Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any properties in this work that I did not make myself.
Harold of Konoha
Chapter thirty-four: Old senseis, new genin (AKA Babies Ever After meeting Cool Teachers)
Harold Fisher, a jonin of Konohagakure and one of the oldest active shinobi the village has, was relaxing at his favorite bar in Konoha one day. Drinking with Harold as per usual were his two good friends, Inoichi Yamanaka and Tsume Inuzuka; also, as per usual, Tsume was accompanied by Kuromaru, her loyal talking Ninkin. (1)
"Hey boys," Harold said as he began to bring something up to his friends, "I'm going to be making a trip out of Konoha soon."
"You want we should come along?" Inoichi half asked, half offered.
"It's actually something I have to do on my own," Harold replied, "Otherwise, I'd bring you, Tsume and Kuromaru along for the ride."
"A solo job, eh?" Inoichi remarked, "I understand completely, dude." After taking a swig from his mug of lager, the Yamanaka patriarch continued, "So tell me, my good man. What's this trip all about?"
"I'm going to be visiting a student of mine," Harold explained.
"You have a student?" Kuromaru remarked in a worried tone, "Oh God, what sort of nonsense did you teach them that you passed off as shinobi training?"
"I did not tutor my student in the shinobi arts," Harold informed the talking Ninkin, "Rather, I tutored her in the ways of the dank powers of awesome and rock."
"That sounds even worse!" Kuromaru remarked, "Anything you describe as quote unquote 'dank' is bound to be nothing short of asinine!"
"My student is only fifteen, dude," Harold said to Kuromaru in a somewhat disgusted tone, "I'm not going to rate her ass." (2)
"That's not what asinine means, moron!" the talking Ninkin snapped.
As the three senior ninjas and the talking Ninkin continued their conversation, they heard a female voice call out to them. Stopping their conversation and looking over, Harold and company saw Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi and Might Gai enter the bar. It had been Kurenai who had called out to them. "Well, fancy seeing you guys here," Kurenai remarked to the senior ninjas and Kuromaru, "What brings you four by?"
"Oh, this is our favorite bar," Tsume replied in a casual yet happy tone, happy because Kurenai wasn't being racist towards dogs. (3) Gesturing to the senseis, Tsume said, "What brings you three by these parts?"
"We're here to drink a toast to the memory of Asuma, our heroic and mighty friend who fell valiantly in the line of duty," Gai stated.
"Wasn't that dude killed by some crazy cultist dude who celebrated Halloween way to early?" Inoichi asked, a mildly confused look on his face.
"Wow, way to be insensitive, sir," Kurenai remarked to the Yamanaka patriarch, "Especially considering that Asuma was the sensei that your daughter Ino was assigned to."
"Meh," Inoichi replied with an indifferent shrug, "It's not like Asuma was flawless himself. Wasn't he the only jonin during your students first go at the chunnin exams who didn't step in to keep Neji from trying to nix Hinata?"
"I'd…prefer not to talk about why he didn't step in on that occasion," Kurenai said, slowly tightening her hand into a fist then releasing it.
"At least Neji realized what he did was bad," Gai pointed out, hoping it would help.
"True," Kakashi agreed, "But that didn't happen until Naruto smacked some sense into him, and Neji's uncle told him the truth about the Hyuga Affair."
"Which happened because Kumo shinobi are a bunch of greedy assholes," Harold remarked, "You know, I bet that if Kumo tried to pull a stunt like that again, Inoichi's son would be all like 'ah ha, ha NO'."
"Oh yeah," Kakashi said in something of a resigned tone, "Mr. Yamanaka is Naruto's adoptive father. I remember hearing about that."
"Yes, I am," Inoichi replied in something of a smug tone. To Kakashi, Inoichi continued, "By the way, thanks for looking after my boy, Kakashi."
"Speaking of kids," Gai began suddenly, "Don't my students, Kakashi's students, Kurenai's students and Asuma's students all have kids of their own now?"
"Totally," Harold replied to the senseis, "In fact, I bet that you all got a kick out of meeting the new generation, huh?"
