Chapter 10: Teacher Wannabe
Unbetaed.
Standard disclaimer issued.
"You're late, Naruto."
Naruto yawned before she plopped her body down on the grass. "No, I'm not, Sakura," she answered to the girl's censured remark. "I'm here before you two got here."
"Don't lie!"
"I just finished running three laps, Pinks."
It had been a week since they became official Team Seven and her relationship with the two didn't change. Well, with Sakura in particular. In fact, the girl was more irritated with her for some reason. But Sakura wasn't all that bad. Naruto could tolerate her snarky attitude at times and they had some casual conversations.
"Why isn't Kakashi with you?" she heard Sasuke ask. "You two live together."
"Wait! You live with Kakashi-sensei? How did I not know about this?"
She wanted to reply it was because Sakura was busy fawning over Sasuke and didn't care about everything else, but Naruto simply hummed. She twisted her body towards Sasuke's direction. "He stays with us but he didn't really move in permanently."
"Hn."
"I know, right? I'm still planning to convince him, though."
The boy's left eye twitched at that but he didn't comment. He clearly didn't like it when she had answers to his unintelligible Uchiha language. Not that she really understood him, though. Most of the time, she was just egging on him.
Nevertheless, she considered her association with Sasuke a little better than she had with Sakura. He was less snarky, to put it simply. She and the boy would talk casually— err… when the Teme wanted to. He would ask questions or answer her questions. Things like that. And unlike the first few days she'd known him, she seldom felt that odious chakra eating him.
It wouldn't take a genius to know what Sasuke had become after the massacre. He was broken, empty and vengeful. But since they became an official Genin team, his chakra was a little lighter than usual. That was until they would do their frigging D-rank missions. Or when he would lose to their sparring sessions— uhm… he hadn't won a Taijutsu match against her— he would be in his black mood.
It wasn't that Sasuke couldn't beat her per se. His Taijutsu skills were noteworthy, along with his speed and reflex. The problem was he tended to get frustrated easily. Hence, his chances of winning against her were being hindered. And she always took advantage of that. Also, she never fought him half-heartedly.
"Why is he always late, anyway?" he asked.
"Dunno. He'd leave the house after breakfast but I don't know where he goes." And she respected Kakashi's privacy that much to try stalking him. She yawned again. "I asked Jiji about it. He said Kakashi-sensei is known to be chronically tardy. I really don't know how he became like that."
But this morning, she sensed his chakra nearby. That was the reason she went back from doing laps. He was hidden somewhere and probably observing them. Kakashi could've suppressed his chakra and she wouldn't have noticed he was there. That was how good he was. He probably wanted to test the team or her if they could sense him. Or to find out what they were usually doing as they waited for him.
"Hey, Naruto," Sakura called, making the blonde plop her back again on the grass. "Why do you call Hokage-sama, Jiji? He's not really your grandfather."
Point out the obvious, why don't you?
"Can't I call him that just because he isn't?" she asked back. She smiled and looked up the blue sky. "He's that figure to me. He's kind to me and he took care of me when I was younger."
"Huh? He's the Hokage. Why would he take care of a single orphan?"
"Because I'm a cute little doll," she chirped, ignoring Sakura's derisive snort.
"Dobe, why do the villagers glare at you?"
Ah, so he noticed. These two may or may have not heard the open secret about her. But she wasn't ready to talk about it. "Who knows? They've been like that to me since I can remember. The only people who showed me kindness were Jiji, Kakashi-sensei and `Ta— Teuchi-ojisan and his daughter." Crap… Better divert the subject. "Anyway, you two should probably start warming up. If Kakashi-sensei didn't show up in the next half-hour, we should do our own training."
"Feh. Trying to be a sensei now?"
She snorted at Sasuke's remark. There was no sarcasm in his voice when he said it. He was just being… well, being Sasuke. Awfully rude.
"How about I teach you something cool?" she coaxed. "I don't think sensei will mind."
"You know jutsus?" Sakura asked curiously.
"Sakura, the Dobe knows Fūinjutsu and Kage Bunshin," Sasuke deadpanned.
"Oh. That's right. I forgot." The girl bonked her temple playfully as she cutely stuck her tongue out. Her right eye was closed while she did that. "Tee hee..."
Naruto blinked at Sakura's strange way of getting Sasuke's reaction. She fought a shiver. Was the girl doing what Raiya-ji called flirting? It's…
Never mind.
Thirty minutes of warm-ups and stretches later, the pseudo-sensei sat cross-legged in front of the two, with them doing the same. "Err…" Naruto started rather awkwardly. "Let's begin with the basics, first. How's your chakra control?"
The two glanced at the cluster of leaves Naruto prepared. "Are you saying the 'cool' technique you're going to teach us is the leaf concentration exercise?" Sakura nagged in annoyance. "We've already done that in the Academy."
Naruto took one leaf and handed it over to the girl. "Stick this to your forehead, Pinks," she ordered lightly.
"I already said I can do that," Sakura insisted, blushing at the mention of her forehead.
"Just stick it," she pressed.
Her teammate huffed but did what was asked. When the leaf stuck, Naruto handed another leaf. "Stick this on your left cheek without letting the one on your forehead fall."
Sakura did and managed to stick the two leaves. Naruto gave her another to stick on the right cheek. Sakura was beginning to have a hard time. On the sixth leaf, her concentration broke.
Naruto pushed up her forehead protector. She picked up a leaf and carefully stuck it to her bare forehead. She placed another next to her cheek, cheekbones and then her chin, her neck, her shoulders, her arms. "This is near mastery of chakra control in leaf sticking exercise."
She would have filled her body with leaves just to prove Sakura her point but well, it seemed the girl got the idea because she was looking at Naruto, wide-eyed.
"How can you stick so much?" Sakura muttered both in awe and a little envy.
"I have chakra to sustain them." She let the leaves fall.
Sasuke raised his brow. "How come?"
"Because I'm an Uzumaki. The Uzumaki Clan is known to have massive chakra reserves."
"You have a clan?" Sakura gaped. "But I thought you're an orphan."
Naruto waved her off. "Let's not bother ourselves on unimportant things."
The girl frowned but made another remark. "You're telling us you have perfect control of your chakra?"
She snorted in derision. "I wish. I do have control but I always struggle."
"What's so important about chakra control?" Sakura asked in curiosity.
"Everything. Proper control is the key to utilize and improve any technique effectively," she answered. Why did it sound like the girl didn't know a thing about it? Maybe, Sakura deemed it not important. "What about the other chakra exercises? How have you done so far?"
Sakura frowned but there was interest in her voice when she spoke. "What do you mean other chakra exercises?"
Ah, so they weren't taught about the advanced ones. Chance. To be honest, she didn't know what to teach the two. She just blabbered to avoid their inquiries about herself and, well, she almost mentioned Itachi's name.
