Well, greetings friends. Before I start, a few things you should know. First, this is my first fic, and any input I can get will be appreciated.I did starta fic before this, but then my computer ate it, soit's officially KIA.I don't want to post something no one will read. Next, this takes place a little more than thirteen years after the Comic ends. Everything that needs explaining will be explained, and if you're confused, feel free to put a question in the review section. And finally, this is a character driven action comedy. The characters are the big thing here, not what they're doing, like in the comic. This fic strays from the comic in many respects, and I rather like it this way, but I did try to keep people in character. So, without further adieu, on with the fic!
Winter in Konoha is a beautiful thing. To see the snow, the crystallized tears of joy from heaven itself fall upon the frozen ground in the night sky is one of those things that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
That is, it would if you were INSIDE on said cold evening with a roaring fire in the hearth and some warm beverage in your hands while your significant other is cuddling up beside you. If you were three very pissed off chuunin trudging through the slush of a Konoha snow storm and the wind chill factor is making your runny nose freeze over, and you're chasing after a singularly annoying kid, then winter in Konoha is worthy of a few expletives and rude hand gestures.
Unfortunately, for three chuunin, this was their predicament.
"Kiimbooo!" the lead chuunin yelled through frost-numbed lips.
"Let's face it man," one chuunin chattered out, "that brat lost us. Again."
The other stomped his foot, and thus slipped. His comrades helped him up, and he started cursing. "I swear, with you guys as my witness, if I catch that damn good for nothing, I'll," with this utterance the chuunin started to strangle the air.
"Hey come on guys," the third chuunin, a young man, said, "how about I do a final sweep so you guys can go home? It's getting late and you old guys probably have someone waiting for you."
The two other chuunin laughed gamely and disappeared. The third stood their for a second, and then grinned. "So long, suckers!"
With a poof of smoke, the young chuunin became a thirteen-year-old kid. Running his hand through his thick dark brown hair, the boy smiled, showing a row of rather sharp teeth. "Kimbo, you're some kind of genius!" He proceeded to do a little hop skip and began walking off, but then he fell down, completely paralyzed.
"That was an impressive henge, young un, but it's hard to lose me through Genjutsu alone," a masked man came out of the brush, and a massive dog followed behind him.
The boy, Kimbo, smiled as he saw the two. "Uncle Kiba! I didn't know you and Akamaru were following me!"
"My nephew puts two lobsters in the bathroom in the Hyugaa mansion and almost castrates the heir to the Hyugaa name, and you don't think I'll try to find him! Of course I will you scrawny little trouble maker! Now come on! You can explain what the heck you have against Hiromaru as I take you to the Hokage's house." The masked man, now revealed to be Kiba, hoisted his nephew over his shoulder, and started trudging to the hill that the Hokage's abode resided upon. "So, out with it, Kimbo. What demon possessed you this time?"
"Hiro was making fun of that girl who came in from that new hidden village."
"The girl Colleen from Oyamadagakure?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
Kiba mulled over this. "Well, that was kind of noble, but you would have another reason to do something of this scale. So, what else did he do?"
"He ratted me out when I put itching powder in Lee sensei's leg weights," Kimbo growled.
Kiba laughed at that. "So that was you, huh? Well, a prank like that deserves a last meal before your execution. Does Ichiraku's sound good to you?"
"Thanks, uncle Kiba! Can I get miso ramen?"
"Why not. You'll probably be behind that counter for a few months as punishment anyway." Akamaru barked in a way that sounded kind of like a laugh.
Kimbo shuddered. Chouji, the shinobi chef who had taken up the position of owner of Ichiraku's when the original owner retired, was a very nice guy, but he ran a tight stand, and it wasn't uncommon for new employees to be seen crying after the first day of working under him. He also had no sympathy for troublemakers, and worked them to the bone.
The two finally got there, and Kiba called for Chouji. The plump ninja cook came in and smiled at the two. "Hey you two, how are you doing?"
