Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.
Chapter Summary: In which everyone has several long overdue conversations and Naruto blows up the apartment
Chapter 29: Excuse Me, That's My Emotional Support Brother
Rio shuffled his feet as Kakashi finished his verbal mission report, handing over the written version to Jiji. Jiji was on the Mission Assignment Desk today, a rare occurrence, and he was looking at them with a twinkle in his eye.
"Well, Norio-kun, it seems your brother's penchant for being assigned missions that go awry is a genetic trait," said the Hokage. "I am glad it all worked out in the end. Hopefully when Wave's economy stabilizes, we will have an ally in them."
"I think we will stick to D-ranks for now, Hokage-sama," Kakashi eye-smiled. "We'll focus on our training before we venture out again."
They were distracted by a commotion behind the large doors behind them and Rio watched his brother's team walk in. Nii-san was laughing at something Hana-neechan had said and it hurt to see his smile drop when he spotted him. He had to fix things with Nii-san as soon as possible.
They all looked a bit damp. Nii-san had ditched the black crop top and had donned a ragged, beige jumper that Rio had never seen before. None of them were wearing exactly what they had left for the mission in. He caught Kazu-nee's eyes and tried to convey his confusion. Kazu-nee looked down at his own bright pink jumper that reached his knees and chuckled.
"Everything we brought with us got soaked," he said in good humour. "It took until we were leaving but Yugito finally took pity on us and threw these at our heads as we left the country. Be prepared to be surrounded by laundry at least for the next week."
"We were expecting you three back sooner," Jiji interrupted.
Nii-san stepped forward and bowed low. It was still strange to see the stilted relationship between them. Rio could remember the days where Nii-san would hang around the office with him and chat to Jiji about anything and everything. It'd changed sometime around the time Sasuke lost his family and Rio had no idea why.
"We were delayed, Hokage-sama," he said evenly. "Teaching Kumo genin the seal and related maintenance took longer than expected."
"You were not ordered to teach them that seal," Jiji's expression was unreadable.
"It seemed like the right thing to do."
The pair glared at each other, some sort of unspoken conversation between them. Rio didn't know what was going on and it was apparent that nobody else did either. The Hokage was the first to break eye contact and Rio tried not to let the surprise show on his face. He didn't think that the leader of the whole village would've backed down like that.
"Are you aware that your Bingo Book entry was updated in your absence?" Jiji said idly, shuffling some papers on his desk.
"No," Nii-san frowned, reaching forward to accept the opened book.
He took a moment to read and Rio resisted the urge to walk over and read over his brother's shoulder. Nii-san's face twisted and as Kazu-nee peeked at it, he winced. Hana-neechan followed suit and it just made Rio more curious.
"What does it say?" Sasuke finally asked.
"I'm still B-rank but Naruto is A-rank now," Kazuya replied. "They've got his fūinjutsu and sensing down too so that cat is out of the bag. My bad."
"That's also a dick move of them," Hana-neechan scowled. "We help and teach them and they react like this?"
"It is Kumo," Kazuya shrugged.
Nii-san closed the book with a huff.
"It's not a big deal," he decided. "It's not as if I leave the village very often and it was bound to happen eventually. I thought my sensing abilities would have been made public before this."
There was a brief silence.
"So what are you guys doing here?" Kazu-nee clapped his hands, very obviously trying to change the subject. "What horrors are you being assigned today?"
"Actually we're just back from a mission," Rio quickly replied. "We got our first C-rank!"
"Hey, that's great!" Kazuya grinned, walking forward to ruffle his hair.
He proceeded to do the same to Sasuke and Sakura and Rio laughed at the looks on their faces.
"Kiba has been talking about getting one for ages," Hana chimed. "He's going to be jealous. Where'd you go?"
"We went to Wave," Sakura said, a bit quieter than usual.
She'd been subdued the entire trip back to Konoha. She hadn't even said a word to Sasuke. She'd just stared at the ground as they walked, expression twisted in thought.
"Wave?"
All eyes turned to Nii-san.
"How did you get a C-rank to Wave?" He continued intensely. "With the Gato situation, no one should be going there. I ordered the chunin to suspend missions until we could get more up-to-date reconnaissance."
