CHAPTER 11
TITLE: Catch Up
Trying to look inconspicuous in the middle of a shinobi village filled to bursting with trained spies and killers was a special kind of tacky.
Even trying to look relaxed was pointless, especially when he definitely was anything but.
He looked to the side at a rustling noise, the darkness of the early morning sending his usual levels of idle paranoia skywards. He narrowed his eyes, spying only a rat entering the side of a garbage bag. He sighed, turning back around to stare at the wall, patiently waiting at his meeting spot of his choice.
'In hindsight, I wish I'd chosen a place that smelled a little better.' Masaru complained to himself.
He now stood in a place that may have been an often traveled side alleyway close to forty years ago, but the steady gentrification of the areas around the Uchiha district led to booming businesses for passing merchants, all at the expense of 'the most powerful clan in Konoha.'
Speaking of said clan, Uchiha were not commonly known for their lateness unlike one other clan he could think of, and Masaru was genuinely beginning to worry that he may be caught.
Treason was a capital crime among ninja, and even though his actions had not caused any real harm, nor were they likely to in the future, that wouldn't matter to Hiruzen. If his judgement was still even close to being as sharp as it had been, his head would be rolling around on the ground in a heartbeat.
"Boo."
Had it not been that he was a veteran ninja of nearly forty years, and that it was the most bored sounding voice he'd ever heard, he'd have jumped in his boots.
But as it was, Masaru turned to regard the young man he'd waited for so long to meet.
It took one look on his face to know what his excuse would be. With a haggard appearance that would put most skeletons to shame, and heavy bags under his eyes, the unsettling effect the Sharingan typically had on people was severely diminished.
Masaru raised an eyebrow, "Toshi. You're late."
Toshi raised his hands in surrender, "I know, I know. Out of my control I assure you. I swear, sometimes it seems like the Hokage is trying to work us to death."
Masaru laughed humorlessly, "The Hokage relies on the Uchiha clan very heavily. Some would say too heavily."
Toshi sighed as he leaned against the wall, "No arguments here."
Masaru nodded, leaning against the wall alongside him, "Konoha is overextended. Many ninja are required just to make our presence known throughout the world. The Kyuubi attack made a lot of other villages think that we're weak. What better way is there than to send out even more ninja, insisting that the opposite is true.
The man grunted in agreement, Toshi holding a cigarette in his mouth, lighting it with the tip of his finger.
Masaru looked up into the young man's crimson eyes, "Some would say we rely on a lot of things too much."
Toshi held up a hand, taking a long drag on his cigarette, "You don't have to give me the hard sell Masaru-san. Our mutual friend gave me the gist, I'm in."
Masaru was taken aback, huffing to himself as he took out a cigarette of his own. "I'll be honest, I asked a few others, and they all needed some convincing. I expected an uchiha to resist the most out of all of them."
The young man raised a finger, the tip wreathed in a candle's worth of fire. Masaru heisted for only a moment before he leaned forwards, lighting his cigarette.
Toshi let out a long breath of smoke, pulling his short, jet black hair back, "I did do my homework on you ya know. I don't consent to treason for just anyone."
Masaru froze, his practiced eyes carefully sweeping the alleyway for those listening in. He only saw the rat.
He whirled on the young man, a reprimand on his lips for voicing such lethal secrets, stopping himself when he saw his face stretched in an arrogant grin, "I knew there was a reason that an old geezer like you is still up and kicking."
Masaru swallowed his anger with all the practiced ease of a seasoned elder, "And why is that?"
He took the cigarette from his mouth, using it to point at him, "You're proactive. Too many elders, diplomats, hell, too many veteran shinobi who think that since they lived just a little longer than most, that must mean that their opinion is with a damn. They're all reactive. They ask questions, they yell, they stamp and shout when something happens. As we all do mostly, but the ones who succeed, the real winners are those who act."
He put the cigarette back in his mouth, leaving Masaru to mull over his words.
He frowned, "Consenting to killing a child is no small thing. How far does your ambition go?"
Toshi blew out another plume of smoke, "The host of the Nine-Tails has to die. That's all the information you need old man." He took another drag, and, apparently done speaking, lapsed into silence.
The elder doubted that, hardening his glare, "And the fact that our mission is to kill a rather high profile Konoha citizen, as well as a child?"
Masaru watched him carefully, noticing a small change in the young man's eyes, 'He's surprised? Hm, clearly he is not completely informed about his prospective quarry.'
Unsurprising, since the secret of the young boy's heritage was a more closely guarded secret than the monster he carried.
Masaru sighed, pulling back his own thinning pale blonde hair with one hand. He felt a bit of chakra fluctuate, and his head turned to the source of the disturbance.
He saw the rat, dead. A bit of cheese still sticking from it's mouth. To the rat's left he saw more cheese, purposefully placed, poisoned.
He turned back to the uchiha, noting the lack of cigarette, and the downturn of his lips. Toshi looked serious, his casual demeanor completely gone, replaced by the rage filled, and ambitious young jounin he'd heard so much about.
Toshi stared right at him, his red eyes boring into his soul, "The fox is a threat. The fact that it exists at all seemed a well enough reason for most of the village to blame us for the attack. Besides, none of those morons on the Uchiha council see the true danger right in front of them. My purpose will always be the protection of my clan from all fronts. No barriers, rules or morals will ever stop me from protecting my family."
Masaru watched him, really watched him, and came to the conclusion that he was only lying somewhat.
He looked down to see his fists, clenched so hard they were shaking.
He looked back to the man, "You know that this mission is likely to end in our deaths. If not from the mission itself, then our executions upon our return."
Toshi smiled, baring his teeth at the elder, "You worry about yourself old man. I have no intention of dying anytime soon, and I'm way too valuable to my clan to be killed. I'll be just fine."
The elder watched the young man, not a hint of emotion showing on his face, 'Hmph. Arrogant, but I can work with that.'
Toshi stood up straight, walking away from the wall, "I'll be noticed if I'm gone for any longer. Send for me when you're ready to act."
And with a flash of movement, and the flurry of a few leaves, the boy was gone.
Masaru huffed, and swiftly turned around, going back the same way he came. Sparing only a single glance at the dead rat before he hurried along the alley, headed towards his own destination.
He looked up, noting the sun's low position in the sky, "Better hurry, I'm running late."
