Naruto was enjoying himself talking with this girl, which was a rather pleasant surprise. His interactions with females weren't what one would call functional; It was expected for there to be a brief exchange, then either some sort of attempt at a pervy followup or one of them walking away.
But this...this was nice.
It was just simple conversation, much like the kind he had with cook at the Ichiraku ramen stand. No expectations or apparent desires...
They didn't even need to talk about anything in particular, either.
"Pigeons?"
"Don't judge me."
"I'm not, but...pigeons? Why not cats or-"
"-Cats, too."
"Er..."
A momentary pause appeared as Haku stared Naruto down, her gaze seeming to measure him. After sweating a little under her scrutiny, the genin turned away, breaking eye contact once more.
"It's not like I had much of a choice at the time, you know. I eat normal food now, like other folks."
The girl's eyebrows rose in neutral response, and she leaned back on hands. From her seat on the grass, she seemed almost like a noble, or so Naruto thought. He stood across the clearing from her in contrast, content to stay on his feet.
"Honestly, this isn't something I'm comfortable with admitting," the boy admitted, scratching the back of his head selfconsciously. For some reason Haku nodded in approval at that.
"And I respect you for that, young sir," she said, her brown eyes showing nothing but sincerity.
"Especially, considering, you know, how hard it would be to come out with such an unexpected secret to a pretty girl and all."
That she said that with a straight face was remarkable, however, what she said next-
"I'm not a girl, by the way. It's common mistake, but I'm a boy."
Naruto's face involuntarily contorted into a mask of incredulity. Haku wasn't looking at him when "he" said this, perhaps not entirely confident in saying that (for whatever reason), so the blond didn't offend his apparent new friend out of hand.
Naruto let it slide, sufficing with biting his cheek instead of pressing the issue.
"Okay," was all he said.
The "boy" took Naruto's response entirely the wrong way, feminine cheeks pinking in frustration.
"What do you mean by that?!"
"...Nothing. Just 'okay'."
"That's such bullshit!"
"It's not-"
"Lies!"
~xxx
The two unlikely friends continued to talk away the hours, even after the rather awkward series of exchanges over Haku's alleged sex (which ended in a proclaimed "draw"). Naruto wasn't clear on who said goodbye first, or even most of what they'd talked about, yet he felt satisfied by the end of that chance encounter.
He ambled back into the house a little later than previously, plopping down at the dinner table and meekly fiddling with his spoon. After Sakura and Kakashi jointly brought up his odd behavior, the blond snapped out of his apparent daze and tucked in. His team relaxed a bit after that, although he still got treated to suspicious stares by just about everyone in the room, Tazuna's family included.
Naruto inwardly prayed nobody would get too much in a huff over this- primarily his increasingly vindictive sensei. He didn't feel like going through another round of borderline abuse too soon...
~xxx
The following day, Kakashi had announced his decision regarding training for the day, as well as guard duty. In fact, the two activities would be combined.
He had each of them watch a particular location of the building site whilst carrying out an assigned exercise:
Sakura would patrol the sides of the bridge using the tree-walking technique. The kunoichi had to do so as quickly and as silently as she could manage whilst also avoiding getting in the way of the workers.
Sasuke had the task of patrolling the waters underneath the bridge, as well as the perimeter beyond. He was advised to be aware of possible threats from below- Kakashi bringing up the Uchiha's defeat during the Bell Test as a prime example.
Naruto had to stake out the underside of the bridge, remaining in a particular spot. The catch was that this spot moved. That is, Naruto was ordered to remain directly under Kakashi-sensei at all times.
Although the boy didn't need to match the Jōnin step-for-step, he certainly had to remain in contact with the area below the man. To "help", Kakashi would channel his chakra through his feet as well, allowing Naruto to feel out the connection.
This exercise would stress situational awareness via chakra usage. There was an extra added bonus- in that Kakashi would occasionally attempt to knock Naruto off the bridge by corrupting the boy's connection with his own chakra. It would keep Naruto on his toes and continually refining his control- plus the Jōnin would have fun whilst "helping" his protege.
Though there had yet to be a magnificently satisfying splash, the morning went fairly well. Around noon, Kakashi put Sakura in his place atop the bridge, the man replacing Naruto in turn. Naruto would take up Sasuke's original station on the water, and the Uchiha would cycle up to the bridge patrol, completing the changing of the guard.
Instead of purely trying to disrupt Kakashi's connection, Sakura was advised to remain aware of it as she made rounds around the bridge. She was encouraged to change up her speed at random- whilst avoiding bumping into the laborers, hopefully.
