Speech
Thought
Kyuubi
VFSNAKE: Maybe something along that line. I'll probably mix and match. Cool video though.
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Sarutobi swore generously as his secretary game in and set another stack of paperwork on his desk. At this point he had begun to wonder if he was the victim of someone's sick sense of humor. Granted there was one thing he didn't mind seeing on his desk: the occasional letters from Naruto.
Just about five years had gone by since Kyu...correction, Kasumi, had taken him to train and learn had to use his nanites. He took great pleasure in seeing Danzo act like he was suffering from a Kami-induced bout of constipation from his reply after the man made another 'request' that the boy be turned over to him. The Naruto-hating side were up in arms after learning he had left Konoha with Kasumi, demanding he be brought back and punished for abandoning the village. That went under when Chouza Akamichi, one of the few council members that respected the Fourth's last wish, reminded them that Naruto hadn't even been in the academy yet, and therefore was still a civilian who could leave if he wanted to.
Since then things had been rather quiet in Konoha; minus the usual bellows of Might Gai's "Flames of Youth!' and screams of terror that Anko usually got from whoever she caught being a pervert. Now that he thought about, Konoha was never really quiet to begin with.
Little did he know that the place was about to get a lot less quiet, and the cause was walking into the village that very moment.
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"Hey...hey, Izumo! Who's that?" Kotetsu pointed to a pair strolling into the village.
One was a girl who looked to be in her mid-teens, dressed rather simply in shorts, hiking boots, and a t-shirt. What caught the two chunins' attention was her hair and eyes; blood red and bright orange. All that, plus the modest B-cup that seemed to fit her slender frame, equaled into one word for them: hottie. They quickly started into a round of Janken to see who'd go talk to her before Kotetsu caught the arm around her waist.
The arm belonged to the person beside her; although they couldn't tell who it was. The mystery figure was an inch or two shorter than the girl, clad in a tattered and ragged-looking black hooded trenchcoat. It also had on a dark gray mask on, similar to hunter-nins. They watched as the two talked for a moment before the stranger slid the mask to the side and kissed her, though the mask still prevented them from seeing the face. Once they parted, the mystery figure put the mask back on and looked straight over at them. It was then they noticed the golden spiral decorating it.
"Hey, Izumo, Kotetsu! Long time no see, guys!" The stranger called out, the voice obviously male, before the both of them took off, soon making their way across the rooftops.
The two chunins looked at each other for a moment, "How the hell did he know our names??"
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"FINALLY!" The hokage exclaimed as he signed the last piece of paper on his desk. The moment his pen left the paper, he tossed it aside and prepared to kick back for a few minutes. He let out a perverted giggle as he took out a small orange book from the bottom drawer and quickly immersed himself in it.
"Don't you think you're a little old for those kinds of books?" A voice suddenly commented from the other side of his desk, effectively scaring the crap out of him.
"IYA!!" Sarutobi shrieked, losing his balance and falling off the chair, causing a fit of laughter to erupt from his unexpected visitor. Scrambling to his feet as fast as possible, he quickly recognized the voice's owner, "Kasumi, you're back. Then that means.."
"Yep!" She wiped her eye and pointed to the window behind him.
Sarutobi turned to see a hooded figure in black crouched on the window. His brow raised at the golden spiral on the newcomer's mask as well as the faint sapphire-colored glow behind the mask's eye holes.
"Aren't you gonna say hi..Ojiji?" The figure said, pulling the mask off.
Sarutobi laughed. Only one person had the nerve to call him that, "Naruto!" He said as his surrogate grandson hopped into the room and the two hugged for the first time in half a decade. Once they finished, Sarutobi backed up to see the changes in the blonde.
He noticed right off the boy's size. Before he left, Naruto was barely three feet high due to malnutrition thanks to villagers bent of seeing him starve; now he and Kasumi were just about equal in height. He had put on a fair amount of muscle too, judging from the way his trench coat hung off him. A pair of steel plates were attached to the shoulders making them look even more broader than they were. The right sleeve was missing, showing that Naruto's arm was completely wrapped in heavy gauze, including his hand and fingers. Sarutobi noted that the coat was closed with a silver fist-sized buckle shaped like a fox's head. "I bet he has that just to piss people off." He though, laughing to himself.
All traces of baby fat was gone, leaving a slightly narrow face that was surprisingly fitting for the boy, framed by a head of shoulder length hair, replacing the bedhead mop he once hand. Although it still retained some of its spikyness. His whisker marks were more pronounced now and gave him a feral air. All of it was topped off by the sapphire eyes he was sporting, the glow more noticeable without his mask.
"This kid is definaly going to turn some heads in this town. He could damn well pass for a teenage Minato." The Hokage mused before asking him about some of the thing he had learned during his travels.
"The usual, worked on getting myself in shape for starters." He flexed his hand, "Speaking of that, you won't believe this but the nanites in my body have embedded themselves permanently into my systems."
"I take it that's a good thing from your tone."
"You bet! They've amplified nearly everything, my muscles, bones, even my skin is denser. All my natural capabilities; speed, strength, reflexes are boosted, including my senses. I can still get injured like everyone else, it just takes a little bit more effort on my opponent's part. Plus, they actually help speed up the healing I get from Kasumi-hime being sealed in me." He finished with his old goofy grin.
