Chapter 26: A Return to... Normalcy?
Chapter Summary: As the village has curbed its period of reeling from the invasion, Naruto adjusts.
Published: 8/14/23
Words: 4,647
Guest, chapter 3: Alright, you lost me with this one, I don't really like this depressive and beta naruto, Sasuke and sakura are a bit better but she's just as manipulative and indecisive as the original one for me to like her, and now motorcycles and stuff? Nah I'm running the hell away from here
You can run, but the call of the fic will cause you to return... Maybe.
Guest, chapter 3: No, canonically the henge is in fact an illusion too, is just naruto that can transform in fully physical copies of other people or even inanimate objects
Is that so? Naruto lore continues to elude me. :P
khaeild02: beautiful chapter. I love what you are doing. Good luck in the interview, my brother
Thanks for the compliment and the good luck. I ended up not taking the job for health reasons. Nothing is worth risking your health over. Maybe your children? I wouldn't know. I am childless thus far. I am also young. Gainful employment is soon to come regardless, God willing.
scotty26: Wish you all the luck with the job interview. I still feel like kakashi die too easy and he wouldn't let himself be kill like that..it feels weird but did you really pull a rabbit out of your hat with that bit of Naruto rescuing that old lady from the first Sam raimi spider man movie?
Thanks for your well wishes. As for Kakashi dying so quickly, I might have made a mistake with when I made it happen and how I paced it. My greatest fear is giving people Akame Ga Kill flashbacks. I feel like Spongebob in that one meme where he's trying to hide from Patrick. But it's okay. I will work around it. As for the old lady part, I do like the Raimi trilogy but that's not where I got it from. I have an idea of where I want that to go, because I want it to have an effect later, so I'll have to see what I can do. :)
Morning
Naruto hadn't realized when he had woken up, but he had the feeling that he had somehow skipped the drowsy half-awake portion of his day. He hadn't dreamed, and couldn't remember anything after he allowed himself to snuggle up with Tsunade. Beyond that, he was already sitting up in bed, an action he also had no memory of whatsoever.
He looked around and admired the cozy, early morning. The light pouring through the curtains created a beautiful, bright reddish hue in the room, even in his own skin and clothes. The warmth of the sun soaked into his pores, and he realized that for the first time in little more than a month, he felt truly comfortable be energized in the morning.
The last time I felt like this was with... Sakura, before the second part of the chunin exams. Maybe I'll go and see her at the hospital today! And we can talk about us. No matter what she says, I'm glad she's free of Orochimaru now.
Tsunade's voice called out to him from the hallway.
"Naruto! It's good to see that you're awake! We'll be attending Sarutobi-Sensei's funeral at 12 PM today, so make sure you dress in black, alright? And you have to be at my office right after the funeral! I'm going to be busy for the morning, so feel free to spend your time doing... Whatever it is you do."
Naruto smiled. "Alright, Granny, I got ya!"
He hopped out of bed to get his day started.
.
.
.
Leaf Mall, One Half-Hour Later
Before going out to eat, Naruto had decided to purchase funeral attire. He decided he'd go for a simple black dress shirt, dark jeans, black boots, and a black peacoat for the weather. He knew it would probably eat up his savings, but he was feeling frugal.
As he walked around the mall, he felt the stares of the villagers around him. As if a reminder to why he would avoid people when outside, they continued to whisper to each other, and point at him. As such, Naruto opted to get his shopping done quick, and to leave in the same manner.
When he approached the clerk at the clothing store, with his items on the counter, she simply scanned his items and handed him a receipt.
Contrary to his expectations, the woman smiled. "It's on the house for our hero."
Naruto pouted. His brow rose as he asked, "Hero? Me?"
The woman sighed. "Yeah, you. Everyone knows you were the one fighting that massive sand demon - - well, you, along with your sensei and your teammates."
Naruto replied, "Huh. Okay, then... Thanks.", and left.
Sensei AND teammates? It was only Kakashi-sensei and Sakura up there with me. And I was fighting Sakura! Hold up, do they think Sasuke was with us? Ain't that a kick in the head!
