The courtship of Naruto Uzumaki
XIV. The lull before the storm
For the next few days nothing happened during the guard duty of any ninja to warrant a more intense investigation of the attacked man found in the woods. Naruto might have had that watched feeling again during his next night time patrol, but he never saw anything worth reporting. Just because the hair on the back of his neck seemed to stand up on its own, he felt the back of his head tingle, and the flesh on his arms got bumpy didn't mean anyone was behind him—at least, he'd never caught anyone watching him no matter how quickly he turned around. He had no choice but to put down that eerie feeling to an overactive imagination.
However, other things of interest, curiosity or annoyance did occur during the lull in crime to warrant some mention.
Over the next few days, Naruto managed to keep Konohamaru and Naomi apart due not to anything he actually did, but to the fact that Konohamaru seemed to be busy most of the time. He thought he might owe that circumstance to the Fifth. If so it was the first time she'd ever listened to him. Usually, she'd just set him an impossible task, and expect him to handle it. He didn't know whether to feel insulted or flattered that she'd chosen to help him this time. Whatever the reason he was grateful not to be in the middle of a doomed teen romance. Seeing it on the stage was bad enough. He'd hate to have to experience it in real life even vicariously.
He continued to teach Naomi the jutsu hand signs. He emphatically told her that she needed to know them better than she knew anything else in her life. She had to be able to make those signs in her sleep or unconscious. She had to be able to make those signs when her life depended on it.
She took his teaching seriously. She uttered no protest, complaint or grumblings, no dirty looks or signs of reluctance at his insistence. She practiced the signs faithfully until she could make them as quick as he could name them. She really seemed to want to learn everything she needed to become a ninja. He felt proud of her persistence—not just as his possible cousin, but as his student.
Of course, he especially could understand that sort of dedication. That's exactly how he'd felt about becoming a ninja. He hadn't worked at anything in his life the way he'd worked at that. He just hoped Naomi had talent enough to equal her determination. If she couldn't cut it, he didn't know what she'd do. He'd never had any other idea for his own future. He couldn't and wouldn't imagine doing anything else. He was just grateful that something had finally sunken in—even a forbidden jutsu to make him a worthy ninja. Of course, at that time he hadn't known about his hidden resources, but he was glad he hadn't known. He thought himself to be a better ninja because he'd had to work at it. Using Kyuubi was just his last resort in a fight. He now had plenty of his own strengths before borrowing on Kyuubi's.
If Naomi was a true Uzumaki, surely she'd have inherited an affinity for ninjutsu? He didn't know what ninjutsu skills of his own could be credited to his mother. He knew Jiraiya had made assumptions based on his Namikaze inheritance. His affinity for the rasengen was most probably from his father. What had he gained from the Uzumaki's? Maybe Naomi's progress would give him a clue.
During this time, he also decided to keep Naomi away from Hinata. Before he introduced the two of them, he wanted to be sure Naomi was who she claimed to be. He knew Hinata's kind heart. If Naomi was a fake she could worm her way easily into Hinata's affections just by playing on her connection to him. He wouldn't let that happen. He'd wait for the Fifth to tell him everything was okay before he introduced her to the most important person in his life. He wanted Naomi to be the real deal, but he wouldn't pin his future happiness on it.
This proved no problem when he was with Naomi. She still had no clue that he had a girlfriend. It was with Hinata that he felt guilty. It wasn't that she hounded him about it. She never asked to be introduced or why she hadn't been introduced. When Naruto mentioned Naomi—which he tried rarely to do—she only asked how Naomi was doing. She never made him feel guilty that he didn't bring her around which just made him feel more guilty. He swore to himself he'd make it up to her when he knew it was safe, but for now this was for the best. Hinata's protection came first.
He also continued his training of Botan, his genin patrol partner. He'd discovered that the kid had an interesting gekkei kenkei. He could stretch out any part of his body to about 25 meters, and probably more as he grew older. However, if he used up his chakra before contracting, he was stuck with whatever he'd done until he'd rested, and recovered enough chakra to go back to normal. He had some funny stories about some accidental stretching he'd done when he was younger and his chakra was limited. He was a very funny kid.
