A/N: I would like to thank everyone that added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter.
"Uzumaki-san!"
Naruto tore her eyes away from her book and stared up at the bright golden eyes of Kyoko. A nervous smile played on her lips as her eyes darted around the empty classroom, no doubt worried about someone would come in. The blonde could understand why the girl was concerned but her ears could not pick any footsteps coming close to their classroom.
Very little people would come to their school before an hour school started but she saw no reason to mention it to the girl. It was a logic that did not need to be explained. But she guessed Kyoko was concerned because she did not want her brother to know about their conversation. If she had an overprotective brother like Sasagawa Ryohei then she could understand the fear.
"Sasagawa, I presume you and Haru made a decision."
The words hung in the air and the brown-haired girl shook her head. Naruto raised a single eyebrow, too curious at the response. If they had not come to a decision then why talk to her? With a frown playing on her lips, the blonde shut her book and slipped it back into her school bag. There was no telling of what went through the school idol's mind but she was willing to hear what the girl had to say.
A sigh escaped her lips and the whiskered-girl schooled her expression into a blank one. She clasped her hands together and observed the girl carefully. The slight sweat forming on the girl's forehead told Naruto that Kyoko was nervous. I believe Haru told her about my ridiculous prices. A little smile played on her lips at the thought.
"Haru and I have some doubts about the payment," Kyoko admitted. The girl pulled a chair from one of the empty tables and took a seat across her. Golden eyes stared at her with anxiety but Naruto was not moved. If she wanted someone to comfort her, she should go to Tsuna. The boy would have no problems doing it. "Haru-chan says that you will make us pay a very high price but I told her that you wouldn't do it."
Naruto exhaled and rubbed her chin. How should she go about this? Did she just tell her of her plans? It would be a logical idea but there were too many variables for her to consider. She did not like it when too many variables were against her. But lying to her would never work to her favor since the girl would find out when she saw her interact with Tsuna.
Beside she would have to destroy that naivety in Kyoko and Haru. It was cruel but Naruto knew the more those two spent time with Tsuna and his friends, the more likely they were going to get involved. It was a fact. The doe-eyed boy was naïve if he believed he could keep them in the dark and if he did not want to use them, then she would do it.
"I charge Sawada ridiculously high prices because he can afford it," Naruto explained. The girl blinked and her golden eyes flashed with curiosity as if she was interested in knowing her reasoning process. The blonde tapped her finger against the table. "I have no plans of asking you or Haru to pay me money. The payment that I want from the both of you is that the both of you work for me."
Golden eyes widened at those words and the blonde leaned against her chair. It was understandable for the girl to be surprised. If someone told her, they planned to use her then she would blink too. But she would rather show Kyoko and Haru about how different she was from Tsuna. If both of them accept her offer then they would need to learn certain aspects about herself.
When the situation called for it, she could be as blunt as a hammer. Unlike the character in the new book that she had been reading till Sasagawa called out to her. But to be fair to her, she is still not used to kindness. She wasn't used to it but the character was able to find a new family for herself. Naruto sighed.
"What kind of work?" Kyoko whispered. Her golden eyes flashed with curiosity alongside excitement. She is like a little girl. That was probably why Tsuna had a crush on the girl. It was a nice trait for a middle-schooler but a terrible trait for the jobs and training that Naruto planned for her and Haru.
She clasped her hands together and regarded the girl right in front of her. Now what should she tell her? That she planned for her and Haru to learn how to be spies and be recruiters for her future organization. That would be too much information. She would have to be a little bit more subtle about her plans. It would be a pain in the neck if it came out.
"It is the kind of work that will benefit you and Haru," Naruto answered. Her blue eyes fixated on the girl and the brown-haired girl tilted her head with her eyebrows knitted together. "It is the kind of work that will give you back the power that you and Haru will want but of course, this is up to the both of you."
Kyoko nodded and looked almost thoughtful at her words. The blonde pulled out her book from her bag, flipped opened to the page that she had been reading until the girl interrupted her. While the girl processed her words and considered what she had been willing to admit, she was going to try and finish as much of the book as she could.
It is odd that she has been through hell and yet she is able to show her emotions so easily. The thought made her pause and Naruto stared at the lines of the book. Was it realistic? She did not know. But she would admit the girl was right to never forgive the people who abused her. How could she? Even a simple apology would never make up for what happened.
Besides as the book showed…once an abuser, always an abuser.
"Uzumaki-san, can you please give me your phone number?" Kyoko asked softly. Naruto tore her eyes away from her book and raised a single eyebrow at the girl. The brown-haired girl gulped and steadied her trembling arms. "I want to text you our answers."
