The courtship of Naruto Uzumaki
XX. The Iseki Acting Troupe : a genin's eye view
Now this mission was getting sorta interesting.
I can't believe how cool Naruto is. Man, when he was questioning those monks, I thought for sure they'd confess. He was so harsh when he said 'Everyone in Konoha is our business.' It was awesome.
Those guys sure looked guilty from the get go. That head monk acted like he was so all important, but he looked real shifty eyed. As a matter of fact, none of those other monks would look us in the eyes either—oh yeah, except that guy at the door did a little bit. He seemed real mean at first then he backed down real quick when Naruto got tough with him. Even that head monk didn't sound so all-fire important when Naruto was questioning him. He sounded real lame when he was talking about his order. I didn't get what he said at all. He didn't explain it very good. I thought about asking him to explain again, but he was boring. I figured I'd ask Lady Hinata later if I still wanted to know. She probably got it. She's pretty smart.
What made me maddest was they didn't even say nothing to Botan and me or look at us or anything. It was like we weren't even there. They thought we were just kids. They didn't' care why we were there. They had no clue we were ninja in-training. That we were important, too. They had no call to just ignore us like that. I bet Naruto wouldn't let himself be ignored. He would have been right in their faces. But Botan and I didn't want to screw up this mission so we stayed good and quiet—but we didn't like it.
Man, I hope they're vampires—I mean, bad guys, 'cause I don't like any of 'em.
I gotta remember that Lady Hinata doesn't like us talking about vampires any more. I don't get why. Vampires could be real. They could! They didn't have to be just in stories. Some stories were true. It would be so cool if vampires were real—hey, but if not vampires maybe they were werewolves. That would be cool, too. Later after we're done, I gotta ask Botan what he thinks about werewolves. I can't remember if the moon was full last night. It would have to be full for it to be werewolves. That's what the stories say. I wonder if Lady Hinata is against werewolves, too.
I was really mad at first when Botan got picked to partner Naruto. I knew more about Naruto than Botan did. I've seen him around the village a lot. Everybody knows who he is. He wears that bright orange jacket. He's kinda noisy—not in a bad way. You can't miss him. He's even got the nerve to argue with the Fifth. I saw him do it one time when my dad took me to the ninja complex. Even my dad doesn't argue with the Fifth. My dad just shook his head and said 'That Uzumaki kid can get away with murder.' I know he didn't mean anything real bad by that. It's what my dad calls an expression. Anyway, my dad said hi to him later. And Naruto said hi back. He smiled at me, and said hi to me, too. Lots of ninja just ignore me, but Naruto didn't. He doesn't think he's too good to talk to a genin or lower. I like that about him.
Of course, Lady Hinata's nice, too. It's okay that she got mad at us. She was sorry right away afterwards, so I'll try not to think about vampires again—unless the Fifth says it's a vampire. Even Lady Hinata wouldn't yell at the Fifth about vampires if she says they're real. I wonder why Lady Hinata doesn't want to talk about vampires. Vampires would be real cool.
She's okay, Lady Hinata, is. I never met anyone with a kekkei genkai before. That's so cool being born with a skill instead of having to learn it. My family jutsu's hard to learn. I've seen my dad do it lots of times, but I'm having trouble with the whole thing. It's like holding the weapons with your mind instead of your hand and guiding them where you want them to go. It only works with metal objects 'cause my dad said he can't just sit still and bring things to him whenever he wants to. It has to be metal, and it's better if it's already in motion. He says in a fight he tries to get his enemy to throw weapons at him so he can work the jutsu better. I still don't get it very good. I accidently stabbed Botan with a kunai once. I was just trying to hit the tree behind him, but I lost control of it. Now I'm careful to practice by myself until I get the hang of the whole thing. I hope it kicks in soon. I feel kinda lame compared to some of the other genin who graduated in the same class as us.
Lady Hinata 's a really quiet and shy lady. I thought 'How can someone so lady-like be a kunoichi?' But everybody treats her just like a real shinobi so she's got to be good. Anyway, I've heard stuff about her cousin Neji Hyuga, and how he uses that same kekkei genkai. He might be a cool ninja, but he really acts like he's too good to say hi to anybody. He's on a good team, though. If I hadn't been picked for Naruto's team, I wouldn't have minded being on Neji's team with Rock Lee. Anyway, so if Lady Hinata's anything like Neji then she's got to be pretty good in a pinch. I can't wait for a real fight so I can see Naruto and Lady Hinata in action. I hope we see some action soon. It would be awesome.
And wow, they're boyfriend/girlfriend!