The three senseis all exchanged somewhat uncomfortable looks with each other before turning back to face the three seniors and Kuromaru. "…None of us have ever really gotten to know the kids that our students have," Kurenai said.
"What the hell you talking about, Kurenai?" Tsume remarked with a confused look, "What do you mean none of you got to know the kids that your students had? I know they would have been willing to let you impart words of wisdom and other old mentor shiznits like that to the kids! Hell, Kiba even told me that if Bankai was a girl instead of a boy, he would have named her after you!"
"Yeah, our kids and their teammates all looked up to you lot," Harold went on, "I'm surprised that they haven't tried to practically show their kids off to you!"
"Well given that they are all grown up now," Kakashi began, "With workloads of their own, our old students don't have all of the time in the world. Hell, I know for a fact that Naruto is pretty busy now and days!" Gesturing to the seniors, Kakashi said, "It would be nice, but there just isn't the time. Unless you three can think of something."
"Kakashi, no!" Kuromaru exclaimed in something of a panic, "Don't ask these three for an idea! That's one of the biggest mistakes anyone can ever make!" (4)
"Actually, the boys and I can work something out," Harold said to the senseis, "Meet us at the throwing weapons training ground at nine tomorrow morning. We'll begin with the respective offspring of Gai's students."
"Yes! I'm first!" Gai cheered, pumping both fists into the air.
Later, Harold, Inoichi, Tsume and Kuromaru stood before the three senseis. Standing next to the seniors were three kids. One was Tenji Hyuga, dressed as she normally is. The other two were a boy and a girl, and both of them had eyes similar to Rock Lee's.
The boy had more similarities to Rock Lee's appearance back at that age, albeit he had Rock Lee's hairstyle pre-bowl cut, he wore a green loose-fitting t-shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt, a pair of pants, a pair of shinobi sandals, and he wore his headband over his forehead. As for the girl, she had black hair in a somewhat messy bob cut, and she wore a somewhat baggy pink and purple-striped long-sleeved sweater whose neck hole was large enough so that it exposed the top of the girl's shoulders, a pink pleated skirt that reached her knees, and a pair of shinobi sandals.
Gesturing to the three kids, Harold said, "Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, these here are the kids of Gai's students. The girl with the Byakugan is Tenji Hyuga, who is Neji and Tenten's kid. As for the other two, they are the twin children of Gai's other student Rock Lee."
"So," Tenji said in a casual yet cool tone as she looked to Gai, "You're the jonin sensei who trained both of my parents." After giving Gai a head to toe and back to head look, Tenji said, "I can see why father says you look similar to Mr. Lee."
"How are your parents doing, by the way?" Gai asked the young Hyuga girl, "Just because I no longer command them on a team doesn't mean I am not interested in hearing if they're doing well."
"Father is fine as always," Tenji replied, "As for mother, she's getting close to reaching her goal in her weight loss regimen."
"Oh yeah, I did hear that Tenten kind of tried the Akimichi diet," Gai remarked, his tone sounding mildly concerned.
"Well don't worry about that, dude," Tsume said as she patted Gai on the shoulder, "The dudes and I have been working with her, and are getting her back into shape with the power of dance."
"The power of dance is almost as potent a power as the dank power of awesome and rock," Harold remarked as he held up his right index finger, "It is very difficult to master." (5)
Gesturing to the other two kids, Kakashi asked, "What about them?"
"The girl is Tenlee, who is Rock Lee's daughter that he had with his wife Tensuki," Harold explained, "The boy next to her is Tenlee's older twin brother Gai Lee. Both kids are ninja, like their father."
"Wait a minute," Kakashi said as he made the 'hold the phone' gesture with both hands, "The boy's name is Gai Lee?"
"Oh yeah," Inoichi remarked, "Rock Lee named his son after Gai in the hopes that he would become a splendid ninja like Gai himself."
"I…" Gai began in a sincerely touched tone as tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes, "…I don't know what to say. It's…it's just beautiful, you know?"
A short while later, the seniors and the senseis were standing outside of the Akimichi clan compound, with Choba Akimichi standing next to the seniors. "As a tribute to the late Asuma, we'll continue with the children of his students," Harold said to the senseis while gesturing to Choba, "Starting with Choba, the son of Choji."
