Author's note: This isn't a second chapter in the traditional sense. More like a second short story set during the same time period.
Many, many thanks to beta buddy singeivoire for her help in getting me out of some stuck spots, and for the dirty joke I borrowed .
Paint Job: Second Coat
"Painting some old lady's house? You have to be kidding me!" Naruto scowled. "That's D-rank; for genin! I'm way too powerful for that!"
"Shut up!" hissed Sakura at his side, but Tsunade had already looked over the edge of her folded hands, a warning gleam in her eye.
"For the record, brat, you are still a genin, and this 'old lady' is Utatane Koharu, one of the village council."
"But—"
Sakura sighed as her blond-haired teammate—pout fully activated—continued to protest.
"Naruto!" Iruka-sensei stood from the table, a few mission scrolls scattered in front of him. "Koharu-sama is a former teammate of the late Sandaime, and as such, this is a C-rank mission, not a D-rank!"
Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, still pouting. "Painting is D-rank, no matter how you dress it up. I still don't see why…"
Sakura eyed Tsunade uneasily, noticing the telltale vein throbbing at her master's forehead. Sakura could sympathize with Naruto to a point—she hadn't been assigned a D-rank mission since before Naruto left to train with the Toad Sage. But Utatane Koharu was a councilor of the village. Along with her counterpart, Mitokado Homura, she was one of the few people in Konoha who could walk into the Hokage's office without an appointment. She'd had a jounin assigned to C-rank missions for three months straight last year for some show of disrespect, and she could, on a whim, withdraw funding from the ninja academy.
Naruto didn't understand the politics of the ninja world. To him everything was clear cut and simple: get a mission, complete mission, get paid, buy ramen. But Sakura had learned more than just how to burst boulders with a single punch during her tutelage under Tsunade. Ninja had their place in the bureaucracy, and sometimes it was like walking along the edge of a kunai.
Tsunade was bellowing now. "… and you will take the mission, or I will assign you to actual D-rank missions for a month!"
"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Sakura said, bowing and pushing Naruto's head down with her, ignoring his squawk of protest. "I'll meet you at the bridge, Naruto," she said, pushing him out the door.
"But, Sakura-chan—!" Slam. Sakura leaned against the closed door with a sigh.
"Sakura, you'll make sure he does a good job?" Tsunade said, shuffling some papers in front of her. Her hazel eyes glanced up to meet jade green. Sakura nodded, her lips tightening. There was more at stake here than a simple coat of paint. Naruto's future as a shinobi of the village, his reputation as such conflicted with his status as a demon container in Koharu's eyes. If he didn't prove his worth… didn't show them that he was more than just a jinchuuriki…
"Hai," Sakura said again, her eyes narrowed with determination.
Sakura paused at the threshold of the path at led up to the small house where Utatane Koharu lived. Naruto, a remnant of his pout still lingering, looked up at their destination.
"At least it's small," he said, brightening.
"Naruto," Sakura touched his arm to get his attention.
"Eh?"
Sakura bit her lip. How to say this so that he would understand? "Naruto, please be careful to do a good job here. I know you don't think she's much of anyone, but Koharu-sama has a lot of influence, and with the chuunin exams coming up soon, you'll want to be on everyone's good side, okay?"
Naruto looked at her a moment, as if working out what she said. Then he laughed, the familiar bright smile replacing the cloud of melancholy. "I'll make chuunin because of my new moves, not because of what some old granny says, Sakura-chan."
Sakura sighed. Together they approached the house. The paint cans, along with a couple of rollers, trays, and brushes, were waiting in the back like their mission scroll had said. Koharu-sama was not at home, of course; she had her duties as a member of the village council to attend to. Sakura privately thought it for the best.
Naruto created three clones and between the four of them, they tossed the paint cans back and forth to shake them up.
Naruto always finds a way to make even a boring mission interesting, Sakura thought, watching his antics with a smile. Sasuke never would have done something fun like that. The thought came unbidden and with it, the familiar hollow ache. The pain of Sasuke's leaving was no longer the gaping wound. Time and something Tsunade called "growing up" had healed the injury. It was scar tissue now but still tender if poked too hard.
Trying to shake off the gloom that had suddenly fallen on her, Sakura leapt into the space between one set of Narutos, trying to catch the paint can as it sailed over her head.
