AN: Thank you all so much for all your reviews! They mean so much. Beta'd as of 1/4/19. Enjoy!
The next few days went by surprisingly quickly. Naruto found that he really was exhausted, and spent much of the first two days sleeping. Of course when he was awake, he was being badgered by Inari for awesome stories and asking to be shown the cool chains his grandpa had talked about. Naruto had done the best to tell him stories, but when it came the second request…
Suffice to say, Kakashi-sensei's threatening glare quickly closed that option down. In fact, his sensei was so against it that he'd forbid him from even trying to use them until they were back in Konoha and had given their report to the Hokage.
Naruto thought that was a little overkill, but he wasn't about to argue with the jōnin.
Over the next few days, when he'd started to get up and move about, he'd asked about his jacket, which he hadn't seen since waking up the first time. Eventually Sakura came around and admitted it had been destroyed by Naruto's chakra chains. They had left huge, irreparable holes in the fabric that left it too mangled to wear. Thankfully they hadn't thrown it away, but only because Sakura had known just how much he loved the thing.
It had come as a huge disappointment to him, but there was nothing he could do. So he settled for wearing just his t-shirt remaining instead, as the other had also been destroyed by his chains.
When they got back to Konoha, he would have to do some serious shopping.
Aside from personal grievances over lost clothing, the other thing that occupied Naruto's time was Sasuke. He'd tried to kill Haku on the bridge, and only just failed because of Sakura's intervention. None of them had discussed it yet, but given the frigid air around them whenever they were all in a room together, something would have to give.
But it seemed that that something could wait until they got back to Konoha. Maybe.
Finally, the day they were set to leave, Haku showed up at the house.
All four members of team seven as well as Tazuna's family were eating breakfast when there was a polite knock on the door. Opening it up, everyone was surprised to find Haku standing there in his kimono holding a covered basket.
"Haku!" Naruto exclaimed, getting up from his seat. The boy in question offered everyone a kind, nervous smile in return. Tazuna gave the boy a curious look, but stood aside to let him in. Haku gave a small nod of thanks before stepping inside.
"It's good to see you well, Naruto," Haku offered, standing before them. He looked slightly awkward, holding himself stiffly, head bowed slightly in formal greeting.
"Uh, thanks," he said. "You wanna sit down or something?" Across from him, Inari was shooting the newcomer confused looks, wondering who the boy was.
"I just came by to wish you well before you headed off back to your village," he said in a polite tone, accepting Naruto's invitation and sinking into the cushin next to him.
"What's in the basket, sis?" Inari interrupted, leaning across the table to try and see for himself.
"Haku's a boy, Inari," Sakura told him flatly. Inari's eyes went wide, and a blush appeared on his face.
"I knew that!" He cried, embarrassed, scrambling to sit back in his seat. Haku let out a small chuckle at the display, clearly not insulted.
"It's alright," he said. "And as for my basket, I suppose it is a parting gift. Since you are leaving today, I thought bringing something to show my gratitude was in place." Opening it, he showed them all loaves of sweet Hokkaido milk bread, along with various fruits from around the region. Shifting the bread and fruits aside, he showed them what was underneath.
"Senbon and poisons from our region for Lady Sakura," he said. "I recognise that you used a sedative on me on the bridge. I believe you would be good learning the art of poisons and the like."
A blush appeared on Sakura's cheeks, painting her face the color of her namesake. "Oh- that's- you don't need to call me 'lady'," she tried, graciously accepting the gifts. "And you didn't need to get me these."
"It's quite alright," Haku replied easily. "I recognise your dream to become a great medic. You don't need to use these poisons, but learning from them might help you."
"Thank you, Haku," she said softly.
"Wait," Naruto cut in. "Why are you doing this?"
There was a moment of silence from Haku before he responded. It looked as though he were collecting his thoughts, trying to make sense of them in his head before sharing with the world. Finally, he said, "On the bridge, you called me your friend. I've never had a person to call a friend before."
Naruto blinked, surprised.
"I've been alone my whole life. Lord Zabuza was the first one to make me feel like my existence mattered, but I can not call him a friend. He is my master, and that is all."
"I'm sorry you've been so alone, Haku," Kakashi-sensei said from the side. Haku nodded in acknowledgment.
"Well," Naruto said, shifting slightly where he sat. "I'm glad you're not so alone now. I know how awful that is."
Haku returned the comforting words with a soft smile, eyes twinkling with gratefulness.
"You also helped me realize something I never had before," Haku continued. "Without Zabuza, I thought my existence meant nothing. You helped me realize there is more to having a dream than just existing."
"So, what is your dream?" Naruto asked.
Haku gave them all a smile. "My dream is to help Lord Zabuza achieve his dream of peace within Kiri. Even if I fail to protect him, I can still go on to help realize that dream. That is my goal."
Naruto smiled widely. Out of corner of his eye, he saw Sakura do the same. Even Kakashi-sensei looked pleased. "I'm glad." Naruto said. "I hope you can achieve your dream."
Haku's smile softened before he replied. "And I hope you do as well, Naruto. I hope to one day see you become Kage of your village."
Naruto grinned widely. "You bet," he said. And he would. He definitely would.
Saying goodbye to Tazuna and his family involved more tears than Naruto remembered. Mostly from Inari. The boy wouldn't stop bawling all the way to the bridge, and clung to Sakura when they were all saying their goodbyes.
Apparently when she'd saved them she'd left quite an impression.
