AN
"Blah"- Normal speech
'Blah'- Thoughts
Naruto/Final Fantasy VII
Lost Son of Konoha
Chapter 39
Aftermath Arc V
A short time had passed since Cloud and Naruto had met up with each other atop the Hokage monument, both of them in a better mood then they had been in when they first found one another following a brief yet cathartic conversation, both of them had managed to lessen some of the weight that they had carried with them since returning from Oni.
At present both men were descending the long stair way that was carved into the side of the mountain that dominated the skyline of the skyline of the village, the evening air carrying with it a slight chill to it, a sign that winter was just around the corner, both of them walking in silence as they made their way back towards the village.
At present Cloud was lost in his own thoughts as he followed a short distance behind Naruto as the two of them descended the long stairs. It had been quite a while since he first arrived in Konohagakure no sato, brought here on what had first seemed to be just another delivery job,
"So, you in the mood for anything in particular or is anywhere good?" The sound of the blond ninja's voice snapped Cloud out of his musings.
"Hmmm." Cloud replied, "Sorry."
"I was asking you if you were in the mood for anything." Naruto repeated his question.
"N…not really." Cloud told him. "You pick, I'll be good with whatever."
An excited look appeared on Naruto's face. "If that's the case lets go to Ichiraku," He said. "They've been closed ever since I got back here and they finally opened up again. You've got no idea how long it's been since I've last had the gift from the very gods themselves that is Ichiraku Ramen."
"Ichiraku…" Cloud said offhandedly. "Oh yeah the ramen place, I stopped there when I first arrived in this village and I needed directions. I told the girl who ran the place that I'd stop by there but never did."
"What, you broke a promise to Ayame-chan." Naruto said, sounding as if his companion had committed an unforgivable sin. "How could you."
"Stuff came up." Cloud replied. "Besides we're going now aren't we? Better late than never right."
Before long the two men found themselves amongst the streets, casually strolling towards their destination despite Naruto's insistence to get to the ramen stand that had been both a source of nourishment was well as something of a sanctuary for him for most of his young life.
"There you are." Hearing a voice both blonds looked round and were greeted by the sight of Sakura who was practically marching her way towards them, the pink haired woman sporting a look of barely restrained fury on her face.
"Oh hey Sakura-chan." Naruto greeted, his usual grin plastered on his face as if were oblivious to her current mood. Seconds later his pink haired teammate sieved him by the collar and pulled his head down so he was at eye level with her.
"Do you have any idea how long I spent waiting for you to show up?" The rosette practically snarled. "Whatever explanation you have for ditching me it had better be good."
"You ditched her to meet up with me?" Cloud half whispered to his companion, the blond swordsmen having taken a step back as a means of not having the pink haired medic's wrath directed at him.
"W…what do you mean Sakura-chan," Naruto replied, letting out a nervous sounding chuckle. "Were we supposed to do something tonight?"
"Did you forget? You were supposed to meet me at the Happy Fox three hours ago." Sakura informed him. "And not just me, the others were there as well. Shikamaru. Ino. Hinata. Everyone. Our first hang out since the war in Oni and you were a no show."
"That was tonight?" Naruto said, sounding surprised. "Sorry, must have slipped my mind."
His answer did little to dissuade his friend and teammate's wrath, the pink haired Haruno's grip on his collar growing tighter as her features twisted into a look of rage that could cause even the bravest of men to reconsider their life choices.
Cloud meanwhile shook his head at his companion's forgetfulness. "I apologize Mr. Haruno." Cloud told her. "If I'd know that the two of you had made plans to meet up I would have made it a priority to remind him of it."
"Oh don't worry about it Strife-san, it's not your fault." Sakura replied as she glanced over at him, her tone sickly sweet. "You're not to blame for this idiot and his two whole brain cells."
"Mou, that's just mean Sakura-chan." Naruto pouted, a shiver of fear going down his spine as Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "S…say, why don't we just head over to the bar and hang out with Shikamaru and the others."
"Everyone's gone idiot." She retorted. "Most of them got tired of waiting for you to show up and went home."
"O…Oh." Naruto said.
"Say Sakura, Naruto and I were going to get something to eat." Cloud spoke up. "Why don't you just us?"
Hearing this Sakura shifted her gaze in Cloud direction momentarily before looking away from both his and her captive prey, clearly mulled over his suggestion. "He's paying right?" She asked after a few seconds.
"O…of course." Naruto replied, letting out a nervous chuckle.
Sakura released her grip on Naruto's collar, causing him to stumble slightly. "Ok, I guess I can let this slide somewhat." She said, sounding serious. "We better be going somewhere nice Uzumaki and you better be prepared to drop some serious cash on this."
"D…don't worry Sakura-chan, we're going to be eating the best food in the whole village." Naruto said as he steadied himself.
Sakura's gaze narrowed further, knowing full well what the blonds definition of 'the best food in the whole village' amounted to however decided to stay quiet.
The matter decided it wasn't long before the now party of three set off once more, Naruto either oblivious to or ignoring the stink eye that Sakura was giving him whilst Cloud was doing his best not to invoke her ire any more then he might have already done so.
Before long their destination came into view, the eatery that had stood long before any of the trio had been born and had recently reopened after a prolonged closure due to the damage done to the establishment caused by the invading armies of Oto, Iwa and Kusaga.
The sight of the place made the grin on Naruto's face wider if it was at all possible. Sakura shook her head. "Of course you'd bring us here." She muttered under her breath, a small smile then spread across her lips. "Typical Naruto, you never change."
Cloud meanwhile looked to be indifferent, having no real opinion or objection to the place. From the memories of a past that may or may not be his recalled the warm, welcoming emotions and feelings that were associated with the place along with both its owners, Teuchi and Ayame, recalling how warm and friendly they had been to him, some of the first that experienced in his rough childhood years.
