Chapter 11

Bantering and Reflection

I did not mean for this chapter to take so long!

Arashi was thrilled to be back in Konoha once Team 7 finished their mission in the Land of Waves.

The walls around the village brought her comfort. The buildings that stood in their haphazard manner greeted her like old friends. It was a puzzle – it was home. As much as going out to complete missions would have bolstered her career, she was comfortable being busy within its boundaries. She had given up on accelerating to a Jounin years before, but it was still a sore spot for her pride. In practice, she was able to do what she wanted without the title and added responsibilities.

Arashi split from Team 7 to allow them to go report their success to the Hokage.

She knew she would need to speak with Hiruzen about the leak. There was still a bad taste in her mouth from the experience – she had hoped that it would be several more years before the first incident. Now it was clear that she would need to figure out a contingency plan. If the demon broke through the seal, she would need to seal it back into a host. That host would need to be either Naruto or someone new.

Furthermore, they were gone for how long before I knew they had even left the village?

While her sensory ability was constant, her focus was not. It took a lot of willpower to keep a single signature at the forefront of her mind for an extended period of time. She needed to find a way to keep tabs on Naruto without obsessing and stalking after him. There was no point in running herself ragged if there could be a better method for fulfilling her mission. With that line of thought, she settled on something that she believed would serve that purpose.

The Third offered to teach me a jutsu years ago. I think he called it the Tomegane no Jutsu?

As odd as it would be to keep tabs on what Naruto was doing using a crystal ball, she wanted that information. If she was able to ascertain his activities and state of being, it would make her job easier.

With that in mind, the kunoichi made her way to the Third's library. There, she systematically found and reviewed the documentation that addressed the Eight Trigram Seal. The demon's chakra boiling out of Naruto had a sobering effect on her – this was serious. If the situation had not improved on itself, she doubted there was anything she or Kakashi would have been able to do.

To both her relief and dread, Hiruzen found her buried in her studies. As was his habit, he placed a cup of tea next to her on the table and eased into a seat across from her. His eyes scanned over what she had been reading before he regarded her.

"How did their mission go?"

She almost cringed at the thought. "I have my opinions, but they don't really matter. The seal weakened, some of the demon's chakra got out, and Naruto went on a short rampage."

"I see."

"I figured Kakashi-san would have already filled you in on it."

"It was mentioned, but I wanted your input on the ordeal."

"I'm not sure if it was a bad kind of leak." Arashi sighed. "I think that's how the seal was intended to work – the power of it weakens over time, with the idea that the host learns to control it."

"Hmm, yes. I do believe that was the hope behind it." Hiruzen hummed in response.

"The seal on Naruto is composed of two Four Symbol Seals, making an Eight Trigram Seal. Definitely powerful. Knowing that Minato-sama knew this and was able to nail a tailed beast with it really makes me realize how impressive he was when he was alive. I don't think I could manage it - I wouldn't stand a chance squaring up with anything like that." She rubbed her temples. "Theoretically, I could reinforce the seal, but I would need to be able to get close enough to Naruto to do that. If he's on a rampage, that kinda makes it a bad situation."

"It's not an easy process for any Jinchuriki to learn how to control or even just cope with their demon." The Third commented. "It's going to be a long, difficult road for him."

"And messy." Arashi added. "He's never handled anything gracefully."

"Naruto is already aware of the demon. How do you plan on acting in the future if this situation occurs again?"

"I want to be a little more proactive about it." She replied. "And with that in mind, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Oh?" His eyebrows rose in curiosity. "I don't believe you've ever asked me for a favor before."

"Well, it's more like accepting an old offer of yours. It's hard to keep up with Naruto at all times, but you offered to teach me something back when I became a Chuunin that will make things a little simpler for me."

The elderly man leaned back in his chair and tilted his head to peer up at the ceiling while he thought. "Ahh – the Tomegane no Jutsu?"

"Yes. Assuming the offer is still open, that is."

"I trusted you with it then and you've done nothing but continue showing your aptitude in other ways. I don't think it would take long for you to catch on to how to use it."

A smile tugged at her lips. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I really am grateful for everything that you've done for me."

"I've not done much." He leaned toward her. "I simply opened the door and allowed you inside. The books and scrolls did the rest."