She looked at her other teammate. Sasuke was obviously interested, even though he was trying to hide it. Naruto inwardly snorted. She really was beginning to get his personality bit by bit. Sasuke was easier to read than Itachi-nii.
She stood and walked towards the nearest tree. She then started walking up the trunk until she reached the first high branch. She jumped back down and turned to them, trying not to laugh at their gobsmacked expressions. "That's the Tree Climbing Exercise." And she began explaining how the exercise was done the best that she could. "The easiest way to start that is by running. The more you gain control, the slower you can walk," she ended.
"My, my," a familiar voice interrupted. "My dear little Genins started the day without me."
"You're late!" Sakura berated.
Naruto turned to see Kakashi standing a few feet away from them. She grinned sheepishly at him. "Sorry, sensei. I kind of want to do something productive while we wait for you find a better way to avoid the black cat."
Kakashi pressed his palm over his chest. "Naru, you understanding little sunshine… I'm so touched…" he theatrically said.
"Sensei!" Sakura yelled while Naruto giggled.
Naruto passed on the baton to Kakashi and let him continue what she started. The two probably would listen to him than to her. And yes, their sensei did a better explanation than she did. He set better examples and used proper terms.
But as usual, Pinks had the tendency to interrupt, rather rudely. "Sensei, why is Naruto so advanced? She knows things that wasn't even taught at the academy."
"Naruto most likely learned them while she was travelling," was Kakashi's vague answer. "She underwent some kind of apprenticeship while she was out of the village."
"Apprenticeship?" Sasuke repeated, his brows a little furrowed.
The Jōnin hummed. "Well, not in literal sense but something like that."
"That's unfair," Sakura muttered.
It was Naruto's turn to furrow her brows. Sakura's words were beginning to get on her nerves. Was it really unfair? "How is learning shinobi arts outside the academy unfair?"
"Maa, maa," Kakashi intervened. "I'm sure Sakura's comment doesn't have ill-intentions." He turned to Sakura. "Truth is I'm not planning to teach you guys the advanced chakra exercises yet but since it's out in the open…" He produced two kunais and tossed them towards the two rookies. "Do as I instructed and use the kunai to mark your progress."
"What about her?" Pinks asked, pointing at Naruto.
"Me? Imma do air walking exercises," Naruto chirped.
Sakura's eyes widened, suddenly amazed. "There's air walking exercise?"
"None whatsoever. You're just getting on my nerves right now, so…"
Her laughter rang through the air when an enraged Sakura tried to chase her. Good thing she was a stamina freak and a fast runner. She left her team and Kakashi didn't mind, it seemed. An hour later, Naruto found Sasuke alone on the training ground, struggling over the exercise.
"Where's sensei and Pinks?" she asked when he stopped.
"She managed to do tree climbing first try so Kakashi took her somewhere to try on a higher tree," he answered bitterly. "Where have you been?"
"I checked on the other rookies. Team Eight is sparring. Team Ten was lazing around, I think." She looked at the tree in front of them. He didn't make much progress. And there were lots of scuff marks on the bark. "What seems to be the problem?" she asked, anyway.
"Well, I can't climb higher than that," he spat. "Kakashi said you girls have better control." It was clear he was frustrated.
"Sasuke, Sakura has a lot better control than me. I didn't master tree climbing the first try."
"Don't try to patronize me, Dobe."
"Oh, I'm not. And I can tell you why you're not making any progress."
"Mocking me now, Oh-know-it-all?" he sneered rudely.
She sighed and sat on the grass, waving him to do the same. When he didn't move, she started staring at him. Yep, that would do the trick. A little while later, he sat in front of her. But not without the infamous scowl.
"You let your emotions rule you and you lose concentration. Not to mention, you use too much chakra. That's why you can't do much progress," she explained. "Calm yourself down and relax."
"Stop—"
"Just do what I say," she cut off. After a minute of staring contest, he took a deep breath and tried to relax himself. But he still looked constipated. "Close your eyes."
"What?"
"Close your eyes and relax. Take a deep breath." He reluctantly did. "Follow my lead. Inhale… Exhale… Inhale… Exhale… Think of nothing. Forget everything. Think of…" She paused. "The ever-awesome Uzumaki Naru—"
Sasuke's in-and-out breathing turned into some kind of forced ugly snort, it almost sounded like a frog's croak.
"What the hell, Dobe!" he yelled and gave her a death-glare.
She clutched on her stomach as she laughed so hard. He looked like he wanted to beat the crap out of her. Bullying— No. Teasing Sasuke was so much fun, she decided. It was better than snapping at him. Really. And she didn't want to develop a habit of punching an irate Sasuke.
"He he… But you loosened up, didn't you?"
He didn't say anything but his face showed he did.
"Let's try a different approach." She stood up and waved him to follow. They stopped in front of the tree he was using for practice. "Lie down and step on the trunk like you're standing normally," she instructed and he followed without reluctance this time. "Step one foot forward. Slowly regulate chakra under your sole. You'll notice when you have the right amount and it will stick just fine. You will feel it. Just maintain calm." When he did, she continued. "Did it stick?" He nodded, concentrating. He was a lot more relaxed now. "Step your other foot, do the same process."
What they were doing was harder than the usual method but thirty minutes later and a few tries, Sasuke reached higher than the last he marked. She could see a smug smirk on his face from where she was standing.
"Now, think of the ever-awesome Uzumaki Naruto as you climb higher."
His control slipped and he fell on the ground. The next thing she knew, she was being chased by a fiercer unrelenting opponent.
"Teuchi-ojisan, I missed you!" Naruto squealed when she entered the ramen shop.
The old man beamed at her. "Ah, Naruto. I haven't seen you in over a week."
"Mimi-chan forbade eating ramen for punishment. Can you believe him?" She gestured her hands dramatically.
The shop owner laughed. "So, where is Mimi-san? You alone today?"
"He's busy with work and won't be joining us today. Kakashi-nii was given solo mission by Jiji." She clasped her hands in delight. "The usual, please…"
The old man laughed again before leaving her.
Today was almost an idle day. Team Seven met in the morning for their usual activities but they had no mission for the afternoon. She invited her teammates to spend time together but Sasuke declined, saying he had something else to do. Naruto could bet he just wanted to continue training his tree walking exercises or start water walking. Sakura didn't bother since Sasuke wouldn't come. Plus, the girl still hated her guts.
She pondered on Sakura as a whole. According to her file, she was intelligent. And Naruto knew the girl was. Why would Sakura be Kunoichi of the Year if she wasn't? The problem was— as far as she could see— Sakura was more interested in her physical appearance and her unrelenting desire to have a close relationship with the boy on their team. Her potential was being hindered by inconsequential things.
Over the week, Naruto noticed the girl's lack of interest in shinobi arts, despite Sakura's complaints of Naruto being advanced. She also wasn't taking the trainings seriously. She would whine when she was exhausted or when she chipped her nails, or when her clothes got dirty. She would get angry at Naruto when Sasuke was hit by punches or kicks. And all Naruto could do was tolerate the girl.
