AN: So... this was finished faster than expected. Kind of a slow chapter, but this is official the start of the wave arc. Thank you all for the comments you've left so far, and I hope you enjoy! EDIT: Beta's as of 7/24
Training with Kakashi-sensei hadn't been this hard the first time around, Naruto thought as he dodged another round of kunai that flew towards him. But maybe he just wasn't remembering right. Five years was a long time to dull his memories.
No, he was remembering right. This Kakashi-sensei was just a little more sadistic he thought as an exploding tag came sailing towards him.
What had they ever done to deserve this?
Oh yeah, they'd kicked his ass at the bell test. Hm, who knew Kakashi-sensei could be so petty?
"Too slow," said sensei called out as the explosion went off in Naruto's face, scorching his hair. It was a small explosion, obviously, but annoying nonetheless.
"I'll show you slow, y'know!" he shouted back, picking himself up from the ground. Here he was, the savior of Konoha, getting tossed around by their lazy, porn-loving sensei. In the distance he heard Sakura chuckling, which only managed to turn his face red in embarrassment.
Great, not her too…
"Maybe if we took a break that would help," Sasuke sidled from the side. "Whiner-boy gets cranky when he doesn't have his nap."
That was the last straw.
"WHY YOU LITTLE-" He charged forward towards his teammate, but was stopped at the last minute by someone grabbing his collar.
"Maa, that's not very good teamwork, you two," Kakashi-sensei drawled, still holding onto Naruto's collar.
Hah. If only he knew.
"But I think Sasuke's right," he continued. "Let's break for lunch."
And that was how the four of them found themselves sitting in the shade of one of Konoha's large trees, eating their respective bentos.
"Hey sensei," Naruto piped up, absently pushing rice around with his chopsticks.
The jōnin looked up from his book, bento sitting empty in the grass next to him. They hadn't even seen him eat it. "Hm?"
"Why are you having us run so many evasion drills?" They hadn't last time, if memory served.
"Well you want to be chunin don't you?" He asked rhetorically. "If you get hit by a stray kunai or shuriken, your ninja career can be ended just like that, and you'll never be promoted."
"Genin aren't supposed to be in the line of fire though, sensei," Sakura pointed out dryly. It was sort of hypocritical though, considering the missions that they had gone on in their genin days – or will have gone on…
"All the better for you then," Kakashi-sensei said. "You'll be ahead of the curve."
For some reason, all three genin had sneaking suspicion that wasn't the reason at all. But none of them had the courage to bring it up. They didn't want to have to run laps around Konoha after all.
"So when do we start missions?" Sasuke asked, changing the topic.
It was true, for the last week since they had become genin, they hadn't taken a single D rank. Which could become a real problem if they didn't get the Wave mission because of it.
"Do you want to start on them?" Kakashi-sensei asked, raising an eyebrow.
All three of them nodded.
"Maa, all right then," the jōnin sighed. "We start tomorrow. Now finish up your bentos. I have a few more exercises I'd like you to do today."
At the mention of more of Kakashi-sensei's "exercises" The three let out a long, unanimous groan.
It would be a long time before Kakashi-sensei let them go. He'd had them doing drills and exercises until the sun had begun to set. And even then it was only because Sakura couldn't physically stand, under her own power, due to exhaustion. So Kakashi-sensei had dismissed them and said to meet at the missions office the following day at eight (but knowing him that meant eleven or later), before taking Sakura home. That left the two boys to make their way back to their own apartments on their own.
So there Naruto was, wandering through the streets in Konoha lost in thought. He didn't particularly want to do D ranks again, but knowing he had to do they could get the Wave mission took precedence over his feelings. But still, painting fences for hours on end sucked.
Because he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, Naruto managed to walk face first right into someone's back.
"Oof."
The person he'd walked into jolted, turning around to face his assailant.
"Hey, watch where you're- Naruto?"
