Chapter 7
First Impressions
"Now are you sure you have everything?"
Naruto sighed as Yugito continued to make a fuss, and decided to check himself over just to stop her from worrying. He wore a simple pair of dark green khaki pants with a dark amber shirt (Yugito didn't like orange, but he insisted, so they compromised) and a dark green jacket. A kunai holster was tied around his right leg and a black duffle bag for his books was slung over his shoulder.
"Yeah mom, I got everything." he said with another sigh. The two of them were walking through the crowded streets of Konoha towards the academy where he would begin his training as a Shinobi. In his opinion it was sort of a waste of time. He knew all the techniques they taught. But Yugito insisted. She said that he needed to learn about Konoha, its history, its culture, its geography, its Shinobi system.
"House keys?"
"Yes."
"Kunai holster?"
"Yes"
"All of your books?"
"Yes"
She frowned at the name, but said it anyway "Gama-chan?"
He smirked, patting his pocket "Yes"
"Map of the academy?"
"Yes"
"Triple A-grade explosive tags?"
"Ye - what?"
She smiled teasingly "Just testing."
He frowned at her, before shaking his head "Geez."
Yugito giggled at his pout, before setting her sights ahead down the street. Ever since the assassination attempt on Naruto some three days ago things seemed to have settled down a little. Well as little as the entire population knowing of the return of the Demon Child could get. For a time there were fearful whispers, but after a while that too had calmed.
There had been no more assassination attempts since then, with the defeat and execution of the perpetrators the message had been received loud and clear. At least that was what she hoped. There had been no such attempts on his life since, which was a fairly good thing in her eyes.
As they walked down the street she noticed the odd cold or hateful stare levelled in Naruto's direction, but then their gaze would pass across her and they would immediately bow their head and quicken their step. It was mostly because while they were directing those stares at Naruto she was directing a rather murderous glare at them. That coming from a regular human being was usually intimidating enough, but coming from a Shinobi it could be downright terrifying. Especially if she drew upon a trace amount of the Nibi's chakra to give her eyes a malevolent glow.
Finally the academy building came into view, and without hesitation the two walked in through the front gates. Looking around Yugito saw other parents coming and going, children playing games in the courtyard, lecturers watching them from the sidelines. All in all it looked like a regular school, and if one was ignorant to the subjects taught here they would believe as such.
"Excuse me."
She turned her head at the voice in time to notice one of the lecturers walking up towards them. A fairly tall man dressed in the garb of a Chunin Shinobi, the Hatai-ite bearing the symbol of Konoha tied around his forehead. His skin was a dark tan, sharp features with a scar across the bridge of his nose and long dark brown hair, tied in a ponytail.
The man came to a stop and looked at his clipboard "Uzumaki Naruto, right?"
"Yeah, that's me." Naruto replied.
"Hello Naruto, my name is Umino Iruka and I'll be your teacher in the lectures" the man introduced with a smile, before setting his gaze on her "And you're his guardian, Nii Yugito, right?"
"Yes." she replied with a slight bow, which he returned.
"No need to worry ma'am," the young Chunin smiled "I'll take him from here."
Yugito considered herself to be a pretty good judge of character, when one became a Shinobi the way she did you kind of had to be. Looking at Umino Iruka she saw no malice or wish to do any wrong to either her or Naruto.
"Alright then" she said, before ruffling her charges shock of blonde hair "I'll be by to pick you up when you're done, alright?"
"Don't worry about me mom." Naruto replied with a toothy grin "Just get going, you have a training session with Neesan right? Can't let you get too rusty."
She bonked him lightly on the head "Don't be rude."
"Sorry, sorry."
Shaking her head in bemusement she turned to the instructor again, and bowed her head "I leave him in your care, Iruka-san."
"Thank you, Yugito-san."
She gave her charge one last look before turning and walking out of the front gate. The little cub was right. She did have a training session with Yūgao today and she was very much looking forward to it. Ever since her little examination spars with Kakashi she hadn't really had much of a chance to train, what with getting Naruto prepared for the academy and all.
"Alright everyone, settle down." Iruka barked mildly as they entered the classroom.
The class went quieter, and after a moment all eyes focused on him, and he had to admit that it was a little uncomfortable. As Naruto entered the classroom at the teacher's heels he looked up, noticing that the general layout was a tiered class, with the lecturer's desk, black board and open space at the bottom, and tiers of desks going up five or six levels with a line of cupboards lining the back wall.
"Quiet down," the lecturer called out, silencing all other forms of conversation "I would like to introduce you to a new member of the class. He will be joining us late this year so I want all of you to help him alright!?" he then looked down at Naruto, and with a small smile nudged him forward "Go on, introduce yourself."
Naruto looked up at the man. Iruka-sensei was alright, he had listened too and answered all of Naruto's questions as he led him through the corridors to the classroom and answered them to the best of his ability.
"Um" he began, taking a step forward and bowing his head "My name is Uzumaki, Uzumaki Naruto – I'm eight and I just moved here."
"Thank you Naruto," Iruka said before taking a quick look through the tiered class for a spare seat "Ah, take the seat beside Hyuga Hinata."
The blonde nodded and shouldering his bag walked up the steps in the middle of the classroom. Ignoring the questioning looks as he walked by. Little did he know that there were some who were analysing him, and wondering if what little they had heard was true?
The two girl's sitting on the fourth row, one with shoulder length pink hair and the other with long blonde hair done up in a ponytail watched as the new kid walked by. The two girls, Sakura and Ino, waited until after he was out of earshot before they huddled together to whisper.
