Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto, even though I did beg profusely for the rights. All I got in return is the finger.
Naruto's Apartment, next morning.
Knock-Knock
Naruto tossed a little in his bed but ignored the sound coming from his door.
KNOCK-KNOCK
Naruto looked over to his alarm clock. 6:15 am. A slight growl of irritation escaped his lips as he covered his head under his pillow.
KNOCK-KNOCK
"Alright, you jerks. I'm coming." He stumbled out of bed, putting on his pants before wandering groggily over to the door. 'This better be important or I am going to kick someone's ass!'
Opening the door, his jaw hit the floor when he saw Kakashi there with a basket in hand. The shock of seeing his first visitor ever to his apartment that was not Iruka-sensei or Ojii-san was instantly replaced from the smell coming from the basket. Naruto's stomach growled in anticipation.
"I guess I can't be angry since you brought food. Come on in," Naruto stated as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
Kakashi came in and again was stunned by the life that Naruto led. The walls of the apartment were barren and white. There was little furniture to speak of, and what was present seemed to be things that were discarded. The table was heavily scratched and leaning to one side. The couch had some tears in it and had a musty smell to it. In the kitchen was just a simple stove, a small refrigerator that was starting to rust, and a simple sink. The lone cabinet was dented and the paint was peeling.
Even with the stark appearance of the apartment, Kakashi was pleased that at least there were no bugs or rodents, and not a speck of dust nor any litter around.
"Why are you here – and what smells so good in that basket? Did you bring me some ramen before training today?" asked Naruto happily as he was hopping around trying to gain any glimpse or hint towards what were the delectable contents of said basket.
"Actually, this is for all three of us. After last night, I figured you should have at least one proper meal."
Naruto frowned a little before returning to his cheerful self. "If you insist, but you have to promise to train me today. I want to learn as much as possible. You were an ANBU right??" he asked as he sprinted to his room to change.
"That I was, but I rather not go too far into that. I'd prefer to see how far you are going on your academy studies." stated Kakashi in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Oh come on," Naruto begged as he dashed out of his room in his orange jumpsuit. "You got to have some super cool moves that you can teach me."
"The only super cool moves you will learn will come from your sensei if you graduate. Not until then, understand."
"I guess..." mumbled Naruto dejectedly.
"Good. Now let's get going before breakfast gets cold." Naruto looked up at the silver-haired Jounin and caught what appeared to be a grin underneath his mask.
'Is this guy actually happy? Must be imagining things. No one is happy to be around me.'
Naruto shrugged it off as Kakashi led their way through the streets of Konoha towards the Uchiha compound. They both made small talk on their way to Sasuke's. Kakashi usually was not one to make such conversation but he sensed someone was following him and/or Naruto. After a couple of blocks, Kakashi noticed a flash of lavender hair as the person ducked down an alleyway. Smiling to himself, he made a slight detour.
Hinata was worried. After the sparring session between Sasuke and Naruto ended yesterday, she wondered what had happened to her crush. She decided today to sneak over to Naruto's apartment before class started to check on him. She would have been so lonely if something bad happened to him. Sasuke may have been the popular one, but Naruto held a special fascination to the young heir of the Hyuuga clan.
She spotted Naruto and the man that took him away yesterday leaving Naruto's apartment, so she decided to follow them. After a short distance, she caught a small glance from the silver-haired ninja and ducked down an alleyway, hoping not to be seen. After a few seconds, she nervously ducked her head out of the alley and could not find the object of her dreams. Frightened that something terrible could have happened, she sprinted off in the direction that they were going, only to run into Naruto as he rounded a corner.
Naruto was happily distracted with the conversation he was having with Kakashi to notice the blur of lavender and white that collided with him. By instinct, Naruto grabbed who collided with him and rolled to the ground. After the small tumble, Naruto looked at who ran into him. It was none other than the shyest girl in class, Hinata.
"Wow Hinata, you really pack a wallop," declared Naruto chuckling.
Hinata froze when she heard his voice. Fighting her own thoughts, she looked up to look into his face. His grin was unmistakable. At that point, she became aware of the position she was in, tucked safely in his arms as she was lying on top of him. She didn't want to let him see her blush, so she lowered her gaze so it was hidden in his chest.
Naruto noticed the quick glance she gave him before looking away. He noticed the same predicament they were in, so he quickly got up, setting the girl lightly on her feet.
"Gomen, Hinata. I should have watched where I was going. Are you okay?"
Hinata couldn't speak. 'He's concerned about me? Eeep!" All she could do was nod while trying not to faint. She wanted to look at his beautiful blue eyes again, but she knew her body would betray her if she did. Instead, she kept her gaze on her feet.
Naruto grew concerned since Hinata would not look up. Never wanting to be the source of anyone's discomfort, he made a simple move. He gently lifted her chin so she could meet his gaze.
"Are you sure you are doing okay?"
Hinata was forced to look into her crush's face again and was lost in his eyes. There seemed to be a depth there that no one could see. As if the heavens itself were contain in those globes of his.
'He's looking at me!! Come on. Calm down now. All you got to do is talk.'