Rio looked down at his feet as an awkward quiet settled over the room. It appeared that no one wanted to answer him.
"Well, Naruto, it was issued as a C-rank but in a completely unprecedented series of events that no one could have predicted, it may or may not have been upgraded to an A-rank," Kakashi said nervously.
Rio internally thanked him for his sacrifice.
"What events?" Nii-san demanded.
"Oh you know, Momochi Zabuza. It all worked out though; you can probably start sending missions to Wave again now that Gato is dead."
Nii-san froze and the urge to run hit Rio like a tree. Nii-san didn't get angry often and he hadn't ever directed it at them but when he was, it made the hairs on the back of Rio's neck stand up.
"At what point in this mission did you figure out that the mission was no longer a C-rank?" Nii-san asked quietly. "Was it a point where you could have turned back, Kakashi?"
Kakashi didn't answer and Rio cringed; that was as good as admitting it. He almost wished that Nii-san would shout or explode or something. The quiet was so much worse.
"You and I will have a chat about this later." Nii-san's smile didn't reach his eyes. "I'll speak to my department about issuing correct mission ranks."
Nii-san stepped forward and Rio tried not to flinch as Nii-san rested his hand on his shoulder.
"You guys did really well," Nii-san smiled gently. "It must have been hard but you pulled through. You're all going to be amazing shinobi."
Rio stared up at him as warmth spread through him.
"I apologise for the interruption but you are free to go, Team Seven," Jiji spoke up. "I need Team Hari's mission report and I suspect you would all like to relax a bit after your adventures."
"Of course, Hokage-sama," Kakashi eye-smiled as he began to shove Rio and his teammates out the door. Rio suspected he just wanted to get away from Nii-san.
Just before he was escorted out of the room, he saw Nii-san slip some yen over to Kazu-nee. He would have to ask Nii-san which bet he lost.
Naruto scowled as he stomped through his front door, kicking off his sandals in a random direction and throwing his orange jumper in the vicinity of the kitchen table. He was only gone for five weeks and yet his department was apparently incapable of running themselves without his supervision.
Wave was only the first mistake; they had also managed to send an unqualified team to the Land of Rivers, so they were pissed at them again just when they had managed to get out their bad books last year. The chunin had also forgotten to send files to both the Registry and Accounts so there were at least four teams who would be paid late and were currently unavailable to do another mission despite being in the village. Naruto had left notes for it to be done and everything.
Everything was on the large map in the office; he had made sure to put a bright red note on Wave and everything. It wasn't until he left the Mission Assignment Desk that he realized how much he did. It was one thing to be immersed in it day after day but coming back to it after a break, with so much to pick up and sort out, maybe he should start delegating more. That might help to avoid issues like this in the future.
Plus he lost five thousand yen to Kazuya. He was so sure he would win that bet considering he was the one running the desk, and therefore could ensure that Rio and his team got a mission that wouldn't go off the rails like his usually did. He still refused to admit that it might be a genetic trait; they couldn't prove anything.
He looked up and spotted Rio on the couch and he couldn't help but freeze. He'd avoided thinking about the whole issue while he'd been in the Land of Lightning but he knew that he couldn't do that forever. He just wasn't sure what else to do. He wanted to give Rio the space he wanted but he wasn't sure how to do that. It was ingrained in him to be there and try to give Rio the best he could. The only thing he could come up with was steering clear of his little brother altogether but that made the void in his gut grow with every minute he did so.
"Wait, Nii-san!"
He forced a smile on his face.
"Hey, Rio, I didn't know you were home." An awkward pause. "Where's Kaz and Sasuke? And Momo?"
"Out." Rio's eye darted away from him for a moment. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Oh."
Naruto moved forward slowly, tentatively sitting on the other sofa. What did he do wrong? He'd been trying so hard; he can't have messed this up. Rio fidgeted in his seat and Naruto pressed his lips together so he wouldn't say anything.
"Nii-san, I…" Rio started.
Naruto leaned forward a bit, trying to show he was listening. Wait, was he paying too much attention? Was Rio feeling pressured? He leaned back into the couch cushions but cringed as Rio's face dropped further.
"I'm so sorry!" Rio finally burst out, violet eyes glistening. "I shouldn't have said all that stuff and I treated you so horribly! I'm so, so sorry!"
