Chapter 4: Training is a Pain

A/N: I'm really glad that you liked my recent update! I was hoping it was better!

The Naruto of this story is definitely still Naruto. He just grows into the character we all love, but he won't have all of the same traits. However, the huge traits that we recognize are there. Friends over everything else, the will to protect, that undying will to fight back when things seem lost – yup, everything is there.

And sorry for the late update.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 4 START

Najenda sighed. Naruto was hiding again, and this time, even Akame couldn't seem to find him within a half hour. She sucked in a breath, inhaling the chemicals from the cigarette.

"I mean, it's not like it's a big issue. I could think of this as training for him, right?" She said to herself in a pondering way, trying to see the good in the situation. Not getting caught for over half an hour by Akame was truly impressive, since before he would get caught within ten to fifteen minutes or even less.

But it was irritating. She had been sitting silently for a half-hour, one leg crossed over the other on the thigh, waiting somewhat patiently for the blond to be found. Well, at least this gave her some time to mull over Mine's proposition from the last night.

XShuyaX

(Location: Waterfalls)

"I didn't expect you to find me for another hour at least," Naruto mumbled quietly once he heard a steady set of footsteps a few feet behind him. The blond didn't turn around, sitting quietly, cross-legged, with his upper body hunched over as he silently stared at the waterfall. A small, flat stone was in his hand, which he was turning over repeatedly, as if in a trance.

Slowly, he turned his head around so that his blank, boring eyes were exposed to the girl's, which had the same expression: neutral and blank.

"I have to take you back to our Leader," Akame stated matter-of-factly. Naruto just stared at her for a few moments before turning his head back to the pool of water in front of him. Suddenly, his right arm cocked back and then shot forward like a slingshot. The rock in his hand spun horizontally in the air once released, skipping on top of the water nine times before hitting the waterfall and dropping to the depths of the pool of water.

"Why don't you sit with me?"

"I'm supposed to take you back to our leader." Naruto didn't respond. The blond just sat silently, listening to the peaceful cascade of the water falling down its length.

"Akame." Said assassin immediately perked up at the tone of voice Naruto used. It just seemed so detached, more so than his usual self. Something was wrong with him. Well, she noticed it the moment he came back from the failed mission. There was a heavy atmosphere in the base that night. And that was a few days ago.

"Yes?" A few moments passed, and not a word left his lips. He didn't move his body either to turn to face her, continuing to stare at the waterfall. She heard him breathe in slowly, and then he finally spoke his mind.

"Why did you join Night Raid?" That…was unexpected. She was expecting something a bit darker or maybe…

'No, he's searching for a reason.'

A reason to cling onto to remain sane, and in order to keep his sanity, some kind of model must be given to understand what sane was.

But that would be a problem. In this gray-scaled world, no one was good or bad: they were all gray-scaled, fighting and killing for what they believed would bring the best possible opportunities, either for themselves or for the people. Yes…this world is gray-scaled.

She took the time to actually think up a proper response, and it was good that she did. This was a critical moment for the blond. This moment would be so effective that it might, perhaps, even change his whole character.

After about a minute of silent pondering, she decided that the best way to answer was with honesty.

"The leader gave me a reason to fight and an actual cause other than simple killing." Naruto turned his head an inch, letting his eyes peer over his shoulders so that the blue orbs were just visible in her line of vision. "True, we still kill, and we have to, but for a different reason. Before, I was simply told to assassinate, and I followed the orders; there were no exceptions to the rule. But now…there's a reason for everything." She took a breath and looked straight at the barely visible eyes of Naruto.

"I fight for the people so that they may enjoy a peaceful day under a peaceful reign; for the future of our children and the next generation. I don't expect any glory down this path that I decided to take under the guidance of our leader, but that's not what's important. If I could see the world I imagine for a single day, I would gladly sacrifice myself for this cause. To see a world where everyone in the capital is smiling, and where the emperor is a benevolent ruler…it's a dream."

"Dreams are meant to stay in our heads, and they don't usually come true."

"Dreams are meant to be acted upon, if it feels right." Suddenly, her expression darkened as her eyes took on a serious light. "I don't know what exactly you fight for, Naruto, but that is what I fight for, and my aspiration is to make it a reality." Naruto was now completely turned around, facing the girl, eye to eye. Slowly, he stood up from his position and walked over to her, and then past her in the direction of the base. She silently turned around and began to follow him.

The whole way back, Naruto thought about what she said.

'A dream, huh? Now wouldn't that be nice to have…instead of those nightmares these past few days.'

XShuyaX

(Location: Night Raid's Meeting Room)

"So…you finally show yourself, Naruto," Najenda said slowly, lifting up her lazy gaze from her smoke escaping her mouth to the bored blond in front of her. She stared at him carefully and analytically; something seemed off about him. He was giving a different vibe, and his demeanor seemed just slightly different.

"I apologize." Ah, and there was Akame, the girl who fetched the troublesome new recruit. Najenda turned to her and gave her a small smile. "I took nearly an hour this time, which is an unacceptable waste of time."

"It's fine, Akame. You're being too harsh on yourself." The girl didn't seem to believe it, but she remained silent. "Anyway, I called you here because I wanted to talk to you about a new group."

'Because Sheele died…' Naruto thought mournfully. However, he didn't let his morose thoughts project itself in his expression.

"Who would I be assigned to?" Naruto asked, putting his hands into his pockets of his silver-lined jacket and straightened his back. It was a subtle shift in stance, but it showed confidence. His feet slid a few inches apart from each other and his knees bent a nuance.

