ground, Hayate cleared his throat now, making Sakon stop and give the man a sour look. Naruto could tell this was a rocky set of relationships. What to do about it however?
"Good to see you on your feet again," Genma said as he got down from the rocks along with the others.
"Yeah, kudos for even lasting a week without going crazy," Aoba smiled. Naruto decided to play along with the social banter. He was satisfied to see people were more open now with him.
"I usually work at a lab," he said, "it was just like usual in that regard. Admittedly the whole "immobilized and skinless" bit was a new one," he added dryly. Small chuckles were had at this from the others and Naruto noticed how the sound four seemed to not believe their eyes when seeing how casually they interacted. Orochimaru had stood above them as almost a god and Naruto hadn't done much during his initial visit to do away with that view of things. Now, however, that was changed, forever if Naruto had any say. "How are things going here?" he continued.
"Well enough," Aoba shrugged, Naruto noticing how the former sound nins looked at him like he was crazy. "Can't say we're lacking challenges however," he added dryly.
"Yeah and it's all sunshine and rainbow-shitting faeries for us too," Tayuya said snidely, Raido gave her a warning look, something that made the girl tense up and grit her teeth.
"Do I come at a bad time?" Naruto asked. The tokujos exchanged a few glances before Aoba spoke up.
"How so?" he asked curiously.
"As just said, I've spent one month in bed and I was hoping to work out the stiffness. I wanted to see if you were available for a sparring match."
"Actually..." Genma said, the four people looking amongst each other. "That might actually be perfect." Leaning in a bit, he whispered to Naruto. "These guys seem to be immune to the concept of actually being a team, they get teamwork, they just don't trust each other."
"Yes..." Naruto said, "I'm in. Which ones of you would like to begin?" He asked politely. Hayate chuckled at this, breaking off into a small cough at the end.
"Is all of us okay?" he asked, "I have a feeling we won't have a chance otherwise."
"I'll second that." Aoba chuckled as he adjusted his shades.
"Thirded." Raidou said while Genma nodded in agreement. Naruto bowed his head slightly at this.
"I'm honoured," he said. These four might only be tokubetsu jonin, but even that spoke highly of their abilities. They weren't as rounded as a true jonin perhaps, but that didn't make them weaker, it only meant they were a bit less flexible.
"Now what?" Sakon asked, Hayate turning to him.
"You might want to step back you four," he said, "this will get violent." The sound four took the man's advice and got some distance between them and the tokujos, Naruto standing perfectly still all the time.
"When you're ready," he told them, keeping his focus on the four shinobi standing in a semi circle in front of him. Flexing his shoulders somewhat, he took a deep breath as Genma reached towards his mouth, taking the senbon from it and holding it up. Dropping it, he let the large metal needle fall from his fingers and plant itself in the grass, the fight beginning the instant it landed.
The tokjuos went on the offensive instantly; Hayate and Raido turned into blurs of motion as their swords came out. Naruto begun to rapidly backpedal as the Kusanagi came out and he had to move with all his speed as the two tokujos rained down rapid-fire blows at him. Hayate's intricate, dizzying swordplay and Raido's lethally precise, almost bloodthirsty, together created a confusing weave of attacks that pressed Naruto backwards. They were good. Both of them had easily jonin level sword skills and they used every bit of it. What saved him was his sheer speed, sheer agility. The adrenaline kick-started him and he danced through their attacks, managing to get out of the whirlwind of blows they created with an inhuman series of impossible steps that pressed his body near its limits. One foot back to stop. Lean back so much that both their attacks passed over him. Use a chakra-grip on the ground to propel himself forwards and then shoot up once more. To Raido and Hayate, it seemed as through he simply vanished and reappeared between them. His sword moved at top speed as he gave them each a slap towards the face with the broad side of the blade.
