This is a sort-of sequel chapter to 'Not Leaving him Behind'. Mostly just set in the same AU, though
"Naruto." Kakashi-sensei called as the team was going their separate ways for the day.
"Hmm?" Naruto stopped and looked back, straightening from his brooding slouch. He'd tried to suggest that the team go and do something as, well... as a team, and had been harshly rejected.
Again.
He was starting to wonder why he bothered.
Kakashi could only sigh. When he'd first passed his team, he'd known that the three of them together was a disaster waiting to happen (unless he found the right approach), but he'd hoped that Naruto's sunny personality, no matter how much of a mask it was, could draw the other two in, and in time the other two could draw the real Naruto out.
It was becoming more and more clear, though, that that wasn't going to happen. Not without something drastic happening... he'd prefer that it didn't reach that point, though. He was going to have to step in, it seemed.
At the moment, though, he was going to concentrate on helping his blonde student out. Truthfully, though, he should have done this weeks ago, probably immediately following the Bell Test.
"Come." He said simply, and started walking in the opposite direction to where Naruto was originally going, which was to Ichiraku Ramen if he wasn't mistaken.
Naruto was confused, but he followed.
"The day you were assigned to me, I took a look through your apartment. Mostly your kitchen..." The kitchen empty of anything that wasn't instant ramen and spoiled milk left on the counter... "Did you know that milk was horribly spoiled? I would say its only because of your... passenger that you weren't in the hospital for food poisoning." He said bluntly.
Naruto flushed and looked away. Yeah, he knew it was spoiled. It was that way when he bought it, but he'd learned a long time ago that complaining about it would only get him kicked out of the store, for good. And by the time he was done paying for the milk, all he could afford were the instant ramen cups. All his attempts to hunt for his own food in the past were always met with failure or him being chased out of the forest and back towards the Village.
Kakashi judged by his embarrassed expression that he did know. He sighed. "We're here." He finally announced, stopping outside a grocery store.
Naruto flicked surprised and apprehensive eyes between him and the storefront. This wasn't the store he usually went to, he normally stayed close to home... and for good reason.
"This store is owned and run by the Akimichi clan. All of the employees are clansmen, so nobody here will even think about cheating you or selling you bad product." The Akimichi took food way too seriously for that, no matter how they felt about the person in question. 'At least, they won't if they know what's good for them.' He thought darkly.
He quickly pushed Naruto inside and instructed him to get some food, and went to wait by the register. He wanted to see what Naruto thought was appropriate, or if he would just stick with what he knew.
After this, he was taking the boy clothes shopping, and then to a blacksmith. He wanted to try and stuff Naruto into something less... blindingly bright... and he wanted to get Naruto new weapons. The ones he had were old, they almost looked like they'd been scrounged up from a training ground or something. Naruto clearly maintained them to the best of his ability, but sometimes it was just best to let them go and get new equipment. Also... he wanted to start teaching Naruto Fuinjutsu, see if he inherited the famed abilities of his clan. For that, they would need Chakra ink, paper, some brushes... a book or two on the basics wouldn't be remiss, either.
He was brought out of his thoughts when Naruto came back up to the counter, dropping his basket down beside him. As he thought, it was mostly full of instant ramen and milk, but Naruto added a few vegetables to the pile, although they looked old. They weren't quite limp yet, but they were starting to get there.
The Akimichi leaned over the counter to eye the contents of the basket. "Kid... you're going to need better food than that if you don't want to collapse while training." He said flatly. He outright refused to ring up the contents of that basket, not until some actual food was put in it.
Kakashi snorted and he nodded in approval. There was no way this clansmen hadn't noticed just who the kid was, but all he cared about was the meager contents of the shopping basket and how they would affect his Shinobi training efforts and physical health.
Naruto looked at it and frowned. "Aren't vegetables good?" He asked, hesitant. He knew that this kind of thing was covered in the Academy, but he was kicked out of that lesson.
"Yes... but those ones were going to be thrown out tonight for being too old, and that ramen isn't going to do anything for you nutritionally." The Akimichi said bluntly, and came out from behind the counter. He seized the basket, put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, and steered him back among the shelves. Kakashi ambled along, but only because he saw the look on Naruto's face. It was a mixture of resigned, panicked, and pleading. He started to wonder if there wasn't more to the spoiled milk in Naruto's kitchen than it just going bad and Naruto not being able to afford to replace it.
"Here." He put most of the instant ramen back on the shelf, keeping three in the basket, they may not be very good nutritionally, but they could make for a good midnight snack, and a good chef could find ways of using the cups contents in something else. "This milk is good, but look at this date here, it's getting close to the expiration date, so you want to use it fast." He showed Naruto where the expiration date was. He didn't know how, but somehow he knew that nobody had ever shown the boy how to properly shop for groceries before, which was just criminal in his opinion. "Another way to know if it's good, is to shake it a bit, hear that? There aren't any chunks in it. Another way is to open it up and smell it, but I'll let Hatake handle that bit." Because once they opened it, he would have to sell it, whether the kid wanted this one or not.
