Apologies for the delay. I've been fairly busy with college, and haven't had as much time to write as I would like.
Due to the opinions of some, as well as my own issues with it, I will most likely remove/replace Chapters 3 and 4. While I liked Lionheart's rendition of it, it doesn't really fit with the rest of the story. In the meantime, I'll continue to write more of Virtual Hokage so I can see exactly what I want to change about it
Once again, sorry for the wait, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
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Despite losing the Sharingan, Kakashi found himself still concealing his eye. If asked, he would be unable to say if this was due to habit, or shame. As he stood in front of the Hokage, Kakashi couldn't help but feel it was the latter.
"Kakashi."
Sandaime's voice startled him out of his reflection, and Kakashi
"Shortly after leaving Konoha, we encountered the Demon brothers, who were easily dispatched by Sasuke and myself. At this time, I re-evaluated the mission to be between a B and A rank mission. Despite the higher ranking, we continued, and encountered Zabuza, an A ranked missing nin from Mist. We engaged him, and Sasuke and Naruto managed to create a plan to defeat him. Unfortunately, he had an accomplice, Haku, who placed him in a false death state and extracted him. Roughly a week later, we fought against Zabuza, Haku, and the Demon Brothers. Before the battle could be resolved, Gato arrived and betrayed Zabuza, causing him to change targets and slaughter Gato and his guards."
"Your eye?" Kakashi flinched.
"Unfortunately, I am no longer able to use the Sharingan."
"I see... Kakashi, you and your team are suspended on medical leave for a minimum of one month."
"Hokage-sama! My team is fit for duty!" Kakashi protested.
"Be that as it may, I would prefer to exercise caution in this situation, as well as allow you adequate time to adjust to the loss of your eye. While you are suspended from missions, you are still permitted to train. I suggest you use this time wisely."
Kakashi bowed his head.
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
Kakashi departed, and a few minute later, Anko entered the Hokage's office.
"Anko, report." Those two words were enough to make Anko tense up under the Hokage's steely eyes. Unconsciously, she stood at attention, as she began to recite her mission report.
"The mission was successful. No casualties sustained on our side. We managed to eliminate Gato, ensuring that Wave is unlikely to be exploited in the near future. While Zabuza managed to survive, it is unlikely that he will remain in Wave for long."
"What of Kakashi's genin?"
"Despite the high rank of the mission, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki performed adequately against their opponent. Sakura Haruno contributed very little to the conflict, though as she is a typical genin, she's lucky to be alive. Overall, their unlikely success could be damaging, as it could make them overconfident and they'll get into a situation thay can't handle"
"Understood. Anything else to report?"
"...Kakashi has been displaying some favoritism towards Sasuke Uchiha, though I feel this is due to the fact that he has not been informed of Naruto's importance to Konoha, and drew the conclusion that the Uchiha was the reason I was sent as reinforcements."
"I see..." Sarutobi sighed, it was to be expected that it would be assumed any extra concern for Team Seven would be for Sasuke... Though he had slightly higher hopes for Kakashi's reaction... "What is your assessment?"
"Team Seven managed to survive through a combination of luck and Kakashi's skill. Given his loss of the Sharingan, I find it unlikely that his abilities would be able to save them again. However, Kakashi is so used to his reputation, I find it unlikely that he will change his methods of handling both his team and their missions, without a major influence in the immediate future."
"And?"
"Kakashi should be removed from his position as Team Seven's Jounin-sensei, and the Team should be broken up and reassigned to existing genin teams."
"I see... as much as I would like to disagree, your argument makes sense. I'll have a third party evaluate Kakashi before making my final decision on this matter."
"Is there anything else, Hokage-sama?"
"Actually, yes." Sandaime tossed her a small folder, and she quicker skimmed over its contents.
"...is this for real?" she asked.
"After Naruto's absence, I've come to realize how vital he is to Konoha. Though attempts on his life are a thing of the past, I would still feel more comfortable if he were placed under guard, and the council would notice if the ANBU were suddenly reassigned."
"And how am I supposed to convince him?" she asked skeptically.
"Keep reading."
"...Alright, this time I KNOW you're joking."
"You have your orders Mitarashi."
She sighed, "I'm starting to wonder if this is really worth it... Maybe I should retire..."
Sarutobi smiled, "We both know you'd miss it too much."
"True, true..." Anko murmured, "I guess I'll get started..." and with a casual hand sign, Anko vanished in a swirl of leaves.
Sarutobi leaned back, allowing himself a small grin.
'Stage one should be going into effect right about now...'
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"What do you mean I've been evicted?! I've paid my rent every single month!" Naruto protested.