Hayate dodged however and Raido parried, both of them leaping forwards and making Naruto turn to follow. That way, he nearly missed when Genma moved in. Going in low, the man moved gracefully and subtly enough that Naruto almost didn't spot him. With a well rehearsed move, Genma spat out the senbon that now was back in his mouth towards Naruto's unguarded spine, chakra making it fly at impossible speeds. It was a great move, it could have worked, were Naruto not who he was. With one fierce spin, he blocked it with his sword and came face to face with Genma, kicking him in the face and sending him flying backwards. The tokujo managed to block it, only barely but still, also it left Naruto exposed as two more attackers came from behind. Spinning around to face the swordsmen, Naruto saw that Raido was gone, leaving only Hayate on the offensive. Or rather, the Hayates. Three shadow clones had appeared and Hayate was going all out, the frailness was gone from his eyes as he weaved around in a whirlwind of feints and sidesteps, the shapes perfectly working together to create one swirling storm of steel and death.
Naruto smiled grimly to himself as he reversed the grip on Kusanagi and took the risk. Making an one-handed seal, he shaped the jutsu as fast as he could and suddenly he wasn't in the middle of Hayate's attack. Rather, he was behind him, each version of him. He had woven his own shadow clones, getting in behind Hayate's clones and his clones all struck, aiming for the necks of each copy of Hayate. Right then, the crows came. Out of nowhere, Naruto found himself swarmed by a large murder of black ravens, the birds swarming around him and blinding him. His clones vanished from the scratches the crows made on them and Naruto was blinded when the black blade came. He perceived Raidou, as barely as it was, but the black sword the man carried was impossible to spot properly and it was only when it bit into his skin that he felt it.
That was enough, however barely.
Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke, vanishing from the near area. The tokujos all instantly begun to look around, Aoba directing the crows he had been controlling to spread out and scan the area while Hayate and Raido both kept their swords at the ready and Genma retrieved several additional senbon.
When Naruto reappeared, it was with a boom. The ground beneath the tokujos' feet exploded and Naruto reappeared, Aoba being his first target. As the pieces of dirt and dust flew all around them Naruto came out in front of Aoba, grabbing his hair and slamming his elbow into the man's stomach. Aoba keeled over instantly but Naruto was pleasantly surprised by the man's quick thinking as Aoba locked his arms around Naruto's legs, immobilizing him enough that Raido could get a glimpse of what was going on. Accelerating to full speed, the man stabbed towards Naruto with his eyes blazing. He was fully into it. Naruto could see it. His eyes were blazing with that specific combat-lust Konoha nins showed so often. Not blood thirst, only sheer, primal enjoyment of the struggle, the challenge. Naruto admitted that he enjoyed it as well, he was on the razor's edge, being put to the test in all ways possible. Snaking out of Aoba's lock, he parried the blow and deflected it to the side, letting his other arm wrap itself around Raido's arm and with a brutal twist, he sent the man flying through the air just in time for Naruto to realize that just behind Raido a swarm of senbon were flying. He had to bend backwards, ending up almost playing limbo with the deadly swarm of chakra-empowered needles. In the split-second lull between the back-bending and the subsequent rising he saw another metallic gleam amongst the dust just as Hayate's blade came, forging an arc through the air as it swung straight down towards his now vertical throat. When his blade hit however, it only cut through dirt as Naruto switched his position with some of the dirt all around him.
A few dozen seconds later the dust cleared, showing Naruto standing upright with his blade in hand. Some dirt covered his uniform and he was breathing slightly faster. The tokujos, meanwhile, looked no worse for wear. Aoba had some problems with his breathing still, Hayate had assumed a defensive position while Genma twirled a senbon in his hands and Raido seemed to almost growl.
Twirling his sword around, Naruto whipped it to the side with a smile. He couldn't help it. This was one of the few times he really had enjoyed a fight like this. They were an honour to Konoha, truly valuable assets who fought all out. Yet... Naruto saw the gap between them skill-wise. It was nearly an abyss, great enough that it became insurmountable. Kicking it into top gear, he charged Hayate and the man's eyes widened as Naruto slashed out towards him. The man managed to deflect it however it was only a feint and Naruto struck him right above the Adam's apple, only just powerfully enough as to precisely not crush anything. Never the less, along with the elbow swipe that hit the side of his neck, it meant that Hayate went down fast and hard. A loud exclamation came from the side as Raido attacked with a roar. He was fast but Naruto was faster, disarming Raido with a hyper-aggressive move that left the scarred tokujo free to return the favour. Their two swords were sent flying however Raido's hand was out to the side, leaving Naruto open to unleash a swarm of lethally swift, snake-like thrusts with his hands that almost simultaneously hit over a dozen nerve clusters which sent Raido tumbling to the ground as well, paralysed and temporarily unable to breathe.
