Disclaimer: I do not, in no way own Naruto or Rurouni Kenshin or any of the following characters. Hell if I did Steam Sales would be much easier on my wallet.
"Talk" Character talking.
'Think' Character thinking.
"Talk" Tailed Beast talking.
"Think" Tailed Beast thinking.
Authors Note: Fair warning there will be no action in this chapter, or much in this arc, just a progression of what is to come. Hope you enjoy it anyways!
The darkness was good. The darkness was wonderful. The darkness hid some of the most ugly things one did not want to see. But most importantly the darkness did not blare through the window into your eyes and give you an instant headache from hell!
Ino Yamanaka's maya blue eyes cracked open, and immediately she felt one of the worse headaches of her life. The young woman groaned and immediately shut her eyes, she pulled the covers over her head and buried her face into her nice warm hard pillow.
...Wait a second, pillows weren't hard, and no hotel pillow felt this comfortable. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw the blue eyes of her fellow blonde. Her eyes widened when she saw the amused blue eyes of Naruto Uzumaki staring into hers. And then she fell away with a scream and hit the ground, becoming tangled in the sheets and comforter.
Naruto looked on in amusement when he saw her thrashing wildly in the sheets, a light chuckle escaped his lips before he moved over to the side of the bed and placed his hand on what he thought was the top of her head. "Calm down Ino, it's just me."
The platinum-blonde wiggled underneath the sheets until her head popped out. Naruto did not miss her bedhead or pink flushing her cheeks. "Wh-what are you doing in my bed!" She demanded.
"I think the better question is what are you doing in my bed?" Naruto asked as he lied on his stomach and laid his chin on the back of his hands. "You came to me last night, we talked about your nightmares, drank some saki, and then you drunk talked me. Finally you fell asleep and I couldn't dislodge you so you slept with me for the night."
"Did...did I say anything embarrassing?" She asked, almost pulling her head in into the blanket like a turtle.
"No, not really." He lied with a straight face.
"Am I naked under the covers?"
"You're fully clothed, I promise you this."
Ino was silent after that, her cheeks continuing to flare up. She then groaned in discomfort and closed her eyes. "Ugh, it feels like someone is pounding a drum in my head."
"Welcome to your first hangover." Naruto congratulated her before slowly getting off the bed and stretching his back out. "You know they say the cure for a hangover is to never stop drinking."
"Ugh, I am never going to drink again." Ino groaned out.
"Heh, if I had a ryo for every time I heard that I would retire. Just relax and climb back into bed, I'll handle this." Naruto said as he made his way to a corner of the room where his katana was propped up in the corner, clothing folded in front of it and his hip pouches on top of them. Picking up one of them he reached into it and pulled out a scroll.
Making his way over to the dresser, he placed the scroll on the flat surface and unrolled it. A small cloud of smoke later, and much to Ino's surprise looked like everyday food stuffs and eating-ware were revealed.
"Naruto...why do you have all that stuff in a scroll?"
"Sometimes I want something other than granola or rice. And sometimes it's for situations like this." Picking up a tumbler glass, the blonde cracked a single egg into it, leaving the yolk unbroken. Doused it with Worcestershire sauce, sprinkled salt and pepper, and Tabasco sauce into it and then handed it to her. "Here, drink up."
"Ugh, that looks disgusting." Now set up in the bed, the blankets still wrapped around her, Ino took the glass and began drinking it. Her eyes widened and she was about to spit it all out if Naruto didn't tip her head back, forcing her to gulp the entire thing down. "Ah! Kami this is disgusting!" She exclaimed after coughing harshly. "What poison did you make me drink!?"
"That was a Prairie Oyster." Naruto explained to her. "It tastes bad, but it helps with hangovers. Trust me I know from experience." He lied to her about the second part, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. (1)
"I repeat myself I am never drinking again." Ino sighed out before burying her head under the covers again.
"Right and I will become celibate." The blonde male retorted, thankfully for him he didn't see her expression under the covers. "Now I don't know about you, but I am going to take a shower. We're going to leave around noon, run full force to reach Konoha by three in the afternoon. So get some water, and a good breakfast in your belly. A shower will also help, don't worry I'll take care of you." Nothing else was said after that, Naruto gathered his clothing and made his way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
"T-take care of me?" Ino whispered to herself.
Keeping silent the young Yamanaka pulled herself out of the sheets when the shower began running. The first thing she needed to do was pop some aspirin, take a nice long shower, and change into some clean clothes.
That shower lasted for over an hour.
(Konohagakure – Three Hours Later)
Like Naruto said, they left at noon on the dot, making sure they had a good breakfast in them. And then they ran like bats out of hell. The entire group was silent, each of them contemplating over something or another from their mission, from the rest and relaxation in Hot Springs Country, to what it meant for them in general for future missions.
But the most important question was who exactly was the blonde leading them? He offered them answers, they got them, but it lead to even more. Shikamaru was the one who had stored all the data in his brain, mentally keeping track of what he heard, what he had seen, and what his teammates had told him.
So far it looked like Naruto had been to six countries, including their own, was somewhat of a pickpocket, and for ten or so years accumulated a skill set, and connections to make their new system look like child's play and no regard for human life. But he was also loyal, at least to the highest buyer; which happened to be their Hokage. But at the same time he looked like a Yakuza gangster with all those tattoo's he had. So far, in Shikamaru's opinion the blonde had been proven to be far too troublesome.
The foursome arrived in the village, checking in at the gate at three o' clock exactly. Made it to the Hokage Tower fifteen minutes later, and were in his office no more than five minutes later.
"Team Ten, it is good to see you." The Sandaime greeted them with a grateful, if somewhat tired smile. "Now normally I would have you turn your mission into the mission hall, and write out a report. But this is an...experiment so to speak. I would like you to give a verbal report first before doing so."
"Of course, Hokage-dono." Naruto bowed to the elder Fire Shadow. "Where do you wish us to start?"
"How about your arrival in Hot Springs. Choji-san, mind telling me what transpired?"
"Ah, yes." Choji cleared his throat, and reported to him. "When we arrived in the country, Naruto-san gave us directions towards a private villa that he owned while he went to talk to the Daimyo regarding our mission. We spent the evening there, dining on a wonderful dinner before he told us that fifty men of mercenary and Vegetable Country origins were with the Criminal Brothers to try and take over Hot Springs."
Hiruzen perked an eyebrow hearing the words 'private villa', and filed it away for later. "The Criminal Brothers, otherwise known as the Janin. Three A-ranked Missing-nins from Kusagakure I believe." He paused, to collect himself mostly in thought. "What did you do next?" (2)
Shikamaru spoke up next. "We struck at dawn from Naruto'...san's instructions. I used my clan's techniques to spread one-hundred exploding tags that he pilfered from our persons, and made us form the hand seal together to blow up a portion of their camp while he went after us a second later. We mopped up whatever was left, or tried to after finding the body of Rugia, the younger brother."
The old Kage cupped his hands together, and brought them to him lips. He was a little concerned that his Hitokiri took the mission too far. "And what happened after that?"
"After Naruto-san cut his head off, we were attacked by Jiga who used our explosions to kill his brother." Shikamaru clenched his hands, the mere thought still angered him. "The battle was messy Hokage-sama, even with our jutsu he nearly killed us. But I used my clan's jutsu to kill him...I'm sorry I can't describe it right now...I just..."