"He's pretty cute." the blonde whispered.
"Yea he ain't bad," the pinkette agreed "Not as good as Sasuke-kun though."
"Please, no one is as good as him." Ino chastised "Still I wonder what he's like."
"I heard from my mom that he was a troublemaker." Sakura whispered.
Ino snorted "Please, if we stayed away from everyone our parents didn't like then life would be boring."
A tier down a boy with raven black hair and onyx coloured eyes watched as the blonde walked to his seat, heard the murmuring of the girls behind him, rolled his eyes and set his attention back to the instructor. Uchiha Sasuke had been told by his father to stay away from the new kid, that he was dangerous, but in truth his father's warning just got the young Uchiha curious. How dangerous could someone his age really be? He supposed he would find out soon enough.
At the back of the class a round kid watched on, then turned to nudge his friend, who for all pretences appeared to be dozing off in class "Hey Shikamaru, what do you make of him?"
Nara Shikamaru raised his head a few inches, creaking open an eyebrow to look at the blonde. He watched as the boy sat down, then shrugged his head "Beats me, Chouji. We'll find out soon enough"
Akamichi Chouji looked between his best friend and the new kid, before shrugging and continuing to eat his barbecue pork flavour potato chips "Yea, you're probably right."
Completely oblivious to the conversations taking place around him the blonde took a chair and turned to look at his new neighbour. The girl in question was interesting with short dark blue hair, her pale face framed by long strands from the side of her fringe, her face was round and dainty, but the most striking feature was her eyes, whose large pupils were a soft lavender in colour.
"Hey," he whispered, watching as she looked up at him, cheeks taking on a shade of red. "Is it alright if I sit with you?"
She shied away a little, before whispering a stuttered, "Um s-s-sure."
He smiled broadly at her before taking his seat, watching as Iruka-sensei continued with the role call for a few moments before leaning over to her "So what's your name? Mine's Uzumaki Naruto."
She looked at him for a brief second "H-hinata, H-hyuga Hinata."
"Nice to meet you, Hinata-chan."
Her cheeks took on a darker shade of red, pressing her fingers together nervously "Um, n-nice t-t-to meet y-you, N-Naruto-kun."
Training ground twelve was for all intents and purposes your regular run of the mill training ground as far as Konoha was concerned. The area was cordoned off with barbed wire fences, stretched for almost fifteen square kilometres and was heavily forested with those huge, thick trunked trees that Hi no Kuni was famous for.
It was through this very training ground that she was wandering, moving to try and find that ANBU agent who had invited her to train. Yūgao Uzuki came off as a caring person in Yugito's mind, which was a strange quirk in their profession. But although she hadn't seen her fighting ability firsthand the blonde knew that she was a seasoned veteran, had to be if she was in the ANBU black ops.
"Hey," a familiar voice called, and the former Kumonin looked up to the high branches to see her partner. Yūgao was perched on one of the branches on the tree to her left, in a crouch and looking down on her with mirth in her dark eyes "You made it!"
Yugito couldn't help but smile wryly "Of course, if I'm going to be a Shinobi of this village then I'll have to keep in shape."
"That's a good outlook," her training partner smiled in response, before falling of the branch and landing in a perfect crouch. The woman was wearing her full ANBU armour, complete with a sword strapped to her back and kunai pouches tied to her thighs. She rose up and called out into the forest, surprising her "Hey you guys, you said you wanted to meet her right!? So come on out!"
Two darkened silhouettes fell from the treetops, landing in crouches barely a few meters away. Both were definitely female, she could tell by their figures. Cautiously Yugito sent a questioning look Yūgao's way, only to see the woman with a small smile "Come on you two, you wanted to meet her. It's rude to just stay where you are!"
The two newcomers looked at each other, before timidly stepping into the light. Her previous assessment was accurate. Both were women and Chunin if their attire was anything to go by. Both were similar in height, give or take a few centimetres, but that was where the similarities ended.
The one to the left had pale skin and long, flowing black hair. She was well formed, which was noticeable even though she was wearing the dark green jacket and protective Chunin vest, but the most striking feature about her was her long black hair and her eyes, which were a rare blood red, almost like the Sharingan but not quite as eerie.
The one on the left was more tomboyish in appearance, but still physically attractive. She had long dark purple hair done up in a bit of a ragged ponytail, skin was slightly tanned and eyes which seemed to be a pupil-less light brown. She too wore the dark green coveralls and Chunin vest, and like her associate she was pretty well formed, but she also wore a long tan trench-coat which stretched to her ankles.
"Yugito Nii. I would like to introduce to you Kurenai Yuhi and Anko Mitarashi, a couple of friends of mine." Yūgao introduced and Yugito bowed, might as well be civil. Kurenai, the raven black haired woman, returned the bow but the one with the purple hair, whom she decided was Anko stood there studying her for several moments, as if assessing her threat level.
"So is the kid at the academy." Yūgao asked.
"I dropped him off before coming here." Yugito replied.
"Then that leaves more fun for us," the ANBU agent nodded "I don't know about you but I've wanted to see what you can really do, and don't worry about his security, Kakashi's watching over the academy."
"That's good to know." the blonde replied. Kakashi seemed like a decent enough guy. Okay he did have his little quirks, or flaws, like reading those orange backed books in public, but after a while every Shinobi gained little edges of insanity. Some were less crazy then others. She enjoyed relieving her stress by playing her Shamisen, which she sadly had to leave behind in Kumogakure.