That was then the blond haired man was snapped out of his thoughts when felt something collide with him and looking round saw a young teenage male with dark hair who was sprawled across the ground, the young man letting out a pained groan in question rubbing where he'd made contact with Cloud. "Ooooww."
"S…Ski!" Sakura exclaimed as she and Naruto looked round.
"S…Sakura-nee." Ski replied, the young man looking up at her upon hearing his name. "H…Hey…"
"Ski don't you know what time it is?" Sakura told the dark haired Genin, her tone similar to that of a strict parent. "What are you doing out this late?"
Naruto meanwhile was staring down at the fallen young man, wracking his brain as this kid looked familiar to him. "Hey, I remember you." He said upon realizing who this was, "You're that kid I met a while ago."
"You ok kid." Cloud spoke up, offering Ski a hand to help him up. "You're not hurt are you?"
"I…I'm fine." Ski replied as the spiky haired blond helped him back to his feet, he then started dusting himself off, trying to seem like he hadn't ran into the man. "So, uhhh, what are you three doing here?"
Sakura let out a sigh. "I asked you first." She told him. "I won't as you again, what are you doing out this late?"
Ski scoffed at this. "What are you, my mom?" He replied sarcastically, something that Sakura didn't appreciate.
Before she could say anything else she was silenced by Naruto placing a hand on her shoulder. "I think you've done enough Sakura-chan, let me try." He said in a hushed tone before stepping forward and placing himself between the dark haired Genin and his female friend. "So kid, its Ski right?"
"Uhhh…yeah, that's my name." Ski replied upon realizing who Sakura's two male companions were. "Zinanae Ski."
"Not to be rude but what are you doing out this late?" Cloud asked.
"Oh I…I'm just doing some last minute training." Ski told him. "Not excuse for slacking off if I want to be an amazing ninja am I right?"
"Training? Kinda late don't you think?" Naruto said, his eye brow cocked.
"This coming from the guy who I found passed out on the training fields from pushing himself too hard on more than one occasion." Sakura said in a tone that caused her teammate to let out an embarrassed sounding chuckle.
Ski couldn't help but laugh at this. "Nah, its fine. Plus my sisters being a major pain right now so I figured I'd get out of the house for a while and let her cool off." He told the three adults. "Since I've got nothing else to do I figured I'd do a few laps around the village, Lee-sensei would have done 50 laps by now." A pained look appeared on his face as he said these words.
No sooner had he said this the jovial mood amongst the four of them died. "Lee…" Naruto said, "He was your sensei?"
"Y…yeah, that's right." Ski replied. "He was training me to be an awesome ninja like he was but since he didn't come back from Oni I don't have a sensei right now."
"I don't understand, can't they just find him a new teacher?" Cloud asked.
"It's more difficult than that." Sakura told him. "We lost a lot of Jounin and Chunin in the war in Oni, several of whom were squad leaders and any that are able bodied that could fill are already busy with other assignments. We just don't seem to have the numbers right now."
"Ha, whatever. You guys don't worry about me. Just you wait." Ski said in a boisterous tone, "Even though he's gone I know that Lee-sensei still watching me, I'm gonna make him proud and be the greatest ninja this village has ever seen."
During this Naruto's gaze was fixed upon Ski, a serious look spread across his face. Despite the front he was trying to put up the look in his eyes told a different story and it told him that Lee's death had been a major blow to him to the young man.
It was clear to see that the kid was hurting inside.
"Hey Ski, we were about to get something to eat." Cloud spoke up, having clearly noticed he pain in Ski's eyes as well "You want to join us? Naruto here is paying."
"N…no thanks, I'm ok. Thanks for the offer but I got to get back to what I was doing." Ski replied. "Still got three more laps to do before I can call it a night. See you guys later."
With that the dark haired Genin took off, the three adults watching as he disappeared into the crowds.
"Do you think he's gonna be alright?" Cloud asked his companions as they watched as the Genin vanished from sight. "He might be trying to look strong but by the look in his eyes you can tell that he's in a lot of pain right now."
"I honestly don't know. I feel for the kid, I really do, but we just don't have the resources to spare right now." Sakura replied, concern in her voice. She then let out a sigh. "With war casualties are to be expected but it's the people that are left behind seemed to suffer the most and Even though he's a ninja in service to this village it's sometimes easy to forget that he along with other Genin his age are also just kids."
Whilst Sakura and Cloud were talking Naruto was silent. The look that he had seen in Ski's eyes, a look of hollowness and despair, it was one that he knew all too well having worn such a look himself long ago when he was young.
But that had all changed the night that Mizuki had tricked him into stealing the Forbidden Scroll, the same night that Iruka had acknowledged him. The night that in hindsight had been the turning point of his life and setting him on the path that had allowed him to become the person that he was now.
That Ski kid was in a bad place right now. Lost, unsure of what to do and no one to offer guidance or support. He knew from first-hand experience where such a path could lead to, a path that thanks to people like Iruka, Kakashi, Jiraiya and Bii he had been able to escape.
He could sympathise with Ski because he could tell that if he had lost such an important figure as such a young age and critical time that he would more than likely be just as lost as he was now.
Shaking his head he turned his attention back to Cloud and Sakura. "Come on, no point standing around." He said. "Let's go eat."
With that the three of them continued on their way and before arriving at their destination, what had once been a simple Ramen Bar with a bar with several stools set up along it with a curtain that had covered the entrance that had undergone a major upgrade appearing to have being expanded into a full restaurant.
Sliding the door open Naruto was greeted to the sight of a fair sized space with several tables and chairs along with the familiar scent of boiling oil and chopped vegetables along with the warmth of stove. Along the back wall the original bar still stood, the one that he recalled seated at many a time.