Hiruzen held up his hand to calm his young Genin. "It's okay Shikamaru-san, there is no more than needs to be said." He then turned towards Ino. "What happened with Naruto?"
"He took off after Renga and obviously killed him, he will have to fill you in what happened there, er, Hokage-sama." She said, quickly covering up her informality. "Afterwards we rested at the villa, healing from our injuries. Naruto...he um, even brought in a doctor to tend to us, he talked to us as best he could, and we just recovered and arrived back at the village on schedule."
"I see, well as Hokage I am proud of you four for completing such a mission. Take a few days off to rest and talk what you experienced to your families. I will also inform your sensei of these developments when he returns. You are all dismissed, except for you Naruto."
"As you wish, Hokage-dono." He bade the three Genin a farewell and waited until they hesitantly left, and closed the doors. Naruto stood straight, his form rigid, but also relaxed.
"You have a private villa in Hot Springs Country?" Hiruzen skeptically asked.
"Well Shishio-san did, I just inherited it after he perished." Naruto shrugged in response. When the Hokage gave him a stern gaze, he sighed out and repeated himself. "In a underhanded sense, he left no will for his properties, bank accounts, or other goodies he stored away. I spent an entire year trying to legally, or illegally recover most of his stuff."
"That sounds more right coming from you than I even care to mention." The Sandaime sighed out before rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Just write out what happened during the mission and hand it into the mission hall."
"No questions? Like why I left to fight the eldest brother, or what I did with their heads?"
"I will take it in writing." Hiruzen then snapped his attention towards him now, his face deadly serious. "Now we need to have a serious talk."
That honestly did not sound good, it actually caused Naruto to visibly gulp. "Yes...yes of course. What is it?"
"Well first off, I involved the police in this...scheme of yours. Already this Black Mask character has caused more harm than good by eliminating the Yakuza. This created a power vacuum and the Hishimanji Guren Gang and Ronin taking whatever they can. It wasn't until the Hishimanji Guren Gang tried attacking your building did I decide to do something about it." The Hokage started out, his face never changing. "The only casualties were the gang members, Zabuza and his company made sure the property was not damaged."
"Good, the last thing I want are setbacks." Naruto sighed out in relief. "Is that all?"
"You don't seem surprised, don't tell me this was part of your plan."
"Not exactly." The blonde admitted. "Listen, Black Mask does not give a damn about this village, it's shinobi, or its people. He is doing this only because I asked, and gave him a payment he could not refuse to do so. I don't care if the police get involved, this will just make his job that much easier before he eventually disappears."
"But he has killed a good lot of people in my village, guilty or not he has to pay for what he has done. I am sure you understand this, don't you Naruto." The Sandaime dryly said in response.
"We will all pay for what we have done Hokage-dono, in this life or the next." Naruto seriously remarked. "You, me, Black Mask, Kakashi Hatake, Zabuza Momochi...we all have done things that we are not proud of. And there are plenty of people who would want us to pay for what we have done, and if life was fair we would be hanging on a noose, but life is not fair, is it?"
Hiruzen had to agree with him on that point. When the Nidaime Hokage died from the actions of the Kinkaku Force, he held great resentment for those who survived to tell the tale. As the Sandaime Hokage, he could have exacted vengeance, but for the sake of the village he chose not to. After long years of war, they needed to rebuild what was lost, and have the young men and women sacrificed during the conflict buried, and the younger generation grow up to fill in the shinobi ranks.
The majority of the Senju Clan did not agree with him, but they respected his wishes since their strongest member elected him to be his successor. But even then it was a long process of recovery until the inevitable Third Great Shinobi War broke out, starting the process all over again. Good Kami he felt old just thinking about it.
"Fine, but I will warn you right now. If he is captured, I will deny any involvement with him whatsoever. And I fully expect you to do the same, even if it meant his execution."
"I wouldn't expect it any other way." Naruto replied, mentally patting himself on the back to keep his features neutral. "Now I got some questions regarding Haku, Zabuza, and the Demon Brothers. And my properties, if you will indulge me."
"If it is about them, I will have you know right now that due to their monumental success of keeping Tazuna-san his his workers safe, I have personally eased their probation. As of yesterday they are part of the forces of Konoha, under the protection of the Uzumaki and Sarutobi Clans so no underhanded tactics can be used against them."
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. Truthfully he didn't think they would get off the hook so soon, nor did he expect the Sandaime to mark them under his own clan's protection. "Why...er, forgive me, but why are they under your clans protection as well?"
"Because, I now have three people with the rarest Kekkei Genkai's outside of Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure. Already I have received a threatening letter by the Mizukage to hand all four over, or suffer retaliation. I am fully expecting the Raikage to send in someone to try and kidnap them, and I shall not even get started on the Tsuchikage." Because Kami knew what the old dwarf was planning. "Then there is Sunagakure who has been silent for several years, and finally there are the domestic issues, some shinobi, even my advisers disagreeing with my decision."
"And let me guess, people in the shadows that you don't know about?" The blonde retorted.
"I rather not dignify that with a response." Hiruzen replied. "But this way, having them under my clans protection, along with yours should make anyone think twice in harming, or abducting them for illegal breeding purposes." The old man even gave Naruto a sly look. "After all, I doubt Haku would even allow anyone to touch her other than you."
To Hiruzen's credit, Naruto tried to look as stoic as an Aburame, but he slightly turned his head to the side, showing the older man exactly what the blonde's intentions towards the ice-user was.
"Ahem, well that's good an all. And I thank you for looking out for them, but what about the building, is it complete?" Naruto asked, desperately trying to change the subject.
"Minus some finishing touches, it is ready to live in. All thirty apartments, equipped with electricity, water, and gas." He clasped his hands together, leaning forward a bit. "They are moving onto the rest of the area, rebuilding shops, and other buildings. But why, why exactly did you remake that building into an apartment complex?"
"Because I am going to live there and pay rent as well." Naruto bluntly stated, much to Hiruzen's surprise. "I really got no place to live in this village, no home left to me by my parents, nor anything else. Motels are okay, but not convenient. Plus..." He paused for dramatic effect. "I am thinking of opening it up to other shinobi. Especially the Genin."
Slowly the old Fire Shadow took up his pipe, filled it with his favorite tobacco, and lit it. After several long inhales, he settled back in his chair, curiosity staining his features. "All right, you have my full attention. Explain why you want an apartment that includes Genin."
"Quite frankly Hokage-dono, your Genin are lazy. As far as I have seen, and what Shikamaru has told me they do one, maybe two D-ranked missions a day, and then call it quits after a minor training session. That is unacceptable." The blonde replied, pausing for that to sink in to continue. "Listen, some apartments are not exactly shinobi friendly, the walls are too thin, and the last thing I would want after a hard A-rank mission is some little bastard next door screaming late into the night, disturbing my much needed sleep when my nerves are already shot and patience at its wits-end."
The Hokage honestly couldn't relate. He had lived in his clan compound his entire life, even now he retired there after closing up the office for the evening. The walls were thick, the compound was large, and at least one-hundred of its members were active duty shinobi who knew when to keep quiet. "So where do the Genin come in?"
