Chapter 2- Home Sweet Home
Naruto Uzumaki sat alone on the rooftop of the Hokage's tower. He was watching the stars, unable to sleep once more.
He was plenty tired, but whenever he tried to sleep, images of violence and abandonment threatened to tear apart his sanity. The images were always the same. The boy (yes, just a child, yet the burdens were tremendous) had been forced to watch, unable to do anything significant, as his best friend Sasuke Uchiha abandoned the village. Naruto had fought, but all in vain. Nothing short of death could bring Sasuke back, it seemed.
The blonde shinobi watched as several meteors flashed across the heaven.
"You are troubled, again. The same dream?" A deep, resonating voice seemed to well up from the depth of his mind. The demon Nine-Tailed Fox, trapped inside the boy by the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice, spoke quietly to its keeper, sensing the depression.
"Yeah, Kitsune-sama. I can't think of anything but the hatred in his eyes, the hatred in all their eyes. No matter how hard I try. The bastards won't give an inch." Naruto spoke of the villagers, the other Leaf-nin, who saw him only for the demon, not the boy.
The fox had spent hundreds of years watching humanity. It had seen the cruelty of the masses, and had acted accordingly. The destruction of Konoha was to be the first step. But one man had changed that. The Yondaime, Naruto's idol, had sacrificed himself for the village with no second thoughts, save possibly for the potential fate of the boy. The child's persistence and obnoxious, yet uplifting, optimism had over the years whittled at the fox's anger and apathy. Now, the demon was willing to forgo destruction of humanity. He had often teased the boy about tormenting the people by getting Naruto put in charge. Nonetheless, the demon thought of Naruto as human-kind's best hope.
"Ah, they're all just a bunch of dicks. When you come back in two days, they'll be eating out of your hand. Those muscles'll have the women fawning over you, and the men bowing at your feet." Naruto cheered a bit at the gentle prod. He had developed over his three year absence, growing muscle and maturity, as well as a healthy need for human companionship. Well, that's what happens when you live with a sage for three years. People were scarce in the wilderness.
"Your right, Kitsune-sama. They'll see the new me. And my accomplishments. No more Mr. Nice-Naruto. I'll show them all the new me." Naruto stood, holding out a first in front of him. "I promise. Dattebayo!"
"Oh, not that thing again!" As much as the fox-spirit enjoyed the boy's spirit, the catch-phrase was damned obnoxious.
The blonde boy laughed as he formed a quick hand sign and flickered away in a rush of leaves.
He appeared back at a tent in a nearby forest. His mentor was waiting.
"Couldn't wait just two days, huh?" Jiraiya, the Toad Mountain Sage, muttered, seeing his pupil return.
"Nope. I miss the old dump!" Naruto flashed a grin at his teacher before turning more serious again. "What training do I have before we go back? Two days is a long time."
"You will be working on chakra control. You're good, but not on my level, yet." Jiraiya bragged loudly, puffing his chest out. Naruto and Kyuubi agreed, it made him look very much like the toads the sage was famed for summoning, but no one told him that.
"Yes, sensei." Naruto sighed, used to his mentor's braggadocio. It was nearly as bad as Might Guy's. "How do you think the folks'll react to my…" Jiraiya jumped in.
"They'll love you for it. I haven't kept up with the latest intel, but I think replacements have not been forthcoming. Not to mention, Orochimaru has been oddly silent. Something big is going down. I can feel it." He fell silent, only thinking the end of his sentence. 'Not to mention, most people are scared of the Demon of the Forest, now. I must commend Tobi-san for the nice name.'
Indeed, Jiraiya would have been surprised if no one noticed the changes in Naruto. The boy had nearly abandoned the orange, settling for a drab brown and green outfit more at home in the ranks of Konoha. He still had the damned bright color, but now it was simply in the flames on his headband. The tattered black hitai-ite had been replaced with one sporting flames and a fox-motif surrounding the swirled-leaf symbol. The embroidering alone had set Jiraiya back a pretty penny, but it was worth it to lose the damned jumpsuit.
