Unforeseen Consequences

Chapter 5: Students and Masters

Naruto was just walking aimlessly through the streets he had already had his talk with Tsunade. So far they hadn't come up with anything new against Akatsuki. Jiraiya was on his way to give a report on anything he could have come up with and maybe even train Naruto for a bit as well. Naruto was looking forward to that. But there was something else on his mind lately and that was the sparring he had seen between Ino and Sakura.

He had seen Sakura fight many times, she was always amazing. Hell she did beat that puppet guy from Akatsuki. But Ino had surprised him he hadn't really seen her fight since the chunin exams against Sakura all those years ago. Tsunade still wasn't any help when he has asked about that, she just smirked at him and shook her head, saying that she wasn't going to get in the middle of that.

Naruto hated it when people talked about things he didn't understand without explaining it. It was just so frustrating. At any rate that was what led him to this point, he was starting to think that maybe he should just put his free time to some use with some more training. That spar with Neji had been fun but he still felt he could get stronger. He had to get stronger, he couldn't relay on the power of the Fox anymore like he had when he was a kid. He had to use his own power now and not borrow from the damn Fox. Already it had caused him to hurt Sakura, his face fell remembering that.

Although he didn't remember what happened when he entered the Fox's cage, he did remember when he was told how Sakura had gotten that injury on her arm. It was then that he had to use his own strength first Jiraiya had been hurt maybe even nearly killed and now Sakura. He was hurting those closest to him with that power. So now he thought about different ways to improve.

He could try to do the chakra concentration exercises to help him with his control, but he never did have the patience for it. He would most likely just make an army and pass out when he was finished. Maybe he could track down Lee and ask for weights to increase his speed? That could work although it could take awhile for him to build up to the kind of speed he needed. He didn't really know any weapons he could train in other than the usual stuff he carried and the only weapon user he knew was Tenten. She could be nice but she could only teach him at her level, so no shadow clones at least not too many.

Plus what kind of weapon would he even bother to train with? So he put that idea aside and tried to think of more. Genjutsu was out as he just royally sucked at it he honestly had no talent at all for it so he just skipped it. He might want to look up more wind style jutsus, that was one possibility, maybe he could track down Kakashi, he might know where he could get some more. He had decent control over his wind chakra now. Another possibility was trying to find a way to safely use the Rasenshuriken, but if Sakura or Tsunade found out they wouldn't be too happy with him. He was supposed to be forbidden to even use it, which really sucked for him. All that time making such a kick ass move and what happens after he uses it to wipe the floor with that weird Akatsuki? Turns out he can't use it because it would ruin his ninja career.

Oh well, it wasn't like he didn't know adversity in life, it was just another thing to overcome.

While Naruto was on his wonderings a familiar person had seen him. This was none other than Jiraiya himself the Toad Sage and master for Naruto. He had been on his way to see Tsuande when he saw his apprentice. He always did like Naruto, he was a perfect blend of his parents and over those two and a half years, he had enjoyed the time with the boy. It reminded him of another time, with three other youths back in Rain. He wondered what became of them, he had looked into it, but the three just seemed to have disappeared. That worried him but he had faith that they were okay.

He decided to talk with his latest student, besides he was still early and he wanted to check in on him.

"Hey Naruto."

Naruto looked over to who had called him and he broke out into a smile. "Ero-sennin!"

The older man sighed. "When will you ever stop calling me that?"

"When you stop being such a pervert." He grinned crossing his arms.

"I told you that I'm not a pervert, I'm a super pervert!" He yelled in his face totally forgetting that they were out in public. Many stopped to give strange and shocked looks, the women also took several steps away from Jiraiya as well.

"Anyways when did you get back?" Naruto asked him.

"Just now," he said smiling at the boy. "So how have things been? Heard that you came up with something new while I was gone."

Naruto got a huge grin on his face, "Yeah I completed the rasengan! I put my wind charka into it and came up with this killer move!"

Jiraiya laughed as he clapped the boy on his back. "That's my student! It took Minato years to just make the rasengan but you managed to finish what he started in no time."

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei came up with his major training using a lot of shadow clones."

