"Blah": Talking
'Blah': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura
'Blah': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts
'Blah': Harry talking to Naruto
And I'm back! I know, it's a miracle!
Sorry for the delay, but that teacher I told you guys about a while ago… Well, he was terrible. I mean, he was the worst professor I have ever had the misfortune of knowing. But class is over now and I don't have to see him ever again, so I'm a lot happier now ^^ But seriously, that class took away my time from writing these past few months and I've been very busy keeping up with my Creative Writing class. My writing class certainly helped me keep my mojo, despite my terrible math class. At least my writer's block didn't last as long as it did back in 2012. That took me over six months to get over.
Now then, this new chapter should be pretty interesting. I just hope you guys like it; we have a bit more interaction between Jiraiya and Naruto, a few funny moments (I hope), and the beginning of Naruto's Rasengan training as well as him learning the Patronus Charm. As soon as you guys finish reading this chapter, I'll be doing my best to write the next one as soon as possible. I'm sure you guys will be itching to read more once you reach the end :3 But until then, I hope you guys still enjoy this chapter for what it's worth.
Azeroth44: Holy shit! You're back! We're back! After three months!
Kvsyaoran: Yes! But as much as I'd love to get started on our otherwise regularly scheduled chaos, we're gonna have to skip this time and start saving that stuff for the end of each chapter from now on ;)
AZ44: Awwwww!
Anyway, without further delay, please enjoy the latest chapter! And don't forget to review! :D Please, you guys, I really want to read some reviews
Reviews are welcome and wanted!
Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto
Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling
Chapter 12: Into the White
Jiraiya and Naruto set out and traveled far down the road for the next several hours. The two of them never once retreated into the forests, hopping from one tree branch to the next, which was odd. The blonde rookie expected his new mentor would take a more elaborate route, keep out of sight and shield his new pupil from the threat of Akatsuki and Orochimaru. But with the Sannin awake and aware of their situation, he did feel much safer, and supposed neither of their enemies would come after them again after the Akatsuki skirmish. Naruto didn't even feel the need for his invisibility cloak, though as he could now see his breath and the chilling late autumn wind chilled him through his clothes, he felt he might actually simply use it to keep warm. But he decided against it and breathed hot air into his hands before embracing his torso.
After a few minutes of dull, chilling silence, Naruto decided to learn more about their mission if he hoped to be more useful. He walked up a little bit ahead of the Sannin and looked up at the tall white-haired man for answers.
"So, Ero-Sennin, who exactly is this person we're looking for?" he asked.
The Sannin scowled at his dreadful nickname bringing color to his cheeks from a combination of anger and embarrassment, but also from the slightly bitter cold, "I told you to quit calling me that!"
"Never gonna happen," he replied briefly before he repeated, "So who exactly is this person that we're looking for? If I'm going to be helping out in any way, looking for her, I better learn more about her, including what she looks like."
"Pretty resourceful of you, kiddo," the older man smiled before he announced in his usual over-the-top bravado, "We're looking for the third member of the Legendary Sannin, the queen of slugs and elixirs, Madame Tsunade!"
Naruto blinked, as the name seemed somewhat familiar. He wasn't sure if he'd read the name in a textbook or Sarutobi mentioned her in one of his old stories. But the Senju clan and the first two Hokage of Konoha kept coming to mind the more and more he thought about it.
"Tsunade," he mused, "I heard that name before," and then he asked, "Is she related to the Senju clan?"
"Yes, she's the granddaughter of the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage," nodded the Sannin, "And she's the best medic-nin to ever live!"
Naruto thought it over for a little while and remembered how Jiraiya had described this woman as a babe, "You said she's one of the Sannin, right?"
"Yeah, so?" the older man asked.
The blonde rookie then asked, "How old does that make her then?"
"The same age as me!" the Sannin boasted with a broad smile.
Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes and sigh, before he teased, 'Great, another cougar.'
Naruto felt a little bit sick as memories of Sakura's mother came rushing back to him and thought, 'This is gonna be a pain.'
The blonde rookie then asked cautiously, "In one sentence, what's she like?"
"In one sentence?" the Sannin took a little while to think about and admitted, "I'd say she's pretty unpleasant. She's addicted to gambling and her face is easily recognizable."
Naruto asked, "So she must be really famous, then?"
"More like infamous," the Sannin said as he hunched down and got real close to Naruto's face in another fit of overdramatic theatrics, as if he really were a kabuki actor, though the rookie could tell he was just trying to be funny to make the road trip a little less boring, "She's better known as the Legendary Sucker!"
'I seriously hope that nickname isn't a sexual reference.'
Naruto wished he could have hit Harry in the head for putting that thought in his head and blushed slightly. The blonde wizard did his best to flush the color out of his cheeks before he cleared his throat.
"Why do they call her that?" he asked reluctantly.
"She's called that because she has one of the worst losing streaks ever," he smiled, expecting Naruto to start laughing, only for the young teen to stare at him in confusion, "She's a sucker! Get it?! No one in the world has worse luck than her."
The Sannin let his arms down and continued to walk with a slight pout whilst he held his head high. But as he moved forward, he failed to notice Naruto was smirking.
"I can think of one person with worse luck than her," he muttered as he heard his older brother snort in amusement, "Heh!"
"What was that?" asked the curious Sannin.
"Nothing," the blonde teen answered in fast succession, "Tell me more."
Jiraiya shrugged, "Well, call her famous or infamous, she's not going to be easy for us to find. Regardless of her age, she doesn't exactly get along well with the laws of nature. She's probably using ninjutsu to mask her true appearance. Even though she's supposed to be fifty, she still looks like she's twenty or thirty, depending on her mood."
"That's weird," the teen commented as the two of them reached a widespread stretch of land that was totally flat for miles on end.
"What's worse, I heard she's started to alter her appearance on the fly," the tall white-haired man informed, "She goes from a teenager, to thirty, forty, and back in order to cut out from moneylenders she's gotten in too deep with."
Naruto could hardly believe what he was hearing. And soon, his opinion on the last Sannin he had yet to meet in person was souring.
"What a crook," he said, and then he added, "You know, if she has a gambling problem and scams people out of cash to fuel her addiction, maybe they ought to start calling her the Legendary Leech."
The tall Sannin stopped dead in his tracks, looked down at Naruto, and then burst into a fit of roaring laughter. At first, it sounded like a forced wheeze before it turned into a thunderous, manly guffaw.
"BUWAHAHAHAHAHA," he went on for a whole minute before he could finally talk again, getting his new student to actually laugh a little bit with him, finding Jiraiya's jolly fit to be more amusing, "You're a riot, kiddo! You know she'd kill someone for making a crack about her like that!"
"I'd like to see her try," he dared with a small smirk as he felt his wand hidden in his sleeve.
Jiraiya still needed another minute to catch his breath before returning to the topic of the third Sannin, "Tsunade loves gambling. She's loved it ever since she was a little kid. Her good, old, jolly grandfather spoiled her rotten back in the day. Because she's always losing and getting marked up by everyone, that nickname stuck like glue. And now she's up to her ears in debt and on the run."
Naruto blinked.
"Is there any one of you Sannin that isn't a complete creep in some way?" the rookie was forced to ask.
"Oi," hissed the tall pervert.
Naruto looked back at the Sannin with a matter-of-fact look as he raised his eyebrows at the man. Jiraiya was oddly silenced by the look and shrugged in a gesture of reluctant but silent agreement. It was a tough pill to swallow, but not one of the Sandaime's three most remarkable and illustrious students truly turned out as well as their namesake suggested.
Naruto then continued, "Now that I know more about her, how are we supposed to find her?"
"I have no idea," smiled the Sannin, "But our best bet is that we head to this next town, find a bar, club, or a casino, mingle for a while and ask around until we got ourselves a lead. And then we'll take it from there."
"You are aware that we are under an unknown time-limit, right?" the teen reminded him out of caution, "The Sandaime doesn't have a lot of time."
"I know, I know! Don't nag me," scowled the older man, "We have no idea where in the world she could be right now. So it's going to take a little time to track her down. Learn to be patient, Naruto."
"Fine," the teen pouted but then he perked up, "But what can I do to help in finding her?"
"I'll take care of it for now," his new mentor insisted before he cracked a confident smile at his new charge, "But until we find our first lead, I'm going to have you working on your ninjutsu!"
"Oh?" the blonde rookie mused and then bounced in excitement, as he remembered the Sannin mentioned he could teach him a technique more powerful than Chidori, "So what do you have in mind?!"
