Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Sorry for the late update^^"/ And sorry again because there might be more late updates as I am busy with family problems and such, that I can't focus on writing. I have one or two backup chapters (Is what I would like to call it) that are ready to be posted. I didn't post them yet because as I said, they are backups. I usually post one chapter while having other five or four chapters ready.
I might post another backup chapter soon and I will let you know when I ran out of them. Thanks for all the follows and favorites! Also the views! I was surprised and happy that they are people reading this. Well, that is enough from me. Enjoy and I hope you guys are doing well. :)
Training And Comfort
It was morning and Mugen was still asleep, in his apartment this time. He tossed and turned when he heard something by his window. The man groaned and threw his blankets to the side, opened the window widely. "Alright, this better be important because if it's not, I'll outta-" Mugen stopped and looked around until he noticed he accidentally hit Naruto with his window. "Oh, Naruto. What's up?" Mugen asked blankly while Naruto yelled at him for what he did while holding his nose. "Jeez, calm down, will ya? Don't be so noisy early in the morning…" Said Mugen and yawned. "Well, what is it?" Mugen asked and leaned against the window frame.
Naruto was sitting at the table in the dining room inside Mugen's apartment, drinking tea with him. Mugen sighed after drinking the hot green tea. "So, let me rephrase what you just asked." Said Mugen and earned a quick nod from the boy. "You want me to continue your training of chakra control because Ebisu couldn't continue teaching you?" Mugen asked and Naruto nodded again. "And you said he couldn't continue because he lost a lot of blood from your harem jutsu?" Mugen asked again. Naruto laughed when he remember that moment when Ebisu sent flying high in the sky, followed by a stream of blood.
Mugen scratched the back of his head and thought, "Oh my God, he used a harem Jutsu! Kushina-San's probably trying to kill me from the other side…Should I sleep over at someone's place? Maybe at Guy's?" He snapped out of his thoughts when the blonde kept calling his name. "Alright, alright. I'll train you but just keep it down a little, I'm still recovering after drinking last night…" Mugen groaned and held his head as he felt another headache but he was very relieved that he didn't end up sleeping someplace else instead of his apartment. "Does alcohol really do that to you? Then why do you drink in the first place?" Naruto asked. "It's not like I have a choice…Anyway, I'm gonna take a shower. Make yourselves at home…" The man said while stretched his arms out and went to the bathroom.
Naruto took the time to walk around in his apartment. He looked at the pictures on the wall in the hallway and on the table in the living room. He smiled when he recognized some of the senseis when they were kids and he laughed when he saw Kakashi. "Kakashi-Sensei wears that mask since he was a kid, huh? It makes me want to know what's under that so bad..~!" He said and moved on. Then, his eyes widened a little when he saw pictures of the Fourth Hokage and a woman that he assumed his wife with a kid in between them, hugging his katanas tightly. "Oh, that must be Mugen-Sensei! He must be really close to the Fourth." He said and smiled. He looked at the photo a little longer and quickly walked away when he heard the sound of the water in the bathroom had stopped.
Mugen walked through the living room and to his room, noticed Naruto was at the balcony. "Hey, Naruto. Let's go!" Mugen called him out from outside of his front door. Naruto quickly walked back in and followed him. They chatted while they make their way to the area they were going to train.
Naruto was slowly walking on water, they were training at the lake, controlling his chakra. "Don't feel rushed and just let the chakra flow to your feet, like water." Said Mugen, standing on the body of water and watching the little Genin. Mugne told him after he has walked long enough, try running around and jumping on water. Naruto did so and fell into the water. Mugen walked over to him and pulled him up while he coughed out some water that went into his mouth. "Take your time, Naruto. I'm not going anywhere." He said while reading Make Out Series. "Say, Sensei…I looked at the pictured in your apartment while you were taking a shower…And I noticed you as a kid, with the Fourth." Said Naruto, made the man's eyes widened in surprised and he looked at him. "O-Oh, really? What about it?" Mugen asked and try not to reveal too much. "Can you tell me about him? I always thinking what he was like." Naruto asked and looked up at the man. Mugen gave a thought and smiled. "Sure. How about I will tell you what I know about the Fourth if you finish your chakra control training. We can talk about it while having Ichiraku's ramen." Mugen suggested and Naruto grew a wide, bright smile. He gave an excited and quick nod.
Mugen watched and helped pulling Naruto out of the water until he told him to stop helping him up. "Just sit back and relax, Sensei…I'll get this done, believe it!" He said and picking himself up. Mugen chuckled and nodded before he walked back to land and sat down on the ground. "He flowed his chakra to his hands to pull himself up. He's getting better…" Mugen thought and pull out his favorite book. A few hours later, "You idiot…! You shouldn't let her go… Why won't you two express your feelings, especially after that night?!" Mugen talked to himself, letting his frustration out about the characters in the Make Out Series book. His moved for a second to look Naruto was standing in front of him but went back into the book until Mugen jumped back in surprise. "Whoa, what the hell, Naruto?! Don't just suddenly stand there without telling me anything…" Mugen said, clutching his chest as he catch his breath.