As he got to know the kid, Naruto found the similarities between them to be less prominent than he'd first thought—cocky grin notwithstanding. Unlike Naruto, Botan had a large family. He was the oldest boy, and first to attend ninja school of his brothers and sisters. He wasn't a real goof-off. He was actually just a funny kid who wound up being the class clown by default. That Naruto could identify with—except his experience as clown hadn't been deliberate. He envied Botan's ability to be funny on purpose. Luckily, Naruto had learned to laugh at himself or he'd have gotten a complex.
Surprisingly, Naruto found teaching to be an enjoyable task. Of course, he didn't know how he'd manage with a roomful of kids like Iruka sensei had—especially if he had a few goof-offs like himself, Shikamaru, Kiba and Choji. He didn't think he'd be able to keep his cool like Iruka sensei usually had. He began to admire his first teacher even more than he had in the past. He hoped Iruka sensei came back soon so he could tell him as much, and maybe even treat him to a meal at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar for a change. Yeah, he'd really enjoy that.
Naruto and Hinata didn't have another evening date during the next few days, but he spent his next day off with her.
She'd shown him the plans she'd sketched out for her water garden. Her little home and yard were separated from the main house by a fence. She had enough of a yard for a nice sized garden. She wanted a pond with a small bridge arching across. She'd planned an artistic arrangement of rocks and plants surrounding the pond. She intended to stock it with koi once it was completed.
Naruto admired her plans, but could think of nothing to add to. He simply complimented her on her drawing, and asked her where he should start digging. She placed stacks to outline the dimensions of her pond. He started in the center tossing the dirt outside the circle.
As he dug the 3 meter deep and 10 meter in diameter hole for her pond, she mended the clothes she'd insisted he bring with him. It took him half a day to dig the hole to the proper proportions. She begged him to quit several times to rest, but he'd wanted to finish this part of the job as quickly as possible. He didn't stop until he was finished. Then he covered the hole with a tarp until he had a chance on his next day off to line it so the water would stay without seeping into the ground.
"Whew! That was hard work," he exclaimed, throwing himself on her back porch to rest.
She had a tall, cool drink ready for him when he finished, and set it down beside him. "Thank you, Naruto. You worked so hard. You didn't have to finish it all today. I've had these plans for years. A few more days or weeks would not have mattered."
"Once I start something, I like to finish it. I'd set today's goal at digging the hole. I wasn't about to quit until I'd finished," he told her firmly. He sat up, took the glass she'd set beside him, and downed it in one long gulp. He lay back down breathing heavily when he'd finished.
"Would you like to take a bath? I have herbs and oils for the bath that will soothe aching muscles?" she suggested.
"Really? That would be great, but what would I change into? I didn't bring any clean clothes."
"Of course, you did. I mended everything in the basket you brought me."
"Already? I thought you'd work on it a little at a time."
"Once I start something, I like to finish it" she repeated with a smile.
He grinned up at her. "Thanks, Hinata. A bath would be great."
"Wait here. I'll fill the tub for you."
She walked into the house to draw his bath. He lay on the porch feeling the early fall breeze cool off his hot, sweaty body. In the quiet, he could hear the sounds of birds, and insects. He felt at peace lying there—as if he belonged there.
Hinata returned after a few minutes. "Everything's ready. Would—would you like me to scrub your back?" she asked shyly.
He flushed. "No, no, I can handle it. Thank you." He blushed at the thought. It was innocuous enough on the surface—having his back scrubbed. But he'd be naked with the girl he liked in a small enclosed room—no, no, he wasn't ready for that advancement in intimacy in their relationship, and judging by her red face she wasn't really ready for it either. After his unusually polite refusal, he quickly disappeared alone into her bath where a red face would be justified, and not a sign of embarrassment.
She cooked dinner for him again. He insisted on washing the dishes. They enjoyed each other's company discovering likes and dislikes they'd yet to reveal. Just being together was enough for both of them. It didn't matter what they did or where they went. Hinata began to feel more secure in her relationship with Naruto. She'd felt emboldened after her offer to scrub Naruto's back. She even began to initiate some of their kisses. It was a very sweet time in their fledgling relationship.
