Note on Character Ages:
Whatever the legal drinking age is for your country, state, province, prefecture, etc. is, is how old these characters are.
All characters are adults, no children, or anything that involves anyone under age.
That's not how I roll(United States slang term for "How I do Things"-if you're not from here.). It's illegal where I live, and I'm not going to violate those laws.
Not even in Fan Fiction.
:)…Thanks for reading.
CHAPTER RATING: T
Chapter 2: Sage Advice
Naruto opened his eyes as he heard a knocking sound at his door. He shot up from his bed. "Coming!" he shouted while stumbling over his thoughts towards the door. He noticed a green flak jacket as his hand turned the knob and let the door slide open.
"Yo, Naruto. Are you ready?" Kakashi asked him before briefly looking up from his copy of Make-out Tactics.
"Ready for what, Kakashi–sensei?" Naruto replied with a question of his own. Kakashi took his hand and placed it on Naruto's shoulder.
"Did you forget? You asked me to help you train today?"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, it must have slipped my mind." Naruto sluggishly replied.
"Is something wrong?" Kakashi asked. "It's not like you to forget about training sessions."
"N-no, nothing's wrong. Let me get dressed, I'll be there soon."
"Alright, do you want me to wait? Or can you make it to the training grounds by yourself?"
"I can make it on my own, I'll see you there."
"Okay, I'll see you there." Kakashi finally said while he opened his book, and turned to his left.
"It won't take me too long." Naruto stated as he saw Kakashi nod his head; stepping back into his house, he gently closed the door behind him.
I forgot about my training session with Kakashi-sensei, huh? Something must really be on my mind.
…As if I didn't know what that "something" or more precisely,"someone" is. He let out a deep sigh.
In time, I'll figure out what to do.
…
Hinata took a deep breath as she entered the fighting stance of the Gentle Fist; four shinobi surrounded her on all sides.
"Byakugan!" she shouted while assuming her battle stance; multiple veins appeared to protrude from her eyes as she took focus. The four shinobi charged at her without warning. Keeping her stance solid, her feet grounded, and her eyes open, she let out a cry of determination.
"Juken! Hakke Sanjūni Shō!"(Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams – Thirty-Two Palms) She brought her hands forward, delivering four strikes to her first opponent, eight to her second, sixteen to her third, and thirty-two to her fourth; her swift hands seemed to have been guided by the air. With her quick strikes connecting, she brought her hands back to their original stance. In that single instant, all four of her opponents fell to the ground.
Sensing another opponent, Hinata turned around and heard the shout of a familiar voice.
"Hakke Kūshō!"(Eight Trigrams – Vacuum Palm) A burst of air shot out from Neji's hand; with a quick glance Hinata realized the situation she was in. She formed the Gentle Fist stance again, and thrust out her arm, just as Neji had.
"Hakke Kūshō!" she shouted back. A similarly sharp and deadly wave of air shot from her hand. The two invisible masses clashed half way between their positions, causing a massive shockwave that shook the very foundations of the buildings that surrounded them. Neji darted at Hinata with his best efforts, his footfalls barely making a sound as he ran.
"Jūho Sōshiken!"(Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists) Hinata shouted again as she brought her arms to her sides. Chakra began to form around her fists, each taking on the appearance of a lion's head, at the back of the lion heads the chakra flowed as if it was being blown by the wind. Hinata planted her feet deeply in the ground and answered his charge with her own.
The shock wave resulting from the colliding vacuums of air was sucked back into place as Neji and Hinata clashed. They matched each other's strikes, one for one; both jumped back as the stalemate continued.
"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!"(Eight Trigrams – Sixty-Four Palms) Neji shouted as his body moved into position.
"Hakke Sanjūni Shō!" shouted back at him, while shifting into her own position. Hinata's fists were still engulfed in the light sapphire lion heads as they moved to strike one another. Once again, they traded blows, cancelling out each other's efforts simultaneously.
But unexpectedly, Hinata seemed to push a little further towards Neji's chest, and struck him with her left palm. Neji felt s pressure on his chest that was accompanied by a stunning sensation that temporarily blurred his vision. Hinata's bare left fist met his chest again with another blow, sending him back several steps back that opened a space three feet wide between the two. She took another step towards him, whose eyes opened in surprise as he saw the lion that engulfed her right fist shoot forward, closing the three foot gap and crashing into his chest. The force of the blow sent him flying back, crashing into the ground with a loud thud while still rolling back.
Hinata relaxed her stance; her hands returned to her sides, the lions that engulfed her fists disappeared into thin air.
"Are you alright? Neji-niisan." She worryingly asked him.