In a similar change of pace, Naruto was encouraged to actually modulate his chakra output, rather than simply maintain it. Kakashi suggest that Naruto submerge himself completely into the water until he was relatively invisible and then attempt to continue "walking" from that level for as long as he could stand.
Sasuke was left alone in terms of specific instruction, simply being informed to challenge himself. He took the words to heart, racing along the sides and underside of the bridge, sometimes breaking up the "monotony" by whipping around one of the huge pillars and attempting to leap to another with a burst of chakra.
Though he certainly took Sensei's words to heart, there were points at which that his maneuvers bordered on fatalistic. If not for Sasuke's reflexes and supply of nifty nin-wire, the boy's initial attempts might have ended a little...indelicately.
Still, the brunet got the hang of his improvised acrobatics with little trouble. In fact, Kakashi noted as he watched the Uchiha from his spot under the bridge, perhaps there was a potential specialty Sasuke could learn. Perhaps Sakura could benefit from similar training as well.
The Jōnin glanced "up", following Naruto's increasingly smooth underwater patrol. From the looks of his progress, he might well be heading toward a speciality similar to what his comrades were. As the blond broke the surface of the water, Kakashi was pleasantly surprised to note that he did so without a sound.
The normally immoderate genin took measured steps with an attitude that Kakashi recognized, but didn't immediately place. When Naruto paused for a moment, his soft, controlled breathing forming light puffs of mist in the air, a revelation rocked Kakashi's mind.
The boy was, at least for this mission, perfect. His practical imagination set alight, the Jōnin instructor began to plot the next step in the team's curriculum. This was going to be positively...fun, it seemed.
~xxx
The day of building ended on a peaceable note, with no hint of Gatō or his forces as of yet. It made for an uneasy confidence appearing in the bridge-workers, but all present knew the mogul for his moodiness; Gatō would sometimes lapse into a period of watchful patience, and after a time explode with rage, seemingly at random. During such frenzied episodes he'd brought no end of hell upon any imagined rebels' heads, leaving the village population in a constant state of fear and unease.
Still...for now it was quiet. With the enigmatic Leaf Shinobi Tazuna and company had shelled out for helping bolster their defenses (and resolve), the workers actually smiled at the end of their labors- a clear contrast from the sober expressions they had worn until recently.
Many of them snuck glances at the foreign help during their labor. They were so different from them- different from even the typical visitor from abroad/foreign interloper.
To begin with, they simply smelled different. Each of them had some odor about them that stood out. Most noticeably, the girl of the group positively reeked of scented soaps at arm's length.
Of the apparently military-trained squad, the girl was the least threatening looking, but also the most different from everyone else, her team included. A nice dress showing bare, pale arms with soft, feminine hands, a demeanor of a cultured upbringing, and a distinct poise that she maintained at all times. Plus her hair was freaking pink.
Her eyes, though...they were the most different. Although she didn't exude the patent masculinity her comrades did, the ninja-girls eyes were filled with an enviable intelligence, her gaze missing little. Such eyes in an otherwise harmless-looking child.
However, while the girl's eyes set her apart for merely being different, the taller boy's pitch black eyes marked him as nearly like the workers', in a way. Though foreign, his whole demeanor reflected having lost a precious something, having withdrawn from his emotions in order to continue functioning.
Despite that, however, he seemed to forget his cold, brooding nature when interacting with his teammates, even hazarding a smile when he could. At least they could tell the boy was capable of smiling, unlike his sensei.
The man was...polite. He seemed to be always at ease...and the only part of his face showing was his right eye. Whilst a few of the village had lost an eye or two during the occasional calamity when out at sea, the singular adult of the nin-team not only covered up the supposed hole in his skull, but his mouth as well (which seemed to be perfectly fine/non-disfigured). As a result, he was a hard read in general.
However, the man did not compare to the shortest of the group, the yellow-haired boy, in terms of mystery. Tinted grey goggles covered his eyes, giving him an intimidatingly alien appearance. His mouth seemed either to set in an impassive smirk or a simple line, as when he was watching the laborers from below.
The weird thing was that he was 180 degrees different when interacting with his team- enthusiastic, playful, and talkative. He radiated an infectious charm that startled some when it appeared, and unnerved more when it abruptly left. After noticing the reactions the boy received, though, his sensei encouraged him to be warmer toward the workers he was supposed to be protecting.
He certainly followed his leader's instruction, even managing a crooked smile or two, but a couple of the laborers weren't sure if he really meant it the way his sensei wanted it, or rather as a joke with himself.
Regardless...at least they were protected.