It was time to meet up Naruto after the academy after all.
Better not to keep the rambunctious young boy waiting. Left alone, that energetic young lad was bound to get himself into all kinds of trouble.
Ino was going to find the person who invented chips, and she was going to use all her knowledge of shinobi arts and poison she had just to find them, and kill them slowly. Ino cringed when she heard the harsh, loud crunching noises that came from her teammate as he snacked happily on his bottomless package of BBQ flavored chips. Shikamaru sighed, his voice coming from just behind her, "Chouji we're going to eat barbecue in literally, less than five minutes. Could you lay of the chips until then?"
Chouji swallowed, smiling merrily at his only time friend, "You don't know that! They could have a line!" He said, happily popping another chip into his mouth. Ino growled, holding her hands over her ears, 'I swear, one more crunch and I'll...' Blessedly, Asuma chose this moment to pipe up, "Hey now, if I'm the one paying, than I say let him have all the chips he wants. Less skin off my back, and more bills in my wallet."
Chouji turned to give his sensei a grin, "Thanks again for paying this time sensei!" Asuma waved at him, "A deal's a deal. You all have been training hard, solid rest and good food are essential for growth, and for morale."
Ino glared at her sensei, "Exactly WHOSE morale?"
Ino took a breath, doing her best to calm down. Running a hand through her hair. She took a look back, and saw Chouji looking down, looking like a kicked puppy.
She felt a little bad, Chouji was the one to do the heavy lifting in their last mission, but that was also part of the problem. Ino lived in the same house as the clan head of their clan, and who was once the most famous psychoanalyst in Konoha, and the most powerful ninja in her clan. She heard dozens, maybe even hundreds of tales from her father. Stories filled with danger, intrigue and sneaky ninja stuff. While a part of her would always resent physical exercise to some extent, she found herself getting excited to dip her toes into the world her father always loved to talk about.
But on their last mission, all she was able to do was watch as Chouji clobbered the two bandits before she was ever even close.
Ino looked down, growled petulantly, and extended a hand to the heavy boned Akamichi. Chouji gasped, and beamed as he reached a hand into his bag, retrieving the biggest chip he could find. He reached out to hand it to her, and Ino took it, popping it into her mouth.
She hummed as the savory flavor hit her mouth, 'It's not bad I guess.'
She looked back to see Chouji grinning expectantly. Ino rolled her eyes, but gave a thumbs up, the action seemingly pleasing the portly, yet sweet boy. He turned his eyes back to the front, and so did she. She caught Asuma sneak a glance, and he smiled as he lit the cigarette in his mouth.
Ino cringed, and took a big step to the side, hoping against hope that her mother wouldn't smell the smoke on her and give her a lecture on not picking up their sensei's bad habit.
She scoffed to herself, 'Like that was ever gonna happen. Yamanaka are a little more classy than that.'
He wasn't all that bad considering, he DEFINITELY knew what he was talking about, the man was a veteran, through and through.
She knew the type, her father, Shikamaru's dad, and Chouji's dad, all veterans of the third shinobi war. There was a kind of way about them, a synchronicity that spoke of long months in the field, constantly fearing for your life, and the lives of everyone around you.
She didn't know about his manners, but he was obviously an expert at everything sharp and deadly. He had an edge to him, that oddly reminded her of Naruto.
She leaned back in surprise when she remembered that she hadn't seen him in almost two weeks.
In fact, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of anyone from their class in all that time.
"Pole."
Ino jumped at the sound of her teammate's voice, unfortunately sending her right into the pole that he tried to warn her about.
She shifted her head out of the way, but she still managed to slam her shoulder into the wooden post of a passing restaurant.
"Ow!"
She reached a hand to massage her shoulder, her mouth scrunched up in an attempt to NOT scream a very unladylike word out loud. Instead of helping her, or even asking if she was alright, Shikamaru VERY UNHELPFULLY added, "What's the matter Ino, catch a glimpse of that Uchiha in the distance?" Ino growled, "You won't catch a glimpse of much of anything when your face is buried in the dirt."
Shikamaru held his hands up, "Ok ok, no need for violence."
Ino was about to retort when a flash of orange caught her eye. She searched the crowd of people walking, when she found him. He was walking through the crowd, his hands deep in his pockets.
She smiled at first, but a look at his dour expression wiped it away. He was walking, basically trudging down the road, looking so sad, or maybe serious.
Welp. Time to change that...
She marched across the street, making a beeline for the unsuspecting genin. The only sound distinguishable from the passing din of the crowd being a single phrase passing the lips of her lazy-ass of a teammate.
"Troublesome."
Sakura found that the more sore a person became, the more aware of one's anatomy someone became. Every day she learned about the different muscles in her arms and legs, just based on what actions made them hurt more. She winced as she turned the wrong way, sending a tinge of pain up her left leg, probably from the hundred or so squats she had to do for falling behind after a run with her team.
She managed to walk without embarrassing herself, either by falling or waddling around like a toddler. She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes as she walked, 'Why?' She thought despondently. She knew that this was the path for her, beyond being with sasuke, its one of the few things she knew for a fact that she wanted. She sighed as she thought of her parents, knowing for a fact that if she ever did I decide to quit, they'd be there, waiting for her. Far, far too ready to welcome her back.
It's part of what made her decision to stick with it all the easier. Civilians weren't expected to have successful shinobi careers. No matter how highly she scored on tests, or how highly she was placed in her class.
Not like that mattered anymore... Sakura shivered when she thought of that long, long hike through the woods, passing various tests all built just to break her down. She took another step, the pain fading with every second that passed, breathing out a long breath from her mouth.
She decided to focus her mind on getting home, envisioning a hot, steaming bath, just waiting for her.
She looked ahead, and saw that she had only just made it to the market district, her home still at least 15 minutes away at a normal pace. Which meant more like 30 minutes at her current pace...
She sighed despondently, the despair just setting in at the idea of walking even just one more step, when she heard it.
'Oh, quit your whining. Nothing worth it is this hard to get. Just like Sasuke, you gotta earn it!' Sakura puffed, blowing a few strands of hair out of her face, before taking another painful step. 'Easy for you to say. You're not the one doing the walking.' 'Of course it is, I'm you! Apparently I'm just the only one with the guts to take it like a kunoichi.'