"Quite simply, it's to offer them a chance to move out on their own, I mean sure Genin can live there but so can Chunin or Jonin. And the place even has a small training ground near it, a weight room, a heavy duty laundry room, and an onsen both outdoor and indoor. Plus I think this could solve your D-rank issues, rent doesn't pay itself after all."
Hiruzen could only lightly nod, truth was while D-rank missions were low level, and low paying, it taught responsibility and built teamwork, which a lot of Genin teams have been lacking lately. And he had been getting complaints from clients whose requests were so backed up that it gave him a headache just thinking about it. "I have to say, I cannot find fault in your logic. But who will be the one to collect the..." When he saw the Hitokiri raise his eyebrow, he had to repress from palming his face. "Naruto, you cannot be a landlord. And no you cannot use an identity either."
"Well who then? I don't trust the civilians with it, especially mine since it could get lost in the mail or whatever." Naruto threw his hands up in reply. "I would love to hear your suggestions."
"My son and his wife will do it."
"I was unaware Asuma had a wife."
"No, my other son." Hiruzen clarified. "Both him, and my daughter-in-law have been working in the Anbu under me for many years. They have a son, Konohamaru who is still in the academy, you might have run into him." (3)
"I don't even recall running into him at all." Naruto shrugged in reply.
"Irregardless, I can assign those two to be the landlords. Provided you have a room to spare to the family of three."
"I made the complex big enough to look like an inn for a reason, three bedrooms and two and a half baths. Large enough for someone to have roommates, or live alone if they want to pay out the ass in the rent." Naruto lightly shrugged in response. "So long as I get a small portion of the rent divided out to me, they and the village can have the rest. It's only fair."
"I think I can arrange that, and only that. Now onto you, I am assigning you to a Genin team." Naruto's relaxed position faltered and for all his grace, flopped onto the floor and he stood up in alarm, much to Hiruzen's amusement. "I see you have problems with that."
"Damn right I do! Hokage-dono, I protest this! I'm your Hitokiri, how am I supposed to serve under you if I gotta take orders from some puffed up Jonin? The crap I still have to do will be cut in half if I have to do missions and team exercises. Plus-"
"That is enough Naruto." Hiruzen stopped him from continuing his rant with a raise of his hand. "This is not up for discussion. People know you are back, and putting you on a team will make this situation less of a hassle for me to reign you in." When he saw a dark look cross the blonde's face he held his hand up again to calm him. "Listen to me, you have shown results. Wonderful results that I cannot even imagine having, and I would be a fool to keep you away from other teams."
"What are your saying? You're assigning me to a team, but you're also wanting to place me on other teams." Squinting his eyes to the point they were fox-like, Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
"I am thinking of having Genin go on higher class missions. For example, if it is a B-ranked mission, I can send two Genin squads, it will maximize the experience that I need for my shinobi. And it will keep their Jonin sensei's in top shape." Hiruzen simply replied.
Whoa, Naruto did not know what to do, he never anticipated this scenario happening. It wasn't exactly revolutionary, but it was however ingenious, and effectively trapping him. Thankfully he kept himself calm, and saw the bigger picture the old Fire Shadow was going for. "Fine, fine, fine you win. I'll do this. But I need at least a week to do a few things okay? I need some information that needs to be gathered and then I will be ready. How does that sound?"
"You have three days." Hiruzen replied, leaving no room for negotiation from the tone of his voice. "You have three days to do whatever errands you need to be done, then you are to go to Training Ground Seven at seven in the morning. No sooner, no later, do you understand me?"
'Team Seven? Double fuck!' He mentally thought. "I understand Hokage-dono." He actually said. "I will head to the apartment to begin settling in. I hope Haku and the other three are settling there as well."
"I assume to keep any gang members away?"
"And for company." Naruto lightly protested.
'Yes, company. I see where your mind is heading.' The old Kage mentally thought. "All right, I think I can draw up some papers for all of you to legally live there. You can squat for a few days, but I do need you to sign the leases."
"Fair enough Hokage-dono. I take my leave now." Lightly bowing, Naruto took his leave through the door to write out the mission report, and do what needed to be done before he was to meet with Team Seven three days hence.
"Oh Kakashi, I hope you can handle him." Hiruzen lightly said to himself before getting back to his by now lighter stack of paperwork. He noticed something amiss between the stacks of paper and pulled it out. It had no address, but a simple picture of a black skull on it that said 'Open me'.
The old Fire Shadow did not hesitate to do so.
(The Mission Hall – Roughly ten minutes later)
The years had not exactly been kind to Iruka Umino. His brown hair that he kept in a ponytail had several lines of gray going through it, his dark eyes were more tired and a scar that ran across the bridge of his nose seemed to have deepened even further with age.
The Chunin unfortunately held the title: The only survivor of the Academy Massacre. When Naruto disappeared from the village he was happy, the beast that killed his parents was gone. He taught a class of advanced students back then, left his best friend Mizuki in charge of them while he went out to get some supplies for the classroom, and when he returned he saw the walls painted red with their blood.
The sight had haunted him for many years, his young students having their throats cut wide open, bodies stabbed, their heads crushed, and Mizuki having many defensive wounds before ultimately dying with his entire body crucified to the chalkboard.
Almost immediately afterwards people looked for someone to blame, and unfortunately for him the families of those thirty children turned towards him. From the civilian families, to well respected clans began pointing fingers, accusing him of being an inside man to actively participating in it. He was taken in by the Anbu, and Inoichi Yamanaka himself probed his mind to find any answers. The man managed to prove his innocence, but his reputation did take a large hit and had yet to recover.
The Patriarch of the Yamanaka Clan, bless his incredible talents, had helped him to a great degree. He helped him with his mental trauma, and his past issues with the Kyuubi Jinchuriki and went into the reserves for three years, mentally recovering from the survivors guilt, and to try and forgive himself for what he could have prevented. At least that was what he said to himself every day back then. (4)
He still taught at the academy, on weekends he spent a few hours in the mission hall handing out scrolls for some extra pay. He even did missions to keep his skills from going rusty, his mind ever alert. And to take his mind off of the incident.
The sound of foot steps snapped him out of his thought, and he looked up to regard the visitor, only for his eyes to widen. Iwa and Kumogakure clothing, spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, sword at his side, and of course the infamous whisker marks. "N-naruto Uzumaki." He breathed out. By Kami the rumors were true.
"Uh, hello." Naruto greeted the Chunin. Raising his hand he set a mission scroll in front of him. "I'm just turning a mission in for Team Ten, I think I got everything important written down. If you want to look it over, I wouldn't say no...it's my first time doing this after all."
"Oh sure." At his first impression, Iruka found the wayward Jinchuriki to be professional. Odd, considering the least time he saw him, he was a prank-happy brat seeking attention. Picking up the scroll, he read over it, his eyes widening with the level of detail. Not even most Jonin went this far with their mission reports. "This is impressive, I might just have to use this to create example letters."
"If you do, go ahead, I don't mind." Naruto shrugged in response. "Say, is it all right if I do a mission by myself?"
That certainly threw him for a surprise. "Normally I would say no, but since you were the one to write this out I would say there wouldn't be anything holding you back. Unless Hokage-sama says otherwise. Please hold on a moment." Leaning over to a com unit he pressed the button to page the Hokage. "Pardon me Hokage-sama, this is Iruka Umino from the mission hall. I got Naruto Uzumaki in front of me."
"Yes, is there a problem Umino-san?" The Hokage asked from the other line.