"I heard you were able to fight Kakashi for twenty minutes straight." Anko piped up "Is it true or just rumour?"
The Nibi Jinchuriki seemed to think about it for a moment, before smirking "It was more like thirty, but I wasn't really keeping track and I think he went easy on me."
The Kunoichi seemed to smile evilly, before producing a kunai from her trench-coat "I want to fight you first."
"Anko" Kurenai warned, but the warning seemed to fall on deaf ears as the Kunoichi vanished from view.
"Sorry about this." Yūgao said with a sigh, only to turn to see her sparring partner was already in motion, jumping back up with a chakra propelled leap to the branches above.
Yugito didn't hear Yūgao's apology, for the woman was already going through a set of hand signs. But Anko appeared before she could complete the sequence, forcing her to move her body ever so slightly to the right to avoid the kunai aimed for her heart. The blade just scrapped her upper sleeve though, and the young woman's miss was her advantage.
Or so she thought.
She barely registered the Kunoichi go through the hand seals for the snake and tiger before making a punching motion with her free hand "Ninpo: Sen'eijashu!"
Three snakes appeared from her sleeves, ejecting along her arm before lashing out at Yugito, fanged mouths open to gauge into her flesh. The former ANBU jumped back, barely missing the attack by a couple of millimetres before retaliating by throwing the kunai she had fished out of her pouch. Anko readily dodged it, and retaliated by letting a handful of shuriken fly from her fingertips.
Naruto stretched his arms up in the air with a happy sigh, enjoying the feeling of grass under his feet and clean air entering his lungs. They had spent most of the morning sitting in that classroom listening to Iruka-sensei going through the basics of chakra control, and the knowledge that they were outside going through a sparring class was a relief to the blonde.
So far it seemed that they had four or five lecturers all teaching different classes. Iruka-sensei was their homeroom teacher and would be dealing with most of the basics including academics, mathematics, science, history and the basic Ninja arts. A guy named Mizuki-sensei was their Taijutsu and physical activity instructor. Kambei-sensei was their advanced Ninjutsu teacher. Rei-sensei was their advanced Genjutsu teacher and another guy named Shizuo-sensei was their strategy and survival lecturer.
Naruto had been excited about going to a new environment and meeting people his own age at first. While in Kumogakure his training had been focused mainly on controlling his chakra and teaching him the basic survival arts of a Shinobi. He really hadn't been forced to go through all the academic stuff. Sure he was slated to begin at the Kumo academy, but the whole incident kind of made that impossible.
He looked up at the spar taking place between two boys he didn't know, watching their sloppy movements, trying to copy the fighting techniques that Mizuki-sensei had shown them earlier on. The academy Taijutsu was pretty basic, but he had seen a few different styles since the beginning, the kids who hailed from a clan all had their own styles and moves which they wanted to show off.
He had seen Hinata-chan fight with a strange fighting art called Juken, and while her movements were as jittery and sloppy as one would expect from an eight year old he had to admit that she was pretty good at it, like she had been practising years before she entered the academy. He had talked with her during the lunch break, and at first he thought she didn't like him because of how she stuttered and how quiet she was, but his mother had taught him to look underneath the underneath.
Hinata was just a shy girl who was unsure of herself. But after a while of poking and prodding her she began to speak with him with a little more confidence, and before long they began to talk about everything and anything. He found out that her mother passed away a year ago, and it was a blow she still felt to this day.
He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice that the spar had ended and Mizuki-sensei was going through his list of students "Next match will be – Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uzumaki Naruto!"
A few seconds passed, but Naruto still didn't get up, finally Hinata nudged him "Ano, Naruto-kun – y-you're up."
Her voice shook him from his thoughts, and he looked over at her with a questioning look, noticing a slight red on her cheeks "Huh?"
"Come on Uzumaki, get up here." Mizuki called out impatiently.
"Oh right," Naruto replied, getting to his feet and giving off a sheepish smile "Sorry Sensei"
He looked over at his sparring partner. His black hair was spiked, his onyx eyes piercing and his stance one of boredom. Naruto suppressed a sigh. This kid, Uchiha Sasuke was it, was fairly certain he would win, and win quickly. The blonde stood and walked over to the training mat, turned and met the kids gaze unflinchingly.
"Whoohoo, go Sasuke-kun!" a blonde haired girl shouted.
"Kick his ass." another stated.
"Kyaah, he is so cool!" a pink haired girl yelled.
Six or seven girls had jumped to their feet, shouting and cheering like a bunch of rabid fan girls. This was interesting. The school term had only started about a month ago, and even though he had transferred three weeks late he wondered how so many girls could be so completely smitten by a boy they didn't know. It was probably because of his status as the youngest child of the Uchiha clan head, while Naruto and his mom were unknowns.
"Ready to lose?" Sasuke asked with a smirk, falling into a fighting style that was not the one taught at the academy. He spread his legs one in front of the other, bent his knees, reeled back his left arm and reached out with his right.
Naruto snorted, analysing his opponents every movement "That's got to be the worst fight line in existence."
The Uchiha's grin faded slightly "Do you even know who I am?"
"A name means nothing if you don't have the skills that come with it." Naruto replied, falling into the most basic of the Tora Kuroi Style, as long as he didn't show off any of the special moves or advanced forms he should be fine. Basic attack pattern, swipe and claw, block and simple takedown grapples. His words were getting through, for Sasuke looked rather annoyed.
