Naruto
Heart and Soul
My name is Sakura Haruno
An hour later…
Somewhere in the Hospital…
"Nope…that won't do at all," Kurenai whispered, tossing aside a pink shirt that she didn't find suitable for the boy standing behind hair and watching curiously as she pushed and poked her way through the clothes line. Who knew that finding good clothes for a boy took so long? Usually teenage girls took their time skimming through attracting articles, but when looking for a combination to apply to a kid like Naruto, it was proving to be a challenging task, even for Kurenai. Already she had amassed a pile of unsuitable clothes, as well as a couple that seemed fair. But this pile compared to the other unsatisfactory items, it was like comparing Mount Everest to the Empire State Building.
Kakashi was standing by the doorway, reading his book and continually stealing glances at the pair as they looked through the piles and piles of clothing. He found little interest in shopping, and frankly didn't care about what Kurenai had in mind for the boy. Although, Naruto seemed to be having a very good idea about what he wanted to wear. The boy was looking from shirt to shirt and shorts to shorts, becoming very interested in the orange and black combination. Ignoring Kurenai's rummaging, the young boy picked up a shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair of blue sandals. Smiling, he walked over to the box sitting beside the rows of clothes hangers and hanging articles, leaning over it and rummaging through its contents. Meanwhile, Kurenai continued her endless searching.
"Just give me a second longer, Naruto! I'm getting close! I can feel it," the woman exclaimed, pushing herself into the clothing hanging in front of her and searching the deeper abyss of sewn fabrics and materials. Kakashi sighed and shook his head, turning the page of his novel.
"Keep telling yourself that, Kurenai," he whispered.
At that exact moment, Naruto emerged from the cardboard box successful, a big smile plastered on his face as he held up a pair of fingerless, black gloves, some white gauze straps and a ski mask. With his clothes in hand, he took up his bundle and disappeared in the change room, locking himself in and beginning to try on his selected items. For the next few minutes while the boy was dressing, Kurenai was having her own debate on what the boy should be wearing. Of course, her choices were not really saying much about her idea of stylizing. She was more used to picking out outfits for herself.
"Okay…red isn't a good combo with the scarf, and white just says 'shoot me'," the woman whispered, pulling out a white singlet and a red vest. The Chunin growled and tossed them aside, before moving back to filing through the rainforest of articles. "And purple definitely doesn't suit him. So if I was to add black and green, it will come up with that badass look, only more of a rebel. That definitely doesn't fit his character…" she said to herself, leaning back and rubbing her chin in thought.
"You're not very good at this, are you?" Kakashi mumbled, eyes narrowed dully towards the woman. Hearing this, the woman suddenly got a good idea, and with a grin, dived back into the clothes. Hearing the dressing room door suddenly unlock, Kakashi glanced in its direction with a curious murmur, and watched intently as the door swung open to reveal a newly and handsomely dressed Naruto standing smack-bang in the middle of the frames. When the boy stepped out into the spotlight, Kakashi blinked his eyes wide in surprise.
With no thanks to Kurenai, the boy had emerged with a seemingly perfect outfit that complimented his physical and mental qualities splendidly. He looked brand-spanking new, dressed in a pair of blue trousers tied down at the cuffs by gauze, with blue sandals, a white shirt with a zipped-open blue vest, and his scarf wrapped neatly around his neck. The gloves he had chosen were hanging from the loop strap of his pants, and his ski mask goggles were worn comfortably on his forehead. He looked at himself to make sure everything was there, including the sword on his back, before glancing up at Kakashi and grinning. The man looked him over, to make sure that the boy he was looking at was Naruto. After rubbing his only visible eye, he smiled and nodded at the yellow haired child, knowing for sure that it was him.
"Hey…nice combination," the silver haired Jonin exclaimed. "I guess you don't need help picking out your clothes, after all…" Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, a shade of red streaking across his cheeks. When it died down, he glanced over at Kurenai, to see the Chunin emerge from the clothe-hangers with a pair of purple shorts and a red jacket in hand.
"Yes…here you go, Naruto…this……should………work…" The woman's words slowed when her eyes fell upon the already dressed boy, clad in perfectly fitted glory. The yellow haired boy looked back at the raven haired woman in confusion for a few moments, before a small smile spread across his lips and he waved to the woman. Blinking back, Kurenai looked him over not just once, not just twice, but three times over. In all her years of passing out fashion suggestions to her friends and several of her past students, the one she had in mind just exploded compared to the image standing before her. A faint "wow" was all that emerged from her rosy red lips.
