I'm updating a lot for this story, aren't I. I should pay attention to the other ones I'm so behind on...

Anyway, this chapter, I'm expecting some yelling and throwing chairs, all out of love of course.

As always, I'm not crying you're crying.

Chapter 23: Moving forward

xxx

After Sasuke had picked up the bag and left, Naruto went into his room and stood in the middle of it, staring into a wall. Iruka was out shopping and had brought the kids, which left Naruto with a few tasks to do around the house. He knew he should start as soon as possible, but found himself unable to push away the thoughts spinning through his head.

Sasuke hadn't been acting like himself, again, and Naruto's everything hurt thinking about the calm and collected way he'd spoken about his past. That's why he'd punched him, thinking it would break him out of his strange behavior. But it hadn't.

I'm guessing he took something, Kurama mused, and Naruto decided to join him for easier conversation.

Looking up at the huge fox lounging in his cave-like home, Naruto tried to push down the helpless anger that filled him every time he as much as thought of Sasuke being forced to remember the darker parts of his past.

"What do you mean he took something?"

Kurama shrugged, his tails curling around himself.

"Obviously he was too calm, ever since we left the hospital. I'm sure Orochimaru gave him something to make it easier for him to tell them what they wanted to hear."

Naruto wanted to punch something, needed to. He sank down to the wet ground, burying his face in his hands. He didn't want to think it was true, but it made sense. Kaguya's fiddling with his brain had made him seem more sensitive rather than the opposite, and he wished he'd stopped him. He could have told them everything instead, but he knew that Sasuke didn't like appearing weak.

"Dammit," he groaned, rubbing his face as if trying to get rid of the nasty feeling in his chest.

Why couldn't things ever be easy for them? Why did Sasuke, who had already suffered so much, have to be reminded of the pain constantly? At least in this world people didn't hate him. At least in this world, he had a chance at a happy life…

There was a tight knot in Naruto's stomach whenever he thought about the future. He wanted Sasuke with him, but was it really what Sasuke wanted? To stay by his side as he became Hokage in a village that had hurt him beyond repair? He constantly feared Sasuke leaving again, because he couldn't think of anything really stopping him. Sure, they shared an important bond, but Sasuke deserved better than what the village could give him.

Even if Naruto did everything he could to make things better for Sasuke, there was a gnawing, raw doubt whether he would really be able to change things or not. What if there was another war? What if people refused to even accept Sasuke ten years from now?

"Whining doesn't help," Kurama sighed, stretching a paw out to flick Naruto in the chest. Or rather, his paw was about as big as Naruto himself, which made the action slightly awkward. "And I bet people won't start liking him unless some kind of miracle happens, but they accept me as an asset to the village, don't they? As long as you're there, they'll come to accept him."

"Accepting isn't enough. I have to make them understand, but I don't think they ever will. Even Sakura-chan doesn't understand and she was his teammate."

"And it doesn't really help that people might be thinking he convinced you to leave the village, does it?"

"I wouldn't do that."

Kurama's silence was telling enough. Of course he would. He'd do anything for Sasuke. That was the part that scared him the most.

"But still, if he stays with me…" He let out another groan, falling headfirst to bury his face in the fur covering Kurama's paw. "I want him as my closest advisor when I'm Hokage, I'll need to know that people will listen to him."

"Maybe you should do as Shikamaru suggested, and keep Sasuke out of the light for a while," Kurama said, waving his tails around to create a small breeze. "At least until you've switched out the council members."

"Yeah, sure. They're gonna live until they're a hundred years old."

"Kill them?" When Naruto glared at him, Kurama huffed. "Fine, think up a valid reason to replace them, I don't know. I'm not a politician."

"And I am? I hate that stuff. Besides, I feel like everything we do at home is stupid anyway, compared to how they do things here."

Kurama carefully pushed him so that he sat up again, retracting his paw. He could only cuddle for so long, after all.

"Then stop being a whiny brat and do something sensible with your time here!"

Slowly, Naruto blinked as an idea took shape in his head. Kurama was right, there was a lot he could learn here, and now that it seemed they'd be staying for a while… Not that Naruto hadn't learnt stuff the past year, he had just focused on other things like putting teams together, responding to threats, assigning missions…

But he'd show them. He'd promised Sasuke he would change things, and he intended to keep that promise. Content with his decision, he went about completing all the household tasks Iruka had assigned him, thankful that Sasuke had somehow managed to teach him to clean and do laundry properly.