"Hey, it's okay," Naruto immediately moved himself to sit beside his brother. "You don't have to apologise for speaking your mind. It's my fault for making you feel like you couldn't talk to me before you stored it all up."
"No, but Nii-san, the way I spoke to you," Rio sniffed. "You've given me everything and I'm just so ungrateful."
"Hey, let's not talk like that." Naruto slung an arm around Rio's shoulders and pulled him in. "I know I can be a bit overprotective and overbearing and I promise I'm going to try and work on that but you're a kid. My kid. You're allowed to yell and throw tantrums every so often. I would prefer if you'd just talk to me though."
"I promise, I promise I'll talk to you," Rio nodded his head rapidly.
"I sometimes forget you're a genin, you know," Naruto smiled softly. "I still sometimes think of you as the little kid who decided that every Wednesday was Colouring In Day and who spoke to everyone we know inviting them to a bird's funeral."
"I was six," Rio mumbled under his breath.
"What I mean is that you're so grown up now," Naruto chuckled. "I need to remember that and it's okay if you remind me."
"But Nii-san you never got the chance to be a kid," Rio turned tearful violet eyes on him. "It's my fault you couldn't do stuff because you had to take care of me."
Naruto squeezed Rio tightly.
"It was my choice, Rio, and I wouldn't change anything for the world," Naruto sighed. "Despite what you appear to believe, I had a great childhood; it just ended earlier than most but that's okay. I like taking care of you. There's also Sasuke and Momo and Kaz so I would have always ended up taking care of someone. It's who I am."
He grinned brightly.
"Plus while I've missed out on some stuff, I got to experience loads of others that I otherwise wouldn't have. I've had a good life, Sunshine."
Rio nodded and stared down at his lap.
"I just don't want that distance ever again."
"We'll find a happy medium," Naruto reassured. "We can work on finding it together."
"Okay," Rio whispered.
Naruto looked down at him and. There was something else.
"In…in Wave, we were fighting Haku and he hit Sasuke and I..I thought he died and I blacked out and I don't remember what I did but it…I think it was the Kyūbi. I think he got out."
Naruto took a deep breath.
"If the Kyūbi got out, you would know about it," he said slowly, images of fire and rubble lingering at the back of his mind. "There wouldn't be a Wave or bridge left. I think you just used some of its chakra."
"Really?" Rio peered up at him. "How do you know?"
"I've seen it in the other Jinchūriki. Gaara and Yugito are both able to use some of their Bijū's chakra and traits in a fight."
"I don't know anything about being a Jinchūriki," Rio frowned.
"Honestly," Naruto knocked his head gently against his brothers. "Neither do I. I can help you figure it out but only if you want me to. If this is something you want to do on your own, I'll respect that."
Rio turned and wrapped his arms around Naruto's torso, hugging tightly. Naruto rested his other arm around his little brother and closed his eyes as he rested his head on Rio's. He had missed this warmth. He was going to make sure he was better in the future so Rio didn't feel like this again. He never wanted to lose his little brother again.
Sasuke sighed as he hauled himself up the final set of stairs. Kakashi hadn't been kidding when he'd said he would intensify their training; not that he wasn't grateful that the man had gotten over himself. He could hope this meant he was getting stronger. Itachi was still out there.
BOOM!
Sasuke ducked, bracing himself as the floor shook beneath him. He took in quick breaths as the adrenaline from the initial shock coursed through him. He rested a hand on the wall next to him but the vibrations had stopped. Looking ahead, his eyes widened as he spotted the dust coming out from under one of the doors. That was the Uzumakis' apartment.
He launched himself forward and slammed the door open, coughing as the cloud hit him straight on. He waved a hand in front of his face as he stepped forward carefully.
"Hello?"
He saw a shape move in the dust.
"Sasuke?"
"Naruto?"
He came out of the cloud, holding his right arm. His long red hair was tangled and disheveled and he wasn't wearing his brace. His black t-shirt was now brown with dirt and Sasuke's heart jumped at the blood dripping down from the cut above his right eyebrow. He looked down at the arm Naruto was holding and Sasuke could swear something was out of place underneath his tattooed fingers.