"Yes, everything is fine, Hinata-sama." Neji answered "That was an excellent training session. You did very well." He complimented her.
"T-Thank you, Neji-niisan!" she said, accepting his words.
"Hinata-sama, that is the strength of having a clear mind in combat. It is a great asset to analyze a subject, event or occurrence with a clear mind, free of other worries or obligations. That is when you will unlock your true potential."
"Yes! Neji-niisan!" she replied.
"Good. One more time, let's go!"
…
What am I going to do? Naruto silently thought to himself while walking towards the training grounds. He exited through Konoha's main gate with a confused state of mind; remembering what route he had taken months ago, he navigated his way through the forest until her heard the sound of a raging waterfall.
It's not far now. ALRIGHT! FOCUS! He repeated to himself while shaking his head. Reaching the edge of the forest, he noticed a clearing with a massive cliff split in two by a gigantic waterfall.
That's odd. I thought Kakashi-sensei said he was going to meet me here.
"Doton! Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu!" (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique) Kakashi's voice shouted as his hand sprouted from the ground and took hold of Naruto's foot.
Damn it! An ambush! Naruto shouted at himself. Kakashi's grip tightened around Naruto's ankle and pulled him down; his entire body sunk into the earth as he struggled to move.
"Naruto…I thought you would know it was a trap, why did you fall for this so easily?" Kakashi sarcastically asked Naruto's head that protruded from the ground.
"Well, the truth is, something has been on my mind since this morning." He replied with a depressed expression in his eyes.
"Really? Well, why don't we talk about it?" Kakashi offered.
"Okay, but we'll do it after the training session." Naruto smirked.
"After? What do yo-" Naruto disappeared into a cloud of smoke as Kakashi was about to finish his sentence. "A Shadow Clone?!" Kakashi's eyes widened as he heard footsteps running towards him. He turned to see two images of Naruto, with a compressed ball of Chakra in one of their hands.
"Rasengan!" (Spiraling Sphere). Thinking fast, Kakashi quickly formed seals with his hands.
"Doton: Doryūheki"(Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall) A giant wall of dirt, mud and stone shot up from the ground in front of Kakashi as he leapt backwards. The wall began to disintegrate as Naruto's Rasengan connected. Instantly, as the wall began to crumble, two shadow clones appeared from the left and right sides of the wall, rushing towards Kakashi's position.
Kakashi brought his hands up and began to parry and block the Shadow Clones' assault. In the commotion of combat, Naruto ran towards Kakashi, creating two more shadow clones as he propelled himself by sliding past Kakashi's legs, and took hold of his arms.
"Damn it!" Kakashi shouted while trying to break free. The four Shadow Clones began to channel chakra into their hands.
"Ōdama Rasengan!"(Giant Rasengan) they shouted as they rushed towards Kakashi. Just as the Rasengan collided with Kakashi's chest, the real Naruto dropped down prone behind Kakashi, who was sent flying backwards, crashing into the ground multiple times before stopping with another loud crash.
"I did it!" Naruto shouted triumphantly. His eyes focused and saw that Kakashi disappeared into a cloud of smoke, only to be replaced with a log.
Substitution?! He thought to himself.
"Katon! Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) Kakashi shouted as a giant fireball shot forth and began to encroach on Naruto's position while engulfing all of Naruto's shadow clones as they let out cries of anguish quickly, Naruto formed the shadow clone seal
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Shadow Clone Technique) two shadow clones appeared beside him, and flung him towards the sky. When the smoke dissipated, Kakashi saw Naruto emerge with a Rasengan orb in each hand.
"Tsuin Rasengan!"(Twin Rasengan) Naruto dropped in front of Kakashi, his left hand colliding with the ground that created a great dust cloud, through the haze of dust; he heard Kakashi let out another cry.
"Raikiri!" (Lightning Cutter) he then heard the sound of his shadow clones disappearing behind him. Swiftly, Naruto turned and met Kakashi's Raikiri with his own Rasengan. The collision of chakra created a massive shockwave that pushed both of them back, they both fell to their knees, exhausted.
"I-is that good enough for today, Kakashi-sensei?! I think I'm dead!" Naruto shouted as he fell face first into the ground.
"You think that's enough for today?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded his head, grinding his face into the grass. "Okay, let's take a break. I can help you with your problem in the mean time." Kakashi rose and walked towards the waterfall. Naruto stood up and walked towards the waterfall himself. Kakashi sat down, Naruto sat down next to him.
"What's the problem?" Kakashi asked.
"Well, the problem isn't really a thing, she's a person." Naruto replied, slightly embarrassed.
"Sakura?"