Jiraiya teased him, "Something awesome…"
"What is it?!" he demanded impatiently.
The Sannin then replied, "You'll find out soon enough, kiddo! First we gotta reach this next town and grab a few tools we're gonna need to help you master it!"
"Awww! No fair," the rookie whined, "You're not gonna tell me yet?!"
While the Sannin continued to lead his apprentice down the road and the rookie stuck close to him, Naruto fantasized about his training. While he was extremely curious about what the Sannin had in store for him, a part of him was a lot more eager for his next magical lesson.
It had been a while since he and Harry learned a new spell or charm, and the Patronus was one that always captivated Naruto's interest since he was a little boy. The Patronus Charm was one of his favorite spells he'd seen Harry use in the memories he witnessed inside the Pensieve. He was also curious to know what his own Patronus would look like, as each one was unique for every wizard… for most of the time, at least.
But as excited as he was to get started, he couldn't help but wonder exactly how useful that spell would be. The blonde-haired rookie soon made a slightly disheartening comprehension.
'Harry, I only just realized something… Exactly what use does a Patronus Charm have in the shinobi world? I mean, I haven't seen any dementors or lethifolds around, and there's no record of them wandering about or nothing. Not that I'm complaining, but what's the point in me learning this spell?'
'Well, in case you've forgotten, the Patronus can be used as an alternate means of communication if utilized correctly. And I'd rather be safe than sorry and have you learn this spell now before it's too late. It might help you out warding off other dark entities we haven't yet encountered and allow you to make contact with Jiraiya if anything bad happens. Besides, it could save your life without you even realizing it. No one in the wizarding world would have guessed the Patronus Charm would work on fending off lethifolds until Flavius Belby went on holiday in the tropics. I'm certain lethifolds and dementors are not the only creatures the charm can work on, whether they exist in this world or not.'
'Fair enough… But I wonder what my Patronus looks like,' he thought before imagining himself like Andros the Invincible, 'I can't wait!'
'Not everyone can do it on the first go. It's extremely difficult to use, very advanced magic. But maybe you'll get lucky. I've seen your memories and you got a lot of very powerful ones you can use. Nevertheless, let's take this one step at a time and work our way to your Patronus.'
Naruto smiled at Harry's encouraging words and continued down the dirt road.
For the next few hours, Jiraiya and Naruto made idle conversation whilst the blonde wizard would occasionally annoy his teacher, asking him, "Are we there yet?" every five minutes or so. He repeated the question in faster succession the longer their journey went on, until the young man asked every few moments. It wasn't until Jiraiya threatened to smack him upside his head did he finally stop, causing the teen to giggle childishly. Naruto almost asked him one more time after an awkward five-minute silence, but was suddenly stopped when the older man swiftly raised his hand in another over-the-top gesture, causing the teen to pipe down and flinch before he let out a laugh. The Sannin cracked an underhanded, satisfied smile as he lowered his arm and elbowed Naruto's arm in a surprisingly affectionate gesture, chuckling deep in his throat as he relaxed.
But Naruto's patience did wear thin after another quiet half hour. He kept his silence for as long as he could until the tall Sannin approached a railing surrounding the edge of what appeared to be an enormous canyon.
"How much farther are we from this town?" he complained, "What's it called?"
Jiraiya smiled broadly and raised his arm out to present a surprising site over the rail; beneath them, hidden at the bottom of the canyon was a large, bustling city. Naruto rushed over, almost doubling over the rail before he grasped it tightly to keep from falling over. There were countless people running, dancing, laughing, playing, spending, drinking, feasting, and celebrating what could only be a monthly festival. It had been a while since his birthday, so Naruto assumed it was probably November right about now.
"I like to call it, Crater Town!" laughed Jiraiya.
The blonde-haired wizard smiled in awe at the sites and sounds and the Sannin joined him as they walked down the complicated flights of stairs down the cliffside and entered the heart of the festival. The people looked very friendly and lively as children ran free and played with wooden swords and wore masks, pretending to be shinobi. There were also so many eateries as the rich smells of various cooked meat and various sauces made his mouth water, only now realizing how hungry he was. Naruto's stomach growled, causing Jiraiya to rest his hand on his wide hip and grinned, also taking in the appealing sites.
"Play is just as important as work! Let's rest up a bit first, grab a bite to eat, find some supplies, and then we'll get started on the training," he instructed.
Naruto looked back and nodded, "Sounds good to me!"
"You know, this festival is going to go on for a while, so we may as well set up shop here and train while I run some recognizance," the Sannin suggested, "We'll train here too."
The blonde rookie thought it over and agreed, "You got it!"
He soon removed his rucksack and dug in to find the frog wallet he received for his birthday. Naruto greedily smiled as he shook its contents and heard the number of coins shuffle about inside with the paper bills. The tall Sannin took notice of the collection Naruto had accumulated and slunk in front of him, squatting down to the rookie's level.
"Well, well, well! You got a little fortune there, I see," he teased, "You're a real millionaire!"
Naruto nodded and almost went insane with excitement over the distracting and appealing attractions around him, "I've been saving up for months! There's so much stuff here I gotta get a hold of! I'll start off with a few new clothes! Maybe I'll play a few games while we're here and try out some festival food," he then thought out loud, "Oh! I have to see if there's a sweet shop anywhere nearby here! I haven't seen a chocolate bar in forever! See you later, Ero-"
"HOLD IT!" the older man shouted and commanded, "Let me see that for a second."
The teen did as he was told and handed over his new wallet to the Sannin.
"I'm in charge of your wallet now," Jiraiya snatched it out of his hand too fast for the rookie to see before exchanging him a small sum of cash, "This is all you're allowed to spend for today. No more."
Naruto looked like he had smelled something foul as he protested, "That's it?!"
"That's it?!" the Sannin shouted back, "You aren't even aware of the Three Shinobi Prohibitions!"
"Huh?" blinked the rookie.
Jiraiya went on to explain about how shinobi followed three strict prohibitions that refrained them from felonious behavior. Shinobi were forbidden to overindulge on alcohol, sex, and cash. Naruto couldn't help but stare back at the Sannin, looking slightly disgusted and cross with him. Those prohibitions didn't stop the older man from drinking or flirting around with women, nor did they prohibit him from renting out a lavish hotel room back in Pleasure Avenue. But the blonde rookie figured the man probably didn't want him following in his behavior. But it still came across as a highly hypocritical lecture.
"Those rules don't even apply to me," he argued, "I can't drink and I'm not a pervert! I'm thirteen years old! And I worked really hard to earn my money. It's not like I'm going to blow it all off at once."
"FOOL," he snapped in another one of his theatrical performances, "ONCE YOU START SPENDING, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP!"
Jiraiya went on another lecture about how money has a fearsome power over people, using Tsunade as a prime example and how it practically turned her into a criminal. Though, as Naruto noticed earlier, Jiraiya failed to mention his own shortcomings and Naruto seriously feared for his precious collection of mission money as the Sannin held it firmly in his very large hand, making the eyes of the overstuffed frog wallet bug out in his grip.
The Sannin then said as he reached for Naruto's rucksack, "Right then, let's switch packs and I'll go start collecting some intelligence-"
"NO, WAIT," he shouted, before quickly calming down and awkwardly laughed as Jiraiya stared at him strangely when all he did was offer to switch their bags for a little while, "Uh, I mean, I'll take both our bags! Heh! I could really use the extra weight for exercise! Go ahead and look around for that intelligence you were going on about and I'll go get us some festival food. Is there anything you want in particular or anything you don't like? Let me know and I'll take care of it."
"Uh, anything deep fried sounds good to me," smiled the slightly perplexed middle-aged man as he delightfully burdened Naruto with the extra weight of his bag, "Grab a bucket of fried chicken for later if you see any of those western restaurants!"
Naruto buckled and very nearly collapsed on the ground from the sudden weight increase, but figured it'd be better than Jiraiya accidentally finding out his rucksack was a lot bigger on the inside. The blonde rookie tried not to let the extra weight bother him and sauntered off, giving Jiraiya a thumbs-up while his face turned pink and sweaty. The Sannin smiled with his eyes closed as the teen marched onwards. Though as soon as the tall man was out of sight, Naruto cut the act and collapsed onto the ground.
"Oww…" he moaned sarcastically into the concrete.
