As expected, Jiraiya was not pleased when they met up at the gate.
"You guys owe me 30 bucks! Have could you just walk out on me like that!"
Numino smiled back.
"Because we could! Sorry, pervy sage, but just made it so easy!"
"Hey, that's what I call him!" Naruto seemed offended. "You can't use that!"
"I can't help it. That nickname is so perfect! I can't believe I didn't come up with that before! It's genius!"
It was the first time she had praised him, and even though it was a small thing, it felt like this older and more experienced shinobi finally accepted him as an equal.
"Well, it was kind of fitting. He was spying on women the first time I meet him, so I guess it was just first hands impression," the boy smiled.
"How could I get so disrespectful students!" Jiraiya complained to the sky, but no one answered him.
"You chose to train them," was Numino's cold answer. "I wasn't exactly forced a pound you!"
"That's what I get for being so bighearted and training a poor defenseless little boy and girl, when nobody else wanted," Jiraiya exclaimed theatrically. "They don't even appreciate what I did for her or him."
The two blonds exchanged looks, and then proceeded to walk, so they could get some distance from the wining sanin.
Naruto realized that he had just treated this jounin, he thought he didn't like, as a friend. It wasn't an over wining like it used to, when he became friends with people, who were unfriendly in the beginning. Yes, he had saved her. But wasn't that sort of gratefulness or accept. It was more like, they had always known they could get along, but just had to bud heads a pit to get to know each other. Now they were both pleased with the amount strength the other had shown, and stopped before any of them got a headache. It was not like; they would stop jelling at each other. That was their personality. But from now on it was meant as friends.
Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad trip, not for them, but maybe for Jiraiya.
They had been walking for about half an hour, before any of them said anything. That was the time it took for Naruto to formulate a question from the many in his head.
"You know, you must be the first girl I've meet, who doesn't mind going to a hot-spring with Pervy-Sage."
"Your point being," she asked smiling parodying one of their previous conversations.
"Well, why don't you mind? Do you, like… want to be looked at?"
Instead of being offended, Numino broke out laughing, before whispering an answer mischievously:
"The hot-spring we're going to has separated men and women since our dear teacher was there the last time. Seeing his face when he realizes this, will be worth the trip!"
Naruto had to fight to not laugh out loud to. That sight would be priceless!
"You know, you don't act like a grown-up at all!"
She lifted her shoulders a pit.
"Never really had to, I guess. Never wanted to anyway. There is too much responsibility growing up." She smiled a bit. "You're not so mature yourself."
He thought about the remark for a while.
"I just act before I think that's all," he concluded more to himself than to her. "But I want to protect everyone by becoming Hokage, so I don't mind the responsibility."
"Yeah, I heard you had your eyes on that job. A dream worth going for. I myself have never felt the appeal," Numino signed.
"But don't you wanna protect your comrades?!" the boy asked.
"Of course! But have to make all these though decisions at a desk, is a lot different than making those decisions in the field. There is a lot more people depending on you, and it not just about keeping people safe, there is a hell of a lot more to it. I don't know what's best for the village. I know how to get my comrades safe through a warzone, more or less, not decide genin-teams based on each individuals skill. Not to talk about the paperwork!"
"Sounds like you seen that job up close," Naruto noticed, but still seemed thoughtful about what she said.
Numino bid her lip! Of course she had seen it up close. She had seen how complete exhausted her brother was when he came home from his "new job", as she had liked to call it. It had been weird having him as her boss, and she had emphasized that she wanted no special treatment! But she had got an insight into how it all worked. Her friends had teased her that she was her brother's natural successor, and said she better train more. She had been almost frightened by that prospect, even though it was just a joke. But she was not ready to tell the boy all that, not jet!
"I have worked under three of them. I can see how hard it was for them." She tried.
Naruto didn't seem convinced, so she gave him a little more.
"I knew the fourth a little, he was my senior after all. I could see how he got more… serious when he got the job," she lied.
That seemed satisfactory for the kid, and he even looked impressed.
"You mean, he wasn't up for the job?" he asked a little disbelieved, when the other feeling had worn of.
"He was the best for the job, but it was, as I understand, very different from what he was used to," that she meant with every word. She would be the first to keep his memory safe.
She ran her hand through her hair. How did they get to talk about that?
"All, I'm saying, kiddo, is that you should not count me as a rival for the job," she tried to change the topic.
"Thanks, I think…," Naruto answered, and was quiet for a moment before talking again. "But what's your dream then?"
His question came out of nowhere for Numino, and she stopped walking for a moment, before starting to walk again. She then looked to the ground for a few seconds, until she gave her answer:
"I don't want to depend on other people."
"What kind of a dream is that?! We depend on our comrades!"
"That's not what I meant!" she signed and closed her eyes for a moment.
Should she tell him? Well, she trusted him. There were just things he wasn't ready for. So she could explain some of it.
"I had a brother once, and in the war he always had to save my life. When he died there was no one to protect me, so I had to do it myself. I don't want anybody to have to look after me again! Nobody has to risk themselves because of me!"
Numino didn't look at Naruto, so she couldn't see his reaction, and he didn't say anything.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he finally mumbled. "Do you… do you miss him?"
Numino suppressed the urge to laugh, so she only snorted and smile at the boy next to her. His boy.
"You have no idea, kiddo," she answered.
That remark had a bigger impact than she thought.
"No, I don't," he mumbled. "I never had any parents or siblings, so I don't know what it's like to lose someone. I see Sasuske as I brother, but he's not dead, he just… lost."
