Very cool ideas that I've been hearing from people about ideas they have about Naruto's new clothing. Given me a lot of ideas, although the eye patch to cover his eye was always in the work. Everyone knows that only real badasses have eyepatches. It just screams "Gonna put your ass in lockdown." That and as we all know it's totally moe. I think its time to rename this fic "Naruto the Moe Swordsman." Gonna be a kawaii ninja. Time to get this on, I'm getting excited to continue, the chapters might be slow for a few, but once I hit where I want to it'll be time to buckle up kiddos. Cause the Kishimoto ninja world ain't ready for Naruto. Canon gonna get ripped a new one.
Which reminds me to add in, because I many not have mentioned this in earlier chapters, but I'm not going to be following canon. There are going to be some similarities but if something is different or some facts don't match up, it's more than likely on purpose or I just don't know. I've really only been able to keep up with the manga, and the idea of trying to watch all 300+ episodes of Shippuden makes my head spin at how long that would take, so understand I'm only playing with a rough deck here. (Also if anyone knows what episode it is where Hinata shows up in a bunny maid outfit I would be grateful to know the number, I saw a screencap of it and almost died from a nosebleed.)
It was early morning in Konoha, the sky a beautiful mixture of blue and light orange as the sun was starting it's ascent. The air was still somewhat cool, but being summer it wouldn't last much longer. A fact that Naruto was currently very happy for as he awoke from his slumber. He had come in through his window the previous night, barely able to land into his bed adjacent to the window before completely passing out. He felt like he slept as the dead, and knew he had slept for almost twelve hours.
Opening his eyes, he momentarily forgot about his new right eye and the odd vision it gave. Grumbling to himself, he closed his right eye, deciding he would need to figure out a way to cover it so he wouldn't have to constantly hold it shut. As he got off the bed, he could see his sword had been haphazardly dropped by the side of the bed. Putting it in a more dignified position leaning up against the wall, Naruto walked over to his closet to rummage through old stuff he kept in there. Finding an old black leather kunai holster, he cut out a small circle of leather from it and sewed a black cloth strap to it he'd salvaged from his destroyed pants.
Moving to the mirror to put it on, Naruto opened his right eye, glad to see that he couldn't see through it. He examined himself and allowed himself a small smirk. He actually looked pretty good with it on. Though, he would have to go out and buy an actual eye patch, his tailoring skills left something to be desired. Having solved that problem, Naruto headed towards his kitchen to start his morning routine.
A hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage and rice was on the menu. Though he had to admit he missed eating his favorite food at times, he had to take care of himself and eat a more balanced diet. Then, after cooking his breakfast he started his morning workout, using various weights he'd purchased to help him get into the shape he would need to be in to wield his sword easier. Halfway though his morning training, currently doing inverted sit ups using a pull up bar he installed in his apartment, he heard a small knock at his door.
Looking at the door, sweat dripping off his head, Naruto wondered who it could be this time of morning and dropped from the bar. Grabbing his towel from the floor, Naruto wiped the sweat from his face. "Coming," he announced as he neared the door.
Outside, Hinata was trying to calm herself, ready to throw open the door and make sure Naruto was inside. The Medics hadn't cleared her to leave until late last night, and she tried to go see him then, but her father had come to pick her up and forbade her from visiting Naruto until the next day, which he still wasn't happy with but understood she wanted to check on her teammate, though he harshly told her she was only allowed to see if he was okay, and then was to report back to the Hyuuga compound immediately afterward.
Before she could continue to dwell on the strict lifestyle her father imposed, she heard Naruto's voice come muffled through the door and felt instant relief, until he opened the door. She couldn't tell if she was embarrassed from gazing at his half-naked body, which she noted was starting to get more muscular thanks to all the hard work Naruto had been pushing himself through over the months, and the fact sweat was traversing down each muscle, glistening in the early morning light. Or if she was more horrified at seeing the homemade eye patch covering his eye along with a few new scars that adorned his torso from his fight with Gaara, including a large crater shaped one where he had been run through by a sand spike. She also noted the giant scar that ran from his shoulderblade to his heart, something she hadn't seen before.