"Mine."

"Denied," was the blond's immediate rebuttal. The white-haired leader raised an eyebrow and smirked as she leaned forwards, her chin resting on the top of her crossed fingers.

"Oh? And why would that be? Mine specifically asked me to put you under her care, and I think she is quite qualified." Naruto scowled.

"Is that how it is? Well, Sheele directly told me to stick with Akame, and I'm going to follow what Sheele says. I care about Mine, don't get me wrong, but I cared about Sheele a hell of a lot more, and I'm not going to stand around and let her last wish be ignored, qualification be damned!" Naruto stated seriously, his eyes glowing blue again. He shook his head immediately afterwards, his bangs swaying in concurrence with the motion.

'Damn. I'm letting my emotions out too often recently. Got to control myself,' Naruto chided himself mentally. Otherwise…

Najenda took a long breath from her smoke and then sighed out slowly. The exhalation returned Naruto's attention to the person in front of him. The leader of the group of assassins turned her attention to the red-eyed girl and gave her a slight tilt of the head.

"Well, Akame. What do you think about this situation? Do you accept to take Naruto under your care?" The blond looked at the girl with his blue eyes, and she turned to give him an analytical stare with her red eyes. Without turning back to her leader, she responded with her eyes continuing to meet the gaze of her fellow assassin.

"Yes, I'll take him under my wing. Maybe I teach him swordplay?" Najenda uncrossed her fingers and closed her eyes as she smiled and shifted her position, uncrossing her legs ands and leaning her cheek against a closed fist.

"Already getting straight to business with your underling, hmm?" Naruto growled while Najenda chuckled softly.

"Partner." The white-haired woman cracked open an eye to Akame. "He's my partner. And the sooner we get started, the better." Najenda reclosed her eyes as her smile widened.

"I see. Well, then…no, it would be better to not teach him swordplay. He's much more suited to hand-to-hand combat."

"Like Leone?" Akame inquired. Najenda shook her head.

"No, he doesn't have the same primal style of fighting that she has. She fights instinctually and responds with skill and simple reactionary speed. Naruto is more calculative and analytical, although he does have the reactionary speed as well."

"I'm right here, you know?"

"An analytical fighting style? What do you mean?" He was completely ignored. Najenda straightened her back and took in a sharp breath.

"Remember how I sparred with him? You weren't there, but you do, correct?" Akame nodded curtly. "Good. When we fought, every time he would react to my approach differently, and although it wouldn't bring about the best result, he compromised and slowly found counters to my fighting style. What I want you to do is to teach him to be able to do that in a single fight, not after hours of sparring."

Naruto nearly dropped his jaws. To be able to do that in a single fight…he was already thinking constantly when they were sparring; how could she expect him to do something like what she had just said.

"You want me to teach him how to reach to a situation immediately?" Najenda shook her head.

"No, he already knows how to react immediately. What I need for you to do is to teach him how to instinctually know what to do in situations. Based on a person's body type and structure, what kind of style of fighting they should have; a single thrust of a sword or punch should speak volumes of a person's skill, technique, and style. To be able to read a character, you need experience. Naruto doesn't have enough, so make him experience multiple kinds of styles, technique, and skills."

Akame quickly nodded her head and turned around and began to walk away at a quick pace. Naruto, however, remained standing in the room.

"So basically…you went from Sheele and Mine kicking my ass to Akame skinning me alive, am I right?" Najenda simply chuckled, her lone eye showing pure amusement.

"You prefer to go to Mine and get shot at every day?" Naruto's response was immediate.

"Never mind. Tatsumi can deal with that bitc-" The blond didn't get to finish his sentence as his mouth was covered by Akame's hand. The girl noticed that the blond had not followed her after a minute, so she decided that she would have to be somewhat forceful.

"I never said follow me, but I assumed you would do so since we are working together now." A slow glare was the response; trying to speak now would simply result in a muffled response. "Quick, we shall go to train now."

With that, Akame jumped away with Naruto in tow, the two disappearing from the room in moments. The last thing Najenda saw was Akame's back and Naruto's purely conflicted face.

Not her problem: he made the decision to stick with Akame.

She took another puff from her smoke and breathed out a small cloud. Things would get interesting soon, wouldn't they?

XShuyaX

(Location: Waterfalls)

"Isn't this the place where we caught the fish? Why are we back here?" Naruto asked breathlessly while looking around the area curiously. Akame was directly in front of the blond that she had taken under her wing. She placed her deadly weapon leaning against a rock and pulled out two practice swords and multiple other practice set weapons from the bag she brought with her. The reason Naruto didn't help her carry anything was because she made him wear the body weights for the whole hour hike.

Without waiting for any kind of sign or permission, the blond struggled forward, nearly toppling once he was near the edge of the water. He dropped to his knees and gasped deeply before plunging his whole head into the purifying liquid, gulping down quarts just to slake his thirst. Once he had finally whipped his head out of the pool of water, Akame spoke.

"Take a weapon or choose not to wield one; either way, we will train until sundown and then bathe here." Naruto paused.

'Bathe here? Does that mean that…' The blond looked down at the water, the source that he had just drank so heavily from a moment ago. He then turned his attention to the left, and then to the right, which was when his eyes narrowed for a moment in recognition. Breathing in relief, he noticed a small stream that let the water exit the pool. At least he was drinking clean water and would be bathing in the same water later tonight.