"I don't think so, he just wants to do a mission by himself. I just read the report he gave me, and I figured to ask you first."
"I don't see why not, just keep it within the village. Is that understood?"
"Yes, thank you Hokage-sama." Taking his finger off the button he turned towards a bored looking blonde. "Well you heard him. So what do you want mission related? I must warn you though I can maybe get you a C-rank if you want it."
"If I cannot get a C-rank then hand over two dozen D-rank ones." Naruto simply said.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Iruka asked in surprise.
"Two dozen D-rank missions please, preferably ones that need to be done asap. And if you aren't pulling my leg and have a C-rank mission, then I will take that too." The blonde swordsman repeated himself in an even tone.
Looking at the clock seeing that it was only 3:30 the Chunin had doubts, severe doubts about this, but he went to the D-rank section that was damn near to overflowing with missions and pulled two dozen out at random before settling them in front of him, forgoing the C-rank mission because of the two dozen Naruto was doing. "Are you sure you want this?"
"No, but I have to start somewhere." Naruto sighed out before taking the scrolls. He stuffed roughly half of them into his hip pouches, and tucked the rest under his arms. "I'll be back be nightfall, thank you Umino-san." Lightly bowing his head, he walked away.
Iruka was left blinking in his chair, his feelings completely mixed. He had not thought about the boy in many years, and when rumors of him being back he didn't know what to feel. But now seeing him in person, he still couldn't answer if he liked the boy of not.
"Guess I will have to just see where you go from here then." He remarked to himself.
When Naruto left the mission hall, the first thing he did was set the scrolls down. The second thing he was was the Shadow Clone Jutsu creating exactly two dozen clones.
"All right, I got two dozen D-rank missions here. Now I know none of you like the thought of them, because I personally do not. But we need to build up our money again, and there won't be any bounty hunting anytime soon, or the high class missions either. So I am gonna assign you all one scroll each, get it done, make sure it's signed, return it to the mission hall. And no randomness okay?"
"Yea."
"Fine."
"Sure."
"Whatever."
"I don't give a damn."
Knowing those were probably the best responses he was going to get, Naruto handed his clones their respective scrolls. Some had the privilege to pull weeds, others to paint a fence, others to do other odd jobs, while the very grouchy one was forced to cut down some trees. After they left, and sprinting to their locations, the original made his way towards the slums.
Or what used to be the slums. Because when he got there he saw the apartment complex was beyond his expectations, it was definitely well built, large to the point he actually thought it was an inn, brand spanking new with white paint, solid doors with numbers on them, two floors, tiled shingles, and well crafted wooden stairs and railings.
The area around it was also shaping up, the building next to it has several of Tazuna's workers repairing the caved in roof, while a few others were looking over blue prints, and at least a dozen getting to work in tearing down and cleaning the small building next to it.
And to top it all off there were being watched over by Zabuza, with Kubikiribocho on his back, his arms crossed and Leaf hitai-ate diagonally resting on his head.
Before Naruto could call out to the man, a pair of slender arms wrapped around him, and two soft mounds pressed into his back. He did not go for his sword, nor did he try to attack the offender. Instead he placed his hands on hers and said. "Hey Haku."
"Welcome home Naruto-sama." Haku greeted him with a smile that he could not see, but could certainly feel. "Was your mission a success?"
"It was, and I'll be getting my pay for it soon. What about you? How has Konoha been treating you?"
"It has been wonderful, it feels refreshing to now sleep without one eye open, or look over my shoulder every minute on the hour." She softly replied. "We've been guarding Tazuna-san during our stay, and Hokage-sama rewarded us with our citizenship and protection. He is even paying us for a B-ranked mission until the project is done."
"Well that was generous of him." Naruto said, once again mentally thanking the old Kage for all he had done. He would repay the man in spades if he had to, even if it meant putting up with Team Seven for a little while. "Haku, mind telling me where Tazuna is. I got to ask him a few things."
"He should be in apartment number thirty finishing up some paining. It's on the very south side of the complex on the second floor."
"Thank you. Mind getting a key and wait for me in apartment number nine?"
"As you wish Naruto-sama. It's on the eastern end, you can't miss it." Haku gave the back of his neck a kiss, and lightly smiled when she felt him tense up in surprise and left him to talk with the old bridge builder.
While Naruto watched the beautiful ice-user walk away, he lightly felt the back of his neck, and his heart beating like a drum. "First Megumi, now Haku. Geeze who's next?" He said to himself, not knowing at that same instance two certain kunoichi sneezed at the exact same time.
Brushing off his paranoia Naruto pumped the smallest amount of chakra into his legs and jumped towards the second floor, lightly landing on the railing and then slowly stepping onto the walkway he made his way south to apartment number thirty.
"Well it seems you can do more that just try and kill a defenseless bridge builder. You can also paint too!" He heard Tazuna's familiar voice.
"Oh screw off you old bastard, you're never going to let that go are you?" That was definitely Meizu's voice.
"Shut up little brother. He has every right to be pissy at us so just grin it an bare it." Ah Gozu, the voice of reason out of the twins.
"We're not getting paid enough for this shit!" And back to the hot-headed little brother.
Naruto opened the door to interrupt the inevitable shit storm which would undoubtedly involve a ton of lumps and maybe lacerations. "All right that's enough, okay you two head out I need to talk...to..." He stopped head in his tracks when he saw the sight before him, both Demon Brothers, infamous assassins were covered in tan paint. "What the shit?"
"Um, I can explain?" Gozu said.
"I'm sure you can. Come on you two get out of here I need to talk to Tazuna alone." After the brothers left, both their heads hanging in shame, Naruto looked at the old bridge builder. "Do I even want to know what happened?"
Tazuna barely kept a smirk off his face. "No, you really do not. Now what can I do for you?"
"Just seeing your work, and honestly I am impressed."
"Ah, this is nothing compared to building a bridge. Though I have to admit I found something odd about the apartment complex." Tazuna replied, scratching the back of his neck. "Every room is the same. Three bed, two and a half bath, a moderate kitchen and living room area, but apartment number nine had me scratching my head."
"But did you do it anyways?" Naruto pressed him.
"Yea, I built that secret wall-thing in one of the bedrooms. It didn't jeopardize anything, but I'm still wondering why it's there."
"Well I'm no builder, but I think that just might be a small storage area for the person who will run the place." The blonde shrugged in reply. "But as long as the walls are thick and soundproof I think that can be forgiven."
"Yea, yea. I know, you shinobi like your privacy so the walls have to be super thick to keep any sound from bugging you. Or at least your neighbors." Tazuna waved his hands in a dismissive fashion. It was too above his pay grade to care what happened behind the walls after he built them, none of his business anyways. "So is that all you want to know?"
"Yea, after all I think you are having a little too much fun with the four assigned to guard you."
Tazuna did not confirm, nor deny this accusation. He could take or leave the Demon Trio, but Haku was a delight to be around. After biding the older man a goodbye Naruto retreated to apartment number nine.
After dropping to the ground floor, and then jumping onto the second level of the apartment complex, landing right in front of apartment number nine. Finding the door unlocked he went in and was greeted by Haku looking about the room.
"I like how Tazuna-san built this place, it's very roomy, a bit plain though." Haku pleasantly said.
"Yea I know, we should invest in some furniture." Naruto lightly replied.