"N-Naruto-kun, your eye. . ." Hinata started, staring at the eye patch.
Naruto had been surprised to see the Hyuuga heiress standing at the door, and instinctively turned his head a bit, trying to hide his eye. She'd already seen it though, and he knew he wouldn't be able to hide it from her. Moving aside from the door, Naruto invited her in.
Hinata moved in, waiting for Naruto to close the door behind her. Looking at him with a troubled gaze, she waited a moment for him to speak before she would ask again.
Naruto turned to look at her, and almost laughed at having to completely turn to do so. He was going to have to get used to this sooner or later, having a blind spot seemed to be a bit of a nuisance. He briefly wondered how Kakashi Hakate dealt with it.
Seeing her gaze on him, Naruto let out a small sigh, knowing he wasn't going to be able to duck this question any longer. Taking a seat on his bed, he motioned for her to have one too, and she sat down to his left. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Naruto began, "How much do you know about my fight in the preliminaries?"
"Not much, I was only told you were injured." She replied.
Naruto grumbled to himself, wishing he didn't have to do this. He had come to terms with what he had done, and his current position but having to openly explain it to the person he considered dearest was another thing. "Yesterday, I fought Gaara of the Sand. He was -" Naruto stopped for a second, remembering to hold off on the portion about him being the container of the Ichibi, "- a really strong genin. Not to count completely batshit insane and bloodthirsty. The whole fight he was screaming how he wanted to kill me." Naruto retold the fight slowly, trying to watch every word he spoke. Hinata still didn't know about the demon within him, and he would keep it that way. Though, he wondered if anyone had taken notice of Gaara's mad ranting about him being the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. He'd prayed not. The last thing he needed was his generation knowing about it too. He didn't even want to know what Hinata would think of him after. The thought of her looking at him with the same eyes the villagers did. . .
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata called out, gently touching his shoulder, noticing his blank stare set dead ahead of him.
Naruto shook his head and glanced over at her with a brief smile, being brought out of his gloomy thoughts. "Sorry, just lost in a thought. Anyways, we fought, and Gaara came close to killing me," Naruto continued, pointing out to his eye.
Hinata looked troubled, and looked down at his chest, trying to keep her thoughts mild as she examined his scars. "Did you get those scars from the fight too?" She asked, pointing them out, knowing that there was no way he could of received those just yesterday, they looked fully healed.
Naruto felt like cussing up a storm. How could he of been so stupid?! Quickly grabbing a shirt, he threw it on quick to cover up his torso.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked carefully, worried now that she might have upset him. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked something like that, I-I can just go I-" She started, standing up and feeling like an idiot for upsetting him. She was stopped though by Naruto grabbing her wrist gently.
"No," he quickly cut her off, "You didn't upset me, I just. . ." he trailed off.
Hinata nodded, wiping her eye quickly as she sat back down. "It's okay Naruto-kun, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."
Naruto cursed in his head, wishing he could do just that, but after her saying something like that he would feel terrible if he lied to her. Choosing his words very carefully he spoke, "It's something I don't like letting people know about, I'm rather worried about what people would think." He looked over at her, gaining her eye contact. "I have this, well, a type of bloodline would be the best way to describe it. It's something I can't quite explain right now but it's something that helps me heal really fast."
Hinata nodded, noting that Naruto was being very careful how he spoke, and he did so slowly as if watching what he said. But she knew that if he was withholding something from her, he wasn't doing it maliciously. "So you received those wounds from the fight last night and they've already healed this well?"
