The next morning, Naruto found himself being dragged out of his warm and comfy bed by a giant pink and black mouse. Upon rubbing his eyes and becoming slightly more coherent, he changed his thoughts about the thing being a mouse. In fact, the thing's ears were really a pair of perfectly placed hair buns and that squeaky little voice was not saying 'chu chu' but rather yelling at him to get out of bed to train.
"Tenten," Naruto yawned out.
"That's Tenten-sempai to you. Get up. We're training you now that you're better. This is my first and last free week in a while. I said, get up!"
"Yeah, yeah," he yawned again.
Tenten smacked him upside his head, "One yeah will do."
Naruto rolled out of bed and onto the floor. He slowly brought himself to his feet and trudged into the bathroom. Tenten took it as her time to leave when she heard the shower turn on. She decided to make breakfast for Naruto, he'd need it today. Naruto's normal morning routine included a quick shower which was normally a life and death situation caused by him falling asleep while standing in there. He then moved on to lazily dressing himself in anything that smelled clean enough. Next he barely made his way into the kitchen without killing himself and made a breakfast that could be considered toxic waste in some areas, which usually ended up making him feel sick after eating it.
As the case would be this morning, Naruto was even more of a hazard to himself. He was not a morning person and the sun hadn't even risen yet. He had fallen asleep and slipped in the shower and managed to bruise his hip and get soap in his eyes and mouth all at once. While dressing, he fumbled with his shirt and nearly strangled himself. To top it off, he tripped over his pants while putting them on and fell with all his weight on his elbow.
In the kitchen, Tenten was nearly worried about all the noise that the younger boy was making until she remembered that it was just Naruto, the noisiest ninja in the world. The bacon was cooked and the eggs were almost ready. She set a glass of juice and a fork and knife on the table just as Naruto walked in and tripped into his chair with a thud. Tenten placed the bacon and eggs on his plate and Naruto stared at it in confusion.
"Eat up. You'll need all the energy you can get today."
"What's that?"
"Bacon, eggs, and toast," Tenten sighed.
"Mine never looked like that before. Are you sure it isn't poisoned or something? It won't kill me right?"
Tenten held back from whacking him with the frying pan, "That's how they are supposed to look, idiot! Maybe you're poisoning yourself with whatever you cook!"
Naruto jumped and began shoveling the food as fast as he could into his mouth. It was way better than anything that he had made for himself. It just looked so weird. She made the bacon and eggs separately and she didn't put them on the toast. Maybe he was doing something wrong in making it.
"Are you finished?"
Naruto nodded, mouth full.
"Good. Get those kunai I made for you and that scroll I copied for you. That jacket will impede your movement… don't wear it."
Naruto nodded again. He was afraid to say anything to Tenten that could make that scary side come back out again. When Naruto returned, Tenten was rushing him out the door and to her team's training field. They made their way across town to the field and set up some targets through the wooded area. Naruto wasn't allowed to watch where she put them. Tenten returned and showed him a small monitor.
"This will tell me how close you got to each target, how hard you threw your kunai, and at what distance," she explained. "Don't think you can fool my by stabbing them into the targets directly. Now, today, there are only three targets since you have three kunai. Are you listening to me at all?"
Naruto nodded, "Three targets for today."
"By the end of the week, there will be 18 targets. Three more will be placed each day. What you're doing today, is doing this run until you hit each target dead on with enough force to be considered a kill. Got it?"
"Sure that sounds simple," Naruto laughed.
"If you think so," Tenten smiled innocently. "Ready? Start!"
Naruto took off into the woods where he had seen Tenten enter. He searched around everywhere for the first target. He hopped through the trees, he ran along the ground, and he even trudged through mud and thick brush to find where she hid them. Finally he spotted one five inch circle inside a hole of a tree. He threw a kunai, hitting the outside of the tree, not the inside.
Three shots was all he was allowed, he wasn't going to waste it on trying to hit it again. The second target he found much quicker. It was a log hanging from a branch with the same red dot on it. He threw his second kunai. The aim was even worse; he ended up hitting the branch instead of the log. Naruto sighed and pouted.
The third target was the worst to find, it was stuck in thick brush. When Naruto thought he saw an opening to throw a kunai through, he took the chance. His kunai ended up tangled in the vines and weeds instead of getting anywhere near the target. He tried to retrieve his kunai but ended up tangled himself. That's when Tenten appeared next to him.
She had a sad look on her face when she told him, "That was horrible. You missed by miles. You took way to long. And you were way too soft on your throwing. Here take this and aim for that big tree across the clearing."
Naruto stood and brushed himself off. He took the shuriken from Tenten and hurled it at the large tree Tenten had pointed to. While Naruto thought she was still testing his accuracy, she was watching his body movements. His positioning was all wrong. If someone where to attack him at the moment he flung that shuriken, he'd be dead. His stance was terrible and he used his arm more than his wrist.
"Naruto, watch me for a moment. I'll do it slowly so you can see how I move, then faster, like it should be."