She was brought out of her line of thoughts when someone called her name. She smiled when she saw Umino Iruka just outside the shop, pushing the curtain away.
"Hi, Iruka-sensei," she greeted.
The Academy instructor smiled warmly as he sat beside her. "You come here often?" he asked.
"Are you kidding? If I could live here, I would."
Iruka laughed and ordered his food when Teuchi-ojisan peek his head out of the kitchen divider. "Well, since you're here. How about I treat you? Bill's on me," the instructor said to her.
"Uh, thank you but no," she politely declined.
He chuckled. "Naruto, it's the least I can do. You saved my life, remember?"
"No, really. You don't have to—"
"I insist," he cut off, giving her a kind smile.
She stared at him. This guy would regret it later. "You hear that, Ojisan?" she cried in delight.
From where they were sitting, they heard the old man's laugh. When their orders arrived, the two of them ate with gusto.
"So, how is your team?" Iruka asked, making a conversation.
"Meh, I guess we're fine."
"Are you having a hard time with your teammates?" he asked kindly. "Sasuke-kun can be a little difficult to deal with."
She shook her head. "Sasuke's okay. I know how to deal with boys since the people who raised me are men. To be honest, it's harder to deal with Sakura than with him. He's a bastard but he doesn't talk much so, Pinks' the harder one to handle."
"You'll all adjust. It's only been more than a week since your team was formed."
Naruto smiled at that. "That'd be nice."
"Hey, I want to ask you something," he changed the subject. "I just thought of your test paper. You answered 'no comment' on some items. Why is that?"
She blinked. "Oh, that? Well…" She tried to find the proper words. "Because the answers to some questions are what people believed the answer would be, and not the 'should' be." She pointed herself. "Just like about, you know…"
The instructor nodded in understanding and smiled. "You didn't go to the academy but you seem to have a lot of knowledge about the subjects."
"Ah, that's `cause Jiji asked Jiraiya-sensei to bring textbooks with us," she answered in half-truth. "I read them during our travels."
"You know, I think you would've been a great student had you attended the academy," he said. "And I think we would've got along real well."
"Aww, thanks, Iruka-sensei."
Five bowls of ramen later, Naruto wondered if the guy wanted to change his mind about his last statement.
"Thanks for the treat, sensei. Let's do this again."
"…" was his only response.
Uchiha Sasuke sighed in exhaustion as he entered his house. Slipping out of his sandals and leaving it by the doorway, he walked down the hall and put his supply pouches on the counter. He took off his clothes and threw them inside the hamper by the bathroom door, before he stepped into shower.
He took a breath as he twisted the knob, ducking under the spray of water. Today was his day-off but he still spent his morning doing rigorous training at the Uchiha training ground.
But the results were the same.
He let his anger and frustration be washed away by the pouring water. It had been more than two weeks since Team Seven was formed but he couldn't see any progress. He needed to get stronger fast. So, he could kill him. But every time Naruto was pitted against him during spars, she would beat him so easily, making him feel he wasn't getting any stronger. He sighed in frustration and tried to calm himself down, as he walked out of the bathroom. Deep breaths… Naruto would say. And he had to admit, it really did the job.
Sasuke would be stupid if he prided himself stronger than Naruto. Well, he really believed that when he first saw her during the graduation exams. He thought she was weak, just like the rest of the girls in class. That she would be among the irritating fangirls who fawned over him.
He still remembered what he noticed about her since that day. How irritated he was when she began mumbling during the written exam. How silently shocked he was when her clumsily done weapons throwing ended only a point less than his score. How he silently snorted when she snapped at Sakura in front of the graduates. He could still recall his suspicions when she invited him to lunch. He thought he was right at thinking she was just one of the girls, wanting to have Uchiha Sasuke for herself.
But he was wrong. No girl with immense interest in him would tell him she ate worms and insects for meals. And no girl who wanted to gain his affection would eat like a starved pig in front of him.
Sasuke wouldn't admit it but Uzumaki Naruto was a like a breath of fresh air. She'd snap at him when his actions or words irritated her. But she would tease him with her annoying comments. Her retorts were witty at times and her bluntness was refreshing, to be honest. Her personality was so unpredictable. She was nice and jolly one moment and next she was exasperating to deal with.
Perception and intellect, she was good, he would grudgingly admit that. If it hadn't been for her, they would've failed the Genin exam. Never mind the stupid technique she did the last second, however. Ugh, he really wanted to forget that.
Naruto was a skilled kunoichi. And damn, that girl could punch. One time he demanded her to teach him the Kage Bunshin, she jabbed him on the gut, telling he should ask nicely and she might think about it. And her Taijutsu was crazy. Her movements were irregular and she could twist her body without breaking off her attacks or defenses. She had no definite style and it was not easy to counter her assaults. Thus, he hadn't landed a single good hit on her yet.
She was also knowledgeable in sealing arts. She had a storage seal on her body where she could keep her weapons. When he inquired about it, she said the technique wasn't anyone could simply have. She told him he could but not with the current him.
Most times he'd feel insecure, feeling inferior to her, and feel envy. But he could tell she knew that because she would patiently wait until he reined his emotions and he calmed down. And to think she wasn't really a tolerant person. She must have been doing some serious anger management exercises, as well, because it was now known that Naruto had a temper.
"Sa-suu-ke-kuuuuunnn…"
His head snapped towards the front door before realizing he was still clad only with a towel. Speak of the devil. That was her voice. What was she doing here?
A knocking sound came after before that faked fangirlish voice rang out again. It was a good thing he was alone in the entire compound. She would have been taken to the police—
Shit…
He had thought about it again. He gritted his teeth and decided to ignore her. Let her think no one was home. He silently crept his way towards his room and sat on the side of his bed. He didn't want to think about them, because if he did, he would just feel inadequate, and Itachi would win over and over again.
Damn it!
Deep breaths... Deep breaths…
"Yeah, deep breaths, Sasuke. That'll help whatever you're struggling with."
He realized that he just jumped off the bed and shrieked like a girl in fright, a moment after he had his towel-clad butt on the floor. Naruto was standing in front of the, now, open glass sliding door of his bedroom balcony.
"What the hell, Dobe?!" he screamed. His heart was beating so wildly and he could feel blood rising up to his face.
She walked inside and leisurely sat on the couch at the corner. "You're not answering the door. I thought I'd check if something is wrong."
"Will you get out? I'm naked here!"
"No, you're covered in towel," she corrected simply.
"God, you are so shameless!" This was the first time in his twelve short years of life that he felt so exasperated. And humiliated. He just wanted the floor to swallow him up and never come out again.
She sighed and pouted as she stood. "Fine, I'll wait by the front door." And just like that, she hopped out where she came from.
