The courtship of Naruto Uzumaki
II. It's a girl
Laundry was done.
Groceries were bought.
Room was cleanish.
Naruto was ready to take on the last task on his list before his date—and that task had nothing to do with talking to Sakura. Lee hadn't pinned him down to a definite date or time for his talk, so he'd been making his way around the village very carefully to avoid running into Sakura or Lee. He didn't have the time or the brain space to deal with Lee's little problem today. Most of his thoughts were on his date with Hinata. He really didn't want to think about anything else. Especially Lee and Sakura. They were so far down on his list he wouldn't start feeling guilty until sometime tomorrow.
The trickiest place he had to go that day was the ninja complex where the Fifth had her office on the top floor. If he had the slightest chance of running into Sakura or Lee anywhere it would be there. That's where off-duty ninja often hung out. That's where the medics trained. That's where the Fifth held meetings with the town council and/or jônin, chûnin and genin. That's where ninja assignments were handed out. That's where ninja filed mission reports or researched missions. That building was the hub of all ninja activity. If he managed to sneak up to the Fifth's office without anyone seeing him, then he could really call himself a ninja no question about it.
He tried not to remember the last time he was supposed to be sneaky and failed miserably, but he couldn't erase it from his memory. It was during the written test of the chûnin exam. How was he to know that he was supposed to deliberately cheat while not getting caught? He'd been so hung up on the penalty for getting caught that he couldn't cheat even when Hinata had practically stuck her exam full of lovely answers in his face. He'd been completely clueless and naïve back then. He'd come a long way since those days, but cheating still wasn't in his nature. Sneaky, however, was a completely different matter. He had no qualms with sneaky. He'd had years to work on his sneaky skills. That didn't mean he could claim it as one of his actual skills, but he'd worked on it. Ninja just called it by different names—stealth, covert, undercover, hidden were some of the words they preferred. He simply thought of it as sneaky.
Sneaking into the ninja complex without anyone seeing him should have been damned difficult. There should have been ninja patrolling, ninja on guard duty, ninja just hanging out, regular ninja or Anbu black ops everywhere. However, when Naruto peered around a building across the street to covertly survey his objective, he saw absolutely no one coming in or out of the building. He found that very strange.
He made his way carefully around and behind the building to survey the area from a secluded vantage point. Again he saw no one.
He made his way carefully and cautiously to the back entrance. It was unlocked and unguarded. He slipped quietly inside, stopped and listened.
He heard no voices, no foot steps, no doors opening or closing, nothing to indicate that the building was even occupied, not even a pin drop. It was early afternoon not long past the usual lunch hour. There should have been ninja returning from lunch at least. Where were they?
Softly, he walked up the stairs, hugging the wall, pausing periodically to listen, but still heard nothing.
When he reached the Fifth's floor, there was still no sign of anyone by sight or sound. He found that even stranger. If no place else in the building, surely there would be ninja demanding the Hokage's attention? Where was Shizune? She was the Hokage's personal assistant. Surely, she'd be traipsing in and out of the Hokage's office on errands or to check up on her boss? He'd never come up here without seeing Shizune running around.
As a matter of fact, he usually saw Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuku running around the place, too. They were also the Fifth's general gophers and jacks-of-all-trades. He didn't remember seeing them pulling guard duty at the front gate when Team Shikamaru had returned home last night. He didn't remember seeing anyone at the gate. He should have found that odd, but he hadn't given it a thought.
Again he hugged the walls, tread carefully, and listened for the presence of other ninja. He'd never heard the place so quiet. He had a bad feeling about this which only got worse as he got closer to the Hokage's office. No one even crept up behind him which should have been just his luck while trying to be sneaky. He couldn't believe he was actually succeeding in his attempt. What was going on? If he could sneak up here to the Hokage's office anyone could. This wasn't good.
Finally, he reached her door.
It was closed.
He placed his ear against the wooden surface to listen for any evidence that Lee or Sakura or anyone might be inside. He strained to hear anything. He was concentrating so hard that when a voice finally called out from inside the room he almost fell over.
"Naruto! Get in here!" the dulcet tones of the Hokage sounded through the thick wood of the door.
Naruto quickly recovered and pushed open the door. "How did you know I was out there? I didn't make a single sound."
"Please." She rolled her eyes. "You're as quiet as a herd of elephants."
"That's so wrong! I was as quiet as a—a herd of clouds. How did you know it was me?" he demanded.
She smiled wickedly at him. "I have my ways."