Naruto pauses from rubbing his nose. He knew that voice. Looking up, he saw a young face with a scar running across the nose, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"Iruka-sensei!" He gasped. His brain short circuited for a moment while he took in the sight of his teacher. Emotions he couldn't discern suddenly started selling up inside him upon seeing the man, and it was all Naruto could do to stop his eyes from watering.
The chunin in question simply broke out into a grin.
"Wow, Naruto, I haven't seen you in ages," he smiled. "But you really should watch where you're- oof."
The rest of his sentence was cut off by Naruto wrapping him in a bone crushing hug. Iruka laughed goodnaturedly, accepting the sudden form of affection.
"It hasn't been that long, Naruto."
It really hadn't, for either of them. Naruto had seen him just before leaving for the war front, and Iruka had just seen on team assignment day. So it had only been roughly a week. But damn it if it didn't feel like forever.
"I-I know," Naruto said as he pulled away quickly, face turning red from embarrassment. Most people didn't hug their teachers after all. Even if their teachers told them they thought of them as a little brother – or bought them ramen. Or just cared for them in general, more than what could be considered normal. "I just, like, missed you was all."
"It's all right," Iruka chuckled, smiling warmly. "I'll admit to having missed you. The academy is so peaceful without your pranks, it's almost mind numbing."
Oh, right. Pranks. Naruto hadn't pulled any in years.
"Guess you're just gonna have to get used to it," was all he managed to reply with. And if his smile seemed a little too forced, well, Iruka didn't call him out.
"Say, do you want to get ramen? I haven't had any for a little bit, and we haven't even celebrated you becoming an official genin yet."
This time Naruto's grin became authentic, stretching wide across his face.
"Let's do it, y'know!"
It had been a long time since Naruto had had Ichiraku's. So it wasn't surprising when he finished off his first bowl in under a minute before readily starting on his second, slurping down the wonderfully yummy noodles with the same amount of vigor. Well, it wasn't surprising for him, Iruka on the other hand…
"Woah, slow down there," the chunin cautioned, watching with mild alarm at the speed his student ate. "The ramen isn't going anywhere."
Swallowing the bean sprouts and narutomaki he'd shoved in his mouth, Naruto turned to face Iruka. "Yeah but I haven't had it in like forever, y'know."
Iruka shot him a disbelieving look. "We had some the other week," he stated.
That's right, Naruto thought to himself. They'd had some after Iruka made him a genin. He'd forgotten about that.
"Yeah, like I said," Naruto said, trying to play it off. "Forever!"
Iruka didn't seem to think anything of it and merely rolled his eyes, smiling fondly despite himself.
"Well, just remember you need to eat fruits and vegetables too. You can't live solely off ramen."
"I know that, sensei," Naruto retorted. Which was apparently the wrong thing to say.
Raising an eyebrow, Iruka turned back to look at him. "Did you just agree with me on nutrition?" He asked, dumbfounded.
"Uh," Naruto trailed off. "Yeah?"
There was a pregnant pause from Iruka while the man appeared to collect his thoughts. Oh god, had Naruto said something out of character? Would Iruka get suspicious?
Instead, the chunin just blinked. Then a pleased look broke across his features. "Wow, Naruto. You're really growing up, huh."
Naruto blinked.
"I'm proud of you," he went on to say, causing a warm feeling to spread in Naruto's chest. A feeling he'd only really felt when he was Jiraiya or Kakashi-sensei in their later years. It felt like pride except, not. Then, breaking his train of thought, Iruka said, "Just don't grow up too fast. Cuz then I'll miss my little ball of energy."
This little ball of energy wasn't going anywhere, Naruto thought obstinately. Unfortunately for Iruka though, he had already grown up.
Unlike last time, Kakashi-sensei made them do D ranks until the sun had set. And by now, all three of them had come to an agreement that the only reason he was doing this was because they beat him in the bell test.
Jeez, how petty could a person get!
Apparently, the answer was very.