~xxx
The group piled in- not quite as literally, this time- an hour before supper, giving them time to rest their bodies before they stuffed themselves sick.
"Ugh," Sakura murmured, too tired to care about proper decorum as she slumped into the nearest chair, "I'm not sure if I wanna look at another bridge as long as I live."
Sasuke grunted, apparently sharing her sentiment. Kakashi gave the two of them a comforting pat on the back.
"You guys did well today," he acknowledged, nodding.
The blond of the group made a careful study of his thumbnail, sniffing.
"Naruto, you too- great job today."
The genin managed a word of thanks each, the group sharing a moment of silence before Kakashi, too, seated himself.
"I can only wonder," Naruto said, looking thoughtful, "what the next day will bring..."
Team 7's instructor nodded again, a gleam of approval in his eye.
"I will say this- you are all improving remarkably quickly."
All three rookies perked up at that.
"So much so, in fact, that I think we can step it up even further."
The reactions were...mixed. Sakura, for one, looked positively horrified.
"But S-Sensei...we're not all as-"
Kakashi gently held up a hand for silence before continuing.
"I'm not going to have you exercise even more intensely than you already have - I'm not Gai-"
It may have been Sakura's imagination, but her sensei's pupil seemed to shrink briefly as he absentmindedly hid his face behind a hand.
"-I'm going to train you guys."
"But, Sensei," the girl of the team began, "haven't you been training us this whole time?"
Kakashi sighed, making eye contact with his student.
"I'm embarassed to say that what I've been doing with you isn't the kind of training you necessarily need me for- this is the kind of conditioning you can pick up on your own. Although, I suppose, the input of a senior shinobi would undoubtedly prove effective in getting the most out of a given regimen."
The Jōnin made a vague indicative motion with his hand, nodding once more.
"Tomorrow we will be focusing on training that only a real veteran can impart- and I'm not blowing smoke up your asses when I say that your sensei has some experience."
Naruto hummed thoughtfully, eyeing Kakashi for a brief moment.
"Sounds like positive fun," he remarked.
"That's not fun," a voice issued from the doorway.
Most of the group glanced at the owner of the voice- the upstart, Inari, unsurprisingly. Naruto however, simply scratched his nose with a finger.
"Nobody asked you, kid," he said, lacing his fingers behind his head.
The pint-sized loudmouth quickly ambled over to the table, glaring furiously at all of the team, but at the closest in particular, which happened to be Naruto. Tears slowly began to show in his wide eyes, which filled and filled until they overflowed- as did Inari's pent-up emotions.
"Why do you guys bother to try so hard?!" he bawled, slamming his little hands on the table "No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gatō's men!"
"No matter what glorious claims you make or how hard you work," continued, voice quavering with equal parts rage and despair, "when facing the strong, the weak will only end up getting killed!"
"Whatever," Naruto replied, an unnerving quirk lifting a corner of his mouth, though not in his usual smirk, "I'm not like you.
"I'd hate to be like you!" the boy squawked, "You don't know anything about this country, yet you're going so nosy!"
"What the hell do you know about me?!" Inari screamed, clenching his eyes shut in frustrated fury, "I'm different from you. You're always clowning around and acting like you don't care- you don't know how hard life can be!"
At that, Naruto finally unlaced his fingers, setting his hands softly on the table, before then turning and lowering his head to stare the boy dead-on through his shaded goggles.
Naruto hummed. "Couldn't have been much older than you when I faced reality, I think..."
Inari opened his mouth to recant his emotional tirade. Naruto's entire body shifted in a instant, his heels settling on the floor with a dead clunk. The little boy's complaints died in his throat.
"So you know what it is to suffer a little, hmmmmmmm?" The grim blond asked, his voice hoarse and distorted. He grinned brazenly, his teeth gritted hard.
"Have you ever had to put your life on the line? Have people ever tried to make you die?"
Not waiting for a response, Naruto rose, walking to the front door without a second thought.
"I'll be back at some point..."
And with that, he left, leaving the door open this time.
~xxx
Naruto was annoyed. He shouldn't have gotten that upset, but at the same time...what the hell did a runt like that kid know about real pain? Why, he-
He shook his head. No. Focusing on the past would bring nothing but misery. He needed to keep his mind focused on what was important.
Naruto needed to clear his mind- and he was certain he knew how to do that. He already knew where to go, ducking under a low-hanging branch as he headed into the forest once more.
~xxx
The blond scratched his head. Typically, he'd have run into the little minx by now-
"Having trouble finding things without stumbling over them?"
Naruto whipped around, finding what he'd set out to find sitting comfortably- and pretty...-ly- at the base of a tree.