"I did call out to you but you were too into that book, Sensei…" Said Naruto, with a judgment look on his face as he watched the man before him being frustrated over two fictional characters in a book. Mugen noticed his look and blankly said, "Don't judge me." The two then headed to Ichiraku's Ramen and decided to eat the delicious ramen at Naruto's apartment. "Well, make yourself at home, I guess." Said Naruto, stretching his arms out while heading towards his room. Mugen just stood by the front door and took in of what he saw in the apartment. "If your mother was alive, you'll be dead, Naruto…Or your dad will clean this up with his Flying Thunder God Jutsu." He thought and put the food on the table.
Naruto came back to the kitchen after he changed his clothes and sat down at the table. Mugen already prepared the table for them and they started eating. "So good! Ichiraku's is the best!" Naruto said while eating his favorite food happily. Mugen chuckled and slurped the noodles into his mouth. "You know, the Fourth and his wife ate at Ichiraku's Ramen too." Said Mugen, finishing his ramen. Naruto stopped and looked up, "Really?! Well, that's not surprising since Ichiraku is the best!" He said with his usual grin. "Haha, true. So, what do you want to know?" Mugen asked and drank a glass of water. Naruto finished his ramen and let out a sigh before he thought of a question. "What were they like and how did you met them?" Naruto asked with his eyes full of hope.
"They were really nice people. They took care of my from time to time when I stumbled around during the war. The Fourth saved me and took me here, the Hidden Leaf Village. That's right, I'm not from here." Said Mugen and smiled when he remembered his encounter with the famous Yellow Flash. He continued the story, with Naruto surprised to know the sensei before him was not originated here. "The village had a difficult time trusting me and that is why the Fourth decided to let me stay at his home with his wife. Even though I'm not their son but considered them to be my parents. Haha, the Fourth's wife was worried about me when she first saw me because I'm in such a mess and hungry. She make the trouble to cook for me and took care of me."
"Wow, was it good? Her cooking?" Naruto asked while kicking his feet under the table, excited about the story already. "Hell yeah! Though she would be very scary sometimes, especially when I was bullied by other kids. Her hair literally rose up like a demon and scare the kids away." He said and they both laughed. "After awhile, I have become a ninja of the Leaf. We were in a war at that time so, I didn't belong to any team. I would follow the Fourth training his team or just train by myself and sometimes help his wife by doing chores in the house because she was pregnant." Mugen stopped to drank his water while Naruto waited impatiently. Mugen told him how happy they were when they were going to get a child, how strong and skillful the Fourth was and many more until the boy fell asleep on the table.
Mugen got up and carried him to his room, putting him on his bed. He chuckled as he looked around in his room. "Kushina-San is going to flip is she saw this." He said, talking about the mess in the room. The man ruffled the boy's messy hair and started to clean his apartment. He left a note on Naruto's dining table before he left. He stopped and gave another look at the apartment before he continue walking away. The man looked at the moon and thought of going to the cemetery as it was on the way to his apartment. Mugen stood in front of two graves and crouched down to put the flowers that he just bought, in front of the graves. He puts his hands together and prayed for them.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Leaf Village. "Make sure the preparations are done before the final exam. So far, the Old Man and his dear ninjas haven't found out who the enemy is." A man said in the shadows, talking to his subordinate at the corner. "I will see to it so, don't worry. Baki and his students are ready to attack anytime." The man at the corner said and adjusted his glasses. The man in the shadows let out a laugh, an evil but not loud one. "Very good. It's hilarious how stupid those Sand ninjas are. Get going before the Anbu spots us." The man in the shadows ordered and the other gave him a nod before he disappeared. As the man walked out of the shadows, the moonlight revealed who he is but a shadow from his hat covered his face. 'Sand' was written on the hat and the man laughed while he walked back to his room.
Anko clicked her tongue as she felt slight pain from her curse mark, irritating her. "What the hell?! Could this mean something?" She said to herself while gently rubbing the mark and stopped when an image of Orochimaru flashed in her head. She grips the curse mark out of anger and tried to sleep on it but the pain won't stop throbbing. "Maybe a walk will soothe it.." She grabbed her coat and jumped out through the window of her room. She walked past Mugen's apartment and decided to jumped at his balcony. "Hey, anybody home~?" She poked her head inside and looked around in the dark living room. "Maybe he's out…And I thought we could hang out tonight." She said and turned away but stopped when her mischievous mind started working. "Maybe a surprise wouldn't hurt and maybe he'll be happy to see me." She said and hid inside the living room.