"We?" Haku asked in surprise.
"Well I doubt you're going to stay with Zabuza or the bozo brothers." Naruto plainly remarked. "Besides, knowing you I bet you will insist in staying with me. And if those three protest I bet you would freeze their asses to the ceilings."
"I cannot confirm, nor deny this." The ice-user said with a smile. "I promise to be good to you."
"Haku, you have always good to me. I could never ask for a better person in my life, but you're more than just a tool for me to use, you, Zabuza, Gozu, Meizu...Kami help me you have gone beyond what I have asked for."
"That's because you did the same thing for us."
"I know." Naruto cupped her chin with his gloved right hand, tilting it up so he could look squarely into her dark-brown eyes. "And I am going to keep my promise, Mizugakure will fall. It may not be by my hand, but with all the money you made as mercenary ninja, my own personal funds, and connections left to me. But I promise you that one day you will be able to go back to your homeland, and you will be able to give your mother a proper burial."
Haku gave him a sad smile and closed her eyes, melting into his touch. "I think my mother would have loved you."
"This is the first time I heard someone say that." He said before taking his hand away. "Come, it's time that I show you something that I have shown no one else."
The duo then made their way towards what would eventually be Naruto's bedroom, large and unassuming, the walls a light tan color. However he went over to the far section, and pressing his hands against it, lightly tapping until a hollow sound resonated from it. "There we go." He then hit it with his fist and the wall gave way, collapsing and sliding to the left, leaving a large space several inches deep, twenty-five feet high and wide.
Haku curiously tilted her head to the side. "You knew that was there?"
"I made sure it was built just for what I am going to show you." Reaching into his hip pouch, the blonde pulled out a pure black scroll. Unlike the bloody scroll he used to store the heads of his bounties in, or the green one for documents, this one was probably the most valuable thing in his possession. Setting it on the ground he unrolled it to reveal several folders, Hoji's little black book, and several folded pieces of paper along with sticky notes.
"Is that a map?" Haku asked.
"Of the entire shinobi continent." Naruto replied, taking up the map and unfolded it, and unfolded it, and continued unfolding it until it was just the exact size of the hidden compartment in the wall. Creating a single shadow clone, they then pinned the map to the wall, and then began the long process of pinning various pictures, notes, and connecting them with thumbtacks and red string.
The ice-kunoichi crossed her arms under her chest, looking on in wonderment. "You're looking for someone aren't you?"
"Yea, I've been searching for almost six years." He said, pinning Aoi Rokusho's picture from the Bingo Book in Amegakure right next to Hanzo the Salamander's and then crossed them out with a big red X before stamping a sticky note between them that read 'Part of the attack, connections to the Man in Black?'
"So who is this man in black, is he an old enemy of yours?"
"He's a new target, and possibly the one behind all the shit in my life." Naruto replied after pinning a photo of Gato in Wave Country, and gleefully crossing it out with a big red X, then stamping a thumb tack in his forehead and wrapping some red string around it. "Tell me something Haku, have you ever heard of a man named Shishio Makoto?"
"I can't say that I have." Haku honestly said.
"Well that's no surprise, Shishio-san and his group mostly kept to the shadows. The succession of the two recent Hot Springs Daimyo's in the past decade; that was him. The assassination of the Fang Country Daimyo ending the civil war with Claw Country; you're looking at the guy who did it. The Explosion Corps leak; once again it was me. Plus there have been dozens, if not hundreds of other instances that have suddenly happened without warning."
"Amazing, I'm actually impressed that he was able to do so much in such a short period of time. Granted he also had you to rely on."
"Flattery will get you everywhere." Naruto said with a brief smile on his face. "But it wasn't just me. Shishio-san had an elite group called the Juppongatana. Ten of the most vicious fighters I have ever seen, and I was taught by most of them."
"Where are they then, if you don't mind me asking." Haku slowly made her way up to the map when Naruto landed in front of it.
"Dead, when I was ten a collision of villages attacked up. Amegakure, Sunagakure, Hoshigakure and I know there were a few Iwagakure and Kumogakure shinobi as well." Naruto pointed out the picture of Hanzo the Salamander. "As far as I know the three main ones were Hanzo the Salamander, Akahoshi and Joseki. And all three are dead now, two on the day of the attack and one killed by the so-called God of Amegakure. But there is something missing, there were individuals in black cloaks and white masks, and ones dressed in grey garb with musical notes on their haitai-ate's. That leaves two more factions that I do not yet know about." The blonde then pointed towards a picture of Gato. "But now thanks to that midget, I know of two more people that will give me answers before I kill them."
"Doto Kazahana and Kanryu Takeda." Haku lightly pursed her lips. "Isn't Doto the Daimyo of Snow Country?"
"Yep. And also the one who helped bring the country into a highly technological age. Volley guns, airships and the like. Now I do not recall seeing any of his shinobi during the attack, but he is on my shit list." He growled out before clenching his fists. "I will get to him soon, and I will make him talk."
"Easy now, you're no good getting worked up." Haku placed her hand on his shoulder to calm him.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Naruto slowly calmed himself down. After several minutes he lightly chuckled due to his clones dissipating, apparently Iruka was losing his mind from his clones turning in their missions, the funny part was he didn't know they were clones. "All right tell you what, how about I give you some money, a sealing scroll, and you can do some shopping for the place."
"Are you sure you don't want to come with me, it's your place as well."
"As much as I want to my visit was only for a few minutes." He lightly sighed out. Three days was all he had to get his personal business done, that was not even remotely the amount of time he wanted. "The work of a shinobi is never done, especially with what I got in my back pocket. I should be home by seven and help you with the furniture."
Haku frowned for a brief moment, but then replaced it with a pleasant smile. "All right Naruto-sama, don't keep me waiting now."
"I'll try not to." Reaching into his pouch he pulled out his entire wallet and pulled out more than enough cash for her to purchase some furniture, foodstuffs and whatever else was needed. A simple sealing scroll came next. "Thanks Haku."
"Just hurry back okay?" Without another word, but a smile never leaving her face Haku left him to go do what was needed to make their stay comfortable. Naruto left a few minutes later after hiding his map of connections, there was no damn way anyone else was going to see it.
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle a bit. His clones had more or less completed his list of D-rank missions in two hours, Iruka was pulling his hair and muttering that he was making everyone look bad. The memories from the clones were mediocre at best, after all pulling weeds, painting and chopping wood was mighty interesting.
The only abnormal things were the villagers, they all got glares, and some sneers from the bolder ones. Even now as he was walking he was getting them, but also he was getting wayward glances out of fear, before they dissipated his clones heard rumors and whispers of his exploits from the mouths of the common folk. From making a inferno in the sky during his mission in Wave Country, to killing a council member.
He knew that they wanted to try something against him, and he would have loved to have seen them try. He wanted them to weep in horror, just like they did to him as a kid. But they couldn't, now that he was a shinobi it was a federal crime to attack him without any reason or cause. But on the other hand he couldn't do the same to them, and if they did attack him he would have to re-frame from killing them and instead incapacitate them for a trial.
Sometimes politics and laws sucked when it didn't work in your favor.
Before he could mentally recall anymore laws that he could try and make a loophole first he was assaulted by a smell. But not just any smell, it was a familiar smell that he had nearly forgotten, and his stomach that was trained to not betray his hunger let out a very familiar, very angry growl of gluttonous hunger.