Sakura scoffed, her inner voice did have a point though, so she straightened and took another step, only to feel a heavy hand land on her shoulder.
She straighten even further, the impact sending tremors of aching pain echo down from her shoulder, all the way down to her toes.
"Hey, need some help?" Kiba asked, flashing his goofy tooth filled grin at her, Akamaru yipping happily at the sight of her.
She rode the pain out, waiting until it faded to respond, "I'm fine Kiba." She said shortly.
Kiba huffed walking parallel to her left, "Doesn't seem like it to me. Come on, we're teammates, we're supposed to help each other out aren't we?"
Sakura slowed down, gingerly turning to look at him. Kiba held his arms out wide, giving her a wink as he flashed his fanged grin at her. Sakura shivered, "Yeah, no thanks Kiba" "I think Sakura will be fine." Shino's low monotone was normally put her on edge, but all she felt was relief when she turned to face him.
She smiled, "Thank you Shino." The quiet boy only shrugged, "I say this only becasue I can tell that you have not injured yourself. Your gait is staggered, but outside of the general aches and pains of strenuous exercise, you seem to be unhurt." Her smile faded, and she sighed, resuming her walk. She should really have gotten used to her reserved, quiet teammate by now.
'Well we can hardly be blamed for that. Anything except for Sasuke was always going to be underwhelming!' Sakura rolled her eyes at her inner voice, but she couldn't bring herself to disagree. Inevitably, her mind did wander to the dark, brooding heartthrob, and she couldn't quite rid herself of the feeling of being cheated.
She sighed again, nearly wincing when she stepped on a rock that made her legs throb painfully. 'So close. Why couldn't Sasuke-kun have been on my team?' She heard a noise and turned back around to see both of her teammates following close behind her. "Why are you guys following me?" Kiba looked taken aback at the question, and turned away from her. While, despite his demeanor, Shino was far less shy about his own motivations.
"It's on the way. The Aburame family estates are at the edge of the village beyond the civilian district." He quirked his head, "Besides, should we not spend more time together. I am told that teams often spend much time in each other's company. Even outside of missions and training."
Sakura shook her head, and was about to politely refuse the company, preferring to not embarrass herself by walking like a penguin all the way to her house. Let alone let her parents see them, unless she felt like letting her nearly always embarrassing parents anywhere near them.
When she accidentally made eye contact with someone across the street. Light grey eyes, wide, surprised, and a tad embarrassed.
Hinata looked away, doubling her stride, a bag of supplies held in a small bag in her left hand.
Sakura felt the moment the lightbulb appeared over her head, "Hey, Hinata, over here!"
"So how's Sasuke? Is he doing ok? Psst, Is he doing ok? What am I saying, of course he is, he's awesome!"
Naruto sighed as he turned away from Ino, tuning the hero worship for the worlds saltiest human being out. He glanced at Shikamaru, who gave him a forlorn, depressed look, almost as if he was pleading for the end to take him. He held back his laughter, sure that Ino would take it as some kind of slight against her, Sasuke, or whatever she was talking about right now.
Naruto really didn't know if Ino showing up right now was the best, or the worst timing.
He was just about to talk to the Hokage about a problem with his rent, as he was so gently reminded of with a pounding at his front door, and loud, angry words from his landlord.
Apparently the Hokage had been paying for his rent while he was still in the academy, and since he was legally an adult, he now had to collect his pay from the bursar office, and deliver it to his landlord personally from now on. He didn't quite understand the details of it, nor the particulars behind why they couldn't just take the money out of his mission pay.
But either way, Naruto had to cough up the cash within the week, or his landlord was about to change the locks and throw out all his stuff.
"So?"
He jumped at Ino's voice, and turned to see that she looked about as annoyed as she sounded, her hands on her hips as she stared him down. He felt himself break into a sweat, "Uh...yes?" Ino gasped in outrage, and a quick glance in Shikamaru's direction, along with a sad shake of the head from Chouji told him that it was the wrong answer. Ino gave him a swift kick in the shin, and stormed off, nearly running towards the restaurant.
Naruto yelped, and rubbed at his shin, before he sighed and continued on his walk.
"Ahem." Naruto looked to the side, and saw a orange and brown chip extended towards him, the chip being held by Chouji, who smiled cheerfully at him.
Naruto smiled back, and took the chip, popping it into his mouth.
"Listen, but don't listen."
Naruto turned to his left, seeing Shikamaru staring back at him, "Huh?"
The lazy genin sighed, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the clouds, "Keep your ears open for anything important, but otherwise just tune her out. A good rule of thumb for the future. Also a good way to avoid pissing her off."
Naruto snorted, "Not a bad idea. Thanks Shikamaru." The Nara turned to him, a confused look on his face, "What was that?" He mumbled.
Naruto punched him lightly on the shoulder, and when Shikamaru laughed, Naruto joined him. They continued walking for a while, until Naruto spotted Ino standing at the entrance of a their destination. She was staring at them, looking a mixture of bored and irritated.
A man with a scruffy looking beard was smoking next to her, leaning against a pole. Naruto recognized him instantly as the man to pick up Ino's team. He curiously looked him over, his eyes lingering near the cool looking knives at his belt.
"We're here sensei." Chouji said behind him. The man looked up and smiled, and Naruto tried to say something to Ino, but she sniffed dismissively and walked inside before he could say anything. Naruto rolled his eyes, used to this kind of thing by now. He looked up, about to introduce himself to team 10's sensei, but he saw that the smile was gone from his face.
Naruto's heart increased its pace, knowing instantly that the man recognized him, and not in a good way. Naruto smiled even though he didn't feel like smiling, and he just knew that he was going to regret agreeing to come here by the time this was over.
"No thank you." Hinata says, so quiet and nonchalant that it was almost a mumble.
Sakura waited a second, then nodded, placing the first aid kit to her left, still on the table and within easy reach. Her own way of saying that her offer of treating the nasty bruise on her left forearm, was... Well, still on the table. Hinata played with her food, and despite that they were sitting in Naruto's favorite food stand in the world, she barely ate anything.
She frowned, feeling bad for the girl. Hinata was many things, she was withdrawn in their years at the academy, although she often guessed that the reason for her silence had more to do with self-restraint rather than meekness.
