*Hangs head, ashamed* I'm sorry. I have no excuse for the two month wait. This was supposed to be my main project for at least a month now. I was re-writing my Persona fic. I got wrapped up in it.

Sorry if Naruto comes off as a bit insufferable here. I would be insufferable if someone stole away my first real friend too.

Chapter 10

Naruto silently grumbled to himself as he sat on his hospital bed. As Kurama's chakra was inaccessible at the moment due to Jiraiya's seal, his recovery was as slow as a normal person's. Luckily for him, his injuries were nowhere near life threatening, and with a day or two of rest, he should be up and about again.

Hearing the door open, Naruto looked in that direction. He snarled and glared when he realized it was Jiraiya.

"Morning, kid," he greeted.

"Again, it's Naruto," Naruto informed him through clenched teeth.

"Yes, I'm aware."

"Why are you here? Unless you plan to fix Kurama's seal, I want you out."

Jiraiya scowled. "I told you, I'm not going to fix it unless you prove you don't need the fox."

"Then why are you here?" Naruto spat.

"I'm telling you that I've put a decent seal on raccoon boy so his beast won't jump out when he sleeps or will just jump into his sand. That, and also that we're leaving in a week. You should get out a day before we leave, so you and your teammates will have a day to prepare."

"Alright, good," Naruto muttered. "Now leave."

Jiraiya frowned but obeyed, leaving Naruto with only his thoughts and the manga that Aimi had gotten him the day before. He wished he had his constant companion back…

(A week later…)

Naruto, Ino, and Gaara, now apparently formally recognized as Team Animal in the Leaf Village despite the fact that none of them gave consent, Ino was still technically part of Team 10, and Gaara was still part of the Sand Village, stood outside the gates to the village.

"Where is that bastard?" Naruto growled, annoyed, pacing in front of his friends.

"Naruto-kun, you dragged us out here 20 minutes early. We still have 5 minutes before when Jiraiya told us to arrive," Gaara informed him.

"He knows this is important to me!" Naruto yelled.

"You can wait another 5 minutes, Naruto-kun," Ino sighed.

"I've already waited a week, and this mission will take about… I don't know, but I can only assume something stupid like a month. Then we have to travel back to the village, which will take multiple days, and only then will he fix Kurama's seal. I refuse to wait!"

"Well, you're in luck then, kid," Jiraiya said, suddenly popping into the scene.

Naruto looked at him and scowled. "Good, you're here. Now let's go."

Jiraiya frowned as Naruto started to walk off. "If you keep up that insufferable attitude, I might opt to leave the seal as it is now, you know."

"So basically, you want me to act like a perfect little Genin?" Naruto asked, stopping for a moment. "Well, too fucking bad. I never became a ninja, therefore I see no reason."

"OK, so you think that you can get away with acting like a brat because you aren't a ninja? Keep it up, and I'll smash your face into the ground. Also, because you aren't a Genin, you shouldn't even be allowed out here, so quit your whining."

Naruto huffed, but shut his trap.

"By the way, speaking on the status of Genin, despite the fact that you have yet to even reach that point, sensei wants you to wear this anyway. Just for this mission, though."

He held out a Hitai-ate to Naruto. Naruto took it slowly. He removed the goggles that he had been wearing previously and put it on. Turning to his friends, he asked, "How do I look?"

"It looks better than your goggles," Ino commented.

"Agreed," Gaara said with a small nod.

"Now then, here's the mission," Jiraiya said, getting the kids to turn their attention back to him. "In a minute, a man will come here. We are to guard him. He has received many death threats, and so he's hired the Leaf Village to make sure he gets home."

"Where's his home?" Ino asked.

"In the Land of Books," Jiraiya answered.

"I've never heard of that place," Gaara said. "Granted, I never got to go to school, but I have glanced over a map or two."

"I highly doubt you would notice any place other than the largest countries with a simple glance," Ino said. "But Gaara's right, I don't think a 'Land of Books' exists."

Jiraiya smiled. "You see, kiddos, it's a small island that's generally forgotten. It's a land that simply grows food and trades books."