The new recruit turned around and unenthusiastically looked at the weapons placed on the ground in a row. There were four different kinds of weapons: a sword very much similar in design to Akame's Teigu; a dagger that was double-bladed that seemed somewhat fat…it seemed to be more useful as a stabbing tool for both people and walls; a bo staff that was nearly Naruto's height; a metal chain whip with a morning star at the end of the chain.

"I think I'll take the sword," Naruto told Akame as he bent over to pick it from the ground. Akame silently agreed with his choice in weaponry before removing all of the other weapons from the ground to the rock where her blade was leaning against.

"Before we begin, I want to make you understand one thing: I will not be going easy on you." Naruto faltered for a moment.

'Wait, if she doesn't go easy on me, does that mean she's going to go all-out and absolutely obliterate me?' Naruto thought worriedly to himself for a moment. However, his hesitant thoughts were interrupted by Akame as she began to rush him.

"Oh dear God above if there is one - " Naruto began as he barely raised his sword on time to block the oncoming rushing of attacks and swings Akame sent his way. He barely ducked in time when she swung horizontally at his neck, but her sweeping leg was waiting for him. However, he did manage to see the foot at the last moment and jumped over the dangerously close leg, rolling and getting on his feet a few feet away from the origin of the clash.

"You're really not letting me off easy, are you?" Naruto breathed out, actually fearing for his health at the moment. She aimed for his throat! What the hell was that, if it wasn't life threatening?

"If I was going hard, however, I wouldn't have let you roll and would have already stabbed you multiple times over. You are too slow as you are right now to compete with the professional assassins and fighters," Akame responded in a purely analytical tone. There was no snarky tone, but neither was the way she said it very kind. It was just neutral.

The student paused at that analysis before raising his sword into a ready stance and sliding forward on his feet a few inches. He grit his teeth and smirked, his eyes glinting with a rare display of excitement.

"A professional? The best, huh? Your job is to teach me, right? Then teach me how to kill as efficiently as possible so that I can sleep as much as I want!" Naruto roared as he charged straight at the girl in front of him. A moment later, he was flat against his back, a wooden practice sword pierced on the ground dangerously near his face. Akame gripped the handle tightly as she sat against his chest and leaned forwards so that she was facing the blond and that there was no way for him to ignore her.

"Understand me, Naruto," Akame began in a cold tone. "This life that we chose isn't a game. You chose to join the life of carnage, and I still believe that you can become something, but your attitude and outlook on life will be your downfall – and maybe even Night Raid itself and my own – if you continue to remain the same. I chose to take you because I think that I can change you." Akame leaned down even further, her bangs brushing softly against Naruto's face. He stared up at her, his eyes wide with obvious surprise.

"You want…to change me?" The girl nodded, the hair moving up and down with the motion.

"Yes. I want to protect the family that I have gained and have left." Naruto winced, but it wasn't from physical pain; she was implying Sheele, that it was his fault for being weak. In a way…it really was. He was weak, and there was no way to deny that. He had barely fought his way through three infiltrators and had killed only one on his own. And those infiltrators were basic mercenaries compared to the members of Night Raid.

Naruto turned his head to the side, his cheek pressing against the dirt.

"I don't like…being weak," he muttered out quietly after some time had passed. The image of Sheele, bloody and dismembered, pierced him harshly. It was an image that was ingrained into his memory.

'If only I were a little…just a little stronger…'

His eyes were on the rock that Akame had placed the weapons on. Each of them was a tool to kill, and a professional would have been able to kill him multiple times over with those practice weapons. Naruto shut his eyes, breathing in slowly.

"Good. Now get up," she ordered as she got off his chest, taking a stance a few feet away. Naruto stayed still for a few moments longer, just taking everything in: the warmth of the sunlight, the slow breeze in the air, and the voice of the forest. Then, he slowly stood up, pressing his right palm against the ground as he used his left hand on the sword handle for support.

"So what do I do?" Naruto asked.

"React," she replied before charging once more, although this time at a much faster speed.

Naruto raised his sword in a diagonal angle in front of him so he would block the cross coming from Akame. He blocked it, but he wasn't expecting the nearly balance-shattering force behind the single attack. Gritting his teeth and his feet slid backwards nearly ten feet, Naruto raised his arms and prepared for the next confrontation.

It never came. Or at least, he never saw it. His eyes just couldn't keep up with the speed of her next rush attack.

"I'm going to die…" Naruto groaned, face flat against the dirt. There were growing bruises on his legs and arms, and one deep, red cut on the back of his wrist. All of the points of injury were pulsating with pain. His sword was clattering on the ground until it finally came to rest barely out of reach from the blond.

"Get up. We're doing it until sundown." The beaten blond groaned again, this time in agony.

"…I'm in misery."

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: Night Time)

Naruto hitched a breath as he carefully walked into the pool, letting himself try and relax in the chilly water. He was clad only in a towel that Akame had brought with her, and it was large enough to cover his waist down to his knees. It was a pretty large towel, if you asked him. Thankfully, it wasn't white, so there wouldn't be any issues with sight.

"Ha…it's really cold. Why did Akame decide to bathe out here in the winter?" he asked to no one in particular. He breathed out again; a cloud of cold air exited his mouth. Walking around the small area, he found a comfortable position near the waterfall and looked around, falling into a kind of trance as time passed. When he was just sitting still, with nothing in the world bothering him and just nature surrounding him…it was almost as if there was no corrupt Capitol.

