Bondage Style:
Chapter 19
Disclaimer: Naruto realm belongs to Kishimoto
Author's Notes: Hopefully I'll keep in the swing of things to get this story finished soon.
-o-o-o-
Naruto paused a moment as he reached the door to his apartment, then frowned slightly. It was quiet, entirely too quiet for Kin and Gaara. Frowning slightly, he carefully opened up the door, letting it swing open and inwards as he carefully surveyed what he found.
Kin and Gaara were sitting on the couch, quietly sipping tea, smiling innocently back at him. As the hairs on the back of his neck stood up in warning, he gave the pair a look before sighing softly. "All right, what did you two do?"
"Do, Naruto-sama?" Kin responded with an almost delicately arched brow as she lifted the cup of tea to her lips and took a slow, dainty sip. "I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about. We've just been here, enjoying a nice bit of tea, quietly conversing. Do you know what he's talking about Gaara-san?"
"Not at all Kin-san." Gaara responded just as formally, his face locked back into his typical, familiar blank mask as he took a sip of his own tea. "Though, this tea is quite delightful."
"Thank you, Naruto-sama has a surprisingly well stocked tea cabinet." Kin responded with a slight curling of her lips as she nodded her head to Gaara.
"They were a gift from Anko." Naruto responded simply as he gave the pair another, long look. "Start talking. Do I need to be worried about…"
There was a sudden knocking on his window, before Naruto twitched slightly and turned his head back towards the still angelic looking pair. "When I open up that window, am I going to find myself faced with a white masked ninja?"
"Why, whatever would make you think that, Naruto-sama?" Kin offered easily enough as she smiled, angelically at the boy.
"Kin-hime, I patented that look when I was less than half your age." Naruto responded simply as he pinched the bridge of his nose and gave Gaara a look. "And you…"
Gaara merely stared, blankly back at him, not even shifting his expression in the slightest as he deadpanned. "I don't do innocent."
Naruto paused a moment, trying to picture the look on Gaara's face, before he immediately shivered slightly in response. "Yeah, considering your puppy dog eyes, that's a good thing."
Sighing in resignation, Naruto walked over to face a familiar looking white masked nin. Then again, considering what he did in his free time, all of the ANBU looked at least vaguely familiar to the boy. Grumbling just a bit, he pulled the window open and glanced at the man. "Yes, ANBU-san?"
"Where were you 2 hours ago?" The voice was flat, and relatively hostile, but, then again, all things considered that was hardly unexpected.
"Hmm… well let's see.." Naruto cupped his chin and lightly considered, appearing deep in thought as he thought back over his day. "Let's see…. Why, I do believe I was in the Hokage's office."
"Doing?" The ANBU asked speculatively.
"I don't know, it could have been something to do with increasing the ANBU performance reviews leading up to the third stage of the Chunin exams. You know, to make certain that everyone's alert and up to snuff with all those important figures in Konoha." Naruto shot back, smiling sweetly now at the ANBU ninja as he leaned forward. "But, to be perfectly honest, whatever I was discussing with the Hokage is classified. And any ANBU member should know better than to ask."
"And after your alleged meeting?" The figure ground out, a growl rippling through his voice as he glared back at the boy.
Normally, Naruto would have ignored the petty insinuation in the nin's face, but then, today had hardly been a normal day for the boy. "Congratulations, ANBU-san, you just managed to get on my bad side, and I have a whole month worth of training to get done. You just volunteered yourself and your squad."
As he sent a cold glare at the man he continued. "And as what I was doing after my meeting with the Hokage, I was in another meeting with Hiashi Hyuga, you know, the head of the Hyuga clan? Up until a few minutes ago when I arrived back home to continue entertaining my guest, Gaara of the Desert, the youngest son of the Kazekage."
"Hello." Gaara added from his position on the couch, sipping lightly at his tea as he lightly canted his head to the side before taking another sip of his tea. "Did something happen, ANBU-san? Naruto was kind enough to allow me to remain in his apartment during his meetings, with Kin-san here to entertain me."
"… You were here but he wasn't?" The ANBU had paled visibly beneath his mask as he slowly let a trickle of sweat drip down his back. "Then…"
"Yes, ANBU-san?" Gaara was simply… staring at him, a deep, penetrating stare that seemed to burn into the depths of his soul as he could feel the flat, emotionless eyes stabbing at him.
"Err…" The man started to respond, before a sudden knock could be heard at the door.
"Excuse me a moment, ANBU-san." Naruto said with an exaggerated politeness as he turned and walked back to his door, pulling it open with a casual motion to reveal a rather… sizable crowd of people, as the rest of the Rookie 9, Gaara's siblings, Lee, Tenten and Haku could be seen on the otherside.
Blinking slightly, Naruto canted his head to the side. "Huh, no Neji?"
"Funny, Naruto-kun." Hinata responded simply as she smiled slightly at him, before noticing the ANBU still staring in the window. "… How did you manage to get in trouble in such a short amount of time?"
"I didn't." Naruto responded as he stepped back, allowing the group to enter as he glanced towards the ANBU then Gaara. "Gaara got bored."
"I cannot be held responsible for my actions due to boredom and being left unsupervised with available pranking supplies." Gaara intoned with complete sincerity where he sat, even as Sakura slipped over and settled herself firmly into his lap, causing him to blink slightly and smile at her just a bit. "Hello again."