He rushed to his closet and took anything to wear before she decided to come back and see something she shouldn't see. When he was decent enough, he headed out and opened the front door. That's when he noticed she wasn't wearing her atrocious jumpsuit, but a white shirt with a spiral design and black pants. Her hair also wasn't in her usual pigtails but tied in one messy bun.
The shameless girl was beaming brightly at him. "Hi! I brought lunch." She didn't even wait for him, she just let herself in. And she was acting like she didn't invade his privacy.
Still feeling exhausted but no longer from the training, he decided to just allow her ruin a supposedly quiet day for him. There was no point in arguing with her.
"Wow, your house is big," she commented as he led her to the kitchen.
"Whatever. What are you doing here, anyway?"
"It's off-day, `ttebayo." She took out a scroll when they stood by the counter.
He took a deep breath, trying not to rub his now aching temple. "Meaning, you should be spending your time for yourself and not bothering others," he remarked sarcastically.
"But no one's at home, it's lonely," she reasoned. "Aren't you?"
He didn't want to answer that. He would not answer that. "How did you know where I live?" He knew she knew about him. About the… massacre.
"Duh. Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha compound."
"That's not what I meant, Dobe. There are a lot of houses in the Uchiha District."
She unsealed the scroll and four stacks of lunchbox appeared, chopsticks and three thermos of most likely tea. So, she'd gone to Sakura's first and it seemed she was thwarted again.
"I sensed your chakra," she said.
He tried his best not to look surprised. So, she's a sensor? Was that why she could easily find him, or any of the team members? Well, it figured.
The inferiority, inadequacy, jealousy, envy…
"Sasuke."
"Hn?"
"You're spacing out. You okay?"
"I'm fine," he dismissed.
"Come on, let's eat," she invited. "This isn't Mimi-chan's cooking but they're edible."
He looked at his lunchbox. There was rice, tempura, broccoli, spring rolls, and sliced tomatoes. He blinked. Tomatoes.
"You prepared these?"
"Yeah," she said and started eating.
He wasn't bothered anymore by that speedy eating habit of her. In fact, he saw her and her pseudo-father ate ramen at Ichiraku's one evening. They were terrifying. Bowls after bowls, in speed. And they had that disturbing synchronized movements.
He joined her and they ate in comfortable silence. Since she brought the food, he offered to wash the dishes afterwards, and asked her to wait. When he got to her, he found her at the back of the house. She was sitting on the edge of the wooden deck, her feet dangling playfully. She was staring at nothing, as if she was in deep thought.
"Hey," he called out before sitting a few spaces away from her. He propped his left leg and rested his left arm over his knee.
She turned her head and smiled at him. "Your house is bigger than Kakashi-nii's."
"Why are you living with him?" he asked out of curiosity. "Can't your adoptive father afford to have your own?"
"Oh, we can. Kakashi-nii only offered his family's house because the one we're going to reside is still under reconstruction."
Really. This girl was full of mystery. There were so many questions about her compiling in his mind. There were so many things he noticed about her, around her. One thing he noticed was the way she called their Jōnin instructor. She would use 'sensei' when they were together as Team Seven. But outside missions or trainings, she would call him Kakashi-nii or `Kashi-nii. She was obviously close to the Jōnin but he noticed she wasn't using that closeness to her own benefit. She was fair. She followed Kakashi's instructions and obeyed his orders— even if she didn't want to.
Speaking of which… "You mentioned once that you're from the Uzumaki clan," he stated. "But there's no known Uzumaki around the village."
"My clan was from Uzushiogakure. I'm the only Uzumaki here in Konoha."
He frowned at that. "Why are you staying here if you have your own village?"
"`Cause Uzushio is a barren land now, that's why. The clan, the people, the entire country— all wiped-out." She looked away with a wistful expression on her face. "As far as I know, I'm the only Uzumaki left."
He couldn't help the sharp intake of breath as he stared at her in shock. She… She was like him. They shared the same story. But… But unlike him, she was strong. He was weak, pathetic little Rookie of the Year.
He needed to be strong.
Swallowing a lump in his throat and his pride, he stood. "Make me strong."
Her gaze drifted back to him. "Why?"
"You are strong, impossibly strong for our age. And you can make me strong."
"No."
He gritted his teeth and squeezed his fingers tight, anger building inside him. He swallowed his pride and he was turned down so easily. Just like Itachi said, he was pathetic.
"Because Sasuke, only you can make yourself strong. And you're getting stronger as it is," she continued.
But the harm has been done.
"Don't use those petty words to placate me!" he snarled. "How am I getting stronger when I can't even beat you in spars? How is that getting stronger? I don't need chakra exercises! I need real power!" He was breathing heavily, anger and hatred boiling inside him.
But even in that state, a part of him was shocked that he reacted that badly. He never lost his cool in front of anyone. This damned girl seemed to have ways catching him off-guard and he didn't like it.
Naruto stood and walked towards him. She raised her hand and he thought she would punch him. But he blinked in surprise when she simply poked him on the forehead with two fingers. A certain memory crept into his mind but he pushed it away.
"Calm down, Sasuke," she said.
Oddly, warmth surrounded him, as if helping him control his emotions. Was she doing that? Was it her chakra? It was calming. He didn't know why but sometimes it felt like Naruto had this strange skill doing that.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to let your emotions consume you," she chastised before she looked around. "Have you used your fireball technique since the exam?"
"Huh?" was his intelligent response.
"During the Genin test, I saw you use a fire jutsu on Kakashi-nii," she explained, rolling her eyes.
The sudden shift of their conversation confused him but this was Naruto. She's one confusing girl, to begin with. He shook his head no.
"I doubt you practice it here. Where do you do them?"
"At the pier," he answered reluctantly.
She grinned. "Let's go!"
His exasperation suddenly back, they left his home and he led her to the location. They walked along the district, to the crowded streets and stopped when they reached the pier.
"What now?" he asked.
She took a few steps back and sat down on the wooden dock. "Do the fireball technique."
"Why?" He was getting more and more confused. And annoyed.
"Just do it, Teme," she barked.
He sighed but took position. After performing the hand seals, he called out, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
A ball of fire, larger than the one he produced during the Genin exam, burned through the air, like inferno engulfing whatever it reached. And Sasuke watched until the fire died out, wide-eyed and speechless. He turned to her. She was still sitting, leaning back and using her hands as support, her legs outstretched.
"See? You did that. You made yourself strong, no one else," she said, proving her point. "That's the result of the chakra control exercises. You don't notice your improvement because you let your emotions cloud you. And you keep on rushing yourself when there's no need to hurry."
"But I have to. I need to," he insisted.
"No, you don't," she said with finality. She took a deep breath and her gaze turned a bit serious. "There's a difference between training hard and rushing, Sasuke. Do you want to know why you can't beat me?"
He nodded minutely.
"Because I'm the ever-awesome Uzumaki Naruto," she answered, straight-faced. "Dattebayo."
