A/N: Sorry it's a bit late, I had this stupid wide reading thing to do at school. Hope you enjoy!
Face to Face
"Let's see, I've got picking up rubbish around the village, taking a few dogs for a walk, do some jobs for Mrs Hakanimi…"
"OH KAMI KILL ME!!!!!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the great Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, 'The Professor', looked up from the scroll and twitched. Kakashi, as always, had his nose stuck in his orange book. To the right of him was Sasuke, arms crossed and an arrogant look on his face. Sakura was to the right of him, hands of her hips and glaring at the floor to her left, which was currently occupied by a grieving Naruto.
Naruto was sprawled on his stomach with his arms outstretched in front and his nails scratching the wooden floorboards.
"Why is my life so messed up?! Why do you hate me so much, Kami? Why did you send me to this horrible place?! It's torture!!!!!" Naruto cried, tears pouring out of his eyes. If I saw this, then someone came up to me and said that demons never cry, I'd slap them in the face.
"Naruto, you're over-reacting! Don't be so rude to the Hokage!" Sakura shouted at him.
"Sakura! These stupid missions are torture! I can't take any more. Come on, old man! Isn't there some bandits we should kill, or some rich guy we have to protect?"
Before he could reply, Kakashi spoke up.
"We'll take the tasks." He said, eyes still glued to his piece of porn.
"Traitor."
"Great! Team 7, go to 6th street and you will find Mrs Hakinimi. She has some jobs for you to do. Run along, you don't want to keep the client waiting."
"Yes, ofcourse, we can't keep the client waiting, that would be a horrible thing, cause then she'd be wondering where we were, and then she would start looking for us, possibly break her leg while she's at it-" Naruto continued to rant as he walked out the door followed by his team.
-----
"Oh, you must be the nice little dearies that are going to help me," the old lady said. She was short, as short as the genin; her grey hair was tied in a bun and she was wearing a faded pink gown on.
"I have so many things to get done and so little time that I thought it would be a good idea to hire ninja for it."
Kakashi nodded. "How many things do you need done, Mrs Hakanimi?"
"Just three, oh perfect, a task for each of you! How great is that?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, it's so great." He mumbled.
"Alright, dearies, you," pointing to Naruto, "can take this cake to my friend's house in 25th street, 3rd house. Her son just had his birthday and I made the cake just for him."
Naruto took the cake and stared at the woman with innocence. "I'll be sure to say happy birthday."
"Oh how nice of you! There should be more people like you around here. Now," she said, looking at Sasuke, "I need you to get some cough medicine from Konoha hospital. The best kind is the most expensive, so use this money and buy the best one there. And you, oh your hair reminds me so much of my cherry trees. I need you to get me a bunch of lilies. The smell of lilies always makes me smile."
Kakashi turned to his students. "Off you go then, meet me at 2 for some more training sessions, this time for Genjutsu. Have lunch before you come. Ja!" at that he poofed into smoke.
-----
Surprisingly, the cake was a very big two story. If Naruto laid it on the ground it would reach his knees. As for the citizens of Konoha, they weren't sure what to do. It's not everyday they saw a demon walking down the street holding a large chocolate cake.
Naruto looked around. Hmm, 21st street. 22nd street. Ah, here we are. Now, 3rd house, 3rd house, ah! He walked up the steps and knocked. To his dismay, another old lady answered the door.
"Oh hello there! My, what a lovely cake! Is this from my friend Kira, Kira Hakanimi?! It is?! Oh how thoughtful! Do you mind saying my thanks?! Have a nice day, young man!" and promptly shut the door.
Naruto stood there. His hands were still outstretched as if holding the cake and his face was a mix of confusion, disbelief, incredulity, shock and, well, more shock. After a few moments, he walked down the steps, his ears ringing from the way the lady shouted in his face. She must have been half deaf! He shrugged and ran towards his favourite place, Ichiraku Ramen.
Sasuke walked briskly into the hospital, hoping to get this over and done with as quickly as possible. He walked up to the counter. A pretty young girl was working there. Great. When see saw him, her eyes went wide, a smile stretched over her face and she finally managed a delighted squeal. Sasuke ignored it.
"What's the best cough medicine you have?"
Apparently, hearing the last not to mention cute Uchiha talk to her was too much. She squealed again and ran off into the store room and slammed the door shut. Sasuke stood there, staring blankly after the girl. Then he twitched. So much for as quickly as possible. After a few moments contemplating whether or not to leave, the door flung open and the girl leapt out, hands clutching a small carton as if her life depended on it.
"Here's the best cough medicine here, Uchiha-san. I'll let you have this one for free. My name is Umi I work here on every Wednesdays and Thursdays, ok?"
Sasuke grunted and walked off with the medicine, promising himself never to go to the hospital on those days.
-----
Sakura headed towards the flower shop. Hopefully, Ino wouldn't be working there today, though she did want to talk to someone, and Ino was an ideal candidate.
Finally she saw the flower shop. The Yamanaka's owned the only flower shop in Konoha. She stepped inside, peering curiously around. The counter seemed empty until the blond appeared from behind the counter.
