*Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it. I simply borrow them for my own musings and fantasies and do not get paid for their use in said musings or fantasies. –Nira

Chapter 31

Yuriko met the Genin outside in a small clearing of the forested area surrounding Tazuna's house with Kakashi observing from the edge of the clearing in a comfortable chair that Yuriko had brought out for him when she'd helped him make his way there.

"What are we doing for this training, Yuriko nee-chan?" Naruto inquired.

"Control. Everyone knows that in order to perform any kind of ninjutsu, a level of chakra control is needed, otherwise, the jutsu fails," Yuriko explained.

"Yeah, but we already know how to do jutsu. Isn't that enough?" Sasuke questioned.

"Wrong. None of you have learned how to use your chakra efficiently. All of you can combine the physical and spiritual chakra within yourselves, yes, but even if you're able to combine a lot of chakra if you're not able to control it in a balanced way, the jutsu's effectiveness will be halved or it won't activate at all. That wasting of energy will prevent you from being able to battle for long periods."

"So what should we do?" Naruto asked, a dumb look on his face.

"You'll learn to control your chakra by climbing trees," Kakashi smiled from his seat.

"Tree climbing?"

"Not just any tree-climbing, however. You'll be climbing without your hands."

"How will we do that?" Sakura asked, her expression doubtful.

"Like this," Yuriko smiled. She focused chakra to her feet as she often did when she practiced her speed runs and walked up the side of the nearest tree with ease before hanging upside down from a sturdy bough, her hair falling into a long sheet of silver satin below her. "Focus your chakra into the bottoms of your feet and make them stick to the trunk."

"How will that make us stronger?" Sakura demanded.

"The main point of this exercise is control. You'll need to focus the right balance and amount of chakra to the desired location to be able to stick. It's easier said than done, and even many expert shinobi sometimes have difficulties. The amount of chakra necessary is very subtle, and the bottoms of the feet are two of the most difficult places to gather chakra. If you can master this, in theory, you can master any jutsu. The second point is to maintain this chakra control. Ninjas combine the most chakra during battle so maintenance and control become more and more difficult."

Yuriko withdrew three kunai and threw them at each of the Genin's feet, telling them to use it to mark where they could climb to using their own strength now, and each time, to try to reach further. She explained that they wouldn't have the control to walk up from the start, so they should run and use their momentum to reach as high as they could until they got used to it. The three began and in an instant, Naruto's feet slipped and he hit his head as he landed. Shortly after, Sasuke pushed himself off from about a third up the trunk, and Sakura called from a sturdy bough that it was an easy exercise with a look of satisfaction on her face. The results were unsurprising to Yuriko and Kakashi both, except that Sakura was the most skilled in control so far.

"Well, well, not only does Sakura know about chakra, but her control and stamina are pretty good, too," Kakashi smiled. "It looks like she might be the one closest to becoming Hokage, unlike someone else… And apparently, the Uchiha Clan isn't so great after all."

Yuriko smirked, recognizing what Kakashi was intending to do in provoking the boys. She and Kakashi both knew that the capacity of untapped chakra that each of them had surpassed Sakura's by far. When Naruto had hardly made any progress in at least an hour, he asked Sakura for some tips, and they continued. When Sakura was entirely spent but had completed the task multiple times, Yuriko turned to Kakashi.

"Why don't you and Sakura-chan go guard Tazuna-san at the bridge, Senpai? I can handle it from here," she smiled.

"If you're sure…" Kakashi smiled back and carefully stood on his crutches. "I'm counting on you, Yuriko-san."

Yuriko's eyes widened and a slight blush rose to her cheeks. 'Counting on… me?' she thought and turned to look at Naruto and Sasuke who were still hard at work. The routine continued for days with Sasuke and Naruto training day in and day out and oftentimes, Naruto didn't come back when night fell, though he hardly ever missed meals. Even after Kakashi had recovered and was back on his feet, they trained and trained and trained. Yuriko also took the time to hone her medical ninjutsu in case poison was used again. This time she would be ready for anything. One night both Sasuke and Naruto returned late, both muddied and exhausted with triumphant smiles on their faces and Sasuke was helping Naruto walk with Naruto's arm around his shoulders.