Though it looked different there was no mistaking the familiar warmth and homely feel that he remembered from his youth.
"Ah a customer," A voice from behind the counter was heard and looking over Naruto saw met by the sight of someone that he'd not seen in a long time, a tanned skinned man clad in greasy overalls, his face sporting more wrinkles then he had all those years ago. "Welcome to…"
The old man hesitated when he saw who was standing in the doorway. "I…I don't believe it," He stammered. "I…I heard the talk but never did I…Naruto, is that really you?"
"Hey old man." The blond haired ninja replied, flashing him his trademark grin. "Long time no see."
Teuchi stared back at the man before him that as a child had been his best customer. "A...Ayame," He called out. "Come here, come see who's just walked in the door."
A noise was heard from a room located behind the counter and seconds later a woman with long brown hair and clad in similar overalls to the older man appeared in the doorway. "What is it Tou-san," She said, "I was just chopping…"
Her words however died to moment she saw who was standing in the doorway of her families eatery. "Hey Ayame-chan." Naruto greeted the brown haired woman, giving her a small wave as he smiled at her.
Before he or anyone of could say anything else there was a sudden burst of speed, one that he didn't know that someone not trained as a ninja was capable of, and before Naruto knew it Naruto found Ayame standing before him, her slender arms wrapped around the shoulders of the man she thought of as her little brother.
"I can't believe it, but you're really here. You have no idea just how much I missed you after you were…" She said, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I thought I saw you around town a few times but couldn't bring myself to believe that it was actually you."
Naruto let out a small chuckle before he wrapped his own arms around her and returned the embrace. "I promise Ayame-chan, it's me and I promise this time I'm not going anywhere." He told her. "I missed you to, you and the old man here."
"This is touching and all but do you mind stepping aside so the rest of us can go inside." An annoyed sounding voice was heard coming from behind the blond haired ninja. "I wasn't exactly planning on spending the rest of my night stuck out in the street."
"Oh right…" Naruto said, blushing a little. Practically picking Ayame up he stepped aside and allowed both Sakura and Cloud to enter the building.
"Took you long enough." Sakura said sternly, momentarily giving her teammate the stink eye before turning her attention to Ayame who still had her arms wrapped around the man in question. "Good evening Ayame-san."
"S…Sakura-san," Ayame replied as she released her hold on Naruto and took a step back from him.
"Ah, brought some friends with ya I see." Teuchi chuckled. "Hey there Sakura, been a while since you last visited here."
"Sakura, you've been coming here when I was gone?" Naruto asked, surprised to hear this revaluation.
"D…don't look too hard into it." Sakura said, sounding a little defensive. "My job at the hospital require me to work long hours, sometimes I'm just too tired to make my own food after a long shift."
Hearing this made Teuchi laugh. "No need to be so defensive Sakura, not from one of best customers." He said jovially, he then looked over to Naruto. "Did she tell you that she became a regular whilst you were gone, used to be in here once a week, sometimes twice. Guess she was keeping your stool warm."
The old man's comment made Sakura blush whilst Naruto stared at her, a look of shock and amazement on his face whilst Ayame couldn't help but laugh at this.
From behind the counter Techui had managed to compose himself when he realized that Sakura wasn't the only one who had accompanied his favourite customer, noticing a man clad in black that looked similar to Naruto standing just behind him. "And who's this" He said. "Welcome stranger, it's always a pleasure to meet a friend of our Naruto here."
Hearing this Ayame looked over and noticed Cloud standing there. "It…it's you…" She stammered, surprised at the dark clad man's appearance that she had first met many months ago. "T…tou-san it's him, this is the man I told you about."
"Is that right." Teuchi replied. "Well isn't this a surprise."
"Hello there Ms. Ayame." Cloud said to the brown haired Ramen cook. "Sorry it's taken me so long for me to visit again, I meant to but life kept getting in the way."
"D…don't worry about it Cloud-san." Ayame replied, "With everything that's happened everyone's been busy as of late."
"Yosh, this is great. The return of our favourite customer and the addition of a new face. Too bad Iruka couldn't be here but we got a reason to celebrate." Teuchi announced. "Tonight you three are eating here for free."
"Really," Naruto said excitedly. "You're the best old man."
"Bad idea Teuchi-san." Sakura said, her serious tone quick to quash on the blonds excitement. "Letting him eat for free will put you out of business."
After a little more banter the three of them found themselves seated around one of the eateries tables, Cloud having placed his sword against the wall as to be more comfortable, Ayame enthusiastically taking their orders before heading into the back in order to prepare their food.
"So, Cloud-san." Sakura spoke up as the dark clad blond sat down. "How have you been?"
"Me, I've been fine I guess." Cloud replied. "About as fine as anyone can be given what's happened."
"That's fair." Sakura said. "These last two weeks have been a trying time for everyone. I feel for the troops still stationed in Oni, even after weeks apparently there's still clean up that needs to be done."
"Orochimaru…Even in death he's still being a problem." Naruto said, a slight growl in his tone. "Don't forget about Kabuto, that four eyed bastard is still running around. Its bad enough when he was just Orochimaru's little henchmen, I almost don't even want to think what kind of mess that he'll cause for everyone."
The three of them fell into a silence for a moment. "But whatever, that's a problem for another day." Naruto said, trying to rise the mood. "After everything else we've had to deal with Kabuto won't be a problem."
"What about you Sakura, how have you been?" Cloud asked. "You mentioned that you were with the others earlier."
"Oh me. I've spent most of my time working at the hospital dealing with patients." Sakura replied. "Since shishou has taken over as Village leader again I've found myself more involved with the general days by day running of the hospital. I don't want to sound like I'm speculating but I wouldn't be surprised if this is some kind of test to see if I'm capable of being the head of the hospital."
"No way, that's great Sakura-chan." Naruto practically cheered. "I know you can do, you'll great awesome in the role."