"They… trade books?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yep. That's how the people pass the time. They read. Nothing else noteworthy. Anyone that comes to the land that has a book with them is free to trade in their book and take out a new one that is then considered theirs. With that system, the land gets new material to read, and get rid of the old stuff. They also have a small population and grow their own food, so they rarely have to communicate with the outside world."

"That's it?" Naruto asked.

"Yep," Jiraiya answered.

"Then why'd the guy get a death threat?" Gaara asked.

Jiraiya shrugged. "Even he's not sure why."

"Why is he here anyway?" Naruto questioned.

"No one's come to the land in a while, so the inhabitants are getting bored with the books that they have. He was sent to trade some of their old books and get some new ones."

"So we have to protect him and his books?" Gaara guessed.

Jiraiya nodded. "Correct."

"Where'd he get the money to hire us?" Ino asked.

Jiraiya shrugged. "It's best not to question it."

"When will he get here?" Naruto asked, impatient.

"I'm right here," said a voice a couple feet away. Naruto looked around Jiraiya and saw a man, probably not past his thirties, leaning against a nearby wall and staring at them in a bored manner. About a meter away, there was large bag, which probably held the books. "You're the guys that are to protect me? You're a bunch of kids and an old man."

"That we are," Jiraiya agreed. "But I'm actually quite famous around these parts, and these kids aren't too bad. I hope."

The man sighed. "Well, I'm dead."

"Not yet, you aren't," Jiraiya assured him with a pat on the shoulder. "Nothing will happen to you."

"I hope not." The man stopped his leaning and picked up the large bag, swinging it over his shoulder as though it weighed nothing. "Well, let's go."

Jiraiya nodded. "Sure. Naruto, I heard that you could change into an animal. That true?" Naruto nodded. "Good. Change, and take point. Warn us if you sniff out anything you deem a threat."

"Is it that difficult for you to sense them yourself, old man?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

"No," Jiraiya growled. "This is a moment for you to prove to me that you can function properly, and that you aren't an oblivious, brain-dead idiot. I can sense them long before you might be able to pick up on them, but it will be good to see just how practical those abilities of yours are."

Naruto shrugged and changed. He carefully took in the scents of his friends, Jiraiya, and the man they were protecting so as to not mix them up with anything else he might smell. After familiarizing himself with the two new scents, he let out a small yip and started walking.

After a moment, he stopped and changed back. "Where are we going?" He asked.

Jiraiya laughed. "I was wondering when you were going to ask. It's directly east of here."

Naruto nodded and changed back, walking again.

After many uneventful hours of walking, it finally got dark, so they set up camp. By the fire, the man took out a book and began reading. Jiraiya sat peacefully on the ground, seemingly concentrating intently. The three kids sat and talked amongst themselves.

"So, if you were to be one, what would it be?" Naruto asked somewhat randomly. "Blind, deaf, or mute?"

"Mute," Gaara and Ino answered at the same time with no hesitation.

"What about you?" Gaara asked.

"Deaf," Naruto answered

"Really?" Ino asked. "Why?"

"Because then I couldn't listen to the villagers' crap."

"You do realize that if you had been born deaf, you would have been mute too because you could never figure out the language," Gaara pointed out. "And even now, if you were to suddenly go deaf, you would have no idea if you were saying anything correctly, or even how loud you were talking. At that point, you'd effectively have to be both deaf and mute to avoid making an utter fool out of yourself."

Naruto paused in thought. "True, but but I'm already known as a fool. And blind sounds like a pain, and mute doesn't sound too appealing either…"

"That's the point. You have to find what you would consider to be the one that wouldn't completely ruin your life," Ino said.

"So why would you guys be mute then?" Naruto asked.

"Because we have to be quiet to be ninja anyway," Gaara said with a shrug.

"And if you learn sign language, you can still talk to people," Ino added.

"Plus, it's easier to remain a ninja if you still have your sight and hearing," Gaara continued.

"You remember Kiba?" Ino asked. "His dog lacks the ability to speak, and is a ninken. Speech is not necessary unless you want to be in the service industry, really."