The waterfall continued its slow cascade. The water rippled as a result, barely noticeable once it reached Naruto. The blond wasn't sure how long he stayed in there for, but it had to be at least a quarter of an hour, the exact time that Akame said that he was supposed to switch with her. Meaning that he had to be dried and dressed already, which was not the case.

"Ah…this isn't actually that bad," Naruto assented once he had gotten used to the chilly temperature. The sound of someone's footsteps alerted him to a presence in the pool other than his. Looking to his left, he saw Akame staring at him, a towel wrapped around her body from her breasts to barely above her upper thighs.

'She's…beautiful.' Naruto thought. With nothing covering her other than a towel, Naruto was able to see more skin than ever before of the girl. Soft, creamy white skin that literally glowed in the moonlight. A decent bust to accompany her rather small and skinny frame, but lean muscles that weren't too defined to mar her feminine looks. She was beautiful in his eyes…he found himself surprisingly staring at her.

"…You were supposed to be out by now. That was our agreement, right?" Naruto wasn't really sure how to respond. After a few seconds of silence – the only sound was the waterfall – he decided that he would answer with honesty.

"Sorry, I lost track of time and kind of fell into a trance. It's really nice in here." Akame just nodded, but otherwise remained completely still. "Want to join me?" he asked, mainly out of a lack of conversational topics.

"You should get dressed and get out now," she suggested. Naruto took it as an order and smiled sheepishly and he waded over to the edge and walked out.

"Sorry," he apologized when he was passing her. Once he was out of earshot and eyesight, he changed into spare clothes that he had grabbed on the way. When he was dressed, he turned to the tree next to him and suddenly slammed his forehead against it with enough force to break a few barks.

'What the hell was that, Naruto? What the hell were you thinking? She's beautiful?' The now bleeding blond looked up to the tree, as if staring at a mirror. He had never thought of such things before, so what were these thoughts now? He had only worked with Akame for a single day…although he probably saw more than what most people saw from her in years. At least for guys, that is…

On the way back down, Akame didn't say much, but he wasn't expecting her to. Well, she did ask about the random injury on his forehead; she knew for a certainty that she hadn't caused that. Naruto told her he tripped and hit a rock when he was getting dressed. Akame left him alone after that, although she did patch it up for him once they entered the base.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: Three Nights)

It was nearing midnight, probably an hour before the zenith of night, when Naruto was cooking ramen in the kitchen. He had gotten so used to the process that he didn't really have to think about what he was doing when he was cooking. Crack the egg, remove the shell, drop the yoke into the boiling water. Mold the noodles and place into the water along with the yoke once cooked. Throw in a few chopped green onions and place a random plant he found from the forest to use as flavoring.

Usually, he would be salivating simply from the thought of the ramen he was about to eat, not to mention the smell coming from the steaming pot. Today was an exception, however, and so were the past two days. The blond was worked to the bone…literally. He was almost certain Akame had fractured a few bones; she was much harsher on him compared to the training on the first day after that incident at the waterfall bath.

But there were results. He had managed to retaliate a few times, immediately swinging his practice sword at her after blocking, although he didn't do it with much thought or planning. That was a problem.

Naruto rubbed a particularly irritating wound that had turned to a nearly purple color. He had received it on one of the moments he had tried to fight back. Akame told him that it was commendable that he was giving the effort to do so, but he should continue to just defend and react for now.

But he couldn't do that. It was frustrating. Incredibly frustrating to the point it was grating at his nerves. Every time he messed up a block, he got hit. If he was too low, he got kicked or hit by the sword. Every time he messed up his footing, he ended up on the floor on his back; if Akame felt especially kind at the moment, he would end up face-down. Basically, he was racking up on the injuries, and his pride, or whatever there was of it in the beginning of training, was shattered.

So to vent, he would look for patterns in the girl's fighting style and try to fight back at every opportunity he could. The blond wanted to get a hit in, damn it! It was upsetting when she would block his attempt or dodge so easily. And that look!

Naruto opened the simmering pot and poured the contents onto an abnormally large bowl. Once he had carefully transferred the food, he walked over and placed the bowl on the table. Then, he walked back to the kitchen, grabbed his chopsticks, and then went back to the table to begin to eat. But instead of inhaling the ramen like he normally did, he sat there, silently, the food of the gods simply steaming.

Suddenly, he slammed his fist on the table. Everything was so irritating! The fact he was getting angry was irritating! He would never have gotten mad about something like this before. The fact that he had never been in a situation like this hadn't crossed his mind; he just knew that this was not his character. Naruto actually found himself looking forward to the moment he could kick Akame's ass with the sword, or hit her just once. Just once, so he could see a look different that simple apathy and indifference on her face. Surprise, shock, hurt, some kind of emotion that made her human instead of a killing machine: an assassin. That's what he wanted to see.

"Damn it all…" Naruto growled, splitting the wooden chopsticks and slurping a mouthful of ramen. He hadn't expected this development when Sheele told him to stay with Akame and when he told Najenda that he wanted to stick with the girl to fulfill his former mentor's last wish. What he had envisioned was…

'Wait. Did I ever even think about what would happen if I stuck with Akame?' The blond paused at the thought, surprised that he hadn't. He didn't even consider the consequences of his actions until he had received injuries over injuries. To forget about his stupidity, he resumed eating the ramen, hoping that the food would help him ignore those thoughts. It didn't. Something was gnawing at him from the inside, calling out to him and clawing at his very sanity. So many things that he held as truth and as valuable were all being contradicted; he felt that being lazy would be fine in life. Apparently, it wasn't. Fighting for the country was noble, but that meant killing. And yet, Sheele fought simply for the sake of her friends and comrades, so that they may live to see another day. She sacrificed herself so that he and Mine could survive.