"Were you a bad boy, Gaara-kun?" Sakura gave him a look even as she wrapped an arm lightly around his neck.
"Define… bad." Gaara responded simply as he glanced towards Kin.
"Yes, definitions are very important." The girl nodded sagely back to Gaara as she sipped at her tea. "And bad… is such a vague, unpleasant word, wouldn't you agree, Gaara-san?"
"Very much so." The red head quickly agreed as he lightly leaned in, nibbling a bit at Sakura's neck.
"Mmm… No trying to distract me." Sakura chided as she mildly glared at the boy.
"Distraction is a very important shinobi skill." Gaara countered firmly.
"It's also a very important boyfriend skill." Sasuke offered up helpfully as he lightly ignored the amused look Haku was sending him. "If you can't properly distract your partner… Well, it's harder to get out of trouble."
"You're not getting out of it that easy, Sasuke-kun." Haku chided lightly as he mildly glared at his boyfriend.
"Don't worry, I'll have you distracted again soon enough." Sasuke responded confidently as he grinned back at the other dark eyed boy.
"You're incorrigible." Haku grumbled as he lightly smacked Sasuke's arm.
"Still going to help me train, right?" Those black eyes were pleading as he stared into Haku's own.
"… I am so whipped." Haku grumbled as he nodded in affirmative to Sasuke's question.
"Why, yes, yes you are." Naruto agreed sagely before glancing back towards the still nervous looking ANBU. "Were you waiting on something?"
"Err… I guess, I'll just go and um… yeah, talk to the Hokage…" And with that the ANBU turned and was about to jump out the window, when he heard Naruto speak again.
"Don't make any plans for the month, ANBU-san. Training, remember?"
The man's whimper was audible to the rest of the group as he quickly vanished in a swirl of leaves. When Naruto turned back to the group, he met the questioning looks with an arched brow. "What? I had a rough day and he got on my nerves."
"Training makes ANBU whimper?" Kankuro offered up, actual curious as he peered at the blonde boy. "How the hell..?"
"Training with Naruto tends to involve massive amounts of frustration and humiliation from what I've come to understand." Shino offered up from behind his coat as he shifted slightly where he stood. "If he's insulted, or annoyed, it tends to become very public and embarrassing humiliation."
"Like the guy he flew from the flag pole in nothing but his underwear." Chouji offered up as he grinned slightly while pausing his chip consumption. "He was a chunin, wasn't he?"
"Don't forget the stuff he does to the ANBU!" Kiba agreed with a broad grin on his face. "I mean, mom still laughs her ass off when she talks about the chicken incident."
"People always forget the pig." Naruto gave off an exaggerated sigh as he shook his head, smirking just a bit. "Ah well. I guess I'll just have to remind them."
"Mah… you're just plain troublesome, as always, Naruto." Shikamaru half glared at the blonde even as Tenten lightly tightened her grip on his arm.
"Oi, Shikamaru, you do realize that after the finals are over, Ino-chan still might need a training partner, right?" Naruto's grin was down right malicious, before he paused slightly, and grinned. "Of course… if Tenten stops drooling over Sasuke and Haku long enough, she might just make things worse for you."
"Wha- huh?" The girl blinked slightly, her eyes widening a bit as she blushed at being caught. "I um… err… yeah! Be happy to put him through the paces! Get this lazy bum in shape!"
"Yosh! I am sure Gai-sensei will be happy to help you too! He can come up with a most youthful training regime for you, Shikamaru-san!"
"Yeah, he might have some questionable tastes…." Tenten grinned at the flat stares the rest of the group gave her, save for the confusion on Haku's face. "But, he knows a good training regime."
"… I hate you, Naruto." Shikamaru grumbled as he glared back at the boy, sullenly sticking his hands deep into his pockets.
"No you don't." Naruto shot back with a wave of his hand as he grinned softly. "Don't worry though, you will soon enough if you keep calling me troublesome."
"… Bastard." Shikamaru grumbled even as he glared lightly back at Naruto and slumped down in defeat.
"Yeah yeah…." Naruto paused a moment, before blinking. "Wait, where are…" Turning his head, he then saw his two teammates entrenched on his couch, Kin pinned between them as they all drank their tea. "Heh, I suppose I'm throwing a party?"
"Well, you are the only one of us that lives on his own, Naruto-kun." Ino pointed out with a smile.
"Yes, but we could get Hiashi to let us throw a bash in the Hyuga compound, just think of how much that would freak out the elders." Naruto pointed out, an innocent smile on his lips. "I mean, can you imagine how they'd react to Kiba and Akamaru partying?"
"You are evil, Naruto-kun." Hinata agreed with a grinning nod of her head, before smirking at him. "But we're still holding the party here."
"Bah… but someone else is gonna have to get the food and drinks. I'm not taking the chance of you-know-who following me." Naruto scowled softly as he shot back.
"No, I don't know, who?" Hinata countered with an innocent batting of her lashes.
"Yes, you do."
"Sorry not a clue."
"Liar."
"Now, Naruto-kun, why ever would you say that about me?!"
"Because it's true?"
"Still, that's not the kind of thing you say to a lady."
"Fortunately, I'm no gentleman."
"This is true." She paused a moment, before lightly tapping her lower lip. "I really have to say I know who?"
"You do know who."
"Well, I suppose…."
"As entertaining as it is, I am curious as to why you're hiding from one of the sannin." Gaara spoke up simply as Sakura arched a brow where she was sitting in his lap.