He took Naruto towards the produce, and put the limp and browning vegetables back, towards the back so they would be less likely to be taken by another customer before the day ended and they were tossed tonight after closing. (They'd be taken home with him for some of the clanswomen to use for dinner that night). From there, he showed Naruto how to tell if a vegetable was still good and fresh. He said that there was nothing wrong with the old ones (yet), but they wouldn't keep as long as one that was still 'young' and fresh would. Those were more of a desperate 'I need this now, I can't believe I forgot them earlier' kind of buy. After that, he led Naruto over to where the eggs were and made sure he knew to always open the carton before buying, just to make sure none of the eggs broke at any point between the farm, and being placed on the shelf.
He led Naruto over to the meat and helped him spot the difference between fresh meat, and meat that had been sitting for a bit and needed to be used, and soon, or it would go bad. Kakashi recommended he get some fish for now, and put the bag of rice he'd picked up in the basket. He was going to have to teach Naruto how to cook it seemed, and he figured that he better start out simple, like fish and rice.
"Do you have any salt and pepper in your apartment?" He asked, thinking back, but not remembering if he ever saw any. Naruto shook his head, he'd never had need of it, not with instant ramen. Kakashi sighed and ambled to where he'd seen racks of seasonings on the shelves. He grabbed the basics, salt and pepper, but then he got a few sprigs of herbs, some onions and garlic, and a few other spices he figured Naruto could use. Then he ambled back towards the produce and picked out a few lemons to go with the fish. He sighed when he remembered the run-down state of everything in Naruto's kitchen. From what he saw, the only thing that worked right was the microwave, not even the fridge looked like it worked right half the time. Well... he was going to have to do some emergency repairs it seemed. Maybe put some seals Kushina taught him to good use, it would certainly cut down on Naruto's utilities bill to have everything powered by Fuinjutsu.
Meanwhile, Naruto was worrying about how he was going to pay for all this. He knew that the other store overcharged him for what little he was able to get, but he didn't see how all of this was going to be any cheaper, if not more expensive. And he couldn't ask Kakashi-sensei to pay for his stuff, either! He decided not to say anything for now, though, the guy seemed pretty determined to show him what food was and wasn't good to eat, after all. He supposed that he would just have to ask the Old Man for some extra, lone D-ranks or something after his team split up for the day so he could make his rent payments...
By the time he was allowed to take his basket back to the register to check out, it was full of meats, spices, bread, milk, eggs, pasta, rice, fruits, and vegetables. The Akimichi had even thrown in some trail mix and granola bars that he said would be perfect for snacking on during long trips on missions. He didn't know how to make any of it into actual meals, and he had no idea how he was going to pay for all of it.
He was shocked when he got the bill... it was at least half of what he usually paid for his instant ramen and bad milk.
"Is something wrong?" Kakashi asked, concerned by the shocked silence from his usually bubbly student.
"That's it? That's all your charging?" Naruto asked slowly, shocked.
Toba Akimichi frowned and made sure he hadn't missed anything or miscalculated the final price. "Yeah. That's it."
"But... I pay twice that at the other store. And all I get is ramen and milk that's... that's already bad." He was so shocked that he revealed more than he meant to.
"I'm sorry, you were sold bad milk, and overcharged for it?" Toba asked, incensed. Like Kakashi said, Akimichi took food very seriously.
Naruto nodded slowly.
Toba breathed deeply. "What store do you normally shop at? I can assure you, they will not be in business when the Clan is done with them." He promised himself and Kakashi, not sure if he should really bother reassuring Naruto, who looked defensive, but also like he didn't fully understand just what was so bad.
Hesitantly, Naruto told him which store he usually shopped at.
Toba wrote it down, growling. "I will speak with Choza tonight, this will be dealt with." He pinned Naruto with a look. "You come here from now on, or to another Akimichi store. We'll make sure you're properly fed." Naruto nodded slowly, and paid for his food, marveling at how cheap the final bill was. (Unlike other stores, the Akimichi clan could afford to price their product so they barely made profit off an item. They were more concerned with selling good food that a Shinobi who might be having a bad time of it could afford. The service and quality of the goods ensured that they still raked in the money, despite the low prices, though.)
He was surprised when Kakashi put a coin down on the counter, and was handed a scroll. He opened it to reveal what Naruto vaguely recognized from the Academy as a storage seal. "We have some more shopping to do today, this will make it easier to carry everything." He explained simply, and started sealing the food away, after a moment of watching, Naruto joined him. And, they could reuse a storage scroll a lot more than they could plastic or paper bags. Only the stores owned by Shinobi (semi-active or retired), or that catered specifically to Shinobi, gave that option, though, for a small fee.
"Next, clothes." Kakashi said menacingly as he steered Naruto out of the store, hearing Toba start laughing behind them.