The medic laughed – remembered herself – and tried to cover it up with a cough. "Yeah, it's awesome what you can do with a bit of documentation tucked away in a library. The dustier the better, y'know?"

Hiruzen's wrinkles rippled as he chuckled. "If I was younger, I would've loved to have you as a student."

"I'm afraid I would've disappointed you."

"You're studious and have an empathetic streak." He replied. "I don't believe there would be any issues."

Arashi snorted. "Daisuke and Akio are members of ANBU. I'm the deadbeat from Ibiki Sensei's team."

He placed his cup on the table and pulled out his pipe. "You have a different skillset. That doesn't make you a failure or a deadbeat. Once Naruto's situation is stabilized, there will be opportunities lined up for you."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

"Sensory work, improving on the barrier around the village, possibly trying to finetune that healing fuinjutsu you have so we can start employing it on our Jounin, at least."

Her mouth formed an O.

"I had some desire to get you involved in those fields of interest when you were younger, but I deemed that spending time in our medical system with your father looking after you was for the best."

"Why?"

"We might not get to speak that often, but I do keep an eye out for you, Arashi. You weren't well and I was concerned."

Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. "I mean, I was probably a little jaded, but I'm not sure if I would have agreed that I wasn't well."

Hiruzen sighed and smoke from his pipe curled around them. "The Massacre."

"Oh." The mention of it still made her stomach drop. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"I'm seeing a spark in you again." He stated. "It's still in need of some kindling, but I'm confident that the Will of Fire is strong enough within you that you're going to make me very proud."

Her cheeks burned. "You're embarrassing me!"

He laughed in her face. "I can see that!"

There was a light heartedness to the conversation that Arashi did not realize she needed. The Third was a kind individual – she knew of no one that would disagree – and in the back of her mind she had deemed that he was the unofficial Village grandfather. The reputation of his skills and prowess kept her on her toes when he was around, but the warmth of his signature and the tea he brought for her was enough to lull her into a companionable mood. If anything, she felt that they were alike in some respects.

Once he was done laughing at her expense, she decided to try her luck, "Well, if you're so fond of me, you could always take me on as a part time student of sorts."

"It's tempting, but I'm not sure if you'd want me as a teacher."

"Why is that?" She asked.

"None of my previous students came out unscathed."

"If you consider being Sanin something bad, I'm not sure how I would be able to make you happy." She teased.

"Jiraiya is a womanizer, Tsunade has a gambling problem, and Orochimaru went down a dark path." He explained.

"I didn't think of it that way, Hokage-sama." She picked at her scarf. "I'm sorry."

"However, I wouldn't be against imparting a few things to you here and there if we both come across the time. We'll start with the Tomegane no Jutsu and go from there."

Arashi perked up.

"I'm assuming you don't have a medium for this jutsu on your person?"

"Ah – no. What would work best? Does the jutsu have any specific requirements?"

"A medium like this." He produced his crystal ball and placed it on the table between them. "And you must be familiar with the target's signature."

She pointed at the ball. "Where would I get one of these?"

He chuckled. "Consider this a gift when you've learned the technique."

It was not often that Arashi and her teammates met up – Akio stayed busy with missions, Daisuke was self-absorbed and busy with Ibiki, while she had her own business. If not for the crystal ball in her pouch and a new jutsu up her sleeve, she would not have felt at liberty to meet with her friends for a meal. The only person missing was their sensei, but he was the least sociable of their circle and they knew there was no point in requesting his presence. The medic intended to take him something to eat later that day. It was her way of showing that she cared and that she wanted him to take care of himself.

The three found themselves lounging at an outdoor table as they waited for their food. The weather, while warm, was pleasant and the wind was present enough to keep them from being uncomfortable.

"So, the client lied about who was after him to get a cheap B mission?" Daisuke sniffed. "I would've left him by the road."

Akio frowned. "Why didn't Kakashi-san abandon the mission? It's a waste of our village's resources and it put him – a valuable shinobi – at risk, needlessly."

"Oh, no, I agree!" Arashi rubbed at her temples. "I even offered to fly everyone back to the village, but Tazuna kept hitting us with the 'my country is dying' and 'we're starving to death' thing. I haven't gone grocery shopping so much since I was a Genin, but it was admittedly hard to find food, so we had to keep at it."

