Kurenai sat at Asuma's kitchen table early in the morning going over her Monthly Sensei Report on Team Eight. So far the training for the last two months had gone well and all three Genin had shown signs of improved growth regarding their individual handicaps; so much in fact the Sensei had ended the five o'clock training sessions. Her quietest student Hinata was showing more confidence in her decision making and skill, Sakura could sprint five full laps around the Training Ground Three with slowing down, and Naruto had mastered tree walking and water walking. His Taijutsu was also looking much more natural instead of forced; he didn't lose spars against the Hyuga Princess so easily anymore.
Their individual jutsu skill sets were also showing massive improvement. Sakura was doing very well with her medical training and Hinata's Juken had also improving exponentially; Naruto giving her Shadow Clone targets equipped with Chakra Networks she could bash without hurting help a lot. The knucklehead himself was showing that his creativity regarding Ninjutsu was just as good as Genjutsu. The blonde had made a few interesting innovations to the Shadow Weapon Clone and Expansion Jutsu over the last couple of weeks. He even hit up the Hokage on a Bojutsu scroll after figuring out an expanded senbon needle made an excellent staff. So far his attempts to learn the fighting technique was going surprisingly well but there remained room for improvement.
The Genjutsu Mistress chuckled to herself thinking about her student's interactions with one another regarding Genjutsu Training. Most Sensei complained about the idiotic rivalries that at times would spring up in Genin Teams; girls could be just as bad as boys. The benefits of Genin motivating each other to do better was usually offset by petty fighting and stubborn head butting that interfered with teamwork. However, given the personalities of her students Kurenai had been hoping to avoid the headache all together; that was until you considered all three children were learning Genjutsu and one was inhumanly gifted in the subject.
At first, it wasn't apparent to either girl just how advanced Naruto was compared to them until he tried to teach them Valse Visual and Rolling World View. The Kunoichi had been able to better utilize the Hypnotic Body Armor than their male teammate because it was an Illusion cast through their Ninja Wrap Clothing that required a small amount of chakra to be effective; the blonde still couldn't make his swirling wrap images visible. This had given them a false believe that they had an advantage on the boy. However, the best Sakura could do with False Visual was change her eye color and Hinata could make her hair look pitch black to another person; the Rolling World View worked a little better for them though.
The issue was basic; an Illusion was an image made with your chakra and empty air, while a Command was cast against someone directly and was much more difficult to preform. The issue also went back to the Hypnotic Body Armor. Getting the Illusion to work right was only the first step of the overall jutsu, the second was combining it into a Combo. The methodical moving images of the first step could distract and disorientate an enemy target true, but a Combo could visually affect a target while directly making them feel nauseous with an attack to the brain; a double nauseating whammy. As of yet neither Sakura nor Hinata had made any real headway with fully completing the Combo Genjutsu; they could make you feel nauseous with a Command, but it was easy to power through.
Realizing the obstacle in their training neither Kunoichi had despaired but instead resolved to work at it until they got it right; then Kurenai had shown all three the False Image Technique for practice. The Genin had gotten a kick out of learning the free formed Illusion Jutsu and had fun trying to make the most realistic things between themselves, something Sakura's perfect photographic memory helped the pinkette accomplish easily. Naruto had tried to be funny and prank the team with a Combo to instill fear with the Illusion of a pack of tigers attacking during a spar. The fact they cast no shadow and their coloring was way to uniform allowed Kurenai to break free of the jutsu easily within a second based on visual clues only, not so much the girls. Both Kunoichi-in-training had focused more on the glistening white pointy teeth of each Illusion to realize they had multiple visual flaws, and fully became ensnared by the blondes basic Combo to fill horrific terror at the sight of the cats. After the raven haired Jounin had lectured the Genin on how to counter such tactics the team had resumed their spar. Naruto tried again to prank everyone with an Illusion of the Fire Ball Jutsu and a Command to feel the intense heat of the flames. Once more Kurenai broke out easily because the flames burned in a uniformed pattern, but the girls had both been fooled. All these childish pranks during spars lead the two Kunoichi to figure out the moment the boy got the Illusion aspect down for the Hypnotic Body Armor the Combo would fallow directly after. This revelation had caused a small and somewhat petty rivalry to ensue; not to be the best at Genjutsu but the most diverse.
This competition was more the young Haruno Heiress's doing than the Hyuga's. Sakura dived head long into the Medical Arts because it was a field she could make entirely her own. However, taking to heart all Kurenai had explained regarding Combos and how anything combined with a Command could be highly effective, the pinkette had taken up violin lessons. Team Eight had all been surprised when the girl explained she had started learning the instrument before joining the academy. Mebuki Haruno wanted her only daughter to learn a 'lady-like' skill to impress future suitors and their families. Apparently the Haruno Matriarch had been thrilled to find out Sakura wanted to resume her lessons until the young Kunoichi explained why; sound based Combo Genjutsu. Her father had been incredibly supportive and bought the girl a special made weaponized version of the instrument. The pinkette could now utilize the Rolling World View Jutsu with her music; a tactic that made the Genjutsu much harder to break than Naruto's own direct Command.
Seeing both her teammates make individual strides in their shared art had caused Hinata to doubt herself a little, until Kurenai talked with her. The woman encouraged the indigo haired girl to find her own path to strength and stop trying to fallow everyone else's; the same going for her clan's Juken Training. The young heiress had found her resolve with Team Eight's encouragement, mostly Naruto's, and had begun trying to rework the Juken Katas into something more natural to her own body type. The shy girl was making so much progress in this endeavor that Hiashi himself had taken notice. However, the girl's shinning moment had been when she placed Kurenai herself in a Paralysis Genjutsu that couldn't be easily broken.