"Ah, so that's how he did managed to get you to pull it off in such a short time," Jiraiya thought about that. It made sense as Naruto used shadow clones like people wore shoes, he might be the only person to be a true 'master' of that jutsu. With each clone gaining experience it would cut the training down from years to days. The only reason he hadn't bothered to try that while on the training trip, was that the kid just wasn't ready for that kind of training. It was very harsh and no one but him could pull it off and live. But now that he could train that way, there was no telling what he could pull off in the future.

"Hey, Ero-sennin can I as you something?" Naruto said a little more serious but also looking slightly nervous.

"Sure what is it?"

"Well it's just that Sakura-chan and Ino-chan have been acting strange lately," Naruto said.

Jiraiya lifted an eyebrow at the last part, as far as he knew the Sakura girl was the only girl that he used the 'chan' at the end of the name. Had something been going on lately, his 'pervert sense' started to tingle as he felt something really good was going on in the village. He grinned as he looked at the young man.

"Ino-chan, huh? I thought you liked the little pink haired girl only. Have you given up or are you making a move on someone else?"

"I-it's not like that!" Naruto said although he did blush bright red. "She's just been really nice to me lately."

"Nice how?" Naruto went on about how she had offered to treat his team but only Sakura could make it. Also how her teammates seemed to have been busy. Jiraiya couldn't believe how the boy could miss obvious signs like that. He had tried to teach him about women on the trip, but he had always been more interested in jutsus and less then, 'ways of the perverted hermit' as he called it. If the boy had he might have known exactly what was going on. But there had to be something else going on as well.

He asked what else was going on with them and he explained the training he saw, and how for some strange reason the girls were going all out suddenly when they knew he and Tsunade were there. He had asked Tsunade but she hadn't told him a think. Jiraiya however could see what was going on, the boy now had the girl he had pinned after for years interested, but also it would seem another girl had entered into the race for his heart. He chuckled to himself at how lucky the boy was, having two such women would be any man's dream.

"Naruto let me give you some advice on women," he said as they walked on. "First off, no man, not even me, will ever truly understand them. They had their own rules and way of thinking, you can get some of them but only a women can truly understand another woman I fear. But there are a few things that you should remember about them."

"First off if they find something they really want they will fight to the death for it sometimes. Trust me I've seen how competitive they can get, they say males are territorial but we don't hold a candle to women defending what they think is 'theirs'. Another thing is that a woman is known to change her mind, like is she likes some boy she'll go after him."

Naruto sighed and nodded, remembering how all the girls had been like back in school with Sasuke, even Sakura.

"But like I said, they have been known to change their minds and they could decide they like another boy."

"Really? So...you think that say one day, a girl that likes one boy for a long time might...like another that she didn't like for awhile?"

Jiraiya could see what he was getting too, "Yeah that can happen, but also be prepared. Maybe a girl you never once considered before might like you and decides to want you."

That made Naruto blush, "Y-you really think so? But how will I know if a girl likes me?"

The toad sage sighed, he really wished Naruto had paid attention when he tried to teach him about women more. "There are a few signs, one is that they make meals for you, want to spend time with you, they smile or blush a lot, maybe even a little nervous. They might even try to be more physical with you?"

"P-physical?" Naruto gulped and grinned at the images that gave him.

Jiraiya chuckled as he saw that, maybe there was hope for his apprentice after all.

-Hokage's Office-

Tsunade was having a hard time at the moment, it had nothing to do with reports (those were finally finished thank god), or any political problems on the rise. In fact it wasn't even something to do with her job as Hokage but more as a woman. Her talk with Sakura had been making her think on her own past, she wondered when it was that she had fallen for the old pervert. Sure he was a major pervert and wrote those adult books but what little people knew what that, it was those books that opened her eyes.

It all started years ago, while she had been running away from her pain after Dan's death that she had seen one of Jiraiya's books. She knew the kinds of stuff that were in it, but maybe out of boredom or maybe just curiosity she bought one. Of course she wasn't surprised by the smut in it, she was surprised by the plot between two of the characters. One character was a man that had fallen madly in love with his teammate, of course the girl blew him off but he kept on trying. She had read how he would always be there for her and how when she hurt, he hurt as well. How torn up he had been when their other teammate betrayed them. How he had wanted to die when the woman he had loved for years chose another man without even giving him a chance.