Naruto nodded, then pointed to his chest, "The scar you saw here," and he gently traced the scar Zabuza gave him, "was something I received when my team was killed. It was only due to my healing ability that I was able to survive it." Watching her expression carefully, seeing it remain mostly the same concerned one she had been wearing he went on, "the others you saw, were ones I had received from my fight with Gaara, most normal people would have more than likely died or needed to forfeit immediately with such wounds, but I can recover from such attacks quickly. It would probably take an instant fatal hit to kill me, if I had to guess." He decided to leave out the part about how bad it was for him to take such wounds and flood his system with demon chakra to heal them.
"That's amazing Naruto-kun," Hinata started, looking on at him in awe. "I think it's way cooler than my Byakugan!" She exclaimed with a large smile.
"Wha-?" Naruto started, being taken off guard. He couldn't take how utterly enthusiastic she was about it, and he doubled over laughing hard. He didn't know what was funnier, her innocent attempt to cheer him up or how ironic it was that she didn't know where he got this 'bloodline' from.
Hinata joined in with him, laughing and glad that he didn't seem quite so serious anymore.
Naruto's laughter soon died out though, as he took a deep breath. He still hadn't told her the ending of the fight. "Hinata, I still need to tell you one more thing." He started feeling his whole body shake, as the sheer anxiety wracked his system. He cursed his body for it's reaction and tried his best to calm himself. He looked away from her curious face and closed his eye. "At the end I. . . I killed Gaara."
He waited. His fists gripped his sheets and shook as he waited for the inevitable sound of her leaving, or her to gasp, now disgusted with him. But, what he didn't expect was the embrace, feeling her arms wrap around him, and felt her press against his back. "Hinata, what. . ." he started.
"It's okay Naruto-kun, I know you. You're not a bad person, you wouldn't do something like that unless you had no other choice." She spoke, her voice slightly muffled by his back. She felt mortified she was being so bold as to try and comfort him like this, but she wanted to make sure he knew that she could never hate him. She felt a bit shocked at hearing he actually killed someone, but after hearing about how terribly wounded he had gotten in the fight, she knew he truly had to.
Naruto bit his lip, trying not to cry and almost hated how entirely understanding and compassionate she could be. Reaching up to grasp her hand he let out a shaky breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. This girl, he thought with a smile, she was truly the most important thing in his life. The only true light that he could say was his hope and comfort.
Hinata blushed feeling his acceptance of her comfort, but caught a glimpse of the time and frowned knowing that she couldn't stay with him. Letting go, she noted that Naruto didn't seem to want to let go of her hand, which made her happy.
Naruto couldn't help but feel a hole being left behind in him as Hinata let go, he wanted to feel her embrace again, the warmth of her body was addictive to the boy who had never known such love. Even with the wind blowing through his room gently, and he knew it would rob his back of the warmth it possessed the memory would never fade.
"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but I have to leave now. My father wants me back as soon as possible." She spoke, not bothering to hide her disappointment at this fact.
Naruto nodded, understanding. "I would imagine. The heiress of her clan is headed to the chunin finals! You got a lot of training to put it, right Hinata?"
Hinata smiled and nodded, "Yes, I have to make sure that if we fight in the finals I won't just be a pushover, I'll make you work for it."
Naruto laughed and threw his right arm up flexing it, causing his developing muscles to protrude. "You better train hard Hinata-chan! Cause I'm gonna make sure I'm on a completely different level in a month's time!"
Hinata blushed as she watched his arm muscle, feeling a weird sensation take her over seeing his display. She also had to sheepishly admit to herself she quite liked the look of the eyepatch on him. Moving backwards she smiled and grasped the door handle, causing Naruto to jump up, wanting to see her out. After exchanging a farewells, Hinata waved and jumped from the walkway outside his apartment to the adjacent building. Naruto watched her until she disappeared past the furthest building he could see.
After going at the rest of his workout twice as hard, Naruto knew he had a lot of work ahead of him for the day. He was determined to make good on his promise to Hinata to work as hard as he could for the coming month. After how she had accepted him, even after hearing of how he had killed someone, he found himself seeing her as more than just a teammate. He would do everything in his power to see to it that no harm ever came to her, from others or himself. In order to do that, he would have to become stronger than anyone else, he would have to surpass the strength of the Kyuubi itself in order to defeat it when the time came.