Of all things, Hyuuga Hinata was not meek. Her mind went back a few years, only a few weeks after Iruka-sensei disappeared. The class was despondent for ages after that, a mounting pressure building in every student, as most seemed to blame Naruto for Iruka's sudden departure. Sakura wasn't one of them, and even then it was obvious to her that there was more going on than she was aware of.
Regardless of the fact that she was known for her book smarts and overall intelligence, even back then she knew that the smartest move, was to assume nothing aside from the fact that you knew next to nothing at all.
Although, It didn't help his case when Naruto was missing for two weeks after Iruka disappeared. Coming back noticeably weakened, and apparently severely injured.
The common whispered narrative that Naruto was somehow responsible for the chunin's murder seemed more than far fetched to Sakura. Not only was Naruto the dead last of their class for as long as Sakura could remember, to be able to murder a well known chunin inside the most prominent, and debatably powerful ninja village, and get away with it was nothing short of ridiculous.
Apparently not to Inuzuka Kiba, who prodded at the Uzumaki for weeks afterwards. Always seeming to 'smell something suspicious' about him. Still recovering, Naruto couldn't respond to his words with anything but more words, which only emboldened Kiba, who always seemed to try to get a rise out of him. Rei-sensei always seemed to catch Kiba, but one day, he took advantage of her attention being elsewhere during a taijutsu lesson.
He elbowed Naruto particularly hard in the ribs, and Naruto suddenly collapsed instantly.
Sakura remembered the way Naruto went white, the sound his groans of pain etched forever into her memory. Kiba probably didn't mean to hurt him that badly based on his shocked expression, but Hinata apparently didn't care. After her and Rei helped Naruto to his feet, Hinata turned on Kiba. Everyone crowded around, but Sakura couldn't hear a thing over the murmurs of the crowd. Rei didn't seem to notice them, more focused on helping Naruto as they walked out the door, probably to the hospital.
Sakura watched them leave, pitying the blonde boy as he limped away. She turned to ask Hinata what she said to Kiba, but whatever she was going to say died on her lips.
Hinata was staring at Kiba, more angry than she'd ever seen her.
"I challenge you Kiba."
Kiba was put off, but regained his composure, only a slight quaking in his tone when he replied, "Psh! I-I'm not gonna fight a girl."
Hinata didn't falter, she didn't move an inch, her pale eyes staring straight through him, "What, because I'm, weaker than you?"
Kiba said nothing, still as a rat in a trap. Hinata only turned to look to the door Naruto had went through, her eyes softening for only a millisecond.
She turned back around, "That didn't stop you just now, coward."
A low whisper of dozens of voices chimed in, most in Hinata's defense. Few had any love for Naruto back then, and those that did like him mostly only liked him because he was funny. But few actually wished him harm, desiring a bit of poetic justice for the blonde.
Kiba looked around him, and after a short pause, he looked back to the furious Hyuuga, and nodded.
What followed was the most thorough beat down she'd ever seen, the only thing more shocking being that of all people, it was Hinata who was handing it out. She moved like a snake, her arms striking out at Kiba, who was far too afraid, and far to slow to do anything to stop it. When it was over, Kiba was on the ground, barely conscious, and Hinata was panting in the middle of the taijutsu square, nothing in her expression but utter fury.
Rei-sensei barged through the door a few seconds later, and after an angry lecture about restraint, and trust.
They all ran laps for the rest of the day, with Hinata and Kiba being given separate, even more severe punishments after that.
Kiba later had to publicly apologize to Naruto, who responded with a forced acceptance of Kiba's apology, followed by nasty prank involving chili oil, glitter, and rubber snake later that same day.
Many more laps were run that day, so overall, it was a very eventful, very long week.
Sakura 's mind went back to the present, looked in front of her, trying comparing the quiet yet intense girl she remembered, to the quiet one she saw now.
She narrowed her eyes, 'No, not quiet. Just exhausted.'
She saw it now, the labored way she moved her chopsticks, the lonely beads of sweat that covered her brow. She moved slowly, almost gingerly as she ate, almost as if she had to concentrate on every move she made. She ate very little, maybe even deciding that the small morsels of food she was able to eat, weren't worth the painful, tiring effort she required. Her own team had no qualms about eating their fill on Sakura's dime, the both of them enjoying their food after a long, hard day of training.
The stand's high chairs were hard on her legs and bottom, the aches and pains of her strenuous exercise making themselves known, but she endured it for the sake of the girl.
And her own questions of course.
She was currently 0-2 on that though, as Hinata was unwilling to share how she received the bruise, or what kind of training she was doing. She curled her lip in thought, trying to come up with a question that the guarded Hyuuga was likely to answer. How about an easy question then, "How do you like working with your team so far?"
Hinata perked up a bit, smiling a bit, "They're great so far. Kakashi is a, passionate teacher, and Naruto is as spirited as ever. He is excited for our break to be over, to continue learning as much as he can." Sakura smirked at the description of Naruto, "Spirited sounds about right. He's probably ecstatic about learning how to be a shinobi."
Hinata smiled a little more, enjoying the chance to talk about the Uzumaki, "Kakashi-sensei teaches us much, but not as much as Naruto would like." Sakura nodded along, she knew little of Kakashi beyond the few snippets other than what Kurenai was willing to divulge. "How is your sensei? I've never heard of him until today."
Hinata nodded her head, "Yes, few in our year seem to know of him. Naruto and Sasuke haven't either. However, he's apparently quite famous among his peers, more for his lateness than much else." Sakura quirked her head, not sure if she'd heard that right, "Lateness? Your SENSEI is LATE!?"
Hinata sighed, looking down to pick at her food once more, "Often, sometimes he's hours late, other times it's by a only a few minutes. He's awfully inconsistent. However he seems... knowledgeable." Sakura shook her head, "Kurenai-sensei is never late. She's shown us a bunch of stuff that we'll learn pretty soon."
Sakura scoffed, then her eyes widened, 'How could I forget...'
"Also, how's Sasuke-kun? It must be awesome to have him on your team." She clasped her hands in front of her, and Sakura's heart soared at the thought, about to go into a spiel about how great it would be to have him on her own team, but she stole a look at Hinata. Hinata grimaced, actually grimaced at the thought of him. Sakura's hands dropped along with her jaw, and she was about to question the change in demeanor, when Hinata cut her off.