But he stayed by her side, always happy to see her happy, but always in pain because he couldn't be the one that could make her that happy. Then when her lover was killed and she had gone into a deep depression, he had tried to help but she closed him off.

She had gone through half the first book until she realized he had been using his own life to write the books. Orochimaru had been the betrayer, he was the man that had longed to be loved by the woman he cared for, and she was the woman. To actually read the words he put into them, she had been surprised by them. They had been so deep that she felt bad for giving him such pain. But the next time she had seen him, years had passed and she thought that maybe too much time had gone by.

But was it too late?

Tsunade was waiting for Jiraiya to make a report to her but she felt strange. She hadn't felt like this since she was a young woman with Dan. This anticipation in her chest, why was she nervous, she knew the old man still had a thing for her. Or was it just an act? He had acted like that for as long as she had known him, hell the first day he had made a lame pass at her. Plus even in his fifties he kept in great shape, but she used a genjutsu to hide her real age. How would he react to her real face? Was he in love with the woman, or just in lust with the illusion?

It was then that she noticed his presence, at her window no less. "Can't you come in through the door like a normal person?"

She didn't see his face with her back to him but she knew he was giving that smile of his. "Naw, that's not for me, why be like everyone else?"

She turned to face him as she sat down on her chair, "So I take it that you've gotten some information?"

He shrugged as they both got into more serious nature they both knew when they had to take things seriously. "Well they seem to be more active as of late, not sure why though. For years they've kept to the shadows but they're more active than ever. They seem to nearly have them all now soon they'll come after Naruto."

Tsunade felt a stab of fear into her heart at that. "How long?"

"Honestly it's hard to tell," He sighed as he grossed his arms. "It might be soon, but there is more. I've heard rumours that they might have something to with the Hidden Rain. I'm thinking of checking it out, plus there is something else I want to check on as well."

Tsunade had to smile a little as she had a guess. "Going to try and find those three kids again."

"I know most would have given them up for dead," he said as he looked out over the village. "But you don't know those kids like I knew them. I trained them and although I wish I could have taken them back with me, I know that they have to still be out there."

"You always were so very caring to others I don't know why you insist on making people think you're just some perverted writer all the time."

He grinned at her, "Hey don't go spoiling that, I spent years to get that reputation. Besides if people expect me to be just that then they won't expect my real skills, plus I am a pervert."

She rolled her eyes, he always seemed so very proud of that. Then again, that was one of the things she did like about him, he wasn't afraid to show the world who he was. She hadn't let her genjutsu drop in years so she couldn't say the same. But still, he made her smile with his antics he always did in fact even when she shouted at him or had to punish him for being too perverted with her. She had always enjoyed their time together. It had been when he had gone away for those years to take care of those three war orphans that she had started to miss him.

Those had been lonely times and it was also when she had met Dan, maybe if he hadn't left, would she had still fallen for him? Dan had been important to her, but Jiraiya had always been there in some way.

"Well if that's all I could use a drink, I've had a long day and I could use some time to relax." Tsunade said as she stretched her arms up to get the kinks out, also she gave Jiraiya a subtle little thrill to see what his reaction would be. She held off the smirk as she saw him stare and gulp a bit as her very impressive bust was pushed together. The slight blood from his nose that he quickly wiped away made her know that he was still at least physically attracted to her.

"You wouldn't happen to want the company of a handsome man would you?" He grinned at her he was prepared for the usual she would do. She would give him a glare, or maybe even punch him. The truth was that he always found her sexy when she was angry, why else would he get her railed up all the time, well that and it was fun.

She surprised him though by doing something he had never expected. She gave him a small smile and for a minute there, he thought he caught something in her eye that was anything but anger. It was gone before he could fully see it but something was off here.

"Sure, I would like that. I keep the good stuff at my place, I usually have to drink there as having the great Hokage drunk in public I'm told, is bad for my image." She snorted at that last part. She was a heavy drinking gambler, the fact that people chose to ignore it she just didn't understand. She paused when she noticed that he wasn't following her and looked over her shoulder.

