Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and company, their world, the organizations in that world, or anything else you read in the manga. I do own the characters I bothered to give personalities to and the organizations I put them in and I shall flame you to hell if you use them.
yes i'm still continuing this, amazingly. but hey! can't blame a girl for trying.
He woke up to a sharp, and very loud snap, like someone had broken a giant's bone. He stuck his head out just in time to see a whole host of dark shapes gliding past at an astonishing speed under the water. As he blinked his watering eyes in the bright noon sun, the first wave of cheering from the spectators hit his large ears. Flicking the sand-coloured tail he sub-consciously noticed the day before in annoyance, Naruto stuck his head back into his den, waiting to get use to the high noise level. Finally, after maybe fifteen minutes in his dark hole, Naruto came out into the open. But the yelling crowds that had been there were gone, making the street lonely once more. Off in the distance, a loud cloud of happy sounds exploded, disturbing birds from their roosts even around the Dormitories.
"Why aren't you out watching the race?" an old man said, drooping beagle ears flopping down in his face.
"What race?" Naruto asked, blinking.
"Why the water race!" the old man replied, eyes hidden in layers of skin opened wide at the boy's ignorance.
"Why do they call it the water race?" Naruto asked the drooping man.
"Because only aquatic demons and their hosts can enter young fool." The beagle man said, amazement at Naruto's blindness clearly imprinted on his voice.
"Wow, that's cool, do you know where they are now?" Naruto asked, curious to a fault.
"They should be lapping the course soon; they always start at the stadium and do three laps." The beagle man said.
"Thanks mister!" Naruto said, jumping out of his hole and onto the rope bridge two levels down.
"And we have the first resignation of the second lap!" a particularly loud bird-boy who was acting as commentator yelled, "That makes thirteen, only seven left folks." Naruto hadn't needed to walk even a minute before the crowds that followed the race hit him. Remarkably close, a crow-winged friend was pulling the exhausted racer out of the water, and upon closer examination, Naruto noted they looked familiar. When he got closer, his eyes opened in shock, who would have guessed that not only were Kakashi and Iruka (based on the hair) together, judging by the apologetic kiss Kakashi gave the swimmer, but also demonic?
"Iruka?" Naruto asked, doubting it was his childhood mentor under the triple-toned and rubbery skin.
"Naruto!" the dolphin man said, confirming it was Iruka, jumping out of the loose hug he was in. "Err-this isn't what it looks like…" he said almost rhetorically. "But then of course, it's a little hard for it to be not what it looks like…" he rambled.
"Err-Iruka, what are you talking about?" Kakashi said, slightly worried.
"If you're talking about the demon thing, I'm fine with that." Naruto said, blinking.
"Demon? Oh yes, the demon…" Iruka said, a look of enlightenment spreading across his face.
"Yeah, what else would I be talking about?" Naruto said quizzically, "Although, I am a little pissed you didn't tell me you had a demon too." He added sourly with a face. There was a dramatic pause until Iruka sighed,
"I can't deal with your brand of stupidity today…" he said before collapsing.
"So Naruto," Kakashi said, hoisting the unconscious teacher over his shoulder, "are you staying at the dormitories too?"
"Um yeah, I moved in yesterday." Naruto said, confusion overtaking his mind
"Well then, we had better get him soaked before his skin dries out." Kakashi said, indicating the man slung over his shoulder. But before they could start on their way back to the Demon Dormitories, someone came running up the path from the Office. As he got closer, Naruto recognized Keiyo, one of the twins that had brought him to Everglade only four days ago, wait, he was pretty sure it was Keiyo, Kaito was much more withdrawn and wouldn't be waving energetically to him.
"Hey, the Office has some stuff they think you might want, so they sent me to fetch you. They said the sooner you came the better." Keiyo said, puffing.
"Oh well then, let's go." Naruto said cheerfully, "Bye Kakashi-sensei" he added as he ran off.
"So that was your teacher?" Keiyo asked as they walked quickly towards the whiteness of the Office.
"Yup, and I wasted abut a million hours of my life waiting for him." Naruto grumbled dramatically.
"Oh come on, he can't be that late consistently." Keiyo said,
"But he is! He's usually two hours late and then he tells us some lame-brain excuse like he was helping an old lady with her groceries." Naruto huffed,
"But if he is always late, how did he make it to his exams on time?" Keiyo said.
"Well, he once said that he was on time to important things…" Naruto trailed off, defeated. He was rather disturbed when his acquaintance broke into hysterics and had to stop while he held his gut.
"Oh god kid, you crack me up." He wheezed between bouts of laughter, "hey, you have to come to my place sometime, I think you'd like it. You know Yuri, right?" Keiyo said, continuing on their way after he recovered.
"Yuri, oh, yeah I know him," Naruto said, expression darkening.
"Oh, well, maybe not Yuri, err-Naturu's not here, hey, you know what, I'll take you there myself after we get your stuff." Keiyo said hurriedly, seeing the smoldering detest in Naruto's stance and tone. So, with fewer words mentioned than before, they made it to the Office, Keiyo to hand in a mission report (a friend who had been told to find Naruto and pass on the message had waylaid him when he was making his way to the Office because he didn't know who the blond was), Naruto to pick up a large overnight bag that he recognized as one of the few non-essential items he owned. Inside were a second set of clothes (the dark ones), a toothbrush, and several items he probably should have had before now.
"Oh, and if you see Hyuuga-san, could you tell him to come for his items as well?" the lady behind the desk in the second basement said overly politely that obviously hid a world-wearied outlook. Hey, if you worked in the Lost and Found and the Pick Up center for an entire city, as the only employee in sight, you would hate the world too.
short but yeah