Sasuke instinctively put his hand against the base of his neck, rubbing at the sealed seal as his eyes immediately latched onto Naruto. "One of the sannin?"
"Toad, not snake." Naruto clarified with a grumble. "Oh, by the way, you should talk to Anko-chan about that. Snake bastard gave her one as well."
"… I'll look into it." Sasuke nodded his head a moment, before shifting a bit. "So, again, why're you hiding from Jiraiya?"
"Jiraiya-sama…. Is in Konoha?!" Stars practically danced across Kankuro's eyes as he turned his attention to Naruto. "You have to get me his autograph!"
"Never!" Naruto shot back vehemently as he glared at the puppeteer. "Never shall I acknowledge him as worthy of such a thing!"
"But… but… Icha Icha!" Kankuro moaned softly as he fell to his knees, staring pleadingly up at Naruto.
"See?!" Naruto turned his head, his eyes sweeping across the room as he pointed to Kankuro. "Do you see what the foul plague of Icha Icha has done to this once proud shinobi!?"
"Eh… He's pretty much always been like this." Temari noted with a slight smirk on her lips.
"She'd know better than I would." Gaara noted before shrugging himself. "Though, that has been my observation as well."
"To reduce him to such a wretched, helpless state! It is a crime against us!" Naruto continued on, ignoring the way the Suna siblings smirked in amusement, along with his own teammates. "Do you want to see our proud, youths reduced to the likes of Kankuro here, and Kiba?!"
"HEY!" The Inuzuka whined in protest as he glared back at Naruto, grumbling softly. "Jerk."
"They can't even deny it!" Naruto shook his head in exaggerated sadness as he sighed, as if looking to the heavens for guidance before snapping his attention back to the crowd. "But, fear not! There is a path you can take to avoid sharing their fate!"
"Tell us, Naruto-kun!" Ino chirruped grinning as she played along while restraining a laugh.
"Sweet Silky Nights!" Naruto responded as he suddenly held up one of the books in question. "Available in both hardback and paperback versions, at your local bookstores now!"
"… You did all that just for a lame sales pitch?" Kiba glared at the boy, before he was suddenly cut off by Lee.
"YOSH! I shall buy this book and help stoke my fires of youth like never before!" Lee's fist rose into the air as he started to continue. "And if I cannot…!"
"HEY!" Naruto suddenly interrupted the boy, glaring as him as his arms wrapped across his chest. "Are you insinuating that my books would fail to do so?!"
"What…? Why no, Naru-"
"That sounds awfully like what you were doing." The boy countered, frowning darkly before he turned his attention to Gaara. "Did it sound like that to you?"
"Indeed." Gaara agreed, before looking over at Hinata sitting next to him. "Did it sound like that to you?"
"Uh huh." Hinata agreed before looking at Kin. "Kin-chan?"
"Definitely." The girl agreed as she leaned against Hinata.
"Hey, what's that Sound girl doing here?!" Kiba blinked as he pointed a finger accusingly towards Kin.
"Hmm isn't Sound located in Rice Country?" Naruto put out idly before turning to Kin. "Are you from Rice, princess?"
"Hmph." The girl stuck out her tongue at the boy before shaking her head. "Born and raised in Earth country, thank you!"
"All right, what's that IWA girl doing here!" Kiba countered as he growled lightly.
"Have you ever been a rock nin, Kin-chan?" Ino asked curiously as she lightly stroked her fingers through the girl's long, soft hair.
"Nuh uh. My family wanted me to, but I ran away." Kin responded simply as she grinned pleasantly back at Kiba.
"But… but…" Kiba growled slightly as he looked around the room, begging for support.
"Bah… dumb mutt." Shikamaru sighed as he dug his fingers deeper into his pockets. "The girl is obviously the Sound girl. She's just from Earth country originally, but she ran away and joined Sound."
"Ha! I knew I was right!"
"… Then she obviously joined Konoha for some reason or another." Shikamaru continued, as he pointed to the collar around Kin's throat. "Judging by things… and knowing Team 10, they captured her and did something troublesome to make her their pet."
Blinking slightly, Temari looked at Tenten. "Sure you don't want to trade?"
"Oh, hell no!" Tenten shot back as she clutched even tighter on Shikamaru's arm. "I'm gonna have FUN whipping him into shape!"
"Plus, Tenten-san is scary." Lee added before looking meaningfully at Shikamaru. "Keep her away from any open weapon displays, or anything particularly sharp and pointy." He paused a moment in quiet contemplation. "And I'm fairly certain there's a reason Gai-sensei has refused to train her with explosive notes yet."
"He's just stingy, keeping all those lovely explosions to himself." Tenten responded sulkily. "Especially the sharp, pointy explosions."
"But Tenten, he freely helps us with our explosions of Youth!" Lee argued back against his teammate.
"… Gimme the sharp, shiny, pointy explosions any day." Tenten muttered back as she tightened her grip on Shikamaru's arm.
Shikamaru himself was quickly filing that information away under the title of: Desperate, Last Minute, 'Dear God nothing else is working!' plans.
-o-o-o-
"Say, Anko-chan…" Jiraiya's voice sung sweetly through the air as he popped up behind the suddenly twitching woman in question as she sat next to her boyfriend, only to almost squeak as a kunai pressed up between his legs.