"Good evening," Naruto managed.
Haku smiled in response.
"Good evening."
A moment of pregnant silence dragged on, the two mutely staring at the other. After a moment of contemplating saying something, Naruto merely sighed, walking over and sitting down near Haku. The...person's head tilted, flawless brow knotting in a concerned frown.
"Something bothering you tonight?"
"Other than the usual probing questions?" Naruto mustered, rubbing his temple with two fingers.
The sight of Haku pursing her...his...its lips at him in indignation was all the answer he got.
"...Fine," he relented, Haku's disposition immediately returning to normal, her eyes bright with curiosity.
"I'm currently staying over at a place here, because I have, er, business in Wave-"
"What kind of-" Naruto quickly waved Haku off.
"Business business. Boring stuff. Nothing particularly interesting or alarming."
The blond sighed, sitting up and resting his elbows on his knees.
"So," he began uncertainly, lacing his fingers violently, "I'm staying over at a place-"
"Is it a nice place?"
"More or less. I-"
"Where is it?"
"A little off to the side on the water, like most every place in town- now let me speak!"
Haku mimed buttoning her lip, which made Naruto shiver slightly in reaction. So girly.
"Anyways," he said, clearing his throat, "the place I'm staying at is owned by a small family consisting of a mother, her kid, and her boozing uncle or grandfather- I'm not sure which."
Here Naruto flexed his fingers.
"The old man was a bit of a pain when I negotiated with him, but things went smoothly after we came to something resembling an understanding. The lady was accomodating..."
Naruto coughed self-consciously here, sniffing before continuing yet again. "And then there's the damn kid."
He clenched his fingers.
"It's not that he's bad or evil or anything, he just reminds me of bad things in the town, and bad things in me."
Naruto tapped the side of his head with a finger.
Haku frowned again.
"You're mentally...ill?"
"No I'm not, I-"
Naruto paused again, his mouth still open. He then closed it with an abrupt click, inhaling and then exhaling slowly.
"I keep forgetting who I'm talking to."
Haku made her best effort to look innocent.
"I'm not crazy...I just have my share of bad memories."
The blond leaned back. "And the kid reminded me of them."
Naruto laid back with a tired sigh.
"What kind of bad memories?"
Naruto turned his head to look at Haku.
"Pain and suffering, mostly. Anger, I suppose, too."
"And why are you blaming the little boy?"
"I'm not blaming him, it's just...I identify too strongly with the things he said. The things he meant. But I objected to what he did because it simply drew out the pain. Shared it."
Naruto stared up at the bright night sky. "And...you don't share pain- particularly that kind. It's more evil than I can stomach on a daily basis-"
He looked away from Haku, gritting his teeth. "-and I generally want to kill everything."
They sat in silence again, letting themselves share each other's presence without need for words. It was Haku who broke the silence this time.
"You said you had friends before- are they precious to you?"
Naruto sniffed. "I don't hate them outright... And I have the urge to tear them apart, too."
"But are they precious to you?"
"They may die at any time," Naruto managed, a bizarre croak appearing in his voice, "Horrible things can happen. And if they do happen, they stand a chance of being gone without another word."
He looked back at the "boy".
"I see no point in making them more special than anyone else- although I might enjoy them while they're still intact. Until death or utter mutilation do us part, I'd guess..."
Naruto sat up, sighing yet again. "We'll all die someday, you know. Not a point to lie about it. Be happy, because it's not yet time to go- or so one would think."
The genin turned his head to meet Haku's eyes once again. His new friend sat in mute attention, pretty brown eyes glistening with something...until she looked down and away for a moment. Haku turned her head back, eyes fresh. Without a word, she reached forward, grasping the back of his head and a shoulder, pulling him into a deceptively strong embrace.
Haku held him there, pressed against a surprisingly giving chest, before drawing back a bit to get a look at him. Her hands moved to hold his head, soft palms caressing his jaw. Then she pulled him closer, barely a hair's breadth apart, pausing a brief moment before seemingly changing her mind and planting a soft kiss on his cheek.
With that, Haku stood up and left, saying nothing as she did.
Naruto sat in the darkness, his heart feeling awfully swollen in his hollow chest.
~xxx
When the genin returned, it was halfway through dinner. Inari was noticeably missing, which was good, but Naruto's team was watching him intently. Surprisingly, nobody asked any questions, Sasuke even mustering a "Welcome back" to which Naruto playfully punched him on the shoulder, sitting down next to him.
The rest of the meal was spent in amicable silence, everyone seemingly either deep in thought or treading lightly around the morose blond.