From the side Mizuki analysed Naruto's posture and stance, and immediately knew it wasn't the basic fighting style he was teaching. It seemed that the Demon brat had picked up a few things during his little sojourn into Kumo.
"How dare he mock Sasuke-kun!"
"Make him eat the training mat Sasuke-kun!"
"Begin!"
Sasuke moved first, coming straight at Naruto at a dead run. In response Naruto took a step back, waiting to see if his opponent made any last minute changes to his trajectory. He didn't. The blonde easily blocked the straight punch, and then raised his other arm to take the follow up roundhouse kick. He was good, but the counter made Sasuke lose balance, and it was close quarters fighting like this that the Black Tiger style was made for.
Quickly Naruto rotated his hand to grip Sasuke's ankle, then brought up his other hand to get a hold of the Uchiha's leg. He spun, coming down in a crouch, and took Sasuke to the mat. The Uchiha landed hard on his back, the air forced from his lungs.
Silence reined in the training ground, even Mizuki looked at the scene in complete surprise. Then there was uproar from Sasuke's fan girls. Some like the pinkette, actually looked like they were about to use violence.
"He can't do that!"
"Yeah, he must have cheated!" another yelled.
"He did not cheat, what Naruto did was perfectly legal." The instructor frowned at them before straightening and raising his hand "Winner; Uzumaki Naruto!"
While the fan girls started to argue again some were looking at the scene in amusement. Nara Shikamaru opened his eyes with a raised brow "That was actually pretty good!"
His friend, Chouji, looked at him while eating through his bag of potato chips "You really think so?"
"Yeah" the Nara replied, leaning back on his elbows "He wasted no movements, and executed the counter perfectly."
Kiba leaned in, a smirk on his face "It's always nice to see one of those Uchiha losers get creamed. I don't know who this Naruto is, but I like him."
"You guys want to invite him over sometime?" Chouji asked.
"It's troublesome," Shikamaru replied, a lazy smile appeared on his face "But why not."
Naruto let go of his fallen opponent, and offered him his hand. The boy looked at him for a moment, before grudgingly accepting the help, pulled back to his feet "Damn that hurt," Sasuke muttered "What was that?"
"Just a few moves I picked up from my mom." Naruto replied with a shrug. It was technically true, and the best lies were always told with partial truths.
"Don't get too comfortable," Sasuke whispered hoarsely, still trying to regain his breath "I'll beat you next time!"
To his surprise Naruto smiled "Good, it would be boring if someone won all the time."
With that Naruto turned, walking back over to the crowd of students, trying his hardest to ignore the murderous stares from half the female population. Sasuke looked at the blonde's retreating back, and allowed himself a smirk.
Looks like there's someone here who isn't a waste of space after all
Naruto sat back down next to Hinata, who starred at him with wonder for a few moments "W-what was that?"
Naruto looked at her quizzically "What was what?"
"T-that stance, that s-style, it wasn't any of t-the Taijutsu arts from the academy."
"Oh right. It's called the Tora Kuroi. It's one of the Wu Xing, the five Animal Forms of Taijutsu." Naruto explained with a smile, before looking behind her and ducking his head, a sudden look of fear on his face.
Timidly Hinata turned her head to see the murderous glares of at least a half dozen of Sasuke's fan club descend upon him. Besides the situation she frowned, so what if Naruto-kun defeated the almighty Sasuke Uchiha.
The great walls of Konohagakure stood out in front of them, a huge sheer face which stretched off into the horizon to their left and right. This was an imposing sight for any opposing army, so for a small taskforce of Nukenin this was nothing out of the ordinary. Konoha was enjoying a time of peace, and while they still posted guards on the towers and walkways they were going to be lax.
The four had changed from their Shinobi gear to civilian garb, hiding their weapons and their bosses' massive sword inside small scrolls, easily hidden on their persons thanks to their drab brown cloaks. They passed through the main gates without much of a problem, easily sneaking in thanks to the continuous stream of merchants, traders and tourists coming in and out of the city.
Zabuza smirked, his observation on the village's external security being well founded. When one enjoyed peace for so long it was common for the security to be so relaxed. But he also knew that looks were deceiving. The former Kiri swordsmen had felt the presences of Shinobi watching in the shadows, most likely the normal patrols and a couple of ANBU. They needed to remain on their guard.
He frowned suddenly, missing the familiar weight of his Executioners blade on his back. But took a little solace in knowing he was not alone in his discomfort. The twins were obviously unused to not wearing their breather masks and chained gauntlets, but they were adapting to the change. Haku on the other hand seemed right at home walking the streets, showing no signs of discomfort or nervousness.
The four walked through the streets with no trouble, and finding a small café took chairs and ordered food. As the waitress finished jotting down their order and walked back to the kitchens Zabuza leaned in, his three compatriots following suit.
"Right, here's the plan." He whispered, locking eyes with each of them in turn. His eyes finally fell on the youngest of their group "Haku you will search for the boy, check the academy grounds, and if you can't find him there spread out the search."
"Hai Zabuza-sama."
The swordsmen nodded, before setting his gaze on the two brothers "Meizu, Gōzu, you and me will split up and spread out. Search for the woman and wait for the opportunity to strike."
"Hai Zabuza-sama."
The food came within minutes, and the four former Kiri Shinobi dug in, eating their fill and silently toasting to their missions success before they rose and left together. They walked up the street to a crossroad and then separated, moving in different directions.