She positioned her feet sturdily into the ground and slowly uncurled her arm and gave a final flick with her wrist. The shuriken went flying directly into the center of the base of the tree and lodged itself in. Then, Tenten did it again at her normal speed. Naruto couldn't even see her movements. That shuriken went all the way through the trunk of the tree.
"Work on your stance. I already grabbed your kunai. Here. Now, do the run again. Now that you know where the targets are, it should be faster. Focus on your movements first, then worry about accuracy and speed second. It will be a three part training this week. You have one week to get it all down. I'll come get you then. If you haven't mastered all three steps by then, I call off the training and you have to give me back those kunai because you wouldn't deserve them. Got it?"
"Yes, Tenten-sempai. You're perfectly clear. I'll practice every day until I pass out."
"Good, I'll add the extra targets every morning before dawn. The sensors will be on so I'll be keeping track of it. See you later, Naruto."
After Tenten was out of sight, Naruto sat on the grass and sighed. There had never been anything he failed at after trying so hard and practicing. But… talk about pressure from that mouse girl. He knew she was just trying to help him, but it was an awful vigorous training. With a huff, he re-entered the woods and began the course all over again.
Naruto practiced until the sun set. He hadn't even realized that he missed lunch and dinner already. Naruto was out of chakra, he had used too much when climbing trees and running around. He was simply exhausted.
That's precisely when Gaara showed up looking for him.
"Where have you been? The Hokage has been calling on you all day. It's important," Gaara stated flatly. "Let's go."
"Tenten-sempai was training me. Remember the kunai?"
"Yeah."
Naruto let Gaara drag him by the hand to the Hokage's office. Gaara was silent the entire way while Naruto kept bothering him to let him stop to get food from someplace really fast. The redhead just shook his head. Naruto wouldn't stop talking until they actually arrived outside the door or Tsunade's office. Gaara then took both of Naruto's hands into his own. He pressed his lips together in a line and took a deep breath through his nose.
"Please let me apologize before hand, Naruto. I am against this completely but the Hokage insists that it's the only way," Gaara warned.
"What? What's going on?"
"I told him that I'd do very bad things to him if he so much as stared at any other part of you for a millisecond. I don't want him touching you and looking at you shirtless. I think it's very wrong to put you in this situation. I fought against it. Believe me, I did. But the Hokage-sama assured me that everything will be alright and the perverted old man won't try anything on you."
"I don't understand."
"I trust her. Do you trust me?"
Naruto nodded. Gaara took that as the sign to open the door to the Hokage's office. Gaara walked in first and informed Tsunade that he had successfully retrieved Naruto. All the while, Naruto's stomach was growling. When Naruto finally got into the room and got a good look around his eyes fell on one tall white-haired person standing next to Tsunade. Was this who Gaara was talking about? He was going to touch him in ways that made Gaara nervous?
"ERO-SENNIN!"
"Naruto-chan. Good to see you again."
"Are you here to train me and teach me more stuff? Is there anything better than the Rasengan?"
"No, Naruto. I came because I heard of some treaty agreement between Sand and Leaf and came to offer my assistance in fulfilling it. Now, I need you to get undressed."
Immediately, Gaara was in front of Naruto with a wall of sand blocking Jiraiya's view of the blonde. The redhead was glaring and growling at the Legendary Sannin. His eyes told that he would fight to the death to keep the pervert's hands off of Naruto.
"Gaara? Ero-sennin? Tsunade-baachan? Someone tell me what's going on here."
"This perverted old man wants to look at you half naked. He claims that it's just to look at your seal, but I don't trust him. Look at that face, it's the face of a pervert."
"Gaara-san, please," Tsunade interrupted. "Naruto, Jiraiya just wants to have a look at your seal to see how the Yondaime did it. Jiraiya wants to try and replicate it on Gaara so that Shukaku is sealed more effectively. Understand?"
Gaara muttered something about perverts.
Slowly, Naruto stepped out from behind Gaara's wall of sand. He slipped his black t-shirt over the top of his head. Jiraiya knelt down and stared at Naruto's navel and poked at it. Gaara let out a snarl that made the pervert's eyebrow twitch. Tsunade attempted to hide her laughter but failed terribly. Ignoring the sand-nin, Jiraiya asked Naruto to mold some chakra so that the seal would come out.
Jiraiya spent a lot time poking and rubbing and studying Naruto's stomach. Gaara felt the blood lust rising in his veins and held himself back with all his strength. Naruto laughed at each poke to his stomach. Tsunade had turned to her paperwork because she was just bored of watching her fellow Sannin work.
"I have an answer about this one, Tsunade, but I don't think you're going to like it," he informed the Hokage.
"Ero-sennin! Ero-sennin! What is it? What did you find?"
In a hushed voice, Jiraiya replied, "It's a bloodline seal. Only those of the bloodline of the Yondaime could have performed with without sealing Kyuubi inside himself and condemning his soul. In fact, there's a whole mess of seals that he could perform that I never even knew about and I'm the Sannin know for frogs and seals."
"Bloodline," Tsunade whispered. "He was the last of his bloodline. Are you telling me that we can't seal Shukaku at all then?"