He brazenly walked to his apartment to change his clothes.
.
Naruto's Apartment, Minutes Later
When Naruto entered, he was immediately hit with a wave of regret regarding Anko's absence.
I'll get you back, Anko, I don't know how, but I'll do whatever it takes of me.
He fixed up a breakfast comprised of eggs, meat, and milk, before changing his attire and leaving.
.
.
.
Leaf General, Minutes Later
Naruto, now dressed in his funeral attire, speed-walked to the hospital. Just like at the mall, people along the streets were glaring at him, pointing, and whispering. Knowing that it was done out of admiration did provide some comfort, if little, to Naruto's heart.
The receptionist was unexpectedly kind in showing him where Sakura was, and the downtrodden workers he passed by seemed to light up as soon as they saw him.
When Naruto found Sakura's room on the top floor, he froze at the sight of Kimiko standing at the side of the bed.
As Sakura greeted, "Hey, Naruto.", the doctor locked eyes with the boy, and smirked.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Naruto. I'm sure you've been keeping up with our diet plan, right?"
The boy blushed. "Well... It's not so easy when you're away, ya know, and... Well, I just... Maybe I just don't need that much food! Or-- I just wasn't hungry!"
Kimiko and Sakura broke out in laughter, as the woman gestured Naruto to approach the bed. Upon Naruto's approach, Kimiko left the room, telling him, "I've got work to do, I'll be back in about an hour."
Now alone with Sakura, Naruto began to strike up conversation.
"I just noticed there's a wheelchair here. Are you really hurt that badly?"
Sakura sighed. "Dr. Kimiko said that Orochimaru out excessive strain on my legs physically by funneling chakra through them to climb. I don't need it except for longer distances, like walking a few miles, and for instances where I might usually stand for extended periods of time. "
"Oh, I get--"
The bathroom door opened.
When Naruto turned to see who it was, he was shocked, and somewhat disheartened, to see that it was Sasuke.
The Uchiha boy rolled his eyes. "Oh, great, it's you."
Naruto stammered, "Y-- What-- What are you doing here!?"
Sasuke answered, "Kicking rocks. What do you think I'm doing? Shisui made me come here."
Naruto scoffed. He already felt enmity towards Sasuke, but the boy's attitude grinded at the blonde. "Yeah, you've got some real team spirit. If only you showed this sort of initiative yesterday, Sensei might still be alive!"
Sakura gasped. "Naruto...!"
Sasuke growled, "Don't you dare bring that up!"
Naruto's brow furrowed. "And why not? It's true isn't it? For all your talk about your clan and its honor, you can't live up to it, can ya? You'd rather watch anyone else risk their neck than stick out your own!"
Sakura demanded, "Naruto, stop!"
Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the collar. "You're nothing more than a cretin, you got that? If you really want to come to blows with me, do it with your fists."
Naruto pushed him off. "Alright, let's do it, Asshole. You'll get to see just how useless you are for the second time in just as many days!"
Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm in a tight grip and stomped as he led him out of the room and up the hospital stairs.
Naruto stumbled behind the older boy, and when he opened the door to the roof, Naruto was hit with blinding sunlight beating on the pavement.
The roof was an open space, but not nearly as open as the training grounds or fields that the boys were used to.
Sasuke led Naruto to the center of the roof, then pushed him into a fighting position a few yards away.
When Naruto was released from the grip, he rubbed his sore forearm, threatening, "I'm really gonna kick your ass, Sasuke. Believe it."
Without a verbal response, Sasuke took the initiative. He performed handsigns with the expert precision he'd practiced, and blew fire at the blonde.
Thinking quick, Naruto summoned a shadow clone to absorb the attack, with another to begin fighting, and leapt back, stumbling across the roof. He nearly fell down on his back, and felt some sort of shock attack his nerves when he felt pure, open air behind his feet.
His heart skipped a beat as he instinctively pushed forward, dropped to his knees, and rolled over to peer over the precipice. People on the ground looked like moving grains of sand, and his jolted perception of the tall building made it seem almost as if it were curving upwards. Vertigo ran through his very heart and soul as he approached and teetered on the edge, dark thoughts piercing his brain.