Naruto shrugged. It did not matter how they wished to send her their answer, but if this was how they wanted to do it then fine. There was nothing to lose for her to hand in her phone number. With that knowledge, the blonde lowered her body and pushed aside her books before pulling out the blank piece of paper that she carried with her at all times alongside her pen.
She scribbled down her number and slid the piece of paper to her classmate. Kyoko took the piece of paper, looking at it carefully before folding it in half and slid it into her pockets. Naruto looked at the clock, noting that they had only an hour before the other students would flood into their classroom.
"Sasagawa, I'm giving you till midnight to tell me your answer," Naruto declared. "If you don't give me an answer, I will go with the automatic answer of no."
Kyoko nodded and Naruto looked up at the ceiling.
Today was going to be a long day.
He seems to be in the mood for a spar.
Naruto brought the lunch box close to her chest as Hibari swung his tonfas at her. Blue eyes twinkled with amusement at the wild but precise attacks of the boy. The wind smacked her, blowing her hair to the side as grey eyes sharpened. A couple of months ago, his movements had been a little bit difficult for her to see but now it seemed to be in slow motion for her.
She tossed the lunch box up in the air and lowered herself to the ground. She swung her leg underneath his leg and grabbed the lunch box as the boy tumbled down to the ground. Naruto brought the lunch box close to her chest and knelt down to stare at her ally. He rubbed his head, looking at her with curiosity in his eyes.
"You have gotten even better."
A smile lit up her face at the compliment and Hibari pushed himself up from the ground. His grey eyes fixated on the smile playing on her lips and the blonde held herself back from not schooling her expression. It was a challenge for her not to keep her expression blank. But she wanted to show some of her emotions to him.
He would never judge her.
"And you couldn't even wait till you eat your lunch before sparring with me," Naruto stated as she placed the lunch box on his lap. He shrugged, not looking one bit apologetic at what he did. She sighed. It really should not surprise her that he would fight before having his lunch. This was Hibari after all.
She shook her head and looked up at the floating clouds. The laughter and chatter from the people below them felt soothing against her ears. It made her feel like this town was so peaceful when it was anything but peaceful. A smile played on her lips and she flickered her eyes to Hibari, who ate her lunchbox with his eyes closed.
He hasn't gotten any sleep. The thought made her frown as her blue eyes took in the light darkness under his eyes. There was also a small line above his forehead, barely noticeable if someone did not look for it. She guessed as soon as he was done with patrolling the town, he was probably going to take a nap in his office or in his home.
"You worked overtime."
Hibari grunted and nodded his head. She curled her lips into a tiny smile, her eyes watching the older boy as he continued to nibble the hamburger steak that she made. Naruto did not know his grades but judging from the way he managed things, she guessed he had to get decent grades. She hummed a small tune and looked up to the sky.
Studying, patrolling and managing a whole committee would make anyone passed out but Hibari was still awake. He doesn't even hand the workload to anyone else, the only reason he has those delinquents because he can't patrol everywhere. The knowledge made her tilt her head and the blonde poked her tongue against her cheeks.
It would not hurt her if she could ask him, would it?
"Why did you create the Disciplinary Committee?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "You don't exactly like working with people."
Hibari paused and put down his chopsticks before fixating his eyes on her. Naruto did not look away from his eyes, only focusing on his eyes. If he did not want to tell her the reason then it was fine with her. She knew there were just certain things that the boy did not like talking about. His family was an example of topics that should not be brought up.
If he did not want to talk about it then she would wait for the day when he was ready to talk about it.
"I didn't create the Disciplinary Committee, Little Fox," Hibari informed her. Naruto blinked as those grey eyes looked at her without any emotions. She tilted her head and waited for the boy to explain what he meant. "My brother created it."
His brother. That was a new piece of information for her, but when she considered the facts that she had of Hibari…it made sense. The Disciplinary Committee was filled with so many people and her ally hated working with people. A large group of people would be the last thing he ever wanted so it made sense if he was not the one to create it.
But it made her wonder why Hibari continued with his brother's committee. She wanted to ask him but Naruto could see from his eyes that he would not tell her the answer. It is too soon for us to talk about it. That was fine with her. The fact he was willing to divulge this piece of information meant he opened up to her.
"I kind of admire you for working so hard with the Disciplinary Committee," Naruto admitted. She leaned her back against the wall and allowed her eyes to focus on him. She smiled at him, hoping and praying that it would show her sincerity to him. "Even though you did not create it, you laid down the foundation of the Disciplinary Committee and practically made it protect this town."