Naruto sidestepped him with an almost ethereal grace just in time to come face to face with Aoba, who had his hands full with shuriken he unleashed point blank in a deadly shower of razor sharp metal. Naruto avoided them with a lighting-fast series of steps and met Aoba, the man's taijutsu being all the more defensive. Naruto only realized in the last second what was going on. Looking back, he saw another swarm coming towards him courtesy of Genma and avoided it by leaping backwards, avoiding the swarm and at the same time getting distance between him and Aoba. It was then that he saw the gleam. The sun had gone behind some clouds, making Naruto first now realize that Aoba and Genma both had tied thin ninja wires to their projectiles. Aoba caught the wires as they came past him, gathering them up as Genma did the same and with a pull in each direction, they tightened the noose around him.
Naruto escaped downwards into the ground just as the noose would have caught him. The next second he burst out again, this time behind Aoba. The man didn't have time to react before Naruto stabbed him in the back with a needle, blocking his neural system and making him drop as well. Right as he did, Genma appeared behind the dropping Aoba, his hands already having made the seals. The very instant Aoba was out of the way, Genma spat out a giant fireball right into Naruto's face. Or rather, where his face just had been. Naruto stepped across the falling Aoba, his arm out to clothesline the still fire-spitting Genma. Twisting the man through the air, Naruto tore him to the ground and locked him in a chokelock. Genma's hands flew up, grabbing at Naruto's arm to pull him away. It was useless though, like a python, Naruto steadily clenched his arm around Genma's throat harder and harder, in the end the man tapped out, stopping to resist and giving the sign he surrendered.
Naruto let go and released the breath he had been holding. Genma, meanwhile, dropped to the ground and coughed hoarsely, holding his throat with one hand. Around him the other tokujos were struggling to get up as well. Hayate was weakly getting up to his feet, Raido only having managed to get up on all fours. Aoba was still paralysed and Naruto made sure to pull the needle out, freeing the man from the neural block. The former Oto nins had left their distant viewing posts and come up now. Their reactions were quite interesting. Jiroubou hurried over to Aoba to help him up while Tayuya stopped a few meters from Raidou, seemingly conflicted. Kidoumaru gave Genma a hand however and Sakon who initially had been standing still eventually came over as well. Interestingly enough, it was after his head suddenly had jerked forwards a bit and a faint voice had said something. It seemed as if the normally asleep Ukon had taken exception to his siamese twin's reluctance to help out.
"That was a new experience..." Genma croaked, his voice sounding like he had been lived off strong liquors exclusively for a decade straight. "Being stopped halfway through a fire jutsu. I feel like I've gargled lava."
"Are you okay Aoba-san?" Jiroubou asked as he helped Aoba off the ground. The tokjuo only gave him a thumbs up, affirming Naruto's estimate that Jiroubou was the one who had integrated the best with Konoha in many ways. It helped that Aoba as a character was a competent balance of social butterfly, intellectual and joker to make him likeable to anyone.
"Please tell me you're staying down," Tayuya said to the still kneeling Raidou, the remark never the less lacking her usual spite. "It would be a change to have to call the medics myself for once."
"I'm pleased already," Sakon smirked as he came up, Naruto stopping him.
"Good to hear that," he said, "because it's your turn now." The former sound four looked at him, wide-eyed. He could tell the concept was absurd to them, however he only looked at them, inquisitively, openly.
"Kick his ass Jiroubou," Aoba said, patting his charge's shoulder. The other tokujos did similar things before retreating as well, leaving the confused and shocked sound four.
"Hey," Kidoumaru said, "Wait, what?" he looked around, his head going back and forth.
"Are you outta your fucking..." Tayuya looked equal parts perplexed, shocked and terrified. Jiroubou gave up a quiet groan, getting the look of someone bracing himself for something extremely painful while Sakon only blinked.