The other people attending the festival were too distracted to notice the fallen teen and went about their business, opting Naruto to pick himself up. The blonde teen then moaned again as half of the contents from Jiraiya's bag had fallen out. He quickly picked up dozens of scrolls, kunai, shuriken, ink bottles, brushes, and… Jiraiya's savings passbook. Naruto had seen Iruka use one of these and spent a whole day going through his various receipts and scribbling down numbers in a book very similar to the one in his hands now. The blonde teen often left Iruka alone when he sorted out his finances and assumed the contents of Jiraiya's book were complicated and boring. But he was a little bit curious and decided to take a look inside.
'It's not terribly complicated… I see someone likes to spend a lot of money on sake.'
Harry was curious as well and read from the book as if he were leaning over Naruto's shoulder. The older wizard actually understood how the numbers worked and wasn't the least bit surprised to see that a majority of Jiraiya's spending went to, as Harry referred to it as, whores and whiskey. But as he read further down and checked out the numbers, his eyes widened slowly and his mouth hung open.
'What in the world…'
Naruto started to catch on too, though not as fast as Harry did, making his eyes bug out, like his frog wallet.
'So many zeros,' he thought before his mind exploded, 'ERO-SENNIN IS A BLOODY BILLIONAIRE!'
Harry removed his glasses to rub his eyes and make sue he didn't imagine what he was reading, 'I'll bet he would have more than one vault at Gringotts if those numbers are accurate.'
'How in the world did he ever make so much cash?!' asked Naruto.
The older wizard shrugged and said rather bluntly, 'Writing popular pornography?'
Naruto felt his stomach churn, as if someone had shuffled his intestines with a fork. He froze as still as a statue and looked down at the book before he flinched back and tossed it with disgust.
"EWWWWW," he screamed, 'DIRTY MONEY! THAT'S DIRTY MONEY!'
The blonde wizard shook his hands as if he had touched something foul and wretched from the garbage. But then he snapped out of it when an older man dressed in a dark, expensive suit and tie stood before him and picked up the book he tossed. He was bald with a thick, burly, angry face, standing before another man with dark, slicked-back hair that stood on end in the back. The other man, who was much more slim with a head of spiky black hair with a mean, squinted face, that made him come across as rude, arrogant, and more interested in his personal status than others around him. He wore a white coat with a high collar and a more expensive suit and tie underneath. The bald man flipped through the pages of Jiraiya books, his face becoming increasingly bewildered. Naruto felt like a stone had dropped inside his stomach and immediately stood up.
"HEY," he shouted, before he calmed down and tried to ask in a more polite manner, "Please give that back to me!"
But the bald man ignored him and turned towards his silent associate, "Gantetsu! Check out these numbers! You won't believe this!"
The bald man tossed Gantetsu the little book and the slim man caught with alarming fast reflexes, like that of a shinobi. His eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise and let a small smile creep into his otherwise permanently irritated expression.
"Give that back to me, please," the blonde rookie tried to demand in as polite a tone as he could.
"Excellent find, Chōseki," said Gantetsu, before he tossed them back to his bald associate, "This ought to set us up for life, assuming these numbers are accurate."
"Well, well," smirked Chōseki, "Thanks a lot, kid!"
The man was about to make a move to push Naruto to the ground and kick him down in the dirt, but the rookie moved fast and slunk back before he even had a chance. The bald man stumbled forward before regaining his stance, scowling at the teen for making him miss.
Naruto demanded, "Give that back to me! Right now!"
"You insignificant little brat," shouted Chōseki, "Do you have any idea who in the world you're talkin' to?! This little blessin' of yours suits our tastes a lot more than some unworthy, snivelin' little broke punk, like you! You see this coat he's wearin'?! It's an original! One of a kind! It cost him over a hundred thousand credits! What do you have to show for, carryin' around a little book like that?! HUH?!"
Naruto blinked, taking in the details of Gantetsu's high-collared white coat. He could have bought a coat like that with the small sum of cash Jiraiya left him at Tenten's shop. And he would still have enough left over to purchase some food.
The blonde rookie raised one of his eyebrows and said with a straight face, "You spent that much money on a coat like that? Whoever sold it to you; they ripped you off, big time. I could get one of those at a secondhand shop."
Gantetsu looked like he was about to snap when Naruto criticized his fashion sense.
"You have a death wish, or something, kid?!" the rude bald man threatened.
Naruto remained calm while he said back, "No, but I clearly got a better sense of fashion than tall, dark, and wishes-he-was-handsome over there."
Gantetsu's face twitched in anger while his mouth closed shut with an audible snap. The bald man completely lost his mind as his own fury caused several veins patterned across his hairless scalp to pulsate, so much they looked about ready to burst.
"You little fuckin' brat," he cursed, "This is Gantetsu! He's a former Iwagakure chunin and a fearsome shinobi at that! HE WAS ONCE KNOWN AS THE LEGENDARY NINJA OF THE DARK!"
Naruto's eyes widened slightly. It was no wonder the slim man caught the book with such reflexes. But Naruto didn't feel his scar flare up when it should have if his life were in danger. When his brain finally drunk in the fact that Gantetsu used to be a shinobi, he started to doubt he was really even a threat. Naruto supposed he was all talk, without much muscle to back up his demeanor.
"Former? So, what? Does that mean he's past his prime or something?" the teen asked before crossing his arms and feeling for his wand, "I've never heard of him."
Chōseki growled but Gantetsu decided to act and made a move towards Naruto, leaning into a sprint like a furious rhinoceros, "YOU'RE GONNA REMEMBER ME AFTER THIS, YOU BRAT!"
Naruto's reflexes were faster than the former Iwa shinobi; he withdrew his wand in one smooth action and aimed at the man's face.
"Don't count on it," and then he cried, "Protego!"
And Gantetsu could only blink and widen his squinted eyes slightly before the translucent shield burst forth and knocked him back with an unworldly force. Gantetsu was thrown off his feet and crashed into a vendor full of colorful, messy candies whilst Chōseki blinked at his boss and the kid that magically took him off guard. Everyone else was so distracted by the festivities; no one noticed Naruto had used magic, missing it completely. And the blonde rookie took advantage of the opportunity to flick his wand one more time, this time aiming towards Chōseki.
He enunciated with a swish of his wand, "Accio book!"
And the savings book flew out of Chōseki's coat, much to his disorientation. Naruto caught it effortlessly, grabbed the bags, and took off as fast as he could.
"H-HEY!" shouted Chōseki.
The bald man was about to leg it after Naruto, when his boss caught his attention first, "GET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU IDIOT!"
"Oh, damn," he stammered, "S-Sorry, boss!"
Gantetsu's coat was ruined, covered with a rainbow variety of powdery sugar and icing, his face turning as red as a beet before he took off in the direction of the young man that took off. Naruto had run down an alley and emerged at another street, flooded with festival attendees dressed in lavish kimonos. No one seemed to notice him, assuming he was another little kid running around and playing a game.
'This isn't good! Now I gotta find Ero-Sennin again!'
'Don't be so careless with your use of magic in public, Naruto!'
'I know! I know! But I had to get that book back!'
'You're damn lucky no one else noticed!'
'Yeah, but I think there are a few other matters we ought to be worried about! Don't you think?!'
'Jiraiya ought to be somewhere at a bar or one of those host clubs! Hurry!'
The blonde-haired rookie focused chakra into his feet and stormed off in the direction where he last saw the Sannin. He dove into an alley for his pursuers to lose sight of him and hopped out into the next street over, knocking into the back of a large man eating a leg of some strange cooked animal. Receiving a rude comment, Naruto quickly apologized and took off to the closest bar. Looking inside briefly, he spotted no tall, white-haired man and dashed to the next pub. It was fortunate the bars and saloons were of a Japanese design, allowing the rookie to see inside without going in and being kicked out by a bouncer. It was a shame though that he didn't have much luck in finding his lecherous mentor.
Running down to the next street, Naruto found himself in the middle of a street dedicated to host clubs, the kind of establishments where men flocked towards to be pampered by gorgeous women, paying them money to have conversations and be pampered with food, booze, and sensual compliments.
It didn't take much more time for Naruto to hear the loud, familiar guffaws of his teacher. Following the sound of his obnoxious laughter, Naruto peered inside one of the clubs, opposite a man selling various balloons. Dashing inside, he found Jiraiya, seated on an extravagant couch; legs spread wide, arms reached stretched out on either side of the sofa, wrapping around two very attractive women close to him. The women offered him food and sake, treating him with surprising affection. The Sannin was already drunk, as his face was hot and pink and his laughs were particularly loud and obnoxious.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA," he roared, took another drink and then he noticed his student and announced, "Naruto! MY BOY! Are you enjoying the festivities?!"