"Huh?" Naruto mumbled, noticing his vision getting blurry. He looked down at the ramen, assuming it was just the steam getting in the way of his sight. At least that was what he thought until he saw droplets of water dripping against the viscous surface of the soup.

'Crap, Sheele is still depressing me just by thinking about her.' But he knew that wasn't the truth. He was running away from it. He had changed. Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki had changed. He wasn't sure what did, but something inside of him was shifting gears, for better or worse. One month with Night Raid had begun to shift his ideals and his beliefs, removing some of his ideals from the slots and replacing them with others.

Just after he had finished his ramen, Akame walked into the kitchen. Naruto still made her ramen whenever she asked for it, but she didn't ask since the day he had been put under her care. So he ended up just standing her with the bowl in his hands, halfway between the table and the kitchen, staring at Akame.

"What?" he finally asked, turning around and walking to the kitchen to clean the bowls and silverware.

"We've been called to a meeting," she explained. Naruto chuckled.

"What are you? Are you the dog and am I the ball? Does Najenda always have to make you get me?" The blond said sardonically. Akame frowned; something seemed to be bothering the blond.

"Naruto…is something wrong?" she asked. A sarcastic smirk still on his face, Naruto turned around and began to walk towards her.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with me," he replied in a bitter tone, finishing his sarcastic statement right when he had passed her. Even she was able to catch on. His words were literally dripping with anger and annoyance.

'Was it something that I did?' she thought sadly, turning around to follow the blond. Steeling her outward appearance, she fell into step with him. They walked in silence, the two thinking about very different, yet somewhat interrelated subjects.

When the two partners walked into the meeting room, they realized that they were the last ones. Naruto didn't really care and walked to a secluded corner. Akame, however, actually took the time to quickly glance around and look at each of her fellow assassins.

'Where is Bulat?' she wondered. Continuing her lookout, her eyes immediately locked onto Tatsumi.

Tatsumi, the other new recruit, was silently standing at his place in the center of the room with his back straight. However, his eyes were red and his cheeks were flushed, meaning that he had been crying a lot recently. She felt her heart clench with sadness and a flood of emotions almost overtook her. It wasn't hard to tie the pieces of information together: Bulat was dead. Obviously, she wasn't the first one to realize this either; every other person in the room had a silent mourning tone in their stances and facial expressions, including Naruto. It seems like he understand the gravity of the situation as well.

Najenda uncrossed her arms, a motion that was recognized by everyone as they turned to her.

"I have just received the mission report from Tatsumi here, the new bearer of Incursio. You all know what this means." No one responded. She continued, now rising from her seat until she was standing. Then, she began to walk out of the room, straight down the carpet floor. Slowly, the members began to follow her, walking with a kind of numbness.

That night went slowly. The procession for the funeral was quick and brief, but everyone stood for a long time after the farewells were given. Long after everyone had walked away, Tatsumi stood there alone in the night, staring at the stone next to Sheele's.

It was only after he was sure that was alone that he cried again.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: One Week)

"Mine, you still shouldn't move around like that," Akame said, trying to prevent the recently healed girl from moving her arm recklessly. The three girls were in the natural baths outdoors, relaxing in their most natural forms.

The recently un-casted girl crossed her arms, standing proudly against Akame, who had a worried expression on her face.

"I'm finally healed, and nothing is going to stop me!" With that, the girl climbed out and jumped into the warm mass of water, creating a large splash. Akame sighed while Leone, who was relaxing at the edge, leaning against the side while sitting, laughed freely with a large grin.

"Oh, Akame," the fun loving blonde began. Said girl turned around and saw Leone made a 'come closer' motion with her hand. When the red-eyed girl had sat down next to her, Leone said, "I've been wondering: how has your training with Naruto been going? It's been almost two weeks now, right?"

For some reason, Akame's face shifted from her normal indifference to that of a somewhat saddened girl. Leone noticed the change as the girl dropped her head, her tresses of hair moving as they floated in the water. She sighed as she sunk further into the water, her nose just above water level. After making a few water bubbles from sighing, she rose barely enough to speak clearly.

"His training has been going well. It's his psyche that I'm worried about; usually, he's reserved and candid, but I've noticed that with me, he's unnaturally stiff and reserved." She paused, her face falling even further. "It makes me…sad."

Leone looked at the girl closely; when was the last time she had seen her like this? Never over something like this. She paused before bringing a hand to her head, her face shifting into a bemused expression.

"Akame, how hard have you been hitting Naruto? He has bandages all over his body, and the patch that he had on the first day with you on his forehead is still there. If anything, I think he's just annoyed that you're so indifferent even though he's been working his ass off…something I'm actually impressed with," Leone finished, a thoughtful look complimenting her small amazement.

A look of realization dawned on Akame's face, her eyes widening a fraction of an inch before reverting.

"Ah…that may be it," she agreed before standing and getting ready for the day. Leone stayed a few minutes after, relaxing in the warm water. Mine waded over to the busty blonde, a question obviously on the pinkette's mind.

"Hey, what were you talking about with Akame?" Leone grinned.

"Nothing; just some girl talk," she said. Mine stared at the blonde until she realized that she was implying Mine wasn't a girl. The pink-haired girl grit her teeth as she tried to jump the blonde.