Zabuza walked quietly through the village streets, noticing a small squad of Konoha Shinobi fly across the rooftops on his right. It was not a surprise to see that the shoppers, vendors and merchants surrounding him didn't pay the passing by Ninja any mind, they were probably used to such displays.
He was not worried about the brothers, sure they were Chunin but they were capable, and had a dozen espionage missions under their belt. They knew how to melt into a crowd and not get caught. Even if they were caught he had taught them enough of his methods to remove the threat quickly.
Haku was still young, and slightly inexperienced, but the child was skilled and showed an impressive way of adapting to any situation. The pre-teen had gone on espionage missions for him for years, and was almost notoriously resourceful. He didn't worry about his apprentice either.
But there was something about this place that unnerved him, the air seemed thick with tension, not from the civilians but from the few Shinobi he had spotted. They were more alert, almost like they were expecting an attack to come at any moment.
For a fleeting second the Demon of the Mist wondered if their mission had been found out. Had their employer leaked information to Konoha to be on the lookout for them? He shook it off, if they were worried about an external threat they would have tightened the security around the main gates, peacetime or not. It had to be something else, but what?
His answer came more willingly than he was comfortable with. A small group of Konoha Shinobi could be seen at the corner of the market he had just walked through, their eyes hardening at someone's arrival at the other end. Another small group of Konoha Shinobi were walking into the square, and by their black hair and almost arrogant aura the swordsmen hazarded a guess that they were Uchiha.
The stares exchanged showed him everything, and the adage of killer intent only added to his speculation, not enough for the surrounding villagers to notice, but to a Ninja it was like a neon sign was going off. There was a dispute within the village, and it threatened to become violent.
The Demon considered this hypothesis, wondering if this would benefit the mission or hinder it.
"Damn it." Anko growled as she nursing her arm, knowing that she was going to feel it for a while.
"I tried to warn you." Kurenai said dryly as the four women walked down the streets towards the village centre.
"Shut up."
"Kurenai's right Anko," Yūgao spoke up with a smirk "Charging right in without a backup plan against a former ANBU Captain was never going to be a good idea"
Yugito walked with the group, a little to the left and lagging a step behind, watching as they bantered and talked about their training session with a familiarity born from working together for years. She felt a little like a third wheel, not knowing those present well enough to join in.
"Hey Blondie," Anko said, turning her head with a wicked smirk adorning her features. For a second Yugito thought the purple headed Kunoichi was going to try and goad her again, but was surprised "I enjoyed fighting with you. Want to join us again? Same time tomorrow"
"I don't believe it," Yūgao said, feigning disbelief "Anko Mitarashi has warmed up to a person after meeting them"
"The world is about to end"
"Ah, shut up the lot of you." Anko cried half heartedly before fixing the blonde with a grin "What do you say? Want to join us again?"
Yugito was surprised by the ready acceptance. It was never this easy to get people to warm up to her in Kumo "Ah, sure."
The woman's grin seemed to grow wider, before she strutted forward, hands holding onto the back of her head in a reminiscent gesture to certain other hyperactive person she knew. In fact she found that Anko was alike Naruto in so many ways, hyperactive, playful, boisterous, but with a quiet intelligence working in the background.
"I say we celebrate your joining our little training group with a celebration, anyone for Dango!?" Anko shouted out, raising her fist high into the air.
Kurenai shrugged "Why not."
"I'm not on duty for another hour." Yūgao added.
"What's Dango?" Yugito asked, gaining a look of pre shock from the boisterous Kunoichi.
"You're kidding right?" Anko asked half in disbelief, the other in shock "They don't have Dango in Kumo!?"
Yugito answered the question with a stupefied shake of the head.
"By the gods you can't be serious," the Kunoichi crowed "Okay then newbie, prepare to be enlightened!"
"Oh dear" Yūgao muttered with a smirk.
"Here we go again." Kurenai whispered to herself.
"Dango is food given down to us from the gods themselves," Anko began, spinning around and planting her hands around her hips, a face splitting grin on her face which forced her eyes shut as she spoke "It is by far the most delicious and nutritious food in the whole world, anyone who doesn't know of its existence must be enlightened!!!"
Yugito's gaped ever so slightly, that was almost exactly what Naruto said the first time he had dragged her to a Ramen stand. Anko noticed her disbelieving look, and raised a brow in confusion "What?"
The former Kumonin shook her head to dispel the memory, before smiling sheepishly "Nothing, it's just that you remind me of someone."
"Oh," Anko asked questioningly "Who?"
"That was exactly what Naruto said the first time he took me to a Ramen stand." Yugito explained, smiling slightly at the memory. Subconsciously Yūgao smiled as well, the kid was a little infectious with his happy go lucky attitude.
Anko however stuck up her nose, but not at Naruto's name being mentioned. She like all the others here had no real resentment towards the boy. In fact the woman could relate to the kid to a certain degree, both had been village pariahs because of something which happened that was out of their control. "Ramen's alright I suppose, but it will never beat Dango!"
"Yo."
That lazy voice was unmistakable to the three Konohanin present, and looking up they saw that their suspicions were correct. Kakashi Hatake was sitting on the top of an electric pylon pool, a certain orange book in his hand. To anyone who didn't know him it looked like he was reading; only absently noticing them.
"Always reading in the strangest of places eh Kakashi?" Yūgao smirked.
The Copynin shut his book and placed in snugly within one of his vest pockets before hopping down to the ground. He stooped over, hands in his pockets as he approached them "I need to talk to Yugito-san for a moment, is that alright?"