Grey eyes glinted with amusement and pride at her words and Naruto could see his lips twitching into a smirk as he returned to his meal. He really does look dangerous when he smirks like that. Not the kind of dangerous where people would think Hibari would attack them. But the kind of dangerous that made her legs weak in the knees and brought a shiver down her spine. The kind of dangerous that made her heart stop and her breath hitched.
Hibari put down the finished lunch box and locked eyes with her. His grey eyes strayed from her eyes and went to her neck before moving up to her ears. She could see the intense desire in his eyes and the blonde held herself back from squirming under his gaze. The boy shook his head and stared back at her eyes.
"Why did you save that Peacock?"
Naruto hummed and folded her legs together. Why did she save Haku? That was a topic they barely talked about. He had been unhappy when she brought Haku back home. It had not made much sense until a few days ago. He really has a weird way of showing his jealously. She sighed and twisted her whole body to look at him.
"When people from my part of the world comes here, it isn't because they live a happy life," Naruto explained softly. Hibari nodded and she looked up to the floating clouds before looking back at him. "I thought to myself that I could use him and that is why I saved him. I mean he is good-looking guy and that means both girls and guys will be willing to spill information to him. There was nothing else to it."
Hibari nodded and the blonde chuckled when she saw the jealously in his eyes. Silly little skylark. She should be furious that he would think she was attracted to Haku. But it made her smile to see him like this. When those grey eyes darkened like that, it made her heart race and made her look to his lips.
She allowed her eyes to wander to his neck and the memory from a few days ago flashed before her eyes. Those kisses on her neck had been able to forget all of her troubles and conveyed everything to her. Naruto stared at those dark grey eyes that looked so much like thunderclouds that it made her stomach churned.
A smile played on her lips and the blonde stood up from her seat. Hibari quirked an eyebrow and the blonde only smiled even wider, darting her eyes to his lips. She strode to him and settled herself on his lips, legs on either side of him. His eyes flickered from her eyes to her lips, looking at it like he wanted to either bite it or kiss it.
He leaned forward and the blonde leaned back, not allowing him to come close. Hibari knitted his eyebrows and the blonde began peppering his neck with kisses. She could taste the salt in his neck and felt his hands rubbing her back, always avoiding her chest and ass. It felt good if you asked her. The heat in his hands made her lean forward and she could hear the increase in his breathing.
There was a sense of pride for her to know that she could make Hibari like this. That her kisses on his neck were making him a little loose and making his hands wander around her back. She should stop. It would be the right thing to do. But she had to make things clear to him. That was the only reason that she kissed his jawline before pecking one tiny kiss on the corner of his lips.
She panted and stared at Hibari. Grey eyes looked at her with so much hunger and Naruto groaned when she felt his erection pressing against her. Taking a deep breath, she leaned her body forward as her stomach coiled. Her breath kissed his ear as those hands held her. It might be too soon for some people but Naruto knew words could never convey everything to him.
"Haku has never been my type, Skylark." Naruto muttered in his ear before leaning back. Grey eyes looked at her like she was the worst tease in the world and the blonde let out a raspy laugh before pressing her lips against him. A tiny gasp escaped her lips when Hibari pulled her closer. He really can convey everything with a kiss. She could feel the desire in his lips as he kissed her like someone thirsty for some water.
Ring.
She tore her lips away from him and pressed her forehead against his own forehead. Grey eyes stared at her, looking torn between groaning at the school bell or to glare at her for doing it. Naruto laughed. It felt good to experience something like this if you asked her. Shaking her head, the blonde removed herself from his lap.
"Little Fox."
Those two words told her that the boy found some amusement from her teasing.
"Blame the school bell."
Hibari sighed and looked up at the sky.
"Little Fox, you will pay."
Her chuckles echoed throughout the roof.
"Is there any new information?"
Naruto folded her arms against her chest and stared down at her youngest subordinate. The little boy gobbled down the lunch box like there was no tomorrow while his eyes darted to the pile of lunch boxes that she had made for his family. Since she was in a good mood, she saw no reason for her not to make more food for his family.
The money that she planned to give him was still the same amount from all the previous times. I will probably have to increase the prices that I give Sawada if I plan to have Haru and Kyoko work for me. She had to show them that there was some benefits from working under her. It was not like she was a terrible boss to people.
"I found out who have been stealing money from the festival stalls," Hansuke answered. A small scowl played on his lips and the blonde knew that this was personal to him. It was a curiosity for her. What on Earth was so special about the festival stalls that it would make him react like this? It did not matter to her anyway.
