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Asleep and Awake
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"You know, Sakura…" Ino sat in front of a mirror, combing her long, blond hair before tying it together. "When I said you could spend the night here… I thought we were talking about a few nights, not weeks and months."
"I told you, I'm saving up money from missions. It's just that… this is the first mission we are doing in such a long time. It took Naruto so long to master this stupid tree-walking. We could've gone on this C-rank mission much earlier if it hadn't been for him." There was annoyance in Sakura's voice as she packed some clothes into her backpack.
"I'm just saying, my dad was already talking about going to your parent's place to settle things."
"There is nothing to settle," Sakura said, cramming more underwear into the backpack. "I told you I talked to my father again. And he basically said he doesn't want to see my face again until I gave up on my 'childish little dreams.'" Her backpack was full of clothes once again, so full that she had to give them a beating for everything to fit in.
"Sheesh, are you planning to move out after all? How long do you think this mission is going to take, dummy?" Ino flicked her finger at Sakura's forehead as she walked past her to the door.
"I'm just making sure I'm prepared. This is the first time I'm visiting another village after all. And also…" She threw a dark grin at Ino. "It's the first time I'm spending the night with Sasuke. Which pyjama do you think he likes more on me?" She held up two different sleeping shirts at Ino.
Ino, who'd already been out of the room with one foot, stormed back at Sakura and tackled her over. "Don't you dare tease me like that when I'm the reason you are not homeless, billboard brow." Ino was pinching Sakura's cheeks, pinning her to the floor. "A cute pyjama won't save your ugly face anyway!"
Sakura eventually managed to push Ino away. "You are just jealous that you aren't even close to spending the night with him, Ino-pig," she yelled after Ino.
The two girls went on to wrestle on Ino's bedroom floor until Ino's father knocked on the door, telling them breakfast was waiting.
"This is just unfair. You were only lucky to be assigned on the same team. Otherwise he wouldn't even know you exist." Ino got up from the floor and straightened her skirt. "By the way, how is Naruto?"
"Huh? How's Naruto supposed to be?" Sakura hung her backpack over a shoulder to take it downstairs with her. She was going straight to the main gate to meet her teammates after breakfast.
"I've heard my parents talk about his seal. They said Kakashi-sensei removed it, and that they worried about his mental state because of it."
Sakura looked at Ino with big eyes before she started laughing. "No way! Removing that seal did nothing. Naruto's still Naruto. I wouldn't be surprised if Kakashi-sensei didn't actually do anything. Maybe he just tricked Naruto with all his 'your chakra control will get better' talk." She tried her best to imitate her teacher's monotonous voice. The two girls both giggled and went downstairs together.
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Ino's question had not been as ridiculous as Sakura thought. Old nightmares returned. And for the first time in years, Naruto woke up again in the middle of the night, breathless, with drops of sweat running down his forehead.
He couldn't remember his dream. But he knew it had been awful. He could feel it. His insides were twisting, his heart beating fast. He lay in his bed, stared at the ceiling, and was too scared to go back to sleep.
It felt like something tried to take over his body. Secretly, whenever he closed his eyes. He wondered if this was the demon sealed in him. But he didn't know what to do about it.
So Naruto never went back to sleep again that night, and arrived at Konoha's main gate with a yawn. He brought some chocolate chips, hoping they would raise his mood.
"Don't tell me that's your breakfast," Sakura said. "You really have no idea what's healthy for you, do you?" She lectured him more out of boredom than actual worry about his health. As always, Kakashi was too late.
"They are really tasty. Do you guys want some too?" He offered his teammates the bag.
"I can't stand sweets." Sasuke turned away from them.
"I'm not having sweets for breakfast either," Sakura announced. There was no way she'd have chocolate for breakfast in front of Sasuke's eyes. It sure made people look like a glutton.
Naruto offered the bag to Naho as well, who thankfully accepted the offer.
"Are you two for real?" Sakura watched her two teammates munch on chocolate chips with a frown on her head. The worst part was that she actually liked chocolate chips herself.
Kakashi eventually strolled towards them, not being in any hurry at all. "Yo," he greeted them, raising his hand at them. "Sorry I'm late. Someone was cleaning the street and I didn't want to bother them."
His four students looked at him in silence. His excuses had never been good, but they definitely didn't get better either.
"So, who's our team leader today? Let's see." Kakashi put on a thinking face, one finger scratching over his covered mouth. He was good at pretending that this decision actually mattered.
"Me! I'll do it!" Naruto raised his hand, jumping up and down on the spot.
"Please, not Naruto again. He takes this way too seriously." Sakura groaned at her teammate.
"How about… you, Sakura." Kakashi pointed a finger at her.
Sakura wasn't exactly keen on being team leader for the day, but it was still better than listening to Naruto's overexcited commands. The last time he was team leader, he thought it was funny to have a competition on who can eat a bowl of ramen the fastest. Apparently it was supposed to be a team-building exercise. Kakashi had been proud enough that Naruto even knew the word 'team-building', so he'd friendly reminded his students that the leader's calls had to be followed.