The blonde blinked, before nodding "Ah, sure"
"You want us to stick around?" Anko asked "Kakashi's alright but he can be a little perplexing if you don't know his habits."
"I'll be fine."
"Your funeral." Anko snorted before continuing her walk down the street.
Kurenai looked after her friend before absently shaking her head. "When it comes to Dango there's nothing in heaven or earth which can stop her. When you're done with whatever Kakashi wants the shops on the next left, called Jet's Teahouse, probably be there for a couple of hours."
"Thanks."
Yūgao smiled her way, before patting her on the shoulder and moving to catch up with her two friends. Yugito watched them go, and then turned to see Kakashi already walking in the opposite direction, his posture stooped and his hands in his pockets. The blonde frowned before walking after him.
"Weren't you supposed to watch over Naruto today?"
"I left two guys I trust." Kakashi replied with that eye-smile of his. "Don't worry he's in safe hands."
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.
"Keep walking for a minute or two." Was his whispered reply, his eyes shot down the street in time to see a figure shadowing them. It was difficult to make out features considering the black cloak the person was wearing, obscuring his or her face in shadow.
They turned several times into several streets, and although this person was doing well to hide his or her presence he still noticed her, half hidden in the thinning crowds. Kakashi looked her way, and then spoke quietly "You noticed yet?"
"My senses are getting dull." Yugito frowned, before turning on Kakashi. "Wait how did you find out I was being followed?"
"I was on a rooftop reading my book," Kakashi explained "Saw you all wondering through town, and then noticed him on your tail."
"You were spying on me." She said dryly, smirking as she noticed him flinch.
"Jiraiya-sama asked me to keep an eye on you." He defended.
"The only men I know in this village are a bunch of peeping toms and perverts." She muttered dryly to herself, "Great."
"Well if I wasn't there would you have noticed your stalker?"
"Eventually," She replied.
The Copynin actually had to take a couple of deep, calming breaths and mentally count to ten before he could respond, for some reason this woman was getting under his skin "Can we talk about this later? Right now the best thing to do is to lead this little stalker of yours into a trap."
"Fine," She pouted, folding her arms under her impressive bust with a huff.
Kakashi rolled his one visible eye. Could she be any more childish? Finally he saw the turn he was looking for and changed his direction, Yugito following suit. They waited until they were a couple of meters in before launching themselves off the ground with a couple of chakra propelled leaps, landing silently on the rooftops above. The alleyway was a dead end, only ten meters leading to a high wooden fence.
They sat there, but didn't have to wait long as the figure hesitated for a moment before casually walking into the alley. He took three steps before coming to a halt, noticing the dead end and looking around. It was then that the two had their chance.
They fell from the rooftops, Kakashi landing between their stalker and the wooden fence and Yugito blocking his escape to the road. The figure looked at the Copynin, before spinning around to see the Azure Cat blocking his or her other escape route.
"Who are you?" Kakashi asked; his tone no longer that of an aloof and lazy man, changing to one of merciless steel. "Why were you following her?"
The cloaked figure looked like he was about to make a move, but was too slow. Yugito's hands blurred into action, easily making the signs of the ox and the snake before slamming her hands to the ground "Doton; Supaiku Tougoku!"
The earth between her and their assailment began to heave, and before their foe could even move he was held immobile by a circle of jagged rock spikes, protruding from the ground around him and holding him in place. The blonde smirked before slowly closing her hands, leaving indentations in the soil. The spikes elongated by an inch, digging fractionally into the stalkers skin, making him, no her whimper slightly.
"Not a bad Jutsu." Kakashi commented with a whistle. "You've got quite a few of these immobilization techniques."
Yugito shrugged.
"Now then," The Copynin began, reaching into his pouch for a kunai. "Who are you and why were you following her?"
Yugito saw his look and closed her hands by another inch, making the sharpened tips of the spikes elongate by a couple of centimetres, nearly tearing through their assailants outer layer of clothing "Why were you following me!?"
"To," The woman, definitely a woman, tried to reply but was gasping for breath. "To – warn you – Oneesan"
"Oneesan?" she whispered, before her eyes widened slightly, quickly she dispelled the Jutsu and Kakashi watched stunned as the spikes shortened, melding seamlessly back into the earth "What are you doing here Samui?"
He looked down on the bodies of the two ANBU agents, then at the destruction wrought all around them. Kunai and shuriken were strewn across the clearing, embedded in the trees and sunken into the two men, blood trickling from their wounds and pooling on the ground.
He noticed a glint and looked down to see an ANBU mask, crafted into the visage of a thrush at his feet. Blood spattered across the white porcelain. Silently he bent down and picked it up, starring through the slanted eyeholes before turning to his subordinate. The other man, a Chunin eyed the mask for a couple of seconds, looking a little ill at what they had done.
"Any casualties?" he asked, dropping the thrush mask on the blood soaked earth.
"They made a fight out of it." The Chunin stated, his eyes drawn to the visage of the thrush. "Two of our boys are dead, another will soon follow."
"There's no turning back now." The man stated, catching the Shinobi's attention. "Do you have the headbands?"
The Chunin nodded, before producing a half dozen Hatai-ites from a satchel under his arm, tossing one to the leader. He eyed the white cloth and the three clouds adorning the metal. It was a perfect replica of the Kumo headband, so much so that no one would know if it was a fake or not.
"Good work." He said. "Pass them out among the men, tell them to hide their own headbands and wear these."
"Hai Uchiha-sama."