"Congratulations." Cloud added.
"K…knock it off." Sakura replied, a tinge of pink appearing momentarily. "Like I said, I'm just speculating. Nothing official has been announced."
"What about Shikamaru and the others." Cloud asked. "How've they all been doing?"
"Yeah, haven't seen them for a while." Naruto added.
"You would have if you'd actually shown up like you were supposed to." Sakura shot back, her tone making her teammate chuckle nervously.
Taking a deep breath Sakura shifted her gaze over to Cloud, her features softening. "They're all just going about their lives as best they can. Ever since they got back Hinata and Kiba have been focusing hard on their upcoming marriage, everyone's looking forward to it because after everything that's happened I guess they just want something to celebrate. Neji and Tenten weren't there, I guess the new baby's taking up all their time. As for Ino and Shikamaru." I'm worried about them."
Sakura fell silent, her brow furring as a look of concern spread across her feature, seeming to forget about her two male companions.
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto spoke up, not liking the look on his female teammates face. "What's wrong with Shikamaru and Ino?"
Sakura looked up at her blond teammate. "Those two, Choji's death hit them both real hard." She told him. "Because of their fathers they practically grew up around one another. Shika and Choji were practically brothers, always
Admittedly Ino was kind of a bully to Shikamaru and Choji when they were kids, always bossing them around and acting all huffy. Probably wouldn't admit it but I think it was just her way of showing them that she cared. At least until she grew up and could stop acting like they were a massive burden to her."
Hearing this Naruto couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "I dunno, some of it might have been genuine." He said. "I spent a lot of time with them in detention when we were kids, believe me Shikamaru was such a lazy ass and Choji seemed to spend 90% of his day with a bag of chips in his hand. Then again Ino wasn't exactly the easiest girl to get along with back then. Not unless she was drooling all over you."
Sakura shook her head. "That aside I'm worried about both of them. We may not have always have had the best relationship but Ino is still my friend, seeing her so broken up hurts my soul." She continued, "Don't forget Temari. There were rumors about her and Shika getting together and getting married someday. Losing both your best friend and someone you love on the same day, I can't imagine what that feels like."
"That's unsettling to hear." Cloud said solemnly. "Is…is there anything we can do help them through this?"
"Not unless there's some truth to the rumours that were floating around about you and Ino some time ago." Sakura replied.
"Rumours?" Cloud asked, "Me and Ino? What are you talking about?"
"You mean you didn't know?" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes wide in shock. "Cloud, how did you not hear about it? At one point everyone was talking about."
"I've never really paid attention to gossip." Cloud admitted, shifting in his seat a little. "What…were they saying?"
"Well, based on what I heard, there was talk about you and Ino, well, getting together." Sakura said, doing her best to sound as disinterested in the topic.
She didn't want to admit just how invested in this piece of gossip she'd been when talk of the two blonds had been circling amongst certain circles, both civilian and amongst the military.
"No freakin way." Naruto exclaimed as he looked at Cloud with a dumbstruck expression. "Cloud, you hooked up with Ino?"
Cloud didn't reply, he the information that had thrown him for a loop. "I…It wasn't anything like that." He replied. "Sure we spent a little time together when we travelled to Suna together and we didn't really argue but it wasn't like we hooked up or anything. Where did anyone get that idea?"
"This is why you shouldn't put any real faith in gossip." Naruto said, trying to sound wise. "Most of the time it's just a bunch of noisy people with too much time on their hands."
"Hey, don't knock gossip." Sakura retorted. "Listening to it is like 45% of intelligence gathering. You should know this since you were Jiraiya's student at one point."
Cloud frowned as he shifted his gaze to the surface of the table. "I don't get it…" He muttered. Just then a thought popped into his head. 'Ino, she didn't think that I was interested in her like that did she?'
Before anyone could say anything else Ayame appeared at their table, balancing a tray. "Here you go you three." She said cheerfully before placing a bowl of steaming broth and noodles in front of each of them. That done she then placed a small white ceramic jug on the table as well a trio of small dishes on the table. "Enjoy your meal."
"Hey Ayame-chan," Naruto said, confused as to why the brown haired woman had given them a jug of sake, "We didn't order this."
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that," Ayame replied, bowing her head politely. "Just a little something extra from Tou-san and I our favourite customer and his friends. If you guys want seconds just let us know ok."
With that said she then turned and left, leaving the three of them behind.
Shaking his head Cloud took the jug and began pouring its contents into one of the small dishes. "You really should be more appreciative, Ayame didn't have to provide us with this." He said as he placed it front of Sakura before pouring more of the pale liquid into another of the dishes. "You don't want to be rude right?"
"It's not that I don't appreciate it, I'm just not a big drinker." Naruto replied, a frown on his face. "I don't plan on becoming a total lush like Baa-chan is."
Hearing this made Sakura's eyebrow twitch slightly, had she been younger she'd give her blond teammate a lecture on how she should respect his elders, especially ones as renowned as her Shishou. However over the years she'd lost count how many times she'd founder her the remaining Senju passed out at her desk after a night of drinking.
Cloud shook his head, let out a small chuckle as he did so. "Y'know it's been a good while since I've gone out to eat." He said. "Last time was in Suna, I had ramen that time as well."
"Huh, is that right." Naruto said. "Never had ramen from Suna, then again I can't say I've had a mission that's taken me out that way in a good while. I should go there at some point, see how Garra's doing."
"The company I had was also pretty, as I was waiting couple of guys sat down at the same table as me." Cloud "Turns out they were Itachi Uchiha and this guy called Kisame."
"What, you kidding me?" Naruto exclaimed. "You ate a meal with two of the most wanted criminals in the land."