"H-Hai. I... I'm fine," Hinata managed to stutter.
Naruto smiled and released her chin. "Good. It is nice to see you are okay. Why are you up so early??"
Hinata shuffled her feet working up some courage. "I... I w-wanted to see h-how you were d-doing. You... didn't c-come back to class."
Naruto sheepishly scratched his head. "Gomen. I didn't have a chance to come back. And I will be busy until tomorrow at least. I would like to talk more, but I wouldn't want breakfast to get cold. See you later, Hinata," Naruto exclaimed as he turned to walk off with Kakashi.
She could only stare as he walked away. Only one thought came to mind. 'He wants to talk to me more?? Eeep!' A smile and a faint blush crossed her face as she turned to head back to the Hyuuga compound.
Training Field Seven, Midday
Breakfast was rather uneventful as was the day of training. Sasuke didn't seemed like he even wanted to be there, let alone talk to anyone. Naruto was too concerned with training and prodding Kakashi to teach him anything to talk to Sasuke.
Kakashi thought it was best to at least find out how skilled they were. Sasuke didn't have his Sharingan activated yet, but seemed proficient in fire jutsu as well as the basic moves of Bunshin, Henge, and Kawarimi. He also was very skilled at taijutsu as well as a proficient marksman when it came to kunai and shuriken. Unfortunately, his chakra reserves were not the greatest and his fighting style lent to his personality. It was reserved, cold, and calculating, as well as arrogant and cocky. It seemed the Uchiha knew he was good, but wasn't satisfied with just being good. Kakashi knew of his past so he knew he should keep an eye on him.
Naruto however was as loud and brash of a fighter as his personality suggested. An aggressive taijutsu fighter with decent kunai marksmanship, however his ninjutsu was lacking. He couldn't make a decent Bunshin or Henge. At least his replacement technique was coming along. Kakashi could easily see it was due to an extreme amount of chakra his body possessed combined with severely degraded control. Along with that, there was a lack of patience there. Frustration would quickly set in every time something would go wrong.
It was if their personalities should be switched. If Sasuke was more aggressive and vocal, he would also tend to try to finish fights quickly before his reserves would run out. If Naruto was more reserved and focused, then he could easily delay opponents until they became tired, leaving them vulnerable. Kakashi knew for that improvement to occur, they needed to work together. If Naruto graduated, then the Jounin would make sure they were on the same team with him as a sensei.
Kakashi whistled. "Okay you two. Time to end the training for today."
"Come on Kakashi-sensei," Naruto begged. "You didn't teach us anything new."
"I wouldn't worry about learning something new, dobe. You don't even have the basics down," Sasuke scoffed.
"Don't you worry, teme. I'll be better than you. You wait and see," stated Naruto defiantly.
"Whatever."
"Enough now. Time to get some lunch and then let's call it a day."
"Can we get some ramen?!?"
Kakashi glared at Naruto, causing him to shrink back a little. "Didn't I tell you that ramen isn't very healthy?"
"I know, but the people at Ichiraku are nice. Plus ramen is just... SO... DELICIOUS!!" exclaimed Naruto hungrily.
"Okay, okay. We will go, but only to see what's so nice about the place."
"YATTA!!!" Naruto punched his fist in the air and then dragged the two towards his favorite place.
Ichiraku's Ramen Bar
Ichiraku's Ramen Bar was not much of a place. A rather simple place with a few barstools, a plain red bar and a simple kitchen in the back, with a white silk curtain covering the entrance. Sasuke didn't know what to make of the place.
"Ooi, Old man!! A bowl of beef ramen to start!"
"Sure thing. And how is my favorite customer today??" asked the cheerful chef.
"I'm doing great! I even brought friends with me today – I figured you'd like the extra business!" stated Naruto happily.
A teenage girl turned around and looked at the group. Seeing Naruto happy always put a smile on Ayame's and Teuchi's faces.
"So who are your two friends??"
Pointing at the silver-haired Jounin, "This is my temporary sensei, Hatake Kakashi. He hasn't really taught me anything but at least he hasn't ignored me yet like some of my other sensei. This bundle of joy," he said, poking Sasuke in the ribs, "is none other than Uchiha Sasuke."
"So this is the louse you kept telling me about," smirked Teuchi. "I thought you didn't like him."
" I still don't really like him, Ayame-neechan, but he isn't as annoying as I thought," mused Naruto.
Ayame giggled at the comment. "Don't worry about it. If he bothers you..." she glanced at Sasuke while pulling out a very large and very shiny meat cleaver. Sasuke gulped slightly intimidated by the girl.
"Calm down, Ayame. If they actually came with Naruto, then they can't be that bad. What will you two have?"
"One bowl of chicken ramen," stated Kakashi plainly.
"One bowl of shrimp ramen," Sasuke nervously said.
After a couple of minutes, Ayame arrived with their bowls and the set down to eat.
"Itadakimasu!" shouted Naruto, separating his chopsticks and consumed his food greedily. As the food started flying, Kakashi and Sasuke just stared in disbelief as their companion tore into the food as if it was going to run away.