Mugen turned on the lights and closed the door behind him. He stopped when he noticed someone was lying on his couch. "What the hell?" He said, confused to see Anko sleeping on his couch. The man sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "I bet you were trying to scare me or something, right?" He said and looked at her again before he carried her into his room, lay her down on his bed. "Well, good night, dango eating troublemaker." He said and was about to left the room before Anko grabbed his hand in her sleep. "Don't leave me…you idiot…" She said in her sleep. A vein was visible on Mugen's temple and he was about to say something before he saw a scared expression on the woman's face. The man sighed and took off his jacket, got on the bed and lie next to her. "It's nothing, you're just helping your friend. Your best friend that you dear so much despite how she always teases you like hell." He thought and closed his eyes.
Next morning, Anko mumbled and laughed in her sleep as she dreamt she scared Mugen in his apartment. As she turned to her right, there was something hard next to her, a mass. She stretched her arms out and rubbed her eye before she looked what was next to her. She was surprised to see Mugen and almost jumped off from the bed but couldn't. She looked behind her and saw the man's hand held her. Then, she looked around, noticing that she was now in another room. She looked down at Mugen with a peaceful expression as he slept soundly. The kunoichi kissed his cheek and whispered, "Thanks for being here for me.." She smiled and slowly slipped herself off the bed, jumped at his window frame and crouched as she turned to look at him. Mugen turned and didn't noticed she was not next to him. Anko looked back outside and jumped out, feeling better and the pain from the Curse Mark was gone. Mugen turned and felt empty on the other side of the bed, he forced himself to open his eyes and see Anko was no longer next to him. "Already woke up, huh..?" He said and yawned while stretching his arms out.
The man jumped out of the bed and slowly making his way to the kitchen to make breakfast. While he was doing so, there was a knock on the door. "Great…Just when I was hungry and make something for myself, there's a visitor…" He said and sighed while someone kept knocking on the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" He said and swung the door open. "What is it?!" He yelled out and two Anbu's jumped back by surprise. "Jeez, Senpai…woke at the wrong side of the bed today?" One of them asked and walked in when Mugen walked back to the kitchen. "Shut it, what's up, what happened, when did it happened, why did it happened, at what time and place?!" Mugen asked from how hungry he was. "We'll tell you just eat something, please!" They said while raised their hands at him.
The man drank his tea and let out a satisfied sigh, along with a wide smile on his face. "I feel so much alive~ Sorry for earlier, what's up?" He said and asked. The two put down their cups of tea and nodded. "The team from the Hidden Sound pulled themselves out from the Finals. Due to the team members injuries Harawa claimed." The Anbu said and the other continued. "When we went to his and his team's room, they were already gone. The guards and other Anbu members didn't see them left the village and we're still looking for them in the village." He said and Mugen nodded. The man then clicked his tongue and now thinking they were probably the enemy they were looking for. "Keep the security tight and deploy guards on the walls. Did the Third gave any orders to you or the others?" Mugen said and asked.
"Be discreet and keep our guard up." The Anbu simply said and earned a nod from Mugen, dismissing them. The man sighed and scratched behind his head before there was another knock on his door. "Oh hey, Naruto. Training, right?" Mugen asked and the boy nodded. They both gone to the Training Field and Mugen decided to sharpen Naruto's Taijutsu. He thought he would needed that after seeing his technique, the Naruto Uzumaki Barrage. "Use your clones more, they're good for a lot of things but I'm sure you already know that by now since you always use that technique, right?" Said Mugen, while guarding himself from the blonde's punches and kicks, and also fought him back. As soon as he got a hit on the boy, Naruto turned into a puff of smoke. "A clone-?! Shit!" Mugen saw Naruto's clones coming up behind him at the corner of his eye and didn't notice three more were running up to him from the front.
"Here we go! Na-Ru-To Uzumaki Barrage!" Naruto performed the technique and celebrated when the lifeless body of the Jounin fell on the ground. "Ha! Finally got you, Sensei! Sensei? Hello~?" Naruto and his clones walked up to the unconscious man, poking him to try waking him up. Then the man turned into a puff of smoke and there were three red papers at his place. "Oh shit! Exploding tags!" Naruto realized and was about to run before it was too late. The tags exploded and the clones, along with the original, flew into the air. Naruto finally fell to the ground and the world was spinning around him. Mugen chuckled as he walked up to the Genin. "You were close, I give you that. And that is it with your training. Take the time to rest and if you want to train, maybe continue to try and summon something. Okay?" Said Mugen.
"A-alright, Sensei…Just stop moving around me so fast…" Said Naruto, still dizzy. Mugen took out his Make Out Series and knocked Naruto's head with it to snap him out of it.