Chapter Nine: Friends Gather in Unlikely Places

-s-s-s-s-s-

Note: The chapters have been edited. Please go back and read them if you haven't already.
(or not, since what I changed just makes the story run more smoothly)

-s-s-s-s-s-

Keywords:

-sempai: Upperclassman; someone above you in an orginazation; your senior

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Naruto spent the rest of the afternoon following Lee's enthusiastic example. The dark haired boy was excited to have someone knew to talk to, someone to work with that wouldn't make fun of him, that he was litterally jumping around.

A bit put off by the other boy's energy at first, Naruto warmed up to him when he realized that he was actually trying, not just following a teacher's instruction. The other kids always listened to the adults, doing anything they said just because they were older. Those same kids looked down on him, talked about how bad he was or simply ignored him, and to find someone else his own age who didn't have those cold, disregarding eyes, was... undescribable. Heck, maybe Lee would be his friend too!

He'd have to ask, later, when his stomach muschles weren't protesting his twenty-eighth sit-up.

After warm ups came stance practice. Naruto stayed paired with Lee, and under Seishi's undivided instruction, learned the first basic stance.

It felt awkward, at first, to position his body that way. He was used to moving in certain patterns, what he'd picked up from watching others (mainly chuunin, like Iruka-sensei) and taught himself. Having to follow prescribed instruction was hard. But not impossible.

His footing was off, and he lifted his arms too high, and left way too many openings, but for a start, it was a good one.

"Great job, guys!" Seishi said, after a second set of cool-down stretches. "Usagi-san, you need to work on your Crane form, a little too high with the arms. Tenten-chan, don't raise your leg so high when going from Swirling Swords to Turtledove. Neji-san, perfect, as always.

"And Lee-kun! You're working hard. I've seen you improve today. Maybe teaching can help you learn faster!" Lee beamed at her praise. After practice, Uzumaki-sensei critiqued a few, select students. She'd help them next lesson, of course, after they thought about what she'd pointed out.

"Now inside, everybody, so Iruka-sensei can have one last look at you!" Seishi's goodnatured grin was returned by half of the class, the other half having already herded themselves inside for dismissal.

Naruto was one of the former half, grinning, with Lee and Tenten by his side. He had two friends now! (Lee had agree during stance practice, much to Seishi's unneccicary encouragement.)

He entered the classroom, and with his new friends, sat in the back between them. Tenten was chatting Lee up, enthused to find someone that would listen and comment with equal cheerfulness, alebeit rather loudly. Naruto joined in conversation with his own enthusiasm, since the subject was one of his favorite: jutsu. Like when they would learn some.

"Seishi makes me go through the Seals two times every night!" Naruto half-whinned. He knew the benefit from it, but he was still put out that she hadn't taught him any of her awesome jutsu.

"So you are related to Uzumaki-sensei!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Naruto-kun and Uzumaki-sensei are related?" cut in the ever-oblivious Lee. He hadn't paid attention to the blond's last name, too taken by the boy's bright hair and youth. 'He must be another genius, to enter the Academy so young,' had been his first thought. By his first impression of Naruto-kun, Lee hadn't thought they would be friends. Now he knew better.

"Er, yeah..."

"How? She's your sister, right? She's not old enough to be your mom," she concluded, leaving little room for a reply. "Hey, how old are you again? You entered the Academy early, so me 'n Lee-kun are older than you!"

"I'm eight," Naruto answered, taking advantage of the girl's pause for breathe. "And Seishi is my..." daughter from the future, wouldn't you know? "...cousin. She came to Konoha to take care of me."

'No daughter of mine,' Kyuubi commented in the back of his mind. His grumbled denial was ignored.

"Really? That's so sweet!" Tenten clasped her hands together against her chest, looking with glazed eyes to the sceiling.

Naruto scooted destreatly away from her odd sudden girliness, a bit freaked out. Lee looked at her intently, then glanced at the sceiling, wondering what was so interesting up there, and what it had to do with their friend's family situation.

"Class! Attention!" came Iruka's irritated voice from the front. The students straightened in their seats, conversation dulling out. No one wanted a repeated of the last time they had ignored him. The enlarged head of their mildmannered teacher coming at them suddenly and his scolding shouts ringing in their ears was something none of them would ever bring upon themselves willingly.

"Tomorrow's class will begin at the usual time! Please bring your History texts and Theory scrolls, not just your notebooks! We will be cover pages 10 through 14 in Konoha's Past, so please reveiw five through nine! Class is..." students waited in suspence, at the edge of their seats, for Iruka-sensei's next word. "Dismissed!"

A standpede of students drowned out the last silable the word, running feet on the wooden stairings making a thundering 'clomping' noise and bringing up dust. When the dust had cleared, only the middle seat of the back row was still filled.

Naruto blinked in surprise at the abrupt departure of his peers. Lee and Tenten, clearly used to this, gathered their things and headed at a more sedate pace compared to the others down to the front.

"Good bye, Iruka-sensei," they chorused.

Iruka-sensei's eyes crinkled as he smiled and bid them a good evening. Seishi grinned at them and waved them out, promising to see them tomorrow.

Naruto was about to follow them out, ready to wait at the gate or head home by himself, when his caretaker called his name.

"Naruto-kun," Seishi said, causing him to stop and look back in her direction. His hand hovered by the handle to the slidding door, but he let it drop back to rest at his side. "You did good today." I'm proud of you, she wanted to say, but with Iruka here (her colleage, Papa's most wonderful teacher who he still thought fondly of), it would be embarrassing for both of them.

His blinding smile was worth it, though he ducked his head to hide it.

"Wait for me outside, OK? I just have to get my stuff."

"OK, Seishi."