"It's not just you brat! The whole complex is unstable! Something about the foundation weakening... Anyways, you're just going to have to find somewhere else to stay until they fix it! "
"But-"
"You know what? Don't even bother coming back! I'll just get a less annoying punk to live here!"
"You can't do that!!!"
"Watch me!!! Here's your security deposit, and the rent you paid for the last month, now get off of my property and out of my sight!"
Naruto growled at the apartment manager, before storming off. He could retrieve his belongings later. Right now, he needed to burn off some stress.
Or get some ramen. Either one worked.
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As Naruto wolfed down his fifth bowl of ramen, he became aware of another person at the stand.
"Huh?" Naruto turned, seeing a certain Special Jounin munching on dango next to him.
"Anko?"
"What?! I'm eating. Deal with it," she snapped.
"..."
"Oi! Old guy! Gimme some sake! One of the big bottles!"
"Coming right up!"
"Why are you drinking that stuff? It's gross."
"That just means you're still a little boy." she taunted, "Besides, I've got a reason to drink."
"What do you mean?"
Anko sighed, "Well, I thought that my apartment was getting a bit too packed with my stuff, so I decided to move into a bigger place. The problem is, every single place that worked was too expensive! And I told my landlord that I was moving out, and he already got a new tenant! Now I'm gonna be homeless!!!"
Naruto stared at the overly theatrical kunoichi, who seemed to settle down as he sake arrived.
"So, what's eating you brat? From the way you were tearing into that ramen, something's got to be wrong." Anko asked as she nursed her drink.
Naruto growled, "Got kicked out of my apartment. Something about the foundation or something. It would have been fine, but the stupid owner said that I couldn't come back when it was fixed!"
"So? Why don't you just find another place?"
Naruto froze, as hope welled up inside of him.
"Then again, by now, everyone else that lived there probably snatched up all the good places, but I'm sure you were smart enough to go and get a place before you came here, right?"
Naruto watch detachedly as giant cloaked monsters rose up from his mindscape, brutally beating and raping hope in way mortals could never comprehend, before tossing it in the dumpster.
Anko watched as Naruto slumped forward, planting his face in the still full bowl in front of him.
He hadn't moved for several minutes, and there weren't anymore bubbles coming up...
Maybe she should do something?
A swift blow to his gut soon got Naruto out of his ramen, though it seemed he was less than appreciative.
"Come on brat, it's not that bad, I'm sure one of your teammates will let you stay with them, or you'll find a..." Anko trailed off.
Naruto stared, "Are you alright?"
Anko's eyes lit up, "Naru-chan..."
"...what?" he asked cautiously.
"There was a really nice apartment I saw, that was just out of my price range..."
"So?"
"Well, there was an extra bedroom, so maybe..."
The dumpster began to glow. Suddenly, in an explosion of power, hope surged out of the dumpster, its hair radiating an ominous golden light. The monsters had a brief moment to comprehend how amazingly screwed the were, before hope smirked, and attacked.
--- --- ---
Both ninja were grateful that the paperwork for their new apartment was surprisingly light.
Well, Naruto was, Anko just played the part.
A few short minutes later, the duo were the proud tenants of apartment 305.
Of course, they still had an awful lot of heavy things to move...
--- --- ---
After the initial enthusiasm waned, Naruto began to question his decision to live with Anko. Mainly, because her definition of "Teamwork," left much to be desired.
"How come I'm doing all the moving?!" Naruto complained, as Anko continued to snack on her dango.
"You're doing all the moving because it's good training."
"How is that?" he asked skeptically.
"The ability to create a large number of Kage Bunshin a rare one, but you're not using it to its full potential. Instead of thinking it out, you just mob your enemy until they fall or you run out of chakra. While that might work on some people, most high level fighters are going to mop the floor with you. By using the Kage Bunshin to move all of my stuff, you learn how to co-ordinate them, meaning that you can use tactical plans with your clones instead of swarming your enemies."
"Oh." Naruto said, chastised.
"Besides, I'm lazy."
Any embarrassment on Naruto's face vanished, "Damn it! I knew you were just making me do all the work! Once I'm done with this, I'm going to kick your ass!"
Anko chuckled, "Remember what happened last time we sparred? I might not be so shy this time!"
Her chuckle grew into a cackle as the Naruto's all turned bright red and resumed moving her furniture. Naruto may have been Konoha's infamous prankster, but he was still a boy entering puberty, and Anko knew exactly how to deal with them. Anko leaned back in her chair, and she continued to worry the now barren dango stick. Maybe living with Naruto wouldn't be so bad...
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Thoughts?
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