"Admittedly, let's even the odds somewhat," Naruto drew his sword and stabbed it into the ground before he stepped back. "And for motivation," he added, "If you last as long as they did, I will appeal to the Hokage to have you made full Jonin." Now he could see the gleams of ambition and pride light up in their eyes. The prospect was juicy as could be to them and they took out their weapons. Naruto looked towards Genma, who smiled as he threw his senbon into the air, the needle landing between Naruto and the sound four a few seconds later. The sound four moved the very second it landed, however so did Naruto.
This time the battle didn't become drawn out. Naruto leaped past the swarm of kunai sent flying against him and met Sakon, the fastest of them, head on. Without mercy or restraint he attacked the man where he was the most sensitive, his twin-brother. Spinning around, he let both his hands impact the sides of Ukon's head which sent a shockwave through their shared body. Sakon, not expecting or being able to handle the attack on his sleeping brother, flinched in shock and tried to pull away, meaning Naruto could easily trip him and kick him in the solar plexus. He turned around just in time to come face to face with Jiroubou's fist. He grabbed it and sent him to the ground as well, using a swift twist with some ninja wires to wrap the man's arms around his own neck and making it impossible for him to get up. Tayuya only first now had managed to produce a tone from her flute, so swift was Naruto. That was also the only one she had time to produce before Naruto tore the shirt below her open vest up, over her head, making her breath stop from the shock and fear. Mercilessly, he used her trauma against her and proceeded to push her backwards into the ground and knee her in the guts, knocking all breath out of her. Kidoumaru was the only one left now, the man desperately throwing himself at Naruto who stood up and stuck him in twelve nerve clusters at the same time. The last of the sound four hit the ground and the battle was over in a fraction of the time the one against the tokujos had lasted. The sound four were beaten in moments and unlike after the last battle there was none of the good cheer. Instead, the tokujos came hurrying up, each of them rushing to their charge's side. Raidou knelt by Tayuya's side, rapidly pulling her shirt back down to cover her again. With a glare, he looked towards Naruto.
"Was that necessary?" he asked through clenched teeth. This time there was anger in his voice. Tayuya, whose face turned out now to be pale and shivering, didn't even pull away from him. "It's all right," Raidou said quietly, "nothing will happen, breathe..." How interesting... Naruto filed what he just saw away for future reference. Meanwhile, Aoba cut the ninja wire from Jiroubou and Genma helped Kidoumaru get up. Hayate did the same for Sakon and his twin brother. Naruto looked at Orouchimaru's former elite, leaning against one of the rocks as they got up. They weren't down for the count mentally. They were too proud, to headstrong, to only let that break them. He had scared them however, some of them deeply. He waited for them to meet his eyes and spoke up first then.
"The difference between you and them is simple," he said. It felt a bit silly in a way. The tokujos had worked for nearly a month with these people and now he just came here, using the respect and attention they still paid him to shove them into the right track. "Trust," he watched the sound four, seeing that they didn't understand. "Tayuya, would you trust Jiroubou to catch you if you fell down a cliff? Sakon, would you use a bridge made from Kidoumaru's wires? Go down that road, ask yourself those questions. When I attacked you, did you care about each others lives? Or did you just think of how you were to survive? Your instructors trust each other enough to perform combination attacks where the least hesitation would kill them. Do you?" The former sound four looked away, he could tell that he had managed to hit just the right spot. With that, he bowed his head towards the tokujos. "Thank you for your hard work," he said formally before he raised his hand, formed one seal and vanished. The Tsubaki nins would integrate in the end, they would find a new home and Konoha would be stronger for it. All was as it should.
An evening a few days after his sparring match against the tokujos a knock could be heard from Naruto's door. It made him look up from his papers, his brow furrowed and he took a look at the clock; it was nine in the evening. Who came over at a time like this? He had taken some work with him home and was at the moment sitting at his workdesk, going through a series of x-rays handed him by Rin.