"Are you coming or not?"

Jiraiya had been frozen as something amazing was happening, the girl he had chased after for most of his life not only didn't hit him for making another half-assed pass but was inviting him, to her home, to drink...

What that could lead to wasn't lost on him, hell he had so many fantasies that some of them even started out this way. Something was going on here though, he wasn't going to get his hopes up. At least not just yet but he would play this out. After all, it was the hope that one day she would accept his feelings for her as genuine and give them back, that had make him last this long.

"Anyways what's this I hear with Naruto and a couple of girls?" He asked as they left.

Tsunade laughed, "I'll explain while we get the drinks."

Jiraiya lifted an eyebrow at this, 'Maybe there's more going on in the village than just Naruto and those two girls...I think I'll put off my trek into Rain, just for a bit at least.' He thought as he couldn't help was look at her ass as she swayed her hips while walking. He got a perverted grin on his face, if things shaped up maybe he could put off leaving just yet.

-Ino-

After a very long and embarrassing talk with her mother, Ino took a some light bills for the pain in her jaw while applying the basic medical skills she had to heal her jaw. There was still some discoloration but it was only a little and the swelling and pain was lessened a lot as well. Now it was just a matter of going to find Naruto again. She had to admit that it was very kind of him to put her in her own bed like that, some would only just drop her off with her family but he always went that little extra mile.

She sat on her bed as she thought about how things could have been different if she had known now, what she had known as a young girl. If she had gone after Naruto instead of Sasuke, she started to list how things could have been different. She would have had a boy that would have been fun to hang out with, very kind, and she had a feeling that if Naruto ever got a girlfriend, he would make sure she was looked after. She also wouldn't have wasted years chasing Sasuke, which was all for nothing after he left the village.

She groaned as she flopped back onto her bed, she and Sakura had wasted so much time and energy on that boy, and not once had he even noticed them. They had spent time chasing after Sasuke that they both could have used training. As a result she had passes with average scores, the only reason Sakura was ahead was that she was smarter with the book stuff. Looking at her skills now, she could only laugh at her younger self.

But she was getting off topic she went back to listing the things that would have been different. For one, without chasing after Sasuke she wouldn't have lost Sakura. They would have remained friends all these years. Plus if she had gotten him in the past, the current little rivalry wouldn't be going on as well.

Well that was one thing that she had learned while growing up, you can't change the past only learn from it. It took Asuma's death to really get her thinking on her life and improving. Maybe if she had Sakura's medical skills she could have saved him but because she only took the basic courses...no, she didn't want to go down that road again. She kept coming back to that, and she knew that Shikamaru felt even more responsible.

She sighed as she starting to think about how to make Naruto to notice her more. So far the tricking him into a date hadn't worked, maybe she should just be more upfront? On second thought he never did respond well to women that came on too strong. She needed a more subtle approach, plus he still held a torch for Sakura. She needed to make him feel interested in her in order to make him consider going out with her. Until she could do something like that, then asking him out, he might actually turn it down.

Now, the first part was how to get a boy to notice you. She thought about Naruto and the kind of boy he was and what might work for her. It took her some time but she had remembered that Naruto did offer to help her with her fighting and grappling. A smirk came onto her face at that, with grappling and in such closer quarters maybe she could both learn something and make him take notice of her. After all, 'accidents' did happen and maybe they would even talk and get to know each other more.

As the plan formed she felt better to be able to travel, she needed to make sure that Naruto had the day off tomorrow for some training that he offered.

-Sakura-

Sakura sighed as she got out of her shower. She had cleaned up after her training with Ino had left a major mess. Already her mother had been washing her clothing for her, so she was glad for that. Although her mother had gotten used to cleaning Sakura's clothing when she became a ninja. It wasn't easy to find ways to get things like soot, dirt that had been worn for days while on a mission, to even blood. Her mother hated it when there was blood, she had always been afraid since Sakura started to train as a ninja as a little girl. It had lessened since then but Sakura could still tell her parents were afraid for her at times.