"Hi welcome to – oh, Sakura! Hi." Ino said cheerfully.
"Hi Ino. So tell me, how's your team?"
Ino scowled at the question. "Shikamaru is so lazy and all he wants to do is lie on the ground and watch clouds drifting pass or play shogi. And Choji is kind but he's kinda fat and always does whatever Shikamaru wants to do. Asuma-sensei isn't too bad, except for the fact that he always has a cigarette in his mouth, even if it isn't lit. Overall, I guess my team isn't too bad, can't be as bad as having a demon in your team."
"Naruto isn't what you think. He is really annoying and always annoys me and Sasuke but he isn't scary anymore. Did you know he can turn into a fox?"
"Really?!"
"Yeah! On this mission to Wave, he turned into a really big fox, as big as a two story house! And then we were on another mission, and he was this small fox, this small, and he attacked me! Though I guess it was kinda my fault."
"What colour is he when he's a fox?"
"Umm, he's got red fur, and he has this really long tail. His feet and tail are tipped black, but his eyes are still blue with slits. I have to admit, he is kinda cute when he's a fox, except when he's growling at you, then he's just plain scary."
"Wow, I want to see him as a fox. But he isn't gonna kill me, right? I mean, he's a demon, I'm surprised he hasn't tried to kill you yet."
"Naruto's different, remember? He was raised here and he knows who he's going to protect. He is special, well not as special as Sasuke, ofcourse."
"You only got Sasuke on your team because you were only average in the class. Be warned, I haven't given up on Sasuke, one day he will be mine!"
"Yeah right, Ino-pig! He is on my team, and that clearly means that we are destined to be together. Love will prevail!!!"
"Oh, come on, Forehead, you and I both know that Sasuke prefers me over you."
"How would you know?!"
"It's as obvious as your forehead?"
"Grrr, I don't have time for you, unlike you, I have a mission to complete."
"Hah, my team got the day off today. Even though I have to work, it's not as bad a doing D-ranked missions all day."
"Goodbye Ino!" Sakura said angrily and stomped out.
"Bye Sakura, come back soon!"
It was quite in the shop, then suddenly the door flung open and Sakura stormed back in.
"Wow, when I said come back soon, I didn't mean this soon."
"Shut up, Ino, I just came for a bunch of lilies."
-----
Naruto just had his fill of heavenly ramen. The old man Ichiraku and his daughter were one of the few people who weren't scared of him or hated him. As he rounded the corner he was surprised to see a young boy running towards him. He sidestepped so he wouldn't get tackled, but the idiotic child turned right at the last second and crashed into him. The boy fell to the ground on his back while Naruto staggered backwards.
Once the boy got his bearings, he glared at Naruto and shouted, "You! You ran into me!"
Naruto blinked before glaring back. "Hey kid, get it right. You were the one who crashed into me, not vice-versa."
"What the heck does vice-verse mean? And you did too run into me!"
"Why you-"
"Young master!"
The pair turned to see another person running towards them. His Hitai-ate covered his hair and he wore a blue shirt and pants. The man stopped in front of them, puffing slightly.
"I have finally found you, young master." As he said that, he turned to the other boy.
"Oh, it's you." He said with badly hidden disgust.
"Yes, it's me."
"Hey, you still haven't apologised for running into me yet!"
"Why the hell would I apologise for something I didn't even do!"
"Do not talk to the young master like that! Do you even know who he is? He is the grandson of the great Sandaime Hokage-sama." (I'm probably going to start useing a few of the suffixes but not all the time with kun and chan…)
Naruto picked the kid up from the scarf and looked at him closely. The boy smirked, finally he realised who he crashed into. Naruto snorted and hit him on the head.
"Oh yeah, your so special, I can smell the specialness in your breath (cookies for those who know where I got this from). Get real, kid. Just because you're the grandson of the old man doesn't mean I'm gonna bow down to you." Naruto left him on the ground and walked off.
Naruto had long since grown used to the different looks he got, but occasionally, he would feel a pang of sadness. The villagers still didn't realise that he wouldn't harm them, on the contrary, he desperately wanted nothing else but to protect the village and keep its occupants safe. Most of the ninja in Konoha didn't mind his presence much, though they didn't interact with him. About the only jonin ninja he really knew was Kakashi.
Kakashi was a strange one. Naruto could clearly see that Kakashi held no fear or anger towards him, and he didn't mind his presence at all. You could almost say he was a fatherly figure, though he was too young. Much too young. In human years, Naruto was 15 when he was changed into a human, and was currently 27. Demons may be immortal, but they can die. When his father dies, Naruto will take his place as King of Bijuu, though he'd have to have his 9th tail. If he didn't, than the Hachibi would be crowned King.
Than again, the death of a Bijuu was very few and very far between, so Naruto didn't have to worry about that for another few thousand years.
He was brought out of his thoughts when he noticed something following him. He glanced back to see a rock. Not only was the rock square, and had eye holes, it was also obviously moving towards him at a crawl. He turned towards the rock.
"Hey, get out of there, you are clearly following me and you are clearly bad at disguises."