Thinking about his right arm, he knew that one of the first things he would have to do is learn how to control this demonic chakra. It was a double edged sword to be certain, but even double edged weapons are nothing more than weapons, they can be mastered and controlled.
Smirking to himself, Naruto set out into Konoha with a spare orange jumpsuit he had still in his closet. He noted with a bit of pride that it fight too snug around his shoulders and chest, proof that his training over the past few months had some real effect, not to mention the sword was getting easier to swing. He had also noted that his forehead protector was no where to be found and cussed up a storm when he realized it must of gotten destroyed during his fight. He would have to get a new one, as he kept the one Iruka had given him safely tucked away as a precious treasure.
Making new clothing his first priority, Naruto decided to get something functional and simple, as he would have no need for anything fancy for the next month. Stopping by one of the only ninja shops that wouldn't immediately run him out, he bought a simple white karate gi, a popular garb for taijutsu specialists when training. He also picked up some simple casual clothing if he needed it, but he didn't plan on using it any time soon. He also was glad to see that they had a varied selection of eyepatches, as such injuries weren't exactly common place, but they did occur. He found a nice black leather one that looked much better than his previous eyepatch. He also bought some bandages to wrap around his fists, forearms and feet. He would be doing some heavy training and even with his accelerated healing it wouldn't hurt to take some precaution.
After that, he made a quick trip home to change into his new gi and then off to find Kurenai to ensure he was free for the month. It seemed she had the same idea to see him as he caught her halfway to his apartment.
Kurenai was slightly surprised to see Naruto drop out of the sky, and with new clothing and sporting an eyepatch to boot.
"Yo! Kurenai-sensei, morning!" Naruto greeted with a smile.
Kurenai returned his cheery mood with a smile of her own, glad to see that he wasn't in the mood she expected him to be. "Good morning indeed Naruto, you're certainly happy today. I like the new clothing."
Naruto scratched the back of his head, keeping his infamous grin up. "Thanks, I had to replace my old outfit."
Kurenai's smile dropped just a bit, being reminded why she came to visit her student in the first place. "Naruto, about that," she started, seeing the change in Naruto's face. He made no attempt to hide his faded smile and the serious face that followed. Looking around, she saw that no one was nearby, "Do you need to talk about what happened yesterday?"
Naruto shook his head, "No, but thank you for your concern Sensei. I've come to terms with it. But, aren't you concerned about it?" Naruto asked carefully, not knowing how she would respond.
Kurenai shook her head. "No. You preformed admirably in the fight, and I am more than proud of you." She replied, deciding to omit her earlier feelings of concern over seeing him unleash his demonic powers in the fight. "Gaara had come at you with every intent of taking your life. You only responded in kind, as ninja there is nothing to be ashamed about."
Naruto started to wonder if he'd been way too self-critical about the whole thing, so far everyone he had run into was accepting of his performance the other day. "Sensei. . . thank you, I mean that." He replied. Kurenai was one of the few adults that didn't treat him badly because of his prisoner, not to mention another person who honestly cared for him. "Does Shino -?" He continued, letting the question hang in the air.
Kurenai nodded with a smile, "Yes he feels the exact same. More than teammates, we're all your friends Naruto. That you survived the fight is more than enough for all of us."
Naruto smiled again, feeling truly grateful for her words. He couldn't of asked for better friends. Friends, Naruto thought, he loved that word.
"Which reminds me," Kurenai added breaking Naruto from his thoughts. "I'm organizing a celebration tonight, I hope you would want to come."
"A celebration? Of course I would, sensei, but what's it for?" Naruto asked, trying to think if it was anyone's birthday.
"Silly, the fact that our entire team passed the chunin preliminaries?"
Naruto felt like slapping himself thinking about that obvious fact. "Oh right! We did huh? Man, Team Eight is freaking unstoppable!"