"I'll kill you!"

XShuyaX

(Location: Training Field in Base)

Lubbock and Tatsumi were doing push-ups with Leone and Akame on their backs, respectively. Both were sweating profusely, trying to go until they dropped. To present time, neither have dropped to the ground after five minutes of nonstop drop-till-you-drop pushups, but both were on the verge of beautifully falling to the ground.

Near the edge of the field under the protection of the shade from the sun, Naruto was meditating. In a lotus position, the blond's eyes were closed, which meant one of two things: he was actually meditating or he was sleeping. Everyone assumed the latter. Not like anyone was really expecting anything, and Akame actually wanted him to take a break; too much work in too little time would result in injury and lack of motivation eventually.

She paused in her thoughts. How motivated was Naruto in the first place? He stated that he joined her because Sheele told him to, but what exactly does that mean for him? She knew that his relationship with Sheele was strong enough to say that he was close to her, but how close was the question?

Actualy, that wasn't that important either. Why was were relationship with the blond so strained despite their teacher-student relationship? Leone explained to her that she was being to harsh and too separate from him emotionally. Was that the issue?

"Oh, what's going on?" Mine asked, voicing her interest when she walked out into the training area. Lubbock was the only boy to look up; both Tatsumi and Naruto were more focused on their current actions.

"Well, since Bulat is gone, I thought it was about time I trained harder and stepped up my game. We all need to get stronger, and I'm not any different," he explained. Mine nodded, but her index finger and thumb were pinching her nose, her face contorted into a disgusted expression.

"That's great and all, but you two smell awful," she stated honestly. "And you're not even going at the same pace that Tatsumi is doing. Are you really a guy, Lubbock?" she asked.

"Yeah. Saying all that, you can barely do half the push-ups. What a guy, right?" Leone added on.

"Ah, that's to be expected. After all, Leone is so much heavier than I am," Akame explained. Everyone immediately made an expression of absolute shock and fright.

'Akame, what the hell are you saying!' Everyone thought as one. Even Naruto opened his eyes for a moment, waiting for the reaction. He smirked when he saw Leone's fist impact when the crown of Akame somewhat harshly.

"What did I do?" Akame sniffed, holding the top of her head with both hands. Naruto almost felt sorry for her; it's not like he hated his teacher. He just disliked how she was so indifferent, but he was getting used to it. It's not that she was like that only to him, but it was her character. Every person in Night Raid had their idiosyncrasies; Akame's was her character and personality. It was like his laziness and indifference, although his latter character was way less in seriousness than Akame's.

Mine looked around the training area and spotted Naruto sitting in the shade. Scrunching up her eyebrows, she pointed at him and asked, "What is he doing?"

Akame and Leone both followed the direction of the accusatory finger and laid their sights on Naruto, whose eyes were closed once more. The red-eyed teacher shifted her gaze from the blond to Mine and told her, "He's meditating right now. Don't bother him."

Mine kept her eyes on the blond and his still figure. She took a few steps toward him, ignoring Akame's request to ignore him. He was sleeping, she was certain of it! However, when her footfalls crunched on a leaf, his eyes suddenly shot open, his blue orbs staring straight at her.

"Huh?" she said, surprised.

'He was actually meditating?' she mused to herself as the blond closed his eyes again and slowly stood up, having been broken out of his state. He stretched out his arms above his head, right hand on his left elbow as he yawned.

"Oh, you guys seem to be training hard," Naruto commented. Tatsumi grunted and Lubbock suddenly fell to the floor in complete exhaustion. "Oh, there he goes."

"Lubbock, what's wrong? Can't beat Tatsumi in a physical training battle?" Leone asked, poking at his lack of strength.

"I didn't have a real motive," he said, trying to make an excuse. "If I was allowed to see you in the baths if I won, then maybe I would've tried harder." Leone laughed…while pulling on the boy's ear as he cried out in pain.

"Seems like you'll be weak for the rest of your life, huh?" Naruto and the rest just deadpanned at the situation occurring before them.

"Boss. What's with the getup?" Tatsumi asked, noticing the white-haired leader first. She had on her normal suit and tie uniform, but she had added on a coat and a ton of packs and bags and was covering her whole backside. "Going to Revolutionary HQ?" he asked, shaking a bit to signal Akame to get off his back. Once she had done so, he stood up, still shirtless and sweating.

"Yeah. I need to get these three Teigu over and see if anyone can use it proficiently." Tatsumi noticed the axe on the floor in front of her. Remembering how heavy it was, he decided to point it out. However, she just brushed it off with, "Oh, I can handle this much. If it's just carrying I should be fine." And with that, she easily picked it up, and to emphasize her point further, she lifted it a few times above her shoulder with an unnatural amount of ease that made Tatsumi jealous and amazed of her strength. Turning over to the now standing Lubbock, who had already removed the sweat off his body with a towel, Tatsumi whispered to him.

"Was the boss always this amazing?" he inquired. His comrade just stared at him with unimpressed eyes.

"Of course. You do know she was a former general, right?" Lubbock explained.

"Alright, that's enough side chatter. Akame, I'm leaving you in charge, and the only order I'm giving you is to "train!" Said girl nodded her head in confirmation, accepting her role as leader for the time being.

"Wait, what?! You're leaving her in charge? Is that okay?" Tatsumi shouted. It's not that he didn't trust the girl's skills; that was indisputable. Rather, he was questioning if she was really fit of leading in the absence of the actual leader.

