Title: Stop…Restart It – Naruto

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi

Chapter: 12

Word Count: 1483

Warnings: again, bad pacing.

AN: I'm just waiting for my cord to arrive. Should be here by the 8th so happy woman is happy. For now, I was tired yesterday (no sleep plus errands equals tired writer). I'm going to post them, make myself a cup of iced tea and then write on this Naruto fic that is eating my brain.

Seriously the new version of this story is like…22 chapters into the story and we're barely getting to Uzu and some hard core training.

Which fun for me. Not so much for the characters. *cackles and wanders off*

They were perched on the Hokage's head, sitting in trees as they gazed out over the land. Naruto was nibbling on a piece of fruit while Sparrow was sitting nearby, mask perched on his face. They had met just a few minutes ago, the ANBU handing his student a couple of blood grapefruits, knowing the younger man enjoyed them as a treat.

"So how did things go for you at the meet up?" Sparrow finally asked as Naruto put the peels into a small baggy and sealed it on what he called a trash scroll.

"It went well enough, I suppose," Naruto hummed, foot ticking back and forth. "I get to deal with a fangirl and what I once thought was an annoying revenge driven bastard for the rest of my days in Team 7."

"I know," Sparrow hummed, shaking his head in amazement at what Kakashi had told him about the Uchiha's newest goals and plans for the future. He had no doubt that things would be rather interesting in the long run for them all. "Tell me your thoughts on them. Start with Haruno."

"Alright," Naruto hummed, taking a moment to wipe his hands free of the juices from the grapefruit with a bit of water and a napkin. "Sakura, she's been this way since she landed on a heavy crush for Sasuke and became a bit…obsessive. I would really have her looked at eventually by someone who knows the mind and make sure that she won't break mentally someday," he suggested.

Sparrow nodded his head and hummed, making a note to speak with the Hokage about getting mental examines for everyone later. "Go on."

"She's like the rest of the kids that weren't around during the Kyuubi attack. She hates me, but doesn't have a real reason outside of the fact that to her, I'm a supposed idiot. I think I really surprised her when I told them my long and short term goals," he said, shrugging one shoulder as he gazed at his tutor.

"I bet," Sparrow snorted, shaking his head.

Naruto just smiled sweetly, dropping the used napkin onto a spot of his trash scroll, sealing it away until later. "Anyways, her goals and hobbies all revolve around Sasuke, much to his distaste. I have a feeling that she's either going to fail as a kunoichi or will get her ass kicked so hard her priorities are set straight. To become a nin just to impress someone? Not a very smart idea especially since her family is civilian."

"Do you think she has a skewered view of the shinobi life?" Sparrow asked, getting a nod. "How skewered?"

"If she doesn't have a mental breakdown the first time she has to kill someone to finish a mission, I will be surprised if she doesn't just outright break down," Naruto stated. "She doesn't have the proper mind set so I suggest that you talk with Kakashi about getting her a fellow kunoichi to talk to about this shit. I fear for when she learns the darker parts of being a female in this line of work," he snorted, shaking his head with a heavy frown.

Sparrow gave his young student a long looking, knowing that Naruto had researched into some of the darker aspects, aspects that the civilians were kept out of for a reason. His henges were getting surprisingly strong, so much so that as long as he kept a low profile, he could get just about anyone to talk to him without them realizing it was him. It helped him learn more than they had thought he had apparently.

"Keeping secrets from me again?" Sparrow asked, voice curious and not annoyed. He had learned his lesson about being annoyed with Naruto. The kid would shrug it off and clam up even more. Which wasn't what he wanted to happen again.

"Not really. I've known that kunochi have it harder because they need to look good sometimes, to be able to seduce and attract their target. Sometimes, the males do it to but it's mostly females that end up doing things like this," Naruto stated, shaking his head and giving his tutor a steady look. "I don't like it, I don't think I ever will, but I can understand why it needs to happen."

Sparrow smirked behind his mask and nodded his head. "Good, you're growing up and dropping that mask of yours," he said, Naruto flushing slightly and shrugging.

"Yeah, well, between you and Iruka-kun I don't have much choice with how much you're teaching me," he teased, getting a huff of laughter. "Anyways, she's going to break. Just how and where is the question, but she is going to do so." Sparrow nodded his head in agreement. "To move on, Kakashi is just like everyone says. He's late and a porn reader but…"

"But?" Sparrow prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"But I sense an undercurrent of sadness that is hidden pretty damn well under that mask of his. Both figuratively and physically," Naruto stated, getting a sharp nod, telling him that he had gotten it right. "I noticed in my explorations, and playing hide and seek with you, that he tends to hang out by the memorial stone quite a bit. I can't help but wonder about that, but I know better than to pry," he promised, knowing that Sparrow was smiling behind his mask.

"Good. Let's just say that he has lost some important people in his lifetime, including your family," he said, getting a soft hum.

"He was trained by the Yodaime, wasn't he?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from the other man. "I suppose I would mourn for someone who I cared for, for quite a few years," he mused, Sparrow reaching over and patting his shoulder. "Yeah, he spends a lot of time there and I have a feeling that's why he's always late and with such lame excuses. He forgets the time standing there, or sitting near it."

"He does," Sparrow replied, nodding his head with a small smile, reaching out to tug on a piece of blond hair, getting a scowl from his companion.

Naruto swatted at the hand that played with his hair, the other man pulling his hand away with a chuckle. "Sasuke…he's gone and changed on us," he said.

"So Kakashi has said," Sparrow replied, getting an eye roll from the other male.

"Anyways, you jerk, it's like he's finally gotten his priorities straight in some way," Naruto said, shaking his head with a frown. "He said he had heard something that changed his way of thinking and changed his lifetime goals. Apparently he wants to clear the names of the Uchiha's that were innocent and I'm thinking officially disown those who weren't," he continued, shaking his head. "It's almost as if he's on the path to being a proper clan head now."

"I'll drop by and see him, see what's going on in his head," Sparrow promised, Naruto smiling slightly at him and nodding his head. "For now, do you think that he's left behind all of his problems? The ego and the smugness about being an Uchiha?"

"I think that he's left behind the self-entitlement of being the last Uchiha. I also have a feeling that when he can, he'll be planning for the future," Naruto said, rubbing a finger against the side of his head as he blushed.

Sparrow cocked an eyebrow behind his mask. "What? You mean he's going to jack off into a cup and freeze his seed?" he asked.

"Sparrow!" Naruto cried, shaking his head and wrinkled his nose in distaste of the thought.

"Ahh, I see now." The words were drawn out, teasing, making Naruto narrow his eyes at him. "You're not at that point in your life where you're interested in sex, much less see anyone past puppy love," he purred, dodging the kunai that Naruto tossed at him. The weapons lodged in the tree stump that he had been leaning against before he moved and made him chuckle softly. "Getting better there, Naruto, but you still haven't nicked me."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow as Sparrow removed his mask and fixed the strap that had gotten sliced by one of the kunai. "I'm getting better though. I think that was the first time that I've actually hit the strap," he said, getting a nod with a smile.

"Yep," Sparrow chuckled, putting the mask back on and standing up straight. "Either way, it's time to head out. You have to rest and I have to head off to talk with Sasuke and see what's going on with him."

"See ya around," Naruto drawled, bounding off with a wave, heading to see if he could con Iruka into making him dinner so he didn't have to do so himself. Sparrow sighed and headed off to the Uchiha estate, wondering what he would find.