"What are we going to do first, Sakura?" Naruto now asked her. "Do you have a special formation we should take on while walking? We could get attacked by bandits after all." He put one hand above his eyes, checking the area. This was their first C-rank mission. And it excited Naruto, despite being sleepy. Also, he didn't want his teacher to notice that, maybe, removing the seal did have an impact after all. So he had to act normal, happy.
Sakura sighed. But a smile soon came back to her lips as her eyes fell on Sasuke. He quietly walked next to her. "Say, Kakashi-sensei. What kind of village is this we are going to? The mission details said it was famous."
"It is known for being a great holiday resort. It's up in the mountains and has lots of hot springs. They say bathing in them makes your skin look 10 years younger. You can also visit plenty of dance shows all around the year. Apparently they have some of the best food in our country too."
"But we are actually going on a mission, right?" Sasuke checked.
"Yes, yes. Naruto, tell us about the mission. You did read the details, didn't you?"
Naruto hadn't.
Naho got to answer in his stead. "There is a big hotel that has fallen victim to several acts of vandalism over the last months. They have an important guest staying in their hotel tomorrow and we are to make sure that everything runs smoothly for the time of their stay, and, ideally, find out who the culprits are should they choose to cause trouble again."
"Yes!" Naruto rose his fist into the air. "That was it. It just slipped my mind. We'll catch those villains! Who's that important guest again? A lord or lady?"
"They didn't specify. But that's also nothing that should concern you," Kakashi said.
"So, since it's a C-rank mission, the pay is better, right?" Sakura asked her teacher.
"Mh, I see at least one of you kids is diving into the serious side of life. Yes, the pay is better. But we won't actually make it there at this pace, Sakura. Why not give your team a little stamina exercise?"
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They eventually arrived in the small town after hours of running and sprinting. Shops and little food stalls filled the main street left and right and everyone seemed busy selling wares and convincing tourists to participate in one of their attractions.
"Wow, so much food!" Naruto said, his mouth dropped open. "This is the first time I'm in another village. Do they have ramen too?"
Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto's cluelessness. But she too was charmed by the town's traditional-styled wooden houses.
Naho was still gasping for air, exhausted from the hour-long sprint. She'd spent many days and nights at the library trying to catch up to all the years she'd missed at the Academy. Maybe there was too much library and too little training ground.
It didn't slip Kakashi's attention either. "I guess we know who needs to do more exercise," he scolded her, though it didn't actually sound like scolding. It never did. Kakashi used the same monotonous voice for almost anything in life.
Naruto patted Naho on the back with a grin on his face, happy that for once he wasn't the one being scolded.
There was one building in town that stuck out from the others. It towered in the centre of the village, and was much higher than the other houses around it. In comparison, it almost looked like a castle.
"Is that the Hokage building?" Naruto pointed at it.
"Idiot." Sakura punched the back of his head. "Does this look like a Hidden Village to you? There are no shinobi here, so there also is no Hokage."
"Might be the mayor's house. He'd definitely be living a good life," Sasuke noted.
"No, actually," Kakashi said, "that's our client's hotel."
"Eh, that big thing is a hotel?" all his students exclaimed in surprise.
They walked over to the hotel together and the owner immediately ran at them to greet them. He didn't have to ask them who they were. It was obvious from their clothing and Konoha headbands. The first thing the owner did was to give them a tour of his hotel, which proved to be his biggest pride in life. There was a bakery on the ground floor, which he recommended to visit for breakfast and a restaurant serving local specialties on the highest floor, overlooking the mountains and valleys around them. They also offered exclusive access to some of the finest hot springs their village could offer. Both indoors and outdoors. He ended his tour in the gift shop, which sold overpriced souvenirs.
Naruto looked at little figures of foxes and birds, and took out his purse to check for money.
"What are you doing, you moron?" Sakura grabbed his ear to pull him away.
"But I need something to remind me of our first C-rank mission," he protested.
The hotel owner went on to show them to their rooms. Sakura couldn't quite believe yet that she was really going to spend the night in such a luxurious hotel, and with Sasuke of all people. Sure, Naruto, Naho and Kakashi were present too, but her eyes did a good job at blanking them out for the most part.
When Kakashi announced that he would take one of the two rooms for himself and his students could share the other one, Sakura almost dropped dead. She stumbled into the room after them, watching as everyone dropped their backpacks on the floor.
"Sakura-chan." Naruto appeared next to her, a big grin on his face. "Do you want to put your futon next to mine? I'll make sure Sasuke doesn't make a grab at you tonight."
She punched Naruto away, but her face was flushed red. She hadn't expected Sasuke and her to be that close.
"Are you alright? Your face is all red." Naho had an actually worried look on her face.