"That's no answer! How did you know?" he insisted. He'd been as silent as he'd ever been in his life. There was no way she could have heard him through the door.
"Did you honestly think you could sneak in here without anyone knowing? Really, Naruto, this building is well protected from stealth attacks. I know exactly who enters here, and from which entrance. When you're Hokage you'll discover the exact nature of this building's defenses—until then, remember that you can not sneak up on me in this building. Don't even try."
Naruto studied her thoughtfully. He hated secrets. He found Hokage secrets to be an especial anathema. Those were secrets he needed to have to achieve his ambition. "So it's not a ninjutsu ability? It's got something to do with the building itself?"
"That's very astute of you, but don't strain yourself. You'll never figure it out, and I won't tell so give it up. Let's just say, you tripped off the hidden alarms when you sneaked into the back entrance. I've been waiting for you to get up here. What took you so long?"
He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Well, there's someone or rather some people I didn't want to run into. So I was being careful."
Tsunade relaxed behind her desk and eyed her visitor with interest. "Is that so? Are you having woman trouble, Naruto?"
He started. "How did you—it's nothing like that! I made a promise to a friend and—well, I'm not ready to meet up with a certain person yet. I'm just not ready to make good on that promise yet. Okay?"
"Someone you thought you'd run into here? I see." She stared at him just as thoughtfully as he'd done her only moments ago. "Tell me, Naruto, are you okay with Sakura's engagement. I know you had a crush on her."
"Oh yeah, when I was a kid. I'm so over that. Say—how did you know?" She was getting pretty good at guessing all about his thoughts, emotions and life. Had she been studying fortune telling on the side?
She smiled. "I knew it the first time I saw the two of you together. She's a remarkable girl, but you two would never have made it as a couple. You're too much alike."
"Who—me and Sakura? No way. She's a brainiac. I'm just average."
"Not in that way, although I think you underrate your intellectual abilities. No, I was thinking that you're both quick tempered and hard headed. You both need partners who are less confrontational."
Naruto thought about that a minute. That analysis didn't bode well for Lee. How much more confrontational could you be than to come out and tell Sakura not to do something that she wants to do? Maybe the Hokage would be the better one to give him or Sakura advice. Once he struck out talking to Sakura himself, he'd make that suggestion to Lee. It probably wouldn't be a good idea for him to bring it up to the Hokage for Lee. That was getting more involved than he wanted to.
"Yeah, well, about that. I was hoping—that is—I thought—maybe—"
"Spit it out, Naruto."
He took a deep breath and said quickly. "Okay, I thought you could give me a week or so off—oh, and Hinata, too."
She smiled that smile Naruto didn't like. It was like she knew something he didn't know. It was a smile at his expense not smiling with him. "Sit down, Naruto. Let's have a little chat."
He eyed her with foreboding. "You said that to me once before. I can't remember if it had good or bad consequences."
"Sit down and find out."
"I don't know—" he dithered.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, just sit down!" she ordered. "Sitting or standing won't make any difference, but I have a few things to say to you."
He was quick to pull up a chair, and sit down.
"About those few weeks you want off—I'd certainly like to approve your request, but we're a little short-handed right now. You may have noticed that there were no ninja on business or hanging idly around the complex."
"Yeah, I did notice that."
"I've had to assign most of the experienced jônin to a special mission. The mission could last several weeks or months. I won't be certain until I begin receiving reports."
"What's going on?"
"Your team wasn't here for the briefing I held a few days ago. Shikamaru, Choji, and Hinata were all here early this morning to file their reports on your mission, so they've been briefed. I've been waiting for you to finally show up, Naruto," she said sternly. "You're the last ninja on the active list who hasn't heard the details."
He flushed. "I—ah—had a few things to do first. I knew Shikamaru would give a thorough account of our mission so I'd have very little to add. I'm here now, so I can take care of it now." He started to rise.
"Just one moment—we have more to talk about. Don't you want to here about the special mission most of the jônin have been assigned?"
"Oh, yeah, sure." He dropped back into his seat. He hoped this wouldn't take to long if he needed to write his report. He hated this part of a mission. It seemed like busy work to him. Plus, he was due at Hinata's in just a few hours.