"You guys knew Asuma-sensei back when he was still alive?" Choba asked as he faced the three senseis.
"Yes, he was a collogue and friend of ours," Kakashi replied.
"Did he really kill five-hundred enemy shinobi per minute back during the Konoha Crush?" Choba asked.
"He...only killed nine enemy shinobi overall," Kurenai remarked with a mildly confused look on her face, "Other than that, Asuma mostly assisted with tracking down Konoha genin so he could get them to safety." Putting her hands on her hips, Kurenai said to the young Akimichi, "Who told you that Asuma killed that many enemy shinobi during the Konoha Crush?"
"My pa did," Choba replied, "Why do you ask?"
Leaning to her side so she could whisper to Kakashi and Gai, Kurenai said, "Looks like Choji inherited Master Choza's ability to tell tall tales." (6) The two male senseis nodded in agreement with their female collogue.
Later, the seniors and the senseis were at the Nara/Yamanaka residence, where they were talking to Shikamaru and Ino. "Oh yeah," Shikamaru remarked as he gently smacked himself in the forehead, "I can't believe none of us thought of introducing our kids to Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and Gai-sensei. Heh, I bet Asuma-sensei would have gotten a kick out of seeing me and Ino's kids."
"He would have gotten a kick out of you and Ino having kids in the first place, knowing him," Kurenai remarked casually in a knowing tone. (7) Shifting gears, Kurenai continued, "Anywho, if it doesn't impose too much on you guys, Kakashi, Gai and I would be interested in seeing what your kids are like."
"Oh, Shikaru is just like his dad," Inoichi said, "And Inohime is an absolute sweetheart!"
"Yeah, my dad has a point," Ino remarked. Turing around to face the direction of the stairs, Ino called out, "Shikaru, Inohime, can you two come down here?" After a few seconds, Shikaru came walking down the stairs, his four-year-old little sister Inohime following behind him, carrying her Pinkie Pie plushy.
Seeing the senseis, Shikaru asked, "Hey mom, dad, who are our guests here?"
"Shikaru, there are the jonin instructors who trained the parents of your friends," Ino explained to her son, "They're here to see you and your little sister, to get to know you as they got to know your father and I back when we were your age."
Turning to look from Ino to Kakashi, Shikaru said, "Did you really train Uncle Naruto?"
"Yes, he did, Shikaru," Inoichi said as he stepped forward and gave Kakashi a pat on the back, "Kakashi here is one hell of a ninja! Your uncle was one lucky kid to get him as a sensei!"
"You know, young man," Gai said to Shikaru, "You ought to refer to your uncle by his proper title of Lord Sixth. He is the Hokage, after all." (8)
"Gai-sensei, Naruto doesn't require anyone to be so formal when addressing him unless the situation specifically calls for formalities," Shikamaru said to the bowl cut hair styled jonin instructor, "He especially doesn't force his own family to-"
"Wait a minute, dad," Shikamaru said, interrupting his father as he looked to him. Turning to regard Gai, Shikaru said in a suspicious tone, "This is Gai-sensei?" To the surprise and concern of the adults in the room, Shikaru assumed a defensive stance, as if he was getting ready for a fight. He even took a kunai out from the weapons pouch on the back of his belt.
"Shikaru, what are you doing?" Ino said in a shocked and mildly stern tone.
"Is this man really Gai-sensei, yes or no?" Shikaru asked as he pointed to Gai.
"Yes, he is, young man," Shikamaru said, "Which is why your mother and I are wondering why you took a kunai out just now."
"Dad, you know as well as I do that Aunt Hinata has a restraining order against this man," Shikaru said. Looking at Gai, Shikaru said in almost a snarl, "What the hell did you do to my aunt, you son of a bitch?!"
"Wait a minute," Gai said in a confused and mildly shocked tone. Turning to face Kurenai, Gai said, "Hinata took a restraining order out against GAAAA!" Gai was cut off midsentence, but only out of surprise, when something smacked into his left shin, getting his attention. Looking down at the floor, Gai saw Inohime's plushy laying on the floor.
