Author's Note: Someone commented oh how Nazo didn't react to Naruto looking so similar to Minato. He did take notice, unlike all the morons in the series itself. Nazo is a very disciplined and sharp ninja though, the fact that nobody said anything and that Naruto doesn't know he figured it was obviously for a reason. I was saving his reaction to Naruto for this chapter however, so enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything from his universe. I only own Nazo who I created.
"Talking"
'Inner Thoughts'
You Can't Be Serious
Chapter 7
Happy Birthday?
Hiruzen Sarutobi grinned in satisfaction, his paperwork vanquished for the day. He could finally go home and rest, or take a peek at a certain book in his desk drawer. Sadly Kami didn't feel the same joy he did for neat and finished paperwork, because the door swung open violently scattering papers everywhere. His happiness forgotten and his grin wiped away he looked up to see a very annoyed Nazo stalk into his office not bothering to close the door, now hanging by a single hinge. He knew finishing his paperwork was too good to be true. Hiruzen looked closely at Nazo and knew this wouldn't end well. He had known Nazo well enough and for as long as he could remember Nazo wasn't quick to anger. In truth he could count the times he had seen him truly angry on one hand. He hadn't heard any bad news the past few days so he wasn't sure what it was about, but he knew he wouldn't enjoy it.
"Minato had a son" Nazo spit at Hiruzen, venom apparent in his voice.
"It would appear so" Hiruzen replied without hesitation.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You're a smart boy, I knew you would figure it out. I didn't think you would become angry though."
"I'm talking about why nobody bothered to tell me when he was born. I might have been gone but I came across plenty of hunter nin."
"Nobody knows Nazo, it's to keep him safe."
"I could have kept him safe."
"From everyone Nazo? It's the civilians of Konoha too, even some of our ninja. You know all about his prisoner."
"I would have protected him from everyone, and I will."
"Don't do anything hasty Nazo, calm down. You remember what happened last time you lost your temper."
Nazo flinched and calmed slightly at his words. "That was war and they got what they deserved. I won't do anything now. I'm promising you right now though that if anyone, ninja or civilian, harms him I will kill them." Nazo said coldly putting extra emphasis into his words. He looked pensive for a moment before adding something more "He should know the truth."
Hiruzen glared at Nazo "No. He must not know until he is old enough and strong enough to look after himself."
"Fine" Nazo matched his glare. "But I'm going to tell him who his mother was. Nobody would know him from Kushina, I still can't believe I didn't notice. Naruto Uzumaki, Kami I'm stupid." Nazo leaned against the wall with his head in his hands and sighed.
Hiruzen thought about it for a moment. Nazo was right, nobody would remember Minato from knowing Naruto's mother was Kushina. The simple fact that not a single person in the whole village had ever said anything about Naruto's last name was proof enough of that. "That's fine I suppose" Hiruzen lit his pipe and leaned back in in his chair thinking of Naruto since he was the subject. Tomorrow was the the festival to celebrate Minato's 'killing' of the Kyuubi. It had always meant bad things for Naruto if the crowds found him. He knew Naruto wouldn't hurt anyone if he didn't have to, but people wouldn't leave him alone just because he was a full fledged ninja now. "Nazo why don't you take Naruto and go somewhere for his birthday tomorrow."
Nazo's face contorted as confusion overtook him and he stared at Hiruzen "It's his birthday tomorrow? Why didn't he say anything?"
"Well it's also the day Minato sealed the Kyuubi. There is a festival for it every year to celebrate and people always get carried away. You know how most think of Naruto as the Kyuubi itself and hate him for no good reason."
Nazo's expression turned back to one of anger as he was about to say something, but two people walked into the small office cutting him off. They both stopped several steps inside as they noticed Nazo leaning against a wall and the door hanging from a single hinge.
Hiruzen decided to cut it short and get whatever they wanted over with quickly "Homura, Koharu, what can I do for you two?"
"We have talked about it and now that he is a ninja we think Naruto shouldn't be in town tomorrow. We have a mission all set up for him" They placed a folder on the desk as they finished talking. "We believe this is in everyone's best interest. We all know how things can get on that day."
Nazo wouldn't be having any of that. "As his sensei I'm going to have to tell you hell no."
The two elders looked at him with shock and disbelief. "Who are you?"