They had done so many D ranks around the village in the past week and a half that old man Hokage let out a long suffering sigh every time Kakashi-sensei dragged them into the mission office. He wasn't the only one. Iruka had started wearing a pained, pitiful expression seeing them so dirty and tired, but wisely kept his mouth shut about it.
The three genin would have complained, but they knew that the more D ranks they went on, the higher the chance of the Hokage granting them the Wave escort mission. SO they kept their mouths shut and bore it through.
Then finally, one day, they got the Tora mission.
"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed upon exiting the office. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his sensei shoot him a confused look behind his book.
"I just mean, y'know, it's something better than weeding gardens and stuff," Naruto hurried to say, trying to cover his mistake. Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Naruto counted that as a win.
Sakura, however, did not. She elbowed him in the ribs, probably harder than necessary, before shooting him a threatening look – one that told him to shut up immediately.
"Sorry," he grumbled out. This seemed to appease her, as she rolled her eyes before hurrying up to walk next to Sasuke. She had been trying for the past two weeks to mend their relationship, because apparently neither one had gotten over the other trying to kill them. Of course to everyone else who knew them it just looked like Sakura was absorbed in her crush on the Uchiha like always – which, being fair might have also been true. But by now it wasn't just a crush anymore. To be honest, Naruto didn't know what it was. And he wasn't about to ask either.
"Naruto."
Naruto looked up at Sakura, who had just hissed at him, and saw her beckoning him to join her and Sasuke. Confused, he picked up the pace until he was walking in sync with them.
"I was just talking with Sasuke," she said. "And we agreed that if we get assigned the Wave mission today that we'll meet somewhere later to go over our plan for it. What do you think?"
Naruto blinked, surprised. He had never included in plans before, so this was somewhat shocking. Shaking off the feeling, he quickly nodded to show his assent.
"Sure, but meet where?"
Sakura shrugged. "Same place as always."
So the memorial stone, Naruto thought.
"Alright," he said. "I'll be there.
The mission went as it had before. They had Tora at the expense of Naruto getting scratched to hell and back. Then he'd made a fuss at the mission office and demanded a C rank. The only difference was that this time Sakura and Sasuke (in his own, broody way) agreed with him, pressing for a C rank mission as well. For some reason the Hokage seemed relieved by their outburst and admitted that he'd been expecting them to ask for one for some time, considering how hard Kakashi-sensei was driving them with D ranks. He'd agreed and they'd been given a C rank.
And it had been the Wave mission.
Everything was going to plan.
So that night, Naruto left his warm apartment and tracked all the way out to the memorial stone, trusting his feet to get him there more than his eyes. When he got there, the other two were already waiting.
"Alright, we're all here now," he said Sakura say. He joined them at the obelisk and they sat down in a small circle. For a long while it was quiet, no one knowing where to start.
Sakura decided to take the initiative and start them off. "Tomorrow's the Wave mission."
It was said with a tone that was heavy and harrowing, not unlike that of a sentence. None of them had spoken about it, but they all knew the implications. This was the mission that truly started them on their Shinobi careers. They'd had a first-hand look into how the Shinobi world really operated. How dirty it was, how cruel it could be. It had also helped shaped them as people. Naruto had learned the value of protecting his precious people while Sasuke had gained his sharingan. Sakura hadn't taken much away from it though. Her change had really started in the chunin exams.
But the problem with this now though, was that they'd already done it. But no one else knew that, thus their dilemma.
"Should we maybe tell Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked nervously, looking at the other two for a reaction. Sakura bit her lip in thought while Sasuke retained the pensive look he always wore.
"I don't think so," Sakura finally said. "We need him at the top of his game for this, and if we tell him…" she trailed off, the implication clear on her face. Naruto gave a mute nod. He remembered what had happened to their sensei when he, Naruto, and Gai discovered the masked man was actually his previously dead teammate; Obito Uchiha. He had never seen fear on his sensei's face before that moment.