Sasuke put down his futon next to a wall, trying to get as far away from anyone else possible. Sakura immediately knew what she had to do and grabbed her own futon to lay it down next to his. It didn't take long until Naruto then put his futon down next to hers. A fight broke out between the two, as Sakura yelled at Naruto to move his beddings away. There was no way she would sleep next to him.
"I want Naho next to me," Sakura proclaimed.
"Why? You are sleeping next to Sasuke too, why not next to me?"
"Who do you think I am? Sleeping next to two boys at once?" She pulled Naruto's bedding away.
Naruto started pulling at the other side, not giving up that easily. "Then move away from Sasuke if you are worried about that sort of thing."
Kakashi entered the room just in time to witness his two students almost ripping apart Naruto's blanket. Sasuke was leaning against the wall, massaging his trembles. Naho stood lost in the middle of the room with her bedding in her arms, unsure where her place in all of this was supposed to be.
"If you two can't behave you will both sleep in my room," Kakashi said.
His two students immediately dropped the blanket. Though Sakura was the one fast enough to grab Naho and pull her between her and Naruto, telling her to sleep next to her.
Naruto pouted at the two girls. "Whatever, Naho is a lot nicer than you anyway."
Sakura's fists clenched on their own, but she managed to hold herself back. At least he gave up on the spot next to her.
"So Sakura, what's the plan for today?" Kakashi asked while rubbing his back with a massage stick he'd found in their room.
"Huh, the plan?" The girl remembered she'd been assigned team leader, but they had never actually gone on a mission since Kakashi-sensei introduced the idea. She had no idea what it all involved. "I guess… we should go and gather information on the vandalism first?"
"Sounds good. Good luck, guys."
"Huh, aren't you coming with us?" Naruto asked.
"I'll see how Sakura does first. If you guys can complete this mission without my help, I'll treat you to dinner." He thought about his words for a moment. "Actually, no I won't. But you will have earned a tiny bit of respect from me, isn't that way better?" He threw a smile at them that was only visible in his right eye. He received four gloomy stares from his students in return.
"Alright, then let's do this," Sakura said. This was nothing she couldn't handle. A grin formed on her lips. "I think we should split into two groups. Naruto and Naho, you two will talk to the hotel owner again and ask him for any information he has. Sasuke and I will walk around the village and talk to some of the other locals."
Neither Naruto nor Sasuke were satisfied with her allocation. They knew well enough why Sakura chose the teams that way. But they both followed the rules and accepted her decision. Especially since Kakashi was still standing next to them, observing their decision making.
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Sakura and Sasuke walked down the main street again. They'd left most of their ninja gear including their headbands at the hotel on Sakura's order. There were too many people suspicious of shinobi asking too many questions.
"Hey, you two. Don't you want to try some of my lotions? They make your skin all soft and shiny."
Sakura immediately turned to the lady and tried some of the free samples.
"Excuse me," she started while rubbing her hands. "We are staying at that big hotel over there and heard there's been a lot of vandalism. Do you know anything about it?"
"No idea, sorry," the woman said, but her voice was much less friendly than before. She turned away from them to serve other customers.
Sakura noticed her sudden change in behaviour but didn't push any further. "Do you like this smell?" she asked Sasuke instead, holding her hand in front of his nose.
"No," he said immediately. He turned away from her and continued down the road.
Sakura sighed, but the smile on her lips stayed. She felt blessed getting to spend this time with Sasuke.
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Naruto and Naho were looking for Sasuke and Sakura to report on their findings when they passed a ramen restaurant. Naruto immediately stopped and was glued to the entrance door.
"Please, Naho. We have to try the ramen here."
"But Sakura told us to come find them once we are done."
"Just one bowl. Come one, aren't you hungry from all that sprinting? We haven't even had lunch yet."
Even if Naho tried arguing, there really was no use. Naruto was already in the building, talking to the chef. And of course, one serving of ramen wasn't enough either, so Naruto ordered a second one.
"This is really delicious!" Naruto's eyes were glowing as he slurped down the last bit of broth.
"Thank you, thank you," the chef said. Naruto had been talking with him throughout their not so short eating break, and the man was visibly happy to have him as a customer. "It's so nice to have a customer who appreciates your food with all their heart."
"Of course," Naruto yelled, and for a moment, Naho feared he would order a third serving. "Who on earth doesn't appreciate ramen?"
The chef sighed. "I wish you were right. But my business hasn't been going well lately. I might even have to close my restaurant."
Naruto was shocked. "Why?"
"I reckon you've seen that big hotel? It's hard to overlook. The owner is a brutal businessman. He's slowly taking over the economy of our whole town. I guess I can't blame him. Competition is competition. But even my grand-grand-father already served ramen in this restaurant. It's going to be a sad, sad day when I have to close for good."
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They all met again with Kakashi in his hotel room to report back. He was sitting on some cushions in a yukata, enjoying a hot tea.