"Sasuke is, determined, and certainly talented, but remains unwilling to work with us as a team." Sakura closed her mouth, and her lips drew together into a line, "What is that supposed to mean?" Hinata frowned in contemplation, "In Kakashi-sensei's words, a team is meant to work together. Multiplying our strengths, and covering our weaknesses, but Sasuke is, unwilling to work in this way. Preferring to accomplish tasks on his own."
Kiba cleared his throat and swallowed loudly, "What she means is that Sasuke is not a team player, and also a huge, raging dick." He then promptly went back to eating, not even giving Sakura or Hinata a single glance. She gaped at him, at his opinion on her crush, and his choice of words in a packed restaurant like this.
She looked to the others who were sat around her, shino ate politely, his attention on his plate, seemingly unaware of what had just happened. Hinata looked down again, once more picking at her food.
"You agree with HIM?" She asked in a whispered shout.
Hinata winced at her tone, but shrugged, "Sasuke is, well... He tends to be, um, abrasive at times. We don't get along too well. I've tried, but..."
Sakura felt her hackles rise, "Well maybe you just aren't trying hard enough! Maybe your sensei is wrong, Sasuke's good enough to work on his own, maybe you should support him instead of trying to be better than him."
Hinata kept her eyes pointed at her plate, nodding politely when she was done with her rant. Not saying a word. She deflated when she was done, a wave of guilt crashing into her. 'Right. Becasue what Hinata needs right now is someone yelling at her about her least favorite teammate.'
The table was silent, save for the dull ambient sound of others in the restaurant talking, and the sound a fluffy white dog continuing to eat noisily at their feet.
Sakura winced, looking up at the Hyuuga with a guilty smile, "Hinata, I'm so—".
She cut herself off when she saw her sensei walking up to them, Hinata, Kiba and Shino noticed her staring and tracked her gaze to see Kurenai marching towards them. She smiled broadly, laying her hands on her hips, "Well look at this. I'd expected you all to be too tired to eat as a team. I didn't expect this level of camaraderie for at least a month and a half."
Kiba smirked, his fangs clearly visible, "Sakura said that she's paying."
Kurenai's bright red eyes turned to her, and Sakura couldn't help but flinch. She raised an eyebrow at her, "Did she now? Why is that I wonder?" She looked to Hinata, who bowed at her gaze, "Hyuuga Hinata, Kurenai-San. It's a pleasure to-."
Kurenai waved a hand in the air, "None of that Miss Hyuuga. We're in a restaurant, not the field. Relax yourself, you look like you need it." Hinata flushed, a bit of red flowing up her neck and to her cheeks, "Speaking of which Kurenai-San, I must take my leave. My father is expecting me soon." Kurenai nodded gracefully, taking a step back from their booth, allowing shino to make room for her to leave.
Hinata quickly walked away, but after only a few steps, she turned, and addressed Sakura, bowing lowly, "Thank you for having me." She said.
Then she turned on her heel and swiftly walked away. Disappearing from view after only a second or two.
Sakura watched her go, a forlorn look on her face, 'Nice job Sakura...'
"Ahem."
Sakura looked to her sensei, who stood at the edge of the table, with crossed arms and a severe glare. Her stomach dropped, 'Please, don't tell me she saw all of that...' "I think I will wait outside if it's all the same to you sensei." Shino said, turning to leave.
Shino took a single step before he looked to Kiba, saying nothing.
Kurenai turned to look at him too, making the Inuzuka squirm.
Kiba threw his hands in the air, "Alright, alright I'm going..." Kiba hopped off his seat, and joined shino, and the both of them walked off together. Leaving her with her sensei. She lowered her head, waiting for the well-deserved punishment to come.
"Well, what did you learn?"
Sakura looked up, meeting her sensei's eyes, feeling confused. Kurenai shrugged, "Well?" The pieces fell into place, and she nodded, "She's hurting, she seems sad, like something's wearing at her." Kurenai shrugged, "That could be the training. Kakashi is well known for his ruthlessness."
Sakura's eyes narrowed, recalling Hinata's words from a few minutes ago, "If the training is a problem, Hinata didn't seem to mention it. Kakashi seems strict, but not quite ruthless. It's something else, maybe something at home. Her family maybe."
Kurenai expression changed, her lips upturning into what was almost a smile, but far too sad to qualify as one.
"Perceptive. Although you flubbed your chances at learning more when you let yourself get distracted about Sasuke."
Sakura's heart thudded in her chest, and she ducked her head in shame, "I'm gonna have to apologize for that one later."
Kurenai hummed, and gently laid a hand on her shoulder, "If you're gonna help her, than help her. But don't pry to closely to the goings on of her clan."
Sakura felt alarm bells go off in her head, 'She's basically saying that my hypothesis about her home life is correct, I was right!'
She looked up suddenly, "But sensei! If she's being hurt—"
Kurenai gripped her shoulder just a little tighter, giving Sakura a hard expression, "It's not something you can help anyway Sakura. You don't know about clan life. It can be a boon in some ways, but is a burden in just as many ways. Your best bet is to offer help if she needs it, give her support. But until then, leave it be."
Kurenai looked up, and her expression lightened up somewhat. Sakura turned to look, but only saw the passing pedestrians lit by the orange setting sun. She looked back and Kurenai smiled at her, "You've been doing very well Sakura, and don't worry about paying, I'll cover it. As well as any other outings like this in the future." And with that, Kurenai patted her on the shoulder, and left a few hundred Ryō on the table, leaving as swiftly as she came.
Sakura sat there for a minute, glancing at the setting sun once more, before she hopped off, and walked out.
Upon exiting the restaurant, the pain in her legs have once again made themselves known. She winced at every footfall, and an unfortunately placed rock sent her sprawling.
She reached out, and her tired aching fingers gratefully found purchase on the arm of someone with a familiarly long sleeved jacket.
She looked up, and saw dark sunglasses hanging high on the face of shino, a bored looking Kiba stranding next to him. She muttered a quiet 'thank you', and rose to her feet, narrowing her eyes at them both.
"Why are you guys still here?"
Kiba scoffed at her, "We're your teammates, duh." Shino says nothing, but gives her a thumbs up as the go on their way to sakura's house.
Sakura wants to be angry, but discovers that she only feels warmth instead of the usual anger.
'Teammates.' She ponders in her head. And she smiles, the pain in her legs suddenly forgotten.