"Where have you two been?" Sakura admonished.

"We both climbed all the way to the top," Naruto beamed in response and Yuriko couldn't help her own proud smile.

"Well done. You'll both start guarding Tazuna-san at the bridge tomorrow," Kakashi concluded and Naruto threw his fist into the air in victory, though both he and Sasuke fell in their tiredness.

Once everyone had eaten dinner, they all sat around the table in comfortable silence until Tazuna spoke up; "In just a little while the bridge will be complete and it's all thanks to you guys."

"Even still, don't let your guard down," his daughter added. "Gato still has henchmen out there trying to stop it from being finished."

"I've been meaning to ask for a long time now… Why are you still here even though I lied about the mission?" Tazuna inquired and Yuriko's expression temporarily darkened thinking of her reasons for staying.

"To see what is right without doing it bespeaks an absence of courage. Like master, like man," came Kakashi's response, his hands folded in front of him. "It's a teaching of the late Hokage."

There was a moment of silence before Inari, Tazuna's grandson slammed his hands onto the table, tears streaming down his face.

"Why do you desperately work so hard until you get like that?! There's no way you'd be a match for Gato's men even if you trained! No matter what cool things you say or how much effort you make, the weak always lose out against the truly strong!" the boy demanded.

"Shut up. I'm not like you," Naruto dismissed and rested his head back into his folded arms on the table.

"Shut up! Looking at you makes me sick! Sticking your nose in even though you know nothing of this land! I'm not like you who's always acting frivolous, without knowing one thing about pain!"

At that, Yuriko bit her lip. She knew the kid's words would strike something within Naruto. She and Kakashi both. The child was speaking out of pain, not even knowing anything about Naruto, assuming that Naruto was just a naive kid who didn't know anything. They'd heard about Inari's dad who was regaled as a hero of the land for risking his life to tie a rope to a portion of a dam during a heavy rainstorm, saving part of the town. He'd been publicly executed by Gato and his men, claiming that he'd blatantly disregarded law and order, and since then, the Land of Waves had been under Gato's control and completely crippled by fear and poverty.

"So you're just going to cry all day like the lead in a tragedy? An idiot like you can just cry forever. You big crybaby!"

The glare that Naruto gave Inari was harsh but well deserved, Yuriko thought. Sakura, on the other hand, said it was still too much, and when Naruto walked away from the table with his head down, there was an awkward silence as everyone stayed where they were and Inari continued to cry. Yuriko helped clear the table and wash the dishes while the children readied to settle in for the night. When she'd finished, she noticed Kakashi walk outside to where Inari had sulked off to and decided to listen in from the doorway.

"Do you have a minute?" Kakashi asked the young boy and when he didn't respond, Kakashi took a seat beside him on the dock. "Naruto didn't mean any harm in what he said. He's just uncouth, so… We heard the story about your father from Tazuna. Like you, Naruto never had a father as a young child… Actually, he doesn't know either of his parents. Not only that, he didn't have a single friend."

"What?" the boy asked, finally looking up at Kakashi.

"But, even still, I've never seen him sulk, be timid, or cry. He's always eager, wanting to be acknowledged by someone. If it's for the sake of his dreams, he always risks his life. He's probably tired of crying, so he knows the true meaning of the word 'strong,' just like your father. Naruto might understand your feelings the most. What Naruto said to you earlier, there's no mistaking that he's told himself that over and over again."

The boy's eyes were awestruck as he looked up at Kakashi whose own expression was kind. It was then that Kakashi took his leave and noticed Yuriko leaning against the doorway. As he approached, she smiled and stood up straight.

"Oh, Yuriko-san. I thought you'd left to prepare for bed. How long have you been there?" Kakashi inquired.

"The whole time. You know, Kakashi-senpai…" she smiled. "You're awfully doting for a teacher."

"Oh?"

"It's cute," she chuckled, waving as she turned to make her way to take a bath before bed. "Goodnight, Senpai."

Kakashi was struck dumb, his own cheeks burning tomato red as he stood there, unmoving and speechless. Had he really heard her correctly? Did she just call him… cute?