Early during his next guard shift, Kiba was accosted by the five monks of the Order of the Way of the Horse while he was taking a ride on Akamaru. He'd heard about the incident at the theater from the Fifth. She'd heard it from all the ninja in the audience at the time, and told her patrols to watch the group. They seemed peaceful, but that didn't mean the people they challenged wouldn't respond violently when provoked. If they were prepared to make a spectacle at the theater then they were capable of causing trouble any where.
"How dare you ride that dog like a mule? Get down from there, boy," the spokesman of the group, Yuu Higa demanded, pointing at Kiba then to the ground. He talked like an old man, but he could only have been in his thirties.
"Turn about is fair play, old man. He used to ride on me—now I ride on him," Kiba told him with an insolent laugh.
"Animals have no understanding of being used. They would do anything for a kind word or pat. It's unfair to subject them to hard, strenuous work. You should treat your pet more kindly" he said pedantically, crossing his arms, and glaring.
"Akamaru's not my pet. He's my partner." Kiba scratched behind his partner's ear which he seemed to enjoy as evidenced by his wagging tail.
"Your partner? That's absurd. Animals haven't that kind of understanding. Compared to us their intelligence is severely limited."
"You don't say? What do you think about that, Akarmaru? I think you're pretty smart—smarter than me sometimes. Am I your partner or what?"
Akamaru raised his head, and gave a loud bark then turned and snarled at the monks. They backed up quickly.
"Akamaru says you don't know what you're talking about."
"How dare you pretend to understand that animal's barking! You prompted him to bark. You're blatantly using that animal for your own purposes!"
Kiba patted Akamaru's head. "The Inuzuka family have always been able to talk dog. That's our specialty. I know exactly what Akamaru says to me just as he understands what I say."
"Inuzuka family?"
"That's right. If you don't get off my case, I'll have my mom or sister come over, and have a chat with you. They wouldn't like your attitude at all. So watch out. You don't want to make a female Inuzuka mad. I'm the even tempered one in the family." He shook his head in warning.
"We'll see about that." The abbott nudged one of his monks.
The other monk reached into his pocket, and pulled out his wooden whistle. Before he could blow it, Akamaru leaped on top of him, pinning his arms to the ground.
"Help! Get him off me!" The grounded monk cried, and tried to struggle, but he was no match for the large dog.
"How dare you accost a monk of a peaceful order! Remove that animal immediately," the abbot demanded backing safely out of range.
Akamaru barked, lowered his head and snarled.
Kiba jumped down from Akamaru's back, bent down, and plucked the whistle from the downed monk's hand. "I heard about this whistle. Dogs can hear it, but human's can't. Dogs don't like it. For someone who pretends a concern for animal welfare that seems on the cruel side to me. I don't like it either." He dropped it on the ground, stepped on it, and ground it into a few dozen pieces.
"How care you! You've damaged a valuable artifact! I demand compensation. I'll report this to your Hokage."
"Why don't you do that? She wasn't too pleased by your disruption of the performance at the theater the other day. That kind of thing gives Konoha a bad name. Don't worry, I intend to tell her about this incident myself. Why don't you head home before you cause any real trouble? Come on, Akamaru, we've given them their warning."
Akamaru moved off the monk, and settled beside Kiba. They watched as the monks hastily pick up their downed companion, mumbled disgruntled things, sent them dark looks, and hurried away. Kiba reported the incident to his team leader, Sakura, and hoped the Fifth would give those monks a talking to. He wouldn't be as nice the next time he ran into that group if they accused him of mistreating Akarmaru again. If that happened he just might let Akamaru do whatever he wanted with the group. That might change their be kind to animals stance in a major way.
Shikamaru studied the pool table carefully before setting up for his next shot. Choji knew he didn't stand a chance beating him at any game of skill, but he enjoyed playing games with his best friend anyway. At least he had a better chance of beating Shikamaru at pool than he did at shogi. Only Asuma sensei had ever challenged Shikamaru at shogi. Asuma sensei had been smart, but even he couldn't beat Shikamaru at shogi. Nobody could.
Choji stepped aside, as his friend made his way around the table preparing for the best possible shot.
