Warning: If after reading this you see there are spelling errors or mistakes please feel free to let me know.
'Thought'
"Speak"
'Kyuubi thought'
"Kyuubi speech, Inner Sakura or Izzy(AN: they are the same person to lazy to type inner Sakura all the time.), and jutsu"
-next day-
Kurenai, Naruto, Lee, Tenten were patrolling the perimeter of the cottage. Kurenai had Naruto send Kagebunshin around as well to set up traps and things around the farthest edge of the perimeter. So far nothing was going on. Kakashi took the other genin to train them with Gai Anko and Asuma. They were going to get them up to par on things for this mission. Naruto was worried about his fellow classmates and how they were going to react with their first kill. He had wanted to be there for their training but he needed to stay focused on the mission. One of his bunshin popped and he got its memories about a team of thugs headed towards the cottage.
"Kurenai-sensei there is a group of thugs heading for the house." Naruto relayed to his jounin leader.
"Right. Take Tenten and go deal with it. Meet us at checkpoint R64 when it's finished." Nodding his head he turned around and headed towards his estimate of where they would meet up with them.
"Naruto?" Tenten asked.
"Yeah what's up?" Naruto responded.
"….have you ever killed before?" she asked him hesitantly.
He was silent for a while. "Yes I have. I was young and it was necessary."
"How did you get over it?"
"I…well that's a hard one. I'd have to tell you the story for me to do so. Have you made a kill yet?"
"No not yet. I'm kinda scared of what might happen."
Naruto slowed down so he was side by side with her. Looking towards her, he spoke. "It's hard. That I'll admit. The feeling afterward is degrading. You feel like you don't deserve anything at all. But it won't last, as long as you have friends and people you care about. They'll be there to support you and help you through it." Tenten looked into his eyes and realized that he was going to be one of those people as well. She was grateful to have him with her right now.
They reached their destination soon after their small discussion. "Alright my clone saw about 6 of them. It would be best to set an ambush and attack from behind. I'll go in first and you can support me." Naruto stated. As he pulled a pair pf daggers out.
"You use daggers?" Tenten asked.
"Yes but I prefer my normal blade. Though seeing as I left that at the cabin I'll use these. I still need to train with it but I'm good enough with it." Naruto said as he began to move into position.
They set themselves up on both sides and waited for them to pass. Once they did Naruto sprung. Catching one by surprised, Naruto's left dagger lodged into the thugs throat. Ripping it out, he turned to the rest getting into a loose stance. He smirked and moved forward attacking the guy to the left. The thug dodged out of the way right into a kunai thrown by Tenten. The man dropped dead. Naruto turned and blocked a katana with the right dagger and stabbed him in the stomach with the dagger in his left hand. Tenten had come out of the woods now and was attacking 2 thugs to his left. He turned and threw a dagger at the one on her right. It lodged into his neck, which allowed Tenten to finish off the last one. Naruto walked towards the thug and wrenched the dagger out and cleaned it off before putting it back into the sheath.
"How do you feel?" Naruto asked her. Tenten looked pale. She shook her head and moved towards a tree and puked her guts out. Naruto sighed and moved over to her and rubbed her back until she felt better. He lead her back towards the forest to get her away from the battle. He helped her sit down and told her he would be right back. Moving back to the battlefield, he looted the bodies, finding an interesting letter, he then piled them up. Forming some quick hand seals he called out "Goukakyuu no jutsu". He lit the bodies on fire and walked back to Tenten.
"Feeling any better?" Naruto asked kneeling next to her.
"A little, but I it feels like I have blood on my hands and I can't get it off." Tenten responded.
"Yeah it'll fell like that for awhile. But once you get over the fact that you've killed then it will go away."
"How do you do that though? He may have been bad but did he really deserve death?"
"No one deserves death Tenten. But the fact is when you're in battle it's him or you. If you had left him alive who would he have killed next? And if that's not enough, what would have happened to Inari and Tsunami and Tazuna if we let them live?"
Tenten sat there silently, thinking through what Naruto had told her. Nodding her head color returned to her face and she regained her conviction. Standing up she turned to Naruto with determined eyes. "Let's go. Kurenai-sensei will be waiting and she'll need us if Gato is going to be starting skirmishes like this one. It will be best if she has all of us hands on." Tenten responded. Smiling at her Naruto nodded his head and turned taking off into the trees heading towards checkpoint R64 to meet up with Kurenai and Lee. They were at full sprint wanting to get there as fast as possible. Naruto kept his senses at full like Fugaku had taught him to do. He also extended his chakra for the extra sense that his normal 5 sense can't tell him. He noticed something to his right about 12 miles away.
'What the hell? Why does that feel like that cave I found on our way here? I'll have to report this to Kakashi.' "Hold on I need to use the bathroom." The two of them stopped and Naruto walked to the right and out of site of Tenten. Summoning a Kagebunshin he sent off in search of the source of that feeling and to dispel itself after it had marked the location. Taking a quick leak he headed back to Tenten and they took off again. Speeding through the trees keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. They talked very little more concentrated on what's ahead of them. After about 10 minutes they heard the sounds of fighting. Turning towards each other they nodded. Naruto grabbed the daggers at his hips holding both in a reverse grip. Tenten pulled out a scroll and opened it ready to provide long distance fire power to Naruto and Lee.
Stopping right at the edge of the clearing they scanned the area. Taking in the fight, they saw Lee engaged in taijutsu with a couple of bandits and Kurenai holding off others using genjutsu. "Go support Lee I'll help Kurenai-sensei." Naruto said. Tenten nodded and jumped off towards Lee raining kunai on the bandits heading out of the trees heading towards Lee.