"Inohime," Ino said as she turned to regard her daughter, "Why did you throw your toy at Gai-sensei?"
"Bowl cut man mean to auntie," Inohime said, "Inohime had Pinkie Pie beat up meanie."
"Sweetie," Ino began, "I'm pretty sure that Pinkie Pie doesn't really-"
"Fluttershy, attack!" Inoichi called out, interrupting his adult daughter, as he threw his Fluttershy plushy at Gai, smacking him in the side of his face. After the sixty-plus-year-old man's pony plushy fell to the floor, Kurenai leaned to her side to whisper to Kakashi.
"And that man is supposed to be our superior," Kurenai whispered, drawing a nod of agreement out of Kakashi.
Later, the adults were over at the Inuzuka clan compound, standing in a fenced-in lawn area with Bankai and his Ninkin Rojomaru. "Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, meet my grandson Bankai and his Ninkin Rojomaru," Tsume said as she gestured to the twelve-year-old Inuzuka genin. To her grandson, Tsume said, "Bankai, sweetie, these are Kakashi, Kurenai and Gai, some of the jonin instructors from back when your dad was your age."
"Isn't miss Kurenai the sensei who trained dad?" Bankai asked.
"She is, yes," Kuromaru confirmed with a nod in the affirmative. After Kuromaru confirmed what Bankai was asking about, both Bankai and Rojomaru turned to regard Kurenai.
"Nice to finally meet you," Bankai remarked, "My dad said that you helped keep him from falling too deep into the belief held by some of the women in the Inuzuka clan back when the Inuzuka clan still harbored a deep resentment of the Hyuga." (9)
"It was a hard road, yes," Kurenai remarked, "Made a bit more difficult by the fact that one of your father's teammates was a member of the Hyuga clan. In fact, back when the Inuzuka clan's resentment of the Hyuga was getting to its boiling point, your father-" Kurenai was cut off midsentence when Rojomaru started growling angrily. Looking to the small Ninkin, everyone saw that Rojomaru was growling at Gai.
"Rojomaru?" Bankai said in a confused and mildly curious tone, "What's up, man?" The small Ninkin made a few yapping noises, which Kuromaru took the liberty of translating.
"He said that the man with the bowl cut hair-do smells funny, and that he doesn't trust him," Kuromaru said. Turning to face Gai, Kuromaru said, "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask. What the hell did you eat recently?"
"Sauerkraut," Gai explained, "Why do you ask?"
"Yeah, that will do it," Kuromaru remarked as he turned back to face the younger Ninkin, who was still yapping angrily at Gai. "Come on, Rojomaru," Kuromaru said, "Calm down, little. The funny-smelling man will leave soon enough." The wise words of the older, talking Ninkin did little, if anything, to sway the younger Ninkin's attitude, as Rojomaru continued to yap away at the bowl-cut hair-do man.
Next on the list for the seniors and the senseis was Shibei Aburame, the son of Kurenai's old student Shino. "So yeah," Tsume said to the senseis as she gestured to Shibei, "Little Shibei here is best buds with my grandson."
"Similar to how Shino is Kiba's closest human friend," Kurenai remarked to the older Inuzuka kunoichi. Turning to face Shibei, Kurenai said, "How's your dad doing, young man?"
"Father is doing very well for himself," Shibei replied casually, "My mother is constantly worried that, as a jonin-ranked shinobi, father might end up getting sent out to fight in the ongoing fifth great ninja war. However, mother keeps forgetting that father has is employed as one of Lord Sixth's advisors, which not only means he'll pretty much never get sent out to fight in the war, but that he'll usually be staying in-"
The Aburame genin was cut off when the destruction beetles that live in him came swarming out suddenly, catching the attention and alarm of the seniors and the senseis. "Hey, what are you guys doing?" Shibei said to his bugs, "Get back inside right now!"
Suddenly, the entirety of the beetle swarm that lived in Shibei was out in the open; they flew up, formed a giant arrow shape, and pointed said arrow at Gai, prompting the Taijitsu master's eyes to widen with worry. The beetles were also making a sort of buzzing noise, and it did not sound happy in the least.