Kurenai laughed at his antics shaking her head. "Well, it looks like you were busy, so I'll let you go. Meet us all at Sakana at eight, okay?"
"That's the nice restaurant at the east end of town right? Kurenai-sensei, I don't know if-" Naruto started, thinking about how he would more than likely be denied service there and didn't want his friends to be turned away too.
"You can strike that thought from your head Naruto. I'll make sure that won't be an issue." Kurenai cut him off, her tone suggesting that she may do something that may or may not be considered something akin to a threat.
Naruto still felt uneasy about it, but agreed. Then seeming as he remembered something he asked, "Kurenai-sensei, would you happen to know any taijutsu specialists I could maybe talk to?"
Kurenai tilted her head, wondering what he would need from someone like that and nodded. "I do know one yes, though I have to admit he's a bit. . .unorthodox about his teaching methods. What do you need to see him about?"
"Just some tips and tricks I might be able to learn from him about physical training." Naruto flexed his arm to give emphasis, "I gotta get a lot stronger!"
Kurenai sighed, wondering if she should really subject her student to the terror that was Might Gai. She acquiesced, however, and gave him the information to find him. Naruto thanked her and leaped off to go find him. Kurenai only prayed he wouldn't come back to see her that night in a leotard and bowl haircut.
It took the better part of an hour, but Naruto was finally able to track down Might Gai, who was currently situated in a secluded training ground sparring with his body double Rock Lee. Naruto leaped into the clearing, staying silent as he watched the two share heated blows in a fierce sparring match that almost looked serious. Naruto felt inspired seeing how hard the two were going at it, and watched, trying to track each and every move they made. It didn't take long though for them to notice him and they stopped.
"Well if it isn't young Naruto!" Gai yelled out with a hearty smile and wave, "What brings you here?"
Naruto was entranced as Gai smiled, he swore the sun was reflecting off his teeth and the light shone directly at him. W-What kind of genjutsu is this?! I thought he was a taijutsu expert!
Lee also began waving with just as much, if not more, gusto than his teacher. "Naruto! How glad I am to see you! Have you by chance come to test your fighting prowess against me?!" Lee exclaimed with a powerful yell, feeling his blood boil at the chance to fight Naruto after seeing his powerful display yesterday. Just as the others had been, he was surprised by the end of the fight, but had enough sense to understand that such things are part of this life that ninja walk. And, not knowing Naruto as well as his classmates had, he hadn't known the full measure of growth Naruto had made since the academy.
Naruto smiled, walking towards them, their cheerfulness infectious to the boy. "Well, that wasn't my intent but I would be happy to spar with you Lee! I came here to speak with Gai-sensei if I could though."
Gai stepped forward, striking a pose. "And what would you need from me young Naruto? Have you come to fan your flames of youth to new heights?!" He all but shouted.
Naruto smiled, and after a moment struck as ridiculous a pose as he could and yelled right back, "Teach me how to make my fire burn uncontrollably Gai-sensei! I wish nothing more than to attain physical perfection!" Naruto almost felt embarrassed at how into this he was getting but had to admit it was fun.
Lee watched on with an enthusiastic awe and couldn't contain himself as he jumped up and landed with his right arm outstretched and hand clenched in a firm thumbs up. "Naruto! I am beyond joyful to hear that you too wish to push yourself to your limit! YOSH! Let us erupt into a youthful inferno together!" Lee was beyond consoling at this point as it seemed his very eyes lit aflame, more happy than ever that he could find another genius of hard work!
Striking the same pose as his student, Gai added, "Then when better than to start now?!"
Naruto smiled and mirrored the two, "You got it! What do I need to do?"
Lee took a step forward and looked over at his sensei, "Gai-sensei! Allow me to spar with Naruto! I've been wanting to go all out in a youthful competition with him since I witnessed his victory in the preliminaries!"