"Uh…no, you'd assume so, but no." Naruto stuttered his reply. "Actually, it's Hinata."
"That girl from the Hyuuga family? How did that come to happen?" Kakashi inquired.
Naruto gave Kakashi a slightly shocked look.
"She was the only one who stood by me when Pain attacked the village. That day made me realize something about her, and myself."
"Ah, you see. I wasn't there to see that." Kakashi replied bluntly.
Right. You were dead. Naruto thought.
"Well, I can help you with that…at least a little bit." Kakashi replied.
"Really?! How?!" Naruto shot back with enthusiasm.
"We'll have to head back home for me to show you what you need. Follow me." Kakashi stood up, and walked back into the forest. Naruto followed his every footstep.
…
Kakashi unlocked the door to his house while Naruto followed behind him. He pointed to his couch. Naruto quickly had a seat. Kakashi walked towards his bookshelf and pointed at a series of books.
"…You want me to read Jiraiya-sensei's Make-Out Novels…?" Naruto asked with a confused tone.
"Well, it's one option." Kakashi stated.
"But those books are so boring…" Naruto protested. "…I was with him while he was doing his 'research' a few years ago…and I didn't learn anything from that, either."
"Why not give it a try? You never know what you'll find." Kakashi said as he handed Naruto a copy of Make-Out Paradise. Naruto sighed heavily and took the book. "Read that first, and see if you can gather any information to help you." Kakashi nodded and stood up.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." He said while he walked out of the house.
Well, if he left a special code that only I could find out…maybe I'll get something from this book, too.
TWO HOURS LATER
"What the hell is wrong with this book?!" Naruto shouted as he lay on his bed.
"What kind of writer starts off a story where they tell each other that they already love one another?! There's nowhere to go from there!" he loudly criticized the novel.
Extremely tired and frustrated, he shut the book, and put it on his desk.
Closing his eyes, he fell asleep.
…
When Naruto opened his eyes, he was sitting on a hill, overlooking a lush forest. His gaze shifted down and found that he was dressed in his usual attire, a black and orange jumpsuit with matching pants. He heard footsteps behind him, his eyes widened as he saw Jiraiya walking towards him.
"Jiraya-sensei!" Naruto shouted.
"Did you just call me 'Jiraya-sensei?' What happened to Ero-sennin?" Jiraiya replied with a grin.
"Well, everything has changed since your fight with Pain." Naruto solemnly stated.
"I know that many things have changed, that's why I'm here." Jiraiya replied while handing Naruto the second half of a pair of popsicle sticks. Naruto smiled and gratefully took the offer.
"So, why are you here?" Naruto asked.
"I'm here to help you with your girl problems." Jiraiya replied with a grin. "So, tell me…Did you fall for that Second Tsunade?!" he asked while jabbing Naruto with his elbow.
"N-Not really…" Naruto replied nervously. "Or more specifically, I've had a change of heart. You see…"
"You're thinking about confessing to that girl that stood up for you during your fight with Pain?"
"Y-yeah. How do I go about it? How should I proceed?"
Naruto waited for a long moment before Jiraiya answered.
"I don't know." Jiraiya answered with a loud, hardy laugh.
"What the hell?! Then why are you here?!" Naruto shouted back.
"HEY! Is that the proper way to speak to your master?!"
"Uh..no. Sorry."
Naruto looked up at Jiraiya, whose Popsicle was now just a stick that hung out of his mouth.
"I'll tell you what you're father believes, it's overused…but it still rings true." Jiraiya closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "He says 'just keep true to your heart, and believe in yourself.' It's what you'd find in a cheesy romance novel, but it worked for him."
"A cheesy romance novel? Like yours?" Naruto replied with a joking grin on his face.
"Just like mine!" Jiraiya replied with an even larger grin.
Naruto extended his hand, Jiraiya accepted it with his own and pulled Naruto to his feet.
"This is the last time I'll see you, Naruto."
"Y-yeah, I know."
"Make sure you take care of Konoha."
"Definitely."
"Great! Now then, I'm off to see my other apprentice…and his lovely wife." Jiraiya stated.
"You're other apprentice? My father?"
"That's right! I'll be sure to tell him all about you…even though I suspect he already knows what great things you've done."
"T-Thank you for everything…Jiraya-sensei!" Naruto shouted as Jiraiya turned around and began to walk away.
Jiraiya lifted one thumb up, acknowledging Naruto's thanks, gradually, he disappeared into the landscape.
A single tear fell from Naruto's eye as he realized this was his final goodbye.
Extra points if you noticed the shot that I took at myself in this chapter.
Thanks for reading!