~xxx
Sleep had come uncannily easy to Naruto, for which the forces of Fate decided to punish him, apparently- as became evident when he was rudely kicked awake by Sensei. So much for a sympathetic team...
It was well before sunrise again, this time for the supposedly expert training Kakashi-sensei had promised. The promise of learning some good shit did not, however, spare the Jōnin from getting flipped off by his pupils. Even Sakura- proper lady that she proposed to be- did, giving the man an awfully practiced-looking bowman's salute.
Sensei let them know what he thought of such things with an enthusiastic second round of kicking, booting each genin unceremoniously out into the yard.
~xxx
Glaring sullenly and rubbing her sore behind, Sakura was the first to voice a question.
"So what are we learning today? And why do we need to be out at the bridge?"
"The answer is simple, Sakura," Kakashi answered, insultingly peppy for such an obscene hour, "You and Sasuke are going to train with me on a particular kind of fighting technique, and I'm going to teach Naruto a chakra technique that I think will work well with what I'm going to show you."
The genin gave their instructor a blank look. Kakashi's temple throbbed, the man pointing to the bridge.
"Just get your asses on the bridge, you two, and wait for me there."
Sasuke and Sakura grunted in unison, halfheartedly jogging onto the bridge.
"Naruto."
The blond stood at attention. Kakashi crooked his finger, beckoning.
"Follow me. I don't trust your teammates to not peek, so we're going to make a small detour."
~xxx
"Alright, you two. Time to learn something that will keep you alive a little longer in a real fight."
Sakura swallowed, worry clear on her face.
"What's this techni-"
"Dodge this!" Kakashi shouted, his hand blurring.
The young kunoichi flinched, crouching and crying out in alarm. Something hit her in the head, bouncing off as she fell over with a very unladylike grunt.
She heard footsteps approaching her as she lay on the ground in a daze, trying to figure out what the heck had happened. The footsteps ended near her, Sakura's eyes cracking open to see Sensei's hand picking a round object up off the ground.
"While I give you an 'A' for your reaction time, Sakura, that was remarkably pathetic of you."
The girl seemed to sag into the ground, wallowing in shame.
"Sasuke, get the little princess up so I can properly teach you guys."
"Yes, Sensei."
Sakura groaned in self-pity as she was hoisted bodily to her feet, Sasuke giving her a firm pat on back once she stood on her own. In spite of knowing better, the girl seemed to sulk for a little longer before Kakashi's hand blurred again, making her recoil in fear.
A hard rubber ball bounced at her feet, nearly hitting Sakura in the nose as she looked down. Comprehension showed on her face for a split second before being replaced with yet more shame.
"Now, now, Sakura," Kakashi chided, "No need for tears. You'll learn to avoid that and more with this simple technique I'm going to show you."
Sakura still looked miserable, but she managed something approaching a smile.
"There we go. Now Sasuke- hold your hands a little apart and channel chakra between them."
The brunet nodded obediently, doing as his sensei ordered. Again, Kakashi's hand blurred, a dark blur zipping through the air toward Sasuke. The boy's eyes widened before a muffled clap issued from his hands.
"What the-" Sakura began, looking toward the source of the sound.
As Sasuke opened his apparently closed hands, something immediately familiar dropped out. It was a ball a lot like the one Sensei threw at Sakura, only much smaller.
"Geez..."
Kakashi chuckled, nodding. "Quite. However, I didn't bring you out here today to learn how to clap your hands. Instead-"
The Jōnin produced a long, thin needle from his palm, seemingly hidden there the whole time.
"You'll be training to dodge things like this."
Sakura gaped at the piece of metal Kakashi now balanced lazily on the tip of his finger.
"That's-"
"Indeed," the veteran ninja replied preemptively, "It is very much like the tools used by the wouldbe hunter-nin from the Hidden Mist. Given the amount of time that's being allowed us, it seems to me that not only is Zabuza likely alive at this moment, but he's the tip of the spear for whatever muscle operation this man Gatō has planned- ergo, the fake nin is definitely working with him and assisting in his recovery."
"Ergo, we have another enemy on our hands," Sasuke remarked, bouncing the tiny ball with a hand. He caught it in midair before flinging it at his sensei.
Kakashi caught the speeding ball between two fingers, his eye gleaming with appreciation.
"Which is why we're working on this- learning to dodge or intercept an enemy's thrown weapons."
"Isn't that a little risky, sensei?" Sakura asked, arms crossed and tapping a feet.
"How so? We're starting with harmless little balls before working our way up to something potentially lethal."