Shikamaru set up, aimed, and sunk his shot perfectly. He missed the next one, but only by a hair, giving Choji a chance to play.
At the end of the game, while Shikamaru racked up for the next one, Choji finally told him what had been on his mind since their last turn at guard duty.
"Hey, Shikamaru, while we were on patrol the other night—did you ever have the feeling you were being watched?" he asked lightly.
Shikamaru stopped gathering the balls, and looked over at his friend. "Yeah, I did."
"So maybe it wasn't Naruto's imagination—about being watched? Maybe we were being watched?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we were all feeling antsy, and Naruto's suggestion got under our skin. In the quiet of the night, virtually alone, your mind can play tricks on you."
"A collective delusion?"
"Maybe or maybe there was someone watching all of us. Maybe someone's looking for his or her or their next opportunity to attack someone. Maybe that person's studying our routine looking for ways around the patrol. That's why I insist on mixing things up, and not doing our patrol in a pattern. We've got to stay as unpredictable as possible so this person doesn't get a good opportunity to attack again."
"Why haven't we seen anyone? Nobody's mentioned seeing anything out of the ordinary. How can someone watch us, but not be seen?"
"I don't know that either. Maybe this person is just ordinary—someone we expect to see so we don't even notice. We just have to do our jobs the best we can to prevent another attack. The Fifth questioned the attacked guy's family. Nobody seemed suspicious. There wasn't any evidence around his home to suggest that the attack occurred at his house or his neighbor's or his work. Not one of his family or acquaintance has an explanation. No witness has come forward. We've got nothing to go on."
"Hey, how do you know what the Fifth's been up to?" Choji asked in surprise.
Shikamaru shrugged. "The Fifth explained the situation, and asked my opinion. She knows I'm good at this kind of thing. But even I can't figure out what happened when there's no evidence. I'm good, but even I'm not that good."
"I knew you'd be involved in this investigation somehow. The Fifth doesn't have anyone else to rely on in a situation like this," he said with admiration.
"She's not bad at deduction herself. But we couldn't come up with anything concrete to go on. Unfortunately, to move forward we'll just have to wait and see if there's another attack which at the same time we'll do our damnest to prevent." Shikamaru gestured for Choji to break.
"Bummer."
"Yeah. Ain't it just," Shikamaru agreed morosely, and watched Choji sink his first shot.
They sure didn't need some strange, assailant roaming the streets of Konoha looking for trouble while most of the ninja were gone for an extended period of time. This could be more troublesome than anything he'd dealt with in a long time. He hoped Choji's idea of a collective delusion was on the mark, but he doubted it. Someone was watching them. He sensed it intuitively. He just didn't know how. Damn it!
Tsunade breezed into the lab on the second floor of the ninja complex, her jacket and pig-tailed hair wafting away from her body in the wake of her rapid advance. She stopped at the side of the lab tech working at a counter.
"You have those lab results for me, Mai?"
"Right here," the woman about Tsunade's age, but without her ability to appear younger, handed her the paperwork she'd recently completely.
Tsunade read over the results quickly, her brow furrowed into a deep frown. "This is impossible! Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
"I performed the test myself. I don't make mistakes," the tech told her haughtily.
"I need unquestionably accurate results, Mai. If there's the slightest chance that an error has been made—"
"Impossible," the woman interrupted curtly.
"Humpf! I want you to acquire new samples. When you run the tests next time, I want to be present."
"The results will be the same."
"Let me be the judge of that. I must be sure."
The lab tech threw up her hands. "Fine. I'll let you know when I'm ready to take the new samples. You can witness every step of the procedure from the beginning if that will make you happy."
"I'm not searching for happiness. I'm searching for answers. Keep me informed," she ordered turning abruptly away. When she reached the door, she turned back. "Mai?"
"What?" she snapped back.
"I'm sorry to doubt you, but I must be absolutely certain. Humor me."
She sniffed. "When have I ever done other than everything you've asked of me?"
"Never. Thank you, Mai. You're the only one I can trust with this."
"You're welcome. Now get out of here, and let me get back to work."
Tsunade smiled briefly, but once out the door her face fell back into an intense frown. Yukari Sarutobi, what were you up to?, she thought angrily.