"Oh yeah, I recall Ino mentioning that she and Shikamaru found you sitting with the two of them, oblivious to who they were." Sakura said as she recalled what her blond haired friend had told her about the incident that had gone down in Suna. "That was not long after you'd first arrived here in Konoha. After everything that seems like a life time ago now." Cloud said.
"Yeah, it really does." Cloud replied.
"Yeah, we've all been through a lot in the past few months." Naruto said as he picked up the drink that Cloud had just finished pouring for him and held it out in front of him. "What say we drink to a better tomorrow?"
Cloud picked up his drink and knocked it gently against Naruto's saucer. "I'll drink to that." He replied. Sakura nodded in agreement and joined in the toast, all three of them then downing the clear liquid in one gulp.
The rest of the trio's night passed them by, the hours filled with and various topics and fuelled by several bowls of ramen and many more dishes of sake.
Opening the door to the Hokage's office Tsunade winced slightly as the early morning light that filtered in through the window, blinking a few times her eyes adjusted and she quickly noticed that she wasn't alone.
Whatever good mood she'd managed to muster at this hour was quickly dissipating at the sight of someone sitting in her chair, his feet resting on the surface of the desk. "Morning Baa-chan." Naruto greeted the busty woman. "Your actually here earlier then I thought you'd be, figured that I was gonna have to wait at least another hour before your turned up."
Tsuande frowned, her features shifting into a frown. "Brat, what do you think you're doing?" She said, annoyance in her tone. "Get your filthy feet off of my desk and get out of my chair."
Hearing this made the blond ninja scoffed. "Geez, you always this grouchy in the morning." He said, a smirk on his lips. Planting his feet on the edge he pushed the chair back enough room before getting up off of the chair and stepped aside.
As she approached the desk Tsunade took note of the patches of dirt on the surface and edge of desk left behind by Naruto's shoes, shooting the young man a stern look as she sat down. "So, is there some reason that you're here?" She asked. "I know you're a troublemaker but I kinda doubt even you have enough time on your hands that you can spend the day annoying me."
"Ohh, all business today." Naruto grinned. "What, don't like my company?"
"Just tell me what you want?" Tsunade said, a tic mark appearing on her forehead.
"Zinanae Ski." Naruto said.
"Lee's old student." Tsunade said, saying this she paused a moment as she recalled that the bowl haired Taijutsu fanatic had been amongst those who had not returned from Oni. "What about him?"
"Ran into the kid last night." Naruto replied. "He mentioned that he doesn't have a sensei right now."
"That's correct," Tsunade said plainly. "However there we don't have anyone we can reassign him to at the moment. Why are you so interested in him all of a sudden?"
Naruto shrugged at this. "No real reason." He said offhandedly, "It's just that if there's no one else lined up I guess I could train him."
Tsunade stared at Naruto, caught off guard by the blond man's words. "N…Naruto," She stammered out. "Are you serious about this?"
Naruto looked back at her, his posture and features becoming instantly serious. "Yeah, yeah I am." He said. "You should have seen the state he was in last night Baa-chan, he was trying to keep it together but you could tell that he's really broken up over Bushy Brow's death. I couldn't help but feel that I'd probably be the same way if you or Iruka Sensei or even Ero Sennien died the same way that Lee did."
Naruto then took a deep breath as he composed himself. "Besides Lee was a friend and Ski was his student," He continued. "If he was still here he'd want to see student go on to become a great ninja."
Tsuande stared at the young man before her. She recalled meeting him for the first time in Tanzaku Quarters. He'd been loud, annoying and had the tendency to run his mouth. And yet despite it all he'd still been able to win her over, with his drive to never give up, his desire to prove himself and most of all his heart.
She couldn't help but feel a prang of pride at seeing just how much He'd grown up so much since then.
"I see. Well if that's the case I suppose I could allow you to oversee the kids training. Just until someone more qualified can be found." She told the young man. "There's some paper work that you'd need to fill out and I hope you understand what you're getting yourself into."
"Who do you think your talking to, I never back down from a challenge." Naruto replied, a cocky smirk spreading across his lips. "Where do I sign?"
Cloud felt the warmth of the afternoon sun on the back of his neck as he made his way through the one of the many streets that entwined themselves within the village walls, his mako enhanced eyes scanning the area around him for his destination.
Following the events of the following evening he'd woken up with something of a hangover he'd spent most of the morning trying to schedule passage on the next Airship that was headed back east, something that had been something of a challenge given the villages lack of any phones.
After several hours learning that the next flight from the station set up in Nami no Kuni back to Rocket Town was not scheduled to leave for another few days giving him amble time to settle whatever business he had left that was unresolved.
This as it happened tied in with his current predicament.
From the previous evening he recalled what he and Sakura had discussed and mulled over the piece of information that she had shared with him, how there had been a rumor going around the village at one point regarding himself and the blond haired Konouchi known as Ino Yamanaka.
He wasn't sure where this rumor had originated from, as far as he knew he'd not done anything that would give this impression,
That wasn't to say that he disliked Ino, from the brief amount of time he'd spent with her she seemed to be a charming and intelligent woman. Her attractive features certainly had not gone unnoticed by him.
It's just that when he first arrived here he'd not exactly been looking for, as much as he hated to admit it 'Sephiroth' had been correct, that he had been too wrapped up in the past to even think about forming any attachment to anyone that wasn't amongst circle of people that he was already associated with.
Despite his promise to Aerith to move forward with his life he was unsure if he was ready for any kind of romantic relationship in his life and if he had somehow given Ino the wrong impression that was unfair for to her as he didn't want her to think that he had been stringing her along only to leave her behind without saying anything.
Whatever the case he believed that he had to make this right, if nothing else he owed her an apology for not speaking to any real since their journey to Suna together.