Just a few inches more, and I'm sidewalk soup! Oh man, what have I gotten myself into...?
The stakes of the battle suddenly became clear to Naruto, and regret threatened to pang through the walls of his mind.
He rolled onto his back again, watching as his clone held its own toe-to-toe with Sasuke.
My clone's doin' some good work, but I don't know how long it can keep going.
Sasuke stabbed the clone with a kunai, forcing it to dissipate.
Naruto gulped.
With trembling resolve, Naruto rose and steadied himself, taking a deep breath before slowly standing back up, ready to throw himself back into the fray.
To the blonde's surprise, Sasuke had activated his sharingan, and started to charge up chakra in his hand.
He taunted, "You've stepped over the line, Naruto! No one talks about my family like that!"
Feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline, Naruto smirked, and started to charge up his rasengan with the help of another clone.
He shouted back, "I'll talk about whoever I want, whenever I want, and in any manner I want! Besides, it's not your family's fault that you're a disgrace who let his sensei die!"
Sasuke began to scream as he rushed at Naruto, chidori in hand. "You bastard...!!!"
Naruto similarly began to rush with his rasengan, laughing.
I kinda wanna see which one's stronger...!
However, as they were at the halfway point to reaching each other, Naruto heard Sakura's voice in the distance.
He turned his head toward her, and saw her sitting in her wheelchair at the door, begging, "Please, just stop!"
Shame immediately weighed down on Naruto as he suddenly realized how reckless he had been with his words and actions. It seared his heart, as his desire to clash with Sasuke was overcome by his disappointment in himself.
Naruto's face adorned concentration, as he suddenly vanished and reappeared behind Sasuke - he had applied a Flying Thunder seal on his back as he was being dragged up the stairs.
Naruto pushed the rasengan into Sasuke's back in an upward angle, absorbing the boy's chakra and controlling his descent into the ground.
The rasengan quickly disappeared without physically harming Sasuke, and Naruto took a surprised step back.
Was the rasengan weaker? Or is Sasuke just that powerful?
He chose to attend to the more pressing matter, as he turned to face Sakura again.
He stuttered, "Oh, crap, Sakura-- I'm sorry! I shouldn't have... I was stupid!"
Wheeling towards him, Sakura scolded, "Don't apologize to me, apologize to Sasuke!". When Naruto gulped and looked down in embarrassment, Sakura added, "Since you want to keep mentioning that Sensei's dead, listen to this: Just because he's dead doesn't mean you have an excuse to be as cruel as you'd like!".
Naruto's eyes widened as he tried to mend things with the girl. In anguish, he cried, "Wait, please, I'm not-- I'm not cruel! I was just mad, and I said some things I shouldn't have! I-- it was wrong of me, and I won't do it again! Please, just don't... Don't call me cruel..."
Sakura scoffed, and as Sasuke rose, Sakura faced him. She asked, "Are you alright?"
Rather than answer, Sasuke stomped past her, pushing her chair out of his way.
Sakura sternly told Naruto, "Apologize to him, now."
Naruto nervously nodded, and jogged to reach the boy. He put a hand on his shoulder, but was quickly pushed away.
The blonde sputtered, "C'mon, I'm just tryna tell you that I'm sorry, man! I didn't mean any of that stuff about your family...!"
Sasuke grabbed him by the collar. "But you said it anyways. It's not like I even care, I'm just sick of you."
Naruto pushed him back. "What does that mean? What have I ever done to you? Besides some shit that doesn't even matter..."
Sasuke coldly answered, "What it means is that I would be much happier if you'd just kill yourself.", and walked off.
After he left, Naruto remarked, "Jeez, what's crawled up his ass?"
Sakura responded, "Your stupid mouth, that's what. I still can't believe you'd be so reckless."
Naruto pleaded, "It was a lapse in judgement, alright? If I could go back and just not do it, I would! And it's not like he's letting me make up for it!"