"…I should go," Gai said just before turning around and running in the opposite direction, prompting Shibei's swarm of destruction beetles to fly after him. This, in turn, prompted Shibei to chase after his beetles, telling them to get back inside of him. (10)
After Gai, Shibei's beetles and Shibei were out of sight, the seniors, Kakashi and Kurenai turned to face each other. "Gai isn't having a very good day, is he?" Kakashi remarked casually more than asked, "I mean, first Shikamaru and Ino's kids act hostile towards him, then Bankai's dog growls angrily at him, and now he's being chased by Shibei's swarm of destruction beetles. I hope that he gets a break soon."
Later, the seniors, Kakashi and Kurenai were over at the Hyuga clan estate. "Due to Gai still being chased all over Konoha by Shibei's swarm of destruction beetles," Harold said, "We'll have to leave him out of meeting Lord Sixth's daughter, AKA Inoichi's granddaughter."
"Hinata also included in the restraining order she has against him that Gai is not allowed anywhere near Natsu, so this works out for the best," Inoichi pointed out to Kakashi and Kurenai, "Also, not only does this finish getting to meet the kids of Kurenai's students, but it kicks off meeting the kids of Kakashi's students. A two-fer!"
"So where is Natsu?" Kurenai asked.
"Lady Natsu is still recovering," a male voice called out, getting everyone to turn and see Ko Hyuga come walking up.
"Recovering?" Kurenai said in a concerned tone, "From what?"
"Kurenai," Kakashi said in a tone of realization, "You did hear of the recent total failure with the chunnin exams due to Ibiki messing up big time, did you not?"
"Yes, I heard about that," Kurenai replied as the worry in her tone began to grow slowly, "I heard that most of the genin who took the exam freaked out big time due to Ibiki not following orders he was given. I also heard that a good number of the genin who freaked out had to be hospitalized due to getting hurt, and that five of the genin even attempted suicide, although all five were thankfully unsuccessful."
"Yeah, Lady Natsu is one of those five genin who freaked out so badly that they tried to take their own lives," Ko said in a somber tone, drawing a shocked gasp out of Kurenai.
"Is…is she going to be okay?" Kurenai asked, tears beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes.
"Lady Natsu is recovering very well, thank goodness" Ko replied, "And she will be meeting with a child psychologist once the doctor who took care of her gives her the okay."
"Fun fact," Harold said to the senseis, "The doctor who looked after Lord Sixth's kid is my niece Sakura. Speaking of Sakura, we'll be swinging by her place next!"
Later, the seniors and the senseis were over at the Uchiha residence, standing in the living room with Sakura and her son Haru. "Kakashi, Kurenai, this here is my grandnephew Haru," Harold said, "Out of all of the kids in his graduating class, Haru is the only one so far to have reached the rank of chunnin." With something of a smug smile, Harold said, "What do you think?"
"He looks like a mini Sasuke," Kakashi remarked.
"Well Sasuke is Haru's dad, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura replied.
"Oh, so you're Kakashi-sensei," Haru said as he looked to the famed copycat ninja. After looking at Kakashi for a few seconds, Haru continued, "Dad was right. You do wear a mask over your face."
"Yeah, that's Kakashi's shtick, alright," Kurenai remarked with hands on her hips, "He always wears that mask of his. You know, I've never seen what the rest of Kakashi's face looks like."
"Me neither," Sakura remarked, "In fact, back when Sasuke, Naruto and I were all genin, we all tried to get Kakashi-sensei to take his mask off, just because we were dying to know what he looked like without the mask. But he pulled an 'under my mask is another mask' bit, (11) which pretty much made everything we did pointless."
"Well I have my reasons, Sakura," Kakashi said.
"Hey Kakashi-sensei," Haru began, "Can I see what you look like without the mask?"
"Excuse me?" Kakashi said, caught off guard by the Uchiha boy's request.
"Your mask," Haru continued, "Take it off. I wanna see what your face looks like."
"Yeah, I still wanna see it myself," Sakura added.