He felt his eyes twitch. He itched to do another fireball technique and burn her to crisp.
Naruto chortled. "Sorry… `Can't help it." She composed herself after a moment. "I believe I am skillful, Sasuke. More than you are," she stated without arrogance. "You can't win because your emotions hampers your competence. You get frustrated easily and strongly, and that hinders your true capability."
Was it really just that?
"But even at your current level, you can win against me," she said.
He snorted. He had a hard time believing that. "You haven't even used your other skills when we spar."
She frowned. "Just because I know more techniques than you do doesn't mean I'm good at everything or I'm unbeatable," she stated in a serious tone. "I may be advanced compared to you and Sakura but it's not like you two can't catch up. And like you, I'm still learning."
"But you had help," he pointed out.
"Ah, there we go. Help. We help. We ask for help." From sitting with outstretched legs, she changed her position sitting cross-legged. "What you did wasn't asking, Sasuke. You demanded like you're the most important person in the world. And you threw a temper tantrum when you didn't get what you want."
There was no admonition in her tone, nor was she criticizing him. She was merely telling him. And he felt… shame for his actions. And now that he thought about it, this girl had been a lot of help to him. She would guide him during their training sessions, give him pointers. He didn't see she was already helping him improve this whole time. She did that willingly. He didn't notice because he was consumed by his goal. And he realized he really did demand earlier. He didn't ask properly— a very simple task. That's why he was turned down. That's why she punched him when he demanded about the Kage Bunshin.
He sighed. This was a humbling realization, he thought. And this girl had shown him what a prick he was. Just like she always did.
"… Sorry."
Did he really say that?
She stared at him for a long time and gave him a serene smile. "Treat me ramen for a month and I'll forgive you."
He shouldn't have said that.
It took all of his strength to not strangle the girl to death.
The chirping sound of the crickets resonated through the quiet night, as time seemed to pass slower than usual. Naruto was already asleep, exhausted from the day's activities. Minato-sensei was at Sakumo's old room, probably asleep, as well. Kakashi, however, was still wide-awake. He was in the kitchen, writing down his Genins' progress to add to their profile.
He took Naruto's profile and scanned it. The record was her previous assessment he personally evaluated. The Sandaime told him to be careful of what to document about her. Any skill she had shown so far since her return could be recorded. Everything else, for now, were to be considered as non-existent.
The Kage Bunshin no jutsu was mentioned on her file, as well as her basic med-ninjutsu knowledge and her above-average Taijutsu style. He hadn't seen her use sealing arts except for the storage seal she had on her person and the one she used on her teammates. Thus, he took liberty of not including Fūinjutsu as her known skills. Minato-sensei mentioned last time that she reached mastery level. The Jinchūriki held knowledge about sealing arts. A very dangerous combination. It would raise hackles.
And it was the correct decision for his part, he supposed. Just by the initial list he made, the Council had reacted. They had questioned her progress and was already thwarting it, in fact. They wanted Kakashi to focus solely on Uchiha Sasuke's training and growth.
He sighed. He never liked to be involved in politics but it seemed no matter how much he dodged it, he would often be placed in such predicament. Two of his students were the most tangled in it, after all.
He put the file down and stood. He went to the kitchen counter and ransacked the pantry for a snack. He found Naruto's prized possession— her piling stock cup ramen. Since he and Minato-sensei didn't let her eat instant ramen too much, her junkfood intake lessened considerably. Hence, the piling stock.
He was about to take one cup ramen when he sensed Minato-sensei's presence.
"Get one more for me," he heard his former teacher say. He took two ramen while Minato-sensei went to boil water.
"Can't sleep?" he asked his sensei.
"Kind of." The older ninja sat on the available chair as they waited. "When you're young, everything involving our job was always your first priority. Now, you'd chose reading Icha-Icha first and everything else later," Minato commented with a wry smile, while gazing at the scattered papers on the table.
Kakashi chuckled and stacked the documents. "I was yet to be enlightened by the greatness of Jiraiya-sama's works back then, sensei. I heard Naru was influenced, as well."
Minato scowled. "She was not," he denied hotly.
Uh-huh. And Naruto's Oiroke no jutsu was inspired by The Tales of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.
The younger man simply hummed his response. Really. Sometimes, Minato-sensei had this comical 'in-denial' approach when it came to his innocent little darling. Poor man. He had no idea his daughter was secretly studying to create more variations of her sexy jutsu. He couldn't see Naru-chan was gradually developing a perverted streak in her.
"Don't read them in front of my child, Kakashi," Minato-sensei ordered grouchily. "You and sensei are bad influence to her."
Not happening. Icha-Icha was a lifestyle, a part of Hatake Kakashi. But he supposed he could lessen the amount of time spent with his treasures.
That would be extremely difficult but he could consider it a test of willpower.
Yeah. Still not happening.
He prepared the ramen when the kettle whistled. Another three minutes of waiting, he situated himself across his sensei and started eating. When he took a glance at the older man, he saw Minato gazing at him in amusement. He gave the blond a questioning look.
The Yondaime made a small smile. "You really have changed. You let me see your face now."
"Icha-Icha's enlightenment," was all he said and continued eating.
Minato chuckled lightly before getting back to his own ramen.
It wasn't that Kakashi changed. Or maybe he really did. But he simply had no reason to hide his face from Minato-sensei now. Something he should've done way, way back. Kakashi trusted the man with his life. Just like he trusted Naruto. He was comfortable with them. He considered the man as a brother-figure to him and Naruto was still his little sunshine.
He just wished the rest of Team Minato was still around to see his face. Obito would probably tease him relentlessly. Rin would probably require him to not wear his mask, anymore. And Kushina-neechan would probably paint the lower half of his face as an alternative to his mask— with permanent ink. If Naruto was the Prank Mistress, her mother was the Queen.
God, he missed them.
"Sensei, was it your idea to keep Naruto's skills classified?" he inquired when they were done eating.
"No, it was all Hiruzen's and I agree with him."
He didn't know if the man knew it already but he said it, anyway. "The Council wants me to take Sasuke as an apprentice and leave Team Seven. I declined."
The father shrugged elegantly. "They want to disrupt Hiruzen's decisions regarding Naruto and I. But I don't think they'd let me out of your watch."
"My watch?"
Minato stared at him for a moment before he chuckled wryly. "Hiruzen didn't tell you, huh?"
He frowned, not liking the idea that he was kept in the dark on something, when it seemed it was likely involving him. "Is there something I should know?"
The older man propped his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together. "We aren't living together only just because Naru and I insisted you to, Kakashi. The Council is cautious of me so, to appease them, Hiruzen didn't refuse when you offered this house for us." He took a breath. "He wanted the Council to believe you'd be watching me while guarding their weapon. At the time, it was the best solution Hiruzen could provide."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes in pure displeasure. A mission he had no idea he received and currently doing? He should have known there would always be another reason. But he couldn't contest the Sandaime for that. Because at the time, he was damn too happy the Namikazes were returning and he didn't think underneath the underneath.