An uncharacteristic smile came to his face when he realized what he had just rediscovered. "Ichiraku Ramen."
Konoha was then briefly terrorized by a blonde blur as Naruto bounded towards the source of the smell. He jumped onto roofs, dashed through alleyways, and even bounded down the streets. It was stupid to get excited over ramen, this Naruto knew, but it was one of the few places that accepted him when he was a kid. The Ichiraku's fed him when he had no money, sheltered him when he was down on his luck, why they even scraped together some money to buy him proper clothing. And if he was being honest with himself he wanted to experience the nostalgia before he was trained by Shishio and became what he was today. Just a little bite of innocence that was all he wanted.
But when he arrived at his destination Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wide in horror, and his right eyebrow twitching madly.
The ramen stand had changed. Gone were the white flaps that had their logo in red, they were replaced with blues ones with yellow letters. And it was not just a stand anymore, the place was bigger, much bigger like restaurant bigger. The walls that were once made of clay were replaced with wood, and even their house attachment looked much bigger than what he remembered.
"What the hell happened here?" He said to himself, squinting his eyes to look at the sign before reeling back in shock. "A Tsukemen Shop? What the hell is going on here?"(5)
Naruto then entered the shop hellbent on finding some answers for the horse shit he was seeing. The place was large, but plain in appearance. There were twenty tables packed to the brim with civilians and shinobi alike, and counter area where he always used to sit that allowed him to look into the kitchen. He did not like it, it was too drastic of a change but before he could open his mouth he spotted the two people who managed to make his life less of a living hell.
Teuchi Ichiraku had not changed a bit, even if the man was nearing the age of fifty. The man was just as jovial as he remembered, always having a smile on his face, along with always closed eyes as well. He wore a white chef's apron, robe and hat always free of any stains despite working with messy food.
Then there was Ayame. She had not changed a bit, still slender with long, dark brown hair and large black eyes, and fair skin. She still wore a white robe with the sleeves folded, a dark blue apron with ribbon ties at the top and a bright white bandanna.
"Ah, hello there. Dine in or take out?" Teuchi greeted him.
"...Dine in." Naruto quietly replied.
"Excellent. Come a stool just opened up. Now tell me what are you in the mood for? Ramen or tsukemen?" The older man asked as he guided him towards the counter area of the restaurant.
"Ramen of course, it's the best in the village."
"Haha! A boy after my own heart. I feel the exact same way, but my daughter twisted my arm into adding more to our menu after the expansion." Teuchi sighed in response to that. "She honestly has not been the same since our favorite customer disappeared."
"Favorite customer?" He parroted.
"Yea." Getting behind the counter as Naruto took his seat, Teuchi had to blink several times when he saw what looked like a specter of a younger blonde take his place. "Man I must be getting old, but anyways what can I get you to eat?"
Naruto looked at the menu, and honestly everything looked great, even if he was not a giant fan of tsukemen. He lightly scratched his chin that was hidden by his scarf, and the only reason Teuchi didn't outright recognize him. He then spotted something that caused him to tilt his head to the side. "What exactly is the Naruto Special?"
"Oh Kami boy you don't want that!" Teuchi said in alarm, but the damage was already done and the two chefs in the kitchen, two dimwits by the looks of them froze up, and even Ayame looked towards him in alarm, and narrowed eyes. "That is supposed to feed up to forty people, and besides that dish is usually to celebrate something given how expensive it can be."
"And let me guess, it's named after your favorite customer?" He coyly remarked. "Well I'll have it anyways. My stomach has a craving that has been neglected for a long time now."
Teuchi looked at him, really looked at him now. "No, you're not saying what I think you're saying are you?"
"Hmph, do you even have to ask?" Naruto asked before lowering his scarf to reveal his whiskered and scarred cheeks. "After all who else can bankrupt you with his appetite alone?"
Naruto was immediately hugged by a certain brown-haired waitress, and watched the owner of the store placed his hands on the counter to hold himself up. "You're really back, I honestly cannot believe it." And then just as suddenly the blonde was beamed upside the head, causing him to come crashing to the floor violently. "Why didn't you come here sooner!" An enraged Ayame shouted, her right hand now holding a very dented frying pan.
"Ow." The swordsman lowly groaned out and stood up rubbing the side of his head that had a comical knot on it. "Well lets see, first I had to take a mission from the Hokage, then I had to take another one after that. So sorry for me being busy otherwise I would have come sooner." He flat out lied.
The main reason he didn't come earlier was simple. He had changed, drastically if he was honest with himself. He did not want them to see him this way, not with dull eyes or his marred skin. Truth be told he wanted them to remember him the way he was, and not what he is.
But he was once again hugged by Ayame, making a spectacular scene out of herself. "I'm just glad you're back. You had us worried sick."
"Well I'm not going anywhere for a long while." Again he lied, and damn him for doing so. "So you will see me more often than not. So...how about that ramen?"
Ayame lightly smiled and pulled away from him. "You think you can handle all of that food?"
"Ayame you underestimate the power of my stomach." (6)
(Konohagakure – Slums Area)
While Naruto was having his pleasant reunion with the Ichiraku family, and beginning to fill his stomach with their food of the Gods. Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, using the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as a unassuming male walked the streets in an investigation of his own.
The old man had passed the site where Tazuna was rebuilding the place, and even he had to admit it brightened the place up. Old dilapidated buildings were getting a second chance at being used for what they were meant for, and even the residents that he had passed seemed to be brightening up at the new addition, many were even hoping they would come around their areas to fix things up.
It honestly made the old Fire Shadow glad that his village was getting what it deserved, but he couldn't mask the disappointment in himself for allowing it to happen in the first place. As far as he remembered the village was always pristine and new, but then The First and Second Great Shinobi Wars came around. The money that helped maintain the village was funneled into their military, causing his sensei; the Nidaime Hokage after his brother died during the first war to create the Civilian Council as an emergency to look after civilian affairs while the shinobi went off to war.
What was meant to be something temporary backfired and bit him in the ass later on. After his sensei died to save the lives of him, Danzo and their teammates, he became the Sandaime Hokage. But unlike the first two before him, he was inexperienced in politics at the time, extraordinarily wet behind the ears and not ready for such a responsibility. The war had ended but so much needed to be rebuilt, their population needed to get back to the way it used to be, field promotions needed to be granted to outstanding individuals, and so he foolishly kept the Civilian Council just so he could work on fixing everything that was lost.
But then The Third Great Shinobi War began, and all that was rebuilt was lost again. And the village was getting the short end of the stick by then. He had hoped that his successor, the Yondaime Hokage, and Naruto's father could finish what he tried to start. But that was not meant to be, the Kyuubi attacked, killing Minato and Kushina, not to mention his own wife; Biwako, leaving him back in charge and making even more sacrifices. A good portion of the village was rebuilt, but not all of it, leaving the slums worse than ever. Oh he had tried to do his best, but money was always the issue.
It was only thanks to Naruto, his miracle, or nightmare at times that it was finally happening. Sure it was slow going, and not at all how he pictured it happening, but he was getting results, and that was more than what he accomplished in his many decades as Hokage.