The heiress accomplished this amazing feat by using her self-taught knowledge of healing ointments to make a compound that was highly conductive to her own chakra. She had begun keeping a generous amount sealed inside basic storage tags located on her clothing. Releasing small amounts into the fabric of her Ninja Wrap clothing Hinata could contaminate an opponent's skin when they came to close during attacks. This aloud the chakra last ointment to soak into the flesh and continuously apply a Command of the girl's choosing. Even if you powered through with willpower you continuously had to fight off the Paralysis Genjutsu's attempts to continuously freeze you until the ointment dissipated; like a Genjutsu poison that slowed you down considerably. Combined with Hinata's Juken, the Chakra Ointment and Paralyzing Genjutsu were one of the deadlier applicable Genjutsu Combos of any member of Team Eight; a fact that made the Hyuga smile proudly when Kurenai explained it.
However, the deadliest Combo Team Eight had showcased so far was from Naruto himself. When Sakura informed the team of her attempts to learn Musical Genjutsu, Kurenai explained about a famous one from the Second Shinobi War. It was known as the Suicidal Symphony and, as the name suggested, it drove enemies to self harm by feeling them with deep emotions of depression. Naruto had asked why an instrument was needed and wondered if a Command to make an enemy hear the sound would also work. The blonde had shown up soon after with a small wardrobe change to his uniform, he was wearing his headband tied around his left bicep and there now was a small reddish orange fox every four prints in the wrap pattern. During another team spar the boy had called out "Genjutsu Art: Sad Fox Cry" and proceeded to make the fox on his left shoulder materialize with the Self Image Technique. The Command that fallowed upon seeing the image come to life made everyone hear the imagined creature give out a long sad whimper.
It turned out to be a valid tactic as it did have an effect. Kurenai was forced to break the jutsu when she began feeling immense sadness, seeing the world through the eyes of a highly depressed person, while subconsciously reaching for kunai. The raven haired Jounin was never more grateful than at that moment she had the foresight to instruct all three Genin to test new jutsu on her first before trying them against someone else. Using a Command to make your target hear a sound that initiated another Command to feel depression was powerful indeed, but it lacked the range of actual sound based Genjutsu; if you weren't in range to see the Illusion to deliver the first Command you would never experience the second. The jutsu was incredible and the delivery was well thought of, but it rang alarm bells in the ears of Team Eight's Sensei.
For someone to use emotion as a weapon, even an unnaturally gifted Genjutsu user like Naruto, they would have to be familiar with them on some level. The Suicidal Symphony Sakura could possibly use one day with her violin amplified the user's own experience with music before targeting an enemy's mind with the actual Command; the Jinchuriki's Sad Fox Cry was all him with no amplification. That meant at sometime in his life the blonde had experienced immense depression and 'possibly' a desire to self-harm; that part was not fully clear. The only thing that was truly known is Naruto had at one time been immensely deeply depressed. It had been a disturbing revelation that Kurenai shared with the Hokage and Inoichi Yamanaka, both men were concerned for the boy's mental health.
Finishing up her reading the Sensei of Team Eight felt two powerful arms wrap around her shoulders. Sighing exasperatedly, the woman said bored. "Not now Asuma, it's to early and I need to head over and turn these in to your father. My team will probably be getting a C Rank Mission soon and Lord Hokage needs to review my reports, otherwise we could be miss assigned."
The man straightened up scratching his thick chin strap beard saying. "Yeah right, you just don't want to give me an encore of last night."
Walking around the table the Elite Jounin sat down while pulling his breakfast of rice and pork closer. Kurenai noted he wasn't wearing a shirt and looked to have just climbed out of bed. He began eating the simple meal the woman had prepared happily. "Thanks, I'll cook next time."
"Don't bother." The woman said rolling her red eyes and chuckling. "We both know you won't keep that promise and I've tasted your cooking, so please don't surprise me."
The adult man decided to give the only response he could with a mouth full of food and poking his tongue out childishly. Looking to the folder his girlfriend was going over he swallowed and asked. "Still worried about Naruto. Have you tried talking to him about it at all?"
Kurenai shrugged and a said sadly. "No, I just can't find a good time to bring it up. How do you ask a thirteen year old if they ever thought of harming themselves Asuma?. No child should ever feel that sad and lonely; damned villagers."
Asuma sat quietly unsure about what to do. As much as he wanted to help Kurenai the man couldn't sympathize with her situation at all. Honestly, she had the team with the most collective emotional baggage of all the current graduates. Sakura was from a Civilian Clan with huge ties to village politics that didn't fully approve of her Shinobi dream, Hinata was the Heiress of the Hyuga Clan which said enough in and of itself, the last was the one an only Kyuubi Jinchuriki named Naruto Uzumaki; also self-explanatory. His own team didn't come with much more than your typical kid issues and Kakashi's, aside from the avenging Uchiha that saw his older brother butcher their clan, didn't have much else but kid angst either. Honestly Sasuke was a handful in his own way but Naruto presented a unique problem; how to tell the guy you know he has, or at one time at least had, emotional issues without making him angry, sad, nervous, ashamed, or upset. If you approached the situation wrong the blonde could claim up and never talk to you again which could cause teamwork dynamic to breakdown; plus, the boy didn't get the psychological help he may or may not need. According to Inoichi the boy may never have truly thought of harming himself simply because the idea never crossed his mind during his early childhood depression; in other words, his resolve to succeed and overcome hardships was never overshadowed by his depression. (1)
Kurenai stood and placed her own plate in the sink. "I cooked so you can do the dishes." She walked up to the man and hugged him from behind. Standing back up she continued. "What's your plan for today."
"Going to meet with the brats and go over physical conditioning." The man said rubbing his black hair. He gave a snort laugh and explained sarcastically. "Honestly, Ino and Shikamaru are beginning to worry me in that department. The little blonde princess doesn't want to get her clothes dirty and lazy ass keeps uses his brain to figure out how to accomplish tasks with as little work possible. If the boy could apply that level of thinking to strategy on missions he'd be a Chunin within the year."