"How did you even find yourself tied up in their mission?" Akio inquired.

"She signed herself up for some dumb study with the Academy, so she's stuck following around this year's new Genin teams." Daisuke explained. "But I would've just taken a rain check on Team 7 if it was me."

Arashi picked at her food, grateful that he believed her cover story.

Akio grunted in acknowledgement.

"But, do go on, Arashi-chan. How exciting was your trip?"

"It wasn't. I sat around the house, babysat an alcoholic, a spoiled brat of a child, and a self-indisposed Jounin while two Genin struggled to climb a tree out back."

"Self-indisposed?" Daisuke mumbled. "Did he stab himself with a kunai or something?"

Arashi scanned the area to make sure Team 7 was not nearby before replying, "Apparently, according to his students, he jumped into a body of water while fighting a rogue Kiri shinobi and the fight got messy once they managed to get him out of a water prison."

The Aburame's eyebrows rose above his glasses. "He jumped in the water while fighting a water ninja?"

"That's what I said!" She huffed. "Like, really? What was the reasoning?"

"Kakashi still has a good reputation in ANBU. Considered one of the best they had." Daisuke sniffed. "I'm starting to think I'd like to know his record. I wonder if Sensei would fill us in?"

"Nah." Arashi pursed her lips. "I've already asked, and he refused to give me any information."

"Yeah, you asked." Daisuke pointed out. "You're not a member so all of that information is totes off limits for you, but me and Daksuke have a much better chance of getting somewhere with him."

"Sorry I'm not a member of your murder club." She mumbled.

"You're just jealous of the uniform." He teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Sure. I'd like to say something about them being lame, but I guess they're not bad."

"They serve their purpose." Akio commented.

"Getting the tattoo sucked." Daisuke sighed.

"That's because you're weak." The Aburame retorted.

"That's enough, y'know. I haven't even finished with my story. I tried to handle this crazy mob of people that this guy hired to kill the rogue shinobi, Team 7, and the alcoholic. By the time I made it to the bridge, Naruto legit knows each of his opponents by name, their backstory, childhood trauma, goals, and aspirations. Have you ever been in a fight where you found all that out? I haven't. He literally talked a grown man to tears, guys."

Daisuke laughed in disbelief. "What? That's wild. I get paid to interrogate that crap out of people."

"You might need to be worried about your job security." Akio commented.

The Kurama sniffed in disdain.

Arashi turned her attention to prodding at the ice in her drink with a straw. "It was insane. Sasuke was, by all appearances, dead on the ground and Naruto was screaming at Zabuza about not caring enough for his partner in crime – the kid that had just killed Sasuke maybe a few minutes prior."

"Wait, Sasuke died? Do you need help digging a new hole in the Uchiha family graveyard?" Daisuke asked.

Akio kicked him under the table.

"Ow!"

"That's a mean comment." She hissed but continued. "It worked out. Sasuke was only temporarily dead, because what kind of shinobi actually kills their enemy, am I right? Zabuza died to the huge crowd of criminals and we all stood around in the snow while Kakashi drops some line about how pure spirited the kid was. Team 7 is a damn mess."

"Well, I'm guessing things are a little better between you and Kakashi?" Daisuke asked.

"I guess?" She shrugged. "It's not like it even matters, though."

"Fair enough."

"Anyway, what have you two been up to?" She changed the subject.

"Unfortunately, we're not at liberty to tell you about our activities." Daisuke replied. "Membership of the Murder Club is required."

Akio snorted and shoveled more food into his mouth.

The medic narrowed her eyes at her old teammates. "You could at least give me vague details of stuff outside of missions."

"I interrogate people and lay around my apartment." The Kurama explained. "It's not like I have the most exciting life. Akio is out of the village more than he's here and I'm pretty sure it's none of our business what he's doing."

The Aburame snorted again in a manner that implied he agreed with the statement.

"You have a point." She admitted.

The conversation lulled for a while as they finished their food. Akio ate like he had not eaten in weeks while Daisuke picked through his meal in a way that suggested it offended him. She appreciated their company and their willingness to keep in touch, albeit infrequently.

Once they went their separate ways, she strolled through the village and tried to clear her mind.