Naruto laughed as she jumped, missing the can. "You're too short, Sakura-chan!"
Bristling, Sakura redoubled her efforts, channeling a little bit of chakra to her leg muscles to jump higher, but the Narutos leapt effortlessly out of her reach, the paint can zooming between them.
He won't find it so easy to throw that can around if he's alone. Sakura gathered chakra in her fist, narrowing her eyes at the closest Naruto. She was pretty sure that one was a clone... if not, well, Naruto was a fast healer.
Sakura swung, connecting with the nearest Naruto. For a heartbeat, as her fist hit the solid chest of her teammate, she worried that this had been the real one, but then the Naruto disappeared in a poof of smoke. Coughing—she had been too close to the jutsu's deactivation—she peered around, looking for her next target.
"Sakura-chan, look out!" she heard a Naruto yell.
"What—!" Sakura glanced up. The paint can was sailing in a graceful arc aimed at her head, still on its trajectory from one of the Narutos' tosses. Instinctively, she punched upwards.
The paint can burst like a water balloon under the force of her strike and white paint splattered everywhere. She could feel it cascading down her scalp, dripping off her nose, and trickling down her back.
"Damn," she muttered and gagged as paint dripped into her mouth. The paint oozed down her face as she shifted, and she kept her eyes squeezed shut to avoid getting any in them. Peeling off her paint-soaked gloves, she lifted a hand to wipe paint out of her eyes.
"No, you stupid clone, catch that!" she heard Naruto yell and opened her eyes.
The other paint can soared toward her. Sakura had just enough time to concentrate chakra to her stomach before it hit her straight in the gut. The air in her lungs left in a whoosh, and she stumbled back from the force of the hit, slipped in the spilled paint, and landed hard on her back.
She lay in the paint-covered grass a moment, mouth open but not breathing. The wind had been knocked out of her. At least she didn't have any ruptured organs or broken bones. Her last-second chakra channeling had saved her from the worst.
Someone was babbling at her. Naruto's whiskered face loomed over hers, panic in his blue eyes. At that moment, the ability to breathe returned, and she coughed, eyes watering, and inhaled a shaky breath, her diaphragm still spasming.
Naruto helped her sit up.
"Are you okay?" He peered at her, almost wringing his hands with worry.
She nodded, still not able to speak, and coughed again.
"I'll be right back," he said and sprung away from her side, slipping in the paint.
Her lungs had recovered by the time he returned, though her muscles were still trembly with the after-effects of shock and adrenaline rush. He carried a large bowl that appeared to be filled with water, because some kept sloshing out over his hands, and a towel hung over one arm.
"What's this for?" she rasped, her throat raw from coughing.
Naruto set bowl down, which also carried a bar of soap, and unfolded the towel. "It was my fault for getting that paint all over you, Sakura-chan."
Sakura blinked at him, surprised. Actually it had been her fault entirely. She had lashed out on instinct, instead of trying to catch the paint can like a sensible person. If Tsunade had been there to witness it, she would have said Sakura deserved what she got for being so thoughtless.
Naruto dipped a corner of the towel in the water, rubbed the bar of soap on it, and, face set in a fierce scowl of concentration, lifted one of the paint-drenched locks of hair from her forehead and began trying to wipe the paint off. She opened her mouth to ask why start with her hair of all places, but another thought struck her.
"Naruto, where did you get this stuff?"
"From the house," he said, jaw set. She knew he expected her to go off on a rant about how he shouldn't have entered the councilor's house, how Koharu-sama would be angry, but she didn't. For some reason, she didn't care.
"Thanks," she said. Then she laughed, wincing as her bruised stomach muscles protested. "Another brilliantly executed mission by Team Seven. I'm glad Kakashi-sensei isn't here. We'd never hear the end of it."
Naruto chuckled. "If Sasuke were here..." He trailed off, a shadow passing over his face.
Sakura clenched her fists in her lap. Sasuke, again. He was always there, always between them. Just when she and Naruto got comfortable again, the shadow of their lost teammate hovered over them.
Naruto dipped a clean corner of the towel in the water and this time gently wiped her cheek, looking hesitant as if afraid she'd sock him for his daring. But Sakura wasn't thinking about that. She wanted to tell him that it was okay, that he didn't have to keep his promise. To tell him to stay here in the village... with her. But Sasuke was more than just a missing comrade, he was Naruto's best friend, perhaps the closest thing to family he'd ever known. It was important to Naruto on a personal level, and to tell him that it didn't matter to Sakura... it might break his heart.
