Chapter Eleven: Two Ships Passing in the Night
Naruto was bored, bored, bored.
Ero-Sennin had left him alone- AGAIN- and Naruto was left to his own devices for entertainment. Kami only knew when the pervert would come back, he had mentioned something about "meeting with a contact", but Naruto knew that that could mean any one of many things.
Occasionally, Ero-Sennin actually worked, but it seemed to be a rare thing.
Naruto thought about wandering by the bathhouses to see if his Sensei was on the ground unconscious outside again, but he didn't really feel like being associated with the old pervert anyway. The old man could take care of himself.
So instead he wandered the streets of some town in the Land of Vegetables aimlessly.
It was kind of nice, actually. No one here knew that he was a jinchuuriki, or a ninja for that matter. He kept his tools hidden when he was around civilians, so to them he just looked like any other kid.
Naruto had originally taken advantage of that to pull some really awesome pranks, but he'd discovered that playing pranks on civilians didn't feel quite so satisfying. They either got really scared, or could get very injured. So he'd decided to just use his pranks as traps around the hotel rooms they stayed in and hoped the Ero-Sennin would accidentally trip one.
He hadn't yet, but Naruto knew it was just a matter of time. He'd been working on a good one lately, involving his Sexy no Jutsu (with a different color hair and eyes, stupid Ero-Sennin caught on fast otherwise), a bucket of honey mixed with smoke tags, and copious amounts of glitter (of course).
Naruto grinned maniacally, startling more than a few of the civilians in his path. A vegetable vendor quietly and gently pushed his young daughter back into the doorway and shut it, coming back to the stall with a false smile.
Naruto didn't notice this, however, absorbed as he was in the idea of his teacher being covered in permanent marker and glitter, stating for all the world that he was "Princess Pervert".
Naruto stopped short, however, when he caught a glimpse of the back of a familiar head standing by the vegetable stall. 'That looks like Sasuke-bastard's hair', he thought quickly, and was about to leap and accost his former teammate when he remembered how well that worked out last time he thought he'd found Sasuke by his hair's duck tail.
That time, it had been a girl who'd had to cut her hair off because one of her classmates had put gum in it, and she'd pounded him so fiercely that he couldn't see straight. The time before that, it had actually been a duck he'd seen from a distance, and it wasn't alone.
Naruto's hand slid protectively to his nose to remind himself that the ducks hadn't actually managed to wrench it off his face, and groaned.
'It's probably not the bastard anyway.' Naruto looked resignedly down at the ground and clenched his fists in frustration.
His stomach growled, and Naruto started at the sound coming from his own stomach.
"Time for dinner! 'Ttebayo!" Naruto cheered. He bowled headlong down the street in search of the ramen stand he'd found earlier that day for lunch, nearly knocking over a few people in the process.
Thirty feet away, Sasuke froze suddenly, holding a cherry tomato to his open mouth.
Once he had gotten his heartbeat back under control, he decided it might be for the best if he hurried to get the rest of the groceries instead of lingering at the vegetable stand. A few minutes later, he regretted that hasty decision and returned for more produce. He'd forgotten all about asparagus in his haste to escape the open streets for the safety of a Naruto-free hotel. Sasuke slipped through the streets much more carefully this time, sticking to the shadows and blending in with the crowds consciously. He could have sworn he'd actually heard the baka shrieking in the middle of the street, but when he finally managed to will his head to turn, Naruto was long gone.
The signs of his passing were there, though, people grumbling and picking up things the baka had obviously knocked right out of their hands as he barreled past them. Also there were bits of silver and pink glitter floating in the breeze, for some terrifying reason. That could only be Naruto.
Sasuke consciously did not grimace, keeping Sifu's lessons in mind as he walked back to the hotel. He didn't want to call attention to himself here, especially with Naruto and his disgrace of a teacher around.
The thought of being noticed, not to mention caught, by either of them truly rankled.
Sasuke balanced one of the bags of food on his hip, and unlocked the door to his hotel room with his free hand. He grabbed the bag haphazardly again and slid inside, letting the door slam shut behind him.
A loud slam caught Naruto's attention, and he poked his head outside the hotel room door to see what was going on. To his confusion, the hallway was entirely deserted, save for a lone grape that had fallen out of someone's grocery bags in front of a room three doors down.
Naruto shrugged, and shut his door, crossing the room dejectedly and flopping onto his bed. A moment later, the door opened and closed behind him, and Naruto jumped off the bed to accost his pervert of a mentor.
"Pervy Sage, you've been gone forever!" he shouted, pointing his finger.