Numino understood. She knew what it was like to lose a friend, not from death, but from change and rejection.
"You want him to come back and acknowledge you," she said just as much to herself as to him. "You don't want to lose the person he once where, for that's just as bad as him dying. Trust me, you don't want that pain."
Naruto looked at the older woman. It was the first time a grown up would understand, how he felt about Sasuske. Mostly they just wanted him to give up on him. Even Kakashi-sensei sometimes seemed like he wanted Naruto to focus at his other plan to become hokage. Then he realized something about Numinos "dream".
"But that's a promise. You don't have dream!" he exclaimed in a very Naruto-like way.
"What are you talking about?!" Numino lifted an eyebrow.
"Your dream about not depending on anybody but your brother, that's not a dream! That's a promise to your dead brother that you would take care of yourself! So that's not your dream!" he yelled.
Numino stared at him. She first found his words absurd, but then thought about it. Could it be true? But how could he have known? This kid really was something.
She smiled her weird sad smile, when Naruto was starting to get used to.
"I guess… you know, you're a little like him, my brother."
Naruto seemed baffled and flattered for a moment. He didn't know why. He knew nothing about this guy, but somehow he knew that Numinos brother was something, and being compared to him seemed like something really good. He flashed his trademark grin.
"Peace, I guess…," Numino interrupted after biting her lip for a moment.
"What?"
"My dream, then. I want there to be no more wars, ever!"
"Okay…," Naruto mumbled.
"What're you two talking about over there?" Jiraiya interrupted sounding pretty annoyed for being left out of the conversation.
"Oh, we're just making up new nicknames for you, sensei," Numino answered lighthearted, as if they hadn't just been talking about her dead brother.
"If you kids keep going like that, this will be the last time I take any of you to a hot-spring!"
The two students exchanged looks, both wondering if he was serious, and if they should try making his treats real.
Numino had been right.
Jiriayas reaction was priceless. He almost wept when he realized that he would not be able to share the hot spring with women.
Both blond fought hard not to laugh. She kind of felt bad for kiddo. She could burst out laughing, when she entered the women dressing area. He had to follow the old geezer.
When she got into the hot spring, he searched for the biggest crack in fence that divided the genders. She placed her back firmly against the hole to cover her teachers view.
Sure enough she soon heard hers teacher mumble annoyed on the other side of the fence. Numino had to bit her lip not to laugh hearing how easy it was to bother Jiraiya, and also what was to come.
After about ten minutes she slowly and seamlessly moved away from the hole, still with the back pressed against the wall, so Jiraiya could see the other women at the pool, but no her.
It didn't take long for the Sanin to take the bait. Soon he was giggling with joy, and she could almost feel the wall grow warmer, as the man got excited.
This time Numino only waited for about 30 seconds to be sure her master felt safe. Then she acted fast, and carefully not to show any part of her body to the old geezer. She jammed her index finger into hole. She felt her nail hit the eyeball on the other side, and then heard a cry of pain, and a curse of her own name.
Most of the women on her side looked confused and a little concern, but Numino herself felt very satisfied, and took a quick dip in the pool, before going in to the dressing room.
Mission accomplished!
Naruto could only watch as Pevy-Sage jumped around in pain by finger in the eye. He didn't know what to think. Numino had almost been quite cruel, and very devious.
He had never seen a girl act that way. The more shy, like Hinata, would just squirm and blush, if they caught someone spying on them like that. And Sakura would just explode. But Numino set a trap! Clever and calculated.
Finally Jiraiya sat down in the warm water, angrily mumbling about "an ungrateful student" and a hand over one eye.
"That Numino is weird," Naruto said.
"More like malicious and evil," growled the old man. "Where did I go wrong with her?"
"Maybe you shouldn't try to spy on her!" was the answer.
"I was not trying to spy on her! I would never do that!"
"Yeah yeah sure."
Jiraiya was quiet for a moment.
"You know, I have known that girl her whole life! I am old enough to be her father!" he finally said.
"You knew her brother then?" asked Naruto.
The sage seemed a little surprise by that question.
"She mentioned him to you?"
He just nodded.
"What has she said?"
Naruto shrugged.
"Not much. He used to save her a lot, and that he died. Why?"
"It is just, she took his death quite hard, and I didn't think, she would talk about him like that."
He was quiet for a moment, before continuing:
"Yeah, I knew him. A good boy, and gone all too soon. His and Numinos parents also died when Numino was so little. She has lost so much, and jet she still enjoys life. She is one tough cookie! A real fighter. She never gives up on life. I don't think she know how. That's one of reasons I choose to train her. She just can't see her own worth. She thinks, she will always be in her brother's shadow. Even though she meant as much to him, as he did to her, and I am not sure he could still beat her, if he was alive. "
This was the first time Naruto had ever seen Jiraiya show some kind of appreciation of Numino. They had known each other for a long time, and maybe he tough as her as a kind of daughter. To his surprise he felt a little jealous. Pervy-Sage had only shown him attention for a long time, and he had to admit he saw the old man as a relative, maybe even a parent. To see him care for another person as a child was a little hard. But he couldn't hate Numino, actually he somehow liked her more. Numino had been through a lot, but she was still quite positive, or at least she pretended to. He knew about hiding your pain, and never giving up.
He guessed Pervy-Sage had a type of student. He had a feeling it was because, they reminded him of himself, when he was younger, kind off. Did the three of them have a lot in common, despite them seeming very different?
This trip was not as bad as he thought, despite his broken arm.