When he picked up the kids from the Academy, he'd make a point of speaking to some of their teachers.

xxx

Sasuke had simply placed the bag on the kitchen table, grabbed a few bananas to eat, and then fallen headfirst into bed. This type of drug was better to sleep off, to avoid any side effects. Not that it was a difficult choice, seeing as one effect of it leaving the system was making you feel exhausted.

So he slept, and thankfully didn't dream much. When he woke up it was already late afternoon, and his head felt like it had been filled to the brim with cotton. Wet cotton.

Still, he thought it was a small price to pay for not having to deal with the pain of retelling certain events of his past. Even now the emotions threatened to take a hold of him, and grabbing some fresh clothes he figured he'd better come up with a distraction. Training seemed like a good one.

His lower lip and part of his jaw still felt tender from where Naruto had hit him, but a quick check in a mirror told him it wouldn't become a very big bruise. Big enough to alert his mother, possibly. Maybe he should think of an excuse.

As he stepped out onto the porch he found Itachi in the garden, in the middle of working through a series of kicks. You'd think that watching him would bring about painful memories, but it didn't. There were only a few times he could remember watching his brother train, and Itachi had been very young back then. The older Itachi was someone he had mostly seen performing genjutsu, under very different circumstances. Still, the graceful way of moving was the same, the clothes, the ponytail, his chakra signature. Watching him felt surreal, because he had seen him die twice, and this Itachi was very much alive and healthy.

At least it served to sober him up a bit, his head clearing up as he took careful note of Itachi's precise movements. He was skilled, no doubt, but Sasuke couldn't help but think that he was weaker than his real brother.

"I see you're awake," Itachi noted, still engrossed in his training but sending him a quick glance.

"I am."

"Hungry? I'm almost done here."

He was panting slightly, entering a combination of slow, smooth punches that looked to be muscle control training.

"I was thinking about training."

Itachi paused, relaxing his body as he turned to face him, a small frown on his face. He contemplated Sasuke for a couple of seconds, then gave a small nod.

"I'll take a break and you can warm up a bit, then let's do some sparring."

Opening his mouth, Sasuke was surprised to find no words coming out. It took him a moment to come to the realization that this was the first time he'd ever been asked to spar with Itachi. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to feel.

"Unless you want to train on your own?"

Sasuke shook his head. He could sense a small part of him jumping up and down in excitement over this opportunity, and another part recoiling in horror because as much as he'd wanted to train with Itachi as a child, actually doing it was bound to bring up unpleasant thoughts.

"I'll spar with you."

His voice sounded hoarse to his own ears, and he quickly averted his eyes and walked out onto the flat patch of grass in the middle of the garden that showed signs of wear. Itachi took his place on the porch, stretching a little and drinking from a water bottle.

As Sasuke went through his usual warm-up routine he tried to empty his mind, immersing himself in the familiarity of it. Though, as much as he tried he was all too aware of Itachi's eyes following his every move, pulling up old feelings of insecurity and the need to prove himself that he thought he'd locked away permanently. He almost felt nervous, his fingertips tingling once he finished his preparations and Itachi strolled back towards him.

"Taijutsu only?" Itachi asked, and Sasuke nodded. "I'm excited to see just how good you are."

Flustered, Sasuke had to take a moment to collect himself before slipping into a fighting stance. He wondered what Naruto would think if he saw them. Probably yell at him for training when he should rest.

"Ready?" Itachi asked, and Sasuke replied by attacking first.

Itachi was as good as he'd thought, which meant that if this was a serious match, Sasuke would win. The knowledge felt like a heavy weight inside his chest, but was pushed to the side by the excitement he found reflected in Itachi's eyes.

They moved in a blur of attacks and defenses, finding a rhythm that matched them both and wouldn't wear them out too soon. Slow enough that their eyes could follow, but fast enough to be a bit of a challenge.