The raven haired beauty laughed as she walked out the door.
…. Haruno Residence ….
Sakura stood at her Music Stand practicing her violin. Even though the girl's Sensei had ended the five o'clock training sessions the pinkette still found herself waking up at four thirty. Deciding to put her time to good use the girl used the morning to practice her music. Looking up at her wall clock Sakura noticed she would have to have breakfast and head out soon to met with her team on time.
Walking to her bed the Kunoichi placed her violin back in its case. The girl still loved admiring the instrument her father Kizashi bought the day she announced her plan for Musical Genjutsu. It was oak with a red cherry finish that had axe blades fixed to the sides. The bow was made from a mix of steel and chakra metal with a razor sharp point on the end for stabbing. Both the instrument and bow were stringed with Sakura's own hair since it made channeling her chakra much easier. Packing the musical weapon away the green eyed girl carried it to the kitchen table to have breakfast with her parents.
The young Kunoichi-in-training grabbed a bowl of fried rice, steamed pork, and a hard boiled egg while wishing her parents good morning. Her dad looked half a wake as he subconsciously chewed down his own food, but still greeted his daughter happily. The girl's mother, Mebuki, was a little more awake and greeted Sakura with a polite smile, until she saw her child place the violin case on the table as she sat down to eat.
"Please put that thing on the ground, Sakura" The blonde haired woman demanded with disdain. "I don't want it on my table."
The girl rolled her eyes but did as told. Kizashi gave his baby an apologetic shrug but said nothing. It had been like this for a while now. When Sakura had been younger and said she wanted to attend the academy, both her parents had given their blessing and approval; though with different beliefs of the outcome. Her father never wanted to discourage his daughter from fallowing her dreams and wanted to see her become a Kunoichi; his own uncle had also been a Shinobi who died during the Third Ninja War. Mebuki, like her husband, didn't want to trample any dream her daughter had but hoped the girl's academy experience would have been similar to her own when she was younger; the Haruno Matriarch had seen how difficult and dangerous being a ninja was and quite. As years past and Sakura showed no signs of giving up the woman had began to worry, and then the heated argument had happened the day her only baby came home happily with a headband tying her pink hair back.
Looking from one parent to the other Sakura began comparing the two. She had oddly enough inherited her exotic hair color from Kizashi, though his was a much darker shade of pink, however her green eyes and petite figure came from Mebuki. She wished her mom was more supportive of her dreams but understood she had every right to worry; even if it didn't help much. The fight the day she came home with her headband had been the only real time Mebuki stressed to Sakura just how much the woman hated the idea of her only daughter being a Kunoichi. However, the little pinkette knew the day her father bought the Weaponized Violin there had been another fight between her parents. That very night Sakura had laid in bed and heard her mom say, through the thin walls of her room, that Kizashi was just supporting their daughter's desire to die early. The slender woman's negativity regarding her daughter's life choices was really starting to weigh heavily on the girl's mind.
"What do you plan on doing today Pumpkin?" Kizashi asked looking at his daughter. The man finished his bowl of rice and pork sliding it away.
Sakura finished chewing and swallowed before saying. "Not sure really; Kurenai Sensei likes to change things up depending on we're she thinks the team needs the most help. So morning training fallowed by another stupid mission and then more training maybe, or she might let us go early. What are you two doing today."
"I'm going to visit an old family friend for lunch." Mebuki said with fake jovial. "You remember the Matsuno Family, the oldest of three daughters Chou, her son has returned from the capital to visit. He's a handsome boy of sixteen apprenticed to the Banker's Guild. You should come by Sakura, I'm sure he would be delighted to meet you."
The young pinkette plastered a fake smile on her face and used every ounce of willpower to not roll her eyes. Mebuki had been trying to match her with an eligible bachelor for about three years. The woman figured the sooner she married her daughter off the sooner she stopped being a Kunoichi. However there was more to Sakura's distain at visiting the Matsuno Family; she hated them and so did her mom. Just further proof the blonde woman was willing to do anything to get the pinkette out of the Shinobi Ranks.
Kizashi looked between both his loved ones and did roll his eyes. "Well, I have a meeting with the Merchant's Guild Board. We're going over quarterly earnings for the whole village so I won't be home till late."
Sakura smiled at her father and addressed her mom. "I'll see about making it to met Chou Matsuno and her son but I can't promise anything. There's no telling how long training and missions will keep me out so we'll play it by ear."
The pinkette stood and hugged each parent. Strapping her violin case across her back she headed for the door. Looking back one more time young girl saw Kizashi giving a teary-eyed Mebuki a hard look; they would be arguing again the moment Sakura left.
…. Training Ground Three ….
Naruto excitedly looking out at his small group of Shadow Clones only to be disappointed when he realized he mist over half. After figuring out that a larger senbon made a decent bo staff the boy had another idea; throw a giant needle in an ark while multiplying them at the apex of the flight. This would literally allow him to rain giant flying metal spikes of death on an enemy. The problem was aiming wasn't exactly easy.
'0h well.' The boy thought dejectedly. 'At least I'm doing better with 'Ninja Art: Hard Rain' opposed to my other idea 'Ninja Art: Steel Impaler'.
The blonde had come up with the second jutsu when he realized he could create Shadow Clones over a large area evenly spaced. After experimenting Naruto realized the same was true for the Weapon Cloning Techniques as well. This lead him to another interesting idea, create replicas of kunai underground and then explained them to shoot upwards. The idea had potential going on some of the kid's attempts but it was only effective at twenty to thirty feet; the blonde wanted an areal slaughtering attack.