Sarutobi raised an eye, "'Hime?"
"Oh yeah, heh. About that...well..Kasumi and me.." He stopped mid-sentence when she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him against her.
"Me and Naru-kun are an item now." Kasumi purred, nuzzling him, "A lot can happen in five years, Sarutobi. You know that." She chuckled at the elderly shinobi's gobsmacked expression.
"Uh..t-true." The Hokage composed himself, "Anyway, Naruto, you came back just in time." He started writing a note to the academy, "There's one month remaining until the genin exams, so that gives you time to get settled back into town and maybe make a few friends before then." He handed Naruto the paper, "I know you just got back, but I'd like you go ahead and start up. At least it'll let you get your first day of school out of the way. Lunch should be starting so that'll let you get something to eat beforehand."
"Sure, I don't see why not." He tucked it into his pocket, "By the way, Ojiji." He gave the man a mock-glare, "When were you planning to tell me Minato Namikaze, the Fourth, was my dad?"
Sarutobi froze, "Huh-wha? H-How...how'd.." He tried to form a full sentence, not expecting that question at ALL.
Naruto tapped his head, "They helped boost everything, remember? That and once I learned that there were only three male blonds in all of Konoha, and I'm not related to Inochi Yamanaka in any way, it pretty much started coming together." He noticed the Hokage was starting to look like he had disappointed someone, "Ah, it's ok, Ojiji. I can't really blame him. After all, he was only trying to protect the village and was just doing what he felt was his only option left. Besides, I doubt he was the kind of guy to make another family give up their kid."
"So..you don't have a grudge against him?" Sarutobi felt his body almost go boneless when Naruto shook his head.
"Personally, sealing me was kinda playing dirty in my book..buuut, I can't hold it against him either." Kasumi shrugged, "I did start the fight after all."
The old man let a chuckle out, "That's good to hear. Anyway, you better get going, Naruto. If it's all with right with the two of you, I'd like to talk to Kasumi for a few minutes while you do that."
"Sure, why not." She said, kissing Naruto, "Later Naru-kun." She grinned.
He smirked before returning it, "Oh yeah! Before I forget." He opened his coat and extracted a seal scroll, "These three won't be bothering anyone now." Handing the scroll to the Hokage, he put his hood and mask back on before diving out the window.
"What'd he mean by that?" Sarutobi unrolled the scroll and unsealed the heads of three men, one of them had been split nearly in half, "Kami..he's already killed!?"
"Yeah, the Tozugo brothers." Kasumi said the name like it was rancid, "Kishimo, Hitsugi, and Toshi." She spat the names out.
"Tozugo?" Sarutobo had gotten word of their deaths. The three brothers were a B-class trio of rapists and murderers. Even though they were only chunin in skill, they were noted for preferring to gang up on individual victims, especially young girls. From the condition of the heads, they were beaten mercilessly before being executed, "Naruto did this to them??"
She nodded, "Yeah..their actually the first people he's gone after with the intent to kill. Every other time, it was only in self-defense or to protect someone else. Otherwise he just beats them senseless."
"W-when was the first time?" He asked, wishing the boy hadn't been forced to grow up so quickly.
"A couple days after his tenth birthday. We were ambushed by some bandits during a sparring match in the woods. While I was taking care of them, one tried to sneak on me with a hatchet. Naruto saw him and threw the kunai he was using on reflex. By the time I turned, he was falling with the kunai in his throat. I guess he was their boss because seeing a 10-year-old take the guy down sent them scattering."
Kasumi plopped down in the closest chair, "When he realized exactly what he had done..." She sighed and shook her head, "Poor guy was shook up pretty badly for a while after that; nightmares, could barely eat. He admitted the idea of taking someone's life scared him even though he knew that being a ninja meant he'd have to kill sooner or later. It took some work, but I was able to get him to see that there are times you'll have to take a life in order to save another. He took that to heart and made it part of his creed." She grinned after saying that, "In a way, that's part of the reason I ended up falling for him."
"Oh? To be honest, I'm rather courious about that myself. No offense; I'm just wondering what would make the mighty Kyuubi No Kitsune fall for a mortal." Sarutobi leaned foward, eager to hear her reason.
"Well, first off, I'll admit I enjoy a good brawl, but I'm no, repeat, NO bloodthirsty psycho like the Shukaku, ok? I'll kill if I have to, but NOT for fun, so the kills he has made have nothing to do with it, got it??" Seeing the old man nod, she continued, "Anyway, well, he's willing to back up what he says for one thing; he's caring, strong, has a 'never say die' attitude, not afraid to show some affection." A slight blush started creeping up on her cheeks, one that Sarutobi quickly caught, "He's got decent sense of humor, he's no idiot, that's for sure. And..well..I've tried dating a few times in the past, but he's the first guy to do something nice for me without expecting something in return,. That and he's also the first to ever make me blush."
Sarutobi chortled, "As long as you two are happy, I'm not one to complain."
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Viola! Ch 5, she is done!
Next time, the chat continues, lunch and meeting the class.