Soon all depressing thoughts left his mind, leaving only an almost childish sense of joy. He found himself grinning when one of Itachi's kicks grazed his chin, controlled perfectly so that it wouldn't hit if Sasuke had been too slow to avoid it. Naruto wouldn't have had any qualms about hitting, but Sasuke appreciated his brother's extreme sense of control. He'd always admired that, despite the way he'd used it sometimes. Nothing he ever did was on impulse…

Just as he'd thought that, Itachi's footing slipped and Sasuke caught him easily in a throw, sending him to the other side of the garden.

"You're lucky I didn't hit any flowers," Itachi calmly said as he returned, and Sasuke managed to look ashamed. "That said, I haven't been thrown by anyone in years. You're good."

"Well, you did slip," Sasuke admitted, rolling a shoulder and hoping this didn't mean the sparring was over.

"Don't be so humble, it makes me feel even worse about it."

Even so, Itachi was smiling at him, flicking his wrist to signal they weren't done yet. This time Sasuke went on the defense, wanting to see Itachi's reaction. At first, he simply raised an eyebrow. Then he frowned, increasing speed a little. Then he put more force behind his attacks, satisfied when Sasuke had to jump back a little before adjusting.

Eventually Itachi pulled back, chest heaving lightly with the exertion.

"I'm not sure if you're playing with me or actually holding back," the older man accused, and Sasuke blinked in surprise.

Of course he was good, but he wasn't that much better, right?

"I didn't realize I was giving you a hard time."

In retrospect it probably came out less apologetic than he'd intended, because Itachi pouted at him before flexing his fingers.

"Alright, you did knock out the kyuubi in one punch. Sharingan?"

Sasuke hesitated, then nodded.

"Just tell me if it turns into the Mangekyo, I couldn't separate them before so it's possible I won't notice."

"I remember you said that," Itachi agreed, starting to circle him slowly, red eyes focused on every movement.

Fighting someone else with a Sharingan was always special. Though, the few other times he had, he'd been more focused on survival, and breaking through any genjutsus thrown at him. To use it only for taijutsu gave him a momentary flashback to his fight with Naruto, when he'd first been able to see movements before they happened and be conscious about it, use it to his advantage.

To spar with someone who could do the same turned out to be a match in speed. If you were quick enough to see, were you also quick enough to react?

It was a few minutes into the spar on these new conditions that Sasuke realized he'd spent the past year sparring with Naruto, often in a Rinnegan vs Sage mode setting. And not the Toad sage mode, but the one Naruto liked to refer to as 'Ultimate Sage Mode'. Compared to that, Itachi was laughably slow. Not that he minded. It had been a long time since sparring with someone other than Naruto had been enjoyable.

When they paused later, Itachi was almost out of breath.

"Incredible," he forced out, "You're not even winded."

Sasuke shrugged, not wanting to admit that sometimes, he and Naruto spent entire nights sparring. Or days. Or he spent a night sparring with Naruto and continued training into the day so that he wouldn't need to think about things, if he was having a bad day. He did feel a bit more tired than usual, however, but he supposed Itachi didn't want to know he was still feeling a lingering effect of the drug he'd taken.

"I spend a lot of time training," he ended up explaining when Itachi kept looking at him expectantly.

"How much time is a lot of time?"

Sasuke avoided his eyes, taking in the various marks of their spar that littered the grass. An upturned tuft over there where he'd braced himself, a flattened stretch where Itachi had rolled to avoid one of his attacks.

"Sasuke?" Itachi's voice sounded genuinely questioning, and Sasuke met his eyes again. "Why would a great ninja like you be doing construction work? I mean I know you said you volunteered, but… surely they'd need you for missions too."

"Ask Obito," he replied, too quickly judging by the look of concern sent his way. "I think I'll take a shower."

His good mood had instantly dropped, and he walked back towards the house before Itachi could ask more. Telling the story of his past, even if it was in brief words, wasn't something he wanted to do twice in one day.

He paused in the doorway, fingers sliding down the doorframe as he felt Itachi's eyes following him.

Itachi's eyes, the same ones that resided inside Sasuke's eye sockets.

"Sorry," he said quietly.

Not knowing what else to say but frustrated that nothing else came to him, his fingers slipped from the wooden frame as he left for the bathroom.

xxx

The shower had consisted mostly of him standing still with hot water beating down on his shoulders, staring unseeingly at his feet. He quite liked his feet. They hadn't failed him so far.