His former teacher gave him an apologetic smile. "Politics. But Hiruzen's decision has its merits, don't you think?"
He sighed in resignation. Point.
Minato cleared his throat. "But always be wary of their machinations, Kakashi. They will find ways to counter any of Hiruzen's decisions." His eyes hardened. "If he disclosed Naru's current level, the Council might really force you to leave the team. I can't have that. Worse, they'd do something more drastic. As it is, I only trust you and Itachi-kun when it comes to Naruto. And Itachi-kun isn't here."
Right. Itachi, the fallen heir of the Uchiha Clan.
The ex-ANBU Captain felt a tinge of guilt at the thought of his fellow former captain. For years, he believed Itachi succumbed to insanity and mercilessly wiped out his entire clan. When all this time, that young man was the one who sacrificed greatly. Kakashi believed Sasuke was a victim of his madness when the truth was the older brother was ordered to eliminate the threat to Konoha. He couldn't imagine what Itachi went through, the burden he was carrying, what he was currently dealing with— all just to protect Konoha and his younger brother.
Minato-sensei was all the more correct to be extremely cautious of the Council. They, after all, stripped Itachi his freedom and his life. As shinobi, Kakashi knew orders were orders but what the Uchiha Clan heir received was nothing but sacrificial arrangement. Itachi was scorned by the very village he protected, by the little brother he chose to save. And none of the Council, not even the Sandaime gave Itachi their words that his status quo would be fixed in time. He was left to rot in his hellish situation.
In the end, it was Itachi's pseudo-little sister who promised herself she would protect what was needed to be protected. And Minato-sensei gave the young man his word that Itachi's name would be cleared in time. Kakashi had no idea how the two would pull that off but he just had to believe, and give support in his own way.
"Sensei, I'm pleased that you trust me with Naruto," he began meaningfully. "But I don't think I have more to teach her. You and Jiraiya-sama taught her more than enough. I have nothing to offer her."
Minato chuckled. "Of course, you have. Don't sell yourself short and don't regard my daughter too highly. Just because she can do a lot doesn't mean she's strong, Kakashi. Kage Bunshin and her Fūinjutsu aside, everything else is still unrefined and in need of training." The Yondaime's gaze narrowed marginally as he spoke the next words. "Her potential is glaringly apparent but the question is, is she going to be a capable ninja?"
Kakashi regarded him for a few moments. "Isn't that the reason why you taught her so much? For her to become one."
The man shook his head slowly, a content smile on his lips. "Teaching her what I know is mostly selfishness on my part, to put it into words. It may look like I rushed it and I probably did. But I so much enjoyed teaching her, Kakashi. A father passing down his knowledge to his child is one of the greatest gift parents could have. A privilege." The father chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I almost lost that opportunity, had I died twelve years ago. So maybe, at the back of my mind, I was thinking I'd teach her what I could while I'm still alive. All other reasons simply came next."
There was the answer to his silent question. Why teach Naruto even the complex techniques at her young age. He wouldn't understand a parent's way of thinking. It could be one of sensei's twisted fashion of doting his daughter, for all he knew. And at hearing Minato-sensei's explanation, Kakashi felt happy for Naruto. When he was young, he spent little time with his father because Sakumo had always been busy with everything else. He never got the chance to have a parent-and-child bonding with his old man like Naruto had with Minato-sensei.
He would trade anything just to have that kind of solid friendship with his father. Because as far as he could see, Minato-sensei and Naruto weren't only father and daughter. They were also best of friends.
"Did she use—"
"Yes, she did," Minato cut him off, as though he already knew what Kakashi was about to ask. And by that guilty happy smile on the man's lips, Kakashi supposed Minato-sensei was an all too willing victim of the puppy-eyes. "Even sensei fell for that, you know," the man continued, chuckling. "He was against teaching Naru too much but just one look, it came to a point that he even offered teaching her the Hari Jizō."
Okay, this was just too much. "Did she learn it?"
The man's eyes crinkled in mirth. "Nah. She didn't like it. She said it looked suffocating."
He gave the Yondaime a deadpan stare. "Sensei, something is seriously wrong with you and Jiraiya-sama."
Seriously. Two legendary men at their own rights were at the mercy of a little girl. Their sworn enemies would have a field day over this.
Minato chuckled lightly before his expression morphed into a somber one. "That's the best we could give her, Kakashi," he stated in a gentle yet sad voice. "When I took her away, I knew there would be costs. She wasn't able to have friends since we constantly changed places to stay. She didn't go to the academy to learn together with the class." A bitter smile formed on his lips. "I tried to give her a normal childhood as much as I could but I knew… I knew she would never be a normal child."
"Sensei…"
"Jiraiya-sensei was against it, you know. Me teaching Naruto more than I should have. But in the end, he also saw it. She's happy when we teach her, when she learn new things. Learning makes her environment seem normal."
A subdued silence stretched before Kakashi spoke. "Sensei, we are shinobi. Our lives aren't normal. Naruto can have a normal life just like we had. A normal life for a ninja, that is."
His former teacher gave him an appreciative smile. "True. Very well said, Kakashi."
He chuckled at the tone Minato used. It was like he was back being an active member of Team Minato and his sensei was praising him for something.
"Naruto may know ample amount of techniques but she's still inexperienced. She's still needs to learn and you have to guide her. That's your job as their instructor, Kakashi. To guide your team as they learn, not spoon-feed them everything."
The Jōnin tried to recall his younger years, when he was still under Minato-sensei's command. He learned a lot of things from the man but what he was now had little to do with whatever shinobi arts Minato-sensei taught him. And true to Minato's words, the blond didn't teach him nor Obito and Rin incredible jutsus. What he did was exactly what he said. He guided them, taught them to function for the team, with the team. And experience was definitely of another factor for who Kakashi was today.
He tapped the table playfully with his fingers as his thoughts went back to Naruto. "You mentioned she reached mastery level in sealing arts. Does that mean she can manipulate her seal that holds the Kyūbi?"
Minato laughed lightly. "She's friends with the Kyūbi."
Naruto was friends with the nine-tailed fox? Damn, she's really one formidable kid. Did she use the puppy-eyes technique on the Kyūbi, as well?
"Can she control its chakra?" he had to ask.
The father shook his head. "She hasn't learned how to, yet. The notion to train her for it was strongly considered two years ago. But after a thought-out discussion, sensei and I decided to delay it at a later time. The Kyūbi agreed. Hence, she dedicated the last two years in Fūinjutsu, among some."
His visible eye widened in skepticism and disbelief. "Mastery of Fūinjutsu in two years?" Was Minato-sensei pulling his leg? That was a load of bullshit even if Naruto was a prodigious student.