Arashi was flattered that the Third showed interest in her growth, but there was an aspect about it that intimidated her. Kage were known to surround themselves with people who were useful until that usefulness was gone. Kakashi was a member of ANBU – one of the elite in their rank – now relegated to looking after Genin. She did not consider him to be good at that role. In fact, she doubted anyone would consider them to be a well-balanced group if they had a chance to observe them as much as she had.

Is it even really his fault? He has Naruto who is an unruly mess, a traumatized Uchiha, and Sakura who still believes knowing a bunch of facts about being a shinobi makes her a good one. It's all Academy-level drama, but each of them has so much potential if he can guide them.

Kakashi Hatake was not cut from child friendly cloth. She wondered what he did that landed him in his current role.

Was it some sort of fall from grace? He's smart and very observational, but very... alone. Did he mess up? Did he stop being useful? Is he a better resource for the village this way?

She chewed at her lip and turned down another street to drag out her walk. Couples with their children caught her attention as she mulled over her thoughts.

Sandaime-sama does believe in passing values on to the nest generation. Maybe he determined that Kakashi's skillset needed to be imprinted on other people and it isn't a case that he stopped being a good tool?

The memory of how cold the Hatake had been when she met him and the few times she caught his signature when he was in town reminded her of many other ANBU members. There had only been one member of that organization that she would have described as warm, but his crimes stood in stark contrast to that.

But, I think he does have a good heart and I guess that's an accomplishment after being in ANBU for so long. Daisuke and Akio seem to be doing alright and I think Ibiki Sensei has been, well, Ibiki, since he was a kid. Maybe it just depends on the group you work with? I wonder what Kakashi did? What kind of niche can I get myself tucked into that won't hollow me out?

Arashi sensed the silver haired Jounin's chakra nearby and considered going after him but decided against it. She had a hunch he was sick of her presence after she tried to nurse him back to health. The fuinjutsu was still in his system and she intended to keep an eye on his progress, but she was not ready to reveal her project to him. An insecurity in the back of her mind assured her that he would resent her for forcing it on him without his consent. The thought made her uncomfortable.

Not like it really matters. Being friendly acquaintances is probably our best bet. I need to figure out how to improve myself for my mission and I'd like to figure out a way to help Naruto. Does he even know what happened to him when the leak occurred?

Her feet turned toward the Uzumaki's apartment. His signature was in that direction – she assumed he was home. It dawned on her that she had not gotten to speak with him since the incident on the bridge. He was aware of the demon, as Hiruzen stated, and she wanted to know what his experience was when he went on the rampage. It was either a thoughtless result of his anger and grief over Sasuke, or he managed to tap into the Kyuubi's chakra as a resource. Regardless, if she could coax him into confiding in her about it, she could try to offer him support and guidance.

He doesn't need to know about my mission or that I've been stalking him. I'm just a concerned, caring, older sister type persona in his life and that's all he needs to think.

It did not take long to find her way to his apartment complex, climb the stars, and walk the remaining distance to his door. She had made that trek numerous times and braced herself for the mess that she expected inside. A few knocks and a moment were all it took to pull Naruto away from what he was doing inside. Without asking who it was, he pulled the door open, saw that it was her, and smiled from ear to ear.

"Neh, hey Sis!"

"Hey there, Naruto-kun." She returned his greeting. "Do you have a few minutes to chat?"

"Uh, sure?" He blinked. "Did I do something wrong? What's up?"

The kunoichi let herself in, stepped over some trash piled around a trashcan and across the floor, and took a seat at his table. As expected, his living space was a mess.

"You haven't done anything wrong. That I know of, anyway. I just wanted to check in with you. We haven't really gotten to talk since you became a ninja and I wanted to know how you've been doing and how you feel about everything."

"Oh, okay." He brightened. "Like, the mission was awesome, y'know! We're really heroes to those guys now!"

"You know, most missions aren't going to be quite like that." She replied. "But, I'm glad you were able to be a part of helping them out. They were in a bad way."

"So, I know you're doing a study, so you've been keeping up with a bunch of information. How am I holding up against Sasuke?"

"I don't know if gauging yourself against an Uchiha is the most realistic measurement method you could choose."

He crossed his arms and sat on the floor, petulantly. "We're rivals and I refuse to be beaten by him."