Walking to the trees that he practiced chakra control on, Naruto decided to take a break from Ninjutsu and practice something else why waiting for Team Eight to arrive. The Jinchuriki had been trying meditation to get a better feel for his Yumegan; Kurenai Sensei had turned him onto the idea. It had already improved his chakra sensory ability to a much higher degree. If he entered a state of deep serenity Naruto could almost sense the entire village. The boy was half way to a deep state when he felt a familiar chakra at the edge of his current awareness. Zeroing in on the person an image of Hinata walking while carrying a very large bento box popped into his head. It amazed him how his chakra sense and imagination were actually trying to create an image in his head of what was happening, he could actually 'see' polka dots on the bento box.
Abandoning his meditation the boy looked up when the girl got closer. Studying his friend closely the boy realized that the bento she was carrying was the one he imagined in his head; blue with white polka dots. Shocked Naruto realized that he had actually seen the real image of the heiress in his mind, not some imagined idea his brain provided. Could his Yumegan see long distances and show him the images somehow? If so than it was even more awesome than he at first thought.
The blonde waved exuberantly at his approaching friend when she got closer. "Hey Hinata-chan, what you bring for lunch today!?"
The young Hyuga blushed at being addressed by the blonde. Even after two months the shy girl still wasn't used to the attention. Ever since her wardrobe change Hinata noticed more boys staring in her direction, none more so than the Jinchuriki. Naruto never tried to make her feel uncomfortable and always tried to be polite as possible; most other young men had no shame at all though. Several times on missions she had witnessed her crush giving death glares to anyone he deemed to be gawking at her to long. The young heiress was by no means weak and could easily handle the stupid fools, but she still liked the blonde's ferocity. They were still just friends and had been out on team dinners, but they always sat next to each other whenever possible. Sakura had also given her tips on how to get the Jinchuriki's blood boiling with passion, that's the way she put it anyway, but Hinata wasn't that confident or comfortable yet.
The shy heiress held up the polka dotted bento saying quietly. "I brought Unadon; steamed rice with grilled eel covered in a sweetened soy-based sauce. I added my own blend of seasonings to give it a unique taste. I hope you and everyone like it."
Naruto's mouth began watering at the girl's description of the meal; Hinata was one of the greatest cooks ever. Ever since Kurenai started forcing more nutritious meals of greater variety down his throat, the young boy's eyes, mouth, and stomach had been opened to a whole new world of delicious wonderful tastes. Not that the Hyuga Heiress cooked everyday for the team; everyone took turns mostly.
After the first week of training the indigo haired Kunoichi brought a bento to share with everyone. The next day Sakura also brought one to. Fallowing that Kurenai showed off her culinary skills with a whole roasted chicken and steamed vegetables. After Naruto also brought lunch every other member of Team Eight kindly asked him to never do so again. So now most days the team members brought a lunch unless one of the girls volunteered to cook for the fallowing day. Unbeknownst to the Kunoichi of Team Eight though, Naruto had asked old man Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame to teach him how to cook. He planned to surprise everyone very soon; if he could just stop burning the food, the kitchen, and himself he'd be good.
The Kunoichi walked up and set down next to the blonde and asked uncertain. "Did I interrupt something Naruto-kun? You looked like you were meditating."
"Oh no don't worry!" Naruto quickly reassured his friend. "I was meditating to try and better access my Yumegan. I think I may have unlocked a new ability but I'm not sure yet what it is!"
The boy began excitedly babbling about what he learned. Hinata sat silently just listening to him talk. What he described of his Yumegan sounded very fascinating, especially if this 'mind sight' could go the full limits of Naruto's sensory field. The blonde may not posses three hundred sixty and degrees of vision like the Hyuga, but he would be able to mentally examine targets that were much further than the Byakugan could see. This, on top of everything else the boy was already capable of, would make him the reconnaissance king.
The Jinchuriki continued to babble for several minutes going seamlessly from talking about the Yumegan, to the Ninjutsu he was trying to create, followed by the Genjutsu he had thought of and was attempting, to the various types of Ramen he wanted to eat. The girl continued to listen quietly as the boy talked on a mile a minute wondering exactly when he would need to take a breath. The young Shinobi was so distracted he completely missed Sakura sneaking up behind him. The pinkette crept right up to the boy's ear and screamed. "Hey Naruto!"
The Genin spun around so fast he almost jumped out of his skin. Giving his teammate a stern pout the boy yelled. "That was mean Sakura-chan. Why did you sneak up on me like that?"
Hinata giggled at her teammates antics when Naruto turned and gave the girl a fake sad pout. "And you Hinata-chan, you saw her coming and never said anything."
"Oh, knock it off Naruto." Kurenai said as she materialized from thin air. All of her students turned shocked at the Genjutsu Mistress's arrival. "I've been here for the last twenty minutes, roughly around the time you started going on about Genjutsu and Ramen, waiting for either of you three to notice. Also, we're Ninja, sneaking up on a target is what we do at times."
"Morning Kurenai Sensei." Hinata got out first after recovering.
The woman smiled down at each Genin in her care. She could see by the way Sakura had approached this morning something at home had made her upset. Judging by Hinata's slightly faster than usual walk the Sensei concluded that the Hyuga's morning had been pleasant and her bento was cooked to perfection. However, that damned smile plastered to Naruto's face was the most well crafted mask of any child their age. Never did it waver or crack to show the true emotions that hid underneath. It was his eyes that gave him away most times. It was hard to see but often the smile didn't reach them; just stopped right at his baby blues to fool anyone watching. However, another good tell was Hinata herself as the girl had become adapt at reading the blonde even when he put on his best show. As the indigo haired Kunoichi was genuinely happy Kurenai took it as a sign the girl hadn't read anything off with her crush's normal banter and body language.