Kakashi laughed, turning the page of his novel, while still gazing at the look on Kurenai's face with amusement. "Well Kurenai, it seems that your help wasn't necessary at all in this case!" the silver haired Jonin chuckled out. "Although, the pieces you've picked out aren't…half-bad either…"
Noticing the two pieces of clothing she held in her hands, the raven haired woman quickly hid them behind her back and blushed, grinning at the boy in delight and embarrassment, all an attempt to mask her near blunder. "Oh well…it was all in good fun, right?!" she exclaimed in a very uncharacteristic way, a laugh soon following her outburst like statement. Grinning, she opened her eyes and glanced down at Naruto, while at the same time, dropping the clothes she held in the pile behind her. "Well now…I must say, that is one fine outfit you've chosen there, Naruto! Very original!"
Naruto smiled back. In a completely persona complimentary manner, he grabbed the end of the scarf hanging over his chest and tossed it over his left shoulder, placing his hands on his hips shortly afterwards. Kurenai chuckled at the sight and stood up, right hand on her hip as she gave him a very considerate smile.
"So, are you hungry?" she asked. "Do you want something to eat?"
The boy thought for a moment, before a loud grumble from his gut suddenly broke the silence at exactly the right moment. Naruto crossed his hands over his stomach and grinned up at the raven haired ninja, who raised an eyebrow at the young man and shook her head. She took him by the shoulder and began hurrying him out of the room at a slow pace.
"Come on then, kid," she exclaimed, amusement clearly etched in her voice. "If you're that hungry, then you might as well eat. After lunch, we can take you to the Hokage, who'll gladly show you to your new home!" She led Naruto out of the room, closely followed by Kakashi, who was still nose deep in his novel. Sensing that the silver haired Jonin wasn't contributing much to their little rallying of the child, she stopped and glared over at the man, who stopped at the same time they did. "Kakashi, either put that book away, or I rip it in half! Your choice…"
The Jonin, heeding the warning of his teammate, sighed and slipped it into his back pouch. When it was secured, he brought both hands forward and showed them to the Chunin, as if he was going through an items check. "There we go…no book!" he exclaimed in a clearly forced manner. Kurenai rolled her eyes and continued ferrying Naruto along, who was too busy staring at Kakashi in an odd way. Apparently, he had found the ninja's constant reading and being bossed around a very intriguing sight.
Disappointed, Kakashi followed after, hands in his pockets.
An hour…
…and fifteen bowls of ramen later, Naruto and his Jonin company were now standing in the Hokage's office before the Third's Desk, eyes locked with the old man to show their respect of attention. Of course, the only one with the look of satisfaction and curiosity on his face was Naruto, whereas Kakashi and Kurenai had rather glum looks on their faces. In spite of the enjoyment of the time they had spent with the yellow haired kid, they couldn't help but fell lighter…with good reason. Not only were they going to have to part with Naruto, there were good and bad reasons for it: the kid had completely cleaned them up; their wallets pried open at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand and emptied of all their contents. Kakashi was now regretting ever introducing Naruto to his favorite bar. Kurenai had to split the bill, which was still a considerably large amount. Not even she spent over three hours work in one whole hour.
Sarutobi was smiling brightly as he was carefully scanning through the lists of vacated families who would be happy to adopt. However, thanks to the reports given by Kurenai and Kakashi, and after witnessing first hand the capabilities of the child, finding the right family wasn't going to be easy. He needed to find parents who Naruto could warm up too, and had plenty of space and room in their home for an extra family member. Of course, due to the fact that Naruto still held a strong connection to his family members thanks to his possessions, he decided to make it so that Naruto wasn't officially bonded parentally to the family he was going to be put with. After all, he felt that this village needed more clans to increase its ever growing culture.
The Uzumaki Clan!
It had a nice ring to it. That's why in this case he preferred the term 'look-after' rather then 'adoption'.
When he looked up, the Third set down the scroll he was holding and propped his elbows up on his desk, lacing his fingers together and giving his subject a more considerate stare. All the while, the boy couldn't help but notice the certain forehead wide dent in the surface of the desk in front of the Hokage. Though it seemed out of place, Naruto wondered what could have made such a dent. However, he wasn't given much time to think about it.