"Oh, and Naruto-kun?" He turned back, questioningly. "We'll have Ichiraku tonight."

"Yeah!"

-s-s-s-s-s-

Seishi turned up not five minutes, later, a satchle over her shoulder, and a grin plastered on her face. The other teachers had been saying some things in the breakroom again (did they ever learn?), and she had had to set them straight. No violence, of course, she didn't want to upset Sandaime-sama, but words never hurt anyone, did they?

"Naruto, over here!" she waved.

He was glad the courtyard was nearly disterted, because the grin on her face made him blush in embarrassment. "Seishi," he whinned. "Don't embarrass me!"

"I'm not embarassing you, am I, Naruto-kun?" she asked with a teasing grin. At least she didn't bend down and kiss him on the forehead or something like that. Then he would want the ground to open up and swollow him whole.

"Ichiraku, remember?"

"Right! We need to celebrate your first day at the Academy!" Seishi skipped ahead of him, looking forward to the first class ramen just as much as he was.

"You just want the good stuff," he accused, walking faster to catch up. She slowed her pace to let him.

"Can't accuse me of having bad taste."

"Nope! Ichiraku has the best!" They'd reached the gate, and started down the street in the direction of the ramen stall, walking side by side.

"What kind do you think you'll get?"

"Well, there's this special kind the old man is trying out, with mushrooms and miso-"

"Seishi!" an unfamilar voice called. Turning, Naruto saw three shinobi, two men in chuunin vests and a woman in a jounin's, standing on the road not twenty feet behind them. He hadn't even noticed a pressence, and the blond was good enough to track ANBU when he wanted. (He wouldn't be here if chakra sensing hadn't come naturally.)

"Giro! Saru! Namiashi-sempai!" Seishi explained, a familar grin growing across her face. "I haven't seen you in what, three months? How are the missions going?"

"Well," said the woman in a somewhat formal tone, approaching at a steady walk. The chunin flanked her on either side. "But we miss your skill."

"Oh, I'm sure you're fine without me," Seishi said with complete certainty. "Though those S rankers might do you in."

"Very funny, Sei-chan," spoke up the man to the left, dark haired, with pale skin and an easy grin. His dark eyes, which rested on Seishi, glinted with amusement. "You know we can't take those without you."

"But I didn't do anything! Really, Saru, I'll have you know I like teaching."

"You like babysitting helpless welps?" commented the other man, dark brown hair falling how his eyes. He was big, a tanker, and muscled enough to outwieght an elephant. "I'd think you'd loose your patience."

"I'm teaching the future generation of Konoha's legacy," Seishi said, unperturbed by the large man's slightly mocking tone. "I am happy to 'bear with them'. And a lot of them have tallent!"

"But you know, not all of them can be shinobi," Saru commented. "After all, the test-"

"Saru, enough," commanded the woman, 'Namiashi-sempai'. Saru shut his mouth promptly.

"Seishi, who are these guys?" They knew he was there, obviously, but they were ignoring him. It made him feel uneasy. Everyone acknowleged him at some point, even if only in a cold glance, but to be completely left out...

He didn't like it. Not at all.

As if just remembering his presence, Seishi grinned, eyes still taking in the other ninja. "Naruto-kun, these are members of a team I worked with for a while. You remember, before my reassignment."

Naruto remembered. She hadn't come home, some nights, and other times she's smelled so strongly of blood it had made him naseasous. 'These are the people she was with?' he wondered. 'They don't look like much. Expect that Giro guy. He looks like he could lift a tree without chakra reenfourcement.'

'Oh, he can, brat. And he has enough chakra to run you into the ground.'

'Shut up, Kyuubi. Seishi's introducing her friends.'

'Friends, is it? Hah, I thought you was here for you!'

'She is! But that means she can't have friends. It's lonely without friends...'

'Something you would know about, isn't that right, kit? If she has friends she doesn't need you!'

'Ye-yeah, she does! Shut up, you stupid fox! Go away!'

'Just keep telling yourself that, brat. This doesn't interest me anymore.'

Naruto felt the presence of his furry tenant leave his conscious mind just as Seishi was finishing a sentence. "...Ichiraku, do you want to join us?"

"Sure! You're paying, right?" Saru spoke up, patting his stomach as it made a hungry noise. "We haven't eaten since getting back from Rock."

'Rock?' Naruto wondered. Wasn't that far away?

"I don't make as much as I used to. You should be treating, since I was the one who paid last time," Seishi protested.

"That was months ago!"

"And I haven't eaten with you since!"

"I will pay." Seishi's Namiashi-sempai spoke with finality. The two stopped bickering and traded satisfied grins. Maybe they'd planned it all along, to get the jounin to pay...?

Naruto started when Giro came up behind him, startling the boy into jumping. "Let's go boy," the large man said, pushing the blond along with a hand that covered his entire shoulder. "I'm hungry."

"Giro, don't manhandle Naruto-kun," Seishi scolded. "We're just going to eat. And Namiashi's paying, so we can have as much as we want!"

"Uh-huh. And would you have something to do with that?" Looking up, Naruto could see a subtle quirk to the man's mouth. Could the gaint actually have a sense of humor?

Seishi grinned, taking Naruto's hand. "Of course!"

Naruto was led after them by his future-daughter's firm grip, marvelling at the change in his caretaker around these strangers, and feeling vaguely threatened by the new precenses in his life. Kyuubi's words sowed doubt in his mind. 'If Seishi has friends...does she really need me?'

-s-s-s-s-s-

A/N: A long chapter for your patient waiting... of two years?! U-um. Sorry?

Un-edited chapter. I just didn't think you guys could wait any longer. Hope you enjoyed it! And thanks for all the reviews/favorites-added-ness in the time I've been gone!

Original Post: 11/19/2007