At this point in life he should have accepted that trying not to think was a waste of time, but he stubbornly tried at least once a day. Thanks to Kaguya it seemed his brain preferred to focus on enjoyable emotions rather than the opposite, however, and he spent the time reminiscing about the time he spent with his brother before everything changed.

Usually those sorts of memories would lead into darker thoughts, but now he was able to focus on them without returning to that nightmare continuously. They still held a bittersweet tinge, and he doubted he'd ever be able to remember his brother in only positive ways. Their final meeting had eased some of the pain at least, making him able to accept that no matter what Itachi had done to him, deep down he had always been loved unconditionally.

It didn't mean Sasuke forgave him, but it made things better.

With that thought resolutely in mind, Sasuke entered Charasuke's bedroom in search for clean clothes.

"That's my favorite shirt, asshole."

Sasuke paused, one hand holding a hanger supporting a dark green open-collared shirt with the Uchiha emblem on the back. Charasuke was sitting in the window, one knee bent up with his chin resting on it, dark hair moving gently in the early evening breeze. He'd been so absorbed with his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed him.

"Really?" he asked, observing the garment with a frown. "Don't you have anything blue in your closet, at all?"

Charasuke glared at him, holding out a hand demandingly and straightening up. Sighing, Sasuke went over to give it to him, but found himself grabbed by the front of the towel around his waist and pulled close to an angry copy of himself.

"I don't want you here," Charasuke hissed, forced to look up at him since he was still sitting. "You think you can just show up and worm your way into my family? Go back to your own dimension, no one wants you here! And stop wearing my clothes!"

He snatched the shirt from Sasuke' stunned hands, turning his head to pointedly ignore him.

Sasuke pushed him out the window.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Charasuke had landed on his feet, staring up at him with eyes wide, fists clenched to his sides.

"Why don't you come up here and find out?"

Hearing Sasuke's obvious threat, Charasuke seemed to calm down a bit. Biting on his lips, he carefully made his way back up the wall, eyeing Sasuke warily. He stopped with one hand on the window sill, the other still holding the shirt.

"I saw you spar with Itachi," he mumbled, keeping eye contact but not attempting to climb inside. "Did you really knock out Menma with just a punch?"

"I was using chidori."

Charasuke's face scrunched up, making him look rather childish.

"Kakashi's technique? No wonder he was so pissy about it."

"What's wrong with using it?"

Dark eyes blinked rapidly at him, then a nervous smile spread across Charasuke's face.

"No, I didn't mean it like that." He tried to wave Sasuke's anger off, only managing to hit himself in the face with the hanger. "Stupid thing," he muttered.

When Sasuke took a step back, he hauled himself up to sit with one leg on each side, pursing his lips in thought. It reminded him of Naruto just before asking something especially stupid.

"Hey, can you teach me how to use it?"

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke snorted, not anticipating the stricken look on Charasuke's face his words caused.

"Oh. I mean, yeah, of course you wouldn't…" Charasuke placed the shirt on the window sill, the Uchiha emblem staring back at them. "I'd just embarrass myself, anyway."

To say Sasuke was completely floored was an understatement. Sure, what he'd heard and seen of Charasuke didn't exactly paint a picture of someone who put his everything into becoming a great ninja, but never had he thought that those words would ever leave his own mouth, alternate version or not.

"You can't use it without the Sharingan, that's what I meant."

Charasuke only produced a small, forced smile, fingers fiddling with the green fabric in front of him. He was wearing loose green pants and a purple tank top, headband wrapped tightly around his forehead, and Sasuke couldn't possibly understand how they were the same age. This person looked so… fragile, somehow. Small and unassuming, with little presence. Like he could snap like a twig.

"You should get dressed," Charasuke said, not looking at him. "I'm sure nii-san is worried that you spent so long in the shower."

"Why are you so sad?"

It was the only thing spinning through Sasuke's head. This Sasuke had everything, everything, and yet he looked so heartbroken. But what did he know about him, really? A womanizer and a pervert, Naruto had described him as. Childish and emotional, Sasuke had concluded after the first night.

"Why?" Charasuke burst out, swinging the leg on the outside over the window sill and standing up. "Why am I so sad? You don't know shit about me!"