Gai nodded with another blinding smile, "Good idea Lee! Nothing quite like a spirited exchange of blows for two youthful fires to burn brighter than ever! What say you Naruto?!"
Naruto nodded with a smile and drew his sword, leaving it in it's sheath, slamming it into the dirt. "Gladly! But I'm not gonna hold anything back, so get ready Lee!" Naruto exclaimed, feeling happy to have an actual fight with someone outside his team not intent on killing him or blackmailing him if he lost.
Lee yelled out in a gleeful roar and entered a fighting pose. "You shall not be disappointed I promise, Naruto! I will fight you with everything I have!"
"Right then!" Gai yelled out, holding his hand straight up. With a mighty chop he brought it down with a yell, "Fight!"
Naruto fell to one knee, using his sword as a crutch to keep himself up. He was on fire, his lungs felt ready to burst from how hard he had pushed them, and his muscles were ready to rupture from the strain he'd put on them from how fast he was swinging his sword to keep up with Lee. He also felt a bit of the Kyuubi's chakra bleeding into his system, but wasn't overly worried about it.
Lee too was looking winded as he was bent over leaning on his knees, breathing just as hard. "Y-You impress me Naruto!" Lee managed to wheeze out. "I don't usually get such a good workout from other genin besides Neji!"
Naruto smiled at the other boy, glad he was able to measure up to him. "W-Well, anytime Lee."
Gai beamed with pride as he watched the two exchange youthful conversation after erupting into passionate flames as they had. The surrounding training ground was completely devastated by their spar, from sundered earth, to broken rocks and devastated trees. Watching them go all out with smiles on their face had been a true treat. "Good work the both of you! Let's call it for now!"
"Yes, Gai-sensei!" Lee responded, standing straight, then bowing to Naruto.
Naruto followed suit, not able to wipe the smile from his face.
"I would hope your able to come do this again soon Naruto." Gai spoke, walking closer to Naruto. "Your style of fighting is a good match for Lee to go all out on!"
Naruto nodded crossing his arms. "I would love to. It might be a while before I can come back though. I have to devote myself to some special training. Which is another reason why I came to speak with you."
Gai nodded, his eyes seeming to take a more serious look. "Indeed? What can I help you with?"
Naruto briefly explained his efforts to grow stronger and gain more muscle in order to use his sword to it's full potential. Gai nodded as he listened, seeming to agree with his current methods. "I see, those are indeed effective methods of training, but I have something that will give you even better results." Reaching into his vest, Gai pulled out two scrolls. Unfurling them, they summon two sets of weights that slam into the ground.
"Woah, what are those?" Naruto asked, squatting down to get a closer look.
"Those are body weights, they're meant to be strapped onto your body to give extra resistance while you train. Lee." Gai explains, calling for his student at the end.
Lee nodded and knelt down, pulling up one of his leg warmers. Naruto was taken aback seeing that Lee had been fighting him the whole time with the same massive leg weights attached and still faster than him. Feeling his ego deflate slightly, Naruto gathered up the weights and nodded at Gai. "Thank you Gai-sensei, these are gonna come in very handy."
For a few moments more, Gai and Naruto conversed about the finer points of his training and how to use the weights. After, Lee made Naruto promise to get as strong as he could in his personal training so that when they faced each other in the chunin finals it would be the 'most youthful battle' Konoha would ever see. With a grin and promise, Naruto gave Lee a thumbs up and told Lee he would train until he dropped every day. Lee almost burst into flames there and then and lost any fatigue he had, exclaming to Gai it was time to go even harder and dropped into doing pushups, swearing if he could not do 1,000 he would do 5,000 sit-ups. Naruto could only laugh as he left the two.
To say he was a bit nervous about the upcoming dinner was an understatement. Naruto stood outside Sakana wearing a simple black sleeveless shirt, with bandages covering his miscolored right arm and tan pants. He forgot to buy shoes when he had been at the store so instead opted to bandage he feet up to his toes as a makeshift. He had tried to leave his sword at home, but felt far too naked and defenseless without it. He also noted the looks of many of the patrons entering the restaurant for dinner. While it certainly wasn't a high class establishment, it was still better than your average eatery, and many of the villagers going in were talking in hushed whispers. Though, Naruto did have to admit he stuck out even more than he used to.