"Fair enough." She replied, smothering a grin behind her hand. The last thing she wanted to do was encourage some of his bratty tendencies. "I think you've grown a lot. You're learning how to better control your chakra and you've gotten to be in combat against another shinobi. I didn't experience that until I had been a ninja for a couple years and I was taking the Chuunin exam."

"Chuunin Exam?" Naruto repeated, cluelessly.

She paused and stared at him for a moment. "You've never heard of it?"

"Heh heh?" He scratched at his cheek and avoided making eye contact with her. "No?"

"It's the exam that Genin take to advance to a Chuunin. The exam differs depending on which Village it's hosted in and who the proctors are."

His signature vibrated with excitement. "How do I take the exam? Do I have to, y'know, sign up for it?"

"Ask your Sensei." She replied. "I really wouldn't recommend rushing into it. If you and your team are not ready, you can very easily die."

"We survived Zabuza and Haku – if we could beat those guys, I don't think any normal Genin could stand a chance against us!"

She pursed her lips. "You also had a Jounin backing you up and Sasuke did technically die for a little while."

His excitement faltered. "Well, that's because Sasuke's a loser."

"If I remember correctly from my clone, he went down trying to defend you? I didn't expect that kind of selflessness, but hey, maybe Kakashi-san's having progress with his mission to make you all a cohesive team."

Naruto lapsed into a sheepish silence.

"Everything worked out for the best." Arashi commented. "I was pretty worried about all of you, though."

"Yeah," he agreed.

Unable to stand it anymore, she stood, found a fresh garbage bag, and began gathering the trash together. The Uzumaki let her do it – it was less work for him, and he was distracted. Arashi considered scolding him for living in a pig sty, but she had a feeling that it would not matter. He was a kid that lived alone. There was no incentive for him to keep it clean if it did not bother him.

"Hey, Arashi?" He asked, his voice quiet.

It was not often that he used her name. She sat the bag on the floor and turned to regard him. "What's up?"

"How much did your clone see?"

She resisted the urge to chew on her lips. "It was destroyed shortly after Sasuke went down. Missed out on most of the dialogue."

"Did you feel or, uh, sense anything weird?"

"Weird? Nothing that I would consider weird."

"What about my signature?" He pressed, his voice still quiet and uncertain.

"Your signature is lovely. It's like a breeze on a warm summer day." She replied.

He sat on the floor; his eyebrows scrunched together in worry. Despite the bright orange of his clothing and his loud personality, he looked small at that moment.

"Was there anything you wanted to talk about, Naruto-kun?" She pushed.

"Well, some stuff happened, but some of it I don't want to talk about." He replied.

"I can respect that. I have a plenty of those experiences, too."

"But there is something I wanted to ask you about. Sasuke mentioned something about wanting to kill his brother. Said it was his mission."

Her eyebrows rose above her glasses.

He met her gaze. "Who's his brother and why does he want to kill him? As long as I've known him, he's always been like me. Alone."

Arashi's throat tightened and her stomach dropped. A jumbled mess of words and memories rushed to the front of her mind – shared meals and advice – laughter and companionship – murderer – gentle – rogue shinobi – dearest friend – madman – onigiri and juice – monster – warmth. She was sure that Naruto was unaware of her history with the Uchiha and that he did not know the impact his question had on her.

She pushed through the chaos in her head and replied as simply as she could. "His name is Itachi and he was the one that killed the Uchiha clan. No one knows why. It happened in the middle of the night and he escaped before anyone knew what happened."

What she left out was how hard it was for her to believe that statement and how many years it took for her to take it at face value.

"Anyway," She turned back to the mess around his apartment. "Let's get this cleaned up."

Naruto groaned, but rose to his feet to help her.

As much as she wanted to get Naruto to open up about being a Jinchuuriki to make her life easier and to allow her to offer him help without complicating things, she regretted trying to force his hand. She felt foolish and selfish – it was only a matter of time before Sasuke started to open up to someone about his life and his family, even if it was just a simple comment about wanting to kill his brother. It was his right to want vengeance.

Arashi just wished that the thought of Itachi being hunted by his once beloved little brother did not hurt her as much as it did.

Sorry about the lack of Kakashi in this chapter, but next chapter will make up for it. ;) As of right now, I'm planning on chapter 14 to be the start of the Chuunin Exam for Team 7, but there will be some shenanigans until then.