Strategy was never one of Naruto's strong suits, and his strategy of avoiding eye contact by focusing on his food was really getting old. Naruto picked the biggest strip of beef he could find, shoving it into his mouth with abandon. Anything was better than matching the stare this Asuma guy was giving him. 'What is this guy's problem?' Naruto thought furiously, halfway hoping to get a response from the fox. ANYTHING to get him out of this.
Nothing. Damn...
Thankfully, Ino piped up, diffusing the silence, "So what have you done with your team so far?" She asked.
Naruto mentally thanked her for the distraction, doubly thankful that her question had little to do with Sasuke... This time.
Naruto hummed, scratching his head, "Mostly just training, that and boring missions mostly." He said with a dour tone.
Ino sighed, "Yeah, same thing here. I've been badgering Asuma-sensei to give us better missions, but these two have been holding our team back. If you ask me Shika's probably doing it on purpose to keep us from doing any actual work." Naruto glanced over at the Nara, who couldn't look more bored if he tried. Although he did glance back at Naruto, and gave him a wink. Naruto laughed, and Ino tried to kick him underneath the table.
"Calm down everyone." Asuma said, his voice in a low growl.
The bear-like jounin crossed his arms, giving Ino a look, "You all have areas to work on. It'll be a while before I let you all anywhere near a dangerous mission until I'm sure that your teamwork is flawless."
Naruto and Ino sighed at the same time, both probably thinking the same thing.
Naruto shook his head, "There's that word again."
Ino nodded sagely, but her neutral smile drifted into a grin, and she leaned in her voice taking a more controversial tone, "You know, Sasuke-kun aside, I think that our team would wipe the floor with your team."
Naruto rolled his eyes, picking up another slice of beef, "In your dreams. Hinata alone would take all you guys on."
Naruto's eyes widened to saucers as he slammed his hands on the table, and whipped his head up to stare at Ino, "Oh yeah! You totally missed it, but Hinata totally kicked Sasuke's ass." Ino's mouth dropped open, "H-Hinata!?" Naruto nodded so hard he was dizzy, "Yeah I know! She's a total badass! She did this cool taijutsu where she bends all weird, it hurt me when we fought too, but Sasuke was totally dropped dattebayo!"
Ino whirled to look at Asuma, a pleading look in her eyes, but the jounin only shook his head.
"I believe it. Hyuuga are famous for their unorthodox taijutsu style. But they're one of the best in the world. Ask a hyuuga anywhere, anytime and they'll tell you all about it." As Asuma finished speaking, He glanced at Naruto again, but quickly looked away, frowning suddenly.
Naruto frowned too, wondering why he was acting so strangely. "Why did your sensei have you fight each other, aren't you supposed to be learning how to work together?" He looked back at Ino, and shook his head, "He said that we need to find out what we're good and bad at, so we can help each other, or something like that."
Ino scoffed, "Oh yeah, and what are you bad at Naruto?" The blonde groaned then, looking sullen. "Taijutsu..." He said in a monotone. He leaned back, holding his hands behind his head, "But how am I supposed to get better at that if Kakashi won't teach us?"
Ino rolled her eyes, "Baka, we're supposed to work together with our team remember? Just ask Hinata. If she's so great." Naruto's eyes widened, a million ideas rushing through his mind at the recommendation. A wave of suspicion passed through him, and he shot Ino a look, "Not recommending Sasuke?" Ino crossed her arms in a pout, "I'm sure Sasuke-kun has more important things to do than pick up your slack."
Naruto rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as well, "Yeah like find the nearest tall building to brood on."
Chouji and Shikamaru both laughed, and Naruto was in the middle of chuckling at his own joke, before Ino's sandal was driven violently into his shin. He cried out, and he shot a look at Ino, who looked away, innocent as could be.
Asuma clapped his hands together, gathering everyone's attention, "Alright everyone. Pardon us Naruto, but Team 10 has a lot of work in the morning. Enjoy your day off while you can. Trust me."
Although Chouji groaned in disappointment at having to leave so early, one by one everyone filed out. Naruto walked out last, using his hand to push back the thick curtain that functioned as the door.
It was night out by now, the residual orange glow telling him that the sun had just set. Team 10 was already walking off, and he waved at Ino as she left with her team. Ino waved back, smiling broadly, with Naruto managing to hear barely a whisper of a comment from Shikamaru, which triggered a friendly punch from Ino, and a hearty chuckle from Chouji.
Naruto smiled after them, a hint of jealously in his heart, seeing the easy going nature of their team.
"Hey Naruto."
Naruto turned swiftly around, and saw Asuma standing there, a frown on his face. Naruto scanned him briefly, the darkness of the evening bathed the jounin making it slightly more difficult. Although, less difficult than it should have been. Asuma seemed like the average jounin to him, his outfit was the same as Kakashi's, wearing the same padded blue shirt and pants, and the dark green vest. The only exception being the white cloth that was wrapped around his left arm, as well as the grey scarf that hung at his waist.
Naruto's brow furrowed, and he squared his feet, mentally preparing himself for anything. Asuma seemed to notice, and held his hands up, a deep chuckle coming from him, "Easy, sorry to startle you."
Naruto was tempted to refute the claim, but he stopped himself, crossing his arms instead. The jounin chuckled nervously, "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable tonight."
Naruto didn't move, "What was up with all that anyway? Didn't your mommy tell you not to stare?" Asuma chuckled, scratching at his beard, "Yes actually, I'm sorry. I just needed to say something to you, and I figured that doing that in front of my team wouldn't be for the the best."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Is this about the fox?"
Asuma changed then, and Naruto remembered his training with Tori, her voice clear as day in his mind. 'Watch for those subtle movement. Be it in battle, or anywhere else, every move can tell you see thing.'
Naruto spent ages trying to translate that into something he could understand, but he understood then. Asuma, hardened himself somewhat, he didn't bother to hush him at the mention of the fox, but he did know about it. The jounin shook his head though, "No. It's about, what happened."
Naruto instrantly forgot everything he was taught about body language as he felt his heart stop. The fire in his veins instantly went cold, and he felt the sudden and distinct instinct to run away. He resisted the impulse, and clenched his fists, "...What of it." He asked, his voice so low it was almost a whisper.