"Not bad, you Chouji?" Kiba asked.
"Just great! I just found out I'm going to be a father!"
"You're serious? That's great! So Ino's expecting?" Kiba exclaimed. He couldn't think of a better father then Chouji. When he got custody over Kimbo, Chouji really helped him out. Being an Anbu tracker wasn't nearly as scary as raising his nephew.
"Yeah, in about two months they say the baby will arrive!"
"Cool, but hey, I need to get somewhere. Can I have a miso ramen for Kimbo and two beef ramens for Akamaru and me to go?"
"Sure thing. Come on you swabs!" Chouji roared to two frightened kids, "You heard the customers!"
"Yes, Chouji sama!" the two boys, one tall with glasses, and a short one with a giant rain hat on said nervously.
"Gasa, Akira, is that you, guys?" Kimbo called out. His two friends waved at him before going back to work.
"Friends of yours, eh Kimbo?" Chouji said as he looked at the two very scared kids. "I thought as much."
"What did they do, Chouji? Should I tell there parents?" Kiba asked.
"No, it's fine. They're just working off a tab. Anyway, order's up." Chouji gave Kimbo a bowl of miso ramen, and gave Kiba two covered plastic cups full of ramen.
Kimbo excitedly attacked the ramen. Kiba grinned and wondered how long his enthusiastic nephew could inhale ramen like that before choking. Kimbo answered that four seconds later when he started to cough and splutter. At that moment, he reminded him more of himself then his older sister, who was very responsible, demanding, intense, and an excellent mom, who helped raise him along with his single mom when he was younger. He wasn't sure if he should be flattered or worried that the kid took after him. But then he yawned and scratched Akamaru's head. The kid had plenty of time to grow up anyway.
Kiba smiled and gave Chouji the money he owed him. "Thanks, buddy. Well, we have to go. Take care."
"Hey, don't mention it. But hey, have you seen a couple of lobsters?" Kimbo and Kiba stopped in their tracks. Akamaru just growled knowingly. "I use them in my seafood ramen, and two went missing this afternoon," Chouji explained.
Kiba said he had no clue, partly because he didn't want to embarrass his nephew, and because he had a plan for his own personal punishment for him. With that lie, he took his two ramen cups and walked off to the Hokage's house with Kimbo in tow.
Finally, the two made it to the top of the hill. The house was very classy, but not very large. It rather represented the Hokage himself. He was an unassuming fellow who quietly watched over the entire village. He had his house built on the hill so he could literally look over the village.
Of course, Kimbo was not thinking of the poetic relevance of the house's location. He was fervently calling on a higher power for divine intervention. Besides his uncle, the Hokage was the one person he admired most. He often tried to help him out and on many occasions, he babysat his two daughters, Kaori and Ayame. The problem was that the Hokage did not tolerate troublemakers in any way, shape, or form and was especially hard on Kimbo, who had to date pulled fifteen pranks that year, each more daring and painful to the recipient. His last bout of punishment was to wash every window on the massive ninja academy complex four times. The punishment lasted six agonizing weeks and kept Kimbo on the straight and narrow for all of… three days, when he decided it would be funny to see his impassioned teacher Rock Lee dance around in agony.
Kiba walked up to the door while Kimbo was praying more ardently then he ever had in his life and knocked. A pretty woman in her late twenties opened the door. She had long bluish black hair and her white eyes revealed her part of the Hyugaa clan. When she saw Kiba, they lit up and she smiled.
"Kiba! Come in, how are you?"
"Not bad Hinata. Actually, if you could just get your husband, I found the kid who put those lobsters in the Hyugaa mansion." Kiba pointed to Kimbo, who was looking very sheepish.
"Again, Kimbo?" Hinata sighed, "When will you learn? Naruto's in the back, Kiba. Just sit down. I'll get him."