"That is just ridiculous," Kakashi remarked. Turning to face Kurenai and the seniors, Kakashi said, "Isn't that right?"
"…Take the mask off already, damn it," Tsume said.
"Yeah, man," Inoichi said as he took out a digital camera, "It's about damn time Konoha knew what that face of yours really looks like."
"I'll hold him down," Harold said as he and the others all began to surround Kakashi.
"No!" Kakashi exclaimed in alarm as the others closed in on him.
Later, the seniors, Kakashi and Kurenai were all walking back to the bar that they were all at earlier, with Kakashi seemingly looking embarrassed. "Why do you really wear that mask all the time?" Tsume said to Kakashi, then added in a slight teasing tone, "You're pretty handsome under the mask, you know."
"Please stop," Kakashi remarked, the blushing on his face mostly hidden by his mask, which was clearly replaced after it was yanked off earlier.
"Well anywho, that was the kids of your students," Harold said to the senseis. Turning to face them, the Fisher patriarch said, "What do the two of you think? Are they the coolest kids ever or what?"
"I really hope that Natsu recovers soon," Kurenai remarked, "We didn't get to see her, you know."
"Give her time," Inoichi replied in an understanding tone, "Besides, she has all the love and support she needs to-"
"I finally lost them!" Gai called out, cutting Inoichi off in the process, as he came walking over to the seniors, Kakashi and Kurenai, "I finally lost those damn beetles." To Kakashi and Kurenai, Gai said, "So what did I miss?"
"We got to see what Kakashi looked like without the mask," Kurenai remarked.
"Why do I miss everything important?!" Gai cried out as he fell to his knees, looked upwards and held his hands up into the air.
Later, Inoichi, Tsume and Kuromaru walked over to Harold's place, where they saw him packing some things into the trunk of his car. Standing nearby was Haru, who was helping Harold with getting things into the car. "You getting ready to leave to meet with your student, Harold?" Inoichi asked as he, Tsume and Kuromaru observed the Fisher patriarch and his grandnephew packing things into his car.
"Yeah, and there's actually been a slight change of plans," Harold replied to his best friend, "I'm taking Haru with me."
"Really?" Tsume asked, a curious look on her face.
"Yeah," Harold began to explain, "Sakura's going to be really busy at Konoha General for the next few days, and Sasuke is going to be doing a lot of work, which will keep him occupied for a likewise amount of time. My sister Mebuki and her husband Kizashi can't pitch in for some reason, and Sophia is still recovering after some issue with her asthma. All of this means is that Haru and I will be hitting the road together."
"A young man traveling with an older male relative of his," Kuromaru remarked, "Now where have I heard of something like that before?" (12)
"Hey Haru, did you get everything you're going to need?" Harold asked.
"Yes, Uncle Harold," the Uchiha boy replied, "I got everything I'll be needing for the time we're over visiting your student."
"Excellent," the Fisher patriarch replied. Both Harold and Haru finished packing the gear they were bringing with them, then after giving Inoichi, Tsume and Kuromaru a final good-bye, both Harold and Haru took their leave out of Konoha. (13)
END, CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Author's notes;
1. Even though he is loyal to her, Kuromaru is still perfectly willing to call Tsume out whenever she's being stupid.
2. However, Harold did rate Sophia's; he gave it a perfect score.
3. Having trained Kiba, Kurenai knows how to talk to Inuzuka shinobi.
4. He doesn't say this without reason.
5. The power of dance is all around us, but it requires much training and study to master.
6. The Akimichi love a good story.
7. Asuma would have ragged on Shikamaru endlessly.
8. Gai is something of a stickler for formalities.
9. …Yeah, this is a bit difficult to explain properly.
10. Context, dear reader. Context.
11. Remember that episode? Ah, good times.
12. Have YOU heard of something like that before?
13. This is Haru's first time outside of Konoha since being promoted to chunnin.
I still intend to write for this story, but from what I can tell, the next chapter will take a while again. I've got some of my other stories to work on and update, after all, and there's also things such as classes that I've got to keep an eye on. Also, the holidays are coming up quickly, and I'm expecting to do a bit of looking around to find gifts for family and friends.