Asuma paused, taking a moment to let his hand drift down to touch the cloth at his waist, and he belatedly realized that he recognized the insignia on it. The same symbol for the land of fire that was emblazoned on the Hokage's robes. Asuma saw him staring and immediately stopped what he was doing, "Do you know what this is?"
Naruto looked up and nodded, "It's the symbol of the Hokage."
Asuma grimaced, "No, thank the Sage. It isn't." He pulled the scarf free and handed it over to him. "It's the symbol of Hi no Kuni. The country our village resides in."Naruto took it, feeling the cloth, noticing it was rougher than it first appeared. Noting several scratches, and some parts that were rougher, darkened and charred by flames. "It's also the symbol of the Daimyo. Those who are given this are chosen to protect him." Asuma said.
Naruto handed it back, slightly confused. Why show him this, why talk to him at all. Asuma saw his expression, taking the cloth back, deftly tucking it under his vest, "I was away, when it happened."
Naruto frowned, 'So he feels guilty about it?' That, confused him. There were only three people truly at fault for his kidnapping. One was dead, the other was the most powerful man in the country, and the third was himself. "I don't think anyone actually apologized to you for what happened."
Naruto's eyes widened, a rush of emotions flooding him in that moment. He swallowed, "It wasn't YOUR fault." He blurted, his voice sounding hoarse all of a sudden. But Asuma just shook his head, "It's all our faults Naruto." He said gravely. "It was our job to protect you, and all the others like you."
Asuma scowled to himself, his eyes narrowing to slits, "We suffered, in the years before you were born our villages waged war against one another, all to prevent our village from danger, from war and death. When the truth was, we brought it with us. All the anger, the suspicion, the hate. We couldn't simply enjoy our peace. It was almost if we decided that if we couldn't enjoy our peacetime, no one could."
Asuma bowed then, he bowed low, so low Naruto feared that the man would pitch forward and fall, "On the behalf of my village, and my father the Sandaime, I'm sorry Naruto." Naruto felt as realization dawned in his mind, and suddenly, he could see the resemblance, in all but in countenance. Kakashi told him recently that sensors often feel impressions about people. Some, after long years of using chakra practically daily, developed similar abilities to born sensors.
He could see the edge, just like he did in most people around him. Naruto reasoned that all ninja carried it around with them, people treated them differently, sometimes for the better, or the worse. But it was the most keenly seen and felt in the Hokage.
Naruto wasn't entirely sure where his own abilities ended, and the gifts the fox had given him began. But from what he was able to sense from the old man it, was that his aura, his chakra, was similar to a well used, often brandished blade. A honed, deadly weapon, that bore the knicks, scratches and dents of a long history of violence.
He saw the same in Asuma, but at the same time there was willful hesitance to it, a restraint that dulled the edge somewhat. It reminded him of an older, more powerful and experienced Konohamaru, except where Asuma was a blade, Konohamaru was more like a pair of chopsticks.
If he was honest with himself, he could never see how Konohamaru and the Sandaime were related. Maybe because their age difference made it hard to tell. He didn't know. But suddenly he could see now who Asuma was based on their similarities, and their differences. His knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, both at their relation, as well as the realization that he was right. The old man seemed to be sorry at times, but it seemed now that he likely mistook remorse, for guilt. He was guilty, but he was never sorry.
Hiruzen never did apologize, but Asuma, despite never having met him before now, was bowing to him.
Naruto felt choked up, but he let himself smile, "It's ok."
Asuma rose, but he didn't smile in return, "You know full well it isn't."
Naruto scoffed, "I think I'm the judge of that Sarutobi-san."
Asuma looked taken aback at first, but his grim frown turned into a grin, "If you say so." Asuma walked over, and ruffled Naruto's hair, ignoring his cry of outrage in favor of a good natured laugh."Do yourself a favor and listen to Kakashi okay? He might be a little eccentric, but he's sure as hell knows what he's doing."
Naruto smoothed out his hair as best he could, giving the Jounin a dubious look. "Does he?" Asuma laughed again, "Have a good night Naruto." He said. And with that, the son of the Hokage walked off, disappearing into the gloom of the night after only a few seconds. Naruto waved after him, feeling just a bit lighter, as well as a little more confident as he headed to the Hokage's office.
"You give much credence to the words of the weak."
Naruto sighed, "English please..."
The full presence of the fox settled in him mind, along with the distinct impression of being watched.
"You put too much faith in these... humans." He growled, sounding irritated. Naruto shook his head, "All I did was listen to him. It's not like I sold HIM my soul or anything."
"Do not try to fool me young one..." He growled, gnashing his teeth. "They are not even worth your attention, much less your trust. They will fail you. Betray you given the chance. As you have seen, time and time again."
Naruto stopped walking, closing his eyes.
"This, your pain. Is for the best Naruto. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but your existence must come to an end. For the sake of the village."
He opened them, feeling the burning sensation coming from the scars on his back and chest. He breathed deep, and looked down to see his hands clenched so hard they shook. He relaxed them, with some effort, his fingers loosening one digit at a time. "I know... I remember."
The fox appeared in front of him, nodding in approval.
"That is all I ask of you."
Kakashi took his skill as a ninja quite seriously. The way he saw it, he'd been trained basically from birth to not be seen, and so he wasn't. Unless he wanted them to see him, which was a rare thing indeed. That was part of the reason he was standing here, on his way home from redelivering his mission report to the Hokage. His chakra muted as best he could, standing behind the shrubbery of a tall tree on the outskirts of the village.
The main reason though, was, well, he wasn't sure.
Shame was overrated, and so Kakashi chose not to feel that way, and guilt was a dear friend to him. A feeling that hung over him like a cloak, nearly every day of his what he was feeling didn't seem to have a name. He was currently staring, something which he was told is rude, but that was part of the reason hiding was so great.
No one could see him to call him out for it, problem solved.
Tori caught his eye the second he recognized her, partially because of their last interaction, and also because of her current location.
She was currently sat at a restaurant, a quite public, civilian one. She was hunched over, and seemed to have recently arrived, based on her dirty ANBU uniform, and the various bandaged cuts, and scratches on her arms and neck.
Tori fiddled with the spoon, her tea gone cold, staring into space. Kakashi turned away, the guilt stabbing at his chest.
He couldn't stop thinking about his actions that day, the way he condemned and ordered her around for nothing more than trying to do the same thing he was doing.
