Chapter 3: Endless Summer Days
"How come we always play ninja and not something like, diplomats?" Kurama asked.
"Too few role models." Naruto replied. "Plus, diplomats are usually ninja."
Naruto and Kurama stood in a small grass area. There were three wooden posts set up and a small lake with a stream feeding into the lake. A cool morning, summer breeze was blowing in the air. It was a nice break from the recent humid and muggy days. Naruto was motivated to have some fun now.
Naruto pointed to himself and said, "Anyways, I am going to be the fearless Konoha defender of peace and freedom." Then pointed at Kurama, "And you will be the loathsome Iwa oppressors here to kill everyone."
Naruto had two practice kunai. Instead of being made of metal, heavy, and black, these ones were taken *cough* 'borrowed' from the academy. They were lighter making them easier to throw for the young students. They also had blunt edges. It would still hurt to get hit by them no doubt, but a nasty bruise is definitely better than being stabbed. Naruto handed one to Kurama.
"Here is your kunai. We're at war. If you get hit with the kunai, you're dead and the other side wins. Ok?"
Kurama, inspecting the kunai. "Gotcha."
"Surprise attack!" Naruto threw the kunai at Kurama.
Kurama, bewildered at the premise, quickly threw the kunai back at Naruto.
Both kunai hit their marks and propelled the pair backwards. Naruto was sporting a nasty welt on his forehead and Kurama was rubbing his belly. "Kind of a stupid game isn't it?"
In the trees watching the duo currently wrestle around in the grass. Shouts of "You're stupid!" in the background, two ANBU were watching with curiosity. While they wore distinctive armor, each member wore a different porcelain mask that covered their face. ANBU named each other for the masks they wore. Right now, Dog and Cat were watching Naruto, now currently kicking up dirt on the heels of his stuffed animal?
Either way, for outsiders, the only real way to tell ANBU apart was by their hair. Dog has silver hair that sticks straight up from his head. This wasn't very helpful for him. The main point of being ANBU is to be anonymous. One of many. There aren't that many people with silver hair in Konoha. And only one has enough skill to be considered ANBU, Kakashi Hatake. He usually spent time away from the village on dangerous missions. He didn't like being seen in the village, lots of angry PTA mothers coming after him for his nasty habit of reading smut in public. His partner today, Cat, has long flowing purple hair. She is a new ANBU recruit and thus is running babysitting duty. Yugao Uzuki. She quickly rose through the ranks of Konoha and is a strong sword user. She has something of a chip on her shoulder though.
"How much longer are we going to be here?" She was sounding impatient. She was a member of ANBU for crying out loud. She should be out of the village, defending Konoha interests and making sure that nobody does anything to disrupt the peaceful life this boy in front of them is having.
Kakashi looked over to his colleague. Truthfully, he loved these missions. He liked watching this little kid, the son of his late may he rest in peace teacher. He was getting to live a childhood unlike his. By the time Kakashi was his age, he already killed multiple enemies and was making a name for himself. "Oh, probably for another…" a quick look at his wrist. There wasn't a watch there, but it irked Yugao nonetheless so it was worth it. "Thirteen more seconds."
"Thirteen?"
Yes, Kakashi was sure of it. Just nodding in response. Yugao was still skeptical, but with her face covered, it was hard to notice. 5…..4….3…..2….1..
"I know! I bet Hokage-jiji has the answer, LETS GO!" In speed that a normal, untrained boy shouldn't have, Naruto took off running. The ANBU disappeared from their position in the trees and followed in pursuit.
Not caring if there was a meeting going on, Naruto opened the doors to the Hokage's office. "Old man! I have a question for you! Oh, its you! I got a bone to pick with you!"
As a matter of fact, Hiruzen was in a meeting at the moment. He was once again joined by Danzo. They were discussing plans about a certain clan that was very disgruntled. Nothing about a planned rebellion or anything. No. Something much more mundane. A complaint. Specifically, a fishing complaint about their fish. Yes. That was the exact wording. What it means, that's what Danzo and Hiruzen were trying to figure out. They were completely lost, not to mention Fugaku Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha clan and police force had no idea about the complaint. Danzo's Uchiha radar went off though, so they must be up to something dastardly.
"And what did my esteemed friend do this time?" Hiruzen asked. Slightly amused at the situation.
"I did all those hand signs. All FOURTY FOUR! Do you know how hard that was mummy man?! Do you!? I did it all and nothing happened! No water dragon coming out and drenching Kurama in water. Nada. Zilch. You're fake mummy man!" Naruto was very animated in his shouting. But Danzo couldn't hide his disappointment. The potential to be a ninjutsu expert before he graduates, poof. Gone.
"The Water Style: Water Dragon jutsu is a very hard ninjutsu to learn." And Hiruzen was in his 'professor mode' as Naruto dubbed it. "I would be very impressed if you were to learn it in an afternoon. Not to mention you might not even have a water affinity. That would make it even harder for you to learn it." Hiruzen saw that Naruto was zoning out. Any further lesson Hizuen would try to teach would just go in one ear and out the other. "But, Naruto, you have a question for me?"
Naruto's eyes focused on the Hokage again, "Oh right! How do ninjas killing each other solve the world's problems? Kurama and I were playing ninja and we don't have a clue!"