"Wha- but I have clothes!" Naruto protested.
"None that are suitable for a Shinobi to wear, not out on missions." Kakashi denied, eyeing the blinding orange and blue with distaste. There was a reason Shinobi normally went for earthy or subdued colors. Even Asuma's Kuniochi, Ino, went for a more subdued shade of purple. Sasuke wore a darker blue, and he was going to take Sakura to get better work clothes the next day, as well as something to cover her hair if needed. Naruto would be getting a hood of some kind today, too.
"What's wrong with this?" Naruto asked petulantly. He knew that it was too bright, too visible, but he'd been sneaking around, past ANBU and Jonin for years while wearing this, he hadn't been spotted until he wanted to be.
"It's too bright and visible. Oh, I know, I know you've been sneaking around in it for years, but just imagine how much easier it will be to sneak around when wearing something darker and much less visible." Kakashi gave him an eye-smile, and he descended into grumbles and mutters.
Kakashi tried to not think about how the Villages chances of remaining standing decreased with Naruto being less visible.
"Here we are." He said, coming up to the door of a store that specialized in Shinobi-wear. Normal civilian clothes just weren't heavy-duty enough to handle the normal wear and tear that a Shinobi put their clothes through, and a Shinobi needed to replace their wardrobe often enough even with their clothes being reinforced in some way, that those carrying only Shinobi-grade clothing items made quite the living. They even carried civilian clothes in the styles of different nations just for those who might be asked to infiltrate those nations, or if a Shinobi was heading that way and wanted to stay under the radar.
Unfortunately, he couldn't guarantee this shopkeepers good behavior and professionalism, not like he could at the grocery store.
"Hel- oh. What do you want?" The shopkeeper started to greet them, but stopped and scowled when he saw Naruto.
"We're needing some proper attire." Kakashi said simply, glaring and making sure the man could feel his displeasure at the less than satisfactory welcome.
"What's wrong with what he's got on?" He asked, bitterly, not wanting the Demon-brat in his store.
"You know full well that wearing such colors is a death wish. Now, do you want to shape up your attitude, or do I have to blacklist this store?" Kakashi threatened, and he meant it. One word from him, and no Shinobi would ever grace this doorway again. And no civilian would be stupid enough to shop at a store the Shinobi of the Village were blacklisting.
The man swallowed heavily, glanced at Naruto, who was trying to become invisible as he stood there, and gritted out. "Did you have anything... specific in mind?" He asked. A blacklisting would force him to close, it might even force him out of the village entirely, and this village was his home, his family had lived here since the days the Village was first founded. His father had served as a loyal Shinobi until the night of the Kyuubi attack. He could not- would not disgrace his family by being run out over the Brat.
"Something darker, and yes, Naruto, you can keep some orange, as long as it is a darker orange." He said, at Naruto's petulant look. "Some mesh under-armor, fingerless gloves, and something to cover his hair with as needed." He added. He and Minato-sensei must have been spotted dozens of times because of their hair colors alone, until Sensei finally got annoyed and bought the both of them black ski-caps to hide said hair. It would also be something he was going to require Naruto to wear if for some reason they ever had to go towards Land of Earth, and Iwa.
The shopkeeper eyed Naruto critically for a moment before he finally sighed and led Naruto to some racks that he thought might suit the boys taste while still meeting his sensei's requirements. While Naruto browsed through that, he estimated Naruto's size before heading to the back, mumbling to himself along the way, and returned with the requested under-armor.
Naruto was amazed, and hesitant. He didn't want to get new clothes, mostly because he didn't want to spend the money, but also because he liked the clothes he had. He didn't think there was really anything wrong with what he was already wearing.
He wasn't worried about being overcharged though, not with Kakashi-sensei's threat of being blacklisted hanging over this guys head. Even he knew that being blacklisted was the death of your entire livelihood here in Konoha. If anything, he might even get a discount.
Finally he settled on a black shirt with orange running down the sides, a dark orange light jacket and a pair of black Shinobi-pants. He had to try on several mesh shirts before Kakashi settled on the one that looked like the best fit, while still letting Naruto move his arms freely, and Kakashi handed him several hoods that used seals and Chakra to attach to the back of the shirt when needed, he said that would be much better than a ski-cap and eliminate the choking factor. If an enemy tried to grab it to choke him, he could simply cut the flow of Chakra and it would come off. He said it would use such a minuscule amount, only the most sensitive of sensors would ever notice.
"Is that your only pair of sandals?" He asked, eyeing Naruto's feet critically.
"Yeah..." Naruto said, wary about what his sensei might have to say about them.
"Hm... do they feel a little tight on your feet?" He asked, eyeing them. They looked like they were starting to get a little small... otherwise they were in good shape, they could serve Naruto for a while yet.
"Yeah... a little." Naruto said, relaxing. New sandals were on his list of things to get after he paid his rent and stuff for the month, and after a few more D-ranks. As it was, he was hoping that this was the last stop, he didn't think he could afford another one, not with rent coming up.
