Author's Note: So… I'm doing a thing. Taking place during the Founder's Era - a new fic in this world featuring a new Okita family member. So far, everything is looking really good and I already have a plot fleshed out along with the OC's character details. I haven't officially started writing it but it has potential. We'll see if it makes an appearance following the end of this fic. Current draft title is 'Wanderer.' Thoughts?
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Avurin spent quite a while explaining how she had met Kakashi and how it had led to her being brought back to the village. She carefully left out the details of their current relationship along with their most recent mission to the Okita mansion, not quite comfortable sharing that information just yet. While there were several individuals in the village she didn't completely trust with the story, she could tell Jiraiya was a different story. She had a feeling she didn't really care for the story, he just wanted to judge whether there were gaps in her story and how those gaps could be a threat to Konoha as a whole.
"So yeah, I'm saddled with Naruto and Sakura while Kakashi is training his third student for the month. They're preparing for the Chunin Exams and I just feel like I'm in over my head. Not that you would really care, it's just been a long day." Avurin finished her story along with her bowl of ramen, gently pushing the empty bowl away from herself as she glared down at the empty bottom of it. She was still bitter about the events of that morning and the story-telling hadn't quite soothed the irritation.
"I think you're doing great, Avie-sensei! Who needs Kakashi-sensei anyway when he forgot to teach us how to walk on water!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his chopsticks into one of his empty bowls, crossing his arms. Avurin sighed and put her head in her hands.
"Naruto, Kakashi didn't forget to teach that to you. He just hadn't gotten to it yet. I told you and Sakura I would be pushing you guys and that involved working on chakra control since you guys were lacking. Either way, it's getting late. Shouldn't you be heading home? We're going to be up early tomorrow so you need to get your rest." Avurin waved her hand at him as if she was going to manage to shoo him out of the ramen stall.
"I guess you're right. Are you going to be alright with the pervy guy if I go home?" Naruto was entirely suspicious, his eyes narrowed comically as he sized up Jiraiya, probably an attempt to look threatening. Avurin ran a hand through her hair and groaned.
"I'll be perfectly fine. Go home, Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow." Naruto gave Jiraiya what she guessed was his most intimidating glare before getting out of his chair to leave.
"Alright, but you need to sleep too, Avie-sensei! I'll see you tomorrow!" With that, he ran out of the stall, leaving several empty bowls that would definitely leave a dent in Avurin's wallet. She glanced at Jiraiya to see an oddly serious look on his face.
"Are you having trouble with the fox?" he asked. She felt her eyes widen slightly at his bluntness but then carefully nodded, sagging against the counter.
"He has no chakra control to speak of. It's been frustrating. I don't know how to explain things to him in a way that will actually help. When he finally gets a step forward in the right direction, it's as if something is physically pushing him back another two steps. He can create hundreds of shadow clones but he can't walk on water. I'm extremely underqualified for dealing with him." With a sigh, she wrapped her hand around her teacup and swirled it, already knowing that it had gone cold.
"Listen, I normally would be the last person to volunteer for a position that would take away from my missions and my research, but I think it's fair to tell you that I was the sensei to his father and I know exactly what seal was placed on him to contain the fox. If I can work with him, I might be able to figure out the problem just for the sake of him not blowing up the village. Has he had any outbursts? Any massive waves of killing intent? Chakra that just isn't his?" Avurin froze and stared at the cold tea, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought back to the Land of Waves mission.
"Yeah. There was one incident that I was there to witness. I'm not sure if it's happened since then but it's exactly how you described it. That chakra wasn't his and the killing intent nearly knocked me off of my feet. I could only assume at the time that it was the fox. Kakashi hasn't done anything about it and I'm guessing he doesn't know what to do either. He's all but abandoned Naruto's training at this point." She felt her hand tighten around the cup as she started to grit her teeth. She hated that she couldn't do anything to help Naruto but if Jiraiya truly knew more about the seal on Naruto that contained the Nine-Tailed Fox, then it was better that Jiraiya work with him.
"That kid… He really just shoved two of his students on you to run off with the third? I'm assuming there's more to the story there but I won't push for more tonight. Frankly, I'm surprised he would practically abandon two of his students that he likely considers his pups by now with someone who's only been back in the village for what, a couple of months? He must really trust you." Jiraiya's eyes gained a gleam that Avurin immediately decided she didn't like.
"For the sake of ruining the mystery, Kakashi and I are already public with our relationship according to Konoha's gossip mills. The only ones that probably don't know are the kids and we haven't told them simply to mess with them. You'll hear the rumors pretty quickly just being in Konoha, it's the newest development in our otherwise boring lives." Avurin tried not to feel defensive but she couldn't help it. Her relationship with Kakashi was still entirely new and they had, essentially, already had their first disagreement. She didn't need another stranger prodding her about it, especially a known pervert.
"Oh, relax! Enjoy the joys of being in love! I'm just surprised that dog finally found someone to settle down with, much less trust with his students! He was always such a prickly kid and it didn't matter how many times I tried to set him up, he was always such a prude! He doesn't just take after his father in looks, apparently!" Jiraiya's casual demeanor and his boisterous laugh encouraged her shoulders to relax as she dropped her hands into her lap.
"He's very… loyal…" she muttered, starting to pick at her fingers. She didn't know how to respond with Jiraiya's comparison to Kakashi's father since it was a topic she carefully avoided with Kakashi himself. She'd heard of the White Fang but she didn't actually know anything about him. She remembered seeing Kakashi in passing when they were kids and prickly was certainly one way to describe him, but to hear it from someone she didn't know at all was strange.
"That's the Hatake line for ya! Their pack comes before everything else. They're primitive, that's for sure, but some ladies are into it so who am I to judge?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Avurin snapped out of her contemplation to glare at him.
"I think we're done talking for the night. Find me tomorrow at the training grounds to talk to Naruto. I need to go home and sleep." Slamming her hands down on the counter, she pulled herself out of the stool she was sitting in and ignored his squawking as she left him with the bill for the night. She'd wasted enough time dealing with him so he could pay for her and Naruto's dinner.
Making her way back to the compound, the silence of the night was almost oppressive. The trees rustled slightly with every light breeze and she found herself fighting with her instincts to jump at every noise. Since Kakashi was gone, she had started feeling wary of traveling alone knowing that someone had started monitoring her movements. Kakashi had warned her about certain tails that had taken an interest in her and she could only admit to herself that the concept scared her. She was able to defend herself, sure, but she had a feeling it went deeper than just a simple tail to check on her periodically.
Jumping over the walls of the compound brought relief she hadn't expected as she jogged to her cabin, not wanting to be outside any longer than she had to be. The wards were safe and she knew it would take a decent amount of power to break through them. The Hatake compound, despite its dark and abandoned nature, was starting to feel more and more comforting.
She slept in fits that night, not quite sure what was bothering her but her senses kept her awake as much as possible to her ever-increasing frustration.
…
The next day, she met the kids at the training grounds exactly at the time she'd set. They were still drowsy from the early morning meeting time along with the exhaustion from the previous day but she knew they would wake up once they started moving. She had decided the previous day to continue to press them to walk on water, not wanting Naruto to fall behind simply because Sakura was taking to it quicker.
"Naruto! Just focus your chakra on your feet! It's really not that hard!" Sakura screamed as they neared lunch time. Naruto was just barely holding it together on the water, his feet wavering as he bobbed between sinking up to his ankles and standing on the water. Avurin could understand Sakura's frustration since she wasn't able to advance any further without Naruto keeping up, but she couldn't condone it.
"Sakura, everyone learns at different rates. Naruto just struggles with chakra control, which is exactly why I'm focusing more time on this subject. What may be simple to you may not be as simple to everyone else." Really, she felt like she was making excuses. Naruto didn't make it easy with his loud screeching every time he fell in the water and his own mounting frustration.
"Hey! I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Jiraiya's overly cheery voice interrupted the moment, distracting Naruto enough to fall into the water again with a scream. Avurin turned to Jiraiya and gave him a tense smile as she listened to Naruto pull himself from the water in the background, his grumbling reaching new creative heights.
"You're just in time for lunch. Brats! Time for a break!" She pulled out a storage scroll, unsealing a large basket with several varieties of onigiri, some simple stew she had made the previous night, and dango for dessert. She had made extra to account for Naruto's appetite as well as expecting Jiraiya to follow through on her invitation.
"Avie-sensei! This looks so good! Did you make this yourself?" Naruto was nearly drooling as he sat down abruptly in the grass, still soaked from his training in the river. Avurin nodded as she sat down a few feet from him, prompting Sakura to do the same. Jiraiya hesitated for a moment before joining them and Sakura was directing questioning glances at Avurin.
"Naruto, I didn't give you a proper introduction last night and Sakura, I hadn't realized who we were talking to when I sent you home. This is Jiraiya, one of the three Legendary Sannin of Konoha. He is a master in seals and has summons with the toads. I had met him a few years ago but I didn't realize who he was until last night." Avurin explained calmly, picking a tuna onigiri from the pile and carefully unwrapping it.
"That doesn't mean he isn't pervy…" Naruto grumbled as he also picked an onigiri. Sakura seemed to agree with him on that as they pointedly turned away from Jiraiya. The white-haired ninja had an expression on his face that could have been considered pure betrayal.
"That is true. However, Naruto, I think you should spend some time getting to know him. We've been struggling to find ways that would help you manage your chakra and Jiraiya happens to be an expert on your particular situation. I invited him today so I could suggest that you train with him prior to the Chunin exams." The silence following Avurin's statement was nearly suffocating and she started sweating as she started to nibble on the onigiri in her hands.
"No! I'm not training with anyone else! First Kakashi-sensei pushes me off to you and now you're pushing me off on this pervert?!" Naruto yelled, jumping to his feet. Avurin winced. She had thought about how this would look to Naruto and that image had been part of what had kept her up the previous night.
"Naruto, this isn't about pushing you off to someone. I'm perfectly capable of teaching you the basics but that's it. Jiraiya is better equipped to help you learn how to do the things that you've been struggling with." Avurin knew her explanation sounded weak but she really needed Naruto to agree or she would be kicking herself over the incident for weeks after this. One way or another, he was going to start his training with Jiraiya after that day.
"You just don't want to train me! I know I'm a little slow but I'm getting it! I promise I'll start keeping up! You can't leave me behind too!" Oh, that broke her heart. His lower lip was wobbling and she sighed, getting up to stand in front of him. He flinched slightly as she put a hand on his shoulder, leaning down so that she was at eye-level with him.
"Naruto, I haven't hidden from you that I am not qualified to train you. I wouldn't have suggested Jiraiya as your new sensei if I didn't believe he would do a better job than I could. I expect updates from you and we'll still get ramen together. I want you to be the best ninja you can be and having me as your sensei will not get you there. Don't you still want to be Hokage someday?" His lip continued to wobble and he sniffled, rubbing his forearm across his face as he nodded.
"Believe it. You promise that I'll still see you a lot, right?" His voice was so much quieter than Avurin was used to hearing from him and she felt her gaze soften.
"I promise. I'll be here in the village and I'll be there to cheer you on at the Chunin Exams. Even if you don't like Jiraiya-sensei, you need to get better at being a ninja. Sometimes we don't always agree with people but we can still learn from them. So, chin up, wipe that pout off of your face, and get stronger." She tilted his chin up and he sniffled, not managing to grit his teeth past the overwhelming feelings. Still, he nodded. "Now, sit down and eat."
They spent the next thirty minutes eating as Jiraiya started telling Naruto more about himself. Avurin felt herself start to unwind from how tense she had been for the conversation with Naruto as he started expressing interest in what Jiraiya had to offer. She felt better about her choice to allow Jiraiya to teach him, knowing that she was completely out of her league in dealing with a Jinchuriki. If something was wrong with Naruto's chakra because of the fox, Jiraiya could handle it.
That left her with Sakura.