-With Kurenai-
'This is getting out of hand. I'm not great at taijutsu and with as many bandits as there is I might just have to end up doing just that. Lee is doing pretty well but.....' Kurenai's thoughts were interrupted as a bandit got in close and a katana was heading straight for her head. Closing her eyes she waited for the blow. CLANG. Her eyes snapped open at the sound. Seeing Naruto standing in front of her holding off the katana with a dagger. He swung his right hand forward slicing into the man's throat.
"You alright Kurenai-sensei? No damage?" Naruto asked keeping his eyes on the bandits ahead of him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Glad you showed up. Thank-you." She responded completely relieved.
"Good. Tenten is backing up Lee but we need to finish this fast. I found a letter on one of the bandits me and Tenten fought and it has some interesting things. Kakashi-nii-san will want to see this.' Naruto said as he eyed the bandits in front of him. "And if you need any, I have soldier pills in my pouch. Feel free to use them." Nodding, Kurenai reached forward and dug in his pouch finding the pack of soldier pills. She popped one in her mouth and jumped back to provide support for Naruto.
A bandit having gotten in impatient charged forward with his katana ready to take Naruto's head off. Ducking under the swing, he swung his right dagger upward cutting him from hip to shoulder in a fluid motion. He then pushed him out of the way as he charged towards another bandit. Flipping his left dagger so it was in a foward position, he swung trying for a bandit's throat. The bandit blocked but didn't expect Naruto to swing his other dagger cutting his face. The bandit staggered back holding his cheek and Naruto jammed a dagger into his neck. He was forced to let go and jump back as a scimitar sliced down. He surveyed the area and realized this wasn't going well. Forming a cross shaped hand seal Naruto screamed "Kagebunshin No Jutsu" and three more Narutos poofed into existence. The four of them dropped into a loose stance ready for anything. Six bandits charged forward, each wielding a different weapon.
Tensing the Naruto on the far left ducked under a spear thrust spinning he struck a bandit coming from his left in the upper thigh and then spinning he stood up at the same time and cut into his throat. Turning back to the bandit with the spear, he dodged as he swung it downward and leapt when he attempted a leg sweep. Landing in a crouch he pounced on the bandit knocking the spear from his hands and stabbing him in the chest.
The Naruto second from the left dodged the swing aimed at his stomach from the scimitar wielding bandit. He gave a counter swing but the bandit ducked his head and a returned with downward swing. Naruto dodged and placed his foot on the blade. He lashed out with a kick to the bandits head forcing him to let go the blade. The bandit stumbled back and while he was distracted, Naruto leapt and at an angle cut into the bandit's throat as he landed.
The real Naruto was facing two bandits. One with an axe and another with a short sword. Naruto held his single dagger in his left hand in a reverse grip. He stood in a standard boxing stance. Shifting his weight between his forward foot and back foot he waited patiently for the bandits to attack. The axe bandit charged forward, lifting the axe high in a crushing downward slice. Naruto dodged right and swung the dagger but the bandit dodged by moving around the handle of his axe. Before Naruto could attack again, the other bandit had charged. Ducking, Naruto dodged the horizontal swing barely avoiding getting his head chopped off. Stepping back Naruto eyed both of them. Both charged at the same time. The axe wielder swung from the left. Naruto ducked and sliced into his shin. He was forced to roll out of the way as the short sword came down on his previous spot. Standing up, Naruto blocked the slash to his mid section and gave a left hook making the bandit stagger. Naruto spun out of the way of the axe and sliced into his neck. Turning back to the other guy he charged. Feinting right, he spun back to the left and stabbed his dagger into the bandit's jugular.
The last Naruto was facing off against a tanto wielding bandit. The bandit charged giving a wide swing. Naruto dodged left swinging his dagger towards the bandit's throat. The bandit ducked swinging his tanto towards Naruto's midsection. Naruto jumped back and once he landed jumped forward tackling the bandit to the ground. They wrestled around before Naruto was able to grab a kunai and slit the side of the bandit's neck.
All four Narutos stood ready for more.
-after the fight-
Kurenai dropped down from the trees staring wide eyed at Naruto. She had never seen such a slaughter. Naruto was a beast on the battlefield. She would only glance over towards him to see how he was doing as she covered his back and the ones hopping out of the trees, but the pieces she did see were brutal. Naruto only went for the most deadly spots in the human body. He definitely did his homework. She looked towards Lee and Tenten and they seemed out of breath, but Naruto seemed fine. His stamina was off the charts.
"Alright you three we need to head back to the cabin and switch off patrols. Its a little early but we are all tired and we need our rest after a fight like this. It was pretty long." Kurenai said. Lee and Tenten nodded their heads. Naruto stood up and walked over to Lee and Tenten and offered them some soldier pills. They each took one gratefully.
"You two alright?" he asked worried about them.
"Yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired is all." Tenten responded.
"ME AS WELL" Lee shouted. Nodding, they all headed back towards Tazuna's house, moving as fast as possible in their condition. They reached the house in a span of 15 minutes. Spotting Kakashi and the others resting on the back porch the group headed straight towards them.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Kakashi asked noticing the blood and getting worried, especially for Naruto.
"We're fine, just a little banged is all. Gato is getting bolder. He's using his bandits to test our defenses. We just got down beating down a large unit." Kurenai reported.