Sasuke tore his gaze from the injured redhead to look around the apartment. The kitchen seemed fine and the back window was intact, along with the plants beneath it. It was when he looked over to the living room area that the chaos began. He could see some chunks of concrete on the carpeted floor but before he could see what it belonged to, Naruto spoke up.
"Help me open the window," he coughed.
Sasuke ran over to the large windows and shoved them open. He took a deep breath of fresh air before he turned back. He froze as he spotted the source of the concrete.
"Don't tell Kazuya!" Naruto blurted out, his blue eyes pitiful.
"I think he's going to notice," Sasuke said dubiously, his eyes still locked onto the damage.
"I know," Naruto admitted reluctantly. "It was instinctive."
"What happened, Naruto?"
Sasuke stepped forward and picked his way through the increasing amounts of debris. The worn couches had not been spared and he was pretty sure the warped pieces of metal used to be the coffee table. He picked his gaze up to look at the gaping hole in the wall. He flinched as a few more pieces dropped to the floor from the opening. Peering into the hole, he could see the spare room of his own flat. He had never really used it but it was strange to see it from this angle.
"See, I got an idea for a new seal and I began messing around a bit, you know? I know I'm not meant to do it here but it's been years since I blew something up and I thought I was being careful."
"Naruto, you've blown up the coffee table a few times and a bunch of other stuff but this is a wall. You blew up a wall. Our wall. I can see my flat."
"Yeah," Naruto winced. "I was drawing a kanji but my hand was shaky and my vision was a bit blurry and one cough meant that I drew the wrong thing. It was a miracle I managed to throw it at the wall. We'd be missing some of the kitchen otherwise."
Sasuke just continued staring at the wall, before turning back to Naruto, then turning back to the wall.
"Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have been drawing seals in the first place. It's not a load-bearing wall so it's not going to collapse. Plus, you know; now you have a shortcut to our flat."
Naruto tried to smile but Sasuke could see the pain in his expression. He sighed and abandoned his stare at the massive hole in the wall to go over to Naruto.
"Come on, I'll take you to the hospital and we can work on our excuse for Kazuya," he sighed, maneuvering himself underneath Naruto's tattooed arm to take some of his weight.
"Pretty sure he's working today so we have until we reach the hospital," Naruto tried to joke but he ended up coughing heavily.
"This cold from Kumo is lasting a while," Sasuke commented and he felt Naruto stiffen beneath him.
"Yeah, the dust isn't helping either," he joked nervously.
Sasuke felt like there was something that Naruto wasn't saying but he dismissed it. There were more pressing issues at the moment.
"I was going to talk to you about Itachi," Sasuke said quietly. "About how I was going to find him and get him to talk. I want to know what really happened."
Naruto squeezed his shoulder.
"I know, Sasuke, and I'm going to be here to help with whatever you need. I kinda owe you for the wall," he chuckled lowly, before he became serious. "I have something to show you regarding that. Tomorrow, when Kazuya and Rio go out after breakfast. I'll tell Kakashi you'll be late."
Sasuke nodded as he began to help Naruto down the stairs.
It had taken two weeks, fixing the damage and many, many apologies but Naruto had finally managed to get Kazuya to forgive him for the 'Wall Incident'. He suspected that it would be brought up many times in the future, hopefully evolving into an inside joke eventually, but he would bear it. He had also had to promise to never design seals in the apartment again which he thought was more than fair.
The weather from Kumo had messed with his body and when he'd been drawing the sealing he could barely see the paper in front of him. He had also been so dizzy that instead of focusing on the seal itself he'd been thinking about going to bed. It wasn't his finest moment but he'd been studying fūinjutsu for eight years; he hadn't thought he would screw it up so badly. It was a novelty having a cast on his right arm for a change and he'd been freed from it yesterday.
For the first time in a blue moon, he and Kazuya managed to get several consecutive hours off at the same time so they had decided to spend the afternoon helping out Tenjirou. He felt bad that they hadn't been able to help him out much in recent years but he was going to make it up to him today. The man had an entire backlog waiting for delivery and Naruto was confident that they could get it all done. He was feeling good today too.
"Hey, is that Kiba?"
Naruto followed Kazuya's gaze to a nearby café and he spotted the Inuzuka. He was seated with his teammates and as he looked further, he saw Team Eight and Team Seven there too with their sensei. Kazuya took his braced arm in his and marched them over to the large table.