"I only let 3 males get away with calling me that." The woman responded with an exaggerated sweetness. "Sannin need not apply."
"But…" The white haired man began before he could feel another kunai added to the first as his eyes went wide to see Kurenai smiling back at him with the same sort of grin Anko favored.
"You wouldn't be ignoring MY Anko-chan, now would you, Jiraiya-'sama'?" That same, venomous sweetness dripped off her lips as she locked her red eyes onto his.
As the man gulped, audibly Iruka took a sip of his sake then sighed slightly. "Girls, leave him be."
At the girl's pouting as they withdrew their kunai from the sannin, Iruka sent the grateful looking man a shark-like grin. "Too many witnesses, wait until he's somewhere private so I can help you get rid of the body."
"Yes Iruka-sama!" The two women chirruped in chorus before settling back into their stools as Kurenai leaned against Anko, and Anko leaned against Iruka.
"Iruka-sama?" Jiraiya twitched slightly at that as he focused his attention on the chunin so calmly drinking his sake with the women.
"What can we say?" Kurenai spoke up, smirking just a bit. "Some men fantasize… some men actually live the dream."
"And some men spend all their time peeping, leaving their orphaned godsons' to grow up thinking their all alone in the world." Iruka threw in as he sent a light glare at the man before turning his back pointedly on the sannin.
"That's not fair!" Jiraiya growled as he glared back at Iruka. "Do you know what kind of bullseye it would have drawn on the kid if I'd stayed to raise him?"
"Tell me, Jiraiya, why is it that he had never seen you before today?" Iruka shot back as he sipped lightly at his sake, shaking his head. "Why is it he didn't know you? You didn't have to raise him to let him know that he had someone else out there that cared about him."
"Why didn't you know about how he was trained by Hinata's mother?" Kurenai picked up where Iruka left off, sipping at her own sake for a moment as she glared daggers at the man. "Where were you when he graduated from the Academy?"
"Where were you when he published his first book?" Anko continued pursing her lips for a moment as she lightly glared at the man. "Where were you when he was practically nursing Hiashi back to life after his wife died?"
"Why is it, that you don't have the answers to any of those questions, hmmm?" Iruka glared slightly as he looked at the man before shaking his head. "Where were you, when that bastard Mizuki tried to destroy him by tricking him into stealing the Forbidden scroll then revealed the truth about why so many people hated him?"
When the white haired man said nothing in response, Iruka grabbed his bottle and shook his head. "Let's go join the others, I don't feel like being alone tonight."
"Right." Anko nodded as she slipped up, hugging softly against the man from one side, while Kurenai took her place at the other, allowing the man to lead them over to the booth the usual group sat at.
"… I just want to know where he lives." Jiraiya muttered softly under his breath sighing as he almost collapsed down into the recently vacated stool.
"Then, maybe you should have been around more often, like they said." Kakashi's amused voice spoke up as he settled into the stool next to the man.
"How the hell do you get away with not being hated?" Jiraiya grumbled slightly as he took a bottle of sake from the tender and took a sip.
"Easy, I was around for him." Kakashi responded with a crinkling of his eye. "If only as the ANBU doggie that watched out for him." He paused a moment before grinning sheepishly back at Jiraiya. "Of course, you also don't see me in any rush to go anywhere near those three."
"Ok, I can see why the women are so protective of him, really, I can." Jiraiya responded quickly. "I remember how protective I was of my brats…" The man paused a moment before sadly taking another soft sip of his sake, and falling silent as the memories hit.
"… I remember how sensei was when Obito and Rin died." Kakashi spoke softly as he nodded his head quietly and sipped at his rice wine.
"So, you going to tell me how much I fucked up too?" Jiraiya asked curiously as he stared, dully at the silver haired man.
"Well, you sannin do seem to have a habit of running." Kakashi noted quietly as he stared into his drink for a moment. "Seems to have been the one thing all three of you have in common." He paused again, continuing to stare into his drink before shaking his head slightly. "But no, I'm not going to tell you how much you fucked up. Anko would kill me for ruining her fun, and Kurenai is starting to act disturbingly like her at times."
"What are you here for then?" Jiraiya's voice was quietly wary as he stared back at the man.
"Me? A drink of course!" Kakashi smiled happily back at the sannin, lightly patting him on the back, before his voice could be heard whispering like cold steel pressed against the sannin's neck. "And if you ever tell anyone I gave you this information, I swear I will track down Tsunade just to let her know exactly what you two did the night we were celebrating sensei's ascension to Hokage."
Jiraiya gulped viciously as he stared back at his pupil's pupil and nodded quickly. "Of course."
"Glad to see you're getting into the spirit of things!" Kakashi responded with a wide grin on his face before paling visibly. "Right, now I have to vanish before…"
"Yosh! My eternal rival!"
"Gottagobye!" The air practically crackled as Kakashi vanished in a swirl of crinkled leaves leaving Jiraiya behind with a frowning Gai.
"That was most unyouthful!"
"Gai…" Jiraiya began slowly as he lightly gave the man a look. "Please remember what I did to you the last time you started that around me. Do you need a repeat?"
"Erk! No Jiraiya-sama, SIR!" Gai responded quickly snapping to attention. "Maito, Gai, jonin, Shinobi identification number…!"
"Gai… Don't you have students you could bug?" Jiraiya took another sip of his alcohol as he glared lightly at the man.