The girl made a face at that comment, showing Sensei how much their ideas of "potentially lethal" differed.
"Just calm down and try to fill the air in front of you with active chakra," Kakashi ordered, "After you can take care of objects up to live weapons- and I will show you how to catch those- we'll kick off the training wheels and see how well you do without chakra."
~xxx
The technique turned out to be ridiculously simple to learn, actually. Within a couple hours practice, both Sakura and Sasuke could catch needles with relative confidence- and, if they couldn't, they'd simply dodge them. They were ninja, after all.
Even when they got to releasing their nets of chakra, they were aware enough to catch or dodge almost every ball Sensei threw at them, even after he decided to muscle the last few throws.
It wasn't long before they'd worked up to live weapons, although at this point the going was a litter slower, due to the obvious risk in training with undeniably potent weapons. Still, Sensei announced his satisfaction with their level of learning and left them to train one-on-one, throwing and catching in turn.
The session turned into something of a game, Sakura and Sasuke forgetting their worries as the time went by. They even forgot about the absence of the workers, who would have typically been out on the bridge by about that time.
They were eventually snapped out of their game when a kunai landed at Sakura's feet from out of nowhere, clattering noisily at her feet. The two genin's head whipped around searching for intruders.
Sasuke spotted a dark form clambering over the railing near him when he heard Sakura cry out. He turned back to the girl, who pointed at another shape clambering over the opposing railing. Something about the attackers seemed familiar.
The sun came out, the light reflecting off the cleaming horned forehead protectors of the assailants. Sasuke's eyes widened, sparing a glance at their naked hands.
"The Demon Brothers!"
Sakura cried out again, dodging a kunai the nearest one had thrown. Sasuke responded by kicking the man over the rail, turning about in time to duck a flurry of shuriken aimed at his head, at which he rushed the missing nin, quickly slashing the criminal in the throat with his own kunai. The Uchiha jumped back, glancing around for more threats.
As opposed to the gurgling Sasuke expected from a man suffering from a severed windpipe, he heard...dripping water? He turned back to his finished opponent, who had begun to dissolve into colorless liquid. What in the-
"They're using Water Clones," Sasuke exclaimed, and at that two more Demon Brothers jumped the rails, seemingly nimbler than before. It was likely these would not be the real enemy, either.
They didn't attack together, but rather they attacked either of the genin individually, aiming to drive them apart. Due to Kakashi-sensei's technique, though, Sasuke and Sakura were able to keep together and fight as a team.
In fact, with their training, they each caught a weapon and threw it back, nailing the clones in a normally vital area. Even as they dissolved, though, two more twins appeared over the railing- but this time one rushed them.
Sasuke, the better hand-to-hand fighter, moved to intercept him- and promptly got kicked further down the bridge. Sakura yelled, surprised, but didn't have time to assist her teammate as the Demon Brother who remained at a distance ran interference, throwing an increasing number of projectile weapons- including the ever-redonkulous giant shuriken, which Sakura just flat-out hit the dirt to avoid.
When she recovered, however, the rookie kunoichi noticed chakra being passively channeled underneath her in significant amounts, similar to how Sensei had done for her training the other day.
As this was likely the enemy, though, Sakura decided to do something about it. Ducking and weaving under a couple more shuriken, she channeled as large an amount of chakra as she was willing to waste into the one foot, raising it slowly, and then stomped straight down, blasting it straight through the bridge's pavement.
Despite the amount of chakra used- ostensibly to stick to the bottom of the bridge- Sakura's attack had adulterated the connection enough that it broke apart in an instant. She heard a yell, followed by a distant splash. The voice sounded familiar...
Strangely, the two Water Clones froze in their tracks, and then began to lose cohesion, slowly returning into colorless blobs held together with chakra. After a moment, the blobs' chakra disappated, the forms spilling into puddles of inert water.
Sakura blinked. That was easy...
"Sakura," Sasuke blurted, too tired to do much other than stumble over to his teammate. He did not look the best, although his eyes burned with firm resolve.
"Sasuke," Sakura murmured, meeting her schoolyard crush's gaze.
They stood, staring at each other, breathing heavily. Conscious of what she and Sasuke were both doing, Sakura began to blush.
And then Sasuke got dropkicked from the side, eliciting Sakura to yell again. She broke off, though, when she saw who it was.
"N-Naruto?"
The blond was...soaked. He didn't look too happy, either. Sakura, however, was pretty miffed herself.
"What the fricking- why did you kick Sasuke?!"
Naruto stood, breathing hard, raising his hands to point at either of his teammates.
"Which-"Naruto gasped, "-which one of you...you motherf-ffffuckers...knocked me into the water?"