The blond laughed. "No, no. I mean, studying the Uzumaki Clan scrolls we retrieved back in Uzushio." He brushed his hair with his fingers. "Naruto started learning the sealing art in general months after we left Konoha so, all in all, she had more than five years spent. And she's too partial with the art it made it easier for her to learn."
"It's in her blood, I guess," he conceded. "Were the Uzumaki Clan scrolls helpful to her?"
Something ran passed through his sensei's eyes but Kakashi wasn't able to catch it. "Yes." The blond scratched his forehead and smiled a bit. "I have considerable knowledge in the art but Naruto's Fūinjutsu is different from mine."
He frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Minato took a deep breath. "The scrolls we recovered contained a wide scope of the art. Studying the accessible ones, I learned that her ancestors didn't limit Fūinjutsu to just literally seal something. They use it for offensive and defensive method, among others. Even the basic of basics are beneficial."
Kakashi nodded, recalling Naruto's few demonstration of the art.
"But not all scrolls contain sealing art techniques or any techniques, at all. There were others containing Uzushio's history, subject notes and the likes. Some contains unfinished creations or simply concepts. Others were simple blank pieces." The blond leaned against the backrest of the chair and gazed at the ceiling. "Still, Konoha has no idea how lucky we are Naruto found them."
"There are which contain extraordinary techniques, huh?" the silver-haired Jōnin commented. It should be expected, he thought. The Uzumaki Clan was known at their prodigious skill in sealing arts. "And Naruto acquired those techniques."
"It's not that she learned that many as of yet but yes, she did acquire some, both simple and complex. There are lots that aren't meant for her, I suppose. So, they're useless to her." Minato scratched his temple. "The clan created techniques I'm certain Kushina had no knowledge of. I had to wonder if Mito-sama intentionally hid them from my wife or she died before Kushina reach the age to learn them."
Secret techniques? "Are they forbidden?"
"I can't say it in confidence but some, I think, are."
Kakashi didn't know if Minato-sensei would consider it as a disrespectful gesture but he eyed his former teacher suspiciously. "You allowed Naruto to learn such? That's a serious lack of judgment, sensei."
Minato didn't retort nor chastise him for his audacity. The man simply stared at him for a few moments. "I was sure I wouldn't allow her to study the complex ones of the Uzumaki Fūinjutsu but Naruto knelt in front of me like a seasoned ANBU would do to a Hokage." He sighed and rubbed his temples. "My daughter, Kakashi. My daughter asked me— not as a daughter to her father but a future shinobi to her Hokage— to allow her learn."
It was his turn to sigh. Kakashi couldn't imagine how hard it was for Minato when Naruto, at a very young age, treated her father as a village leader. Minato-sensei openly showed how he doted his daughter but to allow Naruto to such extent… Whatever happened during their travels must have been a catalyst to Naruto. Enough to convince her father to let her study at such length. He had a hunch that it was because of Itachi's predicament.
"I often warn Naru to be careful of what she'd learn, and I always tell her to be responsible and I guided her as much as I could. I trust her but…" His former sensei took another deep breath and looked back at Kakashi. "Since we can't unlock the rest of the scrolls, we don't know what else are there for her to learn."
"Is it wise to bestow her the title?" Kakashi asked.
"The knowledge she learned from sensei and I is enough to declare her as seal mistress."
Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. "Then, why do you look like you're not happy about it?"
Silence.
"I may be a master of the art myself but she has the Uzumaki blood." The Yondaime Hokage regarded him with a serious gaze Kakashi hadn't seen in a long time. "Naruto's Fūinjutsu is something I'm both proud and cautious of, Kakashi."
Naruto giggled at the reaction of her teammates when she arrived at the third training ground. She wasn't alone.
"Good morning, my dear little Genins!" Kakashi, who was with her, greeted the two.
"Wow, sensei… You're early," Sakura noted.
"Well, you see, a little vixen captured me before I could escape. And that same little vixen forced me to take a different route today," their sensei said cheerily. "But it won't happen again, I swear."
"Hn."
"Why don't we all sit down?" Kakashi urged. When they were seated, he turned his attention to her. "Naruto, we've discussed this briefly earlier. Since you're more advanced than the rest, I made a decision I'm going to focus more on Sasuke and Sakura for the mean time. And you're going to help me with that."
She nodded her acceptance. During breakfast, she, her father and Kakashi talked about the team's progress, and what Kakashi had just said. While she wanted him to spend time training her, her teammates needed him more than she did. Besides, they could always do that outside Team Seven's time if she really needed it.
Kakashi gazed at the others. "From today onwards, we're going to change our training routine a little. We won't do spars and the likes during morning trainings, until I say so."
"Then, what are we going to do?" Sakura asked.
Kakashi eye-smiled. "We'll simply run laps and practice your katas."
Naruto snickered at Sasuke's dissatisfied expression and Sakura's horrified one. True, they were doing exactly what Kakashi said, but on a different level, of course. Kakashi had asked her dad's opinion as to what to do next, since Sasuke and Sakura had finally learnt the advanced chakra control exercises. Her dad suggested to take a step back a little, and better build their stamina, especially Sakura's.
Kakashi reached for his backpack and pulled out two different sets of training weights. "This is for you, Sakura."
The girl looked at the objects like they were going to bite her. "What are those?"
"Arm and ankle weights," Sasuke answered for her.
"Why do I need them, sensei?"
"Sakura, among the three of you, you have the weakest stamina and I told you before we're going to work on that."
"Kakashi, why is there only for Sakura?" Sasuke asked.
"Hmm… Well, see Sasuke, you have large amount of chakra for your age and you've gained better control now so, I have a different set of weights for you." He stood up and turned to Sakura. "Put them on. I'll run with you to set you a proper pace."
Sakura looked defeated but did as asked. When she and Kakashi were out of sight, Naruto stood and turned to Sasuke. "Stand up and take off your shirt."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm going to put a gravity seal on your body." She sniggered. "Sakura will go fangirl-mode if she sees you half-naked."
He glowered at her and didn't move.
She noticed the slight flushing of his cheeks. "Aw… is wittle Sasuke-kun shy?" she teased. "But I've already seen wittle Sasuke-kun naked…" That garnered a full blown blush.
"Shut up, Dobe." But he reluctantly took off his shirt and stood up.
She stood in front of him and performed a number of hand seals before placing her palm on Sasuke's chest. Without warning, his whole body fell flat on the ground. He couldn't move literally due to much gravity.
"What happened?" he asked, trying not to panic.
Naruto looked down on him, showing no emotion but his alarmed expression was so hilarious that she started laughing.
"Naruto!" he growled angrily. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
She sat beside him. "Aww, you're calling me by my name now. Had I known, I would've done this a long time ago." She looked around. "I think I made the wrong hand seal. Let's wait for Kakashi-sensei to correct it. I can see them coming back now. Sakura will be so delighted."
"Damn it, Naruto!"