He pushed Sasuke in the chest, glaring death and murder, but the quivering of his lips was a telltale sign Sasuke had poked at a sensitive spot.

"True," he admitted, unsure of how to handle a clearly upset alternate version of himself. Hell he didn't even know how to handle himself when upset. "But you have a family. You have peace, no…"

No scratch on your forehead protector.

"What, does that mean nothing could ever make me unhappy? Maybe my family makes me unhappy!"

Charasuke hadn't raised his voice, but the searing hot anger was evident in the way his hands shook, in the way he breathed harshly, in the way the shirt and hanger was thrust against Sasuke's bare chest.

"Fine!" he exclaimed in frustration when Sasuke didn't reply, letting go of the shirt so that he was forced to grab it. "You can have them. Just take my life, I don't want it anyway! They already like you more than they like me. I'll just-"

Charasuke paused, anger morphing into confusion as he stared at Sasuke.

"Are you- shit, are you crying?"

Sasuke's hand flew up to his eyes, feeling the tears gathering there. He didn't know what it was, just that, hearing Charasuke speak like that about his life… When Sasuke would do anything to have it all back.

"I'm not-" he started, forced to stop when his throat constricted painfully.

Everything seemed to spill over at once, talking about his past, arguing with Naruto, his memories of Itachi and the fact that everything was so different here. It was all too much, too good and too painful.

"What did I- I mean I- are you okay?"

Sasuke sank down in a crouch, hiding his face in his arms. He hated crying, hated the helpless feeling it brought out and the rawness in his throat.

"Shit, don't cry, just don't- fuck I was supposed to hate you," Charasuke babbled, sinking down on his knees and brushing through Sasuke's bangs with gentle fingers. "I mean you could beat Itachi in ten seconds if you wanted, just punching out tailed beats like it's nothing, you look like you've got your shit together I just-"

Unable to force down the sobs any longer, Sasuke felt his shoulders give a violent shake as the first one racked through his body.

"Oh come on, I'm the one who wants to cry, dammit!" Charasuke was cradling his head now, or at least what he could see of it, face close enough that he could feel his body heat. "Shit I didn't transfer that telepathically or something? Because then I just know you're going to kill me, I mean I don't know how this dimension stuff works but-"

"Shut up," Sasuke hissed through his sobs, because if that was true then yes, he might actually consider it.

"Well stop crying then!" Charasuke shook him lightly, and Sasuke lifted his head to glare at him.

To his surprise, there were tears gathered in the corners of Charasuke's eyes as well, and for a moment they simply scowled nastily at each other.

"You look terrible when you cry," Charasuke sniffed, grabbing his shirt off the floor to wipe his not-quite tears off before starting to dab at Sasuke's cheeks.

"Fuck off."

"You know you just told yourself to fuck off."

"So? Maybe I meant it."

A bubbling laughter took shape in Charasuke's belly, making it as far as his lips before being quenched, making it come out like a pained snort instead. He wouldn't stop pressing his shirt to Sasuke's face, however, and thankfully his annoyance with it won, meaning the sobbing stopped.

"You're awful. And I still don't like you."

"You and the rest of the world," Sasuke muttered, swiping at his hand and drying the rest of his tears with a hand.

"That's not true. Naruto likes you." There was the beginning of an amused smile on Charasuke's face as he sat back to look at Sasuke. "He was hugging me pretty tightly the other morning."

"Yeah, well, Naruto is an idiot so he doesn't count."

Charasuke huffed, slapping him with the shirt. For a favorite shirt he sure wasn't handling it carefully.

"If Menma liked me half as much as Naruto likes you, I'd be-" He took a sharp breath, all signs of amusement suddenly gone.

"You're not dating, then," Sasuke concluded, easing his grip on his knees and trying to relax a bit.

That fragile look formed on Charasuke's face again, and Sasuke realized with a nauseated feeling that it was rejection. He knew that feeling all too well. Though, Charasuke still managed a brave little smile, bangs hiding his eyes.

"I'm sorry for being so angry at you, I was just… The things Menma said to me, and then seeing you spar with Itachi when he never wants to spar with me…"

"He never spars with you?"

There must have been something in his voice, because Charasuke raised his eyes at him in surprise, then recognition. Heaving a sigh, his alternate self turned his head with a pout.