Sakura admonished, "You know what, I'm really getting tired of hearing you speak, too; I'm not going to baby you just because Sensei's not around to make you man up. Don't come by my room, either!"
She wheeled herself into the elevator and left.
Standing all alone, having been heavily berated, Naruto began to cry.
What an idiot I am! It hasn't even been a day, and I already ruined what little connection we had left. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
He smacked himself on the head, wishing he had held his tongue, or suppressed his jealousy.
.
.
.
Ichiraku Ramen Stall
After cleaning off his clothes, Naruto decided it was time for some ramen. He skipped his way over to Teuchi's stand, only to find that the man had drawn quite a crowd, as all six seats were occupied.
Though nothing too dramatic, a line had formed at the side of the stall, little more than a dozen people by Naruto's count.
Knowing he had time to kill, the boy walked to the back of the line, intending, if begrudgingly, to wait as any decent citizen would.
However, the woman in front of him turned around, and squealed.
She revealed a camcorder as she greeted, "Oh, it's you, Mr. Uzumaki! I'm with the Leaflet, do you have time for an interview??"
After that, the others in the line followed.
"I'm with the Konoha Chronicle!"
"I'm with the Village Gazette!"
"Daily Times!"
"Rising Sun!"
"Senju Post!"
"Fuj-Fujiwara!"
And so on.
Naruto blushed, and hesitantly stepped back, not expecting such media attention, especially not such joyous attention.
His saving grace was the man himself, Teuchi, who walked out of his kitchen to scold the reporters.
He told them, "Hey, hey, hey! Leave the kid alone! He just wants some ramen, alright? So unless you wanna write down the sounds of him slurping some TEUCHI RAMEN STAND RAMEN, get your sorry butts out of here!"
The reporters rolled their eyes and reluctantly left the scene.
Alone with Teuchi, Naruto spoke, "Thanks... I hate journalists."
Teuchi laughed. "As you should. Come on, I'll give you your favorite, on the house."
Naruto's cheeks hadn't stopped flushing red. "Oh, wait, no, that's alright, I'll pay! I'll be glad to!"
Teuchi waved his offer off. "Don't worry about it, Kid, I'm already getting more business because of you. Besides, what kind of a man would I be if I didn't pay some respect to one of the Village's Heroes?"
As Naruto was guided to an empty stool, he sheepishly chuckled. "I dunno about hero, so to speak. I'm the same person that everyone hated before I did all that."
Ayame was quick to bring Naruto his food. "Then just think of it as your reward for looking so adorable today!"
The blonde genuinely smiled back before thanking her and beginning to eat his meal.
After the tough confrontation he'd had in the hospital, the warm, easy meal was a welcome sensation. It would comfort him any time he ate it, but today it seemed much more potent - perhaps due to the intensity of the inner turmoil he'd been facing.
I really shouldn't have blown up at Sasuke about Sensei like that. Who cares if Sasuke gets undue credit? Not gonna change anything. He probably feels guilty, though. I might have been right about his absence being why Sensei died, but you really never know. I'll go to his house and apologize directly.
After finishing his meal, Naruto thanked Ayame and Teuchi before checking his watch and leaving.
.
.
.
Sasuke's Penthouse
Naruto rang the doorbell, much the same as the last time, and just like then, Shisui answered the door.
He snickered and greeted, "Sasuke told me to kill you if you came by."
Naruto blushed. "Oh, well... I can't really blame him. I need to give him a huge apology."
Shisui leaned against the doorframe. "Really? What happened? He won't say a word to me."
Naruto cleared his throat. "Promise you won't get mad?"
Shisui rolled his eyes. "I've got nothing to be mad about. I got over it a long time ago."
Naruto's brow rose. "Right... Well, the thing is, I sorta accused him of being a coward and blamed him for our sensei's death. Then I told him he can't live up to his clan's legacy, and I called him a coward again. Then we fought."
Shisui's brow rose. "You fought? Who won?"
Naruto quivered in embarrassment. "Do I really need to tell ya...? Alright... It was me. Losing the fight probably hurt him less than what I said, though."