She placed her elbows on her desktop, linked her fingers and rested her chin in the center. "Recently, I've been receiving information that a new hidden village has appeared in the island Country of Stone. I've heard that they've been training and amassing a small army. If this is true, then I need to know how big their army is, what their skills are, and who they intend to attack. If it involves us or one of our allies then our village will eventually become involved. I need factual information, so I've sent out all the older, experienced jônin to discover the facts. I'm especially relying on those with battle experience. Since this is a mission of my design, there will be no profits coming into the village from the mission. I think the younger jônin, chûnin and genin can handle any missions that I decide to accept during this time as well as guard the village. So you see, Naruto, I can't promise you any time off. I might need you for a mission any time now."
A war. What if they were involved in a war? They'd only recently recovered from that time six years ago when Orochimaru and the Sand Village had attacked them. They still weren't up to full strength. Even their experienced jônin were under thirty-five. He hated the idea of losing any one of them. They were all valuable as teachers and mentors. Naruto hadn't even made jônin yet. He wasn't prepared to take the place of any one of them.
And what about his plans for the future? A war wouldn't leave him with much time to pursue a personal life. Maybe he should wait on that—or maybe he should just live in the moment. If he postponed his life until everything was peaceful, he probably wouldn't have a life. It might be months or years before anything happened. Life was too short to wait on anything. He had to grab all he could while he was young and healthy. "But you could spare me—us for a few days, couldn't you? I mean—we'd be in the village if you needed us for something important. Right?"
She smiled. "Since I'm not accepting very many missions just now, it's possible. If you and Hinata agree to take on some guard duty, I don't see why I can't omit you from outside missions for the time being."
"Could you schedule us on the same shifts?"
"That can be arranged."
He relaxed. "Great. I guess I'll go look at Shikamaru's report now." He started to rise again.
"Wait, Naruto. There's something else I need to discuss with you. It came up while you were gone." She watched him sit back down. She leaned back in her own chair, and steepled her hands much the way Shikamaru did when he was thinking out a problem.
Naruto waited as patiently as he could for the Hokage to speak again. He started drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. He stretched out his legs, crossed his feet at the ankles and wiggled them back and forth. He looked around the room avoiding Tsunade's steady brown stare. He didn't know what was up with her, but he felt like a specimen. He didn't like the feeling. He was never going to sit down in her office again. Only bad things came from spending too much time with the Fifth. If she was trying to read his mind, he'd keep it deliberately blank. She seemed to know everything about him anyway without him opening his mouth. However, if she didn't say something soon, he was going to explode.
Luckily for her, she said something soon. "Naruto, 18 years ago when the nine-tailed fox attacked this village, I was no longer in residence. I heard the stories about what happened, but I had no first hand knowledge. I'd heard how the Fourth saved Konoha, and how you were the instrument of its salvation. I only knew one member of the Uzumaki family living in the village, but when I returned you were the only family member left."
He felt a lump in his throat. It had been a long time since he'd thought about his family. No one had ever told him anything about the Uzumaki's. He knew nothing about his mother and father or whether there were other members of the family still alive somewhere. He'd learned to live alone, rely on himself, and make friends where he could. He'd wanted more—so much more, but he'd never allowed himself the luxury of needing more. He was too old to cry about it now, but he'd shed many tears when he was an unwanted, lonely child.
"What does it matter now? You can't change anything," he said gruffly.
"Oh, but you're wrong. Things have changed."
"What do you mean?"
"Naruto, four days ago, a girl walked into this village, and was brought to my office. She told me her name was Naomi Uzumaki. She was 14 years old, and she'd lived all her life in a small, remote village about as far from Konoha as you can get, and still be a part of the Fire County. Her parents died from an influenza outbreak when she was five. She'd been cared for by a woman she called her aunt, but was actually no relation. That woman died recently, but told her to come to Konoha before she did so."
"Unh? What? Who is she? What is she to me?" he asked in a dazed voice. Could he really have family after all this time?
"From what I can figure out, she's your cousin."
"What do you mean from what you can figure out?"
"I don't understand why, but the Third left no detailed records of your family. I've search the record room thoroughly. I've talked to the older ninja who were in Konoha during the attack of the nine-tailed fox. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu are the only adult ninja from that time still alive, and they don't know many the details. Apparently, the Third made all the decisions and arrangements after the Fourth's death on his own."
"What about her—my cousin—Naomi—what does she know?" he asked urgently.
"Not very much. The only other person besides the Fifth who might have known anything about the Uzumaki family was the woman who cared for Naomi—Yukari Sarutobi."
"Sarutobi? Was she related to the Third?"
"She was his wife."
"What? But how?"
"We'll never know that for sure now. It was assumed that Yukari Sarutobi was killed by the nine-tailed. Naomi has a picture. It was definitely the Yukari Sarutobi I remembered even though I'd not seen her for 20 years. So that much of her story is true."