"No, but I can't blame him. I mean he's away a lot, and I'm not exactly fun to spar with."

"Fine," Sasuke said, exasperated. "Fine. I'll teach you chidori."

"What?!" Charasuke's disbelief was almost comical. "But why, I mean I don't have the Sharingan and-"

Shrugging, Sasuke heaved himself up to his feet, his throat still sore.

"Maybe you'll get the Sharingan one day. Even if you can't use it, you can learn it."

"You'll quit after one day because I suck."

Despite his words, Charasuke was positively glowing now, scrambling to his feet as well. Sasuke took a few seconds to rewrap his towel, then met Charasuke's eyes. He was standing much too close to be considered proper, dark eyes swirling with emotions, and Sasuke was painfully reminded of the fact that those eyes would never again stare back at him in a mirror.

"Everybody sucks at first."

"Yeah…" Charasuke didn't look convinced. "I doubt you ever sucked."

"Hm, maybe not. Naruto sucked though."

"What's that got to do with anything?!"

"He's stronger than me." When Charasuke's doubt only seemed to increase, Sasuke shrugged again, crossing his arms. "You'll see, I guess."

They stared at each other in silence for a long moment, neither entirely sure that this was a good idea.

"You'll really train me?"

Something about the way he said it made Sasuke wonder if he'd ever been trained at all before. Still, he did have his forehead protector so at least he was a genin, but he more resembled a child who had just been told it could switch from practice shuriken to real ones.

"I might as well."

Then Charasuke grinned, his whole face lighting up, and Sasuke briefly wondered if he'd ever grinned like that, because he could only think that Naruto had transformed into him and failed to act the part.

"Maybe you're not so bad after all," he mused, and before Sasuke could understand what was happening he'd grabbed his face and planted a wet, smacking kiss on his mouth.

Sasuke kicked him out the window again.

xxx

Naruto found all the kids gathered outside the Academy's entrance, dutifully looked after by Asuna.

"Hey everyone!" he grinned, deflecting a blow and kick from Yoshie. "Did you have fun today?"

"Yoshie bloodied a guy's nose," Katsumi informed him, nose buried in a notebook. Her fringe hid most of her face and Naruto wasn't sure if she was serious until Yoshie launched another series of tiny punches onto his side.

"He wouldn't stop pulling at her braids," Asuna explained, scratching her neck awkwardly as Yoshie now added loud attack names to her punches.

"Sugar punch! Drop dead punch! I hit him with a rolling thunder punch!"

"Hey. Hey!" Naruto grabbed her wrists, sitting down on his haunches to face the struggling child. "No need to punch me, you know."

He gave her a lopsided grin, but she tugged at his hold with a cute pout. At least Naruto thought it was cute until she stomped on his foot.

"I'm gonna defeat you and become the strongest ninja ever!" she yelled, then seemed to deflate, biting her lips. "He kept teasing me," she muttered, playing with the end of one braid when he let go of her and scraping her sandal-clad foot on the ground.

"Well," Naruto said, "you didn't break it, did you?"

She shook her head.

"Then I'm sure it's fine. Okay? He probably deserved it."

Smiling shyly, she nodded at him, then held her arms out for him to pick her up. Which he did, wondering how exactly you were supposed to carry children correctly. Asuna giggled behind her hands, though Katsumi didn't look amused by the whole situation. Mitsuru and Takumi stood a bit away from them, apparently engrossed in some type of playing cards. He still hadn't managed to get more than two words out of Takumi, not counting the introduction, but it was good to see that he and Mitsuru seemed friendly with each other.

"Hey, um, Asuna? That politics teacher of yours…"

"Jiraiya-sensei?"

The casual way she said it sent a cold shiver down Naruto's spine. He felt like he was forgetting something, and like Jiraiya being here would be too good to be true. Still, he had a good reason for seeking him out.

"Yeah. Do you think he's still here? I have something I wanna ask him."

Nodding, she turned towards the all too familiar Academy building, pointing to the right side.

"If you take the right corridor you'll find all the offices, he's in the fourth one on the left. We can wait here for you."

"Great, thanks," he said, placing Yoshie back on the ground even though she complained loudly. "I'll be right back."