"Alright, well, we'll get new ones." Kakashi decided. "In black." He glanced at the shopkeep, who simply asked Naruto what his current size was and went to get a few pairs, one a half size bigger, and the other a full size, for the boy to try on.
He was twelve, he should have a growth spurt coming up. Might as well see if they wouldn't want something a little bigger that could then last longer.
In the end, Naruto had just enough on him to get everything Kakashi wanted him to get, and he eyed his empty wallet mournfully as Kakashi once again put a coin down and was handed a storage scroll for everything.
"Come on, one more stop for the day." Naruto looked at him incredulously, and held up his empty wallet, silently demanding to know how Kakashi expected him to pay this time. He sighed. "I'll cover the cost this time." He assured. It was only fair, he supposed. He was the one dragging the boy around, making him spend his money.
"It's almost the first of the month, right?" He asked, as if he didn't know what the date was. The first of the month, though, was usually the day that landlords demanded rent from their tenants (It was just easier for everybody to keep track of considering most Shinobi were in and out of the village so often). Naruto nodded, eyeing his wallet mournfully. If he couldn't pay, he was going to get kicked out, he just knew he was. "Well, I guess it's a good thing the Hokage pays your rent, then, since I had you spend all your money." He said, somewhat guiltily.
Naruto's head snapped around. "WHAT?!" He demanded, and Kakashi stopped, surprised. "What do you mean the Hokage pays my rent? Since when?" He asked, confused.
"Since he assigned you that apartment, and signed the lease and rental agreement." Kakashi said slowly. Well, that agreed with Iruka's suspicions, then. "You didn't know?" He asked, this was important. If Naruto's landlord had been stealing from him all these years... that fat old man should count himself lucky if the Hokage got to him before Kakashi did.
Naruto shook his head, and Kakashi sighed before glancing around. "We'll discuss this later. For now, we're here."
"A blacksmith?" Naruto asked, confused. Was there something wrong with his weapons, now, too?
"Your weapons are... very well maintained. But, there is always a time when it's best to just replace something." Kakashi said diplomatically. "Where did you get them, by the way?" He asked, curious.
"Jiji got them for me when we started using live weapons in the Academy!" Naruto said brightly.
Kakashi was somewhat relieved that they weren't scrounged up from training grounds or anything. "Well, they're showing their age and wear, and that's not entirely safe. A Kunai could break at a bad time, no matter how well maintained it is, the metal just can't handle it anymore." Kakashi explained. Once they got older and more worn, then sometimes it was just a good idea to replace them. Especially since Kunai weren't really made for heavy-duty use, or to really last. Well, unless you had them made that way, like Minato-sensei and his three-pronged Kunai, or the Tungsten-steel Kunai his father had made for him when he graduated the Academy. Those were made to last, most Kunai weren't. They were ultimately a highly versatile throwing knife, after all.
"Oh." Naruto frowned. "I... must have missed that class at the Academy." He muttered.
"Hmm... they actually don't teach much about weapons maintenance anymore. I don't know why, either... but now they mostly rely on parents or Jonin-sensei to ensure the students know how to properly maintain their equipment." Kakashi frowned.
"Really?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi nodded and finally steered Naruto inside. "Hello?" He called when they didn't see anybody in the shop.
"I'll be right out!" Was called from the back.
"Take your time, we'll just look around for a bit." Kakashi called back, then returned to Naruto and started steering him through the racks of sharp, deadly instruments. The first stop was the back wall, where rolls of Chakra paper, scrolls, regular sheaf's of paper, brushes, and ink were displayed. On the bottom shelf, Kakashi was pleased to see beginner Fuinjutsu books, which he quickly took one of each.
"What's all that for?" Naruto asked, curious.
Kakashi hesitated, not sure just how much he could say. "What do you know of the Uzumaki clan?" He finally asked. Unfortunately, who his father was happened to be a S-ranked secret, that only the Hokage was allowed to disclose. The old man had certainly made it clear that Kakashi was not to tell Naruto anything about his parents, he was already going to be pushing it to tell him anything about his clan.
"...Clan?" Naruto asked after a moment.
Kakashi sighed. "Your mother's clan. They specialized in Fuinjutsu... they were feared for it, which ultimately led to their destruction. It would be a shame for you to not at least learn the basics. How far you take it, though, is up to you." He said, and gathered the supplies before herding Naruto towards the racks holding Kunai. Naruto followed along quietly, thinking about the information he was just told about his mother. Before this moment, all he knew was that his mothers last name was Uzumaki, but now he had a Clan.
Well, a destroyed clan, apparently, but a clan.
"Sorry about that, what can I-" The blacksmith came in from the back, and stopped when he saw who was in his store. He stared for a moment, then shook it off easily enough, to Kakashi's satisfaction. "Are you looking for anything in particular?" He asked.