Jiraiya blanched, and from the rosy tint of his cheeks Naruto could tell he was absolutely drunk.
"Whaassssa maadderr, Narutoooo?" Jiraiya boomed, and then hiccupped violently. "I dun suppose your sexy jutsu will be showing up tonight, huh?" He elbowed Naruto and winked suggestively, the gesture being effectively ruined when he hiccupped again and lost his footing, reeling slightly and leaning on Naruto.
"EW, ERO SENNIN!" Naruto shrieked, and shoved Jiraiya away from him. He stumbled backwards onto the bed, and evidently seemed to think that was a fantastic place to be, as he curled himself up on top of the sheets and grabbed a pillow in a manner it would have found offensive if it weren't an inanimate object.
"Ugh!" Naruto groaned loudly, grabbing a pillow off of his own bed and shoving it into his face to stifle his shouts of frustration. "When am I going to get a teacher that isn't a gross pervert?"
"Now, Sakura, I don't expect you to best Kakashi, but I am expecting you to be able to get a few hits in." Tsunade leaned back against a tree, and crossed her arms. "If this new sword style is as extraordinary as you and Kakashi claim, you should be able to accomplish that."
Sakura nodded firmly, and Kakashi lazily put Icha Icha Violence away into his side pouch, and gripped both hands on his wooden blade. Sakura dropped down into a defensive position, and watched Kakashi stare back at her through half-closed lids. They stood in that manner for a few moments, as Sakura desperately did not want to charge in and get her ass summarily handed to her in a spar that was supposed to showcase her new skills.
"Just start already, you two." Tsunade barked.
'Just start it, we can kick his ass, chyaa!' Inner Sakura cheered. 'Uncle told us to set the pace, don't let that pervert set it for you!'
True enough.
Sakura raced at Kakashi, swiping up and around to counter a block, her sword meeting Kakashi's. She looked up to see his lone eye glinting at her, and flinched knowingly even before he pulled his sword up and down quickly, and pushed her back onto her ass.
"Ugh…" she groaned, lifting herself up off the ground. She bit her lip and stared consideringly at Kakashi.
"Kakashi, only use moves from this style. You've got enough advantages over Sakura as it is." Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Kakashi, and he blanched before nodding.
"Start again."
This time, Sakura had a new plan of attack. She slid forward, ducking to Kakashi's left (unfortunate man, always having to cover one eye), and sliced up and across at Kakashi's torso, which he blocked a little too slowly, as his sword was still pushed back into his stomach with a soft thud, and he grunted.
Sakura hadn't really thought that would work, anyway, and she grinned. While he was pinned slightly, she twisted her arms to slide her sword up, and pushed his down. This left his side entirely vulnerable, and she stepped in a little closer, wedging her foot in between his, separating his sword from his hands rather violently.
She could see Kakashi's mouth drop even under his mask, and grinned ferally.
"It may be best if you do not allow yourself to become disarmed in a swordfight, Kakashi sensei." Sakura piped with saccharine sweetness, as Kakashi's uncovered eye twitched.
To the side, Tsunade started laughing almost to the point of sickness. Kakashi gaped a little while Sakura smiled, as Tsunade continued to slide down the trunk of the tree. She slumped down on the ground, and wiped her eyes with a dainty hand, before catching Sakura's eyes and chucking again. "Again." Tsunade ordered, and leaned her head forward to watch. "Kakashi, try not to be an embarrassment this time. You make ANBU cry."
The next few times were much harder, as Kakashi learned very quickly and was somehow unwilling to be bested by a fifteen year old. Sakura did manage to get a few good hits in, but mostly struck glancing blows.
She was surprised that she was able to hold her own, frankly. Granted, she hadn't been utilizing Tsunade's strength techniques, but those were about as likely to shatter her sword as to help her cut cleanly. She certainly had an advantage by being trained by Uncle and practicing the katas longer, but Kakashi had decades of battle experience to fall back on.
His inability to cheat by using techniques he had already known in front of Tsunade's watchful eye was no doubt the only reason he didn't kick her ass. In a real fight, she would have been royally boned.
But this was still progress, as far as she was concerned. Even less than a year ago, she'd have had no hope of besting Kakashi, even in a restricted spar. So Sakura was going to relish every hit she got in, gleefully bruising his ribs and arms.
Tsunade watched cheerfully as Sakura rightfully bludgeoned her sensei upside the head with a grin Tsunade mentally likened to one of those demented-looking porcelain dolls. This had been well worth abandoning her paperwork to Shizune's capable attentions, she thought as she relaxed back into the tree trunk, humming blissfully to herself.