"You gotta teach me those cools moves of yours someday," Inari managed to say through sobs as he hugged Sakura within an inch of her life.
"Of course," she tried, sweatdropping.
"And Naruto!" He cried, finally breaking away from the poor girl. "I'm gonna become a hero someday, just like you!"
"Ha, I don't doubt it," Naruto chuckled, ruffling the boys hair through his hat. "I bet you'll become super strong too, someday. Just like your grandpa."
The boy just burst into tears again. But they were happy tears, so it was alright.
"Well," Tazuna said, interrupting his grandson's sobbs. "I wish you all a fair journey back."
"Thank you, sir," Sakura nodded. With a few more goodbyes, they were off, walking down the length of the newly named Great Naruto Bridge. Sakura had rolled her eyes when Tazuna had told them, but Naruto hadn't stopped beaming. It was almost annoying, but she wasn't going to put on a damper on his excitement, so she let him be. It seemed the other had the same idea, as neither had spoken up against the blonde.
Over the course of the day the excitement from the past week slowly left everyone until they were merely trudging along, eager to get home.
For lunch they stopped by the side of the road and dug into the basket of food Haku had supplied them with that morning. But not before Kakashi-sensei checked all of it for poison, much to everyone's dismay. Once he'd cleared the food, they dug in.
"Say, sensei," Naruto piped up around a mouthful of fruit. Kakashi-sensei, who had already finished eat and had returned to reading his book, hummed to show he was listening. "What do you know about chakra chains?"
He knew his sensei had been his father's student, and as such, had to have known his mother and maybe even something about her kekkei genkai. It was a long shot, but Naruto was desperate to know anything about his heritage.
"Maa, I can't say I'm an expert," his sensei drawled. "But I do know a little."
"Yeah?" Naruto pressed.
The ruffle of pages sounded before he replied, supposedly giving him a moment to think. "It's a very powerful form of sealing, so to speak. It keeps the ending immobilized, and are near impossible to break."
Unless you're a bijuu, Naruto thought to himself, remembering when Kurama had snapped his mother's chains when Naruto had stolen his chakra.
"So how is that a form of sealing?" Sakura asked from the side, propping herself up on her elbows.
"Maa, I'm just repeating what my sensei told me," Kakashi-sensei said, giving them an apologetic eye-smile. "He knew more about the kekkei genkai than anyone."
"Did he have it too?" Sakura asked dumbly, knowing full well that Minato Namikaze did not, in fact, have the Uzumaki kekkei genkai.
"No, but he was close with someone who did," he said, and left it at that.
"So like," Naruto started again. "How rare is the kekkei genkai? How awesome am I for having it?"
"You know, Naruto," Kakashi-sensei noted slyly. "Most people are subtle when fishing for compliments."
"Sensei," Sakura chuckled. "When has Naruto ever been subtle?"
"Maa, that's true," Kakashi-sensei hummed. Naruto frowned despondently. It was true, but he shouldn't say it. He was supposed to encourage growth as a sensei, not ridicule.
"Hey," Naruto moaned. Instead of a reply, Kakashi-sensei gave him one of his signature eye-smiles, complete with annoying smugness to boot.
"We're getting off topic," Sasuke cut in, finally joining the conversation. He was sat some distance from the group over by a tree, half a roll of sweet bread in hand. "As much as I don't want to hear Naruto brag, I am interested in learning about his kekkei genkai." Naruto shot him a confused look, completed with a raised eyebrow and head tilt. Since when had he been so interested?
"Maa, fine," Kakashi-sensei said with a sigh. "Although I don't know what there is to tell that I haven't already said."
"Well, how about how it's used?" Sakura suggested. "You must know that, at least."
Kakashi-sensei seemed to think about it for a bit before responding. While he was thinking, an almost somber look flashed across his eye. It looked painful, but it was brushed aside almost immediately. Naruto couldn't even be sure that he'd seen it, it was so fast. "Well, the way I saw them used was for containment and barriers. Defensive, if you will."
"When did you get to see it?" Sakura pressed, fascinated.
"The third shinobi war," he replied coolly. "I must have your guy's age at the time, so I can't remember specifics, sorry."
He didn't sound all that sorry. Just… sad.
"Well," Naruto tried, slightly disappointed. "How about… how many could they used? How long could they use them? How did they use them? Do you remember that?" He made a point not to say "she", as that would have tipped his sensei off that he knew just who exactly the last Uzumaki in the village was.
"Slow down, Naruto," Kakashi-sensei said with a soft chuckle. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know that much about them."
Naruto's shoulders drooped in disappointment. Dismayed, his sensei spoke up again. "Perhaps when we get back to the village you can ask the Hokage," his sensei tried, uncertainty just barely coloring his voice. "I'm sure he'll be able to tell you more."
Twisting his lips in though, Naruto mulled over what Kakashi-sensei had said. He was right, that maybe Lord Third knew more about his kekkei genkai than anyone else in the village, but for some reason he doubted that he would willingly open up about it. The man had hardly ever spoken of his parents, even in the abstract. Asking about his mother, even if indirectly, would surely not end well.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, sensei," Naruto said anyway, trying not to convey his doubts. He had a feeling the jonin heard them anyways.
"Hey," Sakura said lightly, bumping his shoulder playfully. "Even if Lord Third doesn't know anything, we'll find as many scrolls on it as we can. Even if it takes a bit. Right Sasuke?" The other boy let out a "hn" but didn't seem disinterested in the idea.
Naruto smiled. He really did have the best friends.