"Just replacing current stock." Kakashi said absently, and withdrew a Kunai from Naruto's weapon holster and tossed it to the blacksmith before Naruto could blink.
"Wha- hey!" He protested, and could have sworn Kakashi smirked. It was hard to tell with that mask covering his face.
"What have you been doing to your gear?" The smith asked, frowning between the Kunai and Naruto. They looked well maintained, but...
"General wear and age. He got those when he first entered the Academy." Kakashi pulled bundles of weapons off the rack, inspecting as he went. "Go pick something." He pushed Naruto towards the racks on the other side of the store, where some other weapons were stored that were a little more... personal than a generic Kunai or Shuriken.
"That's a long time to go without replacing equipment." The smith muttered, but went to help Naruto choose something that suited him. With a sigh, Kakashi figured he might as well bring the other two here. It might be a good... team bonding thing. Yeah, there we go. Or a belated graduation present from their sensei or something. Once he felt he had enough Kunai for the blonde, he picked up several braces of Shuriken, some rolls of wire, a few smoke bombs, and a small medical field kit. On a whim, he got two more, all of his Genin would be carrying one from here on out. (He made sure to get the one that came with food, chakra, and blood pills in them.)
He ignored the familiar pang at the thought, the memory of what he said to Obito on That Day about the promotion gift Rin gave him, and how it was just useless gear. Mentally, he laughed at the thought of what Obito might say right now.
He paused and looked around a little, wondering if he should get anything else for the boy, but decided not to, he was just a Genin, after all. A standard kit would do for him, he could start adding things to his gear as he grew more experienced as a Shinobi, or as he started learning to use more tools. He was already going to have to teach the boy to use the blade he chose. Or find somebody else that could teach him.
"Is that everything?" The smith asked, joining Kakashi at the counter with Naruto.
"Yes, I think this is. I'll be bringing my other two genin tomorrow morning for an extra weapon of their own, as well." He warned the smith, who merely nodded and told Kakashi the total price, handing him a scroll just like the others when Kakashi laid down a coin before counting out the money to give him.
"Uzumaki, you need new weapons, you come back here. Don't keep using them until they might break." He scolded lightly, although he'd already made sure the boy knew how to properly maintain his new blade, and the dangers of not.
"Yes, sir." Naruto said, waving good-bye as Kakashi herded him back out of the shop.
"Where to now?" He asked with a sigh, hoping that really was their last stop.
"Now, to your apartment. I doubt you know how to cook, and I don't want you burning your apartment down or poisoning yourself with your own cooking." He said wryly, and smirked at the boys protests.
At the apartment...
"Alright, you go start putting things away, while I make sure your kitchen appliances work." Kakashi handed Naruto the scrolls with his new clothes and weapons in them, taking the one with the food with him to the kitchen area. He decided to wait until after he made sure the refrigerator was working properly before starting to put any of it away, the storage seal would keep any of it from spoiling for the next few days at least, after that it was 'eat at your own risk'. There was a reason why trail mix and such were the 'snacks of choice'. It didn't spoil.
Once satisfied with the refrigerator's condition (after applying a few seals and unplugging it from the outlet since the seals he added negated the need for electricity), he started filling it. The cupboards soon followed after Kakashi raised his eyebrows at the mess of ramen cups inside one, and then cleared cobwebs and evicted a mouse out of the others. As he ran a water jutsu through the cupboards to clean them out, and flash dried it with fire chakra, he made a mental note to also place seals around the place designed to keep pests and small rodents out.
(He was really, really grateful that Kushina taught him all these seals.)
All that done, he turned his attention to the stove, and was relieved that it worked, too. A few seals later, and it, too, was disconnected from both the gas line and power outlet. He made a mental note to speak with the Hokage about it, that way he knew to be on the lookout for the utilities bill for this apartment to drop significantly. He wouldn't put it past the company to continue charging as if nothing changed, just because it was Naruto's apartment. Luckily, those things were regulated by the village, so they couldn't overcharge him like the landlord apparently did, even though Naruto's rent was paid by the Hokage himself.
He really, really worried about some people sometimes. It was moments like this when he wondered why his fellow Jonin (i.e. friends) tried to force him into being more social.
He frowned when he discovered the hot water faucet didn't work, and applied a few more seals to heat the water automatically with a small burst of Chakra. There... that should do it. He should probably check the shower before he left.
As he'd previously thought, he should have done this weeks ago.
"Ne, I didn't know you could cook, Sensei." Naruto said, leaning back from his empty plate. Kakashi had had to send a Shadow Clone back to his apartment to get cooking tools, including plates. Naruto had bowls, spoons, and chopsticks, but he didn't have any pots or pans. He didn't even have a rice cooker. Well, Kakashi could lend him a few things for now, and in a few days after they'd had a few more missions, he could take Naruto out to get a few things to actually cook with. While the Clone was gone, he'd shown Naruto how to activate the new seals that powered his appliances.
Kakashi huffed a laugh. "I was taught by Kushina Uzumaki... she saw me trying to cook one day, and was amazed that I hadn't poisoned myself yet. She made sure all four of us could cook after that." Not even Minato-sensei was safe from her impromptu cooking lessons. He was surprised he told Naruto this much.
"Uzumaki?" Naruto perked up at the name, and Kakashi inwardly cursed for the slip-up, hoping that the Hokage didn't catch wind of how close he'd come today to shattering the S-rank behind Naruto's entire past.
"She was one of the few surviving Uzumaki out there, probably one of the only ones... unfortunately, she died when the Kyubi attacked." He sighed. And it was true enough... without revealing she was also the boys mother.
"Oh." Naruto visibly wilted, and he sighed again.
"It's getting late. I will see you in the morning, don't stay up all night reading your Fuinjutsu books, and please don't try anything without somebody there to supervise." He pleaded with the boy. "Fuinjutsu can be very, very volatile if you don't know what your doing. I don't think your neighbors will appreciate their building being blown up." He said dryly, and Naruto reluctantly promised.
"Good. Bring your new gear to the training ground tomorrow, we can start training with your new blade." Kakashi said, after placing his dishes in the sink.
"Sweet!" Naruto celebrated, looking forward to it. "Good night, sensei!" He saw Kakashi out the door, set a clone to doing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen while he enjoyed a (Hot!) shower, and then started pouring over his new books.
Sakura would never believe him, but he did actually enjoy reading. Just... not the boring Academy textbooks that never made much sense.
These however, they made perfect sense! Then again, the small unit Iruka taught at the Academy that covered storage seals and explosive tags had been one of the easiest for him. He'd gotten the highest grades for that unit out of the whole class. Too bad the unit only covered how to recognize and use them, they never covered how to make them.
"Hey, Boss." He looked up when his clone stopped by his bed. "You should get to sleep. Kakashi-sensei told you not to stay up all night reading."
Blinking, Naruto looked at the clock. "One o'clock?" He cried, alarmed. He wasn't actually tired, he didn't usually get tired until after one, but he wasn't done reading yet, and this was interesting stuff! "Aw, man."
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei is usually late, you should have plenty of time to read more in the morning." The Clone shrugged before dispelling.
Naruto still grumbled as he put the book away and finished getting ready for bed, including a midnight snack of ramen.
"Ah, Kakashi, you wanted to see me?" Hiruzen welcomed his strongest Jonin, if only because his presence meant he could take a break from the paperwork that seemed to breed on its own.
"Yes... I took Naruto out to get real groceries, a new wardrobe and weapons tonight, and he mentioned having rent due soon. I thought you were paying his rent since he moved in?" He questioned, not wanting to assume that it was the case, even if he'd told Naruto it was. He'd come here straight after leaving Naruto's apartment, sure that the boy was already diving into his new books.
"I am. Until he is promoted to Chunin and gains access to his inheritance, or moves to another apartment, I am in charge of paying his rent and utilities. Naruto has been charged rent all these years?" Hiruzen asked quietly, a deadly edge to his voice.
"Overcharged, even. Apparently he was even overcharged at the grocery he went to, just for some instant ramen cups and spoiled milk. I took him to an Akimichi store, he'll be taken care of there... and the Akimichi will take care of the grocery that sold him bad product." Both of them shared a smirk while the hidden ANBU shuddered at the thought of what the Akimichi clan might do to that other store.
You just do not mess with food around the Akimichi.
Ever.
"He never said anything." The Hokage leaned back, staring at the wall, trying to control his temper.
"I get the feeling that he learned pretty quick, protesting would only make it worse or get him kicked out altogether. And... with all due respect, sir? As much as you try to be there for him, the fact is, your the Hokage. You're a busy person, running a village... and he knows it." Kakashi rubbed a hand along his neck, hoping he hadn't just overstepped his bounds, but also not really caring.
"Were there any other... issues brought up during your outing?" Hiruzen asked after a moment of seething. Because Kakashi was right, as much as he tried to be there for the boy, in the end it just wasn't enough.
"Not really..." Kakashi hummed. "I had to threaten to blacklist the store owner when we stopped in to get him new and more... appropriate clothes. He tried to refuse service, but... he cooperated." Kakashi eye-smiled and Hiruzen huffed out a small laugh.
"I imagine he did." He puffed on his pipe for a few seconds in thought, then he motioned for one of his guards to come out of the shadows.
"Sir?" Boar asked, kneeling beside Kakashi, facing the Hokage.
"Bring me Naruto's landlord." The Hokage ordered. Without a word, Boar disappeared. Hiruzen turned to Kakashi and tilted his head. "Since you've sorted out Naruto's... wardrobe issues, I assume you will also take care of Haruno's?" He asked bluntly.
"Tomorrow." Kakashi merely said, and buried himself in his book while they waited for the landlord to arrive.