But now onto exactly why he was out in disguise. Earlier he got a message from Black Mask, the criminal Naruto hired wanted a face to face in the ruins of the Pink Flamingo. Apparently it was the building that was under demolition and the murder spot of Yuuji Satou; the Civilian Council member who laundered money from various businesses and the village itself.
He arrived at the destination, slipping inside the condemned building thanks to his shinobi skills the God of Shinobi waited.
And he waited.
And waited some more.
"You're a patient one, aren't you Hiruzen Sarutobi?" An unfamiliar voice practically whispered into his ear.
Dropping his jutsu and standing in his full Hokage robed, Hiruzen turned his head towards the direction of the voice. "So you came alone, that's pretty brave knowing who you called out."
"I know of your reputation." Black Mask said, walking out of the shadows to reveal himself. "I know that you think before you act, unlike the foolish Raikage who blasts out of his office, causing multiple repairs to it yearly. Or the Mizukage killing off the Kekkei Genkai-users. I still find that odd since he was such a good guy until he abruptly decided to cause mass genocide."
"It seems you have me at a disadvantage. I know you only by your title Godaime Black Mask, but who are you really?"
"Hmph, classified." The underworld boss snickered in response. "Sorry, but once you put on this mask, you cut the ties to your old life forever, I have no name, no family, no identity, just Black Mask."
"Odd, Naruto commented that he was the Yondaime Black Mask. And yet here he is." Hiruzen replied.
"He was there for only a month, taking what he needed before giving it to me." Black Mask lightly scoffed in reply. "I don't mind it, the kid only asks for my resources, and pays top dollar for them. It's only good business after all."
"Is that the reason you called me out here? To discuss business?" Hiruzen demanded.
"Right on the nosey, listen I know about your attack dog. Saito was it, about how he took out the Hishimanji Guren Gang?" He mockingly clapped at the man, grinning a horrible smile. "I must say, that was good work Hokage-san, it's making my job a whole lot easier."
"And what is your job?" The Hokage demanded. "All you have done was caused chaos and murder."
"All apart of the plan. Listen, and no offense but I could give two rats asses about your village, or your affairs. I'm just here to do a job for Uzumaki and I'll be on my way, that said I would like to lend a hand so I can get out of here further."
"You're...offering a deal?"
"Well it certainly isn't a bowl of ramen. Listen I got a little birdie that told me about some corrupt police officers. And oh boy I thought some of my underlings were heartless. Bribes aplenty, covering up investigations, I think one even outright murdered a few people." Black Mask smiled, and reached into his trench coat he pulled out a large envelope. "I've been gathering information since my arrival, breaking a few arms and cutting a few throats to get them. And it all can be yours to give to that police chief...for a price."
That nearly caught Hiruzen off guard. That was the reason no one had heard from Black Mask since his debut? "What sort of price?"
"Quite simply, immunity if I am somehow caught, and a finger in the village." Black Mask lightly moved his hand up and down tauntingly.
"And have more criminals in my village. No I will never take the deal!"
"Tsk, you're thinking about this all wrong. I said a finger, that means only one person. Just a random smuck to set up the smallest connection for my favorite customer when I am gone." The criminal retorted in an even voice. "It's only business after all."
Hiruzen was silent for the longest time, openly glaring at the criminal standing in front of him. His offer was reasonable, and by now he knew his favorite customer was Naruto himself. "Before I make a decision tell me one thing. What is your end game for this job Naruto hired you for?"
Black Mask cracked a gruesome smile and began cackling. "There is no end game Hokage-san. I was just told to clean up the slums area, take over operations, and collect disposable pawns. But I cannot do business in your village, far too many shinobi and police officers after I hand you this. I'm just going to kill the last of those corrupt council members you got; unless your attack wolf gets to them first, dispatch half the Ronin, maybe make them betray each other, that'll leave your wolf to clean up half of them, while the rest just..." He paused, trying to find the right word to say regarding his plan. "I guess take the fall in my place, and no one will see hide nor hair of me in this village ever again."
Hiruzen wrinkled his nose in distaste. He didn't like it, but he was a shinobi as well, just like this Black Mask character if his instincts were right. The old Fire Shadow brought his right hand out to accept the folder. "You have a deal then, and I hope this will be the last time we ever meet."
Black Mask only smirked, his cruel red eyes gleaming in the darkness as he handed the old shinobi such damning evidence. "I feel the same way Hokage-san, it's just such bad business working in a shinobi village." (7)
It would be a few hours later before Naruto exited Ichiraku's Ramen, that what he was going to call it dammit, not the Tsukemen Shop Ayame forced her father to rename. He ate the special named after him, all of it, all forty bowls, much to the awe and disgust of his fellow customers in under thirty minutes.
The rest of the time he sat and talked to Teuchi and Ayame. One would think it would be awkward talking to people one had not seen in almost ten years. And you would be right. It was extremely awkward, especially when he was given a hard time when he didn't come to see them sooner. But it was pleasant enough after a bunch of lying on his part. Hell he even paid for his ramen, and even reimbursed them for all the free meals they gave him as a kid, it was only fair after all, even if it did put a massive dent in his wallet.
Eventually though he had to leave, it was near nine in the evening, all his clones finished their missions hours earlier; much to Iruka's dismay, and much to Naruto's enjoyment. Granted this diversion prevented him from doing what needed to be done, he didn't get into contact with Black Mask, or do proper research like he promised Shikamaru, and now he only had two days left to do it.
But he brushed it all off once he reached the apartment complex. "Hmm, I think it needs a name." He remarked to himself. Granted the place was not open for the general population just yet, ironically he figured that it would be open around the same time he was placed on Team Seven.
After opening the door that was thankfully unlocked, the blonde was greeted by an array of blue and white furniture. A light blue rug covered the wooden living room area that had a blue couch with white trimmings resting across a brown coffee table. A similar love seat to the left of it and chair opposite of it. And dark blue curtains to cover the windows. He also noticed a par of sandals were at the entrance, showing that Haku was home.
The kitchen was fully stocked, the cabinets and fridge that were empty were filled to the brim with assorted food stuffs and tableware. Milk, eggs, vegetables, various meats, alcoholic beverages in decanters, cereal. Then there was the plates, glasses along with pots and pant, not to mention silverware. This honestly surprised Naruto at how meticulous Haku was, he didn't even know he needed half the stuff hanging in his kitchen.
He then made his way to one of the bedroom and opened it, to his surprise he only found a simple blue futon in it. The second one was empty, it was something he found odd, very odd. When he checked the final room; his room to be exact, Naruto's eyes widened and he had to actually step back to get the full view.
It was more or less filled to the brim, his new bed on the opposite end of the room took up the entire wall space with just enough room on the sides for him to climb in. A dresser on the left side, and closet space filled to the brim with brand new battle and regular kimono's. And there was even a familiar decorative Hunter-nin mask hanging on the wall near the door.
Before he could question anything about the room, Naruto felt a familiar pair of slender arms wrap around him, and two very familiar soft mounds pressing against his back. Dammit! How was she able to do that without him noticing? "Good evening Haku." He evenly greeted his new roommate.
"Good evening, Naruto-sama." Haku greeted him from behind. "You're surprisingly late. Did you get held up?"
"You could say that, I kind of ran into some people that meant a lot to me when I was a kid and lost track of time. I didn't even get what I needed to done this evening." He honestly replied. "I'm sorry that you had to move the furniture by yourself."