Naruto blinked, about to make a wise remark when he frowned and looked down at the table. He saw his frog wallet and realized the once plump, overstuffed wallet that held all of the money he hoped would support him through his worrisome journey was completely empty. Naruto's face turned red in the middle and bore his teeth as he seethed at the Sannin.
"You filthy, lying, lecherous, hypocritical, pigheaded, son of a bitch, dumb bastard," he cursed through his teeth, "WANNA READ ME BACK THOSE THREE PROHIBITIONS?! THAT WAS MY LIFE SAVINGS, YOU DRUNK IDIOT!"
The blonde teen lunged after the bewildered older man, scaring off the two women and bashing his fists into Jiraiya's face. The Sannin barely put up a fight as he raised his arms defensively barely softening the blows to the head he received in quick succession.
"HEY! HEY! HEY! OWW! STOP IT! OUCH! HEY! CUT IT OUT! HEY! OWW! KNOCK IT OFF! OWW!"
Naruto's almost childish fury bought the attention of many people outside, including two messy, overdressed men. The two former shinobi burst in and watched, as the little brat that took off earlier seemed to be beating up his grandfather. Naruto's whole face soon turned red as he completely forgot about Gantetsu and Chōseki.
"C'MON! IF YOU'RE SO RICH MAYBE I CAN BEAT THE MONEY YOU OWE ME RIGHT OUT OF YOU! SO LONG AS I HIT YOU HARD ENOUGH!"
Then Jiraiya shouted with some fearful desperation in his voice, "KNOCK IT OFF, KUSHINA!"
In a heartbeat, Naruto stopped and calmed down. The red color in his face vanished in an instant and he froze still as he stared at Jiraiya with a blank, somewhat confused look on his face.
"What did you call me?" he asked.
Jiraiya lowered his arms and stared back at the blonde teenager, breathing slowly as the color in his face faded each second. The moment was swiftly interrupted by the presence of the two thugs that entered the room. Jiraiya and Naruto heard Gantetsu draw a knife from his now messy coat, causing the teacher and student to face him and the rookie hopped off his master and itched off to the side of the couch.
"You little bastard! You ruined my coat! You disrespected me! And now you're gonna ignore me?!" he shouted as Chōseki served as backup behind him.
Naruto really couldn't help himself when he said, "What are you talking about? That coat looks better than it did before. I did you a favor back there."
"You're a dead man, kid," the bald man smirked, "A DEAD MAN!"
Gantetsu dashed forward, causing the surrounding crowd to gasp and others to shriek, swiftly twirling his weapon before catching it and running towards Naruto, "YOU'RE GONNA DIE, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"
Naruto was about to reach for his wand and stun the man, but before he could even move, he was behind the Sannin. Jiraiya sobered up in an instant and reappeared protectively in front of Naruto as the man smirked.
"Naruto, I'm gonna show you the jutsu I hope to teach you while we're together on this mission," he smiled haughtily as he outstretched his right hand.
The blonde wizard then watched in awe as a powerful wind brewed within the room, encircling around Jiraiya's hand. To his surprise, Naruto watched the Sannin's chakra manifest into the form of a sphere in the palm of his gigantic hand. There was a flash and in his hand it seemed Jiraiya was holding a solid orb of his chakra. In one sudden movement, the Sannin outmaneuvered the amateur shinobi and thrust his hand into his stomach. From the moment the orb struck Gantetsu's stomach, his body was thrown out of the club like a rag doll. The former Iwa shinobi crashed into his colleague and the two of them smashed through the vendor across the street, causing it to explode, and then hit the wall of the building behind it, causing the wall to crack and leaving behind an alarming dent.
Jiraiya stood tall, holding a new white wallet that he snatched out of Gantetsu's overpriced coat. His blonde-haired student remained where he stood, unable to comment on what he had just witnessed. He wanted to shout with excitement that the Sannin was going to teach him that remarkable ninjutsu and praise how awesome Jiraiya looked when he used it. But he was also stricken from the name Jiraiya used to call him a moment ago. While Jiraiya used the now unconscious thug's money to give to the vendor, generously purchasing all of his balloons and paying for the damages, Naruto stared at the Sannin. It wasn't until the tall white-haired man called his name and beckoned him to follow him and start his training.
The two of them congregated in the woods outside town, hidden from view of the citizens. It made sense to distance themselves from the citizens of the town, so as to not cause a panic with what might turn out to be practicing a highly destructive ninjutsu. It was also so that neither of them would be distracted by the attractions of the festival. Once they were far enough away from the city to muffle out the music and the smell of food, they got started.
Jiraiya took the supplies to purchased from the vendor after he threw the wallet he stole in the trash. Naruto unloaded their backpacks and the extra weight was lifted from his shoulders, allowing his arms to move freely again. He would have slumped down to the nearest tree and relaxed, but then the Sannin threw a full water balloon at him. The awkward teen barely caught it in time and hissed at the tall man.
"WHOA! It's the middle of November," he shouted, "D'you know how cold that would have been if it popped?!"
Jiraiya shrugged off the complaint and said, "Quit your bellyaching! Now, think back to what the jutsu I used did to that thug in the cheap coat; what did it look like from your point of view?"
"It looked like he was thrown like a rag doll," replied the rookie.
It seemed the Sannin didn't get the answer he expected but said, "Yes. But maybe it was too quick for your eyes to pick up; while in midair he and his partner were rotating."
Jiraiya then held out the water balloon in his hand and Naruto watched as the contents started to churn within.
Naruto breathed, "Are you using your chakra to move the water in there?!"
"Yup!" smirked the Sannin before the balloon expanded, a faint but intense swirling sound was heard, and then the balloon burst.
The blonde rookie flinched, "Whoa!"
Jiraiya went on to explain what he referred to as, the first step to learning how to master the mysterious, new technique. He reviewed the two chakra control techniques Naruto already learned; tree climbing and water-walking, and described how those exercises would help him master the new technique with the water balloon.
"First, you use the gist of tree-climbing exercises to maintain the chakra you emit from the palm," he explained, "Then you use the water-walking technique to continuously emit the chakra. The basic idea of this new exercise is to use your chakra to spin the water inside the balloon."
Naruto started picking up on the instructions and finished with undeniable excitement, "Going faster and faster until it bursts, right?!"
"That's right," the older man beamed, "You're following along very well! Go ahead and get started! We won't stop practicing until sunset!"
Naruto nodded, "Gotcha!"
But the task at hand was much easier said than done.
Naruto went at it for hours, working tirelessly to swirl the contents of the balloon but to no avail. The most he did was swirl the water inside enough to make it dance in a circular, counterclockwise motion. Jiraiya had drunk from his wine bottle full of sake and passed out, seated beneath a tree nearby. The older man started snoring and drooling while his new pupil worked on the jutsu. The rookie was able to move it enough to flatten it out to some degree, but it never came close to exploding. The blonde rookie shinobi wondered if Jiraiya had inflated the first balloon with his chakra, but doubted it soon after.
"C'mon," he mumbled after a grueling two hours, becoming more and more frustrated with every second after, "C'mon already! Burst! BURST! BURST, DAMN YOU!"
The sudden shout caused the Sannin to stir and he yawned slowly, "Still no luck?"
Naruto flinched before slowly turning around and frowned at his teacher.
"Nothing," he answered.
Jiraiya certainly didn't look very happy and rolled his eyes, "Wonderful…"
"So…" the blonde rookie took a break and tried to get a useful hint from his mentor, "How do you get it to burst?"
"Hrmm," the Sannin grumbled and frowned before he answered in a more strict tone, "You're really supposed to master ninjutsu like this on your own, through trial and error."
But then Naruto pouted and made his eyes look shiny as he begged with a voice laced with sugar, "Please?"
The Sannin stared at his student with a bored look on his face. He seemed irritated at how cute Naruto was able to look on command.
"Alright, fine, I'll give you a few hints," said Jiraiya as he waved his arm, but then he snapped, "And that's it! Now make the water swirl inside the balloon! NOW!"
Naruto snapped back into serious-mode and did as he was told, "Doing it."
The Sannin observed carefully, not changing his expression as Naruto felt his eyes studying the shifting water balloon in his hand. Jiraiya rubbed his wide chin and seemed to pout while he thought and hummed in his throat.
"Which direction are you making it turn?" he asked, "Clockwise or counterclockwise?"