"Naruto, you did say a bowl to start. How many do you eat??" asked Kakashi curiously.
Naruto slurped up the last of his ramen before he answered. "Ano...up to fifteen, depending on how hungry I am and how much I trained the day before."
To say that Sasuke and Kakashi were shocked would be to say that the Kyuubi was a minor annoyance. It took them ten minutes of watching Naruto down ten more bowls with gusto before someone spoke. Unfortunately for two of the three eating, the person that spoke was not entirely welcome.
"Ohayo, Sasuke-kun!! I've been looking for you today," cooed a female voice approaching them from behind.
Sasuke and Naruto turned grimacing as the pink-haired fan girl approached. Dressed in her blindingly red outfit, Sasuke always had to squint when looking at her. Next to Nara Shikamaru, she was the smartest person in their Academy class. But other than that, there was not much of any quality to her.
'If she'd tone down that outfit and actually tried not being a fan girl, she might be worth my time,' Sasuke imagined.
Naruto was always annoyed due to her obsession with Sasuke. Naruto used to have a crush on her, but after the first few times of her hitting him or yelling at him in class, he gave up on that idea.
"What do you want Sakura? I was eating here," stated Sasuke not even attempting to conceal his irritation.
"Well, you didn't show up in class, so I was worried about you," she said shuffling her feet trying to look cute.
'CHA! NARRO!! That'll help break the shell! Let him know he is important to you!" Inner Sakura exclaimed punching a imaginary fist up high.
Sasuke actually showed a slight smile. She thought it was from noticing her concern, but that soon changed.
"Actually I was training with Kakashi-sensei and my new friend, Naruto," Sasuke said with a cheesy fake smile while patting Naruto on the back. Naruto almost choked on his ramen when he heard that from Sasuke. He turned to look at Sasuke and saw the fake grin on his face. Knowing what those looks were from personal experience, he played along.
"Yeah, we have been sparring all day. He sure has been helpful. He even wants to help me get to Hokage, after we take care of some clan business," stated Naruto gleefully.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow and had to suppress a laugh before continuing. Looking at Sakura, it appeared to be working. She noticed the two of them being chummy and just couldn't stand the sight.
"Yeah, I figured since Naruto was alone, I'd welcome him into my clan, but he has to past a test first," he smirked barely containing the laughter.
Naruto looked at Sasuke with the utmost confusion draped over his face. Sasuke just gave a slight nod of his head over towards Sakura's direction. Naruto got the hint but had to try to follow through with a straight face. Luckily, his time walking around the village and in class hiding his emotions helped considerably.
He gave Sakura the most sincere loving look he could muster. "Sakura, so I can pass the test, would you mind kissing me?"
Sakura did all she could think of doing. She screamed and ran away.
Sasuke and Naruto couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably. Even Kakashi seemed to enjoy it, but no one could be sure with that mask of his on.
"Thanks, Sasuke. I needed that."
"Don't worry about it, but don't think it will change things, dobe. You're still a loser."
"And you're still an emo-teme. But at least I can pay you back for that!" Naruto pulled out his Gama-chan and paid for their meal.
Kakashi looked up from his book he was reading and saw what Naruto did. "How can you afford that? You also realize I would have paid, since I make more."
Waving his hand as if to dismiss the thought, Naruto smiled. "You two helped out from the meal last night, the sparring today, and that fun prank we pulled. It's the least I can do to show my appreciation. Besides, I get a decent allowance from Ojii-san and since I didn't use any last night, I can afford this today. Thanks for the meal, Teuchi-san, Neechan!"
The next day was rather similar, but it seemed a slight appreciation grew between the two young boys. Sasuke surprisingly helped with Naruto's Bunshin, while Naruto helped to increase Sasuke's stamina using his experiences dodging the villagers. Sasuke would have to avoid using anything other than taijutsu to avoid Naruto's constant attacks with kunai while trying to reach a goal a few miles away.
All the while, a certain someone was just waking up.
Konoha Hospital, early afternoon
Chronos looked up at the ceiling of his hospital room and groaned. He always hated waking up in hospital beds. They were so sterile and almost sucked the life out of a person. He managed to sit up and look at his surroundings. He noticed his effects sitting in the corner of the room and walked over to them. He searched through the chest and pulled out the laptop and his family album. There was a spare outlet on the wall and, oddly enough, it was a similar 110 volt plug so he could safely use the outlet.
He turned on the laptop and after it booted up, he turned on the music player and settled in with some country music. He figured a little Tim McGraw would keep him calm while looking through the family album. He first settled on the last page, which held the last family photo he had. A small tear came unbidden as the door opened. In came a man wearing a white cone shaped hat with a red marking in the front, long white robes, and smoking a long pipe. Before Chronos could ask as to why he was smoking in a hospital, the man spoke.
"Nice to see you awake and alert. I am the Hokage of Konoha. But for this meeting, please call me Sarutobi. Now, how exactly did you get here?"
(A/N: Hopefully this satisfied some of the fans of fluff. I will be adding more within the next few chapters. What I am looking forward too the most happens next chapter. evil laugh)