They both turned at the knock on the door, ten minutes later. "Enter!" the Hokage said sharply, sensing Boar's Chakra signature on the other side, no doubt with the landlord. Unfortunately, most civilians didn't react well to having Shinobi techniques used on them, especially ones like the Shunshin, and they tended to struggle sometimes, even when you warned them what was going to happen. So, it took Boar longer than either of them would have liked to bring the man here once he found him.
"You wanted to see me, Lord Hokage?" The civilian asked nervously. It wasn't everyday that civilians like him were summoned by the leader of their village, after all.
The Hokage narrowed his eyes at the man. "Yes... tell me, what does this say?" He asked, passing over the rental agreement he held for Naruto's apartment.
"It's the rental agreement for the De- er, for the apartment being leased out to Naruto Uzumaki." He said, confused once he'd glanced at the paper.
"Yes. And, according to that agreement, who makes the payments?" The Hokage asked, his tone turning icy now, and the air starting to become thick with his Chakra. Kakashi shifted, slightly uncomfortable, he hadn't felt the Hokage's Chakra like this for a long time, not since the night the Council demanded the death of a three day old Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze.
"Ah, you, sir." The landlord said, heart sinking. Did the Hokage find out he'd been charging the Demon?
"Correct. With that in mind, care to explain why I just learned you've been charging Naruto rent? Not only that, but overcharging him?!" The Hokage demanded, standing up from his desk and towering over the now cowering civilian in his office.
"He- it- It's just the Demon Brat! Why wouldn't I? I would never have allowed him my building at all if you hadn't insisted!" He got his feet under him after a stuttering start.
"Really?" The Hokage asked quietly, sitting back. The sudden calm unnerved the ANBU and Kakashi, who all took a collective step back from the man. "Boar." He said calmly.
"Yes, sir?" Boar asked cautiously, not sure how to handle the suddenly calm Hokage in front of him.
"Have investigations go through his finances, his home, and office. I want every ryo taken from Naruto returned, with a suitable amount of interest." He ignored the civilians' protests with ease and continued speaking. "Speak with Naruto if you can't find any record of it. And I want this man escorted to Ibiki... tell him it's for Naruto, and that this man has committed treason against his Hokage, past and present." Ibiki would know what that meant. He was one of the few to know Naruto's parentage, after all. He'd been there when Hiruzen retrieved the infant from his dead mothers arms, and heard the last words of Minato Namikaze, that his son was a hero, and should be treated as such.
The protesting man was grabbed and taken away in a flurry of leaves, with Boar taking no measures to be careful, not like before. The civilian could struggle all he wanted, he would only be hurting himself, and Boar didn't care.
"A charge of treason means the village can seize all his assets." Kakashi said, conversationally.
"Yes... it does, doesn't it?" The Hokage asked mildly. "I think Naruto would appreciate owning his apartment, don't you?" He might just go ahead and kick all the other tenants out while he was at it, but he didn't want to deal with the Council's complaints over so many suddenly homeless civilians. Unfortunately, he couldn't just sign the entire building over to the boy, but he could get people in there to clean the place up and do some much needed maintenance. From what he remembered last time he was there, it wasn't just Naruto's apartment that was starting to look run-down.
"I think he would." Kakashi shrugged.
"Was there anything else you wanted to speak with me about, Kakashi?" Hiruzen finally asked.
Kakashi hummed, then nodded decisively. "Yes... I have reason to believe that Naruto might have also been cheated out of much of his stipend from the Orphan Fund. Of course, knowing that he's been overcharged rent that he shouldn't have been paying in the first place, as well as paltry groceries, that might not actually be the case, but it's something to look into, just in case others are being cheated, of course." He shrugged.
The Hokage hummed with narrow eyes before reaching into his drawer. "I have a mission for you." He said, and tossed him a scroll with an inscribed S written on the side, watching as Kakashi straightened up. "You have until the day after tomorrow to make arrangements for your Genin and leave." It was something that could wait that long, but not much longer than that. And him being gone would give him plenty of time to look into the possibility Kakashi had just brought to his attention, before unleashing the Hound on the unsuspecting thieves.
Kakashi unfurled the scroll and read. "No team?" He asked. It didn't look like this was something for a team, but still.
"No. I'm sure that you will be overkill enough." Hiruzen said dryly, and ignored the feral smile flashed at him from under the mask.
Giving a lazy salute, Kakashi turned and wandered away, already thinking about who he could leave his team with while he was gone. He immediately ruled Gai out... at least not for the entire time. He stopped and considered. Yeah... why did he have to leave them with one person the entire time? They could always benefit from multiple Jonin sharing their knowledge and experience. Besides, maybe this way Gai could get a headstart on figuring out how to fix Naruto's poor Taijutsu. Kakashi himself was no slouch in Taijutsu (he was probably the most skilled at Taijutsu next to Gai), but his specialty was Ninjutsu. Besides. he'd seen Gai's two male Genin take on Chunin and the occasional Jonin in a Taijutsu only spar and come out on top, so...