"Well, Neji is still in the psych ward, and is on indefinite medical leave. His…" At Jiraiya's meaningful cough, Gai continued. "Nerves have been frayed a bit too far and he needs to recuperate. Lee and Tenten have gone to have a party at Naruto's."
"Much better, Gai." Jiraiya responded with mild approval. "Maybe one day you'll be able to hold an entire conversation like a normal person."
"… I think I hate you, Jiraiya-sama." Gai shot out quietly as he glared mildly at the man.
"Join the club." The sannin shot back and pointed over towards the booth the earlier trio had vacated too. "They're having a meeting right now."
"… And this does not worry you?"
"Why would it?" Jiraiya responded with a gulp of his sake and offered the man a bland smile. "I'm already going to end up going through hell, no matter which afterlife I end up in." Standing Jiraiya stretched out then lightly patted Gai on the shoulder. "Bit of advice, kid… Never let your students down… Especially not when they have scary wives that will hold a grudge well after they're dead."
Somewhere far, far away, a particularly predatory smile was gracing a red head's lips as she couldn't help but feel someone, somewhere, was complimenting her. Pausing a moment, she then mentally shrugged before she went back to making certain her husband went out of his mind with pleasure.
-o-o-o-
"Hmm… Well, I'm fairly certain this is going to at least be the friendliest Chunin Exam on record." Naruto chuckled from where he sat along with the other 7 finalists for the third stage, his eyes flitting around the group. "Now then… Here's the important question… How're we going to prank everyone?"
"You wish us… to perform a prank during the finals?" Shino commented his brow arched curiously.
"Mhm." Naruto nodded and smirked slightly as he steepled his fingers together. "So, thoughts?"
"You're quite obviously insane, and I protest this course of action most vigorously." Shino deadpanned simply.
"Anyone else need to get that out of their systems?" Naruto looked curiously around the table.
"Too much trouble."
"I'm good."
"No."
"Not that I can think of."
"Would we do that Naruto-kun?"
"Mmm hehehehehhehehe."
"And once more, I'm having childhood flashbacks." Shikamaru grumbled as he glanced towards the maniacally giggling Ino. "Can't you… ya know, do something about her?"
"I could." Naruto admitted freely as he smiled back at the boy. "But, where would the fun be in that?"
"… You just love driving me insane, don't you."
"I neither confirm nor deny that allegation, sadly." Naruto responded with a grave air about him, before grinning evilly. "But in the mean time… Poker anyone?"
That actually made Shikamaru brighten, his eyes gleaming slightly as he grinned. "Poker…?"
And with that, began the start of a night that would live on in the memories of the genin and Haku as the night that the future of Konoha truly began.
-o-o-o-
Jiraiya stared in absolute shock at the scene in front of him. A scene that would live on in the halls of infamy if he had anything to say about it. And for a moment, he wondered if perhaps he'd stumbled into some kind of insane genjutsu.
The eight finalists for the third stage of the chunin exam had settled on a table, each eying one another in between glancing at their cards, and most were not alone in their chairs. His eyes immediately sought out the familiar head of spiky blonde hair, and the familiar brunette Tsuchi perched in his lap and nuzzling affectionately against his chest. His teammates, flanked him on either side, and the white haired man could of sworn he saw their hands drifting to places not decent to mention.
Directly across from his godson, he could see Shikaku's boy, a bun haired girl perched on his own lap, fingering a kunai while she occasionally whispered into his ear, causing the boy to blush and almost drop his cards. Ever stoic, he could see the Aburame's shade's glinting slightly in the artificial light as he epitomized the poker face, even as he was the sole male sitting alone. The Uchiha, sat with a pretty boy on his lap, both of whom were smiling at one another as Jiraiya suppressed a bit of a shudder.
The final two members of the game, sat directly opposite one another. Gaara, the feared container of the Ichibi was leaning back in his chair, goard propped back up against the wall with a pink haired girl giggling on his lap, as he smiled slightly and lightly stroked her side while he glanced at his cards. Across from him, a miniature Gai sat, staring with bright wide eyes at his green eyed opponent while he held his cards in bandaged hands, and a blonde guessed was the red head's sister lounged in his lap, and lightly traced her fingers on the blushing boy's muscled arms.
A short distance away, an Akimichi was munching away at chips as he watched what appeared to be the final member of the Kazekage's children arguing with an Inuzuka. All in all, as he leaned back in the window frame, it almost brought chuckle to his lips. A group of genin who in less than a month would be battling against one another in a tournament, sitting back and relaxing together, savoring the victory they'd already achieved by making it as far as they had.
And somehow, he couldn't bring himself to even attempt to record the moment for posterity. The children of two Kages, the children of some of the most powerful and well known clans in the shinobi nations, all sitting agreeably with a pair of unknowns, and embracing it all. As he glanced from figure to figure, he couldn't help but think, somehow, this was the start of a new legend for the shinobi nations.
For the first time in many, many years, Jiraiya felt a weight lifting off his shoulders as he allowed himself to hope that maybe his sensei's Will of Fire still lived in them.
Smiling softly he merely sat there for a time, blended into the background as the genin had their fun, talking back and forth back and forth. Hiding himself in plain sight as it were with a minor little application of genjutsu. They weren't looking for him, and as long as the didn't do anything to draw attention to himself as he was wont to do while doing his research, they wouldn't notice him.