"So Naruto…I think I've finally found the perfect family for you to move into. Though these people do have their ups and downs, I'm sure you'll find that they have quite the welcoming household," the Third Hokage exclaimed, a bright smile etched upon his face. "I think you'll fit right in!"
At this statement, the yellow haired boy smiled brightly and nodded, earning a rather distressed look from Kakashi, and an amused one from Kurenai.
"Well…whoever it is…Naruto's their problem now…" the raven haired illusion master exclaimed, closing her eyes and giggling silently to herself. "A cute, energetic, eating machine…I've never met a child in my life that can compare to him…" She further responded to these thoughts by placing her hands on her hips and letting out a deep sigh.
"Lord help the wallets of those who are going to be looking after him," Kakashi phrased in his head, smiling brightly. "Heh…I can sure as hell see him entering the ninja academy some day. He'll make a great shinobi when he's older…and a hard kid to put up with at present." The Jonin put particular emphasis on this end note, causing him to chuckle.
The Hokage, ignoring his two ninja's personal thoughts and visual evidence to this, shook his head and picked up the scroll he was reading. Rolling it up, he tied it up with the threads attached, and handed it to the Kai-lo Shinobi standing beside him. The man in robes took it gently, as if it were a delicate art piece needed to be transferred to a museum. The old ninja glanced up at the man as he handed it to him. "Please, take this right away to the Haruno family! They'll be expecting Naruto over shortly." The man bowed low to the leader of the village, before disappearing in a puff of white smoke. Smiling, the Hokage looked back over at the three visitors and laced his fingers together, propping his elbows up onto his desk once more. In so doing, he gave Kakashi and Kurenai a thoughtful stare. In the meantime, Naruto had finally figured out what that groove in the desk was…and was now scurrying around the room looking for a solution to the problem.
"How do you think Makoto and Kinoko Haruno will fair with the boy?" Sarutobi asked, as if the two people he had mentioned were assigned with taking on a highly dangerous, S-ranked mission. "Sure they are one of the most functional families in Konoha, and they know how to take care of a child, I still have my doubts about them being able to handle the young boy…"
Kakashi shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Well…if I know Makoto…" The Jonin shifted back a bit as Naruto shrugged passed to pick up the purple pillow lying at the silver haired ninja's feet, "He alone can deal with the boy. He's as good a father as he is a ninja, and that's not easy for me to say…"
"Yes…I know. You're not much…or really, the fatherly type, Kakashi, which is why I didn't consider you as an appropriate candidate for such a trying task in the first place…" Sarutobi stated, a-matter-of-factly. This earned a wide grin from Kurenai and a rather dramatic droop from the silver haired Jonin. The Third Hokage glanced over at the raven haired Chunin, eyebrow raised and face overshadowed by seriousness. "As for you Kurenai…I didn't want to discard the responsibility onto you, since you presently don't have the free time or patience to deal with a child, or the necessary homestead for another family member. So don't go smiling about and thinking you are just as better at being the adoptive mother of Naruto then Kakashi is being the father…" Kurenai too drooped into submission.
By this time, Naruto was done with his foraging, and arrived at Sarutobi's side with the pillow in hand. The old man glanced down at the child with a raised eyebrow, only to see him place the pillow over the groove on his desk. The yellow haired boy smiled back at him before returning to Kakashi and Kurenai, both of them with their heads lowered and a sign of blue lines emitting from their heads. Ignoring the pillow placed in front of him, and only seeing it as an innocent gesture of appreciation, Sarutobi looked up at the two ninja standing in front of him and nodded to them.
"You can take him down to Makoto's house now, Kakashi," Sondaime stated, catching the two downed shinobis' attentions. "We'll discuss more about this later. But for now, I think young Naruto would like to become acquainted with his new home and family." With a bow from both ninja, Kurenai and Kakashi then led a curious Naruto out of the room. It was amazing how energetic the child seemed in form, but his unwillingness to speak made him seem less of a threat. That was a major advantage in combat.
The three of them disappeared out the door, where they passed by one of the Hokage's secretary Chunin bringing the Hokage more paperwork. The volunteer young adult watched the troop leave, before eventually proceeding over to the old man's desk. Sarutobi was adjusting his funny hat at the time, before eventually looking up just in time to see half-a-meter high of papers and scrolls slam down on the desk in front of him. It was so heavy, the sudden drop of the mound caused the desk to bounce an inch off of the ground and several of the office materials already on it to roll off, and onto the floor. The Chunin groaned and leaned on the desk, exhausted. He wiped some sweat on his brow for the added effect.