After some more searching he caught sight of his destination, a rather simple looking building that looked to be three stories tall, its walls painted in yellow saw that served a store owned by the Yamanaka Clan, with a several plants growing out of a range pots set up around the entrance, a simple large pink board mounted to the wall with Yamanaka Hana painted on it in red lettering.
Entering the blond haired swordsman. Behind the counter he was met by the sight of the person that he was searching for, a rather bored looking Ino Yamanaka who at present had her attention was buried in a magazine that she had in her hands.
"Greetings, welcome to Yamanaka Hana." She said, her attention never straying. "Feel free to browse our selection and if you like or do you need help finding something specific?"
"Uhh, hi there." Cloud spoke up, the sound of his voice causing the blond haired woman's head to snap upwards suddenly as she saw him standing there by the entrance.
"C…Cloud-san…" She stammered. "Um...h…hello, this is certainly a surprise."
"Yeah, for both of us actually." Cloud replied. "Um, its…it's been a while. Yours not busy are you?"
"Yeah, yeah it has and no not really." Ino said as she walked out from behind the counter. "So, uh, what brings you here, are you looking for something?"
"Not really, to be honest I don't know much when it comes to flowers. Although I had a friend that knew a lot about them, she'd probably have loved it here." For a few moments Cloud fell quite, an image of Aeith's smiling face flashing before his eyes. "Actually I came to see you."
"Me?" Ino replied, taken aback by his words. She was quiet for a few moments before she rushed over to the door of the store and locked the door before flipping a sign that hung there around to inform the passers-by that were currently closed.
"Mom, I'm going on break." She called out as she grabbed Cloud's hand and lead him and through a doorway located behind the counter into a hallway that split off with one way leading to a door through which light shone through and the other being a staircase that the two of them ascended arriving in a comfortable looking kitchen telling Cloud that they were in the residential part of the building.
Telling Cloud to take a seat the blond haired Konouchi wasted as she strode towards the kitchenette and set to work making tea for the two of them. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Ino asked as she waited for the water to boil.
"Well…" Cloud said before his voice trailed off, a feeling of awkwardness overcoming him. 'Damn…'
"Is something wrong?" Ino asked, looking at him with a cocked eyebrow.
"N…no, nothing's wrong." Cloud replied. "I...I wanted to talk to you about something and, well, it's kind of an awkward subject."
Despite herself Ino couldn't help but chuckle at the blond haired man that she'd seen take down a massive sand/water Dragon before go toe to toe with Itachi Uchiha now acting like an Academy student asking a girl out on a date for the first time.
The sound of the kettle boiling over was then heard, letting both of them know that water had finished boiling. Pour the contents into a pair of cups that she'd put a small amount of ground up tea leaves into, the water turning a rich brown colour as Ino stirred it. The task done Ino then walked over to the table, placing them on the table before seating herself across from her guest.
"Well go on," She said, her iris-less blue pupils staring into the blue and green tinted eyes of the man across from her. "I promise not to laugh, well not too much anyway."
Cloud took a deep breath as she steeled himself. "Well, I…so I was with both Naruto and Sakura the previous evening," He figured that mentioning that was the best way to slide into the subject he wanted to disuse with her. "We got some dinner and spent the night talking about various subjects."
"Is that right." Ino replied, unsure where this conversation was going or what was so awkward about it.
"One of things that we talked about…" Cloud's voice tapered off again, he was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke up again. "She told me of some gossip that was going about the village at some point."
"Ummm, ok…" Ino said, more confused than she had before.
"This gossip, apparently some people got the idea that you and I…" Cloud said, a small flush appearing on his face. "I take it you've heard about this."
"O…oh, yeah I've heard whispers going around." Ino told him, knowing just what her guest was referring to. "So that what's got you all flustered."
"Y…yeah, something like that." Cloud said. "Ino, you're not disappointed are you?"
"Disappointed?" Ino replied.
"I mean that, hmmm, did you ever get the impression that I was, y'know, interested in you like that?" Cloud asked, doing his best to not shift awkwardly in his seat.
Ino frowned. She couldn't deny that the blond haired swordsman has caught her eye, she'd even entertained the idea of having him taking her out on a date. Then the encounter with Itachi and Kisame in Suna followed closely by the Oto/Iwa/Kusaga Invasion Cloud had become distant and hadn't sort her out in any real way and she'd had to accept that her daydreams just were not meant to be.
But why now, after the months that had gone by why'd he wait so long before he'd come to her to discuss the rumours that been circling and had since died. Giving it some thought the answer seemed pretty clear. "You're not staying are you?" Ino said, a note of disappointment in her voice.
Cloud shook his head. "No, I'm not." He confessed. "I spent the morning booking a flight back to Rocket Town before coming to see you."
"I see." Ino sighed. "To answer your question Cloud, I won't deny that you're an attractive guy and I might have entertained the idea that you and I could have had some fun together, but no you made it quite clear that you weren't interested in anything like that."
"Oh, ok." Cloud said. "You're not disappointed are you?"
"I'm a big girl Cloud, it would be pretty pathetic if I couldn't handle a little bit of disappointment." Ino told him.
"Ahh…alright then." Cloud said before taking a sip of his tea, it was a little bitter for his liking but decided to say anything about it. "So, how have you been doing? Last night Sakura mentioned that you and Shikamaru…"
Hearing this caused Ino's face to scrunch up into a look of annoyance. "Damnit forehead," She grumbled. "Sticking her nose into other people's business…"
"Hey, she's just worried about you." Cloud said, doing his best to sound concerned. "She's not the only one either."
"I know, I know she is but…" Ino groaned as she buried her face in her hands. "Shika and me, we both know what we're doing is messed up and isn't helping either of us. But…I…we don't know what else to do. He's hurting really right now, losing both Choji and Temari on the same day messed Shika up real bad. I'm not much better to be honest. We both lost a brother in Oni, it like we both lost a part of ourselves and we don't know how or if it can ever be filled."