Enough. She had to get his mind somewhere else. Sakura conjured up a laugh. "Ha, no, if Sasuke was here, he'd say 'tch, losers,' and make fun of both of us."
Naruto sniggered. "Then he'd get a can up paint up his—" He stopped just in time, eyeing Sakura nervously, but she was laughing, holding her aching stomach.
"Oh, I have one!" she gasped and with both hands ran her fingers through her stiffening, paint-soaked hair so that it stood on end, very much like a silver-haired sensei they both knew. Then she clasped her hands together in a mock tiger seal. "A Thousand Years of Paint!"
They both doubled over with laughter, sitting in the paint-covered grass.
Giggles finally subsiding, Sakura took the towel and scrubbed the rest of her face clear of paint. She stood, surveying the white splatters covering her from head to toe.
"Goodness. Looks like we won't need a brush. Just rub me against the building, Naruto, and our mission will be a success."
Naruto didn't reply, so she looked up. His face was lobster red, his jaw practically hung to his knees. Sakura realized what she'd said and blushed.
"I didn't mean it that way, pervert!" she scowled. Drawing back her arm to punch him into the next country, Sakura launched herself at him. But the destructive effect she was going for was entirely ruined when she again slipped on the paint, lost her balance, and crashed into Naruto. They both went sprawling on the ground, Sakura somehow ending perpendicular over Naruto's stomach.
"What in the world is going on here?"
Sakura looked up, her heart in her throat as Koharu-sama entered the yard.
"K-Koharu-sama, w-we… I-I…"
"We were just cleaning up!" Naruto said beneath her, his grin wide and disarming. "Sakura-chan, could you get off, please?" Once she shuffled back, he stood and formed his hands into a familiar seal. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
Hundreds of paint-bedecked Naruto clones sprang into existence.
"Alright, guys, let's get to work!"
"Hai!" came the chorused response.
As Sakura, the real Naruto, and Koharu looked on, the house was soon swallowed up by a press of clones wielding paint brushes and rollers. Within minutes the walls were covered with a fresh coat of paint; gleaming white and clean. Sakura even saw a clone with a lawn mower, and a handful of them with scrubbing brushes, who worked on the splattered paint that had splashed onto the walkway.
There was still some paint visible on the grass where it had soaked into the ground. As she watched, a few of the Naruto clones were pushing a large rock to cover it.
"What are you doing?" hissed Sakura, glancing at Koharu.
"Feng shui," grunted one of the Narutos. "What do you think?"
A few minutes later, the clones disappeared in a haze of smoke. Sakura turned to Koharu, but as usual, the old woman's face was hard to read.
Finally the councilor looked over at Naruto and nodded. "You may report your mission to Tsunade-hime a success."
Sakura almost wilted with relief, but she managed a polite bow instead. She and Naruto walked out of the yard and away from the house.
As they walked, Sakura glanced over at Naruto. "Thanks for saving our skins back there. I was drawing a complete blank when she stepped in, but thank goodness you're a quick thinker."
Naruto smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. After all, you saved me from Tsunade-baachan when Konohamaru painted on Hokage Mountain."
"Naruto, you still got pummeled by her. As usual, I wasn't any help at all."
"Don't forget," Naruto said with a grin, "it was your idea to play that prank on Konohamaru afterward." He laughed. "I've never seen that kid run so fast. Quit putting yourself down, Sakura-chan. You're a great girl."
Sakura felt a blush creeping across her cheeks. Naruto really was a sweet guy. It was nice, actually, to be so comfortable with him without needing to change herself to suit him. For Sasuke she'd been the weakest member of their squad, preferring to fawn over him instead of improving her own skills. For Sasuke she'd grown her hair out,—though she'd always preferred it short—for Sasuke she'd been willing—however briefly—to betray the village just to hear him acknowledge her.
But Naruto would never give her cause to do something that that. He liked her for who she was; as she was, even covered with paint.
Still blushing, she slipped her hand into his and gave it a squeeze. "Thanks, Naruto."
a/n: Part 3--the final installment--is still in the brainstorming stage. Stay tuned!