"Don't worry-" Leone began, but she was cut off by an irritated Naruto.

"Hey, are you questioning my teacher?" the blond asked in a silent and cold tone. Maybe he cared for her just a little. Emphasis on little. Tatsumi turned to glare at the usually lazy blond and pointed a practice sword that he just picked up from the ground at him.

"I am! She can't even make you do anything!" he accused. Naruto remained quiet in the face of Tatsumi's argument. He looked at Akame, who had flinched when Tatsumi had said he had done no kind of training. Nothing of the sort. She was giving him a worried expression that also showed some level of apology.

The blond sighed; seems like the two had misunderstood each other. And since she had shown some kind of expression other than indifference, maybe he'll actually try and understand her. That was his fault as well: he didn't even try to understand why she was so indifferent.

Bending over, the blond picked up a stray bokuto that was lying on the dirt and stood up with the weapon at the ready, calmly holding the handle at waist height. He constantly raised the blade until the tip was at his eyelevel.

"Alright," Naruto began calmly. "You completely insulted Akame, so you have no room to complaint if I insult you," the blond said. He smirked, his eyes showing sarcastic amusement. "Right?"

Tatsumi, whose anger ignited by the blond's attitude, immediately charged forward with his own bokuto.

"Like it'll be that easy!" he yelled. "You don't even use a sword. You using one against me and calling me out to a spar is insulting enough!"

Najenda watched quietly with her arms crossed over her chest, while the other two girls and Lubbock just stared at the continuing battle. So far, Naruto hadn't moved at inch, only shifting his feet if necessary. Otherwise, his eyes constantly were flitting from side to side, watching Tatsumi carefully and blocking all incoming strikes with surprising ease.

"Akame, what did you do?" Leone asked her with wide eyes. She was deeply impressed. It had only been two weeks with the blond, and he had progressed this much? That was frightening. This just increased her belief that she had picked up two geniuses: Tatsumi and Naruto.

"I taught him how to react," Akame said simply. Najenda grinned, chuckling at bit. Mine and Leone turned to the boss, but when she did explain further, they went back to watching the spar.

"Stop just blocking!" Tatsumi yelled, trying to use a quick horizontal slash at the blond's neck to throw him off guard. However, Naruto cleanly moved his sword in a perpendicular position, cleanly blocking the blow. As soon as he blocked the strike, he suddenly stepped forward and swung, hitting Tatsumi solidly on the wrist. The struck teen nearly dropped his sword but held on barely. Jumping back and gritting his teeth, he growled.

"You want me to fight back?" Naruto asked. The blond began to move forward, taking slow, sliding steps. Then, he smirked. "Then, don't regret it!" he yelled, suddenly going on the offensive as he dashed from his position.

Everyone on the sidelines widened their eyes. Then, Najenda laughed again.

"I knew he was able to read styles of fighting, but I didn't think he was that good," the ex-general confessed, watching with the rest of the group in slight amazement. Even Akame was surprised.

Naruto had copied her fighting style with the sword. It wasn't perfect because he couldn't go at the same speed as her, but it was fast enough to be deadly and in tune enough with the motions to be considered a copy. Tatsumi found himself hard-pressed when the blond didn't just use only the sword to attack but also mixed in a variety of kicks and punches.

But both of them had an issue: they were too slow. Naruto, who had been training with Akame, had gotten used to her speed and found Tatsumi much easier to keep up with. Tatsumi, on the other hand, had trained with Bulat, who was just as fast as she; the two were at a stalemate, in a way…at least on paper. In reality, Tatsumi had the advantage. Naruto had copied Akame's fighting style, but because it was slower, there were gaps to exploit if Tatsumi could catch them. Also, there was the issue of simple experience: Tatsumi had been fighting and practicing with the sword for years, but Naruto had only been training for a few months.

Therefore, it wasn't really a surprise when Tatsumi decided to suddenly attack, surprising Naruto. The boy who was on the defensive suddenly went on the offensive, challenging Naruto to a flash duel. Whoever struck first would win the fight. Too bad Naruto was caught off guard and didn't even get a chance to draw.

"Beat that!" Tatsumi shouted once Naruto fell to the ground on his butt, the right side of his ribs throbbing with pain. The blond winced when he experimentally traced the area which he had been hit with the blunt side of the practice sword. However, when he looked up again, his indifferent look was covering his visage again.

"Yes, you beat someone that hadn't touched a sword their whole life until two weeks ago, and hadn't taken any fighting lessons or trained until two months ago. I would say that Akame taught me nothing, right?" Naruto said sarcastically. Tatsumi took a step back; he wasn't expecting this kind of response. "Oh, and for that matter, I guess Sheele taught me nothing at all either. Right?" the blond finished, his caustic tone literally spilling out of his mouth.

"That's enough, Naruto." The blond paused at the leader's orders. Then, he sighed and slowly got up.

"Whatever. I'm going out to the forest. Going to meditate because some people just won't let me rest in silence," he explained as he walked away, his back to the group.

When he was out of earshot, everyone continued to stare at the place the blond was last visible.

"Wait, he said rest, right?" Mine asked, making sure she heard properly. Everyone nodded.

"This time, he's going to sleep," Akame explained bluntly.

When Najenda had finally left the group and began her trek to HQ, a few things were on her mind: things were going to get more difficult, that Tatsumi was a genius, and that Naruto was an inexperienced battle warrior.