"Given your performance so far regarding Taijutsu, I believe it would be best to work more heavily on the subject." The Jounin began. "However, I was hoping to work with Sakura on learning my more personalized style while Hinata and Naruto trained together."
Each group separated and went to different areas to not bother the other. Kurenai and Sakura stood facing one another while the Sensei examined her student. "Alright Sakura, we'll begin by learning the basic stance for this form. This style I'm going to teach you relies more on redirecting an opponent's blows away from your self while setting up a counter. It's primarily for defensive fighting but does have offensive applications in the more advanced forms."
What began for the pinkette was a long morning of repetitive action as she began working on the katas. Kurenai studied her movements with a sharp eye correcting ever slight imperfection as they appeared. However, thanks to Sakura's much improved physical condition from the two months of training, as well her own natural born intelligence and ken memory for detail, the young Kunoichi learned quickly.
Over with the other two members of Team Eight, both were standing back to back while surrounded by fifty Shadow Clones of Naruto all dressed in black. The real boy was holding his makeshift senbon bo staff while Hinata was standing in her improved Juken Stance. The Hyuga Heiress's new starting stance was designed by the girl and Hiashi himself to better apply the almost unnatural born flexibility of her body. Byakugan active, the Kunoichi spun into action when a random clone launched a borage of shuriken from the left. Naruto, his eyes closed to better use sensory opposed to sight, easily felt the attack coming but knew his ally could deal with it; he covered her flank when another clone hurled a large senbon from the opposite side. Using his own giant senbon staff and Devine Embodiment Jutsu the boy deflected the deadly projectile away to target other clones.
For almost half an hour both Genin kept up the pace against the clones. Hinata would effortlessly bob and weave in and around Naruto's Bo Jutsu to counter any open areas closing them down; the Jinchuriki in turn would close the openings she left in her attack patterns to destroy enemy clones. It was a powerful Dual Taijutsu the pair had been making for a month and it was really starting to pay off. The pair had decided to attempt this in secret so as to surprise everyone.
Repeating the process three times Hinata collapsed on the ground exhausted. The young heiress had been forced to increase her stamina to keep up with Naruto's; the boy's energy was inhumanly insane while the little princess's was very much normal for a Kunoichi of her age. Struggling almost daily to maintain such a rigorous Taijutsu training regimen had been extremely beneficial in improving the child's overall strength and endurance, but it was still difficult as hell to fight alongside the Jinchuriki for a reasonable amount of time.
"You ok Hinata-chan?" Naruto ask concerned standing over her. He hated it when the girl worked herself into such a state of exhaustion. The boy had told his friend several times to ask when she needed a break. The Kunoichi had countered with 'you couldn't ask for a timeout in the middle of an actual fight so practice should be just as strenuous'. Secretly, the little hero thought that this was a saying one of the Hyuga Instructors told her once; some of the things Hinata told him in private really pissed him off and Naruto would love nothing more than to beat the hell out of all those mean jerks.
"I'm fine Naruto-kun." The little heiress insisted. She was determined to not be a burden on her crush's training. Struggling to catch her breath the girl said stubbornly. "I just need a minute and we can resume practice."
"You need more than a minute Hinata-chan." Naruto answered her aggravated. Call him a hypocrite all you want but he was growing concerned with the Kunoichi's go-tell-you-drop-dead attitude. Yeah he was the same way, and on the other hand admired the quality in Hinata greatly, but the blonde wasn't completely stupid. The Uzumaki understood he had a few unfair advantages; namely his last name and Jinchuriki status. Sighing the frustrated boy reached down and picked his friend up bridal-style. "Come on, we can rest over by the trees for a while."
Hinata was scarlet as her teammate held her close to his chest. The Hyuga became consciously aware of the fact his tighter than normal clothing allowed you to fell his rock hard muscles that made up his chest and arms. It was this revelation that reminded the Kunoichi her own wardrobe changes didn't leave much up for interpretation either, especially when this close to another person. The fact it was the boy she had admired for years and grown strong feelings for only made it much more difficult to handle. With every ounce of self control she possessed the heiress forced herself to remain continuous.
Naruto carried the young girl under the shade of the tallest tree and sat her down gently. He then sat down next to her with out a word, his own face a lighter shade of red than Hinata's. Though the boy had tried everything to ignore certain truths, the heiress's new wardrobe had allowed him to get a sense of what was underneath very well. Half way to his designation Hinata had begun her nervous finger tap habit which caused certain muscles to flex over and over again, that really hadn't helped any.
Unsure about what to do the young Hyuga decided to be a little more bold than usual. She closed her lavender eyes and laid her head on Naruto's left shoulder. The blonde looked startled for a second but recovered quickly and took the girl's smaller hand into his own. The Genin remained silent as sleep overtook them both with looks of content upon their faces. This was how Kurenai and Sakura found them both thirty minutes later. The pinkette had fun waking them up to go get an assignment.
…. Hokage's Office ….
Hiruzen Sarutobi was in his office going over mission requests, while enjoying his pipe, when a knock came from his door. Looking up expectantly the old man called out. "Enter."
The Hokage watched as Team Eight made their way in. Today he had something special for them that would greatly appeal to Naruto. It would, however, unfortunately come with a massive headache for Kurenai and her squad. Studying the young Genin the Hokage said in a monotone voice. "Come in, we have much to discuss."
Getting her squad to stand at attention Kurenai asked curiously. "Is there a problem, Lord Hokage?"
"Not exactly, no." The village leader began. "We've just had a very unusual mission request come in. What made the request so peculiar was the client was asking for your team personally to handle the assignment; a Genin Squad fresh out of the Ninja Academy with no prior recognition achievements to its name."
The three kids looked stunned while their Sensei looked suspicious. Thinking mostly to herself Kurenai asked out loud. "Was this some setup or trap to capture a high profile target?"