"Then how do you know she's really my cousin? She could be an imposter," he said glumly. Of course, this was too good to be true. Besides a 14 year old girl wasn't the kind of family he'd craved all life. A mother, a father or an uncle would have been more valuable to him than some barely teenaged girl.
She smiled. "Naturally, we'll run blood tests to be certain, but I think you'll find the family resemblance quite remarkable."
"What do you mean?"
"She looks just like you Naruto—or at least a female version of you. And if the Uzumaki genes breed true you're in for a lively relationship."
He scowled. "I don't believe it."
"For now, you'll pretend to. I'd like you to keep an eye on the girl in case her story may not be true—or completely true."
"But Granny Tsunade—I don't have the room at my place for a girl! I'm not a babysitter. How am I supposed to take care of a teenage girl?" he protested. Why couldn't his would-be cousin have been a boy? He could handle a boy cousin, but not a girl.
"She's been staying with me while Shizune is on that special mission. She can continue to stay with me and Shizune. We've got plenty of room. I want you to take charge of her during the days you aren't pulling guard duty. You can leave her with me in the evenings."
"But what will I do with her?"
"Show her around the village. Introduce her to your friends. Yukari Sarutobi had begun ninja training with her. Once I decide that she is who she says she is, I'll send her to school to complete her training."
"Isn't she a little old for school?"
"If she has any talent, she'll quickly graduate from ninja school, and be accepted as a genin. You could give her a little training yourself. Test her skills. Try to teach her some new ones. It will be good teaching practice for you."
"But—I'm meeting Hinata—I can't bring a cousin on a—I can't take her with me today. Come on, Granny Tsuande, give me a break. Let me start taking her around with me tomorrow."
She frowned at him. "I thought you'd be pleased to discover a new relative. I thought you'd be happy to know you aren't the only Uzumaki. I'm surprised at you. Is this the sort of welcome you should give family? She was very excited to discover that she had a cousin. She's been asking me hundreds of questions about you."
Now he was feeling guilty. He should have been happy and excited, too. Instead, he felt suddenly burdened. Here was a responsibility he'd never thought to have. His only known relative. What if he didn't like her? What if she didn't like him? What if she was annoying? What if she was a pest? What if she interfered in his relationship with Hinata? What if she interfered in his entire life?
"I really do have plans tonight. Can I just meet her, and make plans with her for tomorrow?" he pleaded. If the Hokage gave him permission, he wouldn't feel so guilty.
"Fine. She's your cousin. You can walk her home for me, and pick her up tomorrow after breakfast."
"Do you mean she's here?"
"That's right. I've put her to work filing in the old records room. There was no one to assign her to, and I didn't want her to get into trouble on her own. I knew you'd be getting back soon."
"What if she's really a spy sent here undercover to learn our secrets?"
"They're old files. She won't learn anything interesting from old, dusty records. Come on, I'll take you down there, and introduce you."
She led the way down to the old records room on the first floor. Naruto had never been in there before. Records and filing weren't of interest to him. He hoped he was never old enough to be taken off ninja duties and assigned clerical duties. He'd be bored out of his mind. He was glad Hokage's could delegate that kind of stuff to other ninja.
When he'd come in the back entrance, he could have walked right past the records room if he hadn't gone upstairs instead. He'd only entered that way a few times before and never paid any attention to the rooms in the back. He'd noticed the medic room was back there, too. He still didn't want to run into Sakura, so he hoped if she were somewhere on that floor, she wouldn't hear the clicking of Tsunade's heels ringing hollowly in the quiet hallway. They seemed peculiarly loud in the otherwise silent halls.
Leading the way, Tsunade opened the door, and entered the records room ahead of Naruto so he didn't see anything but her back until he stepped to the side of her.
"Naomi Uzumaki!" Tsunade reprimanded. "What are you doing to my files?"
"Nothing!" quickly answered husky, female voice.
Naruto was in time to see a girl jerk in surprise, and quickly drop the origami crane she'd been intricately folding. She looked up with her blue eyes widened, her mouth open in an O, and her face flushed in embarrassment. The sunny blonde pony-tail on the back of her head swung across her right shoulder as she sharply turned her head. She looked from Tsunade to Naruto and if possible her eyes opened even wider.
He met her look with a scowl. He didn't see any family resemblance. She didn't even look like his sexy jutsu. What was Granny Tsunade talking about?