"Counterclockwise," the teen answered.
"Stop," the Sannin commanded, "C'mere a sec."
Naruto did as he was told and approached the tall man with balloon in hand. Then he felt one the Sannin's gigantic hands drop on top of his head. The blonde rookie wanted to look up but felt some rough resistance as Jiraiya forced him to stay still, forced to stare down at his shoes. It felt like the man was searching his hair for bugs as he felt the massive hand inspecting his scalp. Naruto momentarily feared the Sannin might yell at him if he resisted, so he remained still until he was done.
"Just as I thought," he heard the Sannin boast before removing his hand, "You're spinning it the wrong way!"
Naruto looked up at his teacher, confused as he looked back down at the balloon in his hands and then back at the man, "Okay…"
"It's necessary to mix energies in order to manipulate chakra," the Sannin explained carefully, "So we unconsciously swirl those energies within ourselves. Some people rotate clockwise, others counterclockwise. To make a long story short, if you visualize the water in the balloon swirling in the opposite direction of your natural direction your chakra flow gets screwed up and you can't build up a good rotation."
The blonde rookie nodded as the explanation was simple enough for him to follow.
"I think I understand," he said and tried to reiterate, "So basically I haven't been making progress because I've been going the wrong direction?"
Jiraiya frowned and criticized, "You know, you really ought to sense these things on your own."
"Well, if that were true we wouldn't have any need for teachers, would we?" the rookie couldn't help but throw back as he couldn't imagine anyone learning advance ninjutsu completely on their own without some guidance.
The Sannin shrugged, "Touché."
"So how did you figure out I was clockwise?" the teen also couldn't help but ask.
"Your hair pattern," the Sannin beamed, "The way your hair grows to the right gave it away. If your hair grew to the left then you would have been counterclockwise."
Naruto nodded, "Alright then, so from now on I'll focus on going clockwise. No problem."
"This ninjutsu seems pretty ideal for you; it doesn't require any handsigns to use. All it really requires is chakra. So you don't have to memorize any of those pesky, complicated sequences. Even an idiot can figure it out," the tall man smirked, which caused Naruto's eye to twitch at the not-so-subtle implication.
The blonde teen then asked back, "With that said, how long did it take you to master it?"
The Sannin's smirk faded immediately, then in a fast, cartoonish manner, he stood straight, crossed his arms, blushed, and then pouted as he admitted how much time it took him to master this mysterious jutsu.
He mumbled with bitterness and embarrassment, "It took me about twelve months…"
"So even an idiot could master it then, eh?" the teen giggled.
Jiraiya snapped back, "Don't be a smart-aleck!"
"You make it too easy," laughed the blonde-haired rookie.
The Sannin crossed his arms and lectured, "You know it took the Yondaime Hokage three years to conceive and perfect this technique! This is an A-Ranked ninjutsu and one of Minato Namikaze's greatest accomplishments to date! So don't take it so lightly, you little brat!"
Naruto quit goofing off and felt like his stomach fell into his lower intestine. He figured this jutsu would be impressive but he never imagined he would be learning how to use one of the jutsu of the Hokage. He looked down at the balloon in his hand and now realized the true weight of the task laid out before him.
"This is the Yondaime's technique?" he asked in a quiet voice.
The Sannin nodded, seeming satisfied, "This ninjutsu is A-Ranked, and one of the most advanced techniques ever developed by Konoha's Yellow Flash. In order to master it, you must complete the three stages of exercises. And the Yondaime certainly didn't have me, his dear old teacher, helping him out developing it those three years."
Naruto was speechless as he looked up at his teacher, still stunned by the fact that he was learning one of Minato Namikaze's techniques.
The old man looked on towards the hills in the distance as the sun began to set behind the grey clouds, "Well, it's gettin' late. I'm going to check us in at that neat hotel in the center of town. Are you comin' along or what?"
Jiraiya walked on for a moment, but then he looked over his shoulder and pouted curiously as he watched Naruto. The blonde teen had his back turned and continued to stare at the balloon. The Sannin blinked and was about to ask him again in a more commanding tone to get a response. But the young man beat him to the punch before he uttered a single word.
Naruto turned around and smiled with reasonable confidence, "I'm gonna stay out a little while longer. I want to make a little more progress before the day's out."
The Sannin blinked and then smiled back, happy that the boy was determined to succeed as he had hoped. He saw the determination in his eyes and had some confidence in the young man before he waved and headed to the hotel he mentioned.
After sundown, the blonde rookie arrived at the hotel and it didn't take long for him to find the Sannin. The hotel was located at the center of the town, across the street from the market and it was one of the better hotels the town had to offer. Jiraiya had rented the penthouse suite that had a balcony on the top floor, a small kitchen, two bedrooms, but no bathroom. There was a bathroom out in the hall somewhere, but it was still a very comfortable place to stay.
Jiraiya was seated at the low dinner table with several large buckets of fried chicken, complete with cups of gravy and mashed potatoes. The Sannin welcomed Naruto to their new headquarters and offered him a very generous helping of chicken. Naruto was a little hesitant to dig in, as he didn't eat fast food as often as most kids his age did. Harry did his best to discourage him from eating fast food throughout his childhood, making sure he ate much healthier meals. But the fried chicken wasn't too bad on his stomach; it even tasted pretty good. But Naruto steered clear of the mashed potatoes and gravy; it looked too artificial for him to stomach and was probably full of fat and grease. So he left Jiraiya to polish those off for him, watching the Sannin devour the side dishes with some hidden disgust.
Jiraiya smiled with his cheeks so stuffed it looked like he carried two melons in his mouth, "Mmmmmm! I probably should be holding back on this stuff, but I can hardly resist!"
'He won't live long if that's what he eats all the time,' he thought.
Harry added, 'It's a surprise he isn't as wide as he is tall…'
After dinner, Jiraiya helped himself to a new bottle of sake he had been saving. He finished off half the bottle that evening, drinking it down like water until his cheeks turned rosy. Naruto was concerned and a bit angry but he had something else on his mind distracting him. He let the Sannin drink as he figured he would be more compelled to tell the truth if he were drunk. Jiraiya removed his signature red cloak vest and threw off his gauntlets before filling up another glass. Naruto watched him take one big sip and saw him sigh in another cartoonish gesture.
"Ooh! That's some good sauce!" he sighed.
Naruto figured it was about the right time and said, "Ero-Sennin…"
"Hrmmm," the old man growled, hating his nickname, "What is it? You made any progress with the balloon yet?"
Naruto regretted using the familiar nickname and did his best to remember to refrain from using it again that night, "No, but it's not what I wanted to talk about…"
"Oh," the Sannin calmed down and suddenly shifted back into a much happier drunken state, "What is it then? Fire away!"
{{Hermione's Parents by Alexandre Desplat}}
The blonde rookie then stated in a clear voice, "You called me Kushina earlier today."
Jiraiya very suddenly froze at the mention of that particular name and stopped his drinking. The rim of the glass still pressed to his lips, as his face remained hidden from view. His eyes remained in the shadow of his thick, white mane when he finally lowered his glass, frowning. Naruto found it impossible to read him and frowned sadly as he waited for Jiraiya to speak.
"Did I?" the big man asked and then he shrugged for a moment, most of his face still hidden from view with shadow, "I supposed I did," he continued, nonchalant and remained silent for a moment before he questioned, "Why do you ask?"
Naruto blinked and then he answered slowly and carefully, "That was my mum's name."
When the man's face finally emerged from the dark, the Sannin seemed sad for a brief moment; staring down at his glass for that one instant and seemed… remorseful, heartbroken even. But one second later, the sad look vanished and he turned to Naruto with a more curious, anxious look.
"Your mom?" he asked with a tone that suggested he was very cautious about his next choice of words, "You know who your parents are?"
"Just mum," the teen answered and the Sannin seemed to relax more, "The Sandaime told me something about my dad once, a pretty long time ago, but," the blonde teen looked down at the table, thinking about what the old man had said when it seemed like ages ago now, "He said I wasn't old enough to know more about him yet… or something like that."
"How do you know about Kushina?" asked the Sannin, as he seemed more curious and upbeat.
"The Sandaime told me about her shortly after I learned that the Kyuubi was sealed inside of me," Naruto collected his rucksack and searched its contents for the red leather album, careful to pick out one of the pictures he didn't enchant, placing it down on the table and sliding it over to the Sannin to see, "There she is. Grandpa was generous enough to give me all of these old photographs of her… and me, too. See there I am."