Kakashi nodded. "I'll need you to report what happened." He said as Anko's team took off. Anko making Kagebunshins to help the rounds much like Naruto did on his patrol. "Alright Asuma, Gai you need to get these kids up to par and fast. Get them training and as soon as Naruto is done with his report I'll send him out and he can help you out with these kids. (AN: I'm an incredibly lazy person so I'm going to call the group MSgenin from now on.) After all Naruto's word is law in this group."
"It is not. I'm open to all opinions that they have. And I take them to heart thank-you very much" Naruto retorted to Kakashi's insinuation of him being an overbearing tyrant.
Daisuke snorted. "Yeah but when it comes to training you're a monster. Your training is so killer on the knees. Oh and that Physical conditioning you forced us to do totally killer. I couldn't move right for days." He complained.
Naruto opened his mouth to retort when Hinata spoke up instead. "That may be true but you are faster and stronger than you were before. And besides if you can't handle his training than you shouldn't be a ninja because out in the real world it actually is killer." Hinata told Daisuke off.
"Yup and without him you'd still be swing that knife around like it was a club. That and you wouldn't have all those techniques and your weaknesses would be as to see as the sun." Suzuri said coming to Hinata's aid. Daisuke could only sputter as Hinata and Suzuri chewed him out for telling Naruto off. If he actually learned the lessons he was supposed to he would know better than to pick a fight with Hinata AND Suzuri at the same time, but Daisuke wasn't that smart. And so he responded with the full intent on winning this fight. Meanwhile Naruto's face was resembling a tomato. He was fully intending on responding to Daisuke but when Hinata came to his defense his face had heated up. And when Suzuri came to her aid his blush only deepened. It was one of his most deepest secrets, crushing on both the Hyuuga and Uchiha heiresses. Sasuke was the only one who knew and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. 'I can't like two girls at once, can I?" Naruto thought as he looked at his feet trying to get his blush under control and hoping that no one noticed it. He was brought out of his thoughts as he heard a girly scream. Looking up he found that everyone had picked sides and that the fight had escalated to being physical. The source of the scream was from Daisuke. Hinata and Suzuri were attempting to turn him into a pretzel. The jounin were trying and failing to get them back under control. 'Man they just can't behave at all can they?" Sighing Naruto took a deep breath and began to scream his head off at his classmates.
"ALL OF YOU CUT IT OUT NOW. ASUMA AND GAI ARE GOING TO BE TRAINING YOU GETTING READY FOR WHAT MAY COME AND YOU ARE GOING TO BE AS COOPERTIVE AS POSSIBLE. YOU WILL LISTEN TO EVEYTHING THEY SAY AND YOU WILL NOT, I REAPEAT, NOT GIVE THEM ANY SASS OR COMPLAINTS. NOW I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO DO AND EXPECT YOU ALL TO BE HARD AT WORK BY THE TIME I GET BACK. IS THAT ANY WAY UNCLEAR?" Naruto shouted at his fighting classmates. Hearing his shout they all scrambled around and got in line waiting for Asuma and Gai's instructions on what to do. "Good glad we understand each other." Smiling at his team, Naruto turned and headed into the house. 'By Kami that is some leadership. They lined up as soon as he finished.' Kurenai thought.
"Alright Asuma Gai get started. You three lets go Naruto is going to be waiting for us." Kakashi said getting over his surprise. Neji moved over unsure where he should line up. Kakashi, Kurenai, Tenten and Lee moved into the house to get the reports done.
Asuma and Gai were still in shock by the time Kakashi and the others had vanished. They were still trying to garner how exactly Naruto is in so much control of these MSgenin.
"Ummm Asuma-sensei, Gai-sensei despite what he acts like Naruto is really strict when it comes to our training and is serious when he wants us working when he comes back out. I'd hate to see what his sadistic mind would come up with for punishment if he doesn't see us training." Chouji said shivering at the memory of some of the more evil punishments Naruto had made them do. "So uh can we get started?" He finished up. Gai was the first to snap out of it. Nodding he shook Asuma and they got started.
-Inside with the others.-
"….after the battle I escorted Tenten out of the battlefield she can regain some semblance and I went back to the battle field to dispose of the bodies. Searching them I found a couple of extra weapons and this letter with…..disturbing news." he paused to pass the letter over to Kakashi. Taking the letter Kakashi read it over quickly, his eyes widening as he did so. Reading it over multiple times to be sure it really said what it did. Sighing Kakashi passed the letter over to Kurenai and rubbed a hand over his face.
"This is serious news Naruto. You know what this means right? Suzuri and Hinata are going to need to be extra careful now. Also you'll need to tell them." Kakashi said with all seriousness. They couldn't allow it to happen.
"I know. Last time really shook Hinata and was a close call. And Suzuri wouldn't leave my side for a month after what happened 5 ½ years ago. Didn't even know they were mercenaries hired…"
"Naruto!!! That's classified you know that." Kakashi said glancing around, nervous about who might be listening in, especially Kurenai. Kurenai was very protective of Suzuri and Hinata. Who knows how she'll react to the news.
Naruto nodded. "Did we ever find the truth about….that one thing during that one party in the uh one place a few years back?" Naruto asked trying to be as vague as possible, not wanting Kurenai to blow up in his face.
"Yes it turns out it was the same deal as that one time on your way home with the Hokage." Kakashi answered just as vague.
"Alright I'm getting tired of being out of the loop here what the hell are you talking about?" Kurenai asked incredibly annoyed.
"Sorry Kurenai but it's an S-class secret ordered by the Hokage himself. Naruto and I are bound by law to not say a word. Spilling would be the same as treason and the same punishment." Kakashi replied not looking at her. "Finish your report Naruto; we'll finish this conversation later under better circumstances." Kakashi said.
