Another chapter is here!
Enjoy!
"Here you go," Ayame said as she handed off a bowl of one of their most expensive Ramen dishes to Naruto. It was her way of congratulating him on his promotion to Chuunin, a fact that was irrefutable given that he now wore his flak jacket over his normal jumpsuit, while Teuchi was away.
"Thanks, Ayame-nee!" Naruto said over the sound of bubbling broth, the clinking chopsticks on ceramic, and the slurping of noodles that filled the air of the Ichiraku. His cerulean eyes couldn't help but glimmer as he stared down at the work of art. The thick, rich scent coming off of it nearly left him drooling. "You're too good to me."
Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon were sitting to his left, enjoying their own bowls. Naruto had kept his promise to play with them earlier today and even brought Gamakichi and Gamatatsu into it. The two younger toads were situated on the counter to his far right, enjoying their own snacks.
"This is a fine establishment you've got here, Miss," Gamakichi told her after he wiped his mouth. "I'll make sure all the toads back home know of it."
"Glad to hear it." Her dark-brown eyes then turned to Naruto and her head tilted slightly. "And where's Karin-chan? I thought she'd be with you today."
Naruto froze for a moment at the inquiry, mind racing with thoughts on what to say as he swallowed his noodles. "She's a…bit busy at the moment with the Old Man after everything that's happened. But I'll bring her as soon as I get a chance."
Ayame took his words at face value and left it at that, and Naruto went back to eating until a familiar voice drew his attention.
"Who would have thought the dead last in class would be the first to make it to Chuunin," Kiba said without any malice in his words as he approached them with Akamaru on his head. The pup had a bandage wrapped around one of his legs, but otherwise looked healthy. "At least it takes some of the sting out of losing to you at the Preliminaries."
"…You're that loud boy that was cheering on Naruto at the Finals, aren't you?" Ayame asked after a moment of thought. When he nodded, she gestured to an empty seat. "I'll grab you a bowl as well. On the house."
"Mom always did tell me it was rude to refuse when a woman offers you food." Akamaru gave a short bark at that. "It counts outside the dinner table too."
The Inuzuka took a seat next to Naruto and sat Akamaru on the seat next to him. The ninja-pup looked over to Gamakichi and let loose an inquiring bark. Gamakichi, apparently understanding him, grabbed one of the snacks to his brother's dismay and lightly tossed it underhanded for the pup to try. Akamaru nibbled on it while Kiba placed an elbow on the counter and watched Ayame as she worked at the noodles and pot, humming softly.
Naruto's brows creased at the sight as he finished slurping a few noodles. He didn't like that look Kiba was giving Ayame. She was like an older sister to him, and you didn't ogle a friend's sister. He tapped him with his elbow to get the message across and then asked, "Did things get settled between Hinata and her cousin?"
He nodded. "That beating seemed to set him straight, though Hinata did mention her father went and had a talk with him after the match. Either way, they're at least on talking terms and I don't have to kick in her cousin's teeth, so I think we can call it settled for now."
"And how's your Sensei doing?" Naruto asked next, in a slightly lower tone. No sense in Ayame or the other kids hearing it. "Sakura mentioned that the same guy who got her also got Sasuke and Kakashi."
"She's managing well enough to be out tomorrow," he said in a low tone that brimmed with raw and seething anger just beneath the surface. "I'm still going to find the guy who put her in there in the first place and tear them to shreds."
"I want to make them pay too," Konohamaru said in a low voice as well. Naruto looked over to his side to see the younger boy had stopped eating, instead staring at his reflection in what was left of the broth. He was frowning and his eyes were narrowed. "They hurt my uncle too."
"… Just don't let that anger take over," Naruto told them both, grabbing their attention. "I know what it's like to get mad at someone enough to want to make them pay with their lives. But that anger can make you do something you'll regret in the process."
His thoughts drifted off to that time in the forest, wreathed in the cloak of malevolent chakra. Had Karin been a second slower in calling out to him, his own teammate would have died by his hands. Though Sakura may not remember that moment because of the battle with Gaara, Naruto wouldn't ever forget it.
"So what? We're just supposed to sit on our thumbs and let it go?" Kiba asked gruffly.
Naruto shook his head. "We train and become strong enough to protect what's important to us, so the next time it won't happen. But we shouldn't go looking for revenge. If we do, there's no telling what our anger will make us do in the end."
"That sounds like something Shino would say, but whatever. It's not like they're even telling us who it is that did it in the first place," Kiba said dismissively, straightening himself up as Ayame returned with his food. "Thanks."