"Hello!" He said cheerfully.
Naruto smiled next to him as he took in the genin seated. He was glad that Rio and Sasuke managed to keep up with so many from their graduating class. He only ever had Kazuya and Hana; he never interacted with anyone else.
"Kazuya!" Ino grinned. "Naruto-san!"
"Please drop the 'san', Ino," Naruto grimaced. "You've all been in my house long enough to drop the formalities."
"I haven't been to your place," Ino frowned.
"Oh, well, next time Shikamaru and Chouji come round, tag along. We always make enough for at least eight."
"What are you guys doing today?" Kurenai interjected, smiling gently at them.
"Deliveries for Tenjirou," Naruto supplied.
"Do we have to introduce ourselves to anyone here?" Kazuya interrupted, scrutinizing the seated shinobi. "I think we know all of you; except you, who are you?"
He pointed at Asuma and Naruto reached forward to lower his friend's outstretched arm.
"That's Sarutobi Asuma, Team Ten's sensei," Naruto rolled his eyes. "He's also taken."
Kazuya scanned the man head to toe and shrugged. Asuma choked on his drink and waved a hand desperately in denial. Naruto noticed Kurenai turning a lovely shade of pink and suppressed his grin. There was nothing official but the bets were alive and well. Naruto personally though they were already together but no one could prove anything.
"His loss."
Naruto frowned slightly as he noted Kakashi's absence.
"Don't you have to be stupid somewhere that isn't here?" Sasuke deadpanned.
"Not until six," Kazuya grinned unrepentantly.
Naruto shared a look with the Uchiha. He had shown the kid the corkboard and the stack of evidence he'd gathered. He was still missing a massive piece of the puzzle and had begun to pay closer attention to the chakra signatures moving around the village. His years of testing ANBU on their stealth training meant he could name most of them but there was still a large chunk of signatures he didn't know. Up to now he had attributed them all to the ANBU but now he wasn't so sure.
Speaking of.
"Usagi! Suzume! Fukurou!" He called out. "You're caught. Try again tomorrow."
One of the civilians behind him let out a loud curse as he threw his hat to the ground and stormed off. A woman in the corner of the café pushed her chair back and followed the man, shooting him a dirty glare. He could feel Fukurou move off the roof above them, annoyance flaring in his signature. The genin were shooting him strange looks.
"What was that about?" Chouji was the one to ask, still chewing his barbecue.
"I test the new ANBU recruits on their stealth during their training phase," he shrugged nonchalantly. "They have to tag me with something without me catching them."
"Holy shit," Kiba stared, ignoring the reprimand from his jounin-sensei. "You're serious?"
"And they haven't caught him once in five years," Kazuya gleefully added.
"Are you meant to be telling us this?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, probably not, but I'm not giving away their identities or anything so," Naruto dismissed the concern. "It wouldn't help anyway since I have most of Konoha's signatures memorized so it's not as if they're special. Actually, a good portion of Suna and Kumo too probably."
This prompted more looks between the genin and he wasn't sure why.
"Your brother is extra, Rio," he heard Chouji whisper to Rio.
"You should hear about the hole in the wall," Rio whispered back.
"So," Naruto said loudly, trying to steer the conversation away from that particular topic. "Where's Kakashi?"
"Aw, Naruto, it's nice to know you care about me," Kakashi said sweetly, poking his head over Naruto's shoulder. Naruto shoved lightly at Kakashi's mask and the jounin moved around him, shooing over Rio so he could take a seat at the table.
"Where've you been, Kaka-sensei?" asked Sakura.
"The best things take time, Sakura-chan," Kakashi eye-smiled. "That's why I'm always late."
Naruto rolled his eyes.
"So how do you know everyone?" Ino demanded and Naruto recognized that spark of gossip in her eye.
"I'm pretty sure almost everyone here has been round to our house for a meal or something," Kazuya answered, recognizing a kindred spirit. "We've had missions with Kurenai."
"Mainly through the Mission Assignment Desk really," Naruto shrugged. "Although Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba have been coming round since the academy. We've known Kiba since he was a little thing hiding behind his mother's legs. He brought Hinata and Shino over when they first graduated."