Naruto's eyes narrowed at his teacher. "Aren't you supposed to be doing missions with us? You are just lazing around!"
"I'm supposed to supervise you guys. Which is what I'm doing right now, so tell me what you found out."
"Not really a lot," Sasuke said, throwing a dark glance at Sakura, who'd dragged him from one shop to the other for hours. They'd even watched a small singing competition on the central plaza.
"Well, we did find something out," Sakura disagreed. "We've been to almost every shop in town and none of the shop owners wanted to talk about the vandalism. Or they claimed that they didn't know anything. But this town is really small, there is no way no one actually has any information."
Kakashi nodded, rubbing his chin.
"The hotel staff also said that they believe someone from the village was the culprit, because there have been five acts of vandalism over a span of 2 months. It couldn't have been a guest," Naho added.
Naruto stepped forward. "This hotel owner also isn't as great as he's making out to be. He's taking everyone's customers away! That poor guy from the ramen shop said he might have to close his restaurant soon because of him." He was clearly invested in the ramen chef's fate.
"Good job," Kakashi told them regardless of their scarce findings. "What's the next step of action?"
Sakura put a finger to her lips, thinking things over for a moment. "We should each take turns to keep watch for any signs of more vandalism around the hotel. That's our main goal after all, to make sure nothing happens while that special guest stays here. Seeing how big the hotel is, it might be best to have at least two people active at the same time."
Kakashi smiled at her. "That's a good idea. But it's unlikely anything's going to happen as long as there are this many people still around. You should all relax for a bit. We can start the watch after dinner."
The faces of everyone lit up except for Sasuke, who couldn't care less how they were spending the rest of the day.
Sakura immediately pictured herself and Sasuke strolling around the village again, wearing yukatas this time. She did a little dance while giggling to herself.
"Hey, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, let's go to the onsen together." Naruto grabbed his yukata and looked through a basket filled with little tubes of shampoo and lotions. A gift from the hotel owner. Naho too vanished in the bathroom to change. Sakura was about to follow her when Naruto said, "Maybe we will see Kakashi-sensei without his mask for the first time," he whispered to Sasuke.
"No way! Unfair, I want to see too." The mask had become such an integrated part of Kakashi's face that Sakura hadn't even realised she hadn't seen him without it even once.
Sasuke didn't seem too intrigued, but Naruto didn't give up. "Have you never wondered what he hides with it? Maybe he has huge buckteeth?"
Sakura couldn't help imagining her teacher with ugly teeth sticking out of his mouth and even Sasuke's eyes twitched as he suddenly was curious after all.
They only stopped whispering when Naho came back from changing. Naruto and Sasuke's eyes were immediately fixed on her. They'd never seen her wear her hair loose before. "Wow, Naho-chan. You look so cute in that yukata. I never realised you had such nice long hair." Naruto added a happy chuckle to his compliment.
Naruto's words and Naho's long black hair would have been enough to evoke jealousy in Sakura, but Sasuke too stared at Naho with a look on his face that Sakura had never seen before. And suddenly Ino's words kept resounding in her head again and again: Sasuke likes girls with long hair, Sasuke likes girls with long hair, Sasuke likes girls with long hair. She touched her own hair, awfully self-conscious all of a sudden. She hadn't cut it ever since Ino told her about Sasuke's preferences. Yet it didn't have the same length as Naho's hair.
She bit her lip, wondering why in the world Sasuke would look at this awfully reserved girl instead of her. She had tried her best to ignore it, but there had been something between them ever since they became a team.
"Well, I'll go have something to eat. You might have stuffed yourself with ramen earlier, but I haven't eaten since breakfast." Sasuke turned away from Naruto and the others and walked towards the door.
"Wait, we'll all go together! I'll just change real fast." Sakura grabbed one of the yukatas the hotel prepared for them and vanished in the bathroom.
"Are you coming too, Kakashi-sensei?" Naho asked, but her teacher quickly said that he'd already eaten and would stay in the hotel room.
"You never join us for dinner, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto sulked, but it didn't help convincing him.
To Sakura's displeasure Sasuke didn't quite show the same reaction when she stepped out of the bathroom again. She'd taken her time to adjust her hair and make sure she looked the best possible. He barely even looked at her and simply threw a short "finally" in her direction.
Naruto on the other hand showered her with compliments on how cute she looked, but those words meant nothing from him. Or at least not as much.
The four genin left their hotel together to go into town. Lanterns lit the streets and even more tourists roamed the streets now.
"Wow, this town is so beautiful." Naho clapped her hands together in awe. "It almost looks like there is a festival going on with all these lights and food stalls."
Naruto shared her excitement. "Let's try lots of food!"
"Yes!" Naho answered immediately, a bright smile on her face. "I love street food."
"Sasuke-kun, how about we sit down somewhere and have dinner together? Street food won't fill us up properly." Sakura tried her best smile. But Sasuke's eyes were on Naho once again. There was an unusually big frown on his head.
Sakura definitely didn't expect him to agree to her offer, yet he did. He walked off into the opposite direction Naho and Naruto were going, telling her to hurry. It was supposed to be a victory for Sakura. If only it didn't feel like he only joined her to get away from Naho.
Naruto and Naho went from food stall to food stall, trying anything they could find. Plus points if they didn't actually know what they were eating. One woman gave Naruto a second red bean bun for free that he shared with Naho.
"The people in this town are so nice," he said, while they both sat down on a small bench at the side of the street. "I've never gotten anything for free in Konoha."
Naho looked at him, still not sure if it was alright to openly talk about the Kyuubi inside of him. "Have you always lived on your own?" she eventually asked.
"No, not always." Naruto took another bite of his bun. "I used to live with my teachers when I was younger. But they all either gave up on me or… died." He looked at the red bean paste in the bun, squeezing it out. "But it doesn't really matter anymore. Now I got you guys." He smiled at Naho. The smile slowly vanished as he realised that Naho wasn't returning it. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No," she said instantly. "It's just… You seem to get along really well with the others, even though you guys are always fighting. I don't have many people in Konoha. My former classmates always made fun of me because I joined the Academy at such a late age. It took me ages and a lot of help from Tenten to learn how to even throw a kunai. I wish I got along well with Sasuke and Sakura too." She lowered her head, looking at the empty paper wrappings in her hand. "I don't think they like me much."
Naruto gave her a big pat on the back. "Why would they not like you? You're such a nice girl. Believe it!"
"But Sasuke's frown is always twice as big when he's looking at me." She pointed a finger to her forehead, imitating Sasuke's usual frown. "It's the same with Sakura. She's always nice to me, but she looks at me like I did something wrong."
"Don't worry. That's just how those two are." He tried to cheer her up, but could see that she wasn't too convinced. "Hey, why don't we bring Sakura and Sasuke some street food too? I'm sure they'd be happy." He looked around. "Mh, I wonder what they would like?"
Naho followed his gaze and looked at the different food stalls. "How about some onigiri? We have a long night ahead of us. We should buy some as a midnight snack."
"Good idea!"
They went over to the onigiri stall and chose two for each person. Naruto insisted on choosing Sakura's, claiming that was his duty as her future boyfriend. Naho chose two for Sasuke. Naruto looked at Naho's choice with a rather sceptical look.
"What's that flavour? Are you sure Sasuke likes tomatoes out of all things in his rice?"
"You don't think he'll like them?" Naho looked at the back with her onigiri, wondering if it was too late to return them. "I don't know. I just thought it would be something he'd like."
"Ah well. The thought's what counts, right?"
They walked back to the hotel to meet up with their teammates again. Naruto was excited on going to the onsen with Kakashi, and kept entertaining Naho with theories on Kakashi's face and the mask on their way back.
Sasuke and Sakura were already back in their room. Sasuke was sitting at a window, looking outside at the town, while Sakura was reading a magazine to him. He didn't seem to be listening though.
"Hey guys, we brought food for our nightshift!" Naruto ran inside and let himself fall next to Sakura, who instantly attempted to push him away. "Here, these are for you."
Naho looked at Sasuke, who'd completely ignored that they were back. It took her a moment before she pushed herself to walk over to him and hand the onigiri over. His black eyes only shortly met hers before he averted them again and grabbed the bag.
"Thanks," he said shortly. He opened it to look at the flavours, and Naho could see a flash of surprise in his eyes, which was soon replaced by another frown. The biggest frown Naho had seen so far.
"I'm sorry if I chose the wrong flavour. You can have mine instead, they are with salmon." She took the other bag to exchange them.
"No, it's fine," Sasuke said, keeping his bag close to him. "I like them. It's just…" He still couldn't get himself to look at Naho's face. His eyes roamed around the room instead, looking at everything but her. "How did you know?" He observed her from the corner of his eye.
Naho didn't quite understand the question.
"How did you know these were my favourites?" He immediately looked away again and stood up. "Nevermind. I'll go take a bath. Thanks for the food." He walked past her and left.
Naruto yelled after him. "Hey, wait! I'm coming too, I'll just convince Kakashi-sensei real fast." Naruto got up too and grabbed some soap and shampoo. "I'm so excited to have a look at Kakashi-sensei's face." He giggled to himself, and left the two girls alone.
"Should we go to the onsen too?" Naho asked with a soft smile.
Sakura was biting her lips. She was now the one who couldn't bring herself to look at her teammate. "Why would I want to go anywhere with you?" she eventually snapped. She threw the magazine into a corner and left.
Naho looked after her, slowly dropping her gaze. She knew Naruto had been wrong.
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Naruto lay in wait for Kakashi, who'd promised to join them soon. The hot water steamed around them. "He's coming," he finally realised, grabbing Sasuke's arm in excitement.
"I don't care." Sasuke pulled his arm away from him.
"Eh? What's with you all of a sudden? I thought you wanted to know too if Kakashi-sensei has those immense buckteeth." Naruto formed teeth with his two forefingers.
"Have I just heard my name?" Kakashi appeared in front of them.
Naruto almost drowned in the hot spring when he looked at Kakashi's face. The lower half was now covered with a towel instead of a mask. Naruto blew bubbles of disappointment into the water.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei. What happened to your eye?" Naruto noticed the big scar running straight down over his left eye. It was the first time Naruto saw him without his headband, but he still kept the eye closed, using only the right one.
"I lost it during a fight," Kakashi said casually as he stepped into the water.
"Really? That must have been one hell of a fight." Naruto was excited again, hoping his teacher would expand on the story, but Kakashi didn't say another word. "Man, you two are such bores," he complained. "Ya know, I was in the same class as Sasuke and Sakura, but this is actually the first time seeing you and Naho without your headbands. You both look so different without it."
Sasuke sank deeper into the hot water as Naruto kept talking.
"Naho-chan looks pretty cute actually, don't you think, Sasuke?" Naruto raised his eyebrows several times at his teammate, who tried his best to ignore Naruto prodding him. "Maybe I should ask her for a date, what do you think?"
"Hell, what do I care?" Sasuke yelled back at him and simply left the hot springs altogether.
"You'll get wrinkles from all those frowns on your forehead eventually," Naruto shouted after him, getting the last say.
"You know, Naruto. Hot springs are meant to be a place for relaxation. Not a place to tease your teammates and yell around." Kakashi was massaging his shoulder, doing his best to enjoy the bath regardless.
"I'm not teasing him." Naruto leaned backwards, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"You are. And you shouldn't. Not about Naho."
"Eh? What do you mean 'not about Naho', Kakashi-sensei?" There was no answer, so Naruto started thinking about his teacher's words. The water sloshed as Naruto jumped up with an idea, and immediately sat back down again to talk to his sensei. "Does Sasuke actually have a crush on Naho? I mean, I was just joking, but…"
Kakashi covered half his face with his hand. "No, I don't think he has a crush on her. You really don't see it, do you? You are one blind boy."
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Naho was alone in their room when Sasuke returned. He considered walking back out again, but eventually, there was no way around her. She was his teammate after all. He sat down at the window again, hoping she would just keep quiet. Luckily she was nothing like Naruto and Sakura in that regard, so they just sat there in silence while everyone minded their own business.
He observed the world outside, the wooden roofs and lights hanging from them. But every now and then, his eyes would fall onto her for just a moment.
She was reading one of the comics laying around. There were lots of free samples, and the full volumes could be bought in a shop downstairs. Her eyes moved left and right, and left and right, as she looked at the different panels.
Their eyes met. Sasuke was the first to look away.
"Hey, Sasuke…" She spoke in her usual low voice. "Are you angry with me because of anything?"
"I'm not."
She didn't push the conversation further, but he knew she wasn't convinced.
"I'm just not interested in making friends. Unlike you guys. It's got nothing to do with you," he added.
"Are you sure that's all?"
Was he behaving that differently towards her? He couldn't tell. He definitely didn't intend to.
Naruto entered before he could say anything else. "Oh, are you two alone?" He was munching on a dango stick he'd bought from one of the shops downstairs. He didn't wait for an answer but kneeled down in front of Naho instead. His eyes narrowed as he inspected her face closely. So close, Naho fell backwards.
"Do I have something in my face?" she asked, covering it with both hands.
Naruto went on to do the same to Sasuke. He stared at him so closely, their noses almost touched.
"What's your problem?" Sasuke knocked his head away.
"Mh, maybe Kakashi-sensei actually has a point," he concluded. "Anyway, where is Sakura? Kakashi-sensei said we should start our watch soon. Two people at a time."
"She left when you guys went to the onsen," Naho said.
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Naruto searched the whole building for Sakura. It seemed uncharacteristic of her to just vanish when she knew they had to continue their mission. He even thought about asking Kakashi for help, when he saw her sitting on a bench just outside the hotel. There was a little park, which was fairly quiet and closed-off from all the turmoil of the main street. He could hear big sighs as he approached her.
"Why can't Ino be on my team instead of her?" She was talking to herself, not realising yet that Naruto was close-by. "At least I never have to feel bad being mean to Ino. She fights back after all." Sakura shrieked when she spotted Naruto.
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing," she instantly replied. "Nothing at all."
Naruto sat down next to her. "Are you sure? You look down."
"Say, Naruto…" Sakura was nervously tugging at her yukata. "Do you think Naho is more beautiful than me?"
Naruto, unaware that a strong 'No, of course not!' was the only correct answer he could give to such a question, started thinking hard. He wanted to give his friend the best and most honest answer possible.
Sakura almost immediately started to punch Naruto as she realised that he wasn't going to give her what she needed to hear. "You idiot!" she yelled at him over and over.
"What's wrong?" Naruto tried his best to defend himself. "I think you are both beautiful!"
Sakura turned away from him, a frown on her forehead. "I think Sasuke likes Naho more," she eventually said. "It feels like I'm trying so hard for him to acknowledge me and he just doesn't care about me at all. And Naho, who's not trying at all, just being her own cute and shy person, is getting all these… looks from him."
A big grin formed on Naruto's face. He couldn't believe Kakashi had actually just prepared him perfectly for this talk. "Oh Sakura," he said in an all knowingly voice. "You really don't see it, do you?"
"See what?"
The smirk stayed on his lips. "Naho looks a lot like Sasuke." He pointed his finger at her, while sharing Kakashi's wisdom like it was his own.
To his surprise, Sakura wasn't surprised at all. "Well, yes. Obviously. How's that supposed to cheer me up?"
"Huh, you knew?"
"Of course. It's obvious when you look at them. Everyone with eyes in their head sees it." She lowered her head. "But I read in a magazine that most people are attracted to someone who looks similar to themselves." She buried her hands in her face, pretending to cry. "Why did I have to be born with pink hair and green eyes? This is so unfair!"
"Um, I don't think he's attracted to her, Sakura-chan."
"How would you know? Have you seen how he looks at her?"
Naruto pointed his finger up once more and his big grin returned as he repeated what Kakashi had told him earlier. "Naho looks a lot like Sasuke. So she probably just reminds him of someone from his family who died."
Sakura looked at him with big eyes. "I've never thought about that."
Naruto nodded, before throwing a dirty grin her way. "But, you know, Sakura. You could just go out with me. Look at all these nice lights, should we go for a romantic walk?"
Sakura didn't hesitate to punch him once again. "Let's just go back," she said, walking ahead.
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It was a quiet night, and one shift after the other was over without any incident. Sasuke was sitting on the hotel roof, overlooking the area beneath him. He enjoyed the silence and solitude, similarly to Kakashi, who was sitting on the opposite side of the roof. Every now and then, Sasuke would get the feeling of being watched, but he couldn't quite make out why. There was no one around. The whole town was asleep. Except for Kakashi and him. He would get up every once in a while and walk across the roof, making sure the area he was supposed to cover was clear.
He sat down again in front of the window to their room, sighing. This mission had proven awfully boring for a C-rank so far and felt more like a holiday. It wasn't something he needed in his life. Boring missions wouldn't make him stronger. At least it was almost time for Naruto to take over his shift.
He opened the bag with the onigiri. They were of such a strange flavour, yet it was exactly the flavour he liked best. He took a bite, and couldn't help but think back to the time's that were lost, and to the people he'd vowed to revenge. The people he'd failed to protect.
Lanterns were still lit in the streets, and they reminded him of the last day he'd truly spend together with his family. There'd been a festival in Konoha, and his cousin had been the most excited about it she'd ever been. She pulled him from stall to stall, trying all the foods and playing all the games. He loved how every shop owner thought she was his little sister. He always wanted to have a little sibling. Because he wanted to show Itachi that he could be just as good of a big brother. He'd wanted to be just like him.
Sasuke took out a shuriken and threw it at a tree he'd chosen as a target. It landed perfectly. He threw another, and another. Dwelling in the past was no good. Becoming stronger was the only thing that would move his life forward.
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Naho slowly woke up from someone moving beside her. She rubbed her eyes, wondering if it was her turn yet to keep watch again. Someone suddenly sat down on top of her. She froze from shock. Still disoriented from her sleep, she tried to figure out who it was, blinking fast to hope her eyes would adjust to the darkness sooner.
A short sigh of relief left her when she saw it was Naruto. She wanted to ask him what he was doing, but before a sound could leave her mouth, she could feel his cold hands at her throat. She gasped for air as he pressed them together, and started choking her.
There was a wide grin on Naruto's face as he watched her struggle, trying her best to get him off her.
Her heart was racing in her chest as no air reached her lungs anymore. His grip was too strong, and he wasn't going to stop. Her fingernails dug deep into his skin, but he didn't even flinch.
Naho realised that she was too weak to break free. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get him off. She reached out to her sides, hoping to find either Sakura or Sasuke, anyone.
"Is it morning yet?" Sakura asked half asleep, before turning around to Naho. "Eh, Naruto? What are you doing?" It only took a moment for her to be wide awake again, as she jumped up to pull Naruto away from Naho. "Stop it, Naruto!" she yelled, but Naruto didn't even hear her.
Slowly, the world around Naho turned to darkness.
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Sasuke could hear Sakura's yelling inside. He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't care. Most likely Naruto had accidentally touched her in his sleep and she was beating him up for it. Sasuke had his eyes locked on something much more important, something much more interesting.
An Anbu stood on the roof opposite to him. She was wearing a Konoha mask.
"Who are you?" he asked, wondering if this Anbu had anything to do with their mission. Though there was no way an Anbu was involved in a mere C-rank mission.
The Anbu dashed past him so fast Sasuke barely saw her move. He turned around when she'd already entered their hotel room through the window. He ran after her, and entered the room just fast enough to watch her pull Naruto away from Naho. Naho was gasping for air as the Anbu pressed Naruto to the floor and placed a paper seal on his belly.
"Stupid brat," she cussed, before vanishing into thing air again.
Naho was still coughing heavily, and Sakura had to help her sit up.
"What's happening in here?" Sasuke asked, his eyes switched between Naho and Naruto. "What happened?"
"Ah, my stomach hurts." Naruto slowly came to his senses as well, crawling up from the floor.
"What did you do?" Sasuke stepped over him and grabbed him by the collar to pull him up.
Naruto tried to break free. "What's wrong with you, idiot? Let go!"
But Sasuke didn't let go. Instead, he punched Naruto right in the face with all he got. Naruto kept struggling, which made Sasuke go for another strike.
Kakashi now entered through the window as well, pulling Sasuke away from Naruto.
"Are you stupid?" Naruto yelled at Sasuke. He was about to charge at him to pay him back. But then his eyes fell on Naho, who was still breathing heavily.
Sakura had wrapped her arms around her, pressing her to her chest. Tears ran down Naho's cheeks. They both stared at him like he was a monster.
"What did I do?" Naruto asked, irritated. Scratches covered his arms. Scratches he had no memory of.
"You were choking her!" Sasuke was leaning in for another hit, but Kakashi held them both away from each other.
"Stop it, Sasuke. This is my fault." He let go of Naruto first, who was standing still, only staring at Naho and Sakura in disbelief. "It's because I removed the outer seal. It's not his fault."
Sasuke pulled away from Kakashi. "It were still his hands doing it."
Naruto stared at his hands. "I didn't. I don't remember a thing." There was a long silence between the five. Naho barely managed to look Naruto in the eyes anymore.
"Hit me again, Sasuke," he eventually said.
Sasuke didn't even hesitate.
"Keep going," Naruto said. "I'll remember this feeling."
Sasuke kept punching him until blood ran down Naruto's chin.
"That's enough." Kakashi grabbed Sasuke by the wrist, waiting for him to stop. Reluctantly, Sasuke turned away from Naruto. "Go back outside, Sasuke. Our mission is not over."
"But…" Sakura's voice was hoarse.
"No buts. Naho is fine. I'll make sure this doesn't happen again. This is no reason to abandon our mission."
Sasuke left them without saying another word.
"I'm so sorry," Naruto said, his eyes still wide from disbelief. "I didn't know that I…" He was at a loss for words for once. It pained him to look at Naho and Sakura. So he too, turned around and left.
"Are you alright?" Kakashi asked Naho, who was wiping tears away from her face. She silently nodded. "Stay with her, Sakura. I'll look after Naruto."
Sakura wrapped her arms tighter around Naho.
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Kakashi found Naruto outside, sitting on the ground. He was leaning against a pillar of the hotel, staring at his hands.
"Let's go inside again, Naruto. We can't catch the troublemaker if you scare them off." It wasn't like Kakashi to make a big deal out of things. Not even when one of his students attempted to kill the other. But he knew that there was no way around addressing this issue. At least eventually.
"Has this happened before?" Naruto asked. His voice was unusually low. "Have I done something like this before?"
There was silence.
"All those people in Konoha that hate me… I always thought they were wrong. That they had no reason to hate me. Do they have a reason? Have I hurt people before?" His teacher was looking at him, but didn't say a word. Naruto knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it. He had to hear it. "Tell me, please."
"Yes," he said shortly. "It hasn't happened though since the Third had the outer seal put on you. But there were… incidents before that."
Another silence. There was a question stuck in Naruto's throat. A question he was too scared to ask.
"Have I… ever killed someone?"
"This is not your doing, Naruto. This was the Kyuubi's doing," Kakashi avoided the question. "It's taking control over you."
"But it were still my hands." Sasuke's words resounded in his head. His lips were throbbing from the punches. He wished they hurt even more.
"Before the ninetails was sealed in you, it rampaged in Konoha and killed hundreds of people in a single night. This is not your fault, Naruto. If anything, you are the one preventing another disaster from happening."
"It doesn't exactly feel like I am the hero here."
"I'm sorry. I guess I was unprepared to deal with the outer seal being gone. But I didn't know you were having problems."
Naruto's eyes dropped. He'd sort of known. But he didn't think it was this real.
"Anyway, you'll have to learn to control it, so this doesn't happen again."
Kakashi's calmness was reassuring, like it was no big deal at all to control a demon. But Naruto wasn't sure if he could do it. He wasn't sure if this was a risk worth taking after all. He wanted to become a shinobi. The next Hokage. But he didn't want to lose the people he had only just found. He didn't want to be alone again.
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