After almost loosing his nerve and wanting to walk away, Naruto heard a familiar voice call out to him.
"Naruto-kun!"
Naruto smiled as he turned to see the owner of the voice, and almost felt like running away after seeing how nice she had dressed. She wore a traditional yukata, a nice shade of purple that complemented her very nicely, with an obi colored a lighter shade of violet. Naruto tried to find his voice as she drew nearer, looking how he felt.
"W-Wow H-Hinata-chan, you look beau-beautiful!" Naruto was able to choke out, stumbling hard on every word and trying to keep his nerve steady to compliment the girl.
Hinata turned a new shade of red that had been yet to be named as she looked down, and Naruto swore he saw steam rising from her face. She had to fight off the strongest fainting spell she had felt since she intially got over it and managed to stutter out "T-t-thank you Naruto-kun! Y-You look r-rather nice too! I mean, hot!" Hinata felt like crawling into the ground and dieing after that. Hot?! What was she thinking!?
The two would of continued on like that if not for the humorous laughter that came from behind them. Spinning around, Naruto saw Kurenai and Shino both doubled over laughing at the scene. Both Hinata and Naruto tried to say something, but were far too embarrassed to articulate a proper response.
"I-I'm sorry you two, but that was far too funny!" Kurenai choked out.
The ever stoic Aburame was worse, not able to catch his breath long enough to speak.
"S-Sensei!" Hinata moaned, finally able to put words together, "Why did you tell me it was going to be a fancy restaurant? I would have come in something less embarrassing!"
Kurenai was able to control her laughter and walked closer, "I may have embellished a bit when I told you about what restaurant we were going to. I thought Naruto might enjoy seeing you in a nice outfit." Kurenai replied with a wink.
Hinata couldn't believe it, her sensei had tricked her! But. . . she had to admit that she liked dressing up, she was glad she did too after hearing Naruto compliment her so.
Shino had finally gotten himself under control and walked forward to join everyone. "I swear, you're going to cause my hive to go insane making me laugh like that."
Naruto took a good look at the boy, and felt a bit surprised seeing that he opted to still wear his coat, but it was unzipped. "Hey Shino, good to see ya!" Naruto walked up to his other male teammate and motioned for a high five, which Shino gave without reservation.
"Same. Congratulations on your win Naruto. You had me worried there after being trapped in that sand. I'm happy we didn't have to find a replacement just yet." Shino said, finishing with a smirk.
Naruto grinned and puffed out his chest. "Like something that weak could take me out!"
"It's good we're all talking and such, but let's get going inside, we can talk in a nice cool building. It's way too hot out here." Kurenai suggested, fanning herself with her hand.
The three genin nodded and Naruto still couldn't shake the awkward feeling of walking inside. "Nervous?" Naruto heard Shino whisper to him, making him jump slightly. "Yeah, a bit." Naruto replied, wondering if the bug user understood exactly why.
"I have the same problem getting into eateries at times too. Not very often but in nicer ones the Aburame aren't always the most welcome. Our insects seem to make the kitchen staff nervous."
Naruto looked at Shino surprised, he had never thought that a full fledged ninja clan would ever have any problems like he did. He was also a bit worried about how Shino had phrased his statement about having the same problem he did. Did Shino know about the Kyuubi?
Seeing his teammates confused reaction, Shino added, "I don't know the particulars of your situation, but I don't care. You could be holding the Kyuubi within you for all I know and I would still accept you as Naruto, rest assured."
Naruto had to play the best poker face he ever attempted before, hearing Shino guess his predicament on the head. But, he did allow for his smile to beam through. He couldn't believe his luck for getting such an awesome team.
Inside, Naruto looked around in awe. The only restaurant he had been in with any frequency were smaller end ones like Ichiraku. Sakana was on a different level entirely with quite a few booths within the dining area and the walls composing the diner portion were covered in beautiful murals of Ukiyo-e paintings depicting various warriors and monsters from across time and legends. As they neared the entrance from the foyer of the building, Naruto saw the head waiter, a portly man wearing a suit two sizes too small, currently assigning waiters to groups of guests.
When they arrived to the booth, the head waiter had a polite smile on his face, but it soon shifted as soon as his eyes rested onto Naruto. He didn't attempt to hide his frown as he walked forward towards Naruto but was stopped by Kurenai who stepped in front of him.
"Hello there, we need a table please." She spoke in an even tone, already quite aware of what his intention was.
The head waiter's smile switched faster than a substitution jutsu could and looked up at Kurenai, "And I will be more than happy to seat you to one my dear, but I'm afraid the blond boy can't be served here."
Kurenai's face darkened, her beautiful features taking on a dangerous look. "Would you care to explain why my student can't eat here?"
The head waiter seemed to sweat a pound out as soon as the genjutsu master locked eyes with him, much as a lioness would to her prey, and managed to respond, "There are a few, but the most pressing being that –" He attempted to continue, but Kurenai's face became even more horrifying to the man as he suddenly lost the nerve to continue with his reason. "I – uh . . . you know, I do humbly apologize. I seem to have made a grievous error. Allow me to show you personally to your table."
Kurenai dropped her vicious mask and gave a pleasant smile. "All is forgiven. Please lead the way."
The head waiter stumbled with the menu as he couldn't quite grab hold any of them as he led them to their table. After seating them and informing them their waiter would be by soon he stumbled away trying to keep his footing.
Naruto immediately lunged forward, leaning on the table looking at Kurenai with awe. "How the heck did you do that Sensei?! You gotta teach me that trick! It had to of been some sweet genjutsu right?"
Kurenai let a small giggle out and gave him a wink. "It comes with experience sorry, you'll learn it one day."
Team Eight shared pleasant conversation for the rest of dinner, with Kurenai offering a toast at the start of the meal to the success that they had achieved and a hope that they would all preform just as well in the finals and all become Chunin.
During the meal, Naruto started to overhear some conversations from adjacent tables. He glanced around and saw that many eyes were darting back and forth from him. Many being ones of fear and loathing. Naruto frowned for a moment, but continued eating again until he heard a snippet of conversation from the table behind him.
"You didn't hear? That Naruto brat murdered a Suna ninja in the preliminaries!"
Naruto's frown deepened, lowering his chopsticks from his mouth as he continued to listen.
"You're kidding?! I knew he was a monster! Why does the Hokage tolerate him in the village?! Someone should do something about him."
Naruto felt his right arm start to shake, and he could feel the Kyuubi's chakra start to boil and mix within his own. Grinding his teeth, he forced himself to calm down before he shattered his chopsticks from how hard he gripped them. He felt a gentle touch on his bandaged right arm, and looked over to see Hinata trying to give him a consoling look. Naruto tried to smile and shook his head.
"Naruto?" Kurenai asked, having heard the same thing he had.
"It's okay Sensei." Naruto replied, going back to eating. After taking a bite and swallowing his food he looked back up at his team, taking a moment to make eye contact with each before continuing. "I have the support and acceptance of you guys. I don't need anyone else's approval."
Aaand CUT! Chapter 15 is fini! Finished! DONE! And damn does it feel good to be writing again. In case anyone was wondering why my chapters have been coming out in such frequency (though I doubt many are complaining about that) It would be because my current job is basically a damn cake walk and I have about 6 odd hours of doing jack shit and I have access to my laptop. So I get to write while I get paid. If that's not a winning goddamn combination I don't know what is.
Stay tuned kiddos. This ride ain't gonna stop till we hit warp speed. THE PLANS I HAVE IN STORE.
Shinobi no Ryu