With a loud thwack! Sakura's wooden sword hit Kakashi's again, but this time he was having none of it. He stepped and inserted his left foot on the inside of Sakura's left leg and swung it around, upending her onto her ass.
Sakura growled, but Tsunade had had enough amusement for one day. No sense in having to spend her whole afternoon patching up two twits, really. "Stop." She motioned with her hands, and Kakashi gleefully stepped back, putting a decent distance between himself and a very grumpy, dirt-covered Sakura. Sakura stood up and brushed herself off, glaring at Kakashi balefully, before turning back to Tsunade.
"You two are done for the day. Now both of you get out of my sight and cleaned up, you look terrible. Sakura?"
Sakura nodded shortly, and stepped forward. "Good job. You still have your shift later today at the hospital, I expect you to be there. The rest of the day is yours." With that, Tsunade stood gracefully and strode back to the Hokage Tower, daydreaming all the way of getting one up on those smug Rock nins .
Sasuke had acquired quite the entourage in the last few months. The girls and that one boy with the shaggy hair followed him doggedly in public, but Hideyoshi was always with him.
Hideyoshi was by far Sasuke's favorite companion (especially since most of his followers were actually unwelcome), and was with him most of the time. He was very intelligent, and well-suited to Sasuke's techniques, compensating for his weaknesses in mid-range combat and any potentially lethal openings in his taijutsu with impeccable timing. Though that was to be expected, after hours of practice on and off the training grounds. Now, when they walked through the streets, Hideyoshi wove protectively around Sasuke's feet, perfectly in sync with his steps.
Of course, not even Hideyoshi would be able to help Sasuke while he was using his firebending, being that fur was rather flammable.
And so, Iroh and Sasuke practiced firebending around noon every day, while Hideyoshi sprawled out happily on the warm grass a good distance away.
Sasuke's disposition had certainly improved in the time Iroh had known him, but having a constant companion had done his attitude wonders. He seemed a little more trusting and open, and wasn't nearly so tense.
Iroh was relieved to know that his initial assessment of the situation had held true, and that the haunting visit to the Uchiha compound had been so fruitful. He watched intently as Sasuke parried a blow from a shadow clone with his katana, forcing the blade up and away from its torso. This gave Hideyoshi an opening, and he shot up from between Sasuke's feet. He bit, tore, and scratched up the shadow clone's side, and Sasuke took advantage of its distraction to bring his blade down hard on the clone's shoulder, slicing it apart and dispelling the clone entirely.
Hideyoshi fell on his feet gracefully, and turned to Sasuke.
"That was good." Hideyoshi yawned, stretching out to rub his fluff-covered stomach on the grass.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm not done training yet for the day, are you giving up already?"
"It's really nice out, I want to nap. Besides, the other nin-cats think you're ready for a second summons. Why don't you call it?" Hideyoshi yawned, and flopped down on the ground, rolling around on his back.
"Really?" Sasuke crouched down and poked Hideyoshi's stomach with his finger. "And you would share with them? What if I like them better than you?"
One of the nin-cat's golden eyes opened slightly, glaring disdainfully into Sasuke's own. "You wouldn't."
Taunting Hideyoshi was actually kind of fun, Sasuke had to admit. Had Sasuke really been this stuffy? Sifu's ill-disguised giggles and pointed comments certainly indicated he had.
Then again, Hideyoshi was already almost double the size he had been when Sasuke had first summoned him, and was growing larger and stronger with every summoning. Sasuke wasn't entirely sure he wanted the ire of a man-sized cat directed at him, so he stayed silent and scratched behind his nin-cat's ears.
"Well, I do think that I might have a use for a nin-cat with good tracking skills, or one that is better suited for stealth, Hideyoshi." Hideyoshi momentarily stopped purring and rolled back onto his stomach, with his gaze fixed on Sasuke.
"Those things sound boring." Hideyoshi idly flexed his claws into the dirt. "But I know there are nin-cats like that." He lifted one of his paws delicately, indicating that Sasuke should accept it. Sasuke obligingly squeezed his paw lightly and set it back down on the ground, before returning to absently scratching behind Hideyoshi's ears. "I'll find one for you," Hideyoshi announced, as he quirked his tail to indicate that he would like to be petted, "it would reflect badly on me if you died because your other summons are miserably incompetent."
"How generous of you." Sasuke deadpanned as he moved his hands into his lap, and Hideyoshi nodded solemnly before cancelling his summons.