"Naruto, we were being attacked by missing nin!" Sakura roared back at him, indignant.
The blond rounded on Sakura, annoyance written on his kissable lips. Did Sakura think "kissable"? She meant "punchable". Or "biteable". Or-
"No, you fuckass, that was me that one of you decided to knock off the bottom of the bridge! Those Water Clones I made were the 'missing nin' you guys were fighting!"
Naruto's mouth- just mouth- set in a line, grumbling as he turned to go pick Sasuke up, who was laying gobsmacked staring up at the late morning sky. As he brought the Uchiha over to Sakura, the fledgeling kunoichi heard someone land behind her.
"I see the training's gone well," Kakashi-sensei commented, looking over his genin.
Although Sasuke didn't seem to be in a mood for objecting to anything, the greater majority had other thoughts.
"What the fuck, sensei?!" Sakura yelled, "I though we were under attack! Why'd you put Naruto up to this? Heck, why did you not just let him train where we could see him and then practice together like that?"
"Because," the Jōnin interjected, "One, it was so you'd treat the skills you'd learned seriously in a moderately risk-free environment."
"Two," he added, holding up two fingers, "you won't always have the luxury of training together as a whole team. Naruto wasn't even training in a technique remotely like what I showed you guys."
"Yeah, why is it that you didn't teach Naruto the same thing you taught us?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows knitting into a frown. Sasuke seemed equally piqued although he tried to pretend he wasn't interested...unconvincingly.
"Because it would be harder to hit him," Kakashi stated bluntly.
Hearing that, the genin nearly facefaulted.
~xxx
Kakashi had given the team to day to do with as they pleased (in a practical sense), only stipulating they needed to keep within some distance of the bridgebuilder's house, what with the looming threat of an attack en masse. However, Naruto had other ideas.
He lingered for a couple moments once he and his teammates had arrived at the Tazuna abode before inching away, eagerly giving his team the slip. A series of vague ideas churned in his mind, his emotions roiling with equal intensity.
~xxx
Naruto arrived in the familiar clearing with his heart practically in his mouth. Noting how different it seemed now, he realized he'd never really come here when the sun was out.
Surprisingly, Haku was there, although she was turned away, kneeling down, likely to harvest another herb. As the blond's eyes wandered over his new friend's silhouette, his heart plummeted back into his chest with a triumphant lurch.
Nervous as he was, he couldn't stand remaining silent like this for very long.
"A-ahem. Erm, uh..."
Haku immediately spun around, falling back on her backside. Her eyes were wide- and Naruto noted the tinge of pink deepening in her normally pale cheeks.
"Naruto!" she gasped. Realizing her lapse in composure, she reordered herself, folding her legs under her in a proper fashion and methodically adjusting her hair. Smoothing her hands over her kimono, she then looked back to her unexpected visitor.
"I hadn't thought you'd return so soon," she admitted.
"As you might have noticed," she continued, motioning to the forest floor, "I was making myself busy with collecting supplies."
Haku visibily blushed, looking away, "You distracted me rather considerably from my tasks the last few days."
"Especially the last time," she added, biting her bottom lip.
Naruto hummed absently, nodding.
"I'd actually wanted to talk to you about that, Haku-chan," Naruto said (he noted the likely-girl mouthing "Haku-chan?" silently).
"R-really?"
"Yes," Naruto said, closing the distance between them lethargically, coming to stand directly in front of Haku, "Really."
He sat down, a concerned look plain on his face.
"What is on your mind, exactly?" Haku asked, leaning forward slightly.
Naruto reached forward smoothly with his hand, cupping Haku's cheek. The girl's eyes widened as he leaned in.
"This."
Naruto kissed Haku firmly on her lips. They were full and soft...
~xxx
It was almost sundown by the time the runaway genin got back. He did his best to sneak quietly back onto the premises, ducking through the open back door without a word.
That had turned out to be a trap, as he was immediately dogpiled by Sakura, joined by Sasuke, Kakashi...and Tazuna, for some reason. Naruto yelled as he was immediately tickled and punched without mercy, held down by the men as each of the team got in their licks.
~xxx
"Hmmph," Naruto grunted, sulking as he sported a light bruise on his cheek.
"Oh, give it a rest," Sakura grumbled, "It wasn't as bad as you deserved and you know it."
"Shuddup, Pinky," the 'wounded warrior' moaned, continuing to sulk.
"Who knew Dead-Last was such a big baby?" Sasuke sighed, examining his fingernails.
Naruto wheeled on the Uchiha, punching his palm.