"More…paper-work…Hokage-sama…" the young man panted. Sarutobi took one look at the mountain of paper, before letting out a groan of mental agony and slamming his head down on his desk. When his head could have made contact with the hard-wood surface, it instead struck the soft surface of the pillow Naruto had placed in front of him. His groan muffled, the old man let out a satisfied sigh before looking up, a disgruntled expression in play. In spite of it, he was relieved on the inside.
"I owe that kid thanks…"
Half an hour later…
South Residential District…
"Makoto! I know you're in there! Don't make this harder then it already is!" the silver haired Jonin yelled.
Kakashi was practically pounding on the door of the Haruno household by now. After the first three minutes the hosts were making them wait, the Jonin was already becoming impatient. Makoto was notorious for making his friends wait at the door for an extra five minutes before he bothers answering it, and by then, the callers would have already left, while relatives were considering the notion of going. This was mainly due to the fact that he was fed up of having Kakashi making him and his friends wait, so as payback, was making him wait to see how he would handle the frustration. You could immediately tell they were best of mates back at the academy.
Kurenai was standing behind her silver haired teammate, watching him peer in through the window and repeatedly hammer on the door. She wore an odd look on her face as the young male stumbled around impatiently, folding his arms and tapping his foot in a highly animated way. Naruto just stood beside the raven haired woman, watching Kakashi curiously and taking in the man's antics. He was already fascinated in the two shinobi, and watching them how they acted was providing him with a lot of entertainment. Kakashi, as serious as he was, still had a side to him that was brought out during embarrassing, and sometimes critical situations.
This situation, however, was an amalgamation of both…
Knocking on the door again, Kakashi slipped his hands into his pockets and glared at the door, foot tapping impatiently. Kurenai sighed and gave the silver haired ninja a distressed look, all of it directed towards her teammate's actions.
"Honestly, Kakashi…knock any harder and you'll break down the door…"
"That's what I'm thinking of doing right now," the ninja mumbled, raising his fist to pound on the wooden obstruction again. However, before his fist could make contact with the surface again, the door opened, Kakashi's knuckles stopping abruptly before a smirking, familiar face. Kakashi drew back his fist slightly, eyes shrunken in that surprised, animated look. Kurenai and Naruto looked up in surprise, blinking as they gazed upon the face of none other then Makoto Haruno.
"Hello there!" the man exclaimed, looking from left to right at his visitors. Immediately identifying the guests standing on his doorsteps, the white-haired male grinned brightly. "Ahh…Kakashi, Kurenai…how are you today?" Kurenai grinned and waved lightly, whereas Kakashi sighed and lowered his fist, giving Makoto his negative-basic stare.
"Fine…just fine…" Kurenai answered.
Naruto was quite taken in by the man that had answered the door. He was unlike any he had ever seen or sensed. He seemed friendly that was for sure, and the yellow haired boy sensed no bad signals coming off of him at all. The man was also well-groomed, and sporting the recognizable outfit of a Jonin. A dark long-sleeved shirt with white cuffs, accompanied by a dark green vest with a thin collar reaching up to just below the ears, and a slightly longer bottom rim that reached down and hung just above the knees, with two extra scroll pouches, and pockets seen in the lower sides. Also, the white haired man wore jeans with a tear in the right knee, light shin-guards, black sandals, and two belts crisscrossing over the single belt that held up his pants. In the scabbards fitted on either hanging side of each belt, he had four kunai pouches carrying what looked to be four bayonet knives, with two more up in the shoulders holsters under his vest. Furthermore, the man also wore a blue bandana, covering his light hair that came over a well-defined, friendly face with blue eyes and a nice smile. Overall, he looked just as descent as Kakashi.
Makoto looked from Kakashi to Kurenai, and then down at the yellow haired boy standing beside the raven haired woman. When his eyes fell upon him, he was remotely surprised at seeing such a well-presented young lad, and again a very friendly looking one too. He was expecting someone…totally different! However, now that he could see the boy in person, he could now confirm his nervous-racked thoughts. Smiling, he stepped forward, hands in his pockets and eyes locked with the curious ones of the boy.