They were merchants by trade, but Sakura never had interests in that. She had wanted something different in her life and living in a ninja village, you either became a civilian or ninja. So it was only logical for her to become the first ninja in her family. Despite the underlying fear, her parents were also so very proud of her. She remembered when she made chunin her parents had taken her out to dinner and said how much she had grown. When she become the apprentice to the Hokage herself, her parents had told her that they were very proud of her.

But now she had another thing to think on, and that was Naruto. She needed to do something for him, after all the things they had been through and to make up for when she had been younger. She had spent the shower thinking long and hard on it.

She started to think about Naruto and tried to think of something that would really mean something to him. She could just take him out for ramen but there were two problems with that, it was more of a friendship gesture and also her poor savings would feel it. How he managed to eat so much and not be poor all the time she had no idea. Then again she had a feeling that the people running his favorite place gave him a discount. With all the ramen he ate there, they had to make up for it plus they liked him as well.

She smiled thinking about how happy he always was to go there, and then the smile fell as it came to her. That was most likely because they were the only people who cooked for him, he never had parents who would take care of him when he was little. Reminded of that only made her feel a bit of sadness of how lonely his life had to have been. She had known loneliness herself before Ino came into her life. She sighed as she put on some clothing she wore while off duty.

A knock came on her door.

"Yes?"

"I got your clothing is it okay to come in?" Her mother asked.

"Sure come on in," Sakura said as her door opened up. In walked Saki Haruno, she was an average looking woman with the exception of the long pink hair as this was where Sakura got her hair color from. Her mother's hair had faded a bit with age but not too much, also her mother had cream colored skin and brown eyes. She was just starting to get a couple of lines on her eyes as she spent a lot of time squinting in her life to read small prints and examine items for damage.

"I don't know what you did to this but please don't do it too often," her mother smiled as she put her clean clothing away. "If it was on there any deeper I wouldn't have gotten the stains out."

"Thanks mom, training just got a little intense today." Sakura told her mother. "Hey mom, I'm trying to think of something nice to do for a friend but I can't really think of something."

"Oh, who is it for dear?"

"For my teammate Naruto."

"Oh Naruto huh, you know I wish you would bring your team around just once. All these years and you never onced brought them. Your father and I only met your team sensei on the day he came to ask about you on your first day."

"Wait, Kakashi-sensei was here?" Sakura had never heard of this before.

"Yes he did, he said that he was going around to meet the families of his new genins while you weren't home. Didn't he tell you?" Saki asked a little confused.

Sakura should have known that Kakashi was looking up on them when they had first formed Team 7, or at least she wasn't surprised by this. And that had to have been a lie, as Naruto and Sasuke had no family at that point. Suddenly an idea came to Sakura, Naruto had never had a family home cooked meal in his life she bet. This was the perfect thing to give Naruto, plus she had never invited him over before.

"Actually mom you gave me an idea, you think I can invite Naruto over for dinner?"

Saki thought about it, she had only heard things about Naruto. At first they hadn't been too good so she had been a little worried. But then things people said had changed and she had wanted to meet him, but Sakura said that they either had missions and by the time things settled down, the boy had gone off for over two years. Sakura had been so depressed about that for the first few months, she had been wondering if maybe her daughter had feelings for the boy. She once asked but had stated that she only cared for him as a friend.

Now maybe she wasn't so sure anymore, the boy had come back and he seemed very popular lately. Also now her daughter wanted to bring a boy home to dinner? She smiled wondering if maybe her daughter had moved from her feelings for the Uchiha boy to her other teammate. She was interested to actually meet the boy in person.

"I don't think that will be an issue, I'll just make a little more for tomorrow, I don't have enough for extra tonight but tomorrow should be no problem. Besides your father will be working late tonight and I think I want him here if we have company." Saki smiled.

Sakura was delighted for this, "Thanks mom, I think I'll go find Naruto and tell him." Sakura hugged her mother before running off.

Saki just smiled as she watched her daughter go, There was obviously something going on as she had been like that with Sakura's father Mototsugu when she had been that age.

Next up chapter 6: Grappling and Dinner and Drinking