Kurenai could help them all with Genjutsu, and maybe get them started with tracking (he would certainly be teaching them that as well) since that was supposed to be her teams specialty, and he was sure Asuma could figure out something for the three of them. Maybe he could enlist Iruka's help to start going over everything Naruto had missed in the Academy?
As he walked back to his apartment, he started running names through his head, and thinking on what kind of training they could provide his Genin while he was gone. Hayate might be a good idea, considering he was letting them pick out a personal weapon tomorrow.
Actually, the other Jonin might be more willing to help him out if they weren't going to end up stuck with three extra students for the entire time. They did have their own to work with, after all.
He made a mental note to hunt them down before meeting up with his team in the morning. Which excuse had he not used in a while...?
"You're late!" Sakura yelled, glaring at her sensei when he finally showed up, hours after he'd told them to be here.
He eye-smiled. When were they ever going to learn? "Sorry, I saw a black cat and had to go the long way around, and then I almost walked under a ladder, and had to go around again." He said cheerfully, and then ignored her cries of 'liar!'. He was pleased to see that Naruto had remembered his new blade, and he was holding one of the books Kakashi had gotten him the day before.
"Anyway!" He clapped his hands, then created a Shadow Clone. "You two, are going to follow my clone, go on." He shooed them away, and then turned to Naruto. "How far into that did you get?" He asked, and noted that it was still the first one.
"I'm almost done with it!" Naruto said, excited.
"Really?" Kakashi hummed, and picked the book up before he started a rapid quiz session out of it. While he did know a bit about seals, he learned straight from two masters, he never touched a book, so he had no idea just how in depth these books really went, he just knew that they would be a good starting point until he could figure something else out. Either way, he didn't want to ask something that he considered basic (owing to the way he learned it), only for it to actually be considered intermediate level or something.
He was quite impressed when Naruto was able to explain the concepts he'd read about easily. His mind drifted back to what Iruka told him. He is a very fast learner when he wants to learn something, the trick is getting him to sit still and focus long enough, of course. It seemed that he'd found something Naruto found interesting, and that he wanted to learn.
"Very good, Naruto." He praised the blonde, who beamed. "We'll start with the basics of using that blade today, once the others get back, and then I want to work on some personal stuff for each of you, so we will work on actually practicing these then." He informed the boy, who nodded enthusiastically. They continued discussing Fuinjutsu until the others came back with the Clone, which stayed off to the side instead of dispelling. The last thing Kakashi wanted was for one of these kids to hurt themselves with their new weapons while his back was turned because he was helping somebody else.
"Alright, before we begin." He called his Genin's attention. "I will be leaving tomorrow for a mission, and don't know when I will be back." He announced. "In the meantime," he spoke quickly to quell the protests he could see forming from Naruto and Sakura, "I have already arranged for the other Jonin-sensei to oversee the three of you while I am gone. Tomorrow, you will meet with Kurenai-sensei on Training Ground 8, the next day with Asuma-sensei on Training Ground 10, then Gai on Training Ground 9, the two days after that you will meet with a couple friends of mine, here. If I'm still not back, start the rotation again with Kurenai-sensei. I don't think I will take that long, though." He assured his team.
His Genin looked around at each other, before Sakura finally spoke. "What time are we supposed to meet them?" She asked, uncertain.
He eye-smiled. "Gai's team meets at five in the morning, the others said that eight would be fine." He said cheerfully, and enjoyed their groans and disbelief over the time Gai wanted to meet them at. He hesitated, should he warn them about Gai...? Nah.
They'd be fine. With that in mind, he quickly started them on basic exercises designed to get them used to holding their new weapons, get them used to the weight of them in their hands, and how to maintain their grip no matter what.
"Sakura, I don't care about your soft hands. Hold that weapon properly." He said sternly, glaring at the girl who had been complaining about ruining her hands. He turned away and rolled his eyes, hopefully Genma and Kurenai could do something about her while he was gone.
Who knows, maybe Kurenai would be a good influence on her, he knew that Kurenai was deeply disgusted with the fangirl/damsel in distress most of the girls in the Genin forces and the Academy had anymore. Personally, he felt that, of the three sensei to the rookie teams, Kurenai was the lucky one. Her Kuniochi was at least focused and serious about her training. His and Asuma's Kuniochi were... well.
He felt like 'introducing' the girl to Anko should be a last resort...
"Sasuke, you keep losing your form." He instructed, and moved the boys limbs back into position.
He glanced over at Naruto, who his Clone had taken over training. It seemed his incorrect Taijutsu instruction of the past badly affected his form here, and he was struggling to break those habits. He would have to warn Gai about that tonight, he was sure that the problem would be mostly corrected by the time he returned from his mission.
He nodded to himself and dismissed his students, sending Sakura with the Clone to get new clothes that were more appropriate for their work, he would probably make sure she knew where to go for scentless soaps and such, too, she smelled.