"I just told you, I'm Naruto's sensei." Nazo said flatly.
"Your name, what is your name?" Homura questioned him aggravated.
"His name is Nazo and like he said he is the sensei of Team Seven." Hiruzen interjected hoping to prevent a fight, and possibly an argument.
Koharu's interest peeked up a bit at the name. "That name sounds familiar, we have heard that somewhere before haven't we?"
Homura rubbed his chin as he thought it over. "You're right the name sounds familiar, but I can't place it." Nazo shot Hiruzen a glare over saying his name before turning to leave, he had to prepare for tomorrow.
Naruto stifled a yawn as his body began its natural awakening. He reached up to rub his eyes before opening them to see Nazo leaning over him staring at him. Naruto let out a scream of shock as Nazo smiled down at him. Recovering from the mild heart attack Naruto had to question this event. "Sensei, what are you doing?"
"Waiting for you to wake up" Nazo replied still smiling.
Naruto eyed Nazo up and down before asking point blank "Sensei are you a pervert?" Nazo face faulted from the unexpected question. Naruto rolled out of bed and made his way to the kitchen where he grabbed a nearby pot and filled it with water. Nazo watched as he filled it with water and set it on his small stove before shuffling toward his bathroom. Nazo heard the sound of running water and figured it was safe to snoop while Naruto was showering. Now with Naruto being a child after Minato, Nazo figured he had about three to four minutes to look around. Minato was always out of the shower as the water began to boil.
Nazo began by looking around Naruto's room, which was small by anyones standard. The held only a small bed and a small dresser, just about all that could fit into the tiny area. The bed, other than being small and old, was fine. Nazo would admit he had slept on much worse, that reminded him to replace the mattress he was sleeping on now. Not able to help himself he began to look through the dresser drawers. The top held only underwear. The middle drawer held, not surprisingly, many cups of Instant
Ramen. The bottom drawer was empty, not much of a surprise either. Seeing nothing else of interest Nazo left the room. Nazo looked the kitchen over again, more closely. There was the stove with the pot of water against the wall in the corner. There was some empty counter space attached and a sink attached to the side of that, each with cabinet space underneath. A small table sat in front of the single window, with a small plant in the corner beside the window. It also had a refrigerator in the corner opposite the plant. Nazo had to ponder why the fridge was placed as far from the stove as possible. Figuring he didn't have enough time to guess now he moved on to the living room. Against the wall, underneath a window sat a couch. Against the opposite wall there was a television atop a small stand. Aside from the door he walked in from and the bathroom Naruto was utilizing Nazo had seen the entire apartment, and with time to spare. Nazo took a seat at the kitchen table to wait for Naruto to exit the shower. Not even a minute later the water began to boil and he heard the bathroom door open.
"So why are you here so early sensei?" Naruto asked in between slurping down his ramen.
"It's a special day Naruto" Nazo replied simply as he watched Naruto inhale his breakfast.
Naruto looked confused for a moment before realization crossed his face and he looked down into his cup of ramen. "Oh, it's that day again" he said solemnly.
"Wow" Nazo said as he looked at Naruto droop his head. "I've never seen someone upset about their birthday."
"It's not just my birthday"
"Yeah I know what day it is, but get over it. It's your birthday and we are going to celebrate" Nazo told him as he stood and walked to the living room. Naruto followed him in to see him flipping through the T.V.'s channels, wondering if he could even see what was on.
"What about training?"
"I already told Sasuke and Sakura to take the day off. It's just you, me, and a lot of fun."
"Oh great. A whole day alone with you, a lot of fun" Naruto said sarcastically.
"Shut up and get dressed" Nazo said tossing Naruto his jacket as they both started laughing. Naruto pulled on his jacket and grabbed Gama-Chan from the table. "Naruto what in the world is that?" Nazo asked as he pointed at the wallet.
"It's my wallet" Naruto stated confused.
"It's a frog."
"It's Gama-Chan and it's my wallet!" Naruto said defensively.
"OK. Forget it, lets just go" Nazo said shaking his head as they walked out the door.
"Can I just go back home?" Naruto asked as he walked down the street warily beside Nazo.