"It's okay, I had Gozu and Meizu do that for me." The ice-user lightly giggled. "You would be surprised how handy they can be."
"Yea, they are full of surprises, from having actual Kekkei Genkai's to manual labor." Naruto dryly replied. He was not upset about not knowing the former, oh no, not at all. "By the lack of another bedroom, and all your stuff in here, I assume you want to share it with me?"
"That will not be a problem will it?" Haku genuinely asked.
"No, not at all." Surprisingly he was okay with this, it felt better than waking up alone. Especially with someone he trusted. "You sure picked a large bed for two people though." He lightly remarked.
"It was an impulse buy." Haku admitted with a mischievous smile. "I figured we could use the room."
"Please tell me that you're wearing a nightgown at least."
"I am, I hope you approve." With her arms falling away to free him Naruto turned around to see her clad in nothing but a baby blue nightgown that clung to her slender frame, stopped at the middle of her thighs that showed off her shapely legs, and exposing a modest amount of cleavage. It certainly brought out her pale skin, and large dark-brown eyes, and even her long black hair was out of its usual bun holder, cascading past her shoulder blades while two locks fell loose framing her heart-shaped face.
"Damn." Naruto certainly approved of her choice in nightwear.
"Thank you, Naruto-sama." Haku gave him a warm smile before taking note of his appearance. "I will wait for you after you finish showering. Everything should be in the second bathroom for you to use."
"Thank you Haku, you're the best roommate ever." The blonde kissed her forehead in appreciation and went towards the full bathroom.
The bathroom was clean, as could be expected for being brand spanking new. The floor was simply white tiled, the shower/tub mix was quite large, six feet in length, four in width, and deep enough to submerge one's body, and having frosted glass for privacy reasons that went from the tiled floor to the ceiling where a small fan was above them to vent the steam to Kami knew where. There were light blue place mats at the sink, toilet, and shower area.
Naruto noticed there were two toothbrushes at the sink, one blue, the other orange, and the same went for laundry hampers that were blue and orange, and even the towels that were blue and orange respectfully. That caused him to smile in appreciation, a his and hers sort of thing, it was kind of cute. Haku even left him some new black pajama pants for him to wear that night, again best roommate ever.
It didn't take long for him to shower off the ick from that day, dry off with his fluffy orange towel, toss his clothes in the hamper, or brush his teeth either. And clad in the black pajama bottoms he returned to his bedroom to find Haku waiting under the covers for him.
Naruto didn't keep her waiting. Without a word he turned the lights off and got in on the opposite side of the bed and moved his entire body to the middle of the bed. Immediately Haku embraced herself against him, and his response was to wrap his own arms around her.
"Rest well Naruto-sama."
"Rest well Haku."
Armageddon: Aaaaannd another chapter done! And just in time too, whew!
Pvt. Shadowninja: You cut it very close. *He remarked while playing poker with Lt. RasenganFin, Pvt. Fox, and Pvt. DemonShifter*
Sgt. Shadowtrayser: Eh, give the man a break, he excels in action and violent scenes where characters have a death match. In-between stuff is not his exact strong suit.
Armageddon: Eh-hehe, yea I am afraid so. *Nervously rubs the back of his head* I'm trying my best, so folks mind leaving comments about it? I would like to become better if at all possible.
Pvt. Leaf Ranger: I know I will!
Lt. Doom: Of course you will. *He remarked, flicking a cigarette away, lighting up a bottle rocket and shooting it in the air while Pvt. Liquor was desperately, and failing to get drunk on the Fourth of July*
Pvt. VFSNAKE: Well I guess that is all folks, we're gonna be getting hammered this lovely fourth, doing cocaine and shooting guns and fireworks along with the new guy Private Runox!
Pvt. Runox: Uh, hey glad to be here.
Armageddon: Welcome man, and also who the hell brought cocaine in here!? *Cracks his knuckles, and prepares to kick whoever brought illegal substances into his base right in the dick*
Pvt. Superninja: Um, Director Bullock?
Armageddon: Sir Fucking Patrick Stewart?...Well if it's from him I can allow it just this once. *The shouts of hooray echoed throughout the base* Well folks Enjoy your Fourth of July, don't blow off your hands, drink responsively and don't drive under the influence, enjoy a cookout and don't do cocaine, it's a hell of a drug after all. Now onto the numbers!
(1) Yep, I went full alcoholic on you guys. I added in the Prairie Oyster because not only does it help with hangovers; at least in my personal opinion, but it's also a small shutout to Cowboy Bebop, one of the first animes I have ever seen.
(2) All right I did a tad bit of research on the Janin...or Criminal Brothers as I called them. First off my bad for the mess up, and second there is no information regarding where they came from. So Kusagakure was it, mainly because, well, it was the first country that popped into my head.
(3) Now I did some research, and apparently, much to my immense surprise Konohamaru's parents are alive. I checked it out on the wikia and sure enough they are still alive and kicking, but have been in the Anbu for God knows how long. Man no wonder their kid was out of control until Naruto beamed him over the head in both the anime and manga respectively. All three will be seen, but his folks appearance will definitely be made up since I can't find a damn picture of them to save my life.
(4) Before you say anything regarding Iruka, I will confess that I liked the character, even though he didn't get enough screen time. Sure in this story he is not exactly relevant for Naruto's education, but I figured that since Mizuki and a classroom full of kids were killed by Usui, Iruka should definitely be affected somehow. Now I will have him pop up more often than not because, well plot reasons, I cannot say more than that. Sorry-Not sorry.
(5) Hey after being gone for ten years things are bound to change. And you will have to thank the wikia for providing me with this, granted the change was after Pain's attack, but I like the concept of your hometown changing on you after being gone for quite sometime. Heak I know this from personal experience, sometimes it's good, others it's bad.
(6) Now before I get bitched at, which does happen. You know who you are, the Ichiraku's were a great part of Naruto's life, hell they kept him fed even if his growth was stunted because of it. And in almost every story I have read they are always overlooked like Iruka, despite them being a large part of our protagonist's life. I want to try and change that, or at least give them more screen time. Plus...it's kinda hard to get over a food addiction even after not having it for years, God knows how many bottle caps candy I devoured over my lifetime...Er anyways how will the Ichiraku's deal with Naruto's changes? Well tune in to find out.
(7) And reintroducing Black Mask. Okay while I hate DC for what they have done in recent years...no seriously fuck them, we don't need your crap being edgy. We want the 90's God damn Justice League dammit! I always have seen Black Mask as a businessman, granted an underworld businessman. And doing business in a shinobi village is just asking for trouble, he wants out as fast as possible, and frankly so do I so I can further the plot of this story instead of going back and fourth with the domestic aspects of Konoha...well the petty stuff at least.
Side Note: As for Naruto and Haku sleeping together, they got history together, she trusts him, he trusts her, and so they are sleeping in the same bed together as further interaction. And more will come with them, and the few other women I got planned in this story because...yes it is still a harem, but a well thought out one that ain't every girl in the series deciding to jump Naruto's bones and automatically becoming bisexual...that's just not me, all women have different personalities, and will clash with each other, otherwise it makes a story dull and boring if they get along right off the bat.
Update: 7-10-16: Hey ya'll, nothing fancy just doing some minor updating. Took care of some double words, fixed a few spelling errors, and added in a few minor details to touch up the chapter. Enjoy!