"I know, I get what you mean. I know what it's like to lose someone important." Cloud told her. "The hole they leave behind feels like a bottomless chasm."
Ino stared at him, the look that he currently wore, it was the same one he'd had when he'd mentioned a friend that had known a lot about flowers back in the store. "How did you deal with it?" She inquired.
"I didn't." He confessed. "After she died I spent years I've stumbled about, sinking further and further into the darkness all the while being too afraid of looking towards the light."
Cloud then looked up at Ino, a serious look in his face. "Don't be like me Ino, don't let this one event dictate your whole life, I've been down that road and I can tell you that if you do that it will consume you to the point and before you know it the rest of your whole life has it passes you by." He told her. "It won't be easy and I won't be painless but just be aware that you've got your friends and family there for you and just want the best for you, something it took me a long to realize, and trust me you just got to you is a hell of a lot better than trying to do it all alone."
"I…I don't know, all that sounds really nice but…" Ino trailed off again. "What about you, you gonna take your own advice?"
Hearing this Cloud chuckled humourlessly. "Guess that's a fair question, I'd be a real piece of work if I couldn't back up my own words." He replied, he then let out a deep sigh. "I'm trying, I don't know if I'll succeed but I made a promise to the person that I cared for that I would try. I guess that's all we can do really."
Ino hummed in response. The two of them sat in silence, both of them awkwardly sipping at the warm liquid that cooled somewhat whilst they had been talking.
"Hey Cloud," Ino spoke up, breaking the silence. "You're heading home soon?"
"Yeah, that's right." Cloud replied. "I've been gone so long, I don't want to think about all the bills that have waiting for me."
Ino chuckled. "Y'know you don't have to if you stayed you wouldn't have to deal with any of that." She said. "You could set up shop here, start a whole new life. I bet everyone would be happy to have you stay here."
Cloud shook his head. "Maybe, can't say it doesn't sound tempting. But no, I can't." He replied "I stayed because I felt like I had to make sure that the army Orochimaru made using my DNA was destroyed. This place, whilst I won't say that it hasn't grown on me, it's not my life."
"I see." Ino sighed. "I get that. You have a life and people waiting for you back where you came from. Plus I know that Tifa will want you around when her child is born. Still I got used to you being around, now that you're leaving… I suppose asking you to uproot and relocate here is would be unfair and selfish."
"Same if I asked you to abandon your life here and come back to Edge with me." Cloud added.
Hearing this made Ino laugh. "That sounds like the plot of the cheesy romance novels that I used to eat up when I was younger." She managed to say. "Sadly life isn't that kind. So when do you have to leave?"
"Couple of days." Cloud told her. "Are you gonna be alright?"
"I dunno." Ino said, she seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before reaching out a placing one of her hands on top of one of his "But I'll try. That's all we can do right?"
"Yeah, that's right." Cloud nodded, her act surprising him
"Cloud-san, thank you." Ino smiled at him "Talking with you, it's been a big help."
"Glad I could do something for you." Cloud replied, repaying her smile with one of his own.
Naruto felt the warmth of late afternoon sun on his neck as he made his way through the tree and brush line of a woody area of training ground 7. His business with Tsunade completed he'd wasted no time looking for his new charge, something that he'd figured would be pretty straight forward. He had however underestimated the kid's abilities as a ninja as he was proving to be more difficult to find then he thought it would be.
Either he was some kind of genius born with abilities that surpassed what he should be to do at his age or he had an insane work ethic and dedication when it came to his training, something that shouldn't be surprising given that the boy had previously been Lee's student.
Before long Naruto exited the treeline, emerging into the wide open field, one that he was more than a little familiar with having spent a great amount of time here, as he did the sounds of someone exerting themselves caught his attention and following a quick investigation found his target throwing punches at an invisible opponent near three wooden sticking out of the ground, the sight of which filled Naruto with a sense of nostalgia, memories of taking Kakashi's bell test along with Sasuke and Sakura in order to officially become Genin.
Watching the young teen run through his kata Naruto began to a feeling of ill ease take root, both the previous evening and that morning he'd felt pretty sure of himself but in the here and now he wasn't so sure if this was really such a good idea.
He'd never really been a model student and rarely had he had the responsibility of leading others, Samui had been his team's squad leader and she'd usually deferred to Bii on any mission she'd not been in charge of.
The idea of someone like him being responsible for the training students was one many would have laughed at, one he couldn't argue with.
However he could see that the kid in front of him was lost and confused right now and without someone to guide him he'd be lucky to advance beyond what he was capable of right. Sometimes having someone that believed in you was all someone needed in to grow, Iruka had been the first of many for him and right now Ski needed someone to be there in his corner.
'Well, I said I was going to do this and I never go back on my Nindo …' Steeling himself Naruto approached the dark haired teen who didn't seem to notice his presence until he spoke up. "Y'know sparing is more effective when there's two people."
"N…Naruto-san…" Ski spluttered, quickly he tried to compose himself whilst pretending that he hadn't broken one of the cardinal rules of a ninja been caught unawares. "W…what are you doing?"
"What, I can't take a stroll around my home village on a nice afternoon." Naruto replied. "Working hard I see."
"Got that right." Ski said, crossing her arms, "I'm want to be the best ninja this village has ever seen, to do that I'm gonna have to work my ass off if I want to be better than old timers like you."
Naruto frowned at this. "Cocky little brat," He said in a stern tone. "You think that's any way to talk to your new sensei?"
Hearing these words Ski froze up, his breath seeming to catch in his throat and his eyes widening in shock. "S…sensei…" He managed to say. "N…Naruto-san, you mean that y…you're…"
The serious look on the blond haired man's face melted away and was instantly replaced by his trademark cocky grin. "That's right, got the paper work to prove it." He replied as he pulled out a scroll and unfurled it revealing Tsunade's signature as well as his own. "From this moment on I'm gonna be training you."