He quickly made his way inside, drying his palms on his pants. The closer to the correct office he came, the harder his heart thumped in his chest. Was this how Sasuke had felt when he was going to meet Itachi? Last time when he'd met his parents for the first time he hadn't been given time to build up any anticipation, but now he could feel it creeping up his spine and settling somewhere in the hollow of his throat.

Slowing down as he neared it, he licked his dry lips and took a deep breath. Reaching the door, he squared his shoulders, wondering why he was losing his nerve all of a sudden. Maybe because somewhere in his heart, he'd already resigned himself to disappointment.

He knocked.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

The person opening the door was a young man possibly in his mid-twenties, with small eyes squinting just a bit as they took in Naruto's appearance.

"Um, I was looking for Jiraiya?"

"Well, you found him! Come on inside, I'm guessing you must be Naruto?" When Naruto made no move to follow, he continued. "Asuna-chan told me about you, said that politics isn't exactly your thing."

The half-joke brought Naruto out of his stupor, and he glanced at the name plate just next to the door. Matsuda Jiraiya. Wow.

"Oh, yeah, not really," he laughed awkwardly, pushing all thoughts of his former sensei to the side along with the sour taste in his mouth as he followed Matsuda into the small office.

He sat down in the visitor's chair, looking around the room. There were bookshelves covering most of the wall behind Matsuda, one desk facing the window and one angled to point at the door, with just enough space between it and the wall to fit in Naruto's chair.

"Nice office," he said, mostly to keep himself occupied.

"Thank you, Naruto." Matsuda's smile was easygoing enough, and Naruto wondered if he would have paid attention to his classes as a child. Probably not. "So, what can I help you with?"

"Well," he started, contemplating Matsuda's sandy colored hair and standard ninja outfit, though he didn't look like he was out on missions much. "I suppose you heard I'm not from around here, and I was curious about the differences in political systems."

He was rather proud over how that came out.

Yeah, because I told you to say it.

As usual Kurama wouldn't cut him any slack, but Naruto ignored him, also as usual.

"Really? The history aspect or the current system in practice?"

"Both, I guess."

"Hmm." Matsuda scratched his chin, where a bit of stubble was growing. "I could write you a booklist, I suppose, you should be able to find them all in the library." Upon Naruto's disheartened look he chuckled, leaning back in his chair with an amused smile. "I could teach you, of course, the Hokage did inform us to treat you well, but I also heard that you're not available for one-on-one sessions."

Naruto blinked, confused. Was this something about fighting?

"Why don't I write that list for you and send it with Asuna-chan tomorrow, and you can seek me out again when you've read through them if you have any questions."

"Yeah, that'd be great," he answered automatically, wincing on the inside because reading and books weren't exactly his favorite words. "Thanks."

"No problem," Matsuda said with another smile, standing up to shake his hand.

There was just something about the way he smiled that made Naruto feel a little uneasy. Still, he smiled in return before making his way back to the kids, thankfully finding all of them accounted for.

"So what did you want with Jiraiya-sensei?" Asuna asked as they started walking home, and this time he couldn't suppress the slight wince at hearing the name.

"Just asked him to recommend some books about politics," he said, shrugging being made difficult from the fact that Yoshie was now happily perched on his shoulders. "He should give you a list with them tomorrow."

"Do you like to read?"

It was Takumi, surprising Naruto with his quiet voice. Even if he was shy it was hard to miss him, since he was almost as tall as Naruto's shoulders despite only being ten.

"Sometimes, if it's a special book or if it's for training," he answered, then quickly steered the subject away from his own reading. "What about you, Takumi?"

The rest of the trip was spent discussing everyone's favorite book, and to his chagrin he found himself promising to read aloud from several of them. At least it would be easier than helping them study, he supposed.

It wasn't until he was halfway through cleaning up the kitchen in preparation for dinner that he remembered Jiraiya had died just the day before he last arrived, with Sakura. His mission had been to retrieve the very scroll that Naruto used to defeat Menma with…

He scrubbed the kitchen table until it squeaked in protest.

I'm not sure what to say. I'm just gonna... go hide in my corner. But those of you who watched the movie already knew about Jiraiya, I'm sure.

Next chapter, Itachi cooks, Sakura uses her puppy eyes, and Charasuke narrowly escapes with his life intact. Or something like that.