The information, on the other hand, did matter to her. She heard rumors in the town that there had been a couple of thieves that had been able to evade Hibari and his committee during the festival. A part of her knew that she should try to recruit them but a larger part of her found the idea to be repulsive. Not for the fact they took money for the stalls but because they would cause chaos to her plan.
If Hansuke had a problem with them then Naruto would respect his desires.
"Do you know who they are?" Naruto asked. She could not attack them since this fell under Hibari's derestriction. The thieves were in the eyes of her ally, one of his prey. By taking away the money from the stalls, they took money away from him. She tapped her finger against the mask and focused her attention on the thin boy in front of her.
This type of information would be beneficial to Hibari. I will have to ask for something in exchange. She could not simply give the information just because their relationship had changed. It would be weird for her just to give the information without asking something in exchange. She would have to figure out what she wanted from him.
Money would be good but doing homework in his house would be better. She would have a nice, quiet place to do her work instead of having Jiraiya asking her to correct his books. Naruto bobbed her head. Asking if she could do her work in his house would be the best exchange for either of them. Besides, she would get money from Tsuna.
Tsuna was easier to milk money from then Hibari.
"They are members of a boxing club in Namimori High School," Hansuke answered. The boy tightened his grip on the lunchbox and grinded his teeth together. "They are the lifeguards on the beach! I knew they were assholes but I didn't think those lucky bastards would do this. My mom needed that money."
Naruto sighed and knelt down till she was at eyelevel with the boy. He glared at the wall behind her, looking so upset that the blonde felt a tickle of worry coming over her. She should show some concern for him. A good boss would have loyal subordinates if they showed compassion and she prioritized loyalty over anything.
In the past couple of months, the boy had shown he was loyal to her. He knew his whole family would be in a worse position if it were not for the money coming out of her wallets. The fact she cooked him food was another reason that he was loyal to her. She should reassure him that those criminals would pay for their crime.
"They won't be doing it again this year," Naruto informed him. She pulled out her wallet from her pocket and pulled out ¥15,000. His eyes widened and the whiskered girl slid the money at him. It was not too much money but it was higher than the usual payment that she would give him. Was it pity that made her give him this much money? Nope.
She knew Hibari was never going to return the money to his mother.
Her phone rang and the blonde pulled out her phone. The unknown number made her pause. Who would send her a message? Tsuna was probably asleep by now or doing his homework. Yamamoto was probably exhausted from his training and doing his homework. Gokudera did not even have her number and even if he did, Naruto doubt he would call her.
She took a deep breath and clicked on the message. Sasagawa. That was what she immediately understood from the message. We accept the offer. A smile played on her lips and the blonde regarded the little boy in front of her. The people of her organization were increasing but now it was time for her to think of a name for her organization.
Well she would think of the name later.
I should just celebrate that everything is falling into place.
She was going to eat as many bowls of ramen as her stomach would allow her.
"Team 10, you will be going to The Outside to gather information on their illusion-making skills."
Tsunade clasped her hands together as her eyes flickered from the team in front of her to the reports that Jiraiya had given them. Two weeks. That was how long it took for them to come to a decision on the matter. She did not even see what the big deal was but Danzo and the other two members of the council found this piece of information to be of interest.
It became even more interesting when they heard that there was a boy who could replicate one of Minato's secret technique. The technique that only members of his family could make. The technique were not as strong as what Minato could do with chakra but Tsunade knew that the council had always been curious to how members of a merchant family could do what they did.
Minato had kept it to a secret to his grave and now his daughter discovered someone else could do it.
"Why are we gathering information on their illusion-making skill?" Ino demanded. She was a rather hot-headed girl that reminded Tsunade a little bit too much of her new apprentice. Sakura was a good kid and she was out of her shell, but the blonde wished the girl kept her mouth shut about her drinking habits. She had to wonder if Jiraiya had better luck with his apprentice. "We know how illusions are made."
Tsunade sighed and poured herself a cup of sake. Yes, they did know how to make illusions. Not everyone could make it and the number of people that could make illusions in their village was low. But if the report is true then we can increase the number. That had been the reason for the council interest on the report.
There was also the fact the jinchuuriki claimed that the illusion was made without chakra. Now Tsunade wanted to dismiss her words. She even made it clear to Jiraiya that it was ridiculous but the man made a bet with her. If you win the lottery then I drop the matter but if you don't win, send a couple of chuunin to check it out. She brought a lottery ticket and lost.
God, she hated when Jiraiya did this.
"Jiraiya learnt from his apprentice that there is a way for a person to make illusions without the use of chakra," Tsunade explained. She picked up the report that Jiraiya had sent and skimmed read through it again. The handwriting till the end was different from the one on the top and she presumed that it had been the jinchuuriki who wrote it. Her teammate had never been able to write this clearly or beautiful before.
This handwriting made it easier for her to understand what her teammate was trying to tell her.
"Why us?" Choji asked.
"Team Eight is a tracking team and are currently on a mission," Tsunade explained. Her brown eyes flickered to Sakura, who stood in the corner, and a sigh escaped her lips. "Team Seven had been disbanded the moment Sasuke Uchiha abandoned this village and the other teammate died. This leaves your team as the only viable option."
Shikamaru grimaced and rubbed his chin, looking almost annoyed at the current workload given to him. This only made Tsunade's eyebrows twitch. Out of all the shinobi that worked under her, the blond-haired woman had never seen a boy more lazy than him. If it were not for his impressive performance during the chunin exams and his leadership skills, she would have to wonder why she promoted him.
But he was intelligent and that was something for her to consider. There was no need for her to place a jounin with them since Team Ten had one of the best records in the village. Team Eight was also good while Team Seven had barely passed half of the missions. Tsunade would like to blame Kakashi but the man's role was to guide his team.
It was not his fault if two out of three members of his team did not wish to take his guidance.
"Why can't Jiraiya-sama do it?" Shikamaru asked. His black eyes inspected her, looking deeply curious to know of why the Toad Sannin had not taken up this role. It was understandable due to the fact that this was Jiraiya's job. But she could not tell them that Jiraiya was currently taking on the duties of being a godfather to his godchild.
She would have to go with the second reason.
"He is training his apprentice," Tsunade answered. Four sets of eyes widened and the Slug Sannin poured some sake into her cup again. Their shock was understandable in her eyes. None of them knew who his apprentice was and probably came to the conclusion Jiraiya was teaching some foreigner. That had only happened once but not many people knew about that.
But Uzumaki Naruto was not a foreigner but a jinchuuriki of this village. The daughter of her distant relative and her husband but there was no longer a reason for her to advertise this fact. If it was not for the fact Jiraiya guilted her with what happened to Naruto and the dreams that her brother and Dan had, she would never take this job.
"Then why can't his apprentice do it?" Ino demanded.
Tsunade rubbed the sides of her head.
"Because his apprentice is not a shinobi," she informed them. "That means his apprentice has no obligation to help Jiraiya with this aspect of his job."
The Academy fucked everything up when they forget that a Uzumaki can't do a simple Bunshin jutsu. The knowledge of what those teachers had failed to do made her want to drink again. The council kept pointing fingers at each other and Tsunade had to wonder if it had been a mere coincidence that the Academy instructors failed to check or whether it had been planned by someone.
All she could confirm was that none of the members of the council planned this. She knew if it had been up to them, Uzumaki Naruto would have been a shinobi the moment that she managed to evade her ANBU guards. But her grandfather and great-uncle had made the laws iron-clad when it came to the Academy and by failing the Bunshin Jutsu, the girl could not pass.
"How could Jiraiya-sama have an apprentice that isn't a shinobi?" Shikamaru asked.
Because the Academy is filled with instructors who needs to be taught when to see a student has a large amount of reserves and need a jutsu that doesn't require so much control for someone with large chakra reserves.
It was unfortunate that she could not tell them this.
"That matter is not important," Tsunade dismissed as she handed him the scroll that would give them the directions to the cave that separated them from The Outside. "What matters is that you don't fuck up this B-rank mission and do what Jiraiya and his apprentice tells you to do. It will be his apprentice who will teach you how to blend in since Jiraiya still doesn't have a full grasp of the Outside."
Team Ten nodded and Tsunade slumped her shoulders.
"What kind of person is Jiraiya-sama's apprentice?" Shikamaru asked.
Tsunade took a sip of her sake as her mind mulled over how to answer the question.
"She is a complete mystery to me," Tsunade admitted. She clasped her hands and regarded the three of them. There was only one piece of information that she would have to make clear to them. "But Jiraiya believes his apprentice is very much capable of taking over his spy network if anything ever happens to him."
She could only wonder what Minato's daughter had done to gain his faith because Jiraiya would never think of handing over his spy network to someone that he thought was incompetent.
A/N: I know that most of you thought that Hinata and her team would be sent but I felt like it would make sense for me to send Team Ten. How do you think the whole meeting will turn out between them? Please tell me of your thoughts on this chapter.