Naruto shrugged. "Fair enough. I'm technically not a ninja, though, so I don't have to worry about being quiet for the sake of my job. I'd just get a job as a farmer or something. That wouldn't require listening, right?"

"For all you know, it relies heavily on it," Gaara said. "But if you don't want to be a ninja, or just fail at it, then I guess deaf wouldn't be too bad. At least, it would be better than blind."

"Why are we talking about this?" Ino asked.

"I don't know. It was just a thought that came to me," Naruto replied.

"It wasn't as crazy as some of your other thoughts," Gaara said.

"Yeah, it's almost scary," Ino commented.

Naruto pouted. "Fuck off," he told them.

The two Genin laughed. "Nah, we can't do that. That's no fun," Ino told him happily.

A grin slowly formed on Naruto's face. "Fine, stay then." Then, in a lower voice that his friends couldn't hear, he muttered, "Thanks, guys.

(Many more uneventful days later…)

Naruto sat, staring out into the darkness. It was the middle of the night. It was currently his shift for the night watch. Nothing moved. He sighed.

"Bored?" A voice asked.

Naruto jumped, startled, leaping to his feet and spinning around, pulling out a kunai. He saw, standing there, his two friends. Slowly, he relaxed. "You two damn near gave me a heart attack. Don't do that."

"Sorry, Naruto-kun," Gaara apologized. "Seeing your reaction was completely worth it, though."

Naruto pouted. "Fuck you."

"Fuck you too," Gaara replied smoothly.

Ino laughed at them both.

"So, what are you two doing up? It's my shift."

"I don't know why Gaara followed me, but I'm up because I couldn't sleep," Ino told him.

"I'm used to being awake all the time," Gaara said.

"Well, I guess I can stand your company for a couple minutes," Naruto joked.

"We don't plan to leave, so you'll have to put up with us for longer than that," Gaara informed him.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine."

The three settled down on the grass.

A moment of peaceful silence passed. "Hey guys," Naruto started.

"Yeah?" Ino asked, urging him to continue.

"What'll happen, if the old man doesn't fix Kurama's seal? I'm pathetic without him."

"What?!" Gaara almost yelled, appealed. "If that dumbass doesn't fix your seal, I'll let Shukaku out and allow him to have his way with him."

"What gave you that idea anyway? You're not pathetic," Ino assured him.

"But I am," Naruto said. "Without him, I would have had a pathetic chakra pool, which is the probably the only reason I managed to get into the academy anyway. Otherwise, old man Hokage would never have let me in. And disregarding that, I have a pathetic attention span."

"That you do," Gaara agreed. "But don't worry. I'm sure that fox won't take it lying down. He'd brute-force his way out even if it took a million years worth."

"Yeah, and if all else fails, you could take to researching Fūinjutsu until you can figure out how to reverse it," Ino chimed in.

"That… would take years, at least," Gaara pointed out. "Regardless of how much he wants to save his fox, I don't think he'd have the attention span for that."

"Nope," Naruto agreed sheepishly.

To their left, there was a faint rustle, which could easily belong to a simple possum, but Naruto swiftly chucked a kunai in that direction, purposely aiming high in case it was a harmless small critter. There was the sound of the weapon sinking into flesh and what sounded like a young man swearing in pain.

The three teens jumped up in alarm.

"Holy shit; there was actually a person there!" Naruto yelled, shocked.

A young man jumped out of the bushes, snarling. "So you found me, huh?"

"You weren't exactly silent," Ino commented.

"To think a bunch of distracted kids could find me…" The man muttered.

"Again… you weren't being silent."

"You know, just as a rule of thumb, ninja don't generally converse with an established enemy," said a voice behind the three children. They glanced behind them to see Jiraiya. "Also, don't take your eyes off the enemy." The legendary ninja pointed to the man, who was trying to sneak away.

The three leaf and one sand ninja watched the man.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"Um…" Was the answer.

"Can I just attack?" Naruto asked, briefly glancing back.