"Why? There is a lot more to do around town, besides I have some things were going to do today. Come on it's your birthday we gotta celebrate" Nazo smiled at him. He understood Naruto's nervousness though, Nazo saw the looks almost everyone was giving him. Nazo stopped in front of a weapons store and looked up through the window. It was as good a place as any to start. "Well Naruto lets go."
"Sensei, why are we at a weapons shop?"
"To get you some stuff." Nazo said before opening the door and walking in. Naruto glanced around him quickly before cautiously walking into the store. Inside he let out a breath of comfort seeing nobody was there aside from him and Nazo. Nazo was standing at the counter, presumably waiting for the shop owner. Naruto looked inside a glass case holding many different types of weapons, some he had never seen before and a few he doubted would do any good. Hearing voices Naruto turned to see Nazo chatting with a young girl at the counter. He saw Nazo point at him and watched the girl giggle and nod before walking to the back of the store.
"What was that about?" Naruto asked skeptically as Nazo joined him in looking at the encased weapons.
"Oh that?" Nazo asked innocently "nothing at all. She thinks your cute by the way." Naruto looked at him questioningly causing Nazo to laugh. "Forget it Naruto. Now come on and grab whatever you want, but try to keep to the basics, it's cheaper."
Nazo watched Naruto carefully go around the store and seriously look at each and every thing to determine if he wanted it, and then if he could use it. Naruto stopped in front of a small display and cracked a small smile. Nazo watched as he turned around holding a large handful of paper pieces, his face holding a 'I can have these right?' look.
"Can I trust you to only use those when you need to?" Nazo asked and Naruto nodded his head. "Can I trust you to not use those for any pranks?"
Naruto nodded but quickly retorted. "What if you're helping me with the prank?"
"Then I would be the one using them wouldn't I?" Nazo asked smirking. Naruto did a small jump for joy as he grabbed a few more things and put it all on the counter.
After Nazo paid for the few items Naruto had grabbed, not to mention a very large stack of explosive notes, and arranged for them to be taken to his apartment they left the shop. Nazo was immediately stunned at the amount of people out and about on the streets of Konoha. 'It is a festival today, I suppose it makes sense.' As they walked down the road together Nazo once again felt glares and stares from around them. While Nazo had long ago learned to ignore what others thought of him Naruto had his head hung and looked at the ground as they walked. He could always have Naruto use a henge as they walked around, but Naruto had no reason to be ashamed of who he was and Nazo wasn't about to risk having Naruto think that. Naruto must have been partially psychic just like he father though because he did exactly what Minato used to do.
"Sensei, maybe I should just henge while we walk around? I mean it would be good practice right?" Naruto asked smiling up at him while scratching the back of his head.
"I guess it would be Naruto, but no. Why should you hide who you are from these people?"
"I don't know. They don't seem to like me one bit though. Not most of them anyways. Plus it would make things easier" Naruto shrugged.
"Sounds an awful lot like you want to take the easy way out. That isn't like the Naruto I know at all" Nazo smirked as he saw Naruto's face contort to that of mild anger.
"I'm up for any challenge and I'll win no matter what!" Naruto almost shouted "Besides you're one to talk sensei." Nazo looked down at Naruto questioningly "Your eyes" Naruto said pointing.
"That's entirely different Naruto."
"How so?"
"I do it to prevent ruining the harmony that is Konoha" Nazo retorted crossing his arms defiantly.
"Two words sensei" Naruto said before leaving Nazo to soak in anticipation for a few moments. "Bull Shit."
"Naruto thats one word."
"Two for emphasis."
Nazo started laughing and dragged Naruto along as they continued walking. "You're a real smart ass you know that. You're right though, maybe I shouldn't care anymore. I'll think on it OK?" Naruto nodded and Nazo sighed. 'I'm sorry Katelyn, but he has a point' "You hungry Naruto?"
After they ordered obscene amounts of ramen Nazo leaned back against the bar on his stool and stared out at the passersby while waiting for the food. As he let his senses roll around the people walking the streets around the ramen stand he found someone watching them. Curious Nazo focused on this person, blocking out all else. Within seconds Nazo learned all he needed to make him smile and think mischievously. Immediately he had sensed the persons rapid heartbeat and heard a quiet, feminine voice mutter "Naruto-kun."
"Hey you, girl over there" Nazo yelled as he pointed at Hinata. "Come over here" he said waving her over to the ramen stand. At the sound of Nazo's yelling Naruto looked over to where he was pointing, failing to see anyone.