"High profile target!" Sakura exclaimed. "What, you mean one of use!?"
The Hokage took a drag from his pipe and answered bluntly. "You, Sakura, are from the very wealthy Haruno Clan and would make for a hefty ransom. Your teammates Naruto and Hinata are both from clans with powerful blood limits; perfect for a village seeking to cultivate their own Kekkei Genkai Shinobi."
Hiruzen watched the individual reactions of the children; Sakura was stunned, Hinata was fearfully remembering past traumas, and Naruto looked ready to kill an imaginary enemy threatening those he loved. Seeing the Genin understood the concerns the Hokage concluded his lecture. "Of course, an enemy might be simply trying to lure your Sensei Kurenai out and the three of you are only collateral damage. Also, this could be completely on the level in a way we aren't seeing."
Watching the children calm down Hiruzen explained further about the mission irregularities. "Another red flag, if you well, was the courier himself; a Civilian from the Land Of Bear which is located between The Land Of Lightning and The Land Of Fire."
"Hold on!" Sakura exclaimed again. "I know this from my studies at the Academy. The Land Of Whirlpools was once located between Fire and Bear. During the early days of the Third Ninja War, The Land Of Lightning made a deal with the Land Of Bear to destroy Hidden Whirlpool Village. It was agreed Hidden Cloud and Hidden Rock would be allowed to us Bear to launch a surprise attack, a campaign that was mostly effective because Bear and Hidden Whirlpool had a Workers/Trade Agreement that allowed Whirlpool Shinobi to protect Bear's boarders for an annual fee. The payoff for The Land Of Bear was the entirety of the Land Of Whirlpool as well a cheaper Worker's/Trade Agreement with Hidden Cloud. After the destruction of Hidden Whirlpool, The Land Of Whirlpool feel soon after and Bear consolidated the entire area. This was made moot after the Armistice Agreement between Hidden Cloud and Leaf, fallowed by the Piece Treaty between Fire and Lightning. The Land Of Bear was forced to surrender all the accumulated land from Whirlpool to us, and the icing-on-the-cake was Hidden Cloud and The Land Of Lightning were able to outright break all established agreements with The Land Of Bear. Cloud negotiated a new Worker's/Trade Agreement with Bear for a much higher price than Hidden Whirlpool ever charged."
Hiruzen placed his pipe down listening to the girl talk. Giving a moment to let her words sink in the old man explained. "Yes Sakura, you're correct on all points. These facts themselves give credibility to this being a setup more than anything. Which was why I chose to decline the request without even hearing the specifics of the mission, until the courier told me who was paying for it."
Addressing the entire group Hiruzen continued. "Back to what Sakura said about the Workers/Trade Agreement between The Land Of Whirlpool and Bear, the contract was sealed with a marriage. Over a hundred years ago the oldest son of Bear's Daimyo wed an Uzumaki Kunoichi named Mayako. This was supposed to seal up an everlasting alliance between the two lands with family blood ties. Unfortunately the woman never gave her husband any children and the line of succession fell to his younger brother's eldest son. The Bear's Daimyo Clan, Nobuo, still honor the woman by taking care of her, mainly out of Clan Honor rather than love of family. It was she who made the mission request in hopes of meeting Naruto."
Team Eight was stunned; an Uzumaki still existed and wanted to meet the last of her known member of her clan. It was Kurenai that recovered first. "How old is this woman and what exactly is the mission? I'm sure it's not to just meet her."
Sarutobi chuckled. "Mayako Uzumaki just celebrated her one hundredth and nineteenth birthday two months ago. Technique she's one of the last Shinobi of the Warring States Period; when clans fought other clans in never ending bloody conflict for the highest bidder. The elderly woman heard of Naruto when Elder Councilwoman Koharu Utatane began making inquiries regarding any information we could find on the Yumegan. It wasn't hard for her to put it together exactly why we were looking. Exactly how she knows of Team Eight remains a mystery though. Confirming everything the courier told us with our own Daimyo we fully believe this mission is on the level and not a trap. So, we have decided to except it. The mission is simple; go to her manor in Deadfall Village, retrieve several artifacts from Hidden Whirlpool in her possession, and bring them back here."
Kurenai thought it over and said. "That will be fine Lord Hokage. Is there anything else we need to know."
The Hokage sighed and explained. "When I decided to accept the missions, I asked the courier if it would be possible to send two teams. He explained that Mayako's personal funds were limited, but she had stressed ahead of time that she could pay for two C Ranked Missions. That means two teams of Genin can go and retrieve the artifacts."
"That's not really a problem sir." The red eyed Jounin stated confused; Hiruzen seemed aggravated by this turn of advents. "Who will be going with us?"
"Unfortunately, there are no teams available with any real mission experience. I was hoping to send an older team of Genin or possibly Team Seven, but they have already left on an assignment to The Land Of Waves and there are no older Genin Cells available; I had to settle for another squad from the recent graduates."
As if on cue a knock came from the door and Anko lead Team Six inside. The Snake Mistress looked startled to see Team Eight present. She looked to the Hokage and said. "Sorry sir, are we to early. I was told to meet here around this time to go over an assignment for me and my squad."
"No Anko, you're right on time." The old man said anticipating the headache. Team Six assembled before the Hokage's desk with little comment. After two months with the Snake Mistress both Hibachi and Ami knew when to keep their mouths shut. That didn't stop the light brown haired boy from shooting Naruto a glare; he still wore his green sock cap and had his headband tied around his neck like Hinata.
"Anko, I was just informing Kurenai of a joint assignment you and your team shall be going on with Team Eight." Hiruzen began. "She can fell you in on the mission specifics herself. The eight of you will leave in the morning to head for The Land Of Bear. Pack for at least a weeks travel."
Here the old man paused and past both Jounin a scroll. "These papers will allow you to enter Bear. Present them to the Samurai Outpost guarding Lightning Way. From there processed to Deadfall Village. Don't dawdle to long in an area patrolled by Cloud Shinobi; even in times of piece there are those that seek conflict for the sake of amusement and pleasure. Good luck to you all."
All Shinobi present bowed respectfully and left to get ready.
…. Haruno Residence ….
Sakura walked through her front door nervously; the young girl was worried about telling her mom about the C Ranked Mission. Luckily, as it was early still Mebuki would still be at her lunch with Chou Matsuno. Well that was what the Kunoichi thought until she heard her mom's fake laugh ring out form the Tea Room. The pinkette tried to close the door quietly but it gave out a loud squeak.
'Damned dry hinges; I knew I should have oiled those things.' Sakura thought as she heard a chair scoot back quickly over wood.
Looking up the girl watched her mom nervously poke her head around the corner of the small entrance hallway's left side. The pinkette noticed she was wearing an expensive looking silk kimono. "Oh honey, you scared me. I wasn't expecting you home this early."
"Yeah, sorry mom but something came up and Kurenai Sensei let us go early." The pinkette explained with a nervous laugh and head rub. Sakura was hoping that her dad would be present when she explained about the C Ranked Mission.
Mebuki smiled happily and said. "Well then, why don't you join us after cleaning up a little dear. Me, Chou, and her son had a pleasant lunch and decided to come back her for tea."
The girl couldn't see a way around it so agreed with her mom. Walking to her room Sakura grabbed a quick change of close and made for the shower. After washing the girl changed into an older red shirt uniform, complete with a full weapons holster and headband to remind all present she was a Kunoichi. Checking herself in the mirror and finding everything satisfactory, she made for the Tea Room.
Walking in the girl saw her mom setting on the left sided red silk floor pillow of a small brown table. On the right side floor pillow sat Lady Matsuno. The older slightly plump lady was wearing to much makeup with her black hair in a traditional bun. The kimono she wore was gold with wide open cuffs at the end of the sleeves. Her son, an older version of Sasuke Uchiha with short black combed hair and blue eyes, was wearing an all black kimono over his very thin figure. He stood quickly at seeing Sakura and bowed low. "It's a pleasure to see you again Sakura-chan."
"Like wise Minori-san." The Kunoichi answered automatically putting slight emphasis on 'san'. The boy reached out to take her hand to kiss. Sakura was a little embarrassed by being shown such attention by the older attractive boy she accidentally squeezed her thumb and forefinger together hurting his hand. The boy winced a little but gave no comment. The pinkette sat down with a slight embarrassed blush while ignoring her mom's annoyed eyes.
"So Minori-san, how have you been?" Sakura asked politely in hopes of starting some kind of conversation. "I heard you were apprenticed to the Banker's Guild in the Capital. How has that been going so far?"
The handsome boy took a moment to gather his thoughts. "It's been going well as expected. I've always had a good head for numbers and finances so the work comes easy to me. Master Hisao Sako says I'm one of the best students he ever taught. It probably won't take me long to reach Senpai so as to help my Master in training other pupils."
Minori took a moment to take a drink of tea before asking. "How are your Shinobi Studies coming along? Lady Haruno mentioned something about Medical Training and the violin. I don't see how a musical instrument will help you though."
An annoyed Sakura forcibly kept a polite smile on her face as she answered. "I'm doing quite well in the Medical Arts; I've learned the basics of the Mystical Palm Jutsu and the Chakra Scalpel. Unfortunately I'm having difficulty with Genjutsu but hoping to use music as a way to advance further. I'm probably the best at basic Illusions on my team but my other Kunoichi teammate, Hyuga Hinata, has found an effective way to place Command based jutsu on enemies. However, neither of us are even close to our other teammate Uzumaki Naruto; his Genjutsu is already high Chunin."
The pinkette didn't miss the look of disdain that crossed the faces' of both Chou and Minori at the mention of her blonde friend. Sakura knew her mom probably had a similar look cross her face as well without looking. She didn't know what their problem with Naruto was but most Civilians had the same reaction when the troublemaker was mentioned; it was annoying. The girl figured the big secret Hinata knew was behind the hostility, but her parents refused to talk about it when she brought it up. They had simply told the girl it was none of her business and to let it go, but Sakura was like a hungry dog with a bone and refused to relinquish her curiosity.
Mebuki, trying to shift the focus away from the boy her daughter had been pestering everyone about, quickly asked her quests. "So, I hear there was some big buzz about a land deal. Your company purchased a silver mine in The Land Of Tigers, Lady Chou?"
This was the moment Sakura began tuning everyone out while analyzing her mother's guests. She had heard this kind of talk before anyway; usually it involved someone getting swindled so these pompous fools could get fatter wallets. It was always the same with her parents and their friends, they sat around talking about the money they had, the money they lost, and the money they'd made. They also gossiped about each other and talked behind one another's backs continuously. Seriously, the pinkette didn't think that any of the Civilian Lords and Ladies liked the other nobles unless their was wealth on the line.
Minori himself wasn't any better than his own mother. The boy acted polite and respectful when it suited him but Sakura had witnessed him interact with common people; those whose asses he didn't have to kiss in order to get ahead in life. He could be a real snob to restaurant staff and shop keepers. It galled her greatly that this was the guy her mom wanted to saddle her with forever in holy matrimony. Yes, he was the heir of a rich Civilian Clan and very handsome, but the pinkette wasn't that shallow.
Take her Sasuke-kun for example; everyone assumed she liked him because he was hot and nothing else. The truth was she saw the pain he tried to hide whenever their eyes met. The girl knew the Uchiha was felled with anger, rage, and sorrow so all she wanted to do was make him happy. Her heart ached every time he shut people out instead of letting them in to help his loneliness. Yes, the pinkette had noticed, just like every other Kunoichi in her class, the raven haired boy was indeed the most handsome boy of their age group but there was so much more to her infatuations than that.