"Can you see who it is?" he asked now, looking at his bed where Kimiko was sitting with a comic book in her hands. His little sister had been over here since he got home from work, having said she had "brother time" to catch up on. Naruto hadn't managed to exorcise the little gnat yet and she insisted on pestering him with questions about everything, mostly the x-rays. Kimiko seemed reluctant for a second but got off in the end, going over to the door and leaving Naruto free to look for ten more seconds. The x-rays were of Kimimaro, the sick boy had caused a commotion to say the least amongst Konoha's medic nins. Senju Tsunade herself had seen the disease as a personal challenge and she, along with Shizune and Rin, were working on the boy and even Naruto had been asked for his opinions on him. It was extremely hard to say what it could be though. The x-rays revealed a few things of interest but was that enough? Of particular interest was the enlarged spleen, the boy evidently would have a much more intense blood syst... his train of thought was cut off now when Kimiko's scream came from the hallway, a shrill scream of fright and fear accompanied by someone's malicious laughter. Naruto got to his feet and was halfway out his work room with his body kick-started when Kimiko came almost flying through the air towards him. Her eyes were wide and her face pale as she threw herself towards him, getting around him and hiding behind his back within half a second. The next second Anko came from the hallway, the woman having a manic grin on her face as she walked hunched over and with her hands out.
"Here, Kimi-Kimi-Kimi," the woman grinned sadistically, Naruto held back a groan when he realized that Anko was bored and out to play. "I've got something for you..." she sing-songed evilly as she closed in on Kimiko and Kimiko buried her face in Naruto's clothes.
"Please stop bullying my little sister Anko," he said, "what did you want?" Anko looked at him now, straightening up and giving him a wry smile.
"That's friendliness for you," she said and shrugged, "I was bored, decided to come over to see if there was anything going on."
"Let me guess," Naruto asked as he tried to get Kimiko out from behind him, "you were out of alcohol?" Anko however had already opened his fridge and was going through it.
"You got any food that isn't designed to be boring?" She asked, Naruto sighing.
"Well there's a bunch of ramen cups..."
"No!" Kimiko yelled from behind Naruto, "She can't have those!"
"...In the middle locker." Naruto continued. Anko only looked back at him and shook her head.
"Nah, I don't like ramen that much. Got any dango or anything?" Obviously that'd be her question. With his little sister still cowering behind him, Naruto decided to try to break this up. Kimiko feared Anko, incredibly much so, and he could do without having to stand as a bulwark between the woman raiding his fridge and the girl hiding behind him. Taking out his wallet and fishing up a bill out of it, he figured he could save Kimiko from Anko.
"Here Kimiko," he said, handing the bill to her. "take this and go buy some snacks. I'll leave it up to you to choose. And no, Ramen isn't a snack." Kimiko wasn't totally stupid it seemed, she took the bill and was out of the apartment in a second flat. Anko looked after her and grinned a bit.
"You shoulda asked her to buy some tartan paint," she said as Naruto walked into the kitchen as well and took out some tea out of the locker still filled with his food. "Seriously though, you don't keep any snacks around normally?"
"There's some celery sticks in the back of the fridge." Naruto said, knowing well what her reaction would be. To Naruto's surprise however, Anko did indeed take one of the celery sticks out of the fridge and chomped down on it. a few seconds of heavy chewing later she made a face and threw the remaining celery stick towards the sink however, Naruto catching it only just before it hit.
"Rabbit food," she said absently and closed the door. "You could at least keep some saké or something around. If you've got ramen I mean." Naruto took a bite out of the celery and munched on it as he started to boil some water.
"The ramen is not mine," he said, "Kimiko is hoarding it here ever since she got a ramen ban back home." Anko laughed at this.
"Right," she said. "I'm..."
"You're not building up a hoard of dango and saké in my house," Naruto cut her off. "By the way, other than making an ass out of yourself at Machi's for not spotting a prank that was on an academy student's level, what have you been up to these last weeks?" Anko gave him a sour glare but then sighed. Naruto got a bad feeling now, Anko got something almost pensive on her face. "What?" he asked now.
"Nothing," she said, Naruto now having begun to boil the tea.
"You wouldn't look like that if there was nothing," he pointed out.
"No," Anko said, "I've done nothing. After that thing at the hospital I went home and I've been just sitting there. Watched TV, taken a walk now and then, there hasn't even been any missions to do." This made Naruto wonder. That didn't sound like the Anko he knew.
"Did something happen?" he asked. The stint of melancholy he had seen during that evening at Machi's was present once more. Anko seemed almost depressed all of a sudden.