Finally as the games began to die down, he broke the genjutsu and gave a polite little cough as he continued to lean back in the window, immediately drawing everyone's eyes to him as he seemed lazily comfortable in his position.
"What do you want." Naruto's voice was flat, cold as the words left his lips, while his eyes narrowed on him.
"Mah, relax kid, I come in piece." The man chuckled slightly as he arched a brow. "Besides, didn't your clone do enough damage?"
"Not nearly." The blonde countered. "You're still able to write your smut after all."
"Eesh, not gonna let that go anytime soon, are you?" Jiraiya chuckled just a bit, before he reached into his robes and pulled out a weathered book, before tossing it to the boy. "Here."
As the boy warily caught the book, he glanced at the cover and arched a brow slightly. "'The Gutsy Ninja'?"
"That's where your parents got your name kid, before I started writing all my so called... smut." He chuckled slightly and leaned back resting against the frame as he took in the curious gazes that followed him through out the room. "Quite the collection of friends you've got here."
"Oi, Naruto! Who's the geezer?" Kiba shot out as he lightly glared at the man with such amusement.
"Eh, Tsume's pup I see." Jiraiya noted as he chuckled. "Half of her bark and not a tenth of her bite. Didn't your mom ever teach you to be careful about what fights you pick?"
"Probably, but Kiba was most likely chasing at his own tail when she did." Ino offered as she leaned against her chair, studying her teammate's godfather. "So, what brings one of the sannin to Naruto-kun's window."
Now that started a reaction, as Kiba and Kankuro's eyes widened like saucers, while Tenten went rigid on Shikamaru's lap, as the boy beneath her raised a brow lightly. Lee perked up slightly, as Temari merely arched a brow elegantly upwards. Sakura's eyes widened as well, though more in respectful awe than anything, while the remainder of the genins' eyes were neutral or unreadable.
"Jiraiya-sama!" Came chorused from Kankuro and Kiba.
"Tsunade-sama's teammate!" Was sent squealing past Tenten's lips.
"Joy... fan boys and a fan girl..." Jiraiya paused a moment before sighing. "Always fan boys for me, never fan girls."
"Be glad." Sasuke spoke up with a slightly amused chuckle while he rested his chin on Haku's shoulder. "They're very, very annoying." He paused a moment, before glancing meaningfully from Ino to Sakura.
"Hey! That stopped the day we got our teams for me, thank you very much!" Ino huffed softly as she glared at the Uchiha. "Don't make me send you running around Konoha dressed in pink, screaming how you're a 'Pretty Princess'!"
The boy immediately paled further as he stared at her, pleadingly, "You wouldn't do that do me, would you, Ino-chan?"
"I'll give you 50 ryo if you do." Haku countered before grinning at the look of shocked betrayal on Sasuke's face. "I think you'd look good in pink. You never complain when you see me in my little pink yukata."
"... Don't even think about it, Ino-chan." Naruto warned as he lightly glared towards his blonde teammate. "I do NOT need the image of Spanky in pink shouting that."
"Awww..." The response could be heard, chorused by Ino, Haku, Hinata, Tenten, and Sakura, before the broke into a soft flow of giggles.
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart Naruto, I really, really do." Sasuke spoke up sincerely as he slumped back in his seat, before winking at Ino. "Though, if you want to do that to Naruto..."
"NO!" Was immediately chorused by both Naruto and Jiraiya and both for relatively the same reason as Naruto grudgingly nodded towards the man.
"I've already had my notes destroyed, I don't need to have my eyes boiled and my brain melted by seeing my godson parading about Konoha like that." Jiraiya shuddered softly as he made a queasy face
There was a pause for a moment, before the rest of the group turned their attention back and forth from Jiraiya to Naruto, as the blonde teen palmed his face softly in frustration as the group burst into cries and variations of: "GODSON!?"
Groaning softly as his teammates lightly patted him on the shoulder and Kin nibbled at his neck, Naruto glared mildly at the rest of the assembled genin. "I just found out today. Part of the reason I'm going to be making that ANBU squad's life a living hell for the next few weeks."
"Now, Naruto-kun, that's not nice." Hinata scolded him lightly as she glanced at her teammate.
"… He was accusing me of lying about having a meeting with the Hokage to cover for a prank these two," he paused, gesturing from Kin to Gaara, "Performed in my absence."
"I stand by what I said." Gaara responded simply as he lightly held his arms about Sakura's waist. "I am not responsible for what I do when I'm bored and have ready access to pranking supplies."
"… You have entirely too much time on your hands." Naruto countered with a grumble as he lightly glared at the teen. "You should…" He paused a moment, before glancing at Sakura. "Find someone to help you with your little tanuki problem."
"Tanuki problem..?" Sakura arched a brow, before turning her head and glancing down at Gaara curiously.
"I don't sleep, because I get nightmares." Gaara said flatly as he lightly glared at Naruto. "Of a giant tanuki trying to devour my soul."
Kankuro and Temari shifted nervously as they glanced at their little brother, before their eyes flicked to each other, then Naruto, then towards the serious expression on the sannin's face. Gulping, audibly, the pair lightly shrank down into their seats and did their best to not be noticed. Much to the amusement of Jiraiya.
"Oh, by the way, kid, how well can the rest of the brats that aren't in on things keep a secret?" The white haired man asked curiously as he would lean carefully back on the window frame. "Because, if you think they can, the old man authorized me to let them in on things so they can be ready."