The cardboard box with rocks painted on was flung of and the boy from before leapt from underneath.
"Ah. Nothing less than what I expected from you, Boss!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Boss? Why, may I ask, am I your Boss?"
"Because you're the only one who hasn't bowed or praised me just for being he Hokage's grandson."
Naruto blinked. The boy had determination, definitely. You could see it in his eyes.
"What's your name?"
The boy beamed. "My name is Konohamaru!"
"Konohamaru, huh? Nice name. Well, Konohamaru, I have to go now, but if I meet you again, I promise to teach you something."
"Yay! You're the best, Boss. See ya!" he shouted and ran off around the corner. Naruto smiled and was about to walk off when he heard a thud, then an oof, then an unknown voice shouting, "You little punk, you are so gonna pay for that!"
-----
Gaara followed his siblings discreetly. He didn't know why he felt so uncomfortable being with them, perhaps it was the fact that they were scared that he would suddenly go crazy and kill them in a blink. Gaara felt something in his chest, a strange feeling that wasn't pleasant, but he ignored it. Suddenly all his senses went on high alert. Impossible, a Demon? Here? The demonic chakra was strong and pure, meaning the demon wasn't inside a jinchuuriki. Back in the recesses of his mind, he could hear the loud howling of Shukaku.
Another demon! He is strong, do not confront him! Even Shukaku is afraid. Best be wary. He thought. He watched as his brother, Kankuro, lifted a child up for crashing into him. He again watched as his sister, Temari, tried to stop Kankuro from hurting the boy. He stiffened as he saw the demon he had sensed run around the corner.
-----
"Hey, put him down!"
Kankuro looked up from the boy to see another boy glaring at him. He sneered.
"Or what, you'll kill me?"
I wish I could. "Do you even know who the boy is? He's the Hokage's grandson."
Kankuro's eyes widened in fear, but was soon replaced with another sneer. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill him. Just teach him a lesson." Naruto's eyes narrowed. But not because of what he said, but because Naruto suddenly felt a demon presence. But that was impossible…
"Kankuro, stop."
The group turned their attention to a boy of Naruto's age. He had strange garments on and, wait, is that a giant gourd on his back?! The stranger disappeared in a swirl of sand and materialised beside Kankuro.
"Leave the kid, we are wasting time. Let's go." Kankuro and Temari's eyes widened. No intimidation, that's strange. And we've got 3 more days. Leave the kid? Gaara doesn't show mercy. He put Konohamaru down, who was quick to run behind Naruto. Gaara turned his attention to Naruto. He stared back, then frowned in confusion and recognition.
"Shukaku?"
Gaara's eyes widened, and his sibling gawked. How…
Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why are you a human? What the hell are you doing in Konoha?! Wait, your chakra is tiny. Who are you!" Naruto shouted, body instinctively crouching into a stance.
"I will tell you if you tell me." Gaara said, with a slight tremor.
Naruto paused, wondering if he should tell him. Then he started hesitantly, "Naruto Uzumaki, genin of Konoha."
This time Gaara's eyes narrowed.
"Then why do I sense demon chakra in you?" His siblings gasped quietly.
Naruto sighed and started again, "Naruto Uzumaki, son of Demon Lord Kyuubi no Kitsune. There, I said it, now tell me who you are!"
Everything was silent, then Gaara said, "Gaara of the Sand, Jinchuuriki of Shukaku."
Naruto frowned. "Jinchuuriki? The Power of Human Sacrifice? Hmm, then what are you doing in Konoha?"
"We are here to attend the Chunin exams."
Naruto was surprised. Kakashi hadn't told them the Chunin exams were being held here, let alone soon. Then he sighed. Should have known… Kakashi-sensei isn't one to tell us these types of things.
"Alright. But if you kill any innocent villager, I won't hesitate to kill you."
Gaara nodded stiffly and walked off with Kankuro and Temari following robotically.
Naruto sighed, then looked down at Konohamaru. "Are you alright?"
Konohamaru looked back. "Y-you're a demon!"
"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't-"
"Awesome!"
"-tell you, wait, huh?
"That's so cool! You must be uber strong, right? I mean, being a demon and all, you must be able to beat Gramps!"
"Ah-ha ha, probably not. I do have the chakra and strength but I'm not very experienced. The old man would probably take me down in a matter of minutes, he is the Hokage after all."
Konohamaru looked glum. "Aww, I wanted you to teach me how to beat grandpa. Then I'd take his place as Hokage of Konoha."
Naruto chuckled at that.
"Konohamaru, even if you do beat the Hokage in a battle, that doesn't mean you will automatically be Hokage. You have to show Konoha and your grandpa that you are a ninja that will be able to protect Konoha and lead them through times of struggle. You have to show them how brightly the Will of Fire burns in you. Just take a look at your name. The old man loves this village so much, he named his beloved grandson after it."
Konohamaru smiled. "Just you wait, Boss. I'll prove to everyone that I'm strong enough to be Hokage! Just you wait!"
A/N: Hmm, a page longer than the last chapter. I spent many days on this chapter, I hope you guys are grateful!
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