"You better teach us all something new soon, Boss," Konohamaru demanded. "We've already got down how to do the Sexy—"
His words were muffled as Naruto covered his mouth. The newly-minted Chuunin gestured his head towards Ayame. She had an eyebrow raised in disapproval and her hands on her hips.
"I'll teach you something else later," Naruto promised, trying his hardest to ignore Ayame's annoyed glare and Kiba's amused glance. "Just be patient for a bit, okay?"
[0-0-0]
"—and that's my room," Anko said, pointing to room on the right. It had a nameplate on it. "I don't need to explain that it's off-limits, do I?"
"No, Ma'am," Karin said to the woman in the mesh-bodysuit and tan overcoat as she guided her through the rather modest home that Karin had been assigned to live in with her. It had two rooms, each with their own bathroom and spacious closet, a kitchen mixed with a dining room, a living room, and an attic. The place was rather large compared most of the other places she stayed, outside of the base where she trained under Orochimaru (and that place had other issues).
However, the majority of Karin's attention was elsewhere. Mostly on Naruto as he ate at where they had met for the first time outside of the Forest of Death, at the restaurant owned by Ayame and her father. Right now he was with a few other people, but she was only familiar with two of their chakra signatures—the Inuzuka and his pup. The others were now memorized and, if she ran across them in person with her power active, she'd recognize them and be able to put faces to the signatures.
Her attention returned to her immediate surroundings when she felt the skin on her left leg crawling. She lifted her leg to scratch it, only to find a small snake coiled around the limb and staring at her. Karin let out a surprised yelp before shaking her leg to get it off.
The serpent ended up arching in the air, only for the older woman's outstretched hand to catch it. It shook its head, as though to clear it, before slithering into her sleeve. Anko's furrowed light-brown eyes and frown made it clear she was displeased about something.
Then again, so was Karin. She met the woman's gaze with her own. "What's the big idea?"
"You weren't paying full attention to me," Anko said, crossing her arms. "Otherwise you would have noticed that constrictor snakelet I summoned while we were walking around, or the fact that I've been gesturing to it a couple of times. I assume you were using your sensory ability?"
Karin averted her eyes at having been caught. That was one flaw of her power, the fact that it was dependent on her active attention. With the majority of her attention halfway across the village, a seal-less variation of a summoning technique or gestures could slip through the net if it was something small like that. "It's not like I didn't hear everything you said."
"Your ability is already a security risk as is; especially since there's no obvious signs its active barring your attention shifting. And, given what I've read, I'm assuming you're using it to violate the blonde-brat's privacy by spying on him now, aren't you?"
"I'm not spying on him. I was just…." She trailed off as she realized that mentioning she was just observing him while he wasn't aware, to see if he was still in the village and doing well based on his chakra-levels, may not sound better.
Anko sighed. "If you're going to waste this chance you've been given then we may as well just give you the boot now. You'll be a liability more than anything else."
"I'm not trying to waste it," Karin said. "I want to stay here and I'm doing my best to prove it."
"Then I'll only tell you this once: when I'm in front of you, I demand your full attention as your overseer for the duration of your probation. Anything less is a mark against you. And if we're out of the village or undergoing an assignment, it's an automatic trip to the Hokage to have him rescind his generous terms."
Karin's teeth clenched. This woman clearly had no intention of making life easier for her. There would be no third chance either.
Anko continued after letting the threat sink in. "Even if the Hokage seals the records, the fact is you were a spy for Sound and Grass. That's two villages that you've betrayed to put yourself into a better position here, regardless of the circumstances. Anyone who knows that much will be leery of your loyalties to this village, and most of those people are in a high enough position to influence your life here in ways that will make you wish you were in a cell. Keep your priorities straight and don't screw up even a step, otherwise you'll be gone."
"…Yes, Ma'am," she said again, cutting off her Mind's Eye. "You have my full attention."
Looking her up and down with analytical eyes, Anko nodded and then pulled out a small notebook from her overcoat pocket. "This is your lifeline. It's a schedule for the week listing, among other things, when you are free to sleep, leave the premises under watch, and your training regimen. At the end of every week, I'll assess your behavior and determine what the next week will look like. There's also a list of rules on the back that change depending on how well you behave too."
Karin caught it when she tossed it to her underhanded and then opened it. The time was broken down into hours, with a majority partitioned to studying, physical training, and chakra training. There was also an hour given for the three meals and bathing, and six hours of sleep. That left her only an hour of free time a day.
Her lips pursed. That was barely enough time to do anything. She flipped to the rules and saw that she couldn't even go visit Naruto if she wanted to. "I get not being able to bring anyone to the house, but why am I not allowed visit Naruto? We're from the same clan."