"…In on things?" Temari spoke up, arching a brow even as she stiffened visibly on Lee's lap, while a silent Kankuro reacted much the same.
"Well, Kiba's a loud mouth…" Naruto noted with a slight look of amusement on his lips. "And an almost irredeemable pervert… So's Kankuro, but at least Kiba can be trusted with things that aren't feminine and lacy."
"Hey!" Kiba growled slightly at the boy, almost pouting in protest.
"So, I suppose the only ones who are in question, are Temari and Kankuro." Naruto responded simply as he lightly glanced at his cards and laid them out on the table, face down. "You know them better than I do, what do you think, Gaara?"
"I would hate to have to kill them." Gaara admitted as he shifted thoughtfully. "At least, Temari. Kankuro I'm still up in the air on."
"Hey!" It was Kankuro's turn to pout as he glared mildly at his brother.
"Why do I get the feeling that no matter what, I'm screwed?" Temari spoke up, sighing slightly.
"Well, as I doubt they'll be able to get away…" Naruto noted with a chuckle as he leaned back in his seat before addressing the group. "During the Third Exam, a combination of forces from Sound and Sand are planning on attacking and invading Konoha."
He paused a moment, letting the information sink into their heads as Temari's and Kankuro's faces immediately turned ashen while he continued. "One of the major portions of the plan was unleashing one of the tailed demons on Konoha." After a moment, Naruto shrugged and waved his hand negligently. "Oh, and the plan is masterminded by Sound, which is lead by Orochimaru, the snake sannin."
Temari could feel Lee's grip on her suddenly becoming far more firm than was necessary, while her own body went rigid with tension, slowly, she looked back down into his wide eyes and found them staring, angrily back up at her was he said not a word. Kankuro found himself pinned in place by an angry glare and a pair of growls from Kiba and Akamaru as Chouji set down his bag of chips. Sakura then turned her head and glanced questioningly down at the completely relaxed and at ease Gaara, who simply smiled back up at her.
"Don't look at me, I'm on your side." The red head responded with a slight shrug of his shoulders, causing his siblings to stare at him in absolute shock. "What? You thought I'd willingly turn on people willing to be my friends?"
"But… But… Our village! Our Father!" Kankuro protested, only to be pinned by a slightly annoyed glare from Temari.
"You mean, our father who…" Temari paused a moment, before glancing back at Gaara, who sighed slightly then picked a thoroughly confused Sakura up off his lap and settled her onto the floor next to him.
"What my sister was going to say, was our father, who sacrificed our mother to seal the Ichibi, Shukaku, inside of me, then used our uncle to befriend and then attempt to assassinate me." He paused a moment, before shrugging a bit. "And then kept sending assassin after assassin after me." Turning his head he looked directly into Sakura's bright, wide, emerald eyes. "I am a jinchuuriki. And me unleashing my power on Konoha is one of the major parts of the invasion plan."
"Which, apparently you're not going to do." Temari noted carefully as she studied her little brother. "Correct?"
"Your jonin instructor and Naruto both made deals with the Hokage to have Gaara join the Leaf." Jiraiya offered up with a slight smirk. "From what I understand it, Baki bought amnesty for you two as well."
"Fuck." Kankuro twitched slightly as he slumped back into the couch. "So, basically we have the choice of joining the Leaf, or dying."
"Because, no way they'll let us live for this after word gets out." Temari agreed with a shrug. "Well, I was debating doing it anyway, so what the hell."
"Temari?!" Kankuro stared at his sister, his eyes bugging slightly in shock.
"What? You actually LIKE Suna? Especially under our father?" Temari growled softly as she glared at her sibling. "You like how he treats us? As nothing but his tools to further his ambitions? Do you think I like how EVERY SINGLE guy or girl I liked, he scared off?! Ya know what? Fuck it, I like it here, I'm staying."
"Besides, she wants to find out how much stamina Lee has." Ino put in with a wicked grin on her face, causing both Temari and Lee to blush brightly.
"I neither confirm, nor deny that statement!" Temari responded, even as she grinned slightly.
"… Rassa frazzin…" Kankuro grumbled slightly as he buried his face in his hands. "How'm I supposed to get my puppeteering supplies now?"
"Mah, don't worry about it kid, once this little stupidity's over, I'll bug old lady Chiyo until she hands over her scrolls and what not." Jiraiya responded with a wave of his hand. "She likes me too much to try and kill me for it."
"… Old lady Chiyo doesn't like ANYONE. Especially from the Leaf. I mean her rants against Tsunade are legendary!" Kankuro countered with a grumble. "How the hell can she like you?!"
"Tsunade was going to grind her puppets into dust." Jiraiya responded with a shrug and a grin. "I convinced her not to. She owes me for that."
"… I don't suppose you have any black mail material on Sasori?" Kankuro offered hopefully, as he ducked away from the glares his siblings sent him. "Hey! He might be a missing nin, but he's a genius puppeteer!"
Jiraiya twitched slightly. "He also has the only spy network out there that rivals my own." Slowly and carefully the sannin shook his head. "You wanna avoid Sasori kid. He hasn't been right in the head since his parents died."
"Damn." Kankuro sighed slightly before slumping down and grumbling before looking up hopefully at the man. "Can I get your autograph at least?"
"Heh, sure kid." Jiraiya chuckled softly before glancing back at the rest of the group. "So, yeah, thanks to the information provided by their jonin instructor…"
"Baki." Gaara offered helpfully as he glanced back at the still bewildered looking Sakura.