"So, are you my new kenjutsu instructor?" Sakura asked cautiously, mentally checking that she had actually arrived at the correct place and time Shizune had given her.
The purple-haired kunoichi on the other end of the clearing looked her up and down clinically, and inclined her head slightly.
"I am Yugao Uzuki, Shizune told me you needed help with basic kenjutsu to supplement something you've learned, is that accurate?"
Sakura nodded, and stepped into the training field gingerly. "I've been learning a sword style that's different, but Tsunade-shishou said I need to learn the basics to make it more usable."
'All right then, we'll start from the beginning." Yugao removed her sword from her hilt, and stood at a ready position.
"Follow me."
Sakura trained with Yugao for weeks, trying to learn the basics of kenjutsu. She had to admit, something about the movements didn't translate as well as she would hope. It was choppier and more rigid than the style that Uncle had taught her, it fought against her muscles instead of utilizing her momentum and the natural movements of her body to power the blows.
But she had learned one vital thing that Uncle would have never taught her.
Cheating like a ninja.
"Begin!" Tsunade chirped from the side, intent on watching another interesting training session. These were fast becoming her favorite event of the week, watching Sakura and Kakashi duel with practice swords. Kakashi had quickly closed the gap between his and Sakura's proficiency with the sword style, and Tsunade hadn't expected any less from the genius.
Sakura hadn't taken that lying down, however, and was more determined than ever to trounce her sensei. That hadn't really worked out in her favor, but it didn't stop the poor girl from trying.
Tsunade had to admit that she had really found a diamond in the rough when she picked up Sakura, the girl just had absolutely no interest in taking "no" for an answer.
Sakura waited patiently, and stepped to the side as Kakashi took a tentative swipe at her. For the first few minutes, Tsunade was actually supremely disappointed. This seemed more like a practice duel between two contemplative old men than her feisty apprentice and the famed Copy Nin.
Sakura grinned inwardly, calmly deflecting a probing blow from Kakashi. He obviously knew she was planning something, which is why he wasn't getting in close. In their other bouts, she had made most of the aggressive moves, and forced him to keep up with her. This time, she was lying in wait, which really seemed to throw him off.
She took a step back, and Kakashi hesitantly took a half-step towards her, counting on his extended reach to keep her on the defensive. Sakura parried another blow, and swiftly sent a soft hit in Kakashi's direction. He deflected it easily, and stepped to her right, evidently hoping to take advantage of the fact that she was right handed and wouldn't be able to swing at him easily.
That was good. 'One more step and we get him, chyaa!' Inner Sakura cheered, pumping her fist in the air victoriously. 'Kakashi-sensei won't know what hit him!'
Tsunade rolled a piece of grass between her fingers when a shadow fell over her.
"Hello, Shizune." Tsunade leaned back against her tree, and extended an open hand, into which Shizune placed a glass of water.
"How is her training going?" Shizune watched their bout passively, taking a sip of her own water before placing a tray on an even patch of ground. Kakashi took another step to Sakura's right, closing a bit of the distance between them and forcing her to use only awkward, outward stroked to defend herself.
Tsunade opened her mouth, when Sakura took a sudden step forward and wrapped her ankle around Kakashi's left leg, pinning him in place as she hip-checked him directly in the groin.
"Better, now." Tsunade grinned, as Sakura smirked at her sensei groaning on the ground, wooden katana entirely forgotten on the grass. "Did Yugao teach her that?"
"No." Shizune was obviously still in the transitioning stage between utter shock and laughing on the ground. "I think that's a Sakura original."
OMAKE TIME
"What in the Kami's name was that." Hideyoshi stated flatly, eyeing the trail of scorch marks and flaming grass stemming from Sasuke.
"That was called firebending, Hideyoshi." Iroh grinned warmly at the wary Bengal. Hideyoshi blinked slowly, and turned back to Sasuke. He narrowed his eyes, and Sasuke bit his lip somewhat nervously, afraid of his summon's reaction.
"I'm still going to work with you, but if you light my fur on fire, I will personally ensure that every cat on the continent will be out for your blood." Hideyoshi elegantly rose up off of his haunches, and strutted back to the house.
Sasuke stared dumbly at the cat's retreating form, then looked back to Iroh.
"He was entirely serious, wasn't he?"
Iroh could only nod blankly back at his apprentice, warily watching the Bengal saunter through the front door. "But now I have to wonder what he would look like bald." Sasuke mused, taking a seat on the ground next to Iroh.
"I do not think it would be worth the price you would pay for the privilege, Sasuke."