Uchiha Yuki smirked at the Hatai-ite, before replacing his own Konoha headband with it. This was perfect, killing two birds with one stone. They would kill the demon brat here, make it look like Kumogakure were the perpetrators. All attention would go to them, and while the Hokage was distracted the Uchiha would make their move.
When the week ended Konohagakure would be a new village under new leadership. Fugaku Uchiha would be the Godaime Hokage, and the Uchiha clan would finally get what was rightfully theirs. The reign of the Senju was over, the reign of the Uchiha was about to begin.
Back in Kumo he would usually be put through training sessions with his mother, Samui neechan or Kirabi-sensei and his students. They had taught him a great many things, mostly on how to control his chakra and how to defend himself. If it wasn't for his mom he would never have learned the basics so well, including tree walking and basic Ninjutsu. If it wasn't for Neechan he would never have progressed so well in his Taijutsu. If it wasn't for sensei and his students he would have never learned how to fight with a sword and a couple of more advanced Jutsu that they made him promise to keep secret.
Naruto missed those times, missed everyone he had befriended in Kumo, hell he even missed Raikage-sama, but mostly because when he visited the huge man would pass him sweets and teach him some basic politics. He may have gained a reputation of being short tempered and violent but to him Raikage-sama was always calm and patient.
If you want to be a Kage someday you'll have to learn this stuff. With those words Naruto immediately sat up straight and paid attention, and the man had laughed boisterously at the change in attitude.
He may have been born here, but this place did not hold nearly as many happy memories. When he finally convinced Kirabi-sensei, Karui-nee and Omui-nii to try ramen and got them completely addicted on the stuff. When he experienced his first Kumo thunderstorm, how Samui-neechan stayed with him and his mother let him sleep with her at night. How when he was training with her he was never afraid of being hurt, because his Kaasan would always be there to catch him.
He was thankful that his mom was still here, but he missed his Neechan, his sensei and his friends. Naruto understood why they had to leave, but suddenly moving from one place to another was a hard thing to get used too, especially a place with such bad memories. At least he had regained Jiji, which was something at least.
Classes at the academy had ended for the day and he had decided to get some training in before he went home. Thanks to Iruka-sensei he had found the academy training grounds, open to all students and teachers and set to work, going through all the basic kata's of the Tora Kuroi Taijutsu, he was still making mistakes on the second and third stances and was determined to improve.
He heard a snap and spun around, eyes darting around the lawn and the circles of trees surrounding him. Then he saw someone wondering around at the edge of the woods, looking around as if searching for something. The girl looked around his age, maybe a year of two older than him. She wore a pink kimono, adorned with flowers in blues and greens. Her hair was black and straight, reaching down to her shoulder blades, skin was smooth and eyes a dark brown. In her hands was a basket of some kind, half full with plants.
The girl crouched, reaching for some herb at the base of one of the oak trees before seemingly noticing him starring. She turned around, eyeing him for a moment before bowing her head. "Good afternoon."
"Hey." Naruto replied, a little unsure of this person. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh I'm sorry." She apologised. "I was looking for herbs for a few medicines, and this was one of the only places where I could find them."
"No it's alright." Naruto placated with a smile. "I just thought only Shinobi and students were allowed to use the training grounds."
The girl smiled disarmingly, before looking at him closely. "I saw you practising. Isn't it a little late to be out on your own?"
He looked sheepish, a silly grin on his face. "Ah, I'm just trying to get down this fighting style my mom was showing me. I'm still a little off on the second and third stances."
The girl nodded before piercing Naruto with an inquisitive stare. "What's your name?"
"You first" Naruto shot back lightly.
"You don't trust me?"
"I've just met you." Naruto shrugged.
She smiled. "Haku, my name is Haku."
"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto returned, shaking her hand. Her eyes widened slightly at his name, almost in realisation, before reverting back to normal. "So what are you doing?"
"A friend of mine is sick." Haku replied as she started searching through the grass. "I'm looking for a certain herb which will ease his pain."
"Do you need any help?"
She looked at him for a moment, before smiling. "Sure, it's a blue flower with a red centre."
The two of them started to look around. Slowly searching through the grass and underbrush for the herbs she was looking for. Naruto caught on quickly, and soon began to recognise the plant Haku was looking for. "Tell me Naruto, why do you want to be a Shinobi?"
"Well my mom is a Shinobi." Naruto replied absently, peering at a small plant that looked like what they were looking for. "I guess you can say she inspired me."
"I see." Haku replied, picking another flower and depositing it into her basket. "Is that the only reason?"
"What do you mean?"
"The life of a Shinobi is a harsh one, and most don't survive long." Haku explained. "There must be another reason why you want to be a Shinobi."
The blonde was silent for a moment, before sighing. He didn't know why he was about to tell her this, but before he knew it he was talking. "I suppose there are other reasons. I want people to stop looking at me in fear. I want to become someone people look up to and count on."
"Why do people look at you in fear, Naruto-kun?" She asked with a frown.
He laughed. "People in this village just seem to either hate me or are afraid of me. I have no idea why, but they do."
Haku looked up at him, studying the boy before her intently. "So you want to be a Shinobi for power and recognition?"
"No." Naruto replied, blushing a little under Haku's gaze. "I want to be a Shinobi so I can protect those I consider precious to me."
"So you are working to become a Shinobi to protect those precious to you?"
"Yea, everything I do is to protect those I care about." Naruto explained. "If they weren't there I don't know how my life would turn out. I would have probably become the monster some people treat me as. I want to become a Shinobi to protect those who rescued me from that."