"Yes, Baki, along with what we learned about the Sound side of things from little Kinuko there." Jiraiya continued as the girl glared mildly at him. "We know that we've got a bit of a situation on hand."
"And since my team is already in the thick of it, figured you might as well let the rest of them know what's going on so they can be ready?" Naruto offered up as he soothingly stroked Kin's hair.
"Yup." Jiraiya agreed with a quiet nod of his head, before glancing over at Gaara. "So, Shukaku's giving you trouble?"
"No more than he always does." Gaara responded quietly, still staring at Sakura.
"Oi, Haruno, you just gonna stand there, staring, or you gonna get back on his lap already?" Naruto groused as he glared mildly at the pink haired girl. "He's the same Gaara he's been since you met."
"It's just a lot to take in." Sakura responded as she slowly moved back onto Gaara's lap. "Jinchuuriki… tend to have bad reputations."
"Well, considering how we're treated, not exactly surprising." Naruto grumbled, before instantly freezing in place as he felt everyone but Gaara and Jiraiya's eyes lock onto him and he could hear the sannin moan behind him.
"Suddenly, I feel extraordinarily worried about the success of this operation." Jiraiya muttered softly as he leaned back and sighed. "Might as well tell them kid, you're the only one that can besides sensei."
"I don't suppose we can just ignore that last tidbit?" Naruto offered up hopefully as he glanced around the room, carefully avoiding the incredulous stares Hinata and Ino were giving him. "Just a simple slip of the tongue."
"None of them knew?" Gaara offered, actually curious as he lightly stroked his fingers tentatively against Sakura's stomach.
"Mah, so Naruto's the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi." Shikamaru offered up with a shrug. "He's still the same troublesome blonde we've always known."
When everyone else turned their attention to stare at the Nara, he simply shrugged back at them. "Well, look at his birthdate. All things considered, what ELSE could he be a jinchuuriki of?"
"Yeah, definitely Shikaku's brat." Jiraiya chuckled as he shook his head slowly and leaned back still as he looked towards Naruto. "Your show kid."
"Fine." Naruto responded with a shrug. "The Fourth sealed the Kyuubi in me to protect the village. He wanted me to be seen as a hero, it didn't happen. I didn't know until the day I became a genin. I didn't tell anyone, because honestly, other than a few occasions, I completely and utterly ignore it, and it ignores me."
He paused a moment, before shrugging a bit. "Gaara gets his sand because of his demon, I get more chakra than I know what to do with, and I heal fast. I completely and utterly refuse to have anything else to do with the furry bastard. Questions?" He didn't even give anyone a chance to respond before he continued. "Now, moving on."
"Hold it!" Hinata spoke up as she glared at Naruto. "So, you've known about this since you made genin and you didn't tell Ino-chan and me?!"
"I don't talk about it, I don't think about it, I pretty much IGNORE it." Naruto countered. "Just because they want to try and treat me like a jinchuuriki, doesn't mean I have to act like one." He paused before glancing at Gaara. "No offense Gaara."
"None taken. I've known what I was for a while, and I wasn't ever allowed to forget." The boy lightly rested his chin on Sakura's shoulder as he unconsciously tightened his arms about her waist. "I was made to be a weapon, you a shield." He paused a moment, before shrugging a bit. "Kinda ironic all things considered."
"Yeah, the guy with the absolute defense being made to be a weapon." Naruto chuckled slightly as he shrugged a bit.
"There was talk of doing that to Naruto." Jiraiya spoke up quietly. "Several people were advising it in fact. Wanting to harness the power of the Kyuubi and what not."
"Ok… I know I'm not exactly the smartest person in this room." Kiba spoke up as he shuddered slightly. "But even I can tell that's a bad idea. Can you imagine someone as devious as Naruto actually being trained to be a weapon?"
Even Gaara shuddered at that, as Naruto felt Kin snuggling back against his chest and he looked lightly around the room. "So, just so you know, talking about that with anyone who doesn't already know is an instant death sentence."
"And sensei is very adamant about that." Jiraiya affirmed as he looked around the room. "All right. So, everyone clear that Naruto is NOT the fox, yes?"
At the string of affirmative nods around the room, Hinata spoke up. "Yes, but… we WILL be having words about keeping secrets from us!"
"Hey, I never deliberately didn't tell you, it just never came up." Naruto countered with a huff. "Being a jinchuuriki doesn't exactly come up in a conversation."
"Well, one never knows when you're involved, Naruto." Sasuke shot back with a teasing little smirk. "Blackmail material doesn't generally come up in most people's conversations, and yet, it's in a surprisingly large amount of yours."
"What can I say? I get around." Naruto shot back with a waggle of his brows before turning to his teammates. "Would you say girls?"
"Oh, I know he gets around our curves just fine." Ino grinned back as she almost purred out her response. "And how!"
"Well, now that we've got all that settled…" Jiraiya interrupted as he smiled, sweetly at the group. "We get to talk about the important thing… What kind of training you kiddies will be doing in this long, long month."
The group let out a collective groan while the man rubbed his hands together and cackled softly. Taking a moment to study the obvious glee the sannin took in the situation, Shikamaru then turned his head and glared mildly at Naruto. "Yes… he's definitely your godfather."
"… I wish people would quit reminding me."