XShuyaX

(Location: Waterfalls; one hour from base)

"You walked all the way over here for a quick meditation?" Akame asked once she had reached her and Naruto's normal training area. She had spotted the blond sitting in a lotus position next to a large rock right beside the edge of the pool. He had his eyes closed, but she felt that he was waiting for her rather than meditating.

"I had to think, so I needed a walk," he replied, confirming her suspicions. He opened his eyes and stared up to her. She took a few steps toward him and stopped a few feet away.

"Can you tell me?" she asked. Naruto opened his mouth, about to retort with something sarcastic, but he stopped himself and paused. After a few moments, he opened his mouth again and spoke honestly.

"Sheele told me to stick with you, and you know this because you were there when I was explaining to Najenda." He paused, allowing time for a short intake of breath. "I don't think that she said it for no reason, and so I want to say that I believe we started off on the wrong foot. Our relationship is somewhat sour, and I admit that I did have something to do with that." He looked away for a moment, staring at the waterfall. "So…I want to apologize." He turned back to her and made a small smile. "Let's try again?"

Akame nodded quickly, almost desperately in Naruto's eyes. Then, he saw her do something he had never seen her do before: she smiled warmly at him. He almost choked in surprise; it was a completely different Akame. It was only for a second, but it was enough to leave a lasting impact on Naruto.

"And…" he began mumbling, scratching the stray whiskers on his right cheek, "it would be nice if you could show emotion more often, even if you are an assassin."

A confused expression took over her face, but she nodded anyway.

"I can try."

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: One Week Later)

"Morning, Sheele," Naruto greeted quietly. He sat himself down in front of the burial stone. Sweating profusely and panting for air; Naruto had enough reason to have his shirt in his hands, which was soaked through with perspiration. But he was smiling, his teeth shining with energy.

The blond turned his head to the sun that was just rising. It was coming up slowly, its edges of light brightly glowing over the mountaintops, illuminating the landscape and world below.

"It really is a good morning, isn't it? Nice and cool, the morning zephyr passing through the area in the grass. The sun's just rising over the mountains, the birds are chirping, and we're at the cliff edge overlooking the rest of Nature. It's nice, right?" Naruto asked, a calm smile on his lips. Silence was the response.

Naruto opened a book that was in his hand, his thumb used as a place-keeper in the novel. His eyes went back and forth, carefully skimming across the words. His lips curled up in a smirk every once in a while. Sheele had some pretty good novels; she didn't only read how to not be an airhead or books of the like.

A few steps behead him alerted the blond of a person walking towards him. If he noticed, he didn't let it show.

"Naruto, lunch is ready," Akame told him quietly, her voice barely breaking through the morning commotion. The shirtless teen sighed and stood up slowly, getting up by placing his hands on his knees as support. When he stood, he took a few moments as he let the fresh air cool his heated body before he turned around.

"Alright," he grinned once he was facing Akame. "Let's have some ramen!" The two began to walk side by side into the enormous base hidden by the mountains, leaving the memorial gravestone given to Sheele, and beside it was Bulat's. The blond did catch Tatsumi at Bulat's gravestone once, but they didn't say anything to each other. They sat in a kind of silence that couldn't be defined as compatible or friendly.

"So what's happening today?" Naruto asked once he had taken a shower and gotten dressed into some cleaner clothing.

"Leone, Lubbock, and Tatsumi all went to the Capitol to see what the situation is and to see if there are any missions to take up. They should be back by now. Otherwise, it's just more training and hunting," she told him briefly. Naruto heaved his shoulders with a sigh.

"So boring," he whined out. "I really want to catch up on sleep."

"You slept for six hours."

"That's not enough," he complained.

"It's more than enough for a professional assassin," she reasoned. "An assassin should be able to wake up at a moment's notice and be able to go on for three days straight without any kind of assistance other than the sustenance given from nature." Sustenance as in the animals: she considered them free kills. He found them pretty easy as well since he literally just walked up to them and stabbed them. Apparently, his lack of presence worked in that aspect as well.

"Still not enough," he reasoned. Their footsteps echoed down the hall of the base. Naruto began to juggle dice in the palm of his left hand, idly looking around while playing with the cubes. "When are we going to get a mission?" he asked, still staring out a window.

"I don't know, but we need a mission to see how much you have progressed and what kind of missions you can excel in. Therefore, hopefully soon."

"Hopefully never," Naruto coughed out. Akame just gave him a flat stare without turning her head before sighing. He whistled a tune innocently in response. "So what's the plan for today?"

"We will report to the Leader and receive our orders for the rest of the day." Naruto shrugged. It wasn't anything new, so he was fine with it.

When the two entered the meeting room, there was a kind of stifled atmosphere in the room. Leone and Lubbock were both standing in front of Najenda with a pair of shocked expressions. Apparently, whatever happened in the Capitol today was something highly unexpected.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, a trace of confusion in his tone. Leone, Lubbock, and Najenda all turned to the two that had just entered the room. Then, Najenda just sighed and said –

"Tatsumi has been captured by the leader of the Imperial Army. Apparently, she assumes that he is perfect as her mate."

Dead silence. And then –

"Can I sleep in his room then? He has an orange bed."

Chapter End

Author's Notes: Nothing much for me to say here. Well, maybe a few things.

First off, don't expect any more updates on Storm King (or any time soon). I realized that I made Naruto way too overpowered (a while ago), but I just lost my fire for it. However, this probably means a new Fairy Tail crossover.

Secondly, expect updates on Dark Flash. College apps are done and school is not all over my ass now, so we're cool!

And a random question: anyone play League here?