"Well," He muttered. "There is someone still alive in his bloodline. Ah… A lot happened after you left. He met someone… it was a secret relationship. They never got married. She died in childbirth."
"You're telling me that your pupil had a child and I never knew about it! I'm the Hokage! Why didn't I see this in the records?"
"Uh…" He scratched the back of his head, "I'm the only living person who knows who his child is. There was only the three of us. He came to me for advice about the whole thing, so I had to help him."
Gaara and Naruto looked at each other. They weren't really sure what was happening. Neither of them knew what the big deal was about the Fourth Hokage having a son was. Of course, he'd have some inheritance money and a bloodline trait that he didn't know about. Other than that, they both agreed that having a son wasn't that big of a deal. Their side conversation was interrupted by Tsunade yelling.
"You moron! Go fetch the Yondaime's son so that he can perform the seal on Gaara-san! You realize that because he doesn't let Shukaku's urges push him to kill that the demon is lusting for blood and Gaara-san can barely control himself anymore."
"Well, you see… Um…Uh…"
"Stop that and go!"
"But, he's kinda… not able to do it… I don't think…"
"Jiraiya, as the Hokage, I command you to tell me who the Yondaime's son is right now! I'll go get him personally!"
"I can't… not in front of them…" Jiraiya said with a painful laugh.
"You're pushing it," Tsunade growled.
"Naruto cover your ears or something, okay?" Jiraiya pleaded.
"No, don't," Tsunade ordered. "I want you to hear who it is so you know how much of an idiot Jiraiya can is. I want you to see him squirm in pain while telling me in front of the both of you."
"Tsunade. Please. Calm down. You're irrational."
"Jiraiya!"
"It's Naruto! Dammit! The Yondaime's son is Naruto! Are you happy now? I told you. In front of him. Oh god. I'm so sorry Arashi. I'm sorry Naruto."
There was complete silence in the room. No one dared to break it. All eyes were on Jiraiya and his face that was scrunched up in pain. He was obviously hurt inside because of letting this secret out. Gaara turned his attention to Naruto. The blonde looked like he was about to faint or puke or both. Gaara walked over and put an arm around him. Naruto looked at Gaara with tears in his eyes that refused to fall. Tsunade sat with her mouth moving in fish motions, unable to get a sound out.
"The old man told me that my father died on a mission outside of Konoha honorably and that he died while my mother was giving birth. Giving birth took a lot out of her and when she heard my father died, she just quit breathing," Naruto spoke lowly.
He raised his eyes to Jiraiya again and let the tears fall finally.
"Now I come to learn… that I killed my father. I killed him. This monster that I am. I killed my own father. And you! Ero-sennin… you knew. And you taught me how to summon frogs, like him. You taught me the Rasengan, which he invented. You taught me the special techniques of my father that I killed."
"It wasn't you," Gaara shouted. "It wasn't you! It was the Kyuubi. You aren't your demon. You're the one who taught me that."
"I killed my own father," Naruto said, collapsing to the floor.
"Naruto," the Hokage started.
"Please. I just need to be alone. Don't say anymore…"
"Tell my brother where I'm going," Gaara ordered the two others in the room.
Gaara then helped Naruto to his feet. He very nearly carried him down all the stairs and onto the street. With the blonde's arm around his shoulder, Gaara made his way towards Naruto's house. Naruto seemed to be in a deep state of reflection and unable to function properly. However, Gaara did notice that Naruto stomach growled loud enough to shake windows as they passed by Ichiraku Ramen. Gaara decided to stop and get Naruto a bowl of his favorite food. He led him to a stool and ordered two bowls of miso ramen.
Naruto numbly ate him. In the back of his mind, it did make him feel a little bit better. He came to the realization that Gaara even knew his favorite food. The redhead was eating a bowl, also, Naruto noted. Even though it did help a little, and satisfy his hunger, Naruto still felt rather distant as though he was sitting in the back of his mind.
Naruto hadn't even realized that Gaara had paid and they were walking again towards his house. Naruto opened the door and welcomed the sand-nin into his home. Naruto complained that there was only one bed and was about to give it to Gaara before the other boy reminded him that he didn't sleep because of Shukaku. Naruto stood there for a while. He attempted to clear his mind of his thoughts. Somewhere inside his mind, he registered that Gaara was softly saying something to him.
"I want to go to bed," Naruto stated bluntly.
Gaara nodded and helped him to his room. He set the boy he loved into his bed and pulled the covers up over them. Gaara stroked Naruto's cheek as the blonde fought the oncoming sleep. Naruto snapped his head up at Gaara.
"I lied. I don't want to be alone. Don't leave me alone."
"I won't. I'll stay here all night. I'll be right here by your side when you wake up in the morning. Go to sleep, Naruto."
And Naruto's eyes softly fell closed. Gaara kept his promise. He sat there through the entire night watching his precious person sleep. And he was there when Naruto opened his eyes in the middle of the night. And he was there in the morning when Naruto stretched and yawn and sat up in his bed. Gaara had smiled at Naruto and asked what he'd like for breakfast. Naruto weakly smiled back. But at least it reached his eyes, were Gaara's thoughts.