Naruto offered him the picture of his mother in the hospital, holding him as an infant, feeling warmth in his chest as he shared his past to the Sannin. Jiraiya picked up the photo and stared at it with that same sad solemn expression from earlier while he frowned. He sighed and his whole body seemed to deflate like a flabby balloon as he stared at the photograph in his hand and his eyes became filled with a swirling pool of emotions.
The man muttered, "Kushina…"
Naruto was surprised at his reaction and decided to take the photo back, in case it caused the older man pain. But it also confirmed his suspicions; that Jiraiya knew his mother and must have been a close friend of hers.
"He also told me that she was the Yondaime's best friend," the rookie added.
Jiraiya blinked at that and seemed confused, "Best friend?"
"You were his teacher," the blonde rookie stammered as he tried to dig in deeper but careful not tread too far, "I can't help but wonder… based on how you said her name earlier today… Did you," he hesitated, not sure how to ask the Sannin the exact nature of the relationship between him and his mother but tried to show him more respect when he did so, "Well, I mean, did you know my mum, Jiraiya-sensei?"
The Sannin stared at Naruto in his drunken state, looking at Naruto and noticing his demeanor when he referred to him as his teacher.
Jiraiya seemed stunned for a moment and thought with fond memories of his dear student, Minato, in mind, 'Jiraiya-sensei…'
"And by that, I mean," the blonde rookie recovered as fast as he could, "Did you know her personally?"
Jiraiya stared at his newest blonde pupil and, while still in an intoxicated state, made sure he chose his next words with the utmost care. Jiraiya didn't think Naruto even knew he had parents up until now. So if the Sandaime wanted to save the identity of Naruto's father until he was older, the Sannin made sure he didn't screw up and let slip too much of what he knew.
"Yes, I did," he answered as he stared off into space and smiled warmly, "Minato introduced her to me a very long time ago, some time after they became chunin," he let out a subtle chuckle in his throat as he thought about how Sarutobi described Kushina and Minato's relationship, "I suppose you could say she and Minato really were best buddies back then… They always got along very well with each other," he took another drink and swallowed hard when he felt a lump in his throat, after sighing he started laughing, "Heh! But aside from Tsunade, I think Kushina had one of the worst tempers I'd ever seen in a woman!"
Naruto smiled with the Sannin now. A warm smile stretched across his face as he started to guess why Jiraiya had called him by his mother's name when he attacked him.
"You know, back then she was known as the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero," he laughed, "Back then, I used to think she was always sweet, clever, a bit brash at times, but mild-mannered, much like Minato," he took another drink, taking a smaller sip this time, and his laughter was becoming all the more contagious, "But imagine my surprise when she caught me outside the female bathhouse, spying on a few of her friends in the bath! She found me and then she started screaming and beating me over the head with a wooden brush! HA! She was furious! She was a like a wolverine!"
Jiraiya burst into another roaring fit of laughter, for once doing so at his own expense. He hunched over the table with his drink so that he wouldn't fall on his back and took the table down with him. Meanwhile, Naruto couldn't help but laugh with him, as the Sannin's laughter was contagious. He would have been furious if he learned the Sannin had sneaked a peak at his mother. But when he learned it was she who caught him and punished Jiraiya, he was able to laugh and imagined it would have been identical to the incident at the host club.
When his laughter died down, Jiraiya sat back and watched Naruto for a while. His relaxed face seemed to hold a great deal of emotion that he did his best to suppress, even while he was still drunk and red in the face. Perhaps it was the alcohol that allowed some of that emotion to show. The Sannin was looking right at Naruto but he seemed to be thinking about someone else, seeing someone else within the young man.
"You remind me of her," he admitted sadly, causing Naruto to look up after his own laughter died down, "You really are her son… This afternoon… you really reminded me of her," then the Sannin's smile faded and his voice adopted a more mournful tone, "She was a good girl… a good friend," but then the man tried to pick up the mood and said with a bit more pride as he smiled at Naruto, "Seems to me, you've inherited some of her qualities."
The blonde rookie felt a smile rise in his face. But then it faded somewhat as he had heard this before from the Sandaime. It made him curious, eager to learn more and figure out more about his other parent. He wanted to know more about his father, too.
"I kinda wish I knew who my dad was," he mentioned, hoping the Sannin would tell him if he were careful, "The Sandaime promised he would tell me once I'm old enough."
In response to his student's comment, the Sannin's tone shifted and he sounded a bit harsh when he said; "Yeah, well, there's no point in getting worked up about it. If we let ourselves become too distracted and fail this mission, the Sandaime might never be able to tell you who he is."
Naruto frowned at the Sannin. His words were a bit harsh but true. It was late and the two of them both needed rest for tomorrow and needed to focus on their task.
The blonde teen nodded, "I suppose you're right."
"It'll be fine," said the Sannin with a friendlier tone as he reached out and patted the teen's back, "I'm headed to bed. You too?"
Jiraiya stumbled as he stood and almost waddled to his bedroom. But as he passed the kitchen, he looked back at Naruto as he sat there at the table.
The blonde rookie looked back at him and shrugged, "I think I'm gonna stay here a little longer."
"Fine," the Sannin smiled with a small nod before he stumbled into his room, "Just get to sleep soon."
Later that night, Harry decided it was time for Naruto to start practicing the Patronus Charm. Like they did back in the old days, Naruto retreated into the mindscape when he went to sleep at night. Once there, for their first lesson, the two wizards met in the chamber modeled after the Room of Requirement.
When Naruto arrived with wand in hand, Harry was waiting for him. The older wizard levitated a large trunk with his own wand and placed it down on an oak table. The blonde teen noticed Harry wearing a loose, unbuttoned sweater with slacks. It made him think back to one of his numerous visits into the Pensieve, when he watched Harry teaching his fellow classmates. Naruto looked down and rubbed the back of his neck when he noticed he still wore his pajamas. Meanwhile, the older wizard smiled as he thought about Remus. He had passed his knowledge down to his friends and classmates, and now he was about to share one of his most valuable lessons with his dear little brother.
He cleared his throat and started his lesson, "Now, Naruto, as you may remember, the Patronus Charm is highly advanced magic, well beyond the Ordinary Wizarding Level. So don't expect to master it right away. It's going to take some time and a lot of hard work," he reminded and waited for the rookie to nod, "In order to conjure a Patronus correctly, you have to think of a memory. But it must be a happy, very powerful memory and you need to concentrate with all your might on that single memory."
Naruto nodded again. And Harry leaned back on the desk and raised his hand, much like Remus did when he remembered his first anti-dementor lesson.
"Close your eyes…" he said in a soothing voice as Naruto obeyed him without question, "Explore your past and think back to a moment when you were most happy… Allow that memory to fill you up, and then, once you're ready, annunciate the incantation," he announced in a clear voice, "Expecto patronum!"
Naruto did as he was told and thought back to his childhood. There were a lot more unpleasant memories he could recall, but that was the unexpected advantage; because his childhood was harsher than most, his happier memories were all the more powerful to him. And so, there were a lot of memories he could choose from that he felt would be more than enough to fuel his Patronus.
He muttered, "Expecto patronum… Expecto patronum…"
Something suddenly whooshed out of the end of his wand, taking the form of a wisp of silver gas and bright blue light.
Naruto looked down and breathed with excitement, "Ahh!"
The silver wisps from his wand vanished the moment he was distracted. Naruto smiled and looked toward Harry as he smiled also.
"Did you see that?!" said Naruto excitedly, "Something happened!"
"Yes, I saw it! Not bad, Naruto," he nodded, "Let's keep at it!"
The blonde wizard turned his attention to Harry as he watched the man walk around the table.
"Now in order to really challenge you I'm going to have to put you through a little simulation of sorts," he said, "I'm going to simulate the effects of being in the presence of a dementor."
Naruto blanched at what his older brother told him, as he was more than aware what a dementor was and what it could do, "That thing is not going to-"
"Don't worry," the older wizard assured him, "I can't create a dementor. But I can simulate the presence of one. This kind of situation might help prepare you to use this spell at times when your life may be on the line or whenever you are in a weakened state. I would have liked to simulate a boggart but I don't know if it's even going to turn into a dementor when he sees you. So let's stick with this simulation and work our way from there."
Naruto nodded, still pale and nervous about what was to come next. Ever since he had seen those creatures in the Pensieve, he wasn't eager to feel the true icy presence of one of those wretched creatures.
Harry noticed Naruto's uncertainty and told him, "Let me know whenever you want me to stop. I'll stop it."