Botan and I laughed (not real loud) when they held hands in front of us, but they didn't care. That is so cool. I wish I could do that with a girl, but I don't really like anyone especially yet. Of course, I could like Etsu. She's our usual team mate, but I think she likes Botan. She thinks of me like just Botan's sidekick. She ignores me whenever Botan's around. But I don't care. Botan's my best friend. We've been best friends forever. I wouldn't let some girl break up our friendship. Besides, he's not really interested in her. He told me he likes older women. He thinks Sakura Haruno is the most awesome babe. She's Naruto's usual team mate. I wonder why she and Naruto aren't together instead of him and Lady Hinata? They're kinda alike. They both get a lot of attention by just being themselves. Maybe they're too much alike. Maybe two people who like a lot of attention can't be a couple because somebody gets more attention then somebody else. Lady Hinata doesn't need all that attention so Naruto can have it when they're together. That sounds right. Anyway, I like Lady Hinata a lot. She's nice. I'm glad she's Naruto's girlfriend—but, man, Sakura is hot.
It's cool that Naruto asks our opinion about stuff. I don't really know what to think, but I like being asked. I wish I could see something or discover something that would be really important. When we were at the monk's house, I looked and looked around, but there was nothing to see. The only thing there was monks. They didn't have anything else lying around that looked suspicious. I wonder if having no stuff is suspicious. Would monks have stuff? Aren't they like some religious group? Don't religious people usually give all their stuff away? I don't really know. I'll have to ask my dad when he gets back. He's one of the ninja sent out on the Fifth's big mission. I wonder how he's doing. I sure hope he's okay. Mom gets upset when my dad comes home hurt.
Now we're going to see the actors. I'm looking forward to that.
Botan and I went twice to a matinee of their show. It was awesome. Especially the magician. He really made things appear and disappear. I don't get how he did it. I asked my mom, but she said if we knew the trick then it wouldn't be as cool any more. I guess that's true, but I still want to know how he does it. It would be awesome to be a magician if I could do those tricks.
I wonder if Naruto will be as tough with them as he was with the monks. I wonder how he decides who to be tough with. Botan said he wasn't tough with everyone. Only the people that got tough with him. Is that something we'll learn later?
I think Lady Hinata would be polite with everybody. I don't think she could be mean even if someone deserves it. But she had to be in fights to get to be a jônin, so she must be able to get mean sometimes. It would really be interesting to see her fight. I can't imagine her hurting anybody. I wonder if we ever will.
The manager opened the door when Naruto knocked. I didn't know he was the manager but he said, "I'm Leiko Iseki, the manager of the Iseki Acting Troupe. How may I be of service?"
He looked older in person than he did on stage. He introduced all the acts during the show. He had on bright blue clothes. I thought he was younger, but now he had tired black circles under his eyes, and lines at the corners of them like an old person. He had grooves beside his mouth, and he looked tense even when he smiled at his.
Naruto gave the same spiel he'd given the monks. "We're ninja with the task force investigating the recent attacks on our citizens. We'd like a few words with you."
"I heard about some new attacks when I was out earlier. That's a real shame. No one was killed, I believe. Are they alright?"
Dang, he went outside that means he couldn't be a vampire—or something.
"They're still in critical condition. We're hoping for a full recovery," Lady Hinata answered.
"What can I do? How can I help? This is a truly horrible situation."
He sounded nice not at all like the monks. He looked at all of us. He smiled at Botan and me and offered us seats, but we couldn't sit down. We're professionals on duty. We don't relax.
"We'd like a little background on your troupe. Where have you come from? How many members are in your troupe? How long have you been here, and how long do you plan to stay in Konoha? Have you seen anything unusual or suspicious?" Naruto listed the usual questions. He wasn't being tough. He didn't need to be. This guy was being nice and friendly and cooperative.
"We don't have a home base. We're always on the road. That's why I started this troupe. I love to travel. We usually stay until the profits start to drop off. That usually takes 6 to 8 weeks. We've been here about 6 weeks now. There are 15 members of my troupe besides me. My brother Iwao and his wife Chiyoko are the headliners. There are the three Tanaka Brothers, Taji, Taro and Toshiro. Anda Higa is the trainer of the Wonder Dogs. The rest of the troupe are the performers in our skits, and they do double duty moving scenery, helping with wardrobe, etc."
"Could we talk to everyone?"
"Yes, of course, but could you do so during the morning hours? Everyone is resting now in preparation for tonight's performance. I'd rather not disturb them just now."
"Well—" Naruto hesitated.
"If you would give us a complete list of your troupe members to take back with us, ask them if they have any information on the attacks, and to report to the ninja complex if they do then we shouldn't need to trouble you again," Hinata answered for him.
"Yes, of course. I'll prepare it for you now." He sat down at the table to write down this information.
While this was going on, Botan and I looked around the room. It was messy unlike the monk's place. There were cases and clothes covering the floor. They looked like costumes because they were shiny, and flashy. The table he sat down at had a bunch of papers over it. That was about it. I looked at Botan. He looked at me. We both shrugged. We didn't notice anything suspicious.