The older boy ruffled Naruto's hair. "I don't have a doubt about that. Come on, you can try to apologize to him if he'll hear you."
Shisui let the boy inside, closed the door, instructed him to take his shoes off, and led him to Sasuke's room.
Ever since his family had been killed, Sasuke had taken his parents' bedroom as his own. It was, as customary, the master bedroom of the penthouse, with window walls in front of and to the left of the door. The aesthetic of the room was dark, but warm, with sleek gray walls, gray carpeting, and a gray bed - on whom Sasuke was currently sitting - with gray pillows, as well as a black comforter with the Uchiha clan symbol embroidered onto it. The doors to the closets and bathroom were dark wood, with black door handles. The TV - on whom Sasuke was playing a video game - across the bed was flat, as well as large enough to comprise Naruto's wingspan twice, and it sat atop a brushed obsidian credenza.
As Naruto admired the room, a sense of awe ran over him.
I almost don't feel bad anymore... Almost.
His eyes met Sasuke, and he immediately began to apologize.
"I know you're still mad at me, and I'll give you some space if you need it, but I really want you to know that I'm sorry about what I said. It wasn't fair of me to blame you for Sensei's death, or to call you a coward, or to provoke you into instigating a fight with me. I should've known better, and I swear I'll be more mindful in the future, so I don't do it again."
He studied Sasuke's brooding expression, waiting for any sort of response.
The older boy simply responded, "Whatever. Just get out of here.", and returned to playing his game.
Naruto sighed, and obliged.
I really hope we can make up; I know Sensei wouldn't want us to have so much enmity towards each other, even if I hate his guts.
Shisui handed him a box of sweets on the way out.
.
.
.
Tsunade's Office
With half of an hour or so left to go before the funeral, Naruto returned to the hokage's office building, walking past the guard outside, bringing the sweets with him.
Probably not good for my diet... That I'm barely sticking to. Maybe I can pass it off to Granny?
When Naruto entered the office, it was empty.
Come to think of it, no one's in this part of the building at all. At least, not that I've seen. Guess I'll look around to try and find her.
He placed the sweets, tied nicely with a bow, and left the office, returning to the center of the building.
The hokage's office building was designed to act as a mimic of a city center for the hokage, the village council, and the ministers.
Naruto, having come from the front, knew that he should either go left - to the council, or right - to the ministers.
Those old farts are probably playing bingo, anyways.
He walked towards the council.
Down a long hallway was a door as tall as ten men, designed and constructed in a time when the council was a common stop for foreign delegates with whom village relationships were tense. The inhumanly tall door, combined with the fake high-set gears to turn a fake lock on the other side of the top of the door, combined with its slow and loud opening, would intimidate the delegates, forcing them to feel small in awe of the architecture they'd face.
Fortunately, as amicability had been built with much of the surrounding nations, the tall door, though functional, was no longer used in any formal manner.
A much smaller and quieter door, standard human-sized, sat at its foot instead, and that was the door that Naruto opened to enter.
The village council was an immense auditorium, and the first thing anyone saw upon entry was the aisle in front of the door. Naruto examined how each side of the aisle was a robust selection of seats - all filled up - intended for private citizens, also separated by aisles, spanning many rows and columns, rounding out to follow the semi-circular shape of the room.
At the front of the hall sat a hierarchy of tables facing the audience, with twenty seats on the longest table at the bottom, for each duo of elected representatives of the village's tax districts. Behind and above them were four more seats, in whom sat the quadyearly-elected representatives of each coalition of representatives, each of whom was comprised of five tax district representatives. These were the senators of the village. Above them and in the center was a single seat for the president of the council, who was biyearly-elected by the senators. All of these twenty-five people were collectively addressed as "councilmen and councilwomen", unless one individual or group was addressed directly, in which case the collective or individual term for them may be used.
Between the council members and the audience was a single round platform, with a square etched into it for speakers to stand on so that their voice may take advantage of the room's acoustic values and be heard by all occupants. In older times, the platform itself was sufficient, but with the growing population of the Hidden Leaf, and therefore the seats in the audience, it had become obsolete, and a podium was erected on it to carry the voice of the speaker via microphone, with the etched square remaining as a reminder of the simpler times.
Naruto saw that Tsunade was currently standing on the circle, speaking to the silent audience and council members alike.
"...and. Although each of these genin are originally from the enemy villages, and those from the Sand are the progeny of its aristocrat, we must hold them to the Fifth Council's Minor Genin Defector Act, which itself relies on the international Genin Customs Act, which both the Sand and Sound Villages are part of, even if they are hostile towards us. Need I remind you that the GCA is the standard as a form of protection for the villages themselves as much as it is for their soldiers? These genin are genin because the villages agreed that they cannot be trusted with classified information such as an invasion of a foreign village. The very logic used by the charter was, 'to allow minor genin access to such information is akin to entrusting one's home to an unattended infant - - time will bring a swift reckoning.' It was then, on this basis, that the MGD Act was passed in order to ensure only conventional, non-contact, friendly-standard interrogation of minor defector genin, with legal counsel present. Again, they are legally defectors to this village by way of the status I applied to them when I accepted them last night, as is my right as hokage. To demand that we use advanced hostile interrogation techniques on any one of them is tantamount to unlawful persecution of these genin."
The president of the council, Tomoyuki Hagane, was an astute man, dedicated to his work such that he would not even eat on working hours, and when he did eat, he ate little more than a standard meal. His intense adherence to this discipline, coupled with his lack of inactivity at work, left him physically unimpressive and soft-voiced, neither of which had managed put a dent in his high reputation.
Into his microphone, he leaned and spoke, "The hokage is correct in this matter. Her legal analysis of the case regarding Dosu Kinuta, Zaku Abumi, Kin Tsuchi, Kankuro no Sabaku, Temari no Sabaku, and Gaara no Sabaku, stands firm, even if Gaara no Sabaku contains the one-tailed demon Shukaku. As such, we will respect her authority, and trust that she will take the proper measures to allow our shinobi to ensure we do not suffer from the arrival of these defectors. This meeting is hereby adjourned, God bless our Village Hidden in the Leaves, and God bless the Will of Fire."
Chatter sparked amongst the audience as the speaker banged his gavel. Though everyone would respect and trust the decision made, they did not hold back their concerns verbally as they left the room through its numerous exits.
Naruto jogged down the aisle to meet Tsunade. To his own surprise, he was caught by her in a hug, spun around, and sat on the podium, in front of the now-inactive microphone.
His cheeks flushed, the boy asked, "I was lookin' for ya, Granny."
Tsunade pinched his cheeks. "I'm sorry, I was tied up in this meeting about your... new friends. It's just some political mumbo-jumbo, but I'm free to talk now!"
Naruto told her, "I just wanted to be with you when I went to the old man's funeral, ya know? I'm all dripped up for it."
"Dripped up? That's not the kind of talk I'd expect to hear about a funeral... But I will say, you do look quite sharp. How much did this take our of your wallet?"
"Oh, nothing at all, really! The lady at the counter said it's on the house!"
Tsunade pouted. "And what did you say?"
"I said 'Thanks', and left."
Tsunade face-palmed. "We really need to work on your manners, Naruto."
Naruto cocked his head. "What do you mean? I wasn't rude or nothin'."
The woman sighed. "You should at least have offered to pay anyways. It's proper."
"How come?"
"If you're too eager to take something for free just as soon as it's offered, you might come off as a freeloader!"
"But what if I offer to pay and she says 'okay'?"
"Then... You just pay."
"Isn't it silly to lose out on some money just to be proper?"
Tsunade wagged her finger at him. "There's a reason it's proper, and that's because it's dignified. No amount of money in the world can buy dignity and self-respect."
Naruto nodded. "Right... I guess I see your point..."
"Good."
"I also took some ramen for free, though. I did offer to pay for that."
Tsunade whined, "Oh, whatever, let's just go to Sensei's funeral."
Reviews are nutrition! :O FEED MY EYES