"Okay," the teen replied, feeling better.
The older wizard stood behind the trunk and waved his hand over the locks to unlock them, "Wand at the ready."
Naruto raised his wand and closed his eyes as thought back to when he was most happy. His childhood was filled with a lot of sadness and sorrow. But as mentioned earlier, it made him appreciate the happier moments even more. He thought back to when Iruka graduated him from the Ninja Academy; he remembered the bright sun and the promise of his favorite ramen at Ichiraku. Naruto made sure to keep that memory in mind, remembering Iruka's warm smile and kindness.
When he noticed Naruto seemed to be ready, Harry grasped the lid of the trunk and pulled. A dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Naruto. It reached out a scabbed, rotten hand out towards the now bloodless teenager. Naruto's hand trembled as he aimed at the creature and the effects hit him hard; the candles and chandeliers that illuminated the room went out as a wave of piercing cold broke over him. Naruto felt his knees weaken, struggling to keep him standing. Then, his worst memories started to come to mind.
A voice echoed inside his mind and murmured, "Hayate is dead…"
The blonde wizard let out a horrified moan that sounded more like a suppressed sob, as white fog started obscuring his senses. He then remembered the sound of destructive chaos surrounding him. Naruto heard the sounds of countless men and women roaring and screaming, blades clashing, and lifeless bodies falling. He heard the sound of flesh being stabbed by knives, shuriken, and swords and blood splattering. What followed after was the distinct roaring of a great gigantic beast, a high-pitched demonic laughter, and then Gaara's screams. Naruto would have fallen down and started hyperventilating, chocking back his sobs. But then he shook his head and kept the memory of his graduation in mind as he shot a nasty look of bravery at the blurred outline of the dementor.
He raised his wand and shouted with strength, "Expecto patronum! EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
The sounds of Gaara's screams died out and faded, like a badly tuned radio - softer and softer – then he saw the dementor – it halted. And then, as if a magical floodgate had burst open, out from his wand, a blinding silvery white light surged. It was like a circular shield that spread outward and filled the chamber with an ethereal light. Naruto felt his senses returning and he beamed, raising his wand even higher. He thought of Iruka's smile and the man returning his hugs with his own affection. But soon Naruto felt as if his legs were made of water and stumbled for a moment. It felt as if it took all his energy to maintain his Patronus, but his memory and his determination to succeed kept him going.
Harry watched with a delighted smile as Naruto's Patronus took the form of a shield, "Fantastic," the fake dementor was powerless to penetrate it, bouncing off from the surface of the shield, which only made the shield burst with light.
Naruto beamed as he concentrated on that memory, fueling the Patronus. But as he remembered pouncing onto Iruka and seeing his smile, it faltered as he remembered what Jiraiya had said earlier. He thought about how he would never know who his father was if they failed their mission and the Sandaime died. Naruto couldn't help it as his imagination went on a tangent; he imagined Sarutobi's lifeless corpse, Danzo rising to power, Konoha turned into a massive metal fortress, releasing toxic smoke into the air as the forests died, and the lifeless faces of his friends and comrades, turned into soulless soldiers of the ROOT.
His memory lost, the Patronus died out and Naruto collapsed in exhaustion. The dementor was released and glided forward toward the defenseless wizard.
"Stop," he muttered and then screamed, "STOP IT! MAKE IT STOP!"
A loud snap broke out like a firework and the dementor vanished. The candles in the room lit up and the trunk vanished as well. The crystal chandeliers illuminated the chamber and Harry rushed to Naruto's side. The older wizard tapped Naruto's face when he seemed to stare into space.
"Naruto," he called, "Are you alright?!"
The blonde wizard nodded and said, "I've had enough… for tonight. Please."
"Well said," the older wizard nodded and carried Naruto back to his office, "C'mon now, let's sit down and have a hot chocolate. It'll help."
The hot chocolate wasn't real but it tasted real enough for them. Naruto drank his without question and, much to his surprise, he felt a lot better. Harry wiped sweat from Naruto's face with a cloth, as well as tears. The older wizard made no mention of it as the color returned to Naruto's face with each hot gulp.
"You did excellent, Naruto," the wizard praised, causing Naruto to raise his head and look at him, "Your Patronus didn't take the form of an animal, but shield forms are difficult to maintain. You did well!"
More color rose in Naruto's face than he intended as he smiled and returned to his hot chocolate.
"You've achieved a great deal in only your first lesson, Naruto," the older wizard added, "If the fake dementor weren't here tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if your Patronus turned out more solid."
Naruto replied with a smile, "We'll see. I need to keep training."
Harry ruffled his blonde hair and distracted Naruto from his thoughts when his Patronus failed. It was like Jiraiya had told him; he couldn't let himself become too distracted and was determined to work hard on both his magic and the new technique with the water balloon.
The next morning, Jiraiya woke up earlier than usual. He felt miserable, clearly hungover as he walked slowly out of his bedroom to find some medicine to lessen his pain. When he closed the door behind him, dressed in a blue robes that looked an awful lot like pajamas, he was surprised and irritated when he heard Naruto's voice call out to him.
"At last, his majesty awakes," he cheered with sarcasm as he stood about the kitchen in his own pajamas, cooking breakfast, "So, how hungover are we today, sir?"
The Sannin moaned and almost wanted to flip the teen off as he sat down at the table, "Ugh…"
"Bad?" he asked.
Jiraiya admitted as he shifted in his seat, not picking up at the extraordinary aroma filling the entire suite, "It doesn't get easier with age…"
"I looked up a number of hangover remedies after that run-in with the Akatsuki," the blonde wizard mentioned as he gathered a plate full of various foods, "You need a greasy breakfast to help settle down your stomach. And thankfully, I'm an expert at that."
"Greasy?" the old man asked with a genuine smile, "Sounds like something I can sink my teeth into!"
Naruto presented him with a plate full to the brim with a classic English breakfast. The blonde rookie took some money from Jiraiya's belongings and used it to make a few cheap purchases at the market across the street. Naruto had returned and cooked a good deal of good food, though Jiraiya didn't seem enthusiastic when he looked at his plate.
"What is this?" he asked with doubt and slight disgust.
"It's a classic breakfast; we got eggs, a few fried tomatoes, toast with butter, sausages, baked beans, and nice crispy bacon," he added and then he beamed, "Bon appétit!"
Jiraiya still had doubts and looked at Naruto with a flat look, "Is this editable?"
"Just eat it," the blonde teen rolled his eyes, "You'll feel better."
Naruto turned around and collected his own share of the little feast he prepared. Jiraiya took caution and poked at his food with a fork a few times. It took him half a minute to find the courage to take that first bite of the eggs. But when he did, the Sannin's went wide as color rushed into his face and he beamed.
"Mmmmm," he hummed, "Not bad! Heh!"
Naruto smiled at his teacher when he watched the older shinobi start to feast on his bacon and the small fried tomatoes. It was like he was a member of the Akimichi clan in the way he practically inhaled his meal.
"This is really good, actually," he said with a mouthful of toast and sausage, "When'd you learn how to cook?!"
"I've had some practice," smiled Naruto, before he asked, "Feeling better?"
"Loads better," he smiled as the Sannin felt his stomach feel better faster than it took his standard remedies.
Naruto finished off his own share of the meal and treated himself to a cup of tea with milk. But while he did so with the tea, Jiraiya took the medicine as an extra precaution and then helped himself to several more helpings for bacon, eggs, toast, and tomatoes. When Naruto was done, he cleaned up the plates and giggled as Jiraiya looked like he was stuffed like a roast chicken. His belly was round and bloated outward as he rubbed his hands over it and sighed.
"Mmmmm," he moaned and then said with immense satisfaction, "Now that was a good breakfast!"
Naruto nodded and smiled, "Good to hear!"
The two of them did well to prepare for the rest of the day. Though it took Jiraiya a little bit of time to roll off his seat, shower, and dress into his usual attire. Though in recognition of the cold weather outside, the Sannin wore appropriate shinobi boots, as did Naruto. Both shinobi noticed the frost on the windows, in the trees, and on the buildings still cast beneath the shadow of the cliffs surrounding them. By the time both of them were prepared and dressed for the weather, Jiraiya's belly didn't look so overstuffed. As Naruto slid on his boots, the Sannin approached and towered over him while he waited.
"So, I forgot, did you make any progress with the first stage, kid?" he asked.
Naruto shook his head, "Not much. But I'll figure it out. I'm not giving up yet."