His own hypocrisy shocked him the more he thought about it, finding his own reasoning more ridiculous with every second that he recalled it in his head. Finding his own dark deeds of his past at least tantamount to her career in root. So he fled, heading home, looking forward to drowning his sorrows by spoiling himself by reading his favorite chapter of Icha Icha. He used shunshin, using a specific tile in his roof to enter, landing soundlessly on the floor in his kitchen.
He walked through the archway, but froze mid-step, and backed up to notice that one of his kitchen knives was out of place.
He looked closer, and saw that the second one to the left, the bread knife was upside-down. He relaxed himself and walked to his bedroom, raising a foot, and kicked the door open.
A figure flinched hard, and two familiar black eyes glared at him, "Do you HAVE to do that when I'm here?" Tenzo asked him.
Kakashi shrugged, his foot slowly lowering back to the ground "My house."
Tenzo starred for a moment longer, his gaze intensifying to an almost absurd degree. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "You know that doesn't work on me. No shame, remember." Tenzo sighed, laying back on the couch with a thud, "How could I forget." He said sardonically.
Kakashi hummed a short laugh to himself, walking over to the small shelf of books, grabbing a particularly worn copy, "So what brings you here this time?" Tenzo sighed replying without looking at him, apparently preferring to keep his eyes closed, "Just go back from an A-rank that went surprisingly smoothly, just wanted to rest my eyes for a bit before my next one."
Kakashi raised his eyebrows, but he kept his eyes on his book, "What's with the tight schedule all of a sudden?"
"Hokage's orders. He wants to wrap up long term missions before the chunin exams." Tenzo said.
"Ah, makes sense."
"Unfortunately yes. Yes it does."
Kakashi nodded, content to let Tenzo sleep. ANBU were notoriously suspicious and conspiratorial, most of them having issues with sleep, plagued by memories of missions gone awry. Besides, him and Tenzo have been close for years, and a sappy part of Kakashi felt honored that Tenzo trusted him this much. His thoughts strayed further and further from the lurid words on the page, and his hand straying towards his kunai holster. "Hey Tenzo."
His words were the only warning he gave him, as he threw a particular black kunai end over end, aimed to land in the wall about a foot over his head.
Tenzo remained still, his eyes closed as he caught it, opening one eye to look at it, and opening both after a brief second. His eyes widening in recognition.
"Ah, she gave you one of these has she?" He said in a bored tone, throwing the weapon back to him. He caught it easily enough, remembering as soon as he did how much heavier it was than average kunai.
Kakashi put it back in it's place, nodding to his friend, "Yes, a couple weeks ago." Tenzo nodded, closing his eyes again, "I'm surprised, she doesn't trust easily."
Kakashi didn't move, "Probably why she's still alive." He muttered. "I guess you have one too then. Do you know her?"
Tenzo waved a tired hand at him, "She gave me one of those years ago. Seems like overkill to me, but I get it. It can be hard for people to trust you when you've been in ROOT for so long."
Kakashi grunted, going back to his book. Tenzo huffed, "She must really trust you. Don't worry yourself Hatake, she's one of the good ones. No need to go all 'mother hen' on her. You can trust her where Naruto is concerned. She would never betray the village."
Kakashi just stared, his gaze drifting far past the page, sighing loudly. Tenzo's eyes snapped open, and he turned to Kakashi, something in between worry, and fear in his eyes. "Oh no..." Kakashi laid the book down, feeling like it was going to be awhile before he picked it back up again, "You know, you could've told me that she was trustworthy before I went and threatened her."
Tenzo shot up from his chair, "You did, what!? Why!?"
Kakashi felt the strong urge urge to shrivel up, and he pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation, more at himself than anything or anyone else, "Ugh, it seemed like a good idea. I wanted to make sure that no one was gonna hurt him."
Tenzo inhaled like he was about to speak, probably yell at him for acting so rashly, but he sighed instead, sitting back down.
"No one can fault you for that, especially with what happened. She probably won't be that bothered. Hell, she might even respect you more for it. But you are going to get a hell of a lot of "Robo-Tori" for a while."
Kakashi was about to ask, but when he thought of it, he smirked, "Oh, you mean like you were when we were younger?" Tenzo frowned deeply, a tint of red dusting his cheeks, "Oh, I wasn't THAT bad." Kakashi leaned in to stare at him. He remembered, 'vividly' just how emotionally stunted the young, long haired boy he remembered used to be. He's gotten better with time, and with plentiful human interaction that involved more talking and less sharp metal.
Tenzo said nothing in response, staring angrily at him for a while before shaking his head, and sitting back down.
Suddenly, his head snapped up, and Kakashi started, "What's wrong?"
His friend was about to respond, but before he could, his skin lightened to a deathly pale, and Tenzo disappeared in a flash of scattered sheets of paper and dust. Kakashi froze, and listened carefully, but before he could a loud crash came from above him.
He threw a dozen kunai in an instant, dodging the snapping jaws of about 30 snakes that leapt through the large hole in his ceiling. His sensitive nose smelling the caustic, potent venom contained in their fangs.
He raised a hand to weave a few seals, knowing that only a couple in the right order were necessary for a few seals he had hidden to trigger several, very nasty traps.
He turned on instinct, but before he could, he felt felt a flare of chakra rush into his body, forcing his body to sag limply.
'G-Genjutsu!' He thought fiercely, unable to move.
He closed his eyes for only an instant, that gap of time being enough for the snakes to grab him, hauling him up through his ceiling. He opened his eyes, revealing two of the most deadly women this side of the land of fire staring down at him. The dark, cool evening at their backs.
Anko and Kurenai stood side by side, both with crossed arms, their expressions of crazed mirth, and raging anger visible to him via the bright moonlight of the late evening.
'Ah, that explains the snakes.'
Especially the huge one that currently gripped him on all sides, hanging him upside down.
What HAD he done this time?
The two kunoichi seemed to not be inclined to answer his unasked question, seeming more happy to let the moments drag on in silence.
'Ah well, you attract more flies with honey than vinegar.'
'Good evening Ladies. To what do I owe this pleasure?
A.N —
Thanks for reading! And happy 20th Belated Birthday to Naruto. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Stick around for the next chapter where things REALLY get going. Next Chapter is (10-22-22)