Nodding his head he quickly finished his report ending with his detailed heroics for Kurenai and his awesome skill.
Smiling at him and his ego, Kakashi chuckled. "Don't ever change Naruto. You can't ever change, you're not allowed."
"Hahaha. Very funny Kakashi." Naruto replied sarcastically.
"Alright get outta here. And Naruto don't tell either of them until we finish this conversation and consult with the Hokage on this. You can still do that one technique right?" Kakashi said sobering up immediately. Naruto nodded as he stood.
"As soon as I finish checking up on my classmates I'll get right on setting it up." Naruto replied as he left.
"This mission just gets more and more complicated." Kakashi said.
"Why are you telling Naruto not tell Suzuri and Hinata about this? They deserve to know more than any one. I don't know what you're hiding but it shouldn't involve hiding information like this." Kurenai said distraught that Suzuri and Hinata were in danger and they weren't going to know about it.
"Kurenai this isn't as simple as that. I wish I could tell you but Hokage's orders. This is classified and if anything came we were to tell him immediately. Now we need to finish these reports so we can get this whole thing cleared up. None of you can say a word of this, especially you Kurenai. It is extremely important that Suzuri and Hinata don't hear about this until the Hokage gives his permission." Kakashi said with all seriousness. The two genin nodded and Kurenai did as well if a little hesitantly.
-Back outside with Naruto-
Naruto had started a spar with Sasuke needing to blow off some steam. Sasuke knew something was wrong and figured it had something to do Suzuri and Hinata
"Again?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah. It's really starting to worry me. I'm starting think that there is a plot against Konoha and Hinata and Suzuri are involved. By the way we're contacting the old man once Kakashi's finished with the reports. Speaking of which I need to go and start setting up for that. It'll be in our room." Naruto answered. Sasuke nodded as they stopped sparring.
"Everything's going to be alright Naruto" Sasuke said attempting to reassure is self-proclaimed older brother. Naruto nodded and let Sasuke get back to training. He went into the house and up to the room he and some of the guys were sharing. Clearing the floor he began to make three seals on the floor. Not a moment after he finished did Sasuke and Kakashi enter the room locking the room behind them.
"Is it finished?" Kakashi asked as he moved through hand seals to silence the room. Naruto nodded as he stood stretching his back out. Sasuke moved and closed the curtain so peering eyes could not see what was going on in the room. Nodding the three of them moved into the correct positions and Naruto began a long string of hand seals. After he was finished he called out astral projection jutsu. And in moments they found themselves in the Hokage's office. The Hokage was bent over his desk and doing paperwork.
"Hokage-sama we have some news about the information we aren't allowed to indulge." Kakashi said gaining the Hokage's attention.
"And pray tell what it is?" The Hokage said now interested in why the three men were standing in his office.
"I was on a team with Kurenai, Lee, and Tenten when a small unit of bandits tried to get through our defenses. Kurenai sent me and Tenten off to stop them and once done I found an interesting letter that you will be receiving by nightfall as soon as Anko comes back and we can send one of her snakes, but yeah it had some information on it that was…disheartening to say the least." Naruto answered.
"Oh and what is this information?" The Hokage asked now fully serious.
"It appears that Gato has hired Kumo ninja but at a price. They were told that a Hyuuga was trapped in wave. The demon brothers reported it in and now the Kumo ninja will be arriving in a few days and now not only will they realize the Hyuuga heiress is here but also the Uchiha heiress as well. And who knows what they'll do once they find out. The most pressing concern is them reporting in and asking for back up. If that is the case we will need our own back up as well." Kakashi reported in. Both the Hokage and Sasuke, who had just found out about the ninjas, eyes widened.
"I suggest at least a team of medics and Anbu. Gato obviously has plenty of fire power if he can expend his men in an attempt to get to the bridge builder" Naruto said wisely. "Also Hiashi and Fugaku need to be told. What the will do is up to them and what is allowed for them to do is up to you but they need to be told. Also contact Jiraiya and see what's going on in Kumo because I have a feeling that they need the Uchiha heiress and the Hyuuga heiress for something important" Naruto reported. The Hokage nodded.
"Right well I want you to update your teammates once night falls. I'll get you your back up as soon as possible." The Hokage answered. "Also be incredibly careful out there. Whatever Gato hired Kumo ninja for can't be good." The three nodded and Naruto let the jutsu fall.
"Man this is just getting more complicated." Naruto said as he rubbed his temples.
"I agree with you. This is getting to be such a bother. In the words of a certain Nara, so troublesome." Sasuke says to his brother.
"Yes well we have some kids who need to be informed on the most recent events." Kakashi said as he led the two boys downstairs.
"Kakashi, do you mind if I tell them? They trust me and with two of them in danger they'll want to do anything protect them and it could get ugly." Naruto informed. Kakashi nodded as he held the door open for Naruto and Sasuke before stepping through himself.
(Timeskip-night fall)
Naruto stepped up to the edge of the porch and took in a deep breath. "ALRIGHT LINE UP ALL OF YOU." Naruto called out to his class. Dropping everything they were doing and lined up in front of the porch, waiting patiently for whatever it was Naruto had to say. Sasuke moved up and flanked Naruto. "First and foremost is the development that was recently found this afternoon. You must forgive me for the late report but this matter needed consultation with the Hokage before we were allowed to indulge this information." Naruto paused here to garner the reactions from his classmates. Looking in their eyes and seeing no blame at all continued. "It has come to our attention that Gato has not hired missing nin. Inste…"
"But I thought Asuma-sensei said that's all he would hire if he hired ninja at all?" Daisuke blurted out.