"Okay, okay," she held up her hands in surrender. But as if he could do something now. "Before that, I'll explain some things about the seal."
"You should've done that before you put the seal on me!"
She ignored his angry rebuke and started explaining. "First, Kakashi-sensei is also familiar with gravity seals, so if you have questions you can ask him. Second, the seal does that." She pointed at him. "The gravity will pull you down and you will resist it using your chakra. Meaning, the seal isn't just to improve your physical endurance and speed. It will also help you increase your chakra reserves. Sakura isn't ready for this so, for now, it's only you. Also, the seal has different weight-level and what I did is the highest. Kakashi-sensei and I are the ones to adjust the level, depending on how much he sees fit for your training. I'll show you how to activate and deactivate the seal later."
"Just reduce the weight level, goddammit!" he shouted.
"Fine, fine." She made a new set of handseals and tapped his chest the second time, setting the weight to its lowest level. "How are you feeling?"
Sasuke gave her the Uchiha death-glare. He tried moving his body, feeling the weight level.
"Use chakra," she advised.
He did and after a few moments, he tried to sit up. But no, he didn't sit. He took it as a chance to retaliate and tackled her to the ground. And since the seal was new to him, he was having a hard time resisting the gravity, making it more like he was pinning her down.
That was the scene an eye-twitching Kakashi and a dumbfounded Sakura returned to.
"Na-ru-tooo," Sakura growled as she took a threatening step forward.
Naruto shoved Sasuke off and quickly stood. With inhuman speed, she grabbed him by the upper arms and placed him in front of her. "Ningen no Tate: Kai!" she cried dramatically at Sakura.
Human Shield: Release. Oooh…. Should she consider this a new technique?
"Hey!" Sasuke yelled in both embarrassment and aggravation. "Dobe, stop it!"
"Naruto, you're going down!" Sakura threatened.
"It's not my fault!" she defended, laughing. "Teme can't control the seal yet!"
Sakura stepped sideward to get to her but she moved Sasuke's body. Naruto kept hiding herself behind Sasuke as she maneuvered his body to protect herself. Sakura definitely wouldn't hurt him. The new technique seemed to work well against the girl. Luckily, the human shield didn't remove himself from her grasp. Yet.
"I swear, when I get my hands on you…" Sakura could only screech in frustration.
Who the heck cared? Rookie of the Year Uchiha Sasuke had finally made his way on the list of Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto Prank Files as Victim Number Thirty-seven.
Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto was currently brooding. Dark air surrounded her as she regarded the people in front of her with contempt. Yeah, she could do that now but not because Sasuke had influenced her with his emo-tendencies. It was because of a D-rank mission the Hokage kept on tasking them.
"I begged, Jiji. I begged you not to give us the search mission," she sulked with her arms folded and glared at the old man.
"But Naruto, your team is the best team for the mission," Sandaime Hokage reasoned-out. "You put a tracking seal on Tora the second time you searched for it. So, it's natural for me to have your team do this mission."
"But that cat is evil spawn!" she exclaimed, stomping her right foot. Her left face was still stinging at the scratch marks that damned spawn gave her.
Iruka who was seated on the Hokage's right side chuckled. "Naruto, your team has the record time of catching Tora. You should be proud."
She huffed. "You won't sway me, Iruka-sensei. I don't care for record-breaker."
"Naru…" her father's gentle voice chided. He was seated at the Sandaime's left. "Be nice."
She ignored her dad and continued her brooding.
The old man was already piling out another set of D-ranks for them, when an idea popped in her mind. "…help with the potato digging—"
"Jii-chan," she called out, giving him her infamous Cheshire grin. "I hope you haven't forgotten the title you and Ero-Sennin personally dubbed me," she said in her sweetest voice. "I've improved, you know. And I'm back…"
Oooh… Revenge would be so sweet…
Sakura, Sasuke and Iruka were looking at her in confusion and curiosity. Kakashi and Jiji were grimacing. Her dad, he was amused, as always.
"Give us a C-rank and I'll shut up," she haggled.
The Hokage sighed. "Very well."
"Yatta!" she squealed in delight and whirled to her teammates. "That, my friends, is called the art of negotiation."
The people inside the room sweatdropped.
"You manipulated the Hokage," Sasuke deadpanned.
She sniffed. "Hypocrite. You hate D-ranks as much as I do. But if you want, I can retract the negotiation and let's just have the potato digging."
"Tch."
"Exactly," she noted smugly.
The Hokage gave them an amused smile. "Your mission is to protect a certain individual," he explained to them before calling out into the waiting area. "Please, come in."
The door slid open and revealed their client, a drunken old man holding a bottle of sake. "What's this? They're all a bunch of super brats," he said as he took a swig of the liquor. "Especially the tiny ray of sunshine over there. Are you guys really ninjas? You don't look reliable."
Naruto felt her eyes twitch. Tiny. The man just called her tiny. And she never liked being called one. Given she was the smallest member among her team but he didn't have to point that out. This drunken old man was asking for it.
"Am I really going to be safe with you?" the old drunkard pressed.
"Maa… I'm a Jōnin, don't worry," Kakashi assured.
It was then Naruto realized his hand weighing on her shoulder, preventing her from beating the client. She was really about to attack the old man without her realizing it.
"Tiny?" Sasuke repeated, aware of her sensitivity.
She scowled at him. "Shuddap, Teme!"
"I am the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna," he introduced himself. "I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to Nami no Kuni and complete the bridge."
When the client went out, Kakashi called out a rendezvous at the main gate with an hour to prepare. Instead of heading out with her team, Naruto went behind the long desk and stopped in front of her still sitting father.
"Your first C-rank," he commented proudly, smiling lovingly.
"You're worried," she stated.
"Of course, I worry," he said gently.
She smiled at him. "I'll be fine. Kakashi-sensei is with me."
He reached to hug her. "Be careful, okay?"
She nodded and hugged him back. She noticed Jiji and Iruka-sensei smiling warmly at the sight. She smiled back at them.
Past an hour later, she was dashing towards the gates. Everyone was there, even Kakashi. "Sorry, sorry," she said as she stopped in front of them. "I had to do something important."
"Did Mimi-san held you back?" Kakashi asked.
"Nothing like that, nothing," she dismissed. "Let's go."
They were about to head out when a commotion rang through the main street. "Somebody vandalized the Hokage Monument!" a man shouted.
They all turned around, and from their position, said monument was in their line of sight. The Hokage's facial statues were painted with spirals, poop, bloodied nose, thick eyelashes and tears.
Now, we're even, Jiji…
And that prank was in a rush. Had she given enough time, she would've done a grander one.
"Naru," Kakashi called. "Did you do that?"
"I've no idea what you're talking about, sensei," she said with the most innocent face she could muster.
He stared at her and sighed. "Konoha's Prank Mistress strikes again."
Dattebayo!
A/N: Months late, I know… Err… Anyway, much gratitude to the reviews, faves and follows.