"Because it's a privilege that you need to earn," she said simply. "Besides, he's a Chuunin now. That means he'll be away a lot more often and you'll need to learn to be less dependent on him. It'll do you more good in the end."
Karin reluctantly nodded. There was no point in arguing, even though she really wanted to. Besides, she could just use her free hour to check up on him with her power and make sure he was okay. "What am I supposed to be studying?"
"Things we expect from Genin native to the village," she said. "If you're going to live here then you need to know the history of the village and take a citizenship test. So you'll be brushing up on that and a few other topics, and one of your choice that's geared towards what you want to do in the future."
"I'm going to be a sensor," Karin said. "That's what you have planned, right?"
"Your abilities might be useful as Hell in tracking targets, but there's no telling what's going to happen in the future," Anko said. "In a worst case scenario, you might end up crippled or traumatized from an incident and thus become useless in that aspect. Or you might choose to retire and be a mother, what with only two of your clan left. So you need to study up on an alternative path in life to take as well. I myself am working on earning a teaching license in my free time."
Karin's Mind's Eye becoming unavailable was theoretically possible, if unlikely. The trauma of losing her home did subconsciously instill a means of turning it on and off after all, so it was possible that she could lose the ability to use it entirely if something even more traumatic than that happened. But the chances of that were so slim that they may as well have been nonexistent.
"Fine," Karin said. "I'll follow your rules and schedule to the letter."
"Good." Anko gestured to the room on the left. "Then get settled into your room. That schedule kicks in starting tomorrow."
[0-0-0]
Sasuke walked down the back-alley streets of the Hidden Leaf as he made his way back towards the abandoned district that he called home. He had been cleared from the hospital now, his arm healed and his mind stable. The lucky one of those attacked that day, the nurses said to pad out the silence as the memory of his encounter with Itachi haunted him.
He'd thought he'd gotten stronger. No, he knew that he had. However, it hadn't been nearly enough to pose a threat to his brother. It hadn't even taken Itachi five seconds to swat him like a fly.
His hand rose to the crook of his neck, where the sealed Cursed Mark dwelled. It itched every now and again, reminding him that it was still there. He couldn't help but wonder if things would have gone differently if he had access to the power within it.
The itching died down as he reached the mouth of the alley that gave a clear-view of the entrance to the district. It was normally devoid of life, barring the stray cats that occasionally wandered in and out freely, chasing down the rats that had made themselves the new residents of the abandoned buildings. That wasn't the case this time.
Sakura was standing with her back against the wall, cradling a small package in her arms. Had she ran there to arrive before he did? Either way, she straightened herself out when she saw him coming. "Sasuke, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." He came to a stop in front of her, hands in his pocket. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see if you were okay after everything that happened."
"Like I said, I'm fine. I just need some time to think. Alone." He made sure to stress that last point.
The slight downturn in her eyes showed she got the underlying message. Still, Sakura extended her hands with the package in it for him. "At least take this. I figured you'd like food more than flowers."
He took it and looked inside. They were basic senbei, simple rice crackers that looked handmade. Did she make these for him?
"…Thanks," Sasuke said reluctantly before he entered the district without observing her response, making his way further in. His destination was the home where he lived with his parents and brother before the slaughter. Entering the room where his parents died, Sasuke sat down and just stared at the dark patches where his parents' blood had been spilled.
The memories of that night played in his head again, but he stared at it unwaveringly and let the scene play out. For too long he had been horrified by sight of their death, haunted by these memories to the extent that Itachi used it against him twice. He had to grow numb to it so there wouldn't be a third time—he couldn't fail to avenge them when they next met.
Itachi had let his reason for sparing Sasuke slip that day. He sought to drive him to the edge of despair and allow that to grant him greater eyes. Those very same eyes that he planned to pluck from his skull and once more take everything from him.
Sasuke wouldn't let him win. He wouldn't allow it. That meant he had to get stronger and purge himself of all his weaknesses. And there were three obvious ones that he had carelessly allowed to take root inside of him.
Looking back, the mission to Wave was the starting point. He took what should have been a mortal blow for someone else, an act that would have denied himself the chance to avenge his clan had Haku not been too soft. The Forest of Death was no better.
Naruto… Sakura… Kakashi… He had allowed his team to get closer to him, to the extent that he simply couldn't let them die if it came down to it. He'd made them prime targets for Itachi to kill when he returned. Worse, when he was around them, he could almost forget the tragedy and his purpose for seeking power.
That couldn't stand. Dropping the gift he received from Sakura onto the ground, fire leapt from his lips to engulf it. The glow of the flames illuminated the darkness of the room as he remained fixed in place, once more burning into his eyes the motivation for him becoming an Avenger…