Lessons of Experience
Chapter 7: A Pocketful of Aces
By: BukkakeNoJutsu
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Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. He belongs to Mitarashi Anko. He's strapped to her bed right now as we speak, doing unspeakable things.
Things that would make grown men weep.
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Heading back to Konoha proper, San observed the disheveled state of his student Uzumaki Naruto and, despite the tragedies and betrayals of the day, couldn't stop himself from laughing.
"Fuckdamn. Boy, you look more like a butcher's apprentice rather than a minty fresh genin," remarked the old man in reference to Naruto's blood soaked clothing.
An active sense of humor was one of the ways San kept himself sane despite an unusually long life on the battlefield.
"Get cleaned up first, and I'll treat you to dinner. You've earned it."
San was rewarded with an enthusiastic shout, as the promise of free food rarely failed to lift the orphan's spirits.
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Upon arriving home, San handed Naruto the graduation gift that he had promised, a brand new suit of clothing with some orange on it. It was a tasteful black and orange jacket and pants combination that, despite its unusual coloring, managed to look quite professional and slightly intimidating.
"Thanks, gramps. I'm surprised that you went through with it."
"Shit, I'm not the biggest fan of the color orange, but who cares what you wear as long as you're capable, right?" said San with a shoulder shrug.
Naruto took a quick hop in the shower and then tried out his new outfit.
San had to admit that the colors fit Naruto's personality better, and the outfit still managed to make him look less like a little kid. The female clerk at the store was perfectly right.
Naruto was positively beaming in his new outfit. It was so…cool. The blonde tied on his new hitae-ite to his head. Naruto left his pack by the door, and was about to exit to head off to dinner.
An amused San stopped him first.
"There's one last thing. Feel free from now on to wear your gear in public," stated the retired ninja.
"I can? Really?" asked an excited Naruto.
"Yeah, there's no more need to hide now."
Naruto reached inside his pack, pulling out his two knives. He then strapped a sheathed knife to each thigh, completing his ensemble.
San felt a chill run down his spine. Every element fit the boy just right. It was like the old man was witnessing the birth of a new legend. Shaking himself free from the premonition, San focused on the present.
"Where to, boy?"
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Interestingly, Naruto did not choose a place to dine right away, so the both of them ended up walking around waiting for inspiration or hunger to stike first. San had an inkling suspicion that the boy simply wanted to strut around a bit in his new outfit, so the old man indulged him a little.
"Let the village see the Yondaime's legacy now," thought the old man with glee.
Naruto walked by heedless of the reactions of people around him, his old habit of ignoring the indifference or hostility of the general population of Konoha coming into play. San noticed that the reactions varied wildly. Some were in shock, others fearful, and an even smaller contingent regarded the blonde with a tentative respect.
Whether people were reacting to the jinchuuriki's new outfit, knives, or hitae-ite, or to rumors of what happened to the Uchiha or to Mizuki, San knew one thing. The status quo concerning Naruto was changing forever. San had heard what occurred at the academy exam from Sarutobi, and was greatly amused.
The retired jounin was considering telling the boy to hurry up and choose a restaurant already when two kunoichi sauntered up to Naruto. One was unrecognizable in full ANBU gear and the other was unmistakable in her trademark trenchcoat and fishnets, Mitarashi Anko.
The special jounin bent forward speaking into his ear, "I heard what you did to that bastard Mizuki. I must say that I approve. See you around."
She then tousled his blonde hair playfully, before heading on with her silent friend.
Naruto was too busy blushing at the attention to protest her actions.
San chuckled at his student's reaction. Despite what he had learned, Naruto in some ways still a young kid.
"Old man, w-what the hell was that?"
"Don't ask me, boy. Even though I was married, I still don't understand women. Killing an enemy is a whole lot easier. Hell, even killing scores of enemies at the same time is easier."
Naruto stared at his teacher, incredulously.
"Wait a minute, you have a wife?"
"'Had' as in past tense; a lifetime ago," corrected San.
Naruto froze in his tracks.
"Um…Sorry for bring it up, gramps," mumbled an apologetic blonde.
"No apologies needed. We had a good run, but we were just short on time together."
San noticed the mood had slightly darkened, and decided to correct things.
"I'll tell you a funny story. Remember that prayer to Jashin I taught you earlier today?"
"Sure I do. What about it?" asked the boy, more than a little curious.
"If not for that damned thing, I wouldn't have met my future wife," replied the older nin with a wink.
"How the hell did that happen?" wondered the young blonde out loud.
"She was just a normal civilian, a baker, during the Great Shinobi Wars. When war had managed to erupt on Konohagakure's very doorstep, an enemy-nin tried to use her as a human shield against me. She was facing death either way, so I stuck. I killed him, and healed her. That's how we met."
Uzumaki Naruto let out a low appreciative whistle.
"Wow old man, even your romantic stories have blood and guts in them."
San chuckled at his student's astute observation..
"Sometimes, violence can lead to some very interesting courtships. Maybe one day if you're lucky, some drunk kunoichi'll take pity on you and let you store your purple headed kunai in her fleshy equipment pouch. She might wake up and then try to kill you, and, before you know it, your children will be attending shinobi academy. Life is funny that way,"
At that very moment, Nara Shikaku sneezed hard, spilling his cup of sake and cursing.
San took the opportunity to summon a very old, and very worn picture frame to his right hand. It contained a wrinkled, and faded photograph of a young, cheerful red-headed woman.
"Here," said San offering Naruto a look into his past.
"She's really, really pretty, Gramps," exclaimed Naruto.
"Yeah, she was…Fuck, all this reminiscing is making me thirsty."
San pointed to a nearby bar that catered exclusively to shinobi.
"How about a liquid dinner, boy?"
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When Naruto first set foot through the bar doors, he was met with immediate disdain.
A bleary eyed chuunin wobbled towards the pair bellowing, "What the fuck do you want here demon br---Urkh!"
The drunk nin's comments were quickly interrupted by a long line of gleaming steel held by an irate old man.
"I suggest you hold your tongue, cocksucker, lest you find it carved out of your mouth," growled the white-haired nin.
Most of the bar patrons of the bar did not recognize San, but gave both newcomers a wide-berth, and much more respect. It was common knowledge that one does not end up a legitimately mean old man in a shinobi village by being a pushover.
Once the short lesson in politeness was over, punctuated by the aforementioned chunnin bolting from the bar in soiled pants, San ordered some sake and good deal of takoyaki for himself and Naruto.
"Naruto, now that you've started to use my teachings for real, it's time to deal with some of the limitations of what you've been taught."
"What do you mean by limitations, old man?" asked the whiskered boy in surprise.
"Not everything can be killed so simply with knives, swords, or even chakra strikes. Some enemies can't be cut so easily."
"Gramps, I've seen you move. I challenge you to name one enemy that you couldn't mop the floor with?" joked Naruto
"The Kyuubi," replied San in all seriousness.
"What you have learned so far is all foundation. It's what will keep you safe and kill 99.9 of your enemies, but there are still those few that will test all you know and beyond."
"So, how did you deal with the nine-tailed fox, old man?"
"It was a stalemate, for a time. It could not manage to land any of its strikes, and my attacks weren't damaging it. If the Kyuubi continued to focus on me, I would have eventually faltered and died, but it grew bored of our game. It completely ignored me in favor of targets that could not dodge half as well. I helplessly watched many a comrade die that day."
Naruto looked down at his small sake cup, ashamed of what was sealed into him. San noticed the taint of self-loathing on his student.
"It's not your goddamn fault, boy! If not for you, we all would have been dead years ago. You should have been seen as a hero to this village."
There were no words spoken between teacher and student for quite a few moments.
"Thanks…I really mean it," replied Naruto, finally breaking the silence and feeling a much better.
San returned the sentiment with a bright smile.
"The reason I bring up my own failure is to show you that the style you know right now is one specialized for killing normal men, not demons or other inhuman monsters. What you need, besides constant refinement, is a few trump cards to pull out against the inhumanly tough bastards you'll undoubtedly come across."
"Is this where I start to learn some wicked flashy jutsus?" asked the eager jinchuuriki.
"No. Let's get this absolutely straight. I'm not going to hand you over some jutsus as if you were a red-eyed bastard. Instead, I'm aiming to make you a much stronger shinobi than I ever was, but one with a pocketful of aces."
San's grin promised sinister things in the future.
"You game?"
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End Chapter 7
C&C Welcome.