As Hinata walked off, Kiba gave a smile as he thought of how the shy little girl he was teamed up with as a genin had grown to be such a beautiful and capable woman. Then he shook himself vigorously. What was it with today and all the nostalgia he was feeling?
Kimbo was alternately looking to the future, or more accurately, watching his future gradually slip away. He couldn't even begin to think of what his punishment would be.
"Well, Kimbo, I would've thought that last bout of punishment would have beaten some sense into you."
Kimbo shamefacedly looked away as the Hokage strolled in. He was a tall man, and every ounce of him meant business. The main thing that you noticed when you looked at him were his eyes. They were blue, and seemed to glow with an intense light, like he was shooting mind bullets at you through them. This was Uzumaki Naruto, the sixth Hokage of Konoha, and one of the greatest ninja that ever lived.
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," Kimbo said to his shoes.
"Don't be sorry," Naruto chided none to gently, "Don't be stupid either."
"But he was making fun of that new girl Colleen. He even called her demon girl and was laughing at her!" Kimbo exclaimed.
Naruto looked at Kimbo. It was obvious he was speaking from the heart. That was the problem with kids like Kimbo and his friends. They were nice kids, some of them were the nicest in the village, and they were all above average ninja, but they used their talents to cause mischief or to exact their own kind of 'justice'. Come to think of it, this year's stock was teeming with good ninja. He might have to make teams bigger.
"Why didn't you tell Lee sensei, or another adult, Kimbo?" Naruto asked.
"I didn't want to bother you with it," Kimbo mumbled.
"How about you let me and the other adults decide what's bothersome or not?" The Hokage said in a softer tone.
"I'll do better next time, Hokage sama," Kimbo said sincerely.
"Oh, I know you will," Naruto said, his eyes glowing almost, but not quite, maliciously. The Hokage was quite the prankster himself in his earlier days, and he knew the worst way to punish them. "Well, since this was done with good intentions, I'll give you a choice between six weeks at Chouji's," Kimbo shuddered noticeably, "or three doing community service."
Kimbo didn't even have to think. He snapped up that community service gig as if it was the last baby back rib at his uncle's house. When you live in a house with three males, one of them a dog and two rather dog like, the fighting over meat can get furious.
"Well, Kimbo, off you go. The final Genin exam is tomorrow and I'm sure you have some studying to do."
Kimbo nodded and thanked the Hokage on bended knees. He couldn't believe he had gotten this break!
"Akamaru, take Kimbo home. I think I'll stay here a while and talk with Hokage Sama." Akamaru barked a response and nudged Kimbo to the door. The two started towards Kiba's house.
With his nephew gone, Kiba dropped all polite. "So what have you got up your sleeve for my nephew, Naruto?"
"Trust me; it's the punishment to end all punishments. If this doesn't make Kimbo toe the line, I'll make him head of the Anbu squad. Half of them would wet their pants if they had to do it."
Kiba laughed. "It's amazing how much you've changed. If I recall, you were quite the prankster during your days as an academy student. I seem to recall a particular instance where you defaced the entire Hokage monument."
Naruto gave a humorless snort. "And where did it get me? I came close to staying an academy grad for all my life. Kimbo's a good kid. I don't want him to be like me when I was his age. He has too much talent."
Kiba just shrugged and smiled. "I don't know," he said thoughtfully, "you seem to have turned out okay. Well, I'd best get home now. Take care, Naruto." With that, Kiba disappeared, leaving behind a puff of smoke and thinking, "well, today was a real stroll down amnesia lane."
Yeah, yeah. Crappy ending, but I wanted to end this with Kiba thinking how heavy the nostalgia was that day. At any rate, please read and review. I will really appreciate it. Flames are welcome. Light this sucker up till it burns. Trust me, I live with red necks who think Catholics are Jewish, crazy fan boys don't faze me. But please note that all stupid flames will be treated as jokes, and duly laughed at. I don't make fun of people for being mean, merely for being stupid. So, hope you liked peeking into my brain. See you next week.