Anko opened her mouth to put the boy in his place when Kakashi raised a hand clearly stating that Naruto had it covered. "Yes that is what his past actions have told us but as we were told before Gato is a business man. The option presented to him was a lot more appealing than spending money on missing Nin who, in his eyes, will most likely fail again."
"What do you mean by 'the option presented to him'?" Ino asked.
Taking a deep breath he began his answer. "At the beginning of this mission Gai's team ran into the demon brothers who report directly to Zabuza and when they made their report Gato was in the room and heard every word of it. In this report it was said that there was a Hyuuga present on this mission." The quiet whispering completely ceased. They saw Naruto's face set in a serious frown but he stood tall and calmly. "Gato being a business man and thinking that Zabuza and his apprentice would fail, sent a message to Kumo. During the Gai and his team has been cooped up in this house and as we were traveling, Gato and Kumo were negotiating terms. The agreement for was as long as Kumo were able to get their hands on this Hyuuga and beat the snot out of some Konoha ninja they would do this job for free." Neji knew immediately that the Hyuuga he was talking about was himself and as far as he could tell so could everyone else. "What neither of them knows is that Suzuri and Hinata are here and it's only a matter of time before they find out. No…."
"We won't let them take either. We'll lay down our lives for Suzuri and Hinata. Neji to. They'll have to get through this entire class before they can lay a hand on any of them" Daisuke shouts, getting the entire class to agree with them. They shouted their agreement and Naruto had little doubt that Gato would win this battle.
Smiling Naruto raised his hand and the kids silenced. "Now the Hokage will be sending back up but we don't know when they will arrive so until they come we are going to train and train and train. And if they come we'll pound them into the ground and send a message back to Kumo that if they want the Byakugan and the Sharingan they are going to have to tear us apart limb from limb before they can even lay a hand any one" Naruto yelled out and the MSgenin cheered in approval. Hinata and Suzuri were balling their eyes out as everyone swore to lay down their lives for them, while blushing as Naruto just said he would die before letting anything happened to them.
Meanwhile the jounin were staring wide eyed and jaw dropped as Naruto roused his classmates spirits and boosted their morale tenfold. Naruto was most certainly the leader of this group and the kids enjoyed it. Naruto wasn't one of those guys who dictated everything, but he was more of an open leader who took the opinions of his followers under careful consideration. Kakashi felt a sense of pride coming over him as he knew Naruto was following in his father's footsteps and would one day surpass him just like his father wanted. Kurenai and Anko were staring in awe at Naruto as he raised the MS genin's spirits and made sure Hinata and Suzuri felt like they were safe. Asuma and Gai were shocked into sillydom like earlier today. Naruto has shown his loyalty to not only his village but to his friends. And now he was showing just how much he cared for this particular group.
"Alright all of you get cleaned up and get something to eat. And make to sure to eat your fill. We need all of you at your best and food gives you that extra energy." Naruto said as he calmed down his classmates. Nodding all of them moved into the house and went upstairs to clean up and change.
Turning Naruto headed into the house after Sasuke, the jounin followed him as they all moved into the dining room to wait for dinner.
Sitting at the dining room table Anko began to fidget as she got bored. So she tried to start up a conversation. "Sooooo….. uh what are we going to do if those Kumo ninja show up before our back up does?" Anko asks.
"The letter was probably given to the bandit for safekeeping. Given that the date on the letter was three days before we got here and postage takes about 4 days to get here, they didn't start heading out until roughly a day and half to two days ago. They probably aren't in any hurry seeing as they believe Neji is holed up in here and won't be going anywhere any time soon will take 5-6 days to arrive. That probably won't happen but if it does we do our best to hold them and wait for them to arrive. The Hokage is sending at least a medic team and an Anbu team. Anything other that is up to him and how dangerous he deems Kumo ninja showing up is." Naruto answered as he flipped through a magazine he had brought with him.
"Yes but who would Kumo send?" Kurenai asked.
"Most likely a scout team of 3 chuunin and then a retrieval consisting of 4 jounin 2 more chuunin and a genin team." Naruto answered, still flipping through the magazine as they waited for dinner.
"Right Naruto. So for now all we can do is continue the patrols and train the genin to the best they can be, so they are ready for when they do come. Not only will we be dealing with Kumo ninja but also Gato's thugs." Kakashi said backing up Naruto's statement as he himself was reading his icha icha paradise.
"Ok you two that is uncanny and a little nerve wracking." Anko said as she stared at the two guys.
"What is Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked even as he flipped a page in his magazine as Kakashi flipped a page in his own book.
"That" Anko pointed at them. "The way you two do that. How you can pay attention to the outside world and retain what you read at the same time. Its like your brothers but you aren't"
Sasuke chuckled at Anko's reaction. "Yes, you never really get used to how close they are. Though growing up the way they did it's kinda expected." Sasuke said as he sipped some tea. Anko and Kurenai looked at Sasuke oddly.
"What are you talking about; growing up they way they did?" Anko asked.
"Kakashi was the Anbu that looked out for me when I was younger. My personnel bodyguard if you will. There was hardly a time when he wasn't the Anbu on duty guarding me. We got close and are now as close as brothers." Naruto answered idly flipping the pages in his magazine. Anko's and Kurenai's jaw dropped at that revelation.
"You mean to tell me all this time the person protecting was Kakashi, but I thought he was constantly doing missions and that was the reason he was always missing, wallowing in self-pity." Kurenai said still in shock.