"Then you know where true strength comes from." Haku smiled, and at Naruto's curious glance verified. "The true strength of a Shinobi does not come from his strength, nor the Jutsu he or she knows. I believe a Shinobi's true strength only comes when you are protecting someone precious to you. Don't you agree, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto was now looking at her, before smiling. "Yea, I completely agree with you."
Haku rose from her sitting position, dusting herself off. "You will be strong Naruto-kun, I know it."
"Thanks."
Haku smiled, before turning to leave, but before she did she stopped and turned to face him. "Oh and by the way, I'm a boy."
Naruto looked at her, no him in shock. No way in hell, he's prettier than any girl I've met. "You can't be serious."
Haku laughed at his expression. "It's true."
Suddenly the boy's head darted to the left, a serious look written on his face. In a flash a trio of senbon needles flew into his hands and were thrown into the treetops. Naruto looked at him, shocked before starring at the point in the trees where the needles were thrown.
In a blur the two found themselves surrounded by five Shinobi, all wearing Konoha Chunin attire, all gripping onto kunai. The leader smirked at the two, seeing Naruto jump to his feet and wearily pull out a kunai. "Today is the day you die, demon brat!"
Omake: Serenade!
Yugito was awoken from her peaceful sleep by the sound of a continuous pounding in her ears. She awoke with a start, sitting up straight in bed and wincing as the booming noise assaulted her delicate early morning senses. It sounded a lot like a stereo player, and the abomination echoing out sounded like rap.
Slowly she rose from her bed, slipping into a nightgown as she walked across her bedroom towards the window. She opened the curtains, unlatched the locks and tapped the window open. The noise went up by several decibels, and she winced again at the loudness of the abomination.
Now it should be pointed out that Yugito hated rap music for a singular reason, and that reason was standing beside the stereo, arms folded and a monumental grin on his features, like he had just figured out an incredibly difficult riddle. At the beginning she had actually liked the stuff, and occasionally danced to tunes she liked, then her fellow Jinchuriki had found it, and within a couple of months the style had turned from her favourite relaxation ritual to her worst enemy.
The quotes didn't help much either. Honestly if he wanted to woo her he should have chosen a rap song that didn't say 'I'll make you my hoe' or something like that once every paragraph.
"Yu-chan," The colossal oaf shouted at the top of his lungs, so that he could be heard over his loud music box. Lights were coming on in other apartments for god's sake. "I've come to serenade you!!!"
"What!?" She shouted over the noise, as she didn't hear him.
"I said I've come to serenade you!!!" He shouted with enough torque to burst her ear drums.
Her headache was worsened when windows flew open and people shouted for him to keep quiet. She just knew that one way or another, this was going to be traced back to her, and she could not afford to lose this apartment, not with a seven year old to look after.
As he began his rap quotes Yugito disappeared into the house. Reappearing a couple of minutes later fully dressed and armed with kunai, shuriken, katana and other little trinkets meant to bring death and destruction to a target. What was worse was the kunai she held in her hands, explosive tags tied to the butts of their hilts. But what was worse still was that her eyes were a different colour, and her chakra was bursting around her with an aura of cerulean.
Kirabi looked a little pale, and as she opened her mouth, producing a fireball of pure cerulean he realised the mistake he had just made, and responded in a natural manner. "Oh fuck me!"
"Not in your life!!!" She fired the chakra enhanced fireball, finding an unnatural fascination as it exploded in a mass of azure flame, leaving a massive crater in the street.
Kirabi burst through the flames on the back of a massive bull, running away from the scene as fast as he could, laughing like a lunatic the whole time. "Hahahahaha, you're so beautiful when you're angry!"
This only served to piss her off more, and give her good reason in her mind to throw the kunai at her fellow demon host. His laughter was thankfully cut short by a huge explosion as the explosive tagged kunai hit their mark.
The next day he was in a hospital bed, covered from head to toe in bandages. His brother stood over him, arms folded and face set in a frown. "So was it worth it?"
"Oh yes." He replied with a smirk.
Glossary
Shinobi – Ninja
Kunoichi – Female Ninja
Genin – Low Ninja
Chunin – Middle Ninja
Jonin – High Ninja
Nukenin – Missing Ninja
Hokage – Fire Shadow
Raikage – Lightning Shadow
Kirigakure no Sato – Village Hidden in the Mist
Konohagakure no Sato – Village Hidden in the Leaves
Kumogakure no Sato – Village Hidden in the Clouds
Genjutsu – Illusionary Techniques
Kenjutsu – Sword Techniques
Ninjutsu – Ninja Techniques
Taijutsu – Physical Techniques
Tora Kuroi – Black Tiger Fighting Style
Doton; Supaiku Tougoku – Earth Release: Imprisonment Spikes
Ninpo: Sen'eijashu – Ninja Art: Striking Shadow Snake
Sorry to anyone for taking a little longer than normal to upload a chapter, and to everyone waiting for updates for my other two Naruto fics I'm in the middle of writing them both, and they will be out in the next week or two.
Thank you to everyone who has sent those constructive and kind reviews, especially those who say that this story deserves more, much more, you hear that silent people! Ahem anyway avert all your fears, there will be no NarutoxYugito other than the mother/son relationship, but there will be pairings, and I think some of you have already figured out who I'm pairing Yugito with. Naruto I'm not so sure who but it's something I'm working on…hmm, maybe another poll.