"I don't see anyone" Naruto said squinting as if doing so would make some invisible person appear out of nowhere. After several seconds a young girl stepped out from behind the corner of a building and cautiously made her way toward them. "Hinata!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically, waving at her wildly.
Hinata had been out wandering about, looking at all the people who were busily preparing for the festival that would start in a few hours and last late into the morning. As she was walking down a particular road, where she could often find her crush consuming absurd amounts of ramen, she found said crush sitting beside someone else waiting. She immediately stepped behind the corner of a nearby building where she could easily watch Naruto unseen, like she usually did. Being an already meek, young girl Hinata was far too timid to confess her feelings to the boy. In fact she couldn't even have a normal conversation with him. Just being near Naruto made her dizzy and talking to him made her feel feint. On many occasions when he had innocently gotten a bit too close or said unknowingly said something with a double meaning she had fainted. As she continued to watch red faced and pushing her fingers together quietly muttered his name. A sudden shout directed at her surprised her. She looked to see the person beside Naruto calling her over and waving her toward them. Hinata nervously stepped out and began walking to the ramen stand to a shout from Naruto calling out her name as he waved. Stepping into the stall Hinata looked at the older man beside Naruto who was smiling down at her. The man was quite tall, though not overly so, and he looked well muscled, though once again not overly so. She noticed his very plain, black, entirely pocket less attire, as well as his messy hair and covered eyes.
"Nazo" Nazo said holding out his hand to Hinata. She very timidly reached out and shook his hand as he smiled. He then leaned over and whispered so only she would hear him. "He is really dense when it comes to a lot of things, girls included. He might really like you, but unless you speak up neither of you will know."
"What?" Hinata gasped taking a small step backwards at his statement. Naruto was happily reading something from a small piece of paper and wasn't hearing their exchange at all.
Nazo chuckled "It's quite obvious girl. The blush, the fidgeting, the rapid heartbeat. Your heart is beating so fast I thought you might have a heart attack. Ah to be in love." Nazo said and held his hand to his heart for dramatic effect. "Well go on sweetie, don't make me push you" Nazo prodded her forward.
"Um, Naruto-kun?" Hinata uttered quietly.
"Whats up Hinata?" Naruto asked as he turned to face her smiling.
Nazo felt good as he looked at the two teens. Naruto was inhaling ramen while Hinata watched him and giggled. Watching the young couple brought memories of a brown haired beauty flooding back. "Katelyn..." Nazo sighed sadly.
"Sensei?" Naruto asked snapping Nazo back to reality "You said that name earlier. Who is Katelyn?"
"Well" Nazo said as his smile grew wider "she was the most amazing woman I had ever been with." Nazo leaned back as he thought about her and let his mind recall all the small details. "You should of seen her Naruto."
"Was she good looking?" Naruto asked, looking up at him questioningly.
"Breathtakingly beautiful Naruto."
"Excuse me, Nazo?" Hinata chirped quietly "If you recall her correctly then couldn't you show us?"
"I can?" Nazo said while glancing at the short blushing girl. Shock suddenly flashed across his face as he got what she was trying to say. "Well holy shit, that's a smart girlfriend you have Naruto" his comment making both teens blush. "Hold on a second while I think, alright?" Nazo sat very still for almost three minutes, remembering every single detail about his friend past. Everything from the curl of her bangs, to the color of her fingernails, down to the curves of her body. When he was finished he nodded to himself in acknowledgement "That's it. OK here we go" he said as he made some basic hand seals, though he made a few adjustments. As he finished his hand seals and the resulting smoke cleared away Naruto and Hinata were left staring at, what they both figured, one of the most enchantingly beautiful women they had ever seen. She was slightly over 5'4" and couldn't weigh more than 110 pounds at the most. She wasn't wearing sandals, but an open toed shoe with small high heels. Her legs disappeared into a plain red skirt that stopped just above her knees. She wore a simple, white, button up dress shirt that covered her moderately endowed chest. Her long, brunette hair went down her body, coming close to the small of her back. She had long, curled bangs that were brushed to one side of her face making one eye visible while the other was hidden. Her one visible eye was an extremely vibrant green, the brightest either of them had seen. Her entire body, while curved in all the correct places to make a guy drool, seemed very fragile, almost frail even. "What do you think?" a very feminine, very not Nazo voice asked.