Chuckling Kakashi turned another page in his book before answering. "Yes well that was the ploy that the Hokage wanted us to play in order to make sure Naruto was protected and the council couldn't find someway to blackmail his bodyguards into betraying Naruto and kill him instead."
"Wait you mean he had more than one bodyguard?" Sasuke asked surprised. He knew Kakashi was a bodyguard but he didn't know he had more.
"Yes. The Hokage wanted to make sure Naruto was taken care of after the first attempt. Naruto had two Anbu guards tailing him. Nobody got suspicious because the other ninja thought they were part of patrol, switched every now and then. I was on most of those patrols." Kakashi answered.
"If that was true than where were you or his other help 5 and half years ago?" Suzuri asked angrily.
"Suzuri!" Naruto said sharply, looking up from his magazine with a stern face.
"No, don't Suzuri me. You almost died that night. And it's all my fa…" She choked up as tears began to fall. She turned and ran from the room going upstairs and slamming one of the bedroom doors shut behind her.
Kakashi looked up from his book and looked in the direction Suzuri ran off to. "I'm guessing she still blames me for that night." Kakashi stated more than asked. Naruto sighed before standing up and left the room to go after her.
"Umm…what was that all about?" Kiba asked surprised by Suzuri's outburst.
"Sorry not allowed to talk about it. The Hokage passed a law saying it's a village secret. All I can say is that we think its connected to something bigger and that the less people who know about it the better." Kakashi answered with all seriousness. Waiting for Naruto and Suzuri to come back down.
-upstairs with Naruto and Suzuri-
Naruto knocked lightly on the door he heard the crying come from. "Suzuri, can I come in?" He heard a muffled yes and he entered closing the door quietly behind him. He sat next to her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her bringing her close to him as she laid her head on his shoulder.
"I…I'm sorry Naruto but I don't get it. If they were supposed to protect you than where were they that night? You almost died because…" she couldn't finish as more sobs wracked her body.
"Hey I know that night is hard on you but there are those who slip through the crack. Kakashi wasn't on duty that night and the ones on duty the counsel had already got to. They were waiting for the perfect opportunity and that presented that. Don't blame yourself for that night. No one could have predicted what was going to happen that night and you were young you couldn't have stopped that." Naruto said as he rubbed her back and tried to calm her down.
"I know all that but still. I shouldn't have been so quick to run off. I could've just asked for a bunny instead of chasing that one and because I was so…" Suzuri began but Naruto interrupted her.
"Now you listen here. I made my choice that night Suzuri. And so did those Anbu. Like I was they were only trying to prevent something bad happening to themselves or their family. I don't blame them. The council are leeches and would do anything to get to me. I just hope that when I become a shinobi I won't have to deal with their shit anymore." Naruto says a bit more forcefully than intended. Suzuri just nodded against his shoulder and continued to cry and Naruto continued to hold her. Once she was finished, she leaned back from Naruto shoulder and wiped away the tears from her eyes. "You ok now?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah I am now. Sorry Naruto" She mumbled
"What for?"
"This. I don't like inconveniencing you and dinner is probably ready by now."
"That's ok. I worry about you. I know how you get. You like to hold in your feelings and act brave but sometimes you need to let it out it ain't healthy for you to keep it in like that. And today really shook everybody up. Mostly you and Hinata." Naruto responded, quenching her doubts about herself. "Now come on. The others are probably worried." Suzuri nodded and they both stood. Suzuri gave Naruto one last grateful hug before turning and walked out the room. 'She is so different from when she was younger. I remember a little girl who was curious about everything and continuously asked questions. That wasn't even that long ago either.' Naruto thought as he followed Suzuri down stairs. They returned to the kitchen to find everyone eating and a plate for each of them where they had been sitting.
Sasuke looked at his twin with worry and understanding. Suzuri gave him a smile in return telling him everything is alright and he shouldn't worry. "You ok?" Sasuke asked.
Suzuri rolled her eyes. "Yeah I'm fine, don't worry."
"Ok. Food was just finished, eat while it's hot." Sasuke said as he sat back down. He glanced over at Naruto who was already half way through his plate and moving fast towards seconds. Sasuke shook his head as he watched. If Naruto tried he could put a way enough food to feed a small army.
"Kami Naruto, where do you put it all?" Anko said wide eyed as she watched Naruto scarf down another plate piled high with food.
Naruto spooned some more food into his mouth chewed quickly and swallowed before looking up from his plate to answer her. "Hey, I'm a growing boy alright and don't blame me for my fast ass metabolism. And taking into consideration my special gift, it's not entirely my fault." He answered shrugging as he tucked back into his food, soon asking for thirds.
Kurenai and Anko stared in awe and disgust as Naruto continued to shovel food into his mouth. "He's like an Akimichi. You'd think he's finally eating after 10 years of fasting." Kurenai said.
"Yeah well you get used to it after a while. We were like that the first time we had dinner at the Uchiha house. Man I think the girls almost fainted as they watched Naruto shovel down 4 plates of food consecutively. I swear all the women in the elemental countries would kill for his metabolism." Riku informed. As he calmly ate his own food while easily ignoring Naruto.
"Ha yeah that is so true. If you want to see something really amazing, come to lunch at Ichiraku's ramen stand and watch Naruto kick a full grown Akimichi's butt at a ramen eating contest. That's amazing in itself." Kiba said. They heard Chouji grumbling under his breath. All they caught was unnatural and scary.
"Yup. In fact Naruto holds the record of 217 bowls of ramen in an hour." Hinata said and everyone shivered as they remembered that day.