If they told him all they knew about the future, there was no telling what would happen.
"So we don't tell him," Naruto surmised. "Not yet anyway." He was met with a nod from Sakura and contemplative silence from Sasuke.
"So, that's decided," Sakura managed. "But what now? Do we just let things play out as they did before? I mean, it ended well, but things definitely could have gone better."
Naruto didn't even have to think before responding. "Haku," he said. "I don't want him to die. Zabuza either."
"Haku and Zabuza were the enemy," Sasuke cut in harshly. "If they don't die there's no telling what else they might do – or who they might kill."
"Haku was innocent," Naruto argued. "And Zabuza isn't a monster! You weren't awake when he killed Gato, but I saw it in his eyes. We can reach him if we try."
An annoying huff escaped the Uchiha, followed by something that looked like a dismissive gesture.
"Sasuke," Naruto tried warningly. "We're not going to kill them."
"We'll see about that," he said coldly. Naruto's fists clenched on top of his knees, and it was only when Sakura put her hand on his arm that he unclenched them. Getting into an argument wouldn't help anyone right now. Not if Sasuke was going to be an obstinate ass.
"Let's figure out the Haku/Zabuza thing later, guys," Sakura said, ever the peacekeeper. "Right now we should focus on how we're going to approach the mission."
A challenging look was shared between Naruto and Sasuke for a long few moments before one of them relented. Naruto sighed, looking away. "Alright," he said. "Let's get to work."
The sun was shining brightly that morning, cheerful and warm. The coldness from the night was quickly being washed away by the warm mid-April breeze, giving the village a sense of peacefulness and contentment.
For team seven however, it was another matter.
They were stood in front of the village gates, backpacks on, papers exchanged with the guards, and by all intents and purposes, ready to go.
Except there was one teeny tiny problem with the whole matter, one that would postpone any thought of getting on the road.
"Seriously," Naruto grounded, kicking at the dirt in annoyance. "I thought for sure he wouldn't be late this time."
Kakashi-sensei was very, very late.
Their sensei always has a habit of being late, this was known. But surprisingly, over the last few weeks of him leading their team, he had cut back the time immensely. Of course it had also lead to him pushing them harder than anything they'd ever experienced, but still. He hadn't been that late.
Today though, that was not the case.
"It's almost like he's making up for lost time," Sakura commented dryly.
"Wait," Tazuna interrupted, a startled expression adorning his face. "You're telling me this is a common occurrence?"
"We've had to wait five hours before," was all Sakura said. Tazuna sweatdropped.
As amusing as the sight the bridge builder made was, Naruto couldn't bother to spare it any attention. Nerves had been building up inside him all night. What if their plan didn't work? What if it made things worse? What if, what if, what if. The thoughts wouldn't stop. And Kakashi-sensei being later than usual wasn't helping. They were on a time table after all.
Suddenly-
"Good morning, my cute little monsters."
There stood Kakashi-sensei. Hands in his pockets, backpack on, and slouching like he didn't give a damn.
"YOU'RE LATE!"
Kakashi-sensei had the gall to look surprised. "Am I? It's eleven, is it not?"
"Yeah but we were supposed to meet at nine," Sakura supplied, annoyed because she knew full well that he'd known that, and was only doing this to be an ass. God she missed their Kaka-sensei. The one who was a little more real with them and wasn't as late to things. Unfortunately that was still a few years down the line.
"Hah, oops," he said, giving them all an innocent eye-smile.
All three genin and bridge builder gave him deadpan stares of disbelief.
"Well," Kakashi-sensei said, clapping his hands together. "Time's a waist of. Let's get going!"
Hiking his back pack up onto his shoulders, Naruto turned to face his teammates with a determined look in his eyes. Their ninjas careers began with this mission, and the weight of that wasn't lost on them.
They stepped out of the gate, three genin, a jōnin, and a bridge builder, all walking towards danger.
The Wave mission had begun.