Leave it to Naruto to suddenly ask a huge philosophical question like this. Not only that, but Danzo Shimura was in the room. Killing other ninjas? That was basically his answer to most problems. Ready to pounce, Danzo opened his mouth, but Hiruzen beat him to it.
"Why don't we go to Ichiraku for some lunch." Hiruzen got up out of his seat and put a hand behind Naruto guiding him to the door.
Danzo was foiled again. Next time.
While walking to Ichiraku Ramen, Hiruzen skillfully played his game of feint. To distract Naruto from his previous query, he asked what Naruto was doing during summer break. Naruto talked on and on about all the different activities he had done so far and the stuff he was planning to do. Hiruzen discreetly made a hand sign to his ANBU to retrieve an item from Naruto's apartment. They talked the entire way to Ichiraku Ramen.
After orders were placed, the ultimate question was asked. "How is your summer homework going? Let's check it to make sure you know everything."
Naruto, now frozen to his seat and developing a thousand-yard stair, "Let's not, and say that we did." Naruto had done it.-ish. Naruto would blame that it was late at night and his mind was going loopy but the ANBU watching him would testify that it was in the middle of the afternoon. Speaking of which, an ANBU appeared in a swirl of leaves with said notebook in hand.
"Your teacher, Iruka-sensei, says you need to spend more time on it. Here, let's have a look."
"More time?! I already spent thirty whole minutes on it! That's thirty minutes of summer vacation I can't have back. Its called vacation for a reason old man!"
Opening up the book, the title of the page was subtraction. Basic arithmetic. "You have written here, 19-6 = 42. Now you know that isn't right."
"I don't know, it just seemed like the right answer." Naruto shrugged his shoulders, bent his arms, and opened his hands upwards. "So, I was a little off, big deal."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, "Naruto, this is subtraction. The opposite of addition. I taught you addition. You use it when you go grocery shopping." Naruto had a moment of realization. "With addition, you can't get less than what you started with. With subtraction, you can't get more than what you came out with. Here is an example." Hiruzen grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the ramen bar counter. "Subtraction, 2-1 = 1" He put the chopsticks in front of him and then took one away. "Now this is just the same thing, but more."
"Well how should I know, he sent me out."
"He did now? Well I'll teach it to you now." Teuchi was in the middle of boiling the water when he heard the impromptu lesson taking place. Now, he would normally have carried on as usual, but basic math was important. I'll be a little slower than usual.
It was now the midafternoon. A stomach full of Ichiraku ramen and an extreme desire to not even think about anything math related. Naruto and Kurama were resting underneath a tree back at the place they were that morning. Breaking the silence, "You know what day it is?" Naruto asked.
"No. Why?"
"No reason, I was just curious." Going back to just resting against the tree. "Summer vacation is awesome. I can see why you like these afternoon naps so much."
"The absolute best." Kurama stretched before curling back on Naruto's leg. They've been here for who knows how long. Naruto's endless pit of energy was coming back to him. "Wonder how tall this tree is."
Shaking Kurama off his leg, he started climbing up the branches. It was a fairly nice view from the top. Nature for as far as the eye can see. Kurama, followed up after him and now the duo had moved from resting on the ground to lounging in the tree. But like before, Naruto's energy came back to him.
"Let's go exploring!"
Leaving their perch from the tree branches, Naruto took off running in a seemingly random direction. Deciding to leave no stone unturned, Naruto and Kurama literally turned over every rock. The first rock he came across was just a small one, nothing noteworthy underneath it. Once Kurama came down from the tree, they went to the bigger one. Kurama lifted it up and underneath the flattened earth were a host of different bugs and worms. The curious duo blanched their faces and stuck out their tongues. Kurama quickly dropped the rock back down. The cycle repeated for most of the day. Kakashi and Yugao still shadowing the duo.
Lost in their own exploration, Naruto and Kurama noticed a new type of bug. This one seemed to glow on one end and have wings. Not knowing what they were called, Naruto quickly dubbed them 'Fireflies.' Wasting more time trying to catch as many as they could in one hand and then peering into it to see them all glow. The sun had set and the stars were coming out. A small glow of light pollution from the village meant they weren't that far away from the village as feared.
Content to just lie down in the field. An action-packed summer day was coming to an end. In the trees, Yugao picked up on something. "You like taking these missions, don't you?"
Quiet for a second, Kakashi replied, "I do. In fact, I'm a little jealous. It reminds of times with my father. When things were simple." It was an open secret to anyone who knew Kakashi, but again people just didn't think about it that often.
"I also noticed that shadow clone you made. It took back off towards the village."
"When you get to my seniority, you get to push the rules just a bit. Why do you think I'm still in ANBU when everyone I fight knows exactly who I am?"
Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves and appeared next to Naruto and Kurama. He picked him up and carried him back to the village. Naruto, not excited to leave the peaceful night. Informed of a prepared dinner waiting for him, he didn't shout too much after that. Only shouting from then on was excited telling Dog about his day.
In bed, Naruto and Kurama about to fall asleep. "Summer days are supposed to be longer right? They always seem shorter to me."
"I know. We didn't get through half of the things we were going to do."
"Always tomorrow. 'Night Kurama."
Thirty minutes later, the room was pitch black. A bright light filled the room suddenly and went away just as fast. Kurama's eyes opened immediately. A few seconds later it happened again.
"I'm a firefly."
Kurama was not impressed. "I can see the flashlight."