"Naruto-nii!" Kiba whined and Naruto grinned at him.
"Aw, don't be embarrassed, Kiba," Kazuya laughed. "We won't tell them the stories of you and Rio from when you were toddlers."
Rio joined his best friend in indignation and Naruto held his own laughter in.
"Are you dating anyone, Naruto?" Ino continued with her questions.
He froze at the question.
"No?" he said slowly. "Why?"
"My cousin, Yui, has had a major crush on you for ages. She works in the T&I department and she always talks about you. I just want to know if you're available."
Naruto felt slightly thunderstruck. Someone had a crush on him? Why did someone have a crush on him? Had he met this woman? What was he supposed to do with that?
"I think you broke him, Ino," Kazuya said in amusement, gently nudging Naruto's ribs.
"I don't date," Naruto blurted out without thinking.
This drew inquiring looks from most of the seated genin.
"What, like, ever?" Ino asked dubiously.
"I just…don't," Naruto stuttered, still blind-sided by this whole topic.
It wasn't something he ever thought about. He didn't look at people and think 'they're hot' or 'I would like to kiss them'. His team had no problems in this area but he'd always felt different. His thoughts were always occupied by work or seals or his family or whatever he had going on.
Would it be nice to have someone? Someone he could rely on and relax with at the end of a hard day? He had that in his family but there were always the thoughts of taking care of them and being there for them. Did he want someone to take care of him for once? To be hugged instead of giving them?
Maybe.
He dismissed those thoughts as quickly as they'd come. His family was enough for him. A partner would just be one more person to hurt when he died. He involuntarily turned desperate eyes to Kakashi, praying the man would get the message and save him from this line of questioning.
"Maa, Ino-chan, you're assuming Naruto can tear himself away from work long enough," the jounin waved a hand dismissively. "Besides, Kazuya is the dating man. You should see him at the bars."
Naruto smiled gratefully and Kakashi nodded back. Kazuya squawked indignantly next to him.
"Can you quit talking about my brothers' love lives?" Rio groaned, hiding his head in his hands. It's not something I ever want to think about."
"Yeah, we have to go anyway." Naruto shoved Kazuya's shoulders hard as they started to walk away. "Nice to see you all, bye!"
Naruto walked quickly away from the café, trying to escape anymore probing questions from the Yamanka heir. He didn't want to think about stuff like that. He had enough going on.
Kazuya made another note on the scroll in front of him, tilting his head as he scrutinized it. He caught a glimpse of the new 'doorway' to Sasuke's apartment and he couldn't stop himself from shaking his head. Naruto really had to be more careful but Kazuya couldn't bring himself to be upset with him. His illness had flared up badly and he knew Naruto would never have made a mistake like that normally. He was getting worse.
There was a knock at the door and Kazuya didn't bother to get up, yelling 'come in' from his seat. Sakura slowly entered the flat and Kazuya smiled at her.
"Hey Sakura," he greeted. "You know you don't have to knock. You're part of the family."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear; the much shorter length suited her.
"Are you busy?"
"Nah, I'm just finishing up some lesson plans for you guys," Kazuya grinned. "Kurenai and Asuma asked if I could teach their team first aid too so I'm just sorting through the material."
"Okay."
Sakura hovered awkwardly before she perched on the edge of one of the kitchen chairs. Kazuya shoved all the paperwork aside and he placed his attention on the girl.
"What's wrong?"
"I…" she began hesitantly. "I need to get stronger."
"Okay," Kazuya nodded. "What brought this on? You've already come a long way since you graduated from the academy."
"It's not enough!" Sakura cried and she turned tearful eyes to Kazuya.
Kazuya reached forward and grasped her hand, squeezing gently.
"I'm the weak link," she said quietly. "Rio and Sasuke-kun are so strong and so far ahead of me. They got a head start and I'm never going to be able to close the distance. I was too busy worrying about my hair and clothes and perfume to wake up and take being a kunoichi seriously."
"Hey, just because they're ahead of you now doesn't mean they always will be," Kazuya tried to reassure her. "You might need to work harder but you can do it."
"In Wave, all I did was stand around next to Tazuna-san," she sniffed. "I know I was technically protecting him but it didn't feel like it. I just watched as Rio and Sasuke-kun helped Kaka-sensei and fought Haku and I hated it; every second of it. I just don't measure up."