After he finished writing, Leiko stood up and handed the paper to Lady Hinata rather than Naruto. I thought that was a nice thing to do. Naruto was acting like the leader, but Lady Hinata had asked for the list. He didn't ignore her, and he never ignored us. I liked that.
"Thanks for your cooperation. If we have any more questions, someone will be in touch. By the way, I really enjoyed your show even though I was there on the night those monks interrupted everything," Naruto told him.
"That was an unfortunate incident. I hope the monks are satisfied that we don't abuse animals. Anda Higa is one of the finest animal performers I've ever had in this troupe. She treats those dogs as if they were her own children."
"We haven't heard complaints from anyone else so I wouldn't take it seriously," Naruto assured him.
"I won't. Thank you. May I offer you complimentary tickets to another show? I'd love for you to see it without interruption."
"Thanks, but after these last two attacks, I don't think we'll have any free time in the near future."
"Yes, of course. That was thoughtless of me. You all must be very busy. I'm glad to see you've got two such fine helpers," he said with a smile at me and Botan. "Would you two like a pair of tickets for the show?"
"We're pretty busy, too," Botan said importantly. "We're ninja."
"We already saw your show twice. It was fantastic," I had to add my two ryos.
"Twice? Thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoyed it."
He took us to the door. We went out. We walked down the street a little bit then Naruto stopped us.
"Well? What did you guys think?" he asked.
Botan and I looked at each other. I don't know why we always had to look at each other before we said anything. I guess I was waiting for him to talk first. I always waited for him to go first. Maybe that's why Etsu thought of me as his sidekick.
"He seemed like a nice guy," Botan said hesitantly.
"Yeah," I agreed.
"Nice doesn't mean innocent. I've run into a lot of seemingly nice guys who turned out to be villains of some sort. Did you notice anything suspicious about him or the room while Hinata and I talked to him?"
Botan shook his head, but I blurted out, "He looked a lot older up close."
Naruto laughed. "I thought so, too. He must wear make-up on stage. You found that suspicious?"
"I guess not. I was just—ah—"
"Disappointed?"
"Yeah. I just wondered if the others are old-looking, too."
"Maybe we could come back tomorrow and find out. I bet you want to see what the Amazing Iwao looks like without his mask. Or does Lady Chiyoko look as beautiful in person as she does on stage."
I never thought of that—not the Lady Chiyoko thing but the Iwao thing. That would be cool to see what the Amazing Iwao looked like, but I wonder if it would be like finding out how his tricks worked—disappointing when you finally found out the answer.
"Don't make any plans for tomorrow. We'll probably be expected to man the front gate since Sakura's team is doing that today as well as patrolling tonight," Lady Hinata cautioned.
Even Naruto looked disappointed at this reminder.
"Oh well, maybe another day. Let's get back to our dissection of the interview. Did he say anything suspicious that you guys noticed?"
We shook our heads again.
"Hinata, what was your take on that interview?"
"He seemed genuinely concerned about the attacks. He seemed open and honest with his answers to our questions. He looked tired and stressed. I don't know that any of those observations constitutes anything suspicious."
"Neither do I. That's what makes me suspicious," Naruto announced.
She smiled at him. "Why is that?"
"I've been here before—so have you—where the mean guys are innocent and the nice guys are guilty. That makes me suspicious."
She shook her head. "Oh, Naruto, you can't tell what someone's like simply by how they behave. If only life were that simple."
"Yeah, I know, but wouldn't it be really convenient if that were the case? I hate it when the people I like are the guilty ones. I want the mean ones to be the bad guys. However, in this case, I really think those monks bad guys of some kind and they'e up to something. Maybe something completely different from attacking Konoha citizens and draining their blood—but something."
"I know what you mean. They wouldn't meet our eyes. That servile attitude may simply be common in monks, but I didn't feel they did it out of humbleness. I didn't think their concern for animals was genuine. Their accusations at the theater seemed so staged."
"I guess we'll just have to report our instincts on this since we don't have anything concrete to report. That's what the Hokage wanted."
"That's true. Our instincts haven't let us down yet,"
"Yeah, I guess we'd better head back to the complex and report it. C'mon guys. We've had enough for one day."
We trailed behind Naruto and Lady Hinata letting them talk about whatever while Botan and I had our own private discussion.
"What do you think about werewolves?" I asked.
"As the attackers?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know. Wouldn't they have eaten the guys not just drunk their blood?"
"Oh yeah. I didn't think of that. They'd be a mess after a werewolf attack."
"I still like vampires for it," Botan said softly looking carefully at Lady Hinata's back to make sure she wasn't listening.
"Me, too," I agreed just as softly.
"I wonder what the Hokage will say about it."
"She'll probably tell us to shut up about it, too."
"Yeah, probably."
We were quiet for a few minutes then Botan turned to look at me with shining eyes, "But it would be so cool, wouldn't it?"
"Totally," I agreed enthusiastically.
What would the Hokage say?