Jiraiya shrugged. "Go ahead. Don't maim him too much, ok?"

Naruto nodded. "Fine by me. Let's go, Team Animal!"

"Are we seriously going to be called that?" Gaara asked.

"Yes, we are!" Naruto yelled joyfully, launching into his first real battle (with a human, anyway).

The Land of Books comes from Kino no Tabi, for those who are curious. In the anime version, what happens there is a tad different, but in the light novel version, that's essentially what it is, only it isn't an island.

Now then, in a desperate attempt to make you guys feel better about the wait, I added this omake in. I came up with this little guy one night and thought it rather hilarious, so I wrote it up after finishing this chapter. I ended up adding the little talk with the anonymous sensei so it would have a proper conclusion. It's unlikely that this would ever appear as part of this story's canon, but...

Also! I need a sensei for Team Animal if they are to be a proper team, but I feel as though Kakashi is a bit too cliche and he has a team, and Naruto hates Jiraiya. All of the other Konoha 11 senseis or whatever the plural is are all taken (Asuma, Kakashi, Gai, ect.) so I need someone that doesn't generally have a team.

If no one says anything, I'm giving them fucking Yu Narukami from the Persona series, and I will find a way for him to summon Izanagi!

(During the exams…)

"Gaara vs. Sasuke!" The announcer shouted.

Gaara stood, and instead of taking the stairs like a sensible person, jumped over the railing. 6 meters before hitting the ground, he created a slide out of sand, planting his feet firmly on it and sliding the rest of the way down. He jumped off a couple centimeters from the ground and jogged about half a meter before finally coming to a stop.

Sasuke, not to be outdone, launched off the railing and preformed a triple flip and landed with all the grace of a stereotypical ballerina. In fact, he had a pose, so all he needed was a tutu. The crowd, mostly the girls, went wild for this (almost girly) display.

With both now standing on the field, Gaara asked, "So, who won?"

The proctor stared at him. "Excuse me? You haven't fought yet."

"No, who won the pre-battle entrance fight?" Sasuke asked casually.

"Oh, you mean who looked coolest coming onto the battlefield?"

"Yes," Gaara answered.

"Ah, in that case… Gaara."

"Wha- Why?" Sasuke yelled.

"You looked like a girl, Uchiha," the proctor stated simply. "Gaara, on the other hand, looked completely badass."

"That… That's not fair!"

"You asked for my opinion."

"Fine!" Sasuke spat, turning to the audience. "Did I win or what?!"

The crowd went into an uproar.

"And what about me?" Gaara shouted.

Gaara nearly went deaf from the ensuing noise. He thought he heard a couple foxes yipping, though.

"Gaara won!" The proctor announced.

"HOW!?" Sasuke yelled, annoyed.

(Over with Naruto and Ino)

Naruto smiled as he dispelled the Shadow Clones. "It was totally worth wasting as much chakra as it took to do that. Look at him freak out."

"Well, he isn't wrong, technically," Ino commented, listening to him yelled that there couldn't possibly be enough people in the stadium to make that kind of noise, let alone enough when all the high pitched girls were on his side. "How did you manage to get all of those clones around there with no one noticing? You'd think Sasuke'd notice all the orange."

Naruto shrugged. "People are oblivious. It helped that I know a transformation technique. Getting them into position was fun, though, because most of them changed into bugs to get around undeterred and got squished."

Ino snorted. "Seriously?"

"I'm not kidding."

"I never said I doubted you."

"That's not the use I expected you to get from the Shadow Clones," said a voice from behind the two Genin.

The two turned around in their seats.

"Oh, good morning, sensei," Ino greeted.

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, couldn't resist. Did you see his meltdown a moment ago? I never took him as a competitive type. It was totally worth it."

Their sensei cracked a small smile. "Fair enough, I guess. Don't make it a habit."

Naruto nodded. "Don't worry, sensei, I won't unless he deserves it."

"He deserves worse than that," Ino complained.

"Slow, kid," their sensei told her. "Can't have him catching on, now can we?" He winked.

The three laughed and settled down to watch the fight.