"Not really," Anko said. "It's just... well it's been coming for a while now and it kinda hit me just then. When I was about to go out that evening I just didn't want to do it."
"Just like that?" Naruto asked.
"Yep," Anko said, "Just like that everything I use to do feels pointless. Go out, get wasted, wake up with some dude I can't even remember the name of, rinse and repeat. As you said, sex isn't any good replacement for being lonely. When I saw your mom fussing over you at the hospital... well I haven't felt so lonely in years. It made me question everything I'm doing." Naruto found himself straightening up mentally. His mind switched over, pushing Kimimaro aside and focusing onto Anko. The fact that his usually seemingly invincible Anko was so down was enough to unsettle him. Of course he logically knew that Anko was just a human but he had always known her as the woman who took everything in a stride and lived for simply having fun. Therefore he found himself so focused. It unsettled him, this Anko, and it had to be fixed now.
"Have you thought of a solution?" He asked. Normal people would have seen Anko's words as a sign to start fussing over her or show. Naruto only saw a problem and went in as he always did. Find out what was known and thought about it before, map out the issue at hand and find a solution. An Anko that was unhappy and depressed was wrong, like the sun rising in the west instead of the east.
"A bit," Anko confessed, "mostly just vague plans though."
"Like for instance?" Naruto insisted. He needed to know this if he was going to be able to say anything. Anko threw her hands up.
"New hobbies, I dunno," she said. "To be honest though, I've been thinking of cleaning my shit up a bit more. Trade in this outfit for the normal clothes, stop boozing and sleeping around."
"That's very ambitious," Naruto pointed out. "Do you truly think you'll be able to pull through with that?"
"Well thanks for the support!" Anko snapped at him. "So what, I shouldn't try?"
"Don't put words in my mouth," Naruto told her, "if you're hoping to create a plan it must be a feasible one, not a desperate attempt that aims way too high and just makes you give up." That was a risk in cases like this; Naruto knew of it. A will to change or improve could all too often be foiled by setting the goals too high, feel that you achieved nothing and then fall back into the old patterns. Anko groaned and looked down.
"I know," she muttered. "Always so bloody rational aren't you?" she asked sourly and Naruto shrugged.
"Yes," he admitted, "Back to you however. What do you hope to achieve?"
"Remember my birthday party?" Anko asked and Naruto nodded. "I said I wanted to feel that someone would miss me when they carved my name on the memorial stone. I still want that. I want to wake up with a guy and feel that he actually means something."
"A relationship then," Naruto summed it up. That was a tricky one. Anko had built herself into the corner on that one, with large parts of Konoha having "sampled" her she was not in an enviable position when it came to building serious relationships. For a man it was one thing but for a woman completely different. Women, even kunoichi, were expected to be pure, sweet and caring women all too happy to leave their jobs and become obedient and competent housewives. Anko couldn't cook more than decently at best, he couldn't see her give up active duty and even less so that she'd accept to become a housewife. What more, pure, sweet and obedient were some of the last adjectives available to describe her. Ironic really, as kunoichi they were expected to master sex as a weapon amongst others as well. How exactly they were supposed to be chaste virgins and whores at the same time Naruto hadn't ever been able to figure out. Anko had at least one thing going for her though. She was not yet past the 25-year mark after which it was commonly accepted – for some reason – that you were "too old" to ever find someone to marry you (once more only for women of course). Anko sighed again now and gave him a wry look.
"Yep, the number one whore wants to go steady with someone," she told him. "What about that?"
"Unexpected, but plausible," Naruto admitted. "Is there anyone special you are thinking of?" Anko sighed and shook her head.
"Nope, mostly because the faces I wake up next to turn into a blur within hours of them leaving," she said. "Most of my attempt of chatting them up later just makes them think I'm looking for more sex." Naruto admitted she had a point, it wouldn't be easy for her to find a way out of the situation she was in. "You got any idea what I could do?" Anko asked frankly now. Naruto saw that the tea was done now and poured up a pair of cups, one for him and one for Anko.
"To be perfectly honest," he said as he offered her one of the cups. Taking a sip of the tea, he looked her straight in the eyes and gave his answer, "no."
"What, just a no?" Anko asked him now. Naruto nodded.
