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Chapter Text

Chapter 1: The Meeting

A little boy of only seven years old with sunny blonde hair, deep cerulean blue eyes, and three strange whisker like birthmarks on each of his cheeks was running through the darkened forest as fast as he could. Behind him he could hear the shouts of the villagers fading into the distance as they continued their relentless search for him.

It had been happening as long as he could remember. The villagers were always beating him, yelling at him, denying him access into stores and restaurants or grossly overcharging him if they did let him in and abusing him in any other ways they could think up. Eventually he had learned to stay out of their hate filled sight, only coming out of his small, rundown little apartment when he had no choice. It was the only peace he ever received.

However, there was one day of the year that no matter where he hid the villagers would come looking for him, and if they found him, they would give him the worst beating of the entire year. On several of these occasions he had almost been killed, surviving only due to the timely arrival of a strange group of people wearing porcelain animal masks that he had heard some of the villagers call, ANBU. There had been one of them in particular that had saved the boy on many occasions, but he didn’t know anything about him other than the fact he wore a dog mask and had weird, silver hair.

So, who was this little blonde boy, and what was this terrible day that now had him running for his life through the forest in the dead of night? The young boy’s name was Uzumaki Naruto, and today was October 10th, his birthday.

After seven years of being neglected and abused, Naruto had finally decided he had had enough. He wanted, no, needed to get out of the village as fast as he could. He had watched the guards at the gate carefully and used the skills he had obtained from years of avoiding being seen to slip past them at the first opportunity. Since none of the villagers had realized his escape, they had continued their search in the village, unaware that their prey was moving further out of their reach with every second.

Naruto ran with everything he had, never slowing down, never looking back, leaving the hidden Shinobi village of Konoha further behind him with every step. As he ran thoughts of an old man in large red and white hat, with a pipe in his mouth and a gentle smile on his lips came to his mind. The Hokage of Konoha.

The old man had always been kind to him, visiting the poor boy on several occasions. He would always smile and joke with Naruto, even taking the boy to his favorite place in the world, Icharaku’s Ramen Stand. He was the only one in the world that Naruto could have ever considered family, and he was leaving him behind with the rest of the village.

‘ I’m sorry, Ojii-san, but I can’t take it anymore. ’ The boy mentally apologized as tears welled up in his eyes. ‘ I promise, I’ll get strong, and one day I’ll come back to see you again. I won’t give up my dream to become the Hokage and gain everyone’s respect, but I need to get away for now. ’

Naruto had no idea what direction he had been going or for how long he had been running when his legs and lungs could no longer handle the strain he was putting them through. His legs buckled beneath him and he fell headlong into the forest floor, scattering fallen leaves and dirt with his impact.

As he lay panting on the ground, he could feel his eyes slowly starting to force their way shut as the exhaustion from his long exertion began taking its toll on him.

“I just…need to…rest for a…minute.” He panted as his eyes closed and he was pulled into a deep slumber. The last thing his tired mind registering being the sound of crunching leaves.

X   X   X   X   X

The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi, stood in his office in front of a large window overlooking Konoha. He could see the festival very easily from where he was. He could honestly say that he didn’t like it either. The festival was held once a year in commemoration of a great hero of the village, the Yondaime Hokage, who had died saving the village from a terrible menace known as The Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi was a giant nine tailed fox that wrought destruction and chaos wherever it went. Its tails were said to level mountains and cause tsunamis with a single sweep. It was such a terrible menace that it had become thought of as a natural disaster, something that could only be survived through, never prevented.

On this day, October 10th, exactly seven years ago, the fox had attacked Konoha. Nobody knows its reason for doing so, or if it even had a reason, but the ninja of Konoha had risen up and fought the great beast instead of hiding in fear. The battle had raged for hours on end and a great many lives were lost. Until the Yondaime gave his own life in exchange for sealing the Kyuubi’s soul into a newborn baby, thus stopping the fox’s reign of fear and destruction.

The child, that had been forced to carry the heavy burden of being the Kyuubi’s jailor, was none other than Uzumaki Naruto.

It had been the Yondaime’s dying wish that Naruto be seen as a hero for the burden he now bore, but as soon as Sarutobi announced to the villagers what had happened they started rioting. Their fear of the creatures return and the pain of their recent losses leading to their demanding desire that the blond baby be executed. In the end, Sarutobi had been forced to call in his ANBU to stop the riot and detain some of the more violent villagers. It was then that he passed a law that nobody was to ever speak of that day’s events or Naruto’s burden to any of the younger generations. Breaking this law would be considered a capital offence punishable by death. It was the old man’s hope that by doing so, at the very least Naruto would be able to find a place among the youth of the village and have something of a normal life.

Unfortunately, Sarutobi’s hopes were dashed as the years passed. The adults of the village scorned and abused Naruto, and that hateful attitude had been passed to their children. Naruto was treated as a plague and made an outcast by everyone, young and old alike. The boy never had a friend, and lived alone in a pathetic little apartment that Sarutobi had, through intimidation and more than a few threats, managed to get him after he had been found living on the streets because the orphanage had kicked him out.

Now the old man waited impatiently for the ANBU he had dispatched to bring Naruto to the office for protection. He knew that the beatings were the worst on this day. People remembered the pain of losing loved ones in that terrible battle and took their misguided anger out on the innocent boy. Sarutobi had had enough of it and had vowed that day to insure that Naruto would not have to suffer this year as he had the last six. It was the least he could do for the poor boy.

Two chakra signatures arrived behind him, and Sarutobi gave a sigh of relief when he recognized them as the ones he had sent to retrieve Naruto. He turned around with his kindly smile in place, only to have that smile drop when he saw that the boy was not with the two kneeling ANBU.

“What happened? Where is Naruto?” He demanded, afraid that something may have already happened to the boy.

“We went to his apartment to get him as you ordered, Hokage-sama, but he was not there.” The ANBU in front said. He wore a dog mask and had a head of gravity defying silver hair. Sarutobi had assigned this particular ANBU to watch over Naruto on many occasions since he was one of the few who had no hatred for the boy. “However, when we searched his apartment for signs of struggle, we found this on the kitchen table.” The silver haired man held out a dirty piece of paper to the Hokage.

Sarutobi instantly recognized the untidy scrawl of Naruto’s handwriting, and was certain he already knew what it said even as he began reading.

Dear Ojii-san,

I’m really sorry about this, but I really had to leave. I didn’t want to leave you behind since you are the only one who has ever been nice to me, but I promise I’ll see you again. I’ll get stronger and come back so that I can be the Hokage, just like I told you I would. I hope you aren’t mad at me for doing this, but I just had to get away from the village and all the mean looks and beatings. Take care of yourself, Ojii-san, and know that you are really the only person I’ll miss while I’m gone. Well maybe I’ll miss that dog guy too, but we never talk so I probably won’t miss him that much.

Bye Ojii-san,

Naruto

P.S. When I come back, will you buy me some ramen?

Despite the sadness and worry the old man felt from reading the letter, he couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at Naruto’s last comment. Trust that boy to think of ramen even as he prepared to leave the village.

Sarutobi’s thoughts grew more serious then. By all accounts, he should send his ANBU to track the boy down and bring him back to the village as soon as possible, but the more he thought about it the more like a bad idea it sounded. Naruto had left the village because he could no longer stand the treatment that the villagers put him through, and the old man really couldn’t blame him for that. If he were honest with himself, he would have to admit that getting out of the village was probably the best thing for him. To bring him back now could devastate the boy who was only looking for some sort of relief from the nightmare that was his life. Sarutobi knew that he needed to let Naruto have this, but that didn’t make him worry any less for the boy’s safety.

Sarutobi raised his eyes from the letter to the two ANBU who were still kneeling in front of him and an idea quickly formed. “Captain,” He said to the dog masked man. “Your subordinate is dismissed, but I would like to discuss something with you before you go.”

The dog masked man turned to look at his companion, who nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Looking back at the Hokage he spoke. “What do you need, Hokage-sama?”

“I think you already know what I am going to ask of you, Kakashi.” Sarutobi said, getting straight to the point.

The man nodded, “You want me to find Naruto and make sure he is safe, but not bring him back. Is that right, Hokage-sama?”

“Yes, as much as it pains me to admit, it would be good for Naruto to have his chance to get away from the scorn of the village for a while. However, I cannot let him just go without making sure he is taken care of. That’s why your mission will be to find Naruto and follow him until you have determined he will be safe. Is that understood?”

“Hai, Hokage-sama.” Kakashi bowed and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

With a heavy sigh, Sarutobi turned back to the window he had been staring out before, his eyes looking over the rooftops to the mountains beyond them as if hoping to catch sight of the blond boy.

‘ I have failed you horribly thus far, Naruto. I only hope that this decision will be the right one .’

X   X   X   X   X

He was warm. That was the first thing that came to Naruto’s mind as he slowly came out of his blissful slumber. He had expected to wake up cold and shivering having fallen asleep on the forest floor, but he was undeniably warm. He also noticed that his head was resting on something soft. How that came to be Naruto had no idea, but he knew there was only one way to find out.

Slowly he opened his eyes and found himself on his back, staring at the starry night sky. He couldn’t have been asleep that long if it was still night out. Turning his head he found the source of his comfortable warmth was a happily dancing fire about two meters away from him and a quick look down told him that his head had been resting on his own rolled up jacket.

“So, you’re finally awake, eh?”

Naruto jumped at least a foot into the air and clutched his chest before turning to the owner of the voice that had just scared the hell out of him.

Walking in from the shadows of the trees was a young man that looked like he couldn’t be older than twenty, wearing nothing but black. His torso was covered with a black, Gi like top that disappeared into his black shinobi pants and wore a pair of black boots that the legs of his pants were tucked into. Strangely enough, despite the fact it was the middle of the night, he also wore a pair of dark black half-framed sunglasses that completely hid his eyes from view. While looking at his face, Naruto also caught sight of a black wrapped sword hilt sticking out over the man’s right shoulder. Once the stranger got closer the fire light better revealed his features and Naruto saw that his arms and the visible portion of his chest had several large scars on them that could only signify a hard, battle filled life.

Of all the things that Naruto could have been impressed with though, it was the stranger’s hair that caught his interest the most. It was short and seemed to defy gravity somewhat without the spike appearance Naruto’s had, but what made it interesting to the boy was that it was a sort of dark, dirty-blond color that Naruto had never seen. That wasn’t to say that he had never met another blond before, it was just that he had never seen this particular shade. He had seen that one girl playing with her friends at the park. She had a kind of platinum colored blonde. Then there was that man that Naruto was fairly sure was her father since he always picked her up from the park, but his was just a bit darker shade of blond.

“You hungry, kid?” The stranger asked as he held up four fish that were attached on a line of ninja wire.

Naruto didn’t get to answer because at that moment his stomach decided to let off a loud growl. Naruto blushed a little in embarrassment when the young man laughed. “I guess I’ll take that as a yes, but you’ll have to wait until they cook first.” He took out four sticks he had been carrying with him and proceeded to impale each fish on one before propping the sticks in the dirt so the fish could be cooked by the heat of the fire.

“So, kid, you want to tell me what you were doing sleeping on the ground, in the middle of the forest, all alone? The last time I checked that wasn’t the smartest thing for a kid your age to be doing.” The stranger asked as he sat cross legged on the ground behind the fish.

Naruto shifted uneasily at the older boy’s question and looked down. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the stranger seeing as he had not shown any sort of malice and was already taking care of him. It was just that he didn’t want to go back to the village yet, and if he told him, the older male might feel obligated to take him back.

“Well I suppose if you don’t trust me you don’t have to tell me. I know I’m not the safest looking person around.” The young man said, making Naruto snap his head back up. Naruto was a little surprised to see a good natured smile on the teen’s face instead of the disappointed frown he had been expecting.

Shaking his head, Naruto spoke for the first time that evening. “It’s not that I don’t think I can trust you. It’s just that I don’t want to go back to where I came from yet. If I don’t tell you, then you have no reason to take me back.”

“Can’t say I don’t like the logic, but what makes you so sure I’d try to?” The stranger said as he turned the fish to keep them cooking evenly. Taking in Naruto’s surprised expression he simply shrugged. “You left for your own reasons, right? I may not know what those reasons are, but I wouldn’t take you back to a place that you obviously want to get away from. I took off to challenge the world myself when I wasn’t much older than you so it’d be kind of hypocritical of me to tell you you’re wrong in doing it too. Don’t you think?”

Naruto wasn’t sure if he was more relieved that the older boy wasn’t planning to force him to go back, or surprised that he had just said that he also had left his home a long time ago. “Why did you leave?” Naruto asked.

“Ah, ah.” The older boy said with a wag of his finger. “I made the fire and caught the fish, so it’s only fair that you tell the first story. Before that though, we need to know what to call each other, right? So, what’s your name kid?”

Naruto looked a little sheepish since he hadn’t realized that he didn’t even know the name of the person who had helped him, but answered energetically. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto, seven years old, and the future Hokage of Konoha-crap!” He slapped his hand over his mouth. He definitely hadn’t meant to add that last part, but old habits were hard to break.

The stranger smiled slightly at Naruto’s proud declaration. “I guess that saves me the time of asking where you came from.” Naruto removed his hand from his mouth and rubbed his head sheepishly as the other boy continued. “Well, Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage. My name is Jagaa. Just Jagaa. I’m also seventeen years old, and,” the young man took on a noble pose and declared proudly. “The most badass mother fucker you’ll ever meet!”

Naruto stared at the teen in silence. Not sure how to process that last part.

“Hmm, tough crowd.” Jagaa muttered.

The younger blond decided the best thing to do would be to just ignore the comment and opted to instead ask a question that had entered his mind during Jagaa’s introduction. “So, why don’t you have a clan name? Did something happen?”

Jagaa looked down and shook his head slightly, and Naruto could have sworn he saw a sad smile pass his lips. “That’s a story for another day, kid.” When Jagaa looked back up all traces of the sadness that Naruto thought he had seen was gone. “Speaking of stories, why don’t you tell me yours over a roasted fish?” Jagaa plucked one of the sticks out of the ground and handed the freshly cooked food to the eager boy. Naruto took it gratefully and quickly took a large bite, only to immediately start choking on a bone.

“Take it slow, kid.” Jagaa said as patted Naruto on the back. ”Don’t make me have wasted my time making the fire because you went and died choking on a fish bone.”

Naruto laughed painfully as the bone was dislodged from his throat and, when he took his next bite, was very careful to be mindful of the dangerous little things.

“So, going off your self-introduction, you’re from Konoha, right?” Naruto nodded at Jagaa’s question. “So why did you leave? It seems like it would make it a little hard to accomplish your goal doesn’t it?” Jagaa was observing the boy carefully as he asked his question, and was a little worried when he noticed the boy’s happy eyes dim as a painful sadness filled them.

“I...I just…I had to get away from it…If only for a while.” Naruto said sadly. Jagaa made no comment as he waited for the boy to continue. Naruto saw Jagaa’s patient silence and took a little comfort in it. The older boy was letting him explain at his own pace. Taking a deep breath, Naruto spoke again. “All my life, the villagers have glared at me, called me names, even…beat me. They were always calling me things like Monster or Freak, and they wouldn’t let their kids play with me so I never had any friends. I wasn’t allowed into most stores or food places, and would sometimes throw rocks at me, or spit on me as I walked by. I have been beaten more times than I can remember, and sometimes I think I might have died if those masked guy’s hadn’t saved me.” As Naruto finished he hugged himself to his knees and stared into the fire. “I just needed to get away.” He whispered.

“…I can see why.” Jagaa said in a low tone as he too watched the dancing flames. “What I don’t understand though, is why you want to be the Hokage of a place like that. If I understand it right, a Kage is supposed to protect the people of his village even if it costs him his life. Why would you want to do that for a village that has caused you so much pain?”

“To show them they were wrong!” Naruto’s answer compelled Jagaa to turn back to the boy, and he was amazed to find a fierce determination shining in his eyes. “I’ll show them that I’m not worthless, that I’m not some sort of monster! I’ll become the strongest in the entire village and make them all respect me!” Naruto looked at Jagaa with unwavering resolve. After a few moments of staring at each other Jagaa started chuckling softly, earning him a confused stare from Naruto.

“That’s one hell of a goal you got there, kid. What will you do if it doesn’t work though? What if, even after you become the Hokage, they still don’t respect you? Will you still be able to protect them?” Even though Naruto couldn’t see Jagaa’s eyes, he could almost feel the intensity of his gaze through them.

Naruto met that gaze with his own, his determination never wavering. “I will! Even if they still hate me, I’ll keep trying! No matter how long it takes, I’ll keep trying and one day I’ll change their minds!”

Jagaa held Naruto’s gaze for a moment before smiling. “Good answer, but I think you still have a long way to go before you get there. So, would you like some help?” Naruto looked incredulously at Jagaa who never lost his smile.

“If you want, you’re welcome to travel with me.” Jagaa said to the shell shocked boy. “I’ll teach you what I can as we go and may even be able to find some people who would be willing to teach you what I can’t. You’ll also be able to see the world and learn about the different cultures and ideals of the other nations. A useful thing to know as a Hokage, don’t you think? Of course when you feel you’re ready to go home, I’ll take you back to Konoha. It would be hard for you to become the Hokage otherwise, right?” Jagaa was trying to gauge the boy’s reaction to his offer, but Naruto was staring into space in a dumbstruck gaze. “Uh, Kid? Naruto?”

The next thing Jagaa knew he was tackled by a mass of sunny-blond hair that started hugging him tightly and screaming “Thank You” repeatedly at the top of his lungs. Jagaa’s surprised expression changed and a soft, barely visible smile came to his lips. “No problem, kid, but if you’re going to be traveling with me, you need to get some sleep. It’s really late already and I like to start moving early so-” Jagaa didn’t get to finish as Naruto launched off him and resumed his place that he had woken up in. With one more yell of thanks he closed his eyes and seemed to be trying to force himself to sleep.

Jagaa laughed silently to himself at the boy’s antics, while at the same time wondering just what he may have gotten himself into.

X   X   X   X   X

The scarred man sat silently as the fire turned to glowing red embers and listened to the rather loud snoring coming from the boy across from him. For someone who seemed to be bursting with energy as he tackled Jagaa, Naruto sure had fallen asleep in record time. Jagaa couldn’t hold back the low chuckle that came as he decided that his life was probably about to get far more interesting than he had ever thought possible.

Jagaa’s thoughts then darkened as he remembered just what the kid had told him. It had taken all the will power he had not to show how angry the village’s treatment of Naruto had made him. Hell, he had only talked to him for around twenty minutes and he could already tell that the boy was practically the incarnation of kindness. For anyone to be able to willingly harm a boy like him…

Jagaa shook his head to clear away the path his thoughts were leading him down. He had already promised that he would help the boy achieve his dream. That meant that he would have to one day take him back to the village, no matter how much he felt that a village like that didn’t deserve someone like Naruto in it. He decided he would think more on the matter later. Right now he had something to take care of.

With another quick examination to make sure Naruto was still asleep, Jagaa stood up from his spot on the ground and walked into the darkened forest. Once he was about one hundred meters from camp he spoke to the surrounding trees. “You know, it’s not polite to spy on people. So how about you quit hiding and show yourself?”

A swirl of leaves erupted about twenty feet in front of him before dying away to reveal a man with gravity defying hair and wearing a porcelain dog mask.

“So, you knew I was there all along, huh?” Kakashi said in a partially congratulatory tone.

“Don’t sound so impressed. It might be flattering if you had actually been trying to hide, but as it stands it’s somewhat insulting.” Jagaa said and crossed his scarred arms.

“Ah, sorry about that. I didn’t realize you were good at sensing chakra.” Kakashi apologized and scratched the back of his head.

“Why don’t you cut the bullshit and tell me why you’re here.” Jagaa said in a no nonsense tone. “I’ll warn you now that if you’re here to take Naruto back to Konoha, I’ll be inclined to stop you. If even half of what that kid said is true then that village is the last place he should be.”

Kakashi raised his hands in a placating manner. “I agree, as does the Hokage.” Kakashi’s statement caused Jagaa to raise an eyebrow over his glasses.

“If that’s the case, then why are you here?”

“The Hokage wanted to make sure that Naruto was safe. So he sent me to watch over him and protect him from the shadows until I deemed him such. Like someone taking him in, for example.” He tilted his head, and Jagaa was sure that the man was smiling beneath his dog mask.

“Well, since you already heard my conversation with the kid, which ended about an hour ago by the way, why are you still here?”

Kakashi casually put his hands in his pockets while still facing Jagaa. “Saying you’ll protect someone, and actually meaning to do it, are two different things.” He said in a much more serious tone than he had been using.

“I see.” Jagaa said with his arms still crossed in front of him. “So you mean to find out if I’m a man of my word?”

“Yep.” Kakashi answered with a carefree tone. The wind blew through the forest carrying leaves and dust as the two stood facing each other.

In a flash of movement and ring of steel, the space between the two closed, and Kakashi was a bit surprised to find a three foot Ninjato at the side of his neck, even as he held a kunai to Jagaa’s chest. The two stood in that position for a while longer before simultaneously withdrawing their weapons and taking a step back from each other.

“Hatake Kakashi, nice to meet you.” Kakashi introduced himself with a hidden smile.

“Jagaa, but you already knew that.” Jagaa replied, lowering his blade to his side.

“Hmm,” Kakashi smiled. “It looks like you weren’t lying after all. So I’ll just be going now.” Kakashi turned to leave but stopped as he remembered something. “By the way, I noticed you seem to be a loner, but if Naruto’s dream is to become the Hokage he is going to need to understand the value of teamwork.”

“Don’t worry about that. I may like to fight alone, but I know that everyone needs help sometimes. Hell, I would probably have been killed already if I didn’t.” Jagaa did his own turn and started walking back to where Naruto was but stopped and looked over his shoulder after a few steps. “You know, I have to wonder what is wrong with your villagers if they can willingly attack someone like Naruto. The boy practically radiates kindness and caring. Would you like to explain why he has been the target of such hate all his life?”

“Unfortunately I can’t. It’s an ‘S’ class secret punishable by death to reveal it without the Hokage’s permission. Which I don’t have. If you want to know, you will have to ask the Hokage directly. I can tell you that it was in no way Naruto’s fault…or his choice.”

“I wouldn’t have believed you if you had said otherwise. The kid’s just too innocent to have willingly done something to make people hate him.” Jagaa said, his tone firm.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. “I’m sure you’ll be told all about it once you return to Konoha. Until then, please take care of Naruto.” The other man nodded silently to which Kakashi nodded in response and leaves began to circle around him. “Oh, and when you get back, I’d very much like to spar with you again.” His friendly tone was carried on the wind as the man disappeared.

Jagaa looked at the spot Kakashi had been standing for a moment, and then slowly raised his blade in front of him where he silently examined it before a small smile came to his lips. “…interesting.” Sliding his blade back into its sheath, the man turned and walked back toward the fire and his new traveling companion.

X   X   X   X   X

Sarutobi Hiruzen could only stare incredulously at the most skilled Jounin under his command as the man finished lazily giving his report. “And you just left him!? With a man you had only spoken to for five minutes!?”

“Hai, Hokage-sama.” Kakashi said easily.

The aged Hokage took several calming breaths as he fought his desire to jump over his own desk and strangle the silver haired man. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done, Kakashi? You’ve left a boy, who has the most powerful bijuu in existence locked inside him, with a man, another shinobi , who’s allegiance and motives you don’t even know. What if he turns Naruto against Konoha? Or worse. Into a living weapon?”

“He won’t.” Kakashi replied, his voice losing its lazy quality and becoming more serious. Almost defiant.

Sarutobi locked his eyes with Kakashi’s single, visible eye. “And how can you be sure?”

“Because we crossed blades.”

The Hokage was visibly taken aback by the statement. “You could read his heart? Someone you had only just met?”

Kakashi shook his head. “Not fully. No. However, when our blades crossed in that single instant, it was as if…I were crossing blades with a best friend. I felt something like…a familiarity. I just knew that he wasn’t lying. That he was going to protect Naruto.” Kakashi paused, his eye going distant. “It was as if my soul itself were telling me that he was a person I could trust.”

Sarutobi was silent for some time, his thoughts wrapping around what he had just been told. Finally, he spoke in a low, serious voice. “Do you understand what could happen if you’re wrong, Kakashi?”

The Jounin stared back at his leader, his tone laced with firm conviction. “I’m not wrong.”

Silence once again filled the air, but it did not last long as the Sandaime leaned back in his chair, lowering his head in acceptance. “Very well. You’re dismissed, Kakashi.” The silver haired man saluted silently and vanished in a swirl of leaves. With a sigh, the old man stood, looking out the widow and over the lit village. He knew that he shouldn’t be allowing this. He knew he should be sending out an ANBU squad to get Naruto away from the unknown man, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He wanted to believe. No. He needed to believe in the feeling that Kakashi had experienced. He had to believe that he really was doing the best thing for the boy. He had to believe that this was all being guided by fate.

Sarutobi shifted his eyes from the glowing village to the darkened sky above. “I hope I’m doing the right thing for you, Naruto.”

Chapter Text

“Seriously though, do you really want to go back already? It’s only been, what, four years? Why are you so dead set on going back so soon?” Jagaa asked the young boy next to him.

In four years not much had changed about Jagaa. The dirty blond still wore all black and the hilt of his sword still stuck out over his right shoulder. With one of his scarred arms, he reached up and adjusted his dark sunglasses to sit more comfortably.

“I have to graduate from the academy to be a Konoha ninja, Nii-san. So I have to go back now or I won’t be able to graduate with kids my own age.” Naruto answered.

Whereas Jagaa had changed very little, the same could not be said about Naruto. The boy’s sunny blonde hair was much longer than it had been before, with his bangs falling just over the top of his eyes and the back being pulled into a small ponytail that stopped just above his shoulder blades. He wore a pair of black combat boots, much the same as Jagaa’s, and a pair of dark blue shinobi pants with a black kunai pouch strapped to his right leg. A plain black T-shirt, underneath a dark blue jacket that was left open in the front and had the sleeves cut off, covered his upper body and on his hands was a pair of fingerless black gloves with a metal plate on the back of them.

However, despite his somewhat ‘Badass’ appearance,his eyes still sparkled with a kindness that few people could possess and his foxy grin was still as bright as ever between his whisker marked cheeks.

“We are talking about the same kids that treated you like dirt when you were there, right? Why would you want to graduate with them anyway?”

“Because, it would be my first step in proving them all wrong about me.” Naruto said seriously. “If I can show the kids who picked on me that I’m not the loser they thought I was then maybe I’ll even be able to show the rest of the village that I’m not the monster they say I am.”

Jagaa sighed. They had been having the same conversation for the last three days. Jagaa had grown extremely fond of the young boy in the years they had been traveling together, even coming to think of him as the little brother he had never had. In fact, during their travels Naruto had managed to make a great number of friends and acquaintances that Jagaa would not have thought possible. The boy just had this aura that seemed to draw people to him like a light in the darkness.

That was why Jagaa wasn’t all that thrilled about taking Naruto back to a place that treated him like some sort of plague. If he hadn’t promised the boy that he would take him back when he was ready, Jagaa would have knocked him out and took him to snow country or something. Anyplace would be better than Konoha. Alas, Jagaa was a man of his word and could do nothing more than try to talk Naruto out of it. Too bad the kid was as stubborn as a mule.

“Nii-san, we’re almost there!” Naruto exclaimed in excitement.

“Great.” Jagaa replied in a tone that was decidedly not .

“Oh come on, Nii-san. It won’t be that bad.” Naruto reproved.

Jagaa looked less than convinced. “Whatever brat. By the way, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”

“Why?” Naruto asked. “Isn't it okay for me to call my Nii-san, Nii-san?”

“Exactly when was this ‘Nii-san’ thing decided on? I sure as hell wasn’t there for the meeting.” Jagaa really didn’t mind that Naruto called him that, especially since he did already think of the boy like a little brother, he just wanted to see if he could make Naruto sweat a little. Too bad he forgot about one of Naruto’s ultimate secret weapons.

Naruto’s eyes widened and started to tear up slightly, while his bottom lip started quivering in a powerfully heart wrenching display of puppy dog eyes that made Jagaa step back slightly. “Y-you mean, you don’t w-want to be my Nii-san?” Naruto’s voice cracked slightly, and a tear looked about to fall from the corner of his eye.

“Okay, okay, you win!” Jagaa yelled as he crossed his arms in front of him defensively. “Just stop doing that!”

Naruto smirked triumphantly. “I knew you wanted to be my Nii-san, Nii-san.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever. Just remind me to kill Hitomi the next time I see her for teaching you her damned ‘Puppy eyes no Jutsu”.”

“You would never hurt her and you know it, Nii-san.”

“She doesn’t need to know that though.”

“She already does.”

“…Damn.”

Naruto smiled and looked back up the road. He let out an excited gasp when he realized he could already see the gate guards. “We’re finally here!” Naruto yelled happily. “I can’t wait to eat Ichiraku’s ramen again!”

Jagaa didn’t reply, instead he focused on the two guards at the village gate. As soon as Naruto had started yelling about ramen both their gazes had zeroed in on the happy blond, and it didn’t take a genius to know that they weren’t pleased with what they saw.

“Stop right there!” The closest guard said sneeringly. “Just what do you think you are doing back here?”

Naruto’s happy smile faltered slightly but was back too quickly for most people to notice. The young blond was about to say something, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Naruto just came back from an extended training trip.” Jagaa said in a cool tone. “He’s here so that he can finish the academy and become a Konoha Genin.”

“What makes you think we want that thing as a ninja for Konoha?” The second guard snarled.

Jagaa’s eyes narrowed dangerously behind his glasses and his tone became dark. “I couldn’t give a shit if you want him here or not. He wants to be a Konoha ninja, and I plan on making sure he becomes one.”

The first guard was sneering even more than before. “Oh, and what if we decide that we won’t let you through the gate, huh?”

Jagaa’s expression became downright sinister and an evil smile came to his lips even as his hand started moving to his sword. “I’m so glad you asked.”

“Now, now, Jagaa-san. Is killing the gate guards really the wisest thing to do on your first day in Konoha?” A bored sounding voice came from off to the side.

Naruto, Jagaa, and the two guards looked to where the voice came from to see a tall silver haired man in a standard Konoha Jounin uniform wearing a mask that covered the bottom half of his face and his hitai-ate pulled down over his left eye. His right eye was curled into an upside down ‘U’ that seemed to say he was smiling beneath his mask.

Jagaa smiled as soon as he saw him. “Hatake Kakashi, eh? I didn’t think I would see you so soon after we got here.”

“I know you!” Naruto suddenly yelled in surprise. “You were the guy in the dog mask right?”

Kakashi smiled at Naruto and nodded. “Yep, that was me. I’m surprised you figured it out so quickly though.”

“Oh please.” Jagaa scoffed. “The only real difference between the dog mask and the way you look now is that your right eye is visible. At least get a haircut if you don’t want people to figure it out.”

“Kakashi-san,” The first guard spoke up finally. “Do you know this… person ?” The guard’s pause said plainly that he wanted to call Jagaa something else, and even an idiot could tell it would have been a reference about Naruto.

“Why, yes.” Kakashi said warmly. “He’s the person Hokage-sama entrusted to take care of Naruto while he was away from the village.”

“I thought you decided on that? Isn’t that what your little test was all about?” Jagaa asked.

Kakashi shrugged. “Hokage-sama told me to make sure Naruto would be safe. So in a way leaving Naruto with you was his decision. I was just making sure you were the person I should trust.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

If anyone had been looking at the two guards, they would have noticed that their faces had paled at the mention of the Hokage and had steadily been getting paler as the conversation continued.

“At any rate, Hokage-sama will be pleased to find out you’re back, Naruto. What do you say we go to the Hokage tower and see him?”

“YATTA!” Naruto yelled, jumping off the ground and pumping his fist into the air. “I finally get to see the old man again! The first thing I’m gonna do is have him treat me to some ramen!”

Kakashi smiled fondly behind his mask. It was good to see that Naruto was still Naruto. “Well, shall we get going then?”

“Why don’t you two go on ahead?” Jagaa said and turned back to the guards. “I still have something I want to talk to these two about.” Jagaa was about to start walking to the still pale guards when he was suddenly jerked backwards and straight onto his backside. Feeling a grip on the back of his vest, he tilted his head back and found himself facing Naruto’s narrowed eyes. “Can I help you?”

“Oh no you don’t, Nii-san.” Naruto said sternly. “The last time you told me to go on ahead so you could ‘talk’ to someone, I saw that guys face on a missing persons poster two days later.”

“I wasn’t gonna kill them.” Jagaa said. “I was just going to almost kill them. You know, beat them to within an inch of their life.”

Despite the fact he was getting reprimanded by an eleven year old, the matter of fact way Jagaa said that made the two guards pale considerably more.

Naruto rolled his eyes and started walking while still holding on to the back of Jagaa’s vest. “Let’s go, Nii-san.”

“Aren’t students supposed to listen to their Sensei and not interfere with their fun?” Jagaa said sullenly and crossed his arms.

“Not when that Sensei’s fun is going to make it harder for the student to accomplish his dream.”  Naruto said dangerously.

Jagaa only ‘hmmphed’ and turned his head to the side.

Kakashi’s eye twinkled as he tried to hold in his laughter at the rather comical sight of an eleven year old boy dragging a sulking twenty one year old man through the street. He had a feeling that the village of Konoha was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

X   X   X   X   X

“OJII-SAN!” Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs and jumped over the desk and into the arms of a very surprised old man. “I’ve missed you!”

“N-Naruto-kun? Is that really you?” Sarutobi asked in disbelief. However, there was no mistaking that foxy smile he was flashed with as soon as he asked.

“That’s right, Ojii-san, I’m back!” Naruto had dropped his voice somewhat but it was still enough to make the old Hokage flinch a little at the volume. Even still, his happy smile never left his face.

“It’s good to have you back, Naruto-kun. But I’m a little surprised to see you back this soon.”

“See, I told you we should have waited a few more years. Since the old man agrees with me, let’s get the hell out here.” Jagaa said as he walked in behind Kakashi.

Sarutobi was a little surprised by Jagaa’s appearance. Kakashi had told him that the person he had left Naruto with was young, but he didn’t expect him to be this young. Still, the visible scars on his body and the relaxed but guarded way he carried himself showed clearly that the young man was no stranger to battle. The other surprising thing was the way the young man seemed to have no fear or apprehension about being in his presence. Despite his progressing in age, even the most seasoned shinobi had been respectful and somewhat cautious in dealing with him. But this one walked right in, calling him an old man in much the same way Naruto would. For some reason, Sarutobi found it refreshing.

“Now, now, I didn’t say that. I simply said I was surprised.” The old Hokage said with a chuckle. “In fact, this is a perfect time for Naruto to come back. Now he can finish off his training at the academy and graduate with people his own age.”

“Ha!” Naruto exclaimed, jumping out of the Hokage’s grip and onto his desk before pointing at Jagaa. “I told you it was a good idea, Nii-san!”

“Whatever brat. More importantly,” Jagaa focused on the old man sitting behind the desk Naruto was standing on. “Are you really the strongest person in this village? You seem like you could drop dead at any moment now.”

The effect was instantaneous. Kakashi started choking on air, Naruto’s eyes widened, the pipe fell out of the old man's mouth, and a loud thud implied that an eavesdropper may have just fainted outside the door.

Jagaa looked around the room curiously at all of their reactions. “What?”

For a while the room was completely silent, but soon after a low chuckling was heard. Looking to the source, they saw the old Hokage with his head tilted downwards and his shoulders shaking in sync with the chuckling. It didn’t take long before the chuckling turned into full blown laughter leaving three very confused bystanders.

“I should have known,” The old man said through his laughter, “That Naruto would meet someone even more blunt and outspoken than him.” Sarutobi wiped his eyes as his laughter slowly died down. He decided right then that he liked this young man.

When his mirth finally faded away, the aged Hokage turned back to Naruto, who had yet to get off his desk. “I’m very glad you’re back, Naruto-kun. It’s been a bit boring here without you.”

Naruto gave him one of his biggest grins ever.

“Well, since the two of you arrived so early in the morning we could most likely get you into school today if that’s what you wanted Naruto.”

“YATTA! Let’s go! Let’s go now!” Naruto yelled and jumped up and down excitedly.

His cheering and jumping was cut off by a fist slamming on to the top of his head as Jagaa stood over him, standing on the Hokage’s desk just like Naruto, with an irritated expression. “How many times do I have to tell not to yell all the time?” He growled as Naruto rubbed the lump that was forming from the impact.

Sarutobi and Kakashi just smiled in amusement.

X   X   X   X   X

“So what am I doing here again? He’s the one who wants to go here, not me.” Jagaa said as he, Naruto, Kakashi, and the Hokage walked through the halls of Konoha’s shinobi academy.

“Wouldn’t you like to have a better understanding of what sort of environment and curriculum Naruto will be trained in while going to this academy?” Sarutobi asked the irritated young man.

“Not really, no.”

“You know, Nii-san, most other Sensei would want to see how their students will be trained when they’re not around.” Naruto said pointedly.

“Well, most students aren’t as big a pain in the ass as you.” Jagaa countered with a slight growl in his voice.

“Would it really kill you to at least try to support me on my decision to finish off the academy?” Naruto almost whined.

“I decided that it would be best if I didn’t take any chances on that.”

“You’re an asshole, Nii-san!”

“I know. I’ve been working at it for years.”

“You know, you really-” Naruto’s remark was cut off by a loud shout coming from the other side of the classroom door.

“Get away from Sasuke-kun, Ino Pig!”

“Why? It’s obvious he would rather be with me than someone who could rent themselves out as a walking advertisement, Billboard Brow.”

“I’m sure he’d like me better than livestock, Piggy!”

“I dare you to say that again, Forehead Girl!”

The next instant there was a clatter of chairs falling over followed by shouts of encouragement and people placing bets.

“BOTH OF YOU STOP FIGHTING THIS INSTANT!” A man yelled with a voice level that only a teacher could reach.

“It seems we arrived at an interesting time.” Sarutobi said with a good natured chuckle as he opened the classroom door.

As the new arrivals walked into the classroom the first thing they saw was a brown haired Chuunin trying without much success to pry a platinum blonde haired girl off of a pink haired one.

“This place might not be so bad after all.” Jagaa mused thoughtfully.

The sound of the unfamiliar voice somehow managed to cut through the class room and draw everyone’s attention to the two blonds standing in the front of the class. A collective gasp came from the girls of the class when they saw Naruto, many of them with little hearts in their eyes.

“Why?” Naruto asked suspiciously. “Because of the fact the students here seem ready to fight at the drop of a hat, or because you were getting off on seeing two girls hanging on each other?”

Jagaa looked highly affronted by Naruto’s accusation. “The girls in this class are your age you dumb ass. I’m not a fucking pedophile.”

Naruto looked skeptical. “I don’t know. There was that one girl in Kiri.”

“Okay, first, that girl looked well into her twenties and there is no way I could have known she was only fifteen! Second, we never did anything cause I got away real quick once I did know!” Jagaa defended fiercely. “And third, that was three years ago. Even if she was underage then, she’d be perfectly…legal…now…” Jagaa’s expression became one of someone who had just had a divine revelation before he snapped his head to Naruto and spoke quickly. “I just remembered I have something to do in Kiri!” Jagaa turned to run out the door when a large object slammed into the back of his knees dropping him to the floor. Shaking his head and looking over his shoulder he found that Naruto had full body tackled his legs and was now planted firmly on top of them.

“Hell no! There’s no way you’re ditching me now just so you can go chase some girl in another country!” Naruto growled.

“Why do you care? You wanted to go to the academy anyway so you don’t need me around for a while.” Jagaa protested.

“You promised that you would stay with me and keep training me even while I was going to the academy remember!” Naruto grated.

Jagaa sighed remorsefully. “I couldn’t have found a puppy, Nnnnooooooo. I just had to find a prudish little boy who has to be the biggest killjoy on the face of the earth!”

“Get over it.”

Jagaa suddenly pushed up off the ground picking Naruto up with him. With a sharp twist Jagaa flipped over and sat up, while still in the air, at the same time he pulled his right foot back under him and slammed his palms into Naruto’s chest. Naruto was shot backwards and rolled across the floor until he came to an abrupt stop by smashing into the wall.

“Ow.” Naruto groaned and rubbed his head. “That was a cheap shot.”

Jagaa was still sitting on his bent right leg with his left leg and both arms still extended in front of him. With a graceful ease, he pushed up with his one foot on the floor and pulled his other leg back and so he was standing again, a smirk dancing on his lips. “Get over it.”

Naruto growled.

Iruka and the other students could only stare with open mouths at the pair before them.

“You two certainly know how to make an entrance.” The Hokage laughed at the blond duo.

The Hokage’s voice served to snap Iruka out of his stunned stupor and he cleared his throat loudly to get the class's attention. “Yes, well, it seems we have a new student in our midst today.” He took a quick glance at the Hokage for confirmation. At the old man's nod, he turned back to Naruto. “Would you care to introduce yourself to the class?” Iruka said to the still floored boy.

Naruto made a miraculous recovery and jumped into the front of the classroom. “Hey, everyone, the name’s Uzumaki Naruto! I’m eleven years old, and the future Hokage of Konoha! Nice to meet you all!”

Jagaa groaned and rubbed his temples. “I thought I broke you out of the habit of telling everyone you were gonna be the Hokage every time you introduced yourself when we were in Kumo?”

Naruto grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. “Heheh, I guess I’m just excited to be home.” He said with a slight flush of his cheeks. The action had a rather surprising reaction on the females of the class.

“KAWAII!” All the girls, except the blonde and pink haired girls that were fighting earlier though even they looked like they were seriously fighting the urge, screamed in unison and launched themselves at the very surprised blonde. The glomping that ensued was one of legends as girls piled on top of each other in an attempt to get to the boy beneath them.

A good natured chuckling suddenly came up from beneath the pile of girls and everyone looked down in shock to see the aged face of the Hokage just visible. “Well, it has been a while since I was glomped by such attractive young ladies.” The old man said with a smile. “But it is getting somewhat hard to breath. So would you all mind allowing this old man to get up?” The girls had to have set a new speed record in their haste to get themselves off the village’s leader.

As the old man stood back up, a loud laughter filled the air and everyone looked over to see Naruto rolling on the ground holding his sides. “I…I can’t…believe you…replaced yourself…with…the old man!” Naruto wheezed out as he laughed.

“I can’t believe you replaced yourself with me , you little bastard!” Jagaa said heatedly from next to Kakashi. Naruto started laughing harder and Jagaa glared at him. Kakashi was using every ounce of willpower he had not to join the sunny blond. Seriously, how often does one see the most powerful man in the village get used as a replacement and then glomped? It was certainly a first for him.

Still chuckling, the aged Hokage stood back up and dusted himself off. “Well, that was interesting. However, I think it’s time that we allow the class to get back underway, as well as let Naruto get acquainted with academy life.” The Hokage finished and looked over at Naruto who was just starting to stand again after his fit of hysterics.

“Uh, yes, of course Hokage-sama.” Iruka said hastily. “Naruto, your seat will be the open one back there.” Iruka pointed to one of the open seats towards the back of the classroom.”

“Ossu!” Naruto saluted and practically sprinted to his seat excitedly. He was really looking forward to what he would be learning at a real ninja academy.

“Shall we be going then?” The Hokage asked Jagaa and Kakashi.

“Just one thing before I go.” Jagaa said. “I just wanted to know what sort of things Naruto will be learning in this academy.” This surprised the three who he had come to the academy with, having heard his earlier statement of lack of caring.

Iruka looked at the Hokage for the okay before speaking. “Well…Monday through Thursday we do class work where we learn about things like the basics of chakra, different types of Jutsus, Kekkei Genkais and how to identify different ones, the history of Konoha and it’s Hokages, ect. Then on Fridays we do practical applications such as sparring and practicing with kunai and shuriken.”

“WHAT!” The shout drew everyone’s attention to a very pale Naruto. “You mean four out of five days is nothing but class work ?!”

“Um, yes?” Iruka said uncertainly.

“NNNOOOOOO!!!!”  He wailed, throwing his arms into the air dramatically before smacking his head on his desk and crying waterfall like tears.

“BUAAAHAHAHAHA!” Jagaa laughed evilly earning a hateful glare from the crying boy.

“THIS ISN’T FUNNY, NII-SAN!”

In the blink of an eye, Jagaa was standing beside Naruto and clapping him heartily on the back. “Of course it isn’t. In fact, I can finally understand why you wanted to come here so bad. I mean, really. Why do useless things like traveling around the world, learning new jutsu and skills or anything else that may actually save your life in a fight.” Jagaa hadn’t stopped clapping Naruto on the back the entire time. “But hey, who knows, maybe the first person you fight will be so impressed that you can tell him about a bunch of buildings and a few dead guys that he’ll just drop his weapons and ask you to kill him.” Jagaa’s grin looked like it was going to split his face, while Naruto’s glare could have melted steel.

“You know I’m not dead yet.” The Hokage said from the doorway.

“You’re close enough.” Jagaa waved dismissively. Iruka and the rest of the class gasped in shock at Jagaa’s blatant disrespect of the village leader.

“Well, I’m going to do some of those useless things I just mentioned while you learn how to ‘WOW’ your enemies with your knowledge. Have fun Naruto.” Jagaa was laughing maniacally as he headed for the door.

“No, wait, take me with you!” Naruto screamed and jumped after Jagaa, only to be caught in the air by a stern looking Iruka.

“Naruto! You can’t skip class on your first day! That’s just plain rude!”

“That’s right Naruto, you shouldn’t be rude to your new sensei.” Jagaa said with an evil grin as he rounded the corner. “Have fun learning about dead guys.”

“Still not dead.” Sarutobi muttered.

“You Bastard! You evil, evil Bastard!” Naruto snarled as he struggled against Iruka’s hold. “I’m gonna write letters to every one night stand you’ve ever had and tell them where to find you!”

Standing next to Kakashi, the Hokage was chuckling merrily at the antics of the two blonds. “It would seem things are going to become quite interesting around here now. Don’t you think, Kakashi?”

Kakashi’s eye curved in a smile. “I thought the same thing myself earlier, Hokage-sama.”

“Let’s be on our way then, shall we.” The old man said as he turned away, leaving Naruto, who had gone back to crying waterfall tears, to become acquainted with his new classmates.

“So, how do you think Naruto will do in the academy, Hokage-sama?” Kakashi asked boredly.

“I suppose that all depends on what Jagaa has taught him in the last four years. Oh, speak of the devil. He seems to have been waiting for us.” The old man indicated the figure leaning against the wall in front of them with a tilt of his head.

“Jagaa-san, it’s good to see you’re still here. I was wondering what you have been teaching Naruto in the last…” Sarutobi trailed off when he noticed the atmosphere around Jagaa was nothing like the relaxed, playful one that had surrounded him before. The seriousness and the intensity were surprisingly intimidating and fully dispelled any illusions that Jagaa was anything less than a hardened shinobi.

“Four years ago I asked a question. Now, I want the answer.” He said in a cool tone. The old man sighed. He knew that this was going to happen, but he had hoped that Jagaa might wait a couple days before questioning him about why the villagers hated Naruto. Sarutobi had a strong feeling Jagaa wouldn’t take it too well. Now that it had been brought up though, there could be no more delay.

“I understand.” The aged Hokage said in a low tone as he walked by. “But we will have to go back to my office to discuss it. It is an S class secret after all.”

Jagaa nodded and fell in next to the Hokage and Kakashi in their return to the Tower.

X   X   X   X   X 

Jagaa was pissed . No, he was beyond pissed. He was straight up murderous , and everybody in the Hokage tower knew it. The old Hokage was fairly sure that everybody in Konoha probably knew with the amount of killing intent the young man was putting out. Sarutobi even noticed that Kakashi was looking a bit apprehensive at the pure rage radiating from Jagaa. He couldn’t fault the young man though. In truth, he had held similar feelings on the subject many times before, but seemed to have much better restraint than the scarred person in front of him.

“So,” Jagaa said dangerously, “You’re telling me, that Naruto has been beaten, abused, starved, shunned, and treated like a plague by the people of this village…for being the one that has saved their lives everyday for the last eleven years by being made a sacrifice to contain the Kyuubi? Something he had no say in, considering he was a fucking baby when it happened?”

Sarutobi almost didn’t want to answer out of fear of what Jagaa may try to do, but was almost certain that he and Kakashi could restrain the pissed off young man if they had to. “Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“I see.” Jagaa’s killing intent intensified for just a moment before Jagaa started taking long deep breaths and it slowly began fading away. Once it was completely gone, he made a long sigh. “I’ll never understand why Naruto wants to protect this village full of idiots.” Jagaa said while shaking his head in confusion.

Sarutobi smiled fondly. “That’s just the way he is.” He was more than a little relieved that Jagaa had calmed his rage for Naruto’s sake. 

Kakashi cleared his throat lightly, catching both the Hokage’s and Jagaa’s attention. “Well, Hokage-sama, since it seems Jagaa won’t be going on a killing spree, now might be a good time to ask him about what Naruto has learned in the last four years.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me of that, Kakashi.” Nodded before turning to Jagaa, “Would you please tell us just what sort of things you have taught Naruto during his time with you?”

Jagaa shrugged his okay before rubbing his chin in thought. “Well…the first half a year or so was focused mainly on developing his ability to use chakra. I found out early on that the brat had a ridiculous chakra capacity for someone his age, and over the years it has only been increasing. At a rough guess, I would say he has at least double the capacity of most seasoned Jounin, and with the rate it seems to be increasing, it could be nearly triple by the time he graduates from the academy in a year.”

“Hmm,” Sarutobi hummed thoughtfully with his pipe in his mouth. “This is probably due to having the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed within him. It was bound to have some sort of effect on him.”

“It makes sense, I guess.” Jagaa continued. “However, whether it is due to the Kyuubi again, like you said, or if it’s the size of his chakra capacity itself, Naruto’s control just plain sucks.”

“How so?” Kakashi asked.

“He can’t do small jutsu. They just won’t work. It used to be that in an attempt to make a single Bunshin Naruto would put out enough chakra to make at least ten Mizu Bunshin . He simply couldn’t tone it down. Over the years I have had him do every chakra control exercise I can think of. From tree and water walking, to keeping a stick standing straight up on top of your head and a rock balanced on top of it through chakra. It has helped, but only to the point that he can cut it down to about three Mizu Bunshins . However, due to the finer control required to keep the insubstantial clones together, they still always fail. In the end I had to upgrade to teaching how to do the Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu and that turned out just fine.”

“I take it that Naruto is not very good at Genjutsu, then?” Sarutobi asked.

“Pfft, ever try to teach a penguin how to fly? Because I’m pretty sure you would have better luck with that than trying to teach Naruto Genjutsu.”

The old man chuckled at Jagaa’s statement before continuing on. “So we have established that he has high chakra, low control, and knows Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu . What other techniