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Naruto's Struggles
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None of the five team 7 members slept again that night. Naruto was too afraid to go back to sleep, Naho and Sakura were too shaken, and Sasuke wouldn't admit it, but took it on himself to make sure that none of his teammates were hurt again. Kakashi had Naruto to watch and a mission to complete. His genin all claimed they could continue their watch shifts as intended, but Kakashi was aware that their mission was on none of their minds. So he sent out his ninja dogs. It was a more efficient way anyway, one he would have chosen from the get-go if he didn't have four genin to teach.
His dogs didn't disappoint and soon led him to a young man who was on his way to the hotel, armed with several buckets full of paint.
Sasuke stood in the doorway, arms crossed. He was observing the poor soul sitting in the middle of their hotel room, arms tied up behind his back. "An Academy student could've completed this mission." There was disappointment in his voice. The young man was nothing more than a mere baker's son. He let himself get captured without any sort of a fight.
"Some missions turn out easier than expected, while others might end up a lot harder. That's part of a shinobi's life. And that's why you should always be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Just to be safe." None of Kakashi's students were actually looking at him as he shared his wisdom. Their eyes all focused on something else, and so did their minds. "Tell me a worst-case scenario for this mission that's still in the realm of the possible, Sakura."
He watched her startle as she heard her name. "I'm sorry, sensei. What was the question?"
He sighed. "You guys need to consider the different outcomes a mission could take. This guy here might as well have hired a shinobi to do the work for him. In that case, this mission would have moved up to B-rank. Maybe even A-rank depending on how much money he'd be willing to spend." He looked at the young man's appearance and clothes again. "Probably B-rank after all, if he saved money for a few years. So you should at least be prepared to face other genin or even chuunin. And if the mission turns out to be easy, then that's nothing you should complain about."
The young man hissed. "It's always about money, isn't it? Money rules this damn world."
"What are we doing with him now?" Sakura asked. He'd been sitting in their room all morning long, ever since Kakashi captured him.
"We'll just wait here until the hotel owner has decided what to do with him. That's none of our business anymore. But for now he is busy tending to his guest." Kakashi's gaze fell on Naruto. He sat on the opposite side of the room from the other three. His eyes would occasionally search for Naho, before looking down at his feet again. "I heard she is a royal lady, even related to our feudal lord in some way. Do you guys want to go down and have a look? You don't get to see someone like that often. It's fine as long as you aren't in the way." Kakashi tried to get some excitement back into Naruto. He looked like a completely different person without it. But his words did nothing.
"You guys go. I'll wait here with Kakashi-sensei," he told them without actually looking at any of them.
The other three declined too. No one was interested in the royal lady.
The window slit open and a dog entered the room.
"Kakashi, we got a problem," he said. He wore a Konoha headband on his head.
"What's that ugly puppy?" Sakura said.
Pakkun walked over to her. "Don't you call me a cute puppy, little girl." His voice was a lot deeper than what fitted his appearance.
"That's not exactly what I said," Sakura said, scooping away from the weird talking dog. She'd learned about the summoning jutsu and ninja animals, but it was still weird to see a dog talk. She had also imagined ninja animals to look more… awe-inspiring.
Kakashi interrupted their little conversation before Pakkun could ask them to touch his soft paws, like he always did. "What problem?"
"Half the town is marching here right now. They seem rather angry. If you want to capture all of them, you better start now."
It was one of those moments when there was actually a slight bit of surprise visible in Kakashi's eyes. "Sasuke, stay here and watch him. The four of us will have a look."
"But…" Sasuke was about to protest, his eyes switching between Naruto and Naho. But he silently sat down at the window again and accepted his orders.
They left through the window instead of the door. The roof gave them a good overview of their surroundings. The crowd was hard to miss though. They'd gathered in front of the main entrance. Some were carrying signs saying "greedy bastard" and "get out of our village". Other people were carrying eggs and flour or bottles with paint.
They landed between crowd and building. Immediately people shouted at them to get lost, but they didn't quite dare step too close to the four shinobi. It didn't matter that they were a crowd full of grown men and women, against one grown shinobi and three children. They still respected them. Or at least respected what they might be able to do.
"I don't know what you are planning on doing with all those eggs, but our client has an important meeting. I beg you don't interrupt."
"Yes, and it's that meeting that we are trying to ruin, so make this easier for all of us and step aside. You can't possibly take us all on."
Naruto's eyes fell on the ramen chef. He was in the crowd as well.
"But why?" Naruto asked. "Why are you doing this? You can't just damage other people's property."
Maybe it was because Naruto was staring at him in particular, but it was the ramen chef who answered him. "This bastard is driving all of us into ruin. Our whole town. He doesn't need more royal guests to shower him with funds. We are the ones who need funding."
Someone threw the first egg at a window. Kakashi caught it fairly easily. But it didn't take long for the others to follow the example, and they all started throwing stuff at the hotel. Kakashi and his genin did their best to catch eggs and rotten fruit. Until Sakura actually failed to catch one and an egg hit her head, spilling its content all over your hair.
"Are you serious?" She carefully touched the slimy yolk. "How am I supposed to sleep next to Sasuke-kun tonight smelling like rotten eggs?" she screamed and threw everything she'd caught so far back at the villagers, who weren't nearly as good at dodging and catching as the four shinobi.
"Just let us get to the hotel. We'll pay you whatever he's paying if you just leave. We don't want the little girls to get hurt or anything."
Kakashi looked at both Naho and Sakura. "I don't think the little girls are the ones getting hurt here." He took out a kunai, spinning it around with one finger. "You know, I also have a lot of stuff with me I could be throwing at you guys. And I'm pretty good at aiming." He threw it right at a bag of flour one of them was holding. It hit before anyone even saw it flying. "Maybe you guys should leave, or I might just aim at your heads next." He was already spinning the next blade.
As soon as the first person started running in the opposite direction, everyone followed. Some threw a "bloody shinobi" into Kakashi's direction, before fleeing the scene themselves.
Sakura would've been excited at her teacher's kunai throwing skills, but she was too busy figuring out how to get rid of the yolk in her hair.
"What if they were right?" Naruto asked. "What if our client really steals all their customers and makes them go bankrupt?"
Kakashi put back the kunai. "Then that's how it is, Naruto."
Naruto lowered his head. This mission had turned out nothing like he'd hoped.
"But it's wrong. He's taking everything from them."
"It's also wrong to throw rotten eggs at people," Sakura snarled at him.
Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, that hotel owner has apparently turned the whole village against himself. His business will fail eventually because of that. But that's nothing we should get ourselves involved in. We'll make sure nothing happens until tomorrow morning when this guest is gone, and then we'll leave things to work themselves out."
Naruto still stared at his feet. He didn't like staying idle. But he didn't feel like arguing with his sensei, or with Sakura. His eyes searched Naho. He looked away again immediately when their eyes met.
Kakashi was the first to jump up their roof again. Naho followed him. Naruto stopped Sakura before she could go as well.
"Sakura-chan, are you… Do you think I…" He couldn't find the right words. There was definitely something he wanted to ask her. Something he had to ask her. "I'm really sorry about last night," he ended up saying.
"I don't think I'm the one you should tell that to." It was hard for Sakura to exactly pin down what she felt about Naruto after last night. Fear? Anger? Pity? Maybe a mix of all those.
He looked at Sakura's feet, her blue shoes. Then at his own feet, wearing the same shoes. How could he possibly apologise to Naho when he couldn't even look into Sakura's eyes? Apologising wasn't enough. He couldn't apologise for being a monster. "I'm sorry," he said, walking past her. "I shouldn't bother you." He jumped up the roof, and entered back into their hotel room.
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Naho was sitting opposite of their captive. Kakashi was considering whether to set him free again, since he was just one of many and they couldn't possibly tie up half the village.
Again, Naruto turned away as soon as his eyes met Naho's. He was scared of the way she would look at him. "Kakashi-sensei. I'll be out on the roof and see if anyone comes back."
Naruto left, but Kakashi went after him almost immediately. He sat down next to the boy. Their feet dangled over the edge of the roof.
"You seem down today," Kakashi noted casually.
Naruto's eyes narrowed at his teacher. "Are you fooling with me? Cause I don't feel like it."
"Naruto… I know what happened last night scares you. But you can't dwell on this. Apologise to Naho and move on. All this means is that you need to work more on controlling the Kyuubi."
"I can't dwell on this? I attacked Naho. How can I just apologise and move on? I'm sure she hates me. Can't you just… can't you take the Kyuubi out and give it to someone who's better at this?"
Kakashi was quiet for a moment, almost like he was considering the option. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Sealing it into someone else is very dangerous. Besides, your father wanted you to have it."
Naruto gritted his teeth. His father was the one person he didn't want to think about now. A weird feeling spread inside of him when he pictured the day his father, the Fourth Hokage, decided to seal a demon in his son. "I don't want it. He shouldn't have given it to me."
"Well, what's done is done, and now you have it," Kakashi said in a weirdly positive way.
Naruto's body kept tensing up. He could feel his fingernails dig into his palms as he pressed them harder together. "No," he yelled. "Was the Fourth even my father or do people just say that to make me feel better? What kind of father would seal a monster in their own child?" Naruto raised his hand at his teacher. He didn't know where exactly the hand was going. He definitely didn't want to punch him, though he definitely felt like punching someone.
Kakashi was fast to catch his wrist. "I know it doesn't seem fair to you. But life is hardly fair. And sometimes life throws hardships in your way, or, in some cases, your own father throws them. But there is no use in sulking over them. Because if there's one thing monsters like, it's sulking. They'll feed right off the negativity in you."
Naruto pulled his hand back. He couldn't help the frown on his head, just like he couldn't help those feelings inside him.
"It's not like you aren't able to control this demon, Naruto. Otherwise we wouldn't be sitting here. Just…" He patted the boy on his back. "Keep working hard and do your best."
"You really are casual about this, aren't you?" Naruto pouted, but it did help his body relax. "So how am I going to control it better? What should I do?"
"Ah well…" Kakashi smiled at him and got up again. "That's something you gotta figure out on your own."
"Huh, what do you mean? You don't know? Hey, come back!" Naruto didn't follow him, but kept sitting on the edge of the roof. He wasn't ready to go back inside. He wasn't ready for any of this. But he couldn't give up, he knew. He owed it to his teammates that he learned to control it. He didn't want to be a threat to them.
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The townspeople threw dark glances at them as they left the village again after successfully completing their mission. The royal lady had left the town a few hours earlier, so delighted about her stay in the luxurious hotel that she left the owner a big, fat cheque right away, which left the owner equally delighted. He didn't seem too surprised either when they told him that the whole town seemed to be plotting against him. But at least he had enough money to hire more shinobi to make sure his walls weren't defaced with paint and eggs.
Naruto was the first to leave when they were back in Konoha. He did his best to manage a smile when saying goodbye to his teammates. But Naruto had never been the first one to leave. He usually accompanied either Naho or Sakura home, or convinced at least one of them to have dinner somewhere together.
His teammates stared after him, everyone muttering an awkward good-bye.
"You guys shouldn't tell anyone what happened," Kakashi said. "For Naruto's sake." He watched Naho in particular, but it was hard to tell what she was thinking.
"Kakashi-sensei, this happened because you removed that seal, didn't it?" Sakura was the one to ask. "So it might happen again, right?"
Kakashi didn't answer. He wasn't someone to lie, but he was afraid the three kids might start to distance themselves from Naruto. "There are arrangements that have been made to ensure that Naruto doesn't actually hurt someone… should this happen again." It wasn't something he was supposed to tell them. But it was something they deserved to know.
"You mean the Anbu who showed up that night? Who was she?" Sasuke asked.
Kakashi hadn't known they'd been there, but it didn't surprise him. This was exactly why the Third had chosen them. "I don't know what you are talking about, Sasuke. And that is also something you shouldn't be talking about with anyone."
"So Naruto has his own Anbu guards. Have they been watching him all this time?" Sasuke barely showed interest in anything, but this seemed to be one of the topics that did. "I never even realised," he added.
"Well, the important part is that I will take care of this situation. So the three of you shouldn't worry. Take the day off tomorrow everyone. We'll do some sparring the day after, so get some rest."
"Wait, we aren't training tomorrow?" Sasuke was about to complain, but Kakashi was already gone, vanished into thin air. "Unbelievable," he muttered, turning away from the two girls to leave as well.
Sakura would have followed him on any other day. But she decided to stay with Naho.
"Are you alright?" Sakura asked.
Naho nodded. Silence followed.
"Hey, do you want to walk home together?" Sakura eventually asked.
A smile appeared on Naho's lips. "Of course."
It was the first time they walked home together, only the two of them.
"Are you sure you are alright? I mean, because of what happened with Naruto."
"He didn't mean it, right? So… I guess it was an accident." Naho looked around. "Your house is right over there, right?"
"Ah yes, but I'll accompany you home." She hadn't told her teammates about her new living situation yet. Or about the fight with her parents.
"Are you sure?"
Sakura grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "Of course!"
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The next day, Kakashi went to the Hokage office and asked the Third for all the documents involving Naruto and his training so far. He'd been given an overview before, but that proved hardly useful at all.
"Those are secret documents," the Hokage said without moving away from his desk. "I can't give them out to anyone."
"I'm his teacher."
The old man seemed content with the answer and smiled. "It's good to see you are invested in your students."
"I'm not invested. I simply don't want to be the one responsible when my students kill each other."
The Hokage nodded, the smile vanished, and he walked past him to retrieve what Kakashi was looking for from the archives. "I can't let you leave the building with these though," he said, handing him the record of Naruto's life. "Confidential. You know what that means."
Kakashi nodded and left the office to sit down in one of the empty conference rooms.
The first few pages he skipped. He didn't need to read about the Kyuubi attack again. After that event, he found a careful record of who raised and trained Naruto.
The boy had been passed around for most of his life, without much consistency. And every time a new caretaker entered his life, they wrote down the exact same observations as the last again, nothing of which was much use.
The record ended shortly after the Kyuubi almost broke out for a second time.
There wasn't really anything there that interested Kakashi much or would help him handle a student with a demon stuck inside of him. Yet there was something that did spark his interest.
"Amaterasu?" he read as the cause of death for Naruto's latest private teacher. "An accident," the report concluded.
It brought a smile to Kakashi's lips. Calling the Amaterasu an accident was an amusing thought.
His eyes fell on the date of the incident. It was a few weeks before the Uchiha clan was completely wiped out by one of their members. Kakashi had always thought that odd.
"Have you found what you needed?" The Hokage entered the room and closed the door behind him.
He wasn't sure whether to bring this up with the Hokage. Clearly whatever happened that night was none of his concerns, as long as it wasn't connected to Naruto and his training.
But maybe, it was connected after all. "Did the Uchiha Anbu here use the Amaterasu that night?"
"We believe so, yes."
"Why would he do that?"
"It was hectic with the ninetails about to take control over Naruto. He might have accidentally used it on Naruto's teacher instead." He took the records from Kakashi and was ready to end the conversation there.
It didn't make sense to Kakashi. And he was certain the Hokage knew so too. An Anbu didn't just accidentally use Amaterasu on the wrong target. And in that situation, there was no reason to use that technique at all.
It sparked a scary idea in his mind. One that surely the Hokage must have had as well. "Is Naruto able to use the Amaterasu with the Kyuubi?"
The Hokage's face showed no reaction to the question whatsoever. "That's highly unlikely. There is no way Naruto would know or be able to use an S-rank jutsu like the Amaterasu. And the Lord First never mentioned that the Kyuubi could use it." He walked over to the door together with the documents.
"Lord Third." Kakashi stopped him before he could leave. "Even if Orochimaru stole the records of the First and Second, you must have read them. You have to remember something."
The Third's eyes were fixed on his for a moment. His expression was hard, and cold. "I have told Naruto's former teachers everything I remembered. And it should all be in the records I gave you. I'm afraid I cannot offer more help."
Kakashi was left alone in the conference room. He could tell that he was being left in the dark about some details regarding Naruto and the ninetails. Usually he wouldn't care. If only he didn't feel like this secret the Third held was endangering his students, including Naruto.
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A day passed. Naruto lay in his bed. He didn't want to close his eyes. The thought that he might wake up somewhere else scared him. He hadn't slept the night before, but worked on his tree walking some more. This night, he'd already taken a walk and did some kunai throwing. But the sleep derivation was slowly crawling up on him and his eyes became heavier.
An idea sparked his head and he summoned a shadow clone to keep him awake. But to his disappointment, the clone looked just as beaten as he did, and could barely stay away himself. He dispelled it again, yawning. He went to the sink to put cold water in his face.
One time Naruto almost fell asleep while sitting outside on the roof, looking at stars. He suddenly was pulled back to reality when he lost balance. But it was like he had already touched his dreams for just a moment.
Naruto went back inside. A pen lay on his table. He started scribbling onto the wood, not really knowing what it was that he was drawing.
Somehow, he managed to stay awake until the sun rose again. It was still too early to meet his team, but he didn't want to fall asleep after all. So he figured starting training early was better than sitting at home alone.
He was so tired, he only realised he was bumping into people on the streets when it was already too late. He muttered a fast apology.
"Watch your step," the man spit at him. He distanced himself from Naruto immediately, rubbing his pullover where Naruto had touched it like it was dirty now.
The look on his face was exactly the look Naruto didn't want to see on his teammates' faces. He kept walking, almost bumping into someone again soon after.
"Oh, Naruto." A smile appeared on Iruka's face when he spotted Naruto. "How was your first C-rank mission?" He immediately realised something had gone wrong when Naruto lowered his head in silence. He didn't look like he'd had a healthy breakfast yet, so Iruka invited him to his home for breakfast.
Teuchi was already down in the ramen shop, preparing broth and cutting ingredients for the day. They had a little flat upstairs. Ayame was on her way to the bathroom when she spotted Naruto.
"Naruto! I haven't seen you the last few days, were you on a mission?" She was excited to see him.
Naruto managed a smile and a nod. They had a short conversation that ended with Ayame deciding that she'd be the one to serve breakfast to him.
Iruka sighed. "She's never that enthusiastic when it's only me."
Naruto looked around the room. There were lots of pictures hanging at the wall and standing on shelfs. Some were of Iruka, Ayame and Teuchi. But some of people Naruto didn't know.
"So, what's with that gloomy face, Naruto?" Iruka poured him green tea.
"I hurt Naho during the mission."
"Is she alright?" Iruka asked, shocked. From the look on Naruto's face he could only expect the worst.
Naruto nodded silently.
Iruka sighed in relief. "Then I'm sure it wasn't that bad. Accidents can always happen, especially on missions. Remember when Chouji accidentally hit Shikamaru with a kunai?"
Naruto did remember. Shikamaru had barely flinched, but Chouji kept crying for the rest of the day. But that had been different. It had been a true accident, and Chouji had never intended for the Kunai to land on Shikamaru's butt. But then again, Naruto had never intended to hurt Naho either.
"I think… what I did is still worse. It's different. I hurt her, with my own hands, and now, I'm sure she hates me."
"Have you apologised yet?"
"No," he admitted. "I don't know how. And… I'm scared she won't accept it."
"You are mixing apologising with asking for forgiveness. An apology is something you give. It can't be rejected, because they are your feelings. You feel sorry, so you apologise. Forgiveness is something you receive. You might get it by apologising, you might just be gifted it even without apologising, or you might not receive it at all. But what I want to say is… always apologise if you've made a mistake, Naruto, especially if it hurt someone. It shows your friends that you care."
Naruto's eyes grew bigger as Ayame walked into the room again and again to bring dish after dish to their table, and Iruka's wisdom barely reached him anymore.
"This is breakfast?" Naruto exclaimed. He almost forgot how down he was. There was steamed rice, miso soup, a piece of grilled fish, an egg and pickles. "I've only ever had cereals for breakfast." He grabbed the chopsticks, feeling weirdly awake all of a sudden. "Are you not eating?"
Iruka shook his head. "We've already had breakfast. So it's all yours."
"Wait, so you made all of this only for me?" There was a glint in his eyes as he looked at Ayame.
"Most of those are leftovers," she said. "But I did grill you some fresh fish and made soup."
Naruto gulped down the food. It was the tastiest breakfast he'd ever had. A short glance at the time made him jump off his seat. "Oh darn, I'm actually running late now. Thank you so much, Iruka-sensei, big sis. This was awesome!" His usual excitement had found its way back to him. "And I'll definitely apologise today, sensei!"
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Naruto's excitement got chastened again as he arrived at the training grounds. His team was already waiting for him, even his teacher seemed to have arrived before him.
"Ah, Naruto. Nice of you to show up," Kakashi said. "We were just deciding on the sparring partners for now."
Naruto bit his lips. Why was looking at Naho so hard? She made him feel shameful. Shameful for who he was and what he'd done. What if all those adults in the village had been right and he didn't deserve any friends?
"So, Sakura, who do you want to have as a sparring partner today? You get to choose since you did such a good job on our last mission."
"Huh? Of course, Sa-" She suddenly stopped, and her eyes fell on Naho and then Naruto. "Sa… Saturday is Naho day!" She pointed at her kunoichi teammate.
"Great, but today's Wednesday," Kakashi returned.
"It's fine. I'll spar with Naruto," Naho said, throwing a short smile at both Sakura and Naruto.
The two pairs lined up in front of each other. Sasuke was the first to go ahead and throw punches and kicks at Sakura, who blocked what she could. There was barely room for counterattacks, but if she saw an opening, she would try. Yet she never managed to actually land a hit on Sasuke.
Naruto and Naho on the other hand just stood in front of each other. None of them wanted to be the first to punch their teammate. Sparring was something that had never seemed quite right to Naho. How could people put their all into hurting teammates?
And for Naruto, actually punching Naho now was definitely high up on the list of things he didn't want to do at all.
"So, should we start?" she asked after some time of them just standing there awkwardly.
"Sure." He could feel his ears grow hot. Was apologising supposed to be this hard? "I am… um, you know." He brushed the back of his head, trying to calm down his nerves. Somehow, he wished Naho would just punch him straight in the face instead of just standing there staring at him. She was calmly waiting for him to say whatever he had to say. "I wanted to apologise… for what I did. I'm really sorry. Like, really, really sorry."
A short smile was on Naho's lips. "It's fine. I know it wasn't really you."
Naruto's eyes widened. "So you are not angry with me? You… forgive me?"
She nodded.
Naruto could feel 5 billion stones fall off his heart. Until Naho's smile vanished and she averted his eyes for just a moment too long. "What is it?" he asked. "Tell me, please."
"I'm not angry, but…" She stopped for a moment, wondering how to say it. Or whether to say it at all. "It was kind of scary, that's all."
And his relief was all gone once again. Scary. He scared her.
"Sasuke-kun!" They heard someone yell. Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru came running at them. Or rather, Ino was running and her two teammates trotted after her. Ino interrupted Sakura and Sasuke's sparring to give him a big hug. "Why don't you and I meet after today's training and we do some sparring together? I'm sure you can learn a lot more from me than from Sakura."
Sakura immediately threw herself at Ino to drag her off Sasuke, who made sure to get as far away from the two girls possible.
"Kakashi-sensei, we are here for the next clue," Shikamaru said in a bored tone, ignoring the emerging fight between Sakura and his teammate. Chouji stood next to him, asking if they couldn't take a break before looking at the next clue.
Kakashi handed them a small piece of paper, and Ino let go of Sakura to look at it together with the others.
"Huh, what's that?" Sakura wanted to have a look herself, but the numbers and letters on the paper seemed completely random to her. "Is that some sort of code?"
"Maybe we'll get an idea how to solve it while eating a steak." Chouji stepped away from the paper.
"No way! We are winning this, you hear me?" Ino yelled at him.
"What a drag," Shikamaru scratched his chin. "Just follow me, I know where to go next."
Ino wrapped her hands around him, which earned her a dark glance from Shikamaru. "You are the best! I wonder what the prize is going to be. We are so rocking this challenge."
"Huh, what are you all talking about?" Sakura asked again. Naruto and Naho came over as well to look at the mysterious piece of paper.
"We are doing a puzzlehunt with Kurenai's team," Ino explained. "The winner gets some secret price." Ino pushed her teammates ahead. "Let's go, let's go! I'll come back after training, Sasuke-kun!" She waved at them.
Kakashi's students turned their heads towards him, frowns on all of their faces.
"Why do we never get to do puzzlehunts?" Sakura asked reproachfully.
"Yeah, I feel like other teams get to learn a lot more. You just let us spar each other all day." Sasuke crossed his arms in front of him.
"Now, now, that's not true. We did some other exercises too."
"Weren't you supposed to teach us ninjutsu at some point?" Sasuke asked. This was the one topic he would get most invested in.
"Ah right. I forgot about that. Guess we'll do that next time."
"But what about the puzzlehunt and the price? It's not fair the other teams get to do one and we don't."
"The life of a shinobi is no game, Sakura. It's hard work. Go do puzzlehunts in your free time if you really want to."
Sakura pouted at her teacher's scolding but didn't argue further. Instead she wondered if he could really teach her to spit fireballs like Sasuke. It was nothing special for clans' children. Their parents often taught them at a young age. But to a child that didn't belong to any clan, spitting fire almost seemed like magic. And it was why she became a shinobi.
She still remembered the day she saw Sasuke for the first time. He had mastered the jutsu since, but no one ever taught her how elemental jutsu worked.
She wondered whether Sasuke could remember their first meeting too.
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Komachi paced up and down the roof. Naruto hadn't slept in two nights. Her eyes carefully followed his every move, while Kagura sat leaning against a chimney, drawing.
Kagura sighed. "You know, I always wanted to become a tailor. How do you like this dress? I'm sure it'd fit you." She showed Komachi a sketch of a short sleeveless dress. There was a diamond-shaped neckline, which cut way too low.
Komachi barely acknowledged the drawing. "Can't you pay attention for once?"
"You are paying enough attention for both of us. Besides…" She looked at the time. "My shift is almost over. I'm sure the Kyuubi is nice enough to wait till I get to go until it's going to rampage." She continued drawing, appreciating the last rays of sunlight.
"That's nothing you ought to joke about."
"You and Kisuke are both so boring." She glanced at Naruto, who was leaning at his windowsill. He was throwing little paper balls at villagers that passed his window. But he barely cared to aim, and had yet to actually hit someone. "At least the brat got some sense of humour."
"He's tired. And weak. He can't go on forcing himself to stay awake forever. This won't end well." Komachi and Kagura had their way of talking past each other. None of the two women was really interested in the other.
Naruto left the window and went back inside. Komachi almost immediately started moving and jumped towards his window. It was still open. Kagura yelled after her, asking what she was doing.
Komachi entered the small one-room flat. Naruto was standing in the middle of the room, holding a kunai in his hand. It was pointed at his own wrist. His hand was shaking, almost like he was resisting an invisible force pulling the kunai towards his own flesh. Komachi looked into his eyes. She knew that she was looking at the Kyuubi.
"Ah man. Not again." Kagura appeared next to her. Her hand reached for one of her paper seals.
Komachi blocked Kagura before she could approach Naruto further. "Stop. He'll never learn to do this on his own if we keep throwing seals at him every time the Kyuubi shows. Leave, please."
"Leave? He's going to get himself killed. We're in some deep shit if that happens."
Komachi's eyes were still on Naruto. There was a grin on his face, but his hand kept trembling. "Leave," she said again, and Kagura followed her orders.
"You must be very tired, Naruto." Komachi softly laid her hand on top of Naruto's, taking away the kunai.
Naruto blinked, before jumping backwards. "Who are you? What are you doing in my home?" he yelled.
Komachi took off her mask. There was a soft smile on her face. "I'm here to help you." She sat down on a chair farthest away from Naruto. He looked at her with narrow eyes, though she wasn't sure if he was simply tired instead of suspicious. "I'm a shinobi of Konoha, just like you. I'm here to make sure you get a good night's sleep."
Naruto sat down on his bed, looking at the stranger with heavy eyes. "Did the old grandpa Hokage send you?"
She nodded. "I'll make sure nothing happens while you are asleep. If that's alright with you?"
"You can do that?" he asked, but his body already fell onto bed, eyes closed.
"Yes, I can."
A soft smile formed on Naruto's lips, as he was already drifting into a world of dreams. "You have a nice voice," he muttered. His breathing became deep and constant.
Komachi watched him, fast asleep.
Kagura whistled at her, somewhat impressed. "Maybe you aren't that boring after all. You just totally disobeyed the Hokage and showed yourself to the boy."
"He was more asleep than awake. I don't think he'll remember me."
Kagura was looking through Naruto's stuff, eating some of the cereals he'd left on the table.
"Go and tell Kisuke I'll stay here tonight. Your shift is over, isn't it?" Komachi waited until Kagura had left.
Her eyes spotted a drawing on the table. It was more of a scribble and the lines were hard to make out. But she was fairly sure that she could see a fox with nine tails.
Naruto had drawn the Kyuubi.
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Kakashi woke up to a knock on his window. He turned around, ignoring it. But there it was again. And again. His eyes hurt at the sudden bright rays of sunlight.
Gai was waving at him from outside his window, a bright smile on his face. Kakashi would have ignored him, but he couldn't stand the ongoing knocking. And he knew by now that Gai wouldn't just stop because he got ignored.
"Good morning, my rival! How about we start the day with a race around Konoha? I'll say… 50 rounds to warm up?"
Kakashi let himself fall into his bed again and hid under the blanket. He could hear the crackling noise of some plastic bag and from the other sounds he could tell that Gai was putting breakfast on the table.
"Of course, a healthy breakfast is the best start for any day. Here, I made us an energy shake. I heard these are the new trend food. You just put in everything healthy you can find and mix it together. This one's spinach with cabbage, apples, tuna and an egg."
Kakashi pressed the blanket closer to his nose as the smell of Gai's shake hit him. He watched in horror as Gai down his drink in one go, offering him a glass as well. "Thanks, I'll… have that later."
"Doesn't it feel good to share even such a small drink? I can feel our eternal bond grow even stronger. Even beyond eternity you could say!" He laughed at himself. "Say, have you shared that meal with your students yet? I told you how important meal-sharing is!"
Kakashi was sitting at the edge of his bed, a glass full of green slime in his hands. He was waiting for a good moment to secretly get rid of it. "Why are you asking? You know I gave them those bento boxes you brought in the first day."
"But you have to eat with them, Kakashi. That's how strong relationships are built. I always make sure to have dinner with my team after each mission. That's why our bonds are so strong. We are so much more than just teacher and students." Gai kept on talking in an overly loud voice. Kakashi poured the shake down the sink when he wasn't looking.
"Alright, thanks for the energy drink. I can already feel it kicking in," Kakashi said in the most monotonous voice. "I'll see you later for that race."
"You better not be too late, because you know I'll be waiting!" Gai yelled back at him as he left him alone in his flat.
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.
.
Kakashi walked down the street, wondering what he was supposed to do with his genin on yet another day. And with Naruto in particular.
"Hey, Kakashi," Kurenai was calling over to him. She was standing nearby, talking to Asuma and Genma. "We are going to have some drinks tonight. Do you want to come too?"
Kakashi kept walking. He knew that if he actually engaged in a conversation to nicely decline, she would just try to sway him.
"You never give up, do you?" Asuma asked, sighing.
"I wonder why," Genma said, a grin formed on his lips. "Could it be that you are into Kakashi?"
"What kind of stupid question is that? He's our friend."
"I'm not sure he'd second that." Genma moved his face closer to Kurenai. "So are you seeing someone these days, Kurenai?"
"When will you finally stop hitting on her?" Asuma asked.
"The day when you finally stop smoking." Genma watched as Asuma rolled another cigarette.
Kakashi went on to the cemetery.
He was still standing in front of Rin's grave when he felt someone approach from behind him. He didn't move, but waited until they'd arrived next to him. He glanced over to her, a young woman, maybe a few years younger than him.
"Kakashi." She greeted him with a nod. She had red flower pedals tattooed on the right side of her face. Her clothes were mostly red as well. She wore shorts, short shorts, and a cropped shirt.
"Who are you?" There was something familiar about her, but his brain couldn't quite pin it down correctly yet.
She grinned. "Someone who has a present for you. Or rather, for Naruto." She handed him a bunch of paper seals. "Give these to him in your name. These have the same function as the outer seal, just a bit weaker. He should use these at night until he's gotten used to the Kyuubi's chakra more. Especially when he's on a mission with your team." She gave him a knowing smile.
"You're one of his Anbu guards." She wasn't the Anbu he'd met at the Hokage office. He'd met both women only for a few minutes, but he could already tell they were two very distinct characters.
"I'm just a nice girl who likes to gift seals to attractive men."
"Are you hitting on me at a cemetery?"
"Would that be bad?"
He looked at the seals in his hands. Each seal bore the same symbol, written in red ink. "I know who you are. You're that sealing expect. One of the most talented civilian girls to ever join the Academy."
She laughed. "Flattering. But not quite right. I'm the most talented civilian girl to ever be forced to join the Academy. I was an orphan since the Third War happened, so I didn't have much choice." She grinned again. "But I'm honoured Kakashi Hatake knows who I am."
"The village isn't that big."
"Don't downplay it." She rested her hand on his arm. "I wouldn't mind if you got to know me even more." Kakashi didn't move as her lips moved towards his ear. "I'm talented in other areas as well," she whispered, handing him another seal before pulling away.
This one had black writing on it. He could actually read it.
"Is this for Naruto too?"
She giggled. It made her look way younger than she was. "This one's for you. It's my name and address. I don't get to be home a lot, but when I am, this seal will tell you by turning red. It's my favourite colour." She left, blowing a faint kiss at him.
Kakashi looked at the seal. "Kagura," he read. He put the paper into his pockets. Gai was surely waiting already.