"She's good looking" Naruto said pretty flatly.
"To each his own I suppose" the female Nazo said as she pouted. "How about you Hinata? What do you think?"
"Really pretty" Hinata blushed "where is she now?"
Nazo let the henge drop and they saw pain visible on his face. "She died a long time ago" he said simply as a few tears rolled down his face from behind the headband.
"So who was she?" Naruto asked, now slightly intrigued.
Roughly 1 year after Nazo left Konoha
Somewhere in South East Lightning Country
Nazo whistled to himself as he walked down the dirt road. He wasn't sure where he was going, but to be fair to himself he didn't care. He had gotten lost several days ago, ignoring the warnings of Jiraiya and venturing into Lightning Country for the first time alone. That and he also hadn't stuck to any paths, it simply wasn't thrilling enough to stick to the road apparently. As he walked he began to hear the familiar clang of steel on steel, and a slight hint of something burning. Now had it been any other day Nazo would probably have ignored it and continued on his way. Today though he felt compelled to go take a look, as if destiny itself wouldn't allow him to ignore it. 'Bullshit' he thought to himself laughing inwardly at the thought of destiny controlling him. Nothing and nobody controlled him, Kami be damned if he would allow such a thing. Stepping into the clearing he saw a beautiful young lady occupying her time with a few ninja, the headbands of which he deemed not important enough to look at. Nazo walked to a nearby tree and hopped up to a low lying branch as he sat and watched the woman spun quickly and deflected several projectile with her sword. As he watched her enter melee combat with a nin carrying some variation of a scythe he wondered on her fighting. She wielded a katana but was obviously not trained in the ways of a samurai. It was also painfully obvious she wasn't a ninja of any sort. He was pulled from his musings in time to see her run the last nin through and kick the body off her sword. Nazo clapped loudly as she did so, gaining her full attention. In the blink of an eye she was before him forcing him to flip off the branch to keep his head on his neck. Landing on the ground he had to jump back, her sword cutting in front of his face. Nazo leaned back, planting his hands on the ground and brought one foot up to kick the sword from her hand. They both glanced to where the sword hit the ground and slid before coming to rest at the trunk of a tree.
"Hey, now that you're unarmed" Nazo's words were cut short by a cute little fist colliding with his face. The force of the blow wasn't strong enough to knock him off his feet, but his head did fly back.
"That really hurts you know!" he screamed as his head came back up with his hand over his nose. Nazo stared her in the eye as she glared at him before they locked eyes. She gasped as she saw his eyes and he let his body lose it's tenseness, a fight no longer imminent. Nazo moved his hand away from his nose and she giggled seeing the small amount of blood trickling from his nose.
"Oh, yes thanks. Laugh at the poor, bleeding ninja" he said wiping away a non existent tear. "that's quite a punch you have there." The girl looked up at him quizzically. Nazo sighed and put his hand to his forehead "just your luck man. You find a beautiful girl and she doesn't understand you." He glanced at her face as she continued staring at his "I bet she's not from anywhere near here." The young girl put her hand to his face and held his cheek softly looking directly into his eyes. She said something he couldn't understand and he just shook his head. Looking a bit saddened she pointed to his eyes then to hers. Nazo shrugged his shoulders and sighed. She pointed as his eyes again a bit more forcefully, then back to hers. Still not understanding Nazo shook his head. She stomped her foot and huffed in frustration before grabbing his face and kissing him lightly.
"Oh, I think I get it" Nazo said smiling cheekily.
Present
"Well I'll stop there" Nazo said, once again leaning against the bar lazily.
"Why? What happened next?" Naruto asked with confusion visible on his face.
"Um, Naruto" Hinata stuttered blushing "I think it was an adult situation." Naruto wrinkled his face in further confusion causing Nazo to laugh and Hinata to giggle.
"Well I think it's about time Naruto and I get going" Nazo said as he stood up and stretched, popping his back loudly. "We have a bit more to get done."
"OK" Naruto sighed while sliding off his seat and tossing his hands behind his head. "Can I have a minute to say bye to Hinata?" Nazo nodded his head and leaned against the wall. Seeing he wasn't about to leave Naruto sighed and pointed outside "alone?"