Kazuya nodded along, taking in her words. She was finally waking up to her reality. He'd managed to get her into decent kunoichi gear and off the diet and off Sasuke's back but nothing would really change until she decided it for herself. Leaving the academy and getting away from the rest of Sasuke's fan club was doing wonders for her but it seemed like this mission was the tipping point.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
Her eyes widened at him. He waited as Sakura appeared to think something over. Her tears dried up and her face set into a firm look of determination.
"I'm going to get stronger," she stated firmly. "And I want you to train me."
Surprise shot through him.
"Me? Why me?" He spluttered. "Why not Kakashi or Naruto? They have experience training genin."
Sakura shook her head.
"I want you," she insisted. "I'm never going to be physically stronger but the way you fight means that doesn't matter. You're a good teacher, I love the first aid stuff, and you've always treated me like I could be something."
"Hey, Kakashi doesn't-"
"I know Kaka-sensei doesn't mean to," Sakura interrupted. "In training and stuff, he treats us all the same but he doesn't push me like he does them. I don't even think he knows he's doing it. Maybe it's because I'm civilian-born or that I didn't take things seriously at first but I want things to change."
Kazuya considered her for a long moment before he finally nodded.
"Okay," he gave in. "I'll train you, but it won't be easy, you hear me?"
Sakura nodded quickly as he continued.
"You'll still train with your team before Kakashi arrive and will spend the day with them like you normally do. You're going to follow the meal plan I'm going to make for you and there are exercises and studies that I'll ask you to complete each week. I'll speak to the hospital about getting a more regular work schedule, but for now it's going to be more sporadic. It'll either be before you meet up with Team Seven in the morning or after dinner. You following this?"
Sakura looked slightly overwhelmed but there was a glint of steel in her eye.
"How are your parents? Are they aware of this?"
Sakura curled into herself slightly at the mention of her family.
"They're both civilians so they don't really get the shinobi lifestyle," she admitted. "Kaa-san has been commenting that she barely sees me and that I'm changing. I don't think she likes it."
There was something the girl wasn't saying. He waited patiently as she appeared to debate whether to say anything.
"Sakura, if we're going to train together we need to be honest," Kazuya prompted. "I promise I will never lie to you and everything you say will be held in strict confidence. I won't tell anyone."
"Not even Naruto?" She asked quietly.
"Not even Naruto."
This promise seemed to help her come to a decision.
"She keeps making these comments about how much I'm eating," she said with an undertone of shame in her voice. "She thinks I'm going to get fat. She doesn't like that I'm not wearing perfume or make-up anymore; she keeps saying how much money it costs and that I'm being wasteful. She thinks I shouldn't be a kunoichi; that I should just settle down with a good man and be a good wife."
"Sakura…" Kazuya gripped her hand tightly.
"She doesn't hurt me or anything!" she was quick to say. "She gives me everything I need and I know I ask for too much at times anyway. She just wants the best for me."
"Sakura, civilians think very differently from us," Kazuya said gently. "They can't understand us and vice versa. However, that doesn't give your mother the right to make you feel guilty for your choices. It's your life and you're the only one who can live it."
"I just feel like I'm disappointing her," she said weakly.
"Sakura, are you serious about being a kunoichi?"
Her head snapped up from where it had drifted down in shame. Her wide green eyes stared at Kazuya and a million emotions flickered through them. She was the most expressive kid out of them all; he hoped she never lost that.
"Yeah," she affirmed. "I'm more than serious. I don't think I've ever been surer about anything. I can't go on another mission like Wave and be useless again. I won't."
"Then you can't worry about what your mother thinks," he consoled. "You're making a choice and you have to stick by it."
He considered her for a moment.
"You can move in here, you know," he said, trying to be casual about it. "I know the boys won't mind if I ask them and we recently got an extension."
He got a giggle from her at his last comment. He let go of her hand and offered her a scroll.
"You want to help organize Team Ten's lessons?"
She shook her head, standing quickly.
"Sorry, but I have to go meet up with Rio and Sasuke-kun. Kaka-sensei will be there in an hour and I want to get in a few laps."
Kazuya nodded at her, watching her leave the apartment with a bounce in her step that hadn't been present when she first walked in. She was finally taking her future seriously and he couldn't be more proud of her.
"Naruto!"
Genma waved down his former student as he entered the Jounin Standby station. The tall man turned sparkling blue eyes to him and walked over, his orange jacket still clashing horribly with his bright red hair. Kazuya hadn't ever managed to talk him out of those colour combinations though Genma could remember him trying many times.
"Hi, Genma-sensei," Naruto beamed. "I haven't seen you since the last team dinner."
"Yeah, we really need to start doing those every month again instead of every three, four months," he replied, his own grin just as wide.
Naruto plopped himself onto the red sofa next to him.
"Tell that to our schedules," his student rolled his eyes.
"I knew when you guys were genin that you would grow up to be unapologetic workaholics but even I didn't realise the extent to which you guys would go."
"Please, Genma-sensei," Naruto nudged his shoulders. "You act like you didn't work us to the bone, therefore contributing to our workaholic nature. You're just as much to blame."
"How will I ever live with myself?" Genma rested a hand across his eyes dramatically.
"Causing an existential crisis again, Naruto? Don't you do enough of that at work?"
Genma's eyes shot open and he hurled himself to his feet, snapping off a quick salute as he stood at attention.
"Shikaku-sama!"
The Nara Clan Head raised a thin eyebrow at him.
"At ease, Genma," he smiled wryly. "I was just around chasing up some late mission reports."
"Are you fuck," Naruto laughed. "You don't chase down late reports. So which poor soul caught your attention today?"
Genma could only watch in horror. This was Nara Shikaku; the Jounin Commander. He was their boss, the boss of every jounin in Konoha. He was the Hokage's right hand man and tactical advisor. Genma couldn't even imagine the levels of information that the man was privy to and Naruto just swore at him while laughing. Is this how his student's career ended? At least he would stop overworking himself. His horror only grew as Shikaku laughed.
"There was a new jounin who I heard was excellent at shogi," Shikaku shrugged. "I just wanted to see for myself. It's not often I get to play someone new."
"Takeyama-kun?" Naruto asked. "I'll make sure to warn him next time I see him."
"You talk like I'm going to maul the boy."
"You might maul his brain."
"What the fuck is going on?"
As they both turned to him in confusion, Genma realized he had spoken aloud. He swallowed nervously as Shikaku's dark eyes scrutinized him.
"I just mean, Shikaku-sama, that I wasn't aware you knew each other so well," he backtracked quickly.
"Why do you keep calling him 'sama'?" Naruto asked, still slouched comfortably on the red sofa. "It's just Shikaku."
"Some people actually treat me with respect, brat," Shikaku shot back good-naturedly. "Something you could do with learning."
"I'll start calling you 'Shikaku-sama' when you quit dumping your work on me and drooling on my office furniture."
He turned to Genma with a smile, completely unphased by the rank of the man in front of him.
"I end up doing his work since he would much prefer to take a nap," he playfully rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm busy running the Desk or anything."
As the two continued to bicker, a horrifying realization dawned on Genma. Naruto was so high up at the Desk he was not only running it but he was doing some of the work of the Jounin Commander. He spoke to one of the highest ranked officials in the entire village like he would his teammates, and he got away with it. Did this make Naruto his boss? His student probably arranged his missions and pay and how hadn't he realized that his youngest student had managed to reach such heights?
The worst thing, as he watched Naruto snark back at the Nara Clan Head, was that Naruto didn't even seem to click. He had no idea how much power he had. He would probably be offended if Genma pointed out that he was technically his boss.
"Since I'm here, I need you back at the office," he tuned back in to hear Shikaku say. "Public Relations are still fighting with Communications so I need you to mediate since they both like you."
Naruto heaved a heavy sigh and hauled himself upright. He turned a sheepish grin on Genma.
"Sorry, Genma-sensei, I guess we'll have to catch up another time. I promise to talk to Hana and Kazuya about making the next team dinner much sooner than we've been having them."
He waved behind him as he followed Shikaku out of the station, throwing one last salute after them. He slumped back into his seat as the last few minutes replayed in his head. That wasn't something he'd been expecting to learn today.
Little Naru-chan really was all grown up.
Thanks for reading!