"Let me explain," he said, "I can understand your craving for a relationship, there is nothing strange about that, yet can I help you? No, I don't think I can. I can however recommend someone who could." Anko blinked now.
"What, who?" she said with a furrow in her brow. "Oh wait..." she continued now as her eyes widened. "Oh no, no way in hell, don't even think about it," she told him, putting the cup away. She had understood Naruto thought to himself.
"Any special reason?" he asked her, moving to sit down at the table and motioning for her to sit down as well.
"Are you for real?" Anko asked incredulously, "That I'd go crawling to her for help... never!"
"You know," Naruto said, "I am hardly the authority on relationships. I haven't had any partner either and my only experience with sex is in a brothel, as I believe I told you." he added.
"Well... don't you have anything to offer?" Anko asked now, almost despairingly. Naruto found himself seeing clearly into Anko's being. Like with Naruto, Orochimaru had scarred Anko, in many ways. For all her bluster and cheek she was still vulnerable, afraid, and the very few people she held close she clung to desperately and nearly lived in fear of losing them. The sheer fact that Yuuhi Kurenai had gotten so close to Anko had been a surprising achievement for both her and Anko.
"Not beyond what I just suggested," Naruto said. "For your own sake, I suggest you look beyond your differences. Even if you aren't the best of friends," Naruto blinked now, realizing that he couldn't have made a greater understatement even if he had tried. "I sincerely suggest you try to look beyond that," he continued. "Rin, for all her flaws, is a professional. You're aiming to remake yourself and I cannot help you there, my focus is the world outside. Rin, however, is a master in psychology. She has even helped me," that was something he had to be force out of him, he hated to admit it but that came in second place, Anko came first here.
"So I can sit and watch that bitch laugh under her breath at me?" Anko exclaimed, Naruto now slamming his hand into the table, hard enough that the wham was so loud Anko startled and shut up.
"That will be quite enough Anko," Naruto said, his voice cold. "I know of your issues with her, but in insulting her like that you are insinuating she isn't a consummate professional. I care not one whit for her personality or her life but I've spent nearly a full year as her patient. She doesn't laugh at you, ever, and she does not let her personal life get involved in her work."
"When the hell did you take her side?" Anko asked now, lashing out at him.
"She has given me a full year of respectful treatment, she's earned it," Naruto told Anko, "Exactly like how you've earned that I do everything I can to help you. Yet, if you are going to irrationally lash out at me simply because I cannot pull a magical solution out of my ass, then you know where the door is." Tlast words he said with a growl in his voice. Anko flinched now, being silent for a minute. Naruto could see the distress in her body language, she hated it. The mere thought of submitting herself to someone who had several times clashed with her and who she despised was not a very fun one to say the least. Taking a slow sip of his tea, Naruto now saw how Anko sunk together, deflating almost like a balloon.
"Fuck..." she muttered sourly to herself, Naruto trying to think if there was any encouragement he could offer.
"What you're trying to do will be hard," he said, "if you're not ready to take all possible routes it will be impossible. Yet, Rin will not laugh at you. If she gives you even one mocking smirk, I will eat my lab coat." He gave Anko a small smile now, hoping the joke would lighten the tension a bit. It failed to do so and Anko just groaned.
"I hope that wherever that snake bastard is he's suffering," she said angrily. "You really trust Rin though, don't you?" Naruto only nodded in answer and Anko sighed once more. "I dunno, all I can see is her cracking my skull open and scrubbing my brain until I'm happy with being a submissive little bitch of a housewife. I don't want to be that, the very thought makes me wanna puke, but I can't stand being alone like this." Anko now buried her head in her hands, her despair evident. Naruto was stumped now and didn't know what to do. Anko's distress radiated off her, distress and despair. He didn't know what to do so in the end he decided to just be silent. Yet, after a few more seconds the sound of the door opening was heard through the house and Anko looked up. "Be right back," she said now, vanishing into the hallway. Only a second later Naruto could hear Kimiko's terrified scream and a loud cackle from Anko. Chuckling quietly to himself, Naruto took another sip and wished this would work out. Anko deserved to be happy.
A/N: Hope you liked this chapter: if you did let me know, if you didn't, let me know why. Either way, I hope to hear your opinion on it.