Naruto looked up from his fourth plate and smiled. "I remember that day. Maaan, I was so hungry that day, I didn't even realize I had eaten that much. I beat the yondaime's and Kushina's record respectively and that's sayin something." Kurenai's and Anko's eyes bulged out of their sockets. He beat the yondaime's AND Kushina's record and he was 13 years old.
"Kakashi you don't seemed surprised or skeptical about this. You actually believe he did that?" Anko asked surprised.
Kakashi shrugged as flipped a page in his book since he had finished his dinner before any one had noticed. "Yeah considering I was there and saw it personally. In fact I had to help the Ichiraku's do dishes to keep up with him. It really was rather fascinating to watch, he even drew a crowd." Kakashi answered flipping another page in his book.
"Yes yes, this is all fascinating and great but can we stop talking about my metabolism and talk about something else?" Naruto asked rather embarrassed about being on the spot like that.
"Awww is Naruto embarrassed about being on spot? And here I thought you enjoyed being on spot." Daisuke teased.
"No, that's not it at all. I just don't like it when people talk about my metabolism it's kinda awkward for me you know." Naruto answered as he finally finished eating after his sixth plate.
"Well Mr. Sensitive, what would you like to talk about?" Suzuri said smirking at him.
"Hmmm….how about that vampire incident with you and Sasuke. Now that s a story for you. Who would have thought the great Sasuke Uchiha was scared of a mythological creature." Naruto smirked as he got one more plate of food.
The jounin watched as Sasuke and Daisuke burst out laughing, falling on the floor in the process. "Hahaha… I remember that. Man Suzuri's face could have had the lead interrogator on the ground holding his sides." Kiba laughed.
"Wait what happened?" Kurenai asked getting worried for the 2 boys who were turning blue from lack of air.
"Well it happened about 2 and half years ago. Hiashi and Fugaku let me have the weekend off from training and Kiba was having a sleep over."
"Wait girls to?" Anko asked surprised.
"Yeah they stayed with Hana and her part of the house." Sasuke answered.
"Anyway, after dinner we decided to watch a movie…."
-Flashback 2 and half years ago-
The boys were piling into the living room and Kiba headed to the shelf to pick out some movies they could decide on. He picked out 3 movies and they decided upon the Lost Boys. After deciding on the movie, Naruto ran into the kitchen to pop some popcorn and a few minutes later came out with 3 bowls of popcorn and 2 bowls of Chex Mix in his hands. Setting them down on the coffee table he sat down on the floor leaning back against the couch as the boys spread out around the living room. As they were about to start the movie the girls came in.
"Hey can we join? We don't have anything better to do." Hinata asked.
"We're watching a vampire movie. So if you don't like Vampires then this isn't the movie for you." Kiba said.
"That's ok I have my big bad soldier to protect me." Suzuri said grinning as she sat down next to Naruto and put his arm around her shoulder. Naruto looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Yup I agree with Suzuri on that one." Hinata said as she sat on the otherside of Naruto. Naruto shook his head as he Hinata followed Suzuri's example. The other girls spread out around the living room and Kiba started the movie and plopped down on the couch next to Shino.
All through out the movie Naruto felt his arms felt like they were going to fall off because Hinata and Suzuri kept squeezing if their life depended on it. (AN: I know that the movie isn't really all that scary but hey it was a good vampire movie.) After the movie all the girls scrambled out of the living room and headed to the part of the house where Hana stayed.
Once the girls left the guys turned on the PS3 and started playing Modern Warfare 2. Halfway through the game Kiba got bored of waiting and came up with a way to alleviate that.
"Hey lets pull a prank." Kiba said.
"Why? It's like 11 at night. There is no one to prank." Daisuke responded.
"We could prank anybody and see the results in morning but if nobody wants to do that we can always prank the girls." Naruto suggested.
"Yeah lets do that. What should we do?" Kiba asked getting giddy. The other more mellow boys just shook their heads as Naruto, Kiba and Daisuke put their heads together to think of a prank they could pull.
"Hey we haven't pranked Suzuri in a while." Sasuke said joining in.
"We haven't have we?" Daisuke half asked and half stated.
"Hmm…I say we do something that involves vampires." Kiba says. Sasuke sat quietly for a moment before nodding his head and gaining the attention of the other 3 boys.
"You guys go ahead I promised not to prank her again" Naruto said turning back to the game.
"Alright here's what we're going to do…." Sasuke whispered.
-Just before the prank-
15 minutes of preparation later saw Daisuke, Naruto, Kiba and Sasuke sneaking towards the girls' room. Sasuke would henge into the vampire from the Lost Boys and then scare the crap out of Suzuri. Meanwhile Kiba and Daisuke will be set up around the room with nightvision cameras in their hands recording everything. And also they would set up camera with Sasuke to take a picture of her face.
Reaching the room quickly Sasuke stayed out side to make the henge while Kiba and Daisuke went in to find their perches. Once done Sasuke picked up a camera and got ready.
A look in the room you wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary except for the boys around the room. Daisuke was in the corner that was left of where Suzuri was and Kiba was in the opposite corner getting a right side point of view. Kiba gave an owl hoot and the prank began.
The door slightly creaked as it opened and that drew the attention of Suzuri who half woke up at the sound of the owl hoot. She turned and noticed the smoke and shadow in the door way and began to get freaked out. The shadow moved stealthily towards her with the smoke following to cover it. She held tightly to her sheets as she watched now fully awake. And in an instant the popped out of the smoke yelling and snarling. It got a hold of her shoulders and she screamed at the top of her lungs and suddenly there was a bright flash as jumped out of her bed and latched on the ceiling shaking like a cat.