The boy had also matured. His chakra was immense. His strength impressive. The cunning was starting to rival Kyuubi. Indeed, Naruto was a powerful ninja. His face had hardened from the pudgy round face of a child to the edges and straight lines of a true adult. Muscles had built up. The scars along his face were more pronounced, giving a much stronger feral impression. The blue eyes still held their spark, but now it was tempered with wisdom and intelligence into a true flame of youth worthy of Rock Lee.
The toad-sannin shook himself out of his reverie to watch Naruto begin his exercises. 'Yes, the boy has grown well, Minato. I have done my best, old friend.'
The night had gone on for several hours after the blonde boy had left. The Hokage's tower was just as silent, until around four in the morning. Then a building wind was heard in the top office, as two dark figures spun into existence.
Harry Potter quickly dusted himself off and looked around. He was surrounded by red walls lined with bookshelves. A cough behind him caught his attention.
Harry spun, noticing that Kakashi was standing at attention, his visible eye locked on a figure at the massive desk dominating the side of the room.
Harry was floored. The woman had blond hair, much like several girls he had known home. Her green jacket wasn't as odd as the strange hat sitting on a hangar behind her. But something else was off.
She was, well… well-endowed! Very well, indeed. Harry instantly blushed and his eyes shot to look at her face. He noticed, through his embarrassment, that she had an odd purple crystal on her forehead.
"Ah, good. You're back, Kakashi. Just in time to welcome Naruto back. He'll be home in two, no, one day. And you brought the boy. Good." Her tone, while polite and friendly, seemed to brook no argument. "SHIZUNE!" Her shout caused Harry to jump slightly. 'Do not cross this woman', he vowed to himself silently.
A dark-haired woman poked her head in the door before huffing. "No sake, Tsunade-sama." She vanished before the heavy book Tsunade had thrown could connect with her head.
"Damn. I need a drink. Why can't some one else baby-sit the brat." Tsunade grumbled, seeming to forget about Harry.
Kakashi coughed lightly. Tsunade seemed to snap out of her mood.
"Ah yes. Potter-chan. Introductions and explanations. Kakashi!" She snapped at the grey-haired man, who had pulled an orange book out of his jacket.
"Yes, Hokage?"
"Get Team 8. I'll make them baby-sit. I don't have the patience. Or the liquor."
"Hai!" Kakashi vanished in a swirl of smoke, surprising Harry. 'Soundless apparition?'
Tsunade seemed to see his thoughts. "You'll find that certain things are not as impossible as you once thought. Welcome to Konohagakure, or just Konoha. I am the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. You're safe with us."
Meanwhile, Kakashi had assembled the three genin of Team 8. Kiba Inuzuka was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Hinata Hyuuga was as awake as any teen would be at the early hour. And Shino Aburame was… well… as stoic as ever. Maybe he was asleep inside the cocoon of his coat and glasses.
"Well. You three are being given a new mission. There is a boy from England here. He needs protecting and you are the ones for it."
"Awesome. Can I sleep now? It must only be a d-rank, so why wake us?" Kiba growled softly. "And where's Kurenai-sensei?" He looked around for his teacher.
"She is asleep. The mission is for you three. And it is actually an A-rank."
At this, the three seemed to perk up a considerable deal.
"Your first without a jounin leader. And… Hinata is in charge." Kakashi said, picking one at random. "Report to the Hokage once you've gotten ready. She'll brief and introduce you to your charge. The mission will be long. Just a warning. Later." Kakashi poof-ed away before any complaints could be aimed at him.
"He's probably going to sleep. Damn, lazy bastard." Kiba grunted. "I'm gonna get Akamaru. I'll meet you there."
"Hai, Kiba." Shino said quietly before walking straight for the tallest building in Konoha. He was always ready.
'Why do I feel I'm only leader in title?' Hinata thought to herself before walking after Shino. 'Oh, well. Hopefully, Naruto-kun will be impressed. I hope…' She smiled thinking of the blonde boy she had missed greatly over his three year absence.
"Hinata. Focus on the mission. Then, he'll see you. Or I'll push him off a cliff." Shino muttered back at his team leader.
Hinata giggled, understanding how the bug-boy cared. He was like a brother. He just didn't know how to tease properly.
'This should be interesting.'