"Oh!" Nazo said bopping himself on the forehead. "Sure thing lovebirds" he said waving his hand in the air as he walked out, making both teens blush heavily. "Nice to meet you Hinata."
Nazo dragged Naruto around a few more places getting small things done, including getting Naruto more clothes. Sadly it was only more of the exact same outfit he wore on a daily basis. Naruto was even forced to go along with Nazo to pay Ayame a visit at home. Now as they walked around the streets, very congested with people due to the festival being in full swing, Nazo began to feel glares of hatred emanating from just about everywhere around them. As an apple flew through the air, aimed at Naruto's face, Nazo plucked it out of the air and handed it to Naruto.
"Want an apple?" Nazo smiled as he plopped the fruit into his hands.
"Not really" Naruto said inspecting the fruit before handing it back.
"Ah I see" Nazo said while tossing the apple behind his head. "I'm more of a tomato man myself." Several seconds after he made the statement he ended up grabbing a tomato also aimed at Naruto. Nazo made a small squeal of joy. "Now that's more like it" he said happily taking a bite out of it.
Naruto stopped walking when Nazo dropped the tomato to the ground and held several kunai and a shuriken in his hands. He could feel anger oozing from his normally calm sensei, who merely pocketed the sharp objects and turned his head toward a growing mob of angry civilians, with several ninja mixed in trying to stay hidden.
"That's enough" Nazo stated loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. Some idiot, for that's what Naruto would classify them now, didn't heed the words and threw a rock. What happened next mildly shocked Naruto and made the vast majority of everyone that was part of the mob freeze. Several people fell back on their bottoms and windows shattered as Nazo forced a large amount of pure chakra from his body. The ground underneath Nazo's feet cracked and Naruto's skin felt like it was on fire from standing so close.
"I said enough!" Nazo roared, his voice clearly reaching the ears of everyone it needed to. "I swear to Kami the next person to do anything but walk away will die!"
"You can't do that, you're a ninja" Some random civilian screamed from near the front of the group.
Nazo grabbed a shuriken and launched it at the guy, where it became lodged in his foot. Nazo ignored his screams of pain and the shouts of the others as he bellowed his next words "anyone else care to push me?!" As people began to disperse rather quickly Nazo nudged Naruto and began walking again "come on, I wanna tell you about somebody."
AN: OK, I don't know anything about Kushina except for her name, that she was the mother of Naruto, and the wife of Minato. So I'm going to skip the conversation where Nazo tells Naruto everything about her. If you find it an important conversation then think about what you know about her, then simply play out the conversation in your mind. Sorry to anyone upset over this.
"Thank you" Naruto said quietly as he walked alongside his sensei through the now empty streets. "Now I don't have to think about if they loved me or not. Can I ask something?"
"Anything you want Naruto."
"Did you know my father?"
"Naruto I won't lie to you, I did know him."
"Really?!" Naruto picked up his head and looked at Nazo expectantly.
"Yes, but I can't tell you." Nazo felt guilt and pain at the expression on his genin's face. "It's for your benefit supposedly, but you're allowed to know when you turn eighteen." Naruto shook his head sadly and they fell into silence as they walked. Naruto's thoughts to himself were ended as they rounded the corner to his apartment and Nazo gasped.
"Oh wow." Nazo said, sounding slightly amused. Naruto looked up to see what it was Nazo was talking about and was greeted with the sight of his apartment building entirely engulfed in flames. Naruto's arms dropped limply to his sides and he gaped up in shock. His complete and utter loss for words was cured by the illustrious words of his jounin sensei.
"Well look on the bright side Naruto" Nazo said putting his arm around Naruto "At least it's pretty."
"You can't be serious" Naruto sighed as he hung his head and held it with his hand.
AN: I do want to make a formal apology to anyone who was waiting patiently, or not so patiently, for me to update, I am sorry. My family, work, and personal life has been very chaotic lately and I haven't had time to write or type anything at all. I was contemplating mailing you all a single Jolly Rancher each, but I figured it was more economic to me to eat them myself, sorry. Things are, more or less, back to normal though and I will try to get things typed up like I was at first. As always I hope you enjoyed reading it, and either way I hope you leave feedback if you have any, good or bad (constructive at the least please).