"Good to hear," he smiled and followed Naruto out the door and parted ways, "See you later this afternoon! I'll try and see if anyone here has seen our Legendary Sucker around!"
The blonde rookie nodded and turned the opposite direction. As he ran down the street, towards the forest, the otherwise festive and vibrant booths and restaurants down the street were closed and almost no one was around. Not even the usual music could be heard, set aside a familiar holiday tune or two, playing from a radio somewhere nearby. Naruto was confused and wondered where in the world the festival and most of the people had gone. As he slowed down to a walk and looked around, he noticed some of the doors and windows had been boarded up, locked tight, as if to kept someone or something from getting inside. The town in the crater seemed more like a ghost town, until the blonde shinobi noticed a few children run passed him, running into the arms of their worried parents.
One child cried, "Momma!"
"C'mon, sweetheart! A warning has been issued this morning," he overheard a mother, "Stay inside! Hurry now!"
"What is it?!" another small child asked their father, "Is there a monster coming? Is it a storm?! What?!"
"Get inside," another man ordered their son, "C'mon! Inside now!"
Naruto found the whole scene odd. He had no idea what the citizens were so concerned about, but assumed it was a storm warning or maybe a gang of thugs was coming to town. The blonde rookie figured it would be better he focus on his training. If a storm were coming, he could Apparate back to town and use the wind to cover the inevitable crack. If it were a gang of thugs, he wasn't worried at all so long as he had his weapons or his wand.
With a shrug, Naruto tugged the collar of his coat higher up his neck and ran into the forest.
As Jiraiya searched the closest bar he could find, he noticed there wasn't a lot of life in the place. The only men and women he found were vagrants, people who were determined to solve their problems by drowning themselves in alcohol. It was a pretty depressing sight to behold. Jiraiya certainly didn't expect to see what was laid out before him. What's more, the Sannin noticed the number of wooden planks stacked behind the bar, along with a large collection of steel nails and a big hammer. It looked like the mustached bartender was going to lock himself in with the vagrants still inside.
The Sannin walked up to the bar, noticing the man seemed a little on edge and asked, "What's going on here, barkeep? It looks like you're about ready for the apocalypse…"
"It may as well be," remarked the strangely alarmed bartender, "A warning was issued this morning! Everyone's either running scared or barricading themselves inside wherever they can until it's over!"
"What warning?" asked Jiraiya, "What's everyone so afraid of all the sudden? Is there a blizzard coming or something?"
"I wish," the bartender said as he forced a sarcastic laugh, "You better get somewhere safe until it's over too, sir! A whole bunch of those terrible icy monsters are coming in from the mountains in the north! They'll be here soon!"
"Icy monsters?!" the Sannin turned a bit pale while his face filled with undeniable fear as he stammered, "You don't mean the-"
The bartender cut him off, shaking his head as he said with a more hardened look, "I'm afraid so. I'm letting these bums stay here a while until those freaks leave town. These guys aren't so bad."
Jiraiya turned his head around fast, noticing the skies outside the windows steadily growing darker.
He turned back around to the bartender and the mustached man warned the Sannin, "You better grab your loved ones and wait somewhere else that's safe if you're not a vagrant!"
Jiraiya almost threw the entire bar over when he turned around and dashed out the door in a hurried panic. The Sannin slid down the road and skid to a halt after his exit, turning his head wildly up and down the street. The tall white-haired shinobi ran as fast as he could, resembling a white and red blur while he moved towards the general direction where he and Naruto started training.
Frightened to death for the life of his student, Jiraiya shouted as he ran down the road towards the woods, "NARUTO!"
Back in the forest, Naruto was at work with another balloon. He managed to circulate the water inside until the balloon resembled a disk. Jiraiya was certainly correct about the direction he used to manipulate the water. Just as Naruto was about close to stretching the balloon until it burst, he felt the strain get to him and ceased his concentration. The balloon returned to it's natural round shape and almost made it bounce out of his hand before he caught it again in time.
"Dah," he grunted, "Almost got it! I'm so close!"
He then heard Harry comment on his progress, 'It doesn't look right. When Jiraiya did it before, the balloon simply burst, it didn't stretch and get extremely flat before it blew up. Didn't you notice there were all sorts of bumps all over the surface before it burst? What does that tell you?'
Naruto gave it a thought and did recall the details Harry mentioned.
'I noticed that too. But Ero-Sennin told me to make it swirl in one direction. Shouldn't I work on that until it bursts? Maybe it will burst if my chakra flows faster and the water inside responds faster as well, like an electric buzz saw!'
'Maybe, but I don't think that's it. Let's give it one more go before we brainstorm.'
'Alright," he thought as he prepared the balloon in his hand, 'Here we go!'
{{Apparition On The Train by John Williams}}
Naruto was about to swirl the contents of the water balloon again. But then he stopped and took a moment to look over his shoulder. The sounds of the forest became slightly muted and a strange wind breezed through the trees, like a haunting whisper. Naruto then noticed the clouds in the skies grew darker, as if a blizzard were about to hit but he couldn't hear wind of the cold front coming. A moment later, the rookie felt his scar burn and his hand reached for his forehead. And then that familiar, paranoid feeling, nagging him to leave, run until he felt safe started pestering him. The blonde shinobi looked around and drew his wand while he steadily stood in the center of the clearing. Naruto suspected a ROOT ANBU had found him, or one of Orochimaru's Oto-nin, or even a member of the Akatsuki. But if that were true, Harry would have sensed it coming and warned him.
"Harry? What is that?" he asked.
The older wizard stammered as he tried to concentrate, 'I… I don't know… But… It can't be…'
Then, Naruto froze and couldn't move as an intense cold swept over him. His breath caught in his chest as the cold went deeper than his skin. The cold invaded his chest and even reached his heart. He felt like he was drowning in the cold and his vision clouded up as if the clearing were filled with a thick, white fog. The sensation felt hauntingly familiar and Naruto turned around sharply when he heard something drawing a long, hoarse, rattling breath.
There, silhouetted among the trees, hovered a tall, cloaked figure slowly descending from the dying leaves. It's face remained hidden beneath a hood. Naruto looked down and saw the figure stretch out its arms, revealing skeletal hands, glistening, gray, slimy, scabbed, like something dead and rotting.
It was a dementor.
Naruto stammered and shook when his head became clouded with terrible, horribly vivid sounds from his most horrific memories.
The rookie staggered as he tried to deny what he saw was real, 'Please tell me you're just testing me on the Patronus Charm again, Nii-san…'
'Get out of there! NARUTO! RUN! NOW! GET OUT OF HERE!' he heard Harry screaming inside his head.
Naruto tried to move and blink the fog out of his eyes, but was soon bombarded by the same haunting memories that paralyzed him during his first anti-dementor lesson. He heard the sound of blood being splattered, knives stabbing flesh, Gaara's ghastly demonic screams as the Shukaku, the boom of explosions, and another roaring beast, but it was not the Shukaku. It was then followed by the pleading screams of terrified people and a high-pitched laughter.
What Harry simulated in the mindscape wasn't much compared to the presence of a real dementor. This was too much. The towering hooded figure glided smoothly toward him, hovering over the ground, no feet and no visible face as it sucked up the world around him. Stumbling backward, Naruto remembered he still had a wand in his hand. He tried his best to set aside the sounds of the worst horrors and sorrows of his life and thought about his graduation. Iruka's warm smile from that special memory burst clearly into his mind and he breathed.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A silvery white wisp of vapor shot from his wand and the dementor slowed. The creature backed off and Naruto's vision cleared up enough to make out the now darkened environment. But it wasn't enough, the spell hadn't worked properly and panic was fogging his brain when the wisp died out. But it was enough for him to make a break for it.
Naruto managed a smile and turned toward the town. But soon stopped and felt like all the happiness in the world were gone when he encountered at least twenty more dementors blocking his path.
To Be Continued…
I know! I'M SO EVIL! MUWAHAHAHAHA! Dementors exist in the Naruto world!
Ah, but I won't leave you guys hanging for another three months. I'll get right back to writing the next chapter just as soon as I can. I can't say exactly how long it will be until then, but I'll try my best to get as much done as I can. I do plan on giving Iruka and Anko a quick cameo sometime, just to see how they're doing. But I think I'll save that chapter for Christmas ;D
Azeroth44 and I will be back as soon as we can with our usual banter and a new chapter with the conclusion of Naruto's confrontation with the dementors!
^_^ Laters! ^_^