Ski couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ever since he and his sister Suki had been given refuge in Konoha he'd learned about Uzumaki Naruto, come to look up to him for both his abilities as a ninja as well as a prankster. And now the same person that he'd come to admire was now going to be in charge of oversee his training.
"N…Naruto-san…" The dark haired teen stammered out, "W…why would you…"
"What, you got a problem with me teaching you or something? Way I see it you need someone to take over your training and I've got nothing to do for a while." Naruto replied offhandedly. "Besides Lee was a good friend of mine, least I can do is see to it that his student goes on to become the best ninja that this village has ever produced. Well second best as least."
Silence feel over the pair, Naruto giving his new pupil a moment to assimilate the information that had just been presented to him.
"Anyway, since we're here I don't see why we should delay. If you're gonna be my student then I wanna know what I'm working with." Naruto continued as a column of smoke appeared on either side of him, a perfect duplicate of him appeared on either side of the blond haired man. "So come on, show me what you got."
Shaking his head Ski quickly assumed his Taijutu stance, the same one that his late sensei had favored. "H…hai Sensei."
Night had passed and the sun that was beginning to peak over the Hokage Monument heralded the beginning of a new day.
In the streets of Konoha several people were already up and about despite the early, among them was Cloud wheeling Fenrir alongside him as he approached the main gates of the village.
He was booked on an airship that was leaving for Rocket Town later that day, meaning that he had a long drive him if he wanted to get to Nami in plenty of time. After getting up he'd spent an hour double checking that he had all his supplies as well as making sure that he wasn't missing anything before he'd left his lodgings.
Before long the village gates came into view and figuring that he was far away from the residential area that he could start up the dark machine without waking up any sleeping residence Cloud mounted his bike, taking a moment to take one last at the village that became a big part of his life these past few months, something that he never expected when he first arrive.
"Well well, what do we have here? Someone suspicious trying to sneak away. Just as Cloud was about to kick start his bike into life when a familiar voice caught his attention, scanning the area he noticed leaning against the wall of a nearby building.
"Ino, what are you doing up so early?" He asked.
"I could ask you the same thing." The blond haired Konouchi replied before she pushed off of the wall and approached him. "You weren't about to leave without saying goodbye were you? If I knew that today was the day you'd be leaving today I'd have arranged a goodbye party."
"I rather you didn't, I didn't want anyone to make a big deal about this." Cloud told her. "You didn't answer my question by the way."
Ino shrugged. "I had a feeling that you going to try something, call it women's intuition." She said casually. "So this is it, you're heading home."
"Yeah. It's been so long since I left, wasn't supposed to be gone this long." Cloud said in a serious tone. "Still I'm gonna miss this place, it was just another job when I first arrived here but I'll admit it's grown on me."
"Yeah, I was getting used to having you around as well." Ino confused. She feel silent for a few moments, shifting her gaze away from him and feel silent for a few moments. "So, do you think I'll ever see you again?"
"Who can say," Cloud reply. "I'm a delivery boy after all."
"Hmmm, is that right." Ino said. "I'll bare that in mind next time I need I order something from the east."
"That's right, Strife Delivery Services will deliver anything regardless of distance or obstacles." Cloud said giving here his best salesman's pitch as he produced a business card and handed it to her.
"Oh really, any distance or obstacles huh." Ino said, leaning forward slightly so she could look Cloud in the eye as she accepted the small cardboard rectangle.
"That's what our company motto says." Cloud told her. "Just make sure what your ordering is worth it. Airfares here is not exactly cheap."
Both blonds chuckled at this before silence took hold once more. "So…I really should get going." Cloud said, "Got a long trip ahead of me."
"Yeah, you should. Days not gonna get any longer." Ino sighed before she straightened up. "It was nice to meet you Cloud-san, I wish you all the best for your future."
"You as well." Cloud replied. "It was nice to meet you as well Miss Yamanaka, you and other crazy cast of characters that I've met whilst I was out here."
"Crazy characters, whatever could you mean." Ino said in a mock hurt tone. "Your friends aren't exactly normal either."
"I guess that's fair." Cloud said letting out a small laugh. "Hey Ino, you're gonna be alright aren't you?"
Placing one of her hands on one of his Ino offered Cloud a small smile. "Yeah, I think I am. Our talk the other day helped a lot." She told him. "It's not gonna be easy and will take time but I think that I'm gonna be fine, Shika too."
Cloud nodded, it was then he noticed that sun had risen as they he and Ino had been talking, officially marking the start of a new day. "Well this is it, can't put this off any longer." He sighed.
Ino frowned. "Yeah, such a pity." She said in a solemn tone. She then took a step back. "Well I suppose this is Sayōnara Cloud."
"Auf wiedersehen" Cloud replied.
Ino cocked an eyebrow. "Auf wiedersehen?" She said, sounding a little confused.
"I heard someone say that once." Cloud told her "I kinda liked the sound of it, I believe it means 'until we meet again'."
"Hmmm, Auf wiedersehen." Ino said as she mulled this piece of information over. "Y'know I like it too. Well go on, you better head off then. After that whole scene having you still sitting here is gonna get kind of awkward."
Shaking his head Cloud offered Ino a last nod before turning his gaze back to the gates before Cloud kicked Fenrir into life, the bike letting out a mighty roar followed by a screech of rubber tires before the machine launched itself forward into the dawn light of the new day.
AN And with that this chapter is done and this one went longer then I thought it would, I didn't think the dinner scene would run that long but that's just how it worked out.
Please feel free to post feedback, have a Happy Easter and I'll see you all in June for the epilogue.
Till then peace out y'all.