Next thing the "vampire" poofed into smoke to reveal her twin brother who was on the ground laughing. Tsume and Hana came running into the room to see Suzuri on the ceiling looking ready to kill as 3 boys were on the ground laughing while clutching their sides. Naruto following moments later.
"What in the name of Kami is going on in here?" Tsume asked thoroughly confused.
"Stupid boys pranked me that's what" Suzuri huffed. By this time the others had woken up and were rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.
"Wassss goin on?" Hinata asked while rubbing sleep out her eyes in a way that had Naruto looking away and blushing. Hana noticing this smirked at the blackmail she had on Naruto now.
"Naruto, you butthole. You said you weren't going to prank me again." Suzuri yelled at him.
"Hey don't blame this on me I just got in here." Naruto responded still a little red from seeing Hinata look so cute.
"But still Naruto that was mean whatever it is that happened." Hinata said backing Suzuri on this.
"Stop pointing fingers at me. Sasuke is the one who thought of this plan" Naruto defended.
"Hey! You were the one who said we could prank Suzuri. Sasuke said trying not to get in on this though he knew he was responsible for this.
"What I did not. I said we could prank the girls. You are the one that said you were going to prank Suzuri. I was playing Modern Warfare with Riku. I am so not taking the fall for this one. Your prank, your consequence." Naruto yelled back.
"Prove it!" Sasuke yelled. And at that moment Daisuke pulled out a tape recorder.
"……"We could prank anybody and see the results in morning but if nobody wants to do that we can always prank the girls." Naruto suggested.
"Yeah let's do that. What should we do?" Kiba asked getting giddy. The other more mellow boys just shook their heads as Naruto, Kiba and Daisuke put their heads together to think of a prank they could pull.
"Hey we haven't pranked Suzuri in a while." Sasuke said joining in.
"We haven't have we?" Daisuke half asked and half stated.
"Hmm…I say we do something that involves vampires." Kiba says. Sasuke sat quietly for a moment before nodding his head and gaining the attention of the other 3 boys.
"You guys go ahead I promised not to prank her again" Naruto said turning back to the game.
"Alright here's what we're going to do…." Sasuke whispered……" And Daisuke pushed the stop button.
"Yeah well who asked you" Sasuke yelled at Daisuke.
"Consider it payback for what you did to me last week." Daisuke retorted.
Naruto scowled at walked out of the room grumbling about being blamed for things he didn't do obviously a little peeved about being blamed for this.
Kiba stared after Naruto for bit. "Ooooo. You two made him mad." He said to Hinata and Suzuri. The girls looked after Naruto and ran after him hoping to apologize to him before his anger began to fester.
-End Flashback-
"Hey do you still have the video to that? I want to see it." Anko asked through her laughs.
Sasuke hmph'ed. "No. Naruto destroyed the feed the morning after cause he was mad at me for getting him blamed."
Naruto snorted. "Shouldn't have done it in the first place idiot. Every good pranker knows that the joys of the prank comes from the reactions of the people and the chase afterwards. And occasionally getting away."
"psh. What are you talking about? The joy comes from doing the prank itself." Daisuke responds back.
"If that's what you think it is." Naruto answered as he eyed the pie Tsunami had just placed on the table.
"I have another one coming out that you can eat by yourself." Tsunami told Naruto seeing his look and guessing that he was thinking of a way t o steal the pie all for himself.
Naruto narrowed his eyes on her wondering how she knew. "What kind of pie is it?"
"Apple" she answered as she walked back to the kitchen to check on the pie. Naruto grinned as he was going to get an entire apple pie to himself. He noticed Sasuke glaring darkly at him and stuck his tongue out at him rubbing it in even more.
"How come you get a pie to yourself?" Sasuke asks more than a little peeved at only getting a slice of pie.
"Because he eats more than you and has been doing a lot more than you. That rabbit stew he made for lunch was amazing." Tazuna answers for him. Tsunami came back with a piping hot apple pie and placed it in front of Naruto. Naruto grinned and thanked Tsunami as he picked his fork up. He felt eyes watching him and looked up to see Suzuri and Hinata watching with hopeful eyes. He narrowed his eyes trying to get them to stop but it didn't work. He gave a sigh and gave in to them. Grinning they moved next to him with their own forks ready to dig in.
"WHAT!! How come you share with them and not me? We're like brothers that's not fair." Sasuke shouted.
"Ok 3 reasons. One: I'm not gay and that would totally make us look gay, Two: They are a helluva a lot cuter than you, and Three: It's like impossible to say no to them when they gang up like that. Even you know that." Naruto said after swallowing his bite of pie. Sasuke looked at his sister and Hinata. They gave him a smug smile and turned back to the pie they were sharing with Naruto, happy that he called them cute.
"Naruto after you finish that pie you need to get to bed. In fact all of us do." Kakashi said. Naruto nodded agreeing with him.
"Yeah. We have a tough week ahead of us" Naruto said as he finished another bite of his pie. Finishing it quickly he stood up taking his fork as well as Suzuri's and Hinata's and took it the kitchen while the others left to get ready for bed. As they went to bed they all had the same thought in mind, 'What's going to happen these next few days.
AN:Sorry for the major delay in this latest chapter. It took me awhile as time management for me is a problem. I'm not exactly the best at it so please forgive me for that. Anyway there is going to be a small timeskip in the next chapter to speed things along. Also I need a few quetions answered for future flashbacks:
Should the Uchiha masscre still have happend?
If so should Itachi have done it or have someone who frame him?
Please answere me via reviews I'll need the answers for the future Thank-you!