Sakura came out of her dazed inner mussing when she noticed the conversation had stopped. Looking up she noticed her mother giving her a fake smile while keeping her annoyance from showing. Mebuki seemed to be waiting for an answer and asked. "Well dear?"
The young girl smiled sheepishly and apologized. "Sorry, but I wasn't paying attention. What was the question again?"
The older blonde Haruno said while continuing to hold her fake smile. "Lady Chou asked if you had been on any exciting missions yet."
"Oh, I apologize for my lack of attention Lady Matsuno; I meant no offense." The green eyed Kunoichi began recovering nervously. "Ah well, the first mission I was on involved saving a small puppy from a hungry tiger, but since then not much else exciting has happened."
"A tiger!" Chou exclaimed. "How did your team pull that off?"
She wasn't the only one curious either. The young girl had purposely not told her mother about the incident because of the constant worrying. The story had just slipped out before she could catch herself. Trying to downplay the whole thing the pinkette quickly said. "It was easy, Naruto scared the thing of with a Genjutsu and Hinata caught the puppy. Naruto at first tried to lure the tiger away with an imagined female version of the species wearing lipstick. When that failed he created an imagined larger male tiger to threaten the real one."
"A tiger wearing lipstick?" Minori asked confused. "Was he joking around?"
Sakura laughed amused and explained. "No, Naruto's a goof and didn't understand how tigers became attracted to one another. He really thought it would work."
The blue eyed boy scoffed. "What a complete idiot. To think they allowed someone that stupid to be a Genin."
The older boy's harsh words caused Sakura to stop laughing immediately. She fixed the pompous jerk with an icy glare. "Naruto's not that bad. He's actually a natural strategist when it comes to pranks and battle plans. He way not be able to think five moves ahead, but he does have a good sense of what the targets reactions will be based on his own attacks. He's quite good at knowing were to lay the fallow up second trap to accomplish what the first was just setting up."
Minori didn't say anything in response to Sakura's harsh glare. He honestly didn't believe this little girl was a threat to him or anyone else; which just showed how stupid he was. The little after lunching tea party ended soon after and both Matsuno Clan Members left politely. The older boy straightened his black kimono and bowed to the pinkette at the front door. "It was lovely to see you again Sakura-chan. Perhaps we can get together for lunch tomorrow? I must leave the day after to return to the capital and would like to spend more time with you."
The green eyed girl cringed inwardly as she explained. "As much as I would love that Minori-san, I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow morning for The Land Of Bears."
"Bears!?" Mebuki squawked alarmed.
Sensing an argument coming Chou bowed nervously. "Well we must be going. Good luck on your mission Sakura dear and please be safe."
The plump woman lead her son from the apartment quickly not wanting to be caught in the crossfire between mother and daughter.
…. Later That Night ….
Naruto sat on his bedroom floor meditating. He had just come from a very large satisfying meal at Ichiraku's Ramen Bar and taken a bath. The young boy was all packed up and ready to go for the morning, however , he was to excited to sleep and hoped the meditation would calm him a little.
Stretching out his mental awareness the young blonde began trying to feel out individual chakras across the village. He sensed his Jiji still at work in his office, he sensed the various Chunin Guards he knew from visiting the Hokage's Manor across the village, some he sensed were on duty at this vary moment, and he also sensed his teammates.
Hinata's chakra was calm and steady signaling the boy she was already asleep. However Sakura's chakra was churning around in a torrent of uncontrolled movement; something that was highly unusual for the natural born chakra controller. Focusing more on his friend, the blonde saw in his mind's eye tears of frustration falling down her face while she laid in bed. Feeling two smaller energies clashing not far away from his pinkette teammate, the Jinchuriki fallowed the feel and witnessed two people he didn't know arguing in another room; a man with dark pink hair and a woman with short dark blonde hair. The boy tried to make out what they were saying but couldn't read their lips; the woman was emphasizing some angry point though by jabbing her finger into the man's chest accusingly.
Feeling guilty Naruto snapped out of his meditation. This morning he had saw Hinata approach but forgot about it until now. Using his ability to spy on his neighbors, friends, and fellow villagers was wrong, so he resolved himself to never do it unless there was reason to believe they needed his help. Closing his eyes again the blonde entered a state of deep calm once again.
This time he decided to feel for his Sensei. Kurenai lived further away than Sakura and Hinata so the boy figured this would be a real challenge. Upon finding his team leader's chakra though the boy became worried. Judging by what Naruto was feeling it was as if the older woman was fighting someone he didn't know. Desperately the boy focused hard on his precious person in hopes of finding someway to help.
The shadowy image of a darkened room came first confusing the boy; why would his Sensei fight someone in her bedroom. The outline of various furniture came next and the bed itself fallowed right after. Naruto tried to see who his Sensei was fighting but the covers were in the way. Finally the blankets slipped down a little and the young Jinchuriki saw a man's head that sported a chinstrap beard and spiky black hair. He rolled off of Kurenai showing the boy his Sensei's red eyes and happy flushed face.
Naruto snapped out of his meditation mortified. At the last moment it finally dawned on him exactly what was going on. Deciding he had meditated enough the boy jumped into bed and covered himself completely from head to toe with his blanket. Stunned, a thought sounded between the blonde's ears. 'Thank Log the covers were covering Sensei. I mean what would I have saw if Sakura-chan had been taking a shower instead of crying in bed?'
Until sleep finally took him the Jinchuriki kept repeating a mantra over and over again. "I am not a pervert. I am not a pervert. I will not spy on my teammates again because I am not a pervert!"
Author's Note:
(1)-Naruto was never suicidal just lonely depressed. Wanted to clarify.