"And you must be Naruto…my…I never even thought…" Makoto knelt down in front of the boy, seeing him step back slightly in response. "My name is Makoto Haruno…it's a real pleasure to finally meet you!" the ninja exclaimed, holding out his right hand. The boy looked down at the man's hand in response, seeing the greeting held out full length. It was after identifying this friendly gesture, Naruto smiled back and shook the man's hand. His grip was vice, just to make the impression suitable. Makoto nodded with a grin. "Hokage-sama asked me to take care of you. Kinoko and I were considering adopting a brother or close companion for our daughter, so I guess you were hand-picked by Sarutobi himself for our choice. I'll be looking forward to getting to know you more in the future, Naruto!"
Naruto smiled and nodded in return, before feeling Makoto release his hold and rise to his full height once more, hands in his pockets. The white haired Jonin was still smiling down at him, giving the boy the same respect, courtesy and smile any father would give his son. Kurenai and Kakashi just held back, watching the introductions unfold.
"My daughter and Kinoko are really anxious to meet you, Naruto! I'm sure you'll come to like them very much!" Makoto exclaimed, glancing behind him towards his still open door to the Haruno household. When he did, he called into the building, altering his family of the child's arrival. "Kinoko! Come on out! There's someone I want you to meet!" The first few seconds was held in silence by the group, before they were eventually joined by two more figures, a woman and a girl, obviously the couple's daughter. They stepped outside, meeting their distinguished visitors face to face.
"Why…good afternoon, Kakashi-sensei…Kurenai!" the woman exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. "My…and who is this young man? Is he our new family member?"
"Guest…Kinoko. The Hokage specifically requested that on paper…" Makoto reminded. Kinoko giggled and walked forward, leaning over a bit so that she could look over the boy a little more. Her daughter was still hiding behind her.
"Still…I see no problem in him calling me mom…" the woman exclaimed, smiling. Naruto smiled back up at her, finding her face and spiritual energy very pleasant on first sight. She also looked like a nice person too. Short, pink hair with light brown eyes, matched with flawless skin and a well earned figure. She also wore a red martial-arts top with a black shirt underneath, a red belt fastening the top down, a maroon colored robe-dress, and brown sandals. She was, to put it in simple terms, an image of kindness. Her smile continued to warm the air with its aura. "Naruto, is it? 'Giggle'…it's really nice to meet you. And such a handsome young man you are, too…"
The boy responded to the compliment with a grin, a blush, and a rub of the back of his head with his left hand. He looked away shyly, flattered by Kinoko's words. Makoto's wife smiled lovingly again, before straightening herself and glancing behind her at the little figure hiding behind her dress. Though thoroughly amused at the sight, Kinoko couldn't help but find her daughter's actions understandable.
"Come on, honey…it's alright…" Naruto attempted to catch a glimpse of the girl hiding behind the older woman, but was unable too due to the fact the girl was using Kinoko's dress as a shield against his eyes. Eventually, the mother was able to pull her daughter out from behind her, and when she did, the boy's heart seemed to stop and all sound around him simply disappeared.
Naruto was no more and no less then shocked at the being now standing plain in his sights. It was like an angel had fallen from heaven, and threatened to take away his very heart and his breath from his body in a single swipe, if that was this divine creature's wish. Pure and beautiful in all forms spoken and unspoken; Naruto's eyes fell upon silky, pink hair tied up by a red boy, matched with emerald eyes that sparkled in the light of the sun. Skin glowing with an aura of life, illuminating flawless textures, and an innocent face lit up by an equally radiating light. Now, Naruto had no idea what had hit him! But as far as he was concerned, it was the most overpowering feeling he had ever experienced. A similar look of shock crossed over the girl's face, as both of their eyes met with the figure standing several feet away from each other.
Kakashi and Kurenai noted the reaction the two children had on first sight of each other. Upon doing so, the two ninja smiled brightly and looked up at each other, sharing this silent exchange of visual perceptions. They knew love had struck the two children, if that was the appropriate word to use. If it wasn't love then they didn't know what they saw. Looking back, they saw that both Naruto and the girl's eyes haven't torn away or blinked for even a moment.
Silence seemed to dawn between the two children, under the watch of the eyes of the adults. Makoto and Kinoko were pleased that the two have taken immediate interest in each other, and it was certain that there was a much expected, bright future ahead of them now. After a minute or so, and Naruto still hadn't made a move yet whatsoever, Kinoko nudged at her daughter's shoulder and nodded towards the blonde haired boy.
"Go on sweetie…introduce yourself!" the mother exclaimed, voice filled with amusement. The pink haired girl gulped and shied away, hiding behind her mother's dress again, her eyes still locked with the boy and a bright blush streaking across her cheeks. Naruto also had a light blush on his cheeks, his eyes wavering in a newfound light no one had ever seen on him before. After several more seconds, and Kinoko couldn't bring her daughter about with words of reassurance, she decided to physically pull her out. That she did, taking her by her shoulders and moving her into full view once again. "Meet our new household guest, dear…"
The blonde haired boy gulped, raising his right hand and waving it once. "H-Hi…"
The pink haired girl smiled shyly back, red blazing hotly on her own cheeks and a wave as timid as the boy's. "H-Hi…I'm…" she paused for a moment, trying to recall the words to use in this situation, as well as bring up her name. It took her longer than expected, but eventually, she spoke. "My name is…S-Sakura Haruno…"
Naruto was almost staggered by the girl's name. It was beautiful…just like her. He smiled brightly and pointed a finger at his chest, his confidence slowly returning. "I-I'm Naruto Uzumaki…"
Sakura giggled and, wanting to take a closer look at the boy, walked forward cautiously. While she did so, the adults chuckled and looked up at each other, Kakashi slipping his hands into his vest pockets and clearly grinning up at Makoto.
"She seems quite taken to Naruto…" the silver haired Jonin exclaimed.
"You said it…" Makoto replied, rubbing the back of his head dazedly. "I think they'll live well together…" Around this time, Sakura had already eased up close enough to Naruto to stare him straight in the eyes. Blinking, the girl slowly began to circle him, looking him up and down curiously, whereas Naruto just stood where he was and nervously followed her with his own eyes. Both of them did detailed inspections of the other, like cats upon first meeting with something they couldn't quite grasp.
"We have the perfect living conditions…and I think we can adjust to one more member to the household," Kinoko exclaimed. "We'll give Naruto his own room…he can do whatever he pleases in there. Does he have any allergies?"
"None," Kurenai exclaimed. "The nurse already ran a diagnosis…"
"Good…what about…" Kinoko was about to ask, before Kakashi interrupted her.
"The Hokage listed it all on the message he sent you. Don't worry about anything…Naruto will be fine…" the Jonin stated, nodding affirmatively to the Haruno parents. "They're in for a big surprise comes dinner…" Makoto nodded, whereas Kinoko just smiled. Sakura looked closer at the boy's face, leaning up slightly to take a closer look at his cheeks. From where she stood, she was clearly able to note the lines crossing across the boy's cheeks. They looked just like whiskers to her, but she couldn't be sure. Out of curiosity, she reached out to touch them, and met no resistance from the boy.
After running her fingers gingerly over each line, she withdrew her hand slowly and smiled up at Naruto, her face still showing pink and her emerald eyes sparkling with delight. "Are…are they whiskers?" she asked in a soft voice, laced with childish nervousness and embarrassment. Naruto smiled back and nodded, earning a tilt of a head from the girl, who continued to inspect the lines, as well as his dashing blue eyes. "You're like a cat, you know! 'Giggles'…I like them! They're cute!" Naruto blushed at this and rubbed the back of his head.
Grabbing his hand, Sakura then suddenly dragged him up the steps and into the Haruno household, a wide smile brimming her face. "Come on, Naruto! I want to show you something!" The boy nervously followed without restraint, and soon disappeared along with the girl back into the house. Makoto, Kakashi and the others watched the two children disappear, and turned back to each other. Kinoko bade goodbye to her friends, before going off to find out where the two have gotten too.
Kakashi drew one of his hands out and waved lightly, smiling brightly. "Well…I think you've got things settled here now. I guess we should take off now!"
"Are you sure?" Makoto asked. "You don't want to stay a little while and have a cup of coffee or tea…?"
"No thanks, Makoto," Kurenai said, smiling as she said this, "Maybe next time! Right now we've got a mission debriefing with the Hokage. He'll want those reports of the village incident filed to him as quickly as possible…"
Makoto grinned and chuckled. "Okay then…well…stop by whenever you want to say 'hi!'"
"Sure thing!" Kurenai replied, stepping down from the porch and preparing to take her leave.
"Say good-bye to Naruto for us! We'll be sure to see him around…" Makoto agreed to this favor, and after saying their good-byes, the two ninja headed off in two simultaneous puffs of smoke. Satisfied with everything that had gone down, Makoto took in one last breath of fresh air before disappearing into the Haruno household.
TO BE CONTINUED…