The brunet nonchalantly glanced at his incensed teammate.
"Something the matter, crybaby?"
His face already wearing a sour expression, Naruto cracked his neck, a vein on his temple throbbing resplendently.
"Gonna start whining again, Dead Last? Need Sakura to kiss your sore bum?"
And then it was on.
~xxx
The team had gotten to bed with little trouble, seeing as the boys had worn themselves out fighting with each other while the remaining two watched. Surprisingly, they'd managed to avoid damaging anything important in the process, although this may have had something to do with Sakura and Sensei stepping in and putting the two in a synchronistic arm bar more than anything.
Somehow Naruto had been early to rise to the following morning and had attempted to sneak out again, but Sensei's ironclad grip on his ankle had stopped him before he could get more than a couple steps. It didn't make things any better when Kakashi had decided (once the team was up and awake) that they'd spend the day on guard duty, with Naruto explicitly ordered to within sight.
This hadn't stopped the blond from making a break for it at random intervals, however. He'd jumped the railing more than once, aiming to dive underwater and escape that way, only to get snared by Sasuke or outright blocked by Kakashi-sensei.
The one time he'd successfully made a break for it had quickly ended with Sakura tackling him hard enough to send them both sprawling. The awkward position they'd landed in was enough to bring things to a grinding halt for all concerned, as nobody desired to make eyecontact after being party to...that.
And while having Naruto stay put was a significant hassle in the beginning, the yellow menace had eventually made peace with his captivity. The rest of the day went on relatively smoothly after that...
~xxx
Once the shift was over, the team escorted Tazuna back to the family house as usual with Sasuke taking point and the other genin guarding either "flank" of Tazuna. Kakashi followed up the rear, not so much guarding as actively observing.
The group walked in moderate silence, with Naruto making the odd observation (in more than one sense of the word). Kakashi normally ignored the impertinent remarks the only blond in his life made, but one remark stood out:
"Everything seems better today..."
Tazuna had replied with his usual pessimistic remark, but it didn't kill the mood that overtook the genin- and even Kakashi, in part. Though he reminded himself of the possible dangers to come, the Jōnin allowed himself that odd feeling he sometimes got...that feeling that seemed so childish when compared with concrete experience.
Hope, of all things. The notion that things would turn out more than okay, that the future might be bright. That tomorrow would not be another day to die, but another chance to make a difference. How idealistic that feeling seemed. So youthful- so naive. And yet Kakashi allowed this sense of ease to warm him.
His team was a squad of dysfunctional, immature brats. His genin were amateurish and strangers to true violence. Contrarily, these kids kicked positive ass.
None of them were from remotely the same class, nor the same origin. They were individuals, rather than a clique. Whilst Kakashi would normally assume such a group would fail, their teamwork had shown something very different.
They were not bred to work together. They were not instinctively team players, any of them. They had no inherent qualities that guaranteed that they were shinobi before they came to him. Team 7 was a team of ninja made, not born.
The majority of the final graduating class was made up of predesignated, cast-molded clan flunkies, something it seemed Kakashi alone had understood. Although he hadn't chosen them individually, he couldn't say that he had to justify being stuck with them.
From what he'd read in their class profiles, these kids were the oddballs in a class filled with oddballs. He recalled being on such a team...a collection of children ridiculously unfit for each other. And while he could draw parallels between the team he grew up in and the team he was instructing, he could not say they were the same.
Naruto had not started out an feckless wimp like Obito; rather, he was an aggressive, charismatic demon of a student- a beast roaring in the breast of a boy. Sakura was...okay, Sakura still seemed pretty much like Rin, but at least the boys acknowledged her for more than her lacks/vagina, which with Kakashi's help might deter her from being, well...a pain in the ass. Sasuke was not so much a reflection of Kakashi when he was a young shinobi as much as a promise of what Kakashi could have been if not for...
The veteran bit the inside of his cheek hard, controlling his breathing carefully. Let dead things rest...
They made it back to the house quickly enough, so Kakashi took the first chance to duck out of sight and straighten himself out.
~xxx
Dinner went smoothly enough, although Inari started to grumble halfway through. Surprisingly, Naruto waved it off, the only indication he gave of being bothered being the odd sigh or so.
The team got to bed with relatively little trouble, and sleep soon followed. Some slept better than others, though; Naruto was awakened in the middle of the night to the feeling of something soft and warm against his neck...
~xxx~
I had hopes for this chapter. They were crushed due to procrastination.
At least it isn't total shit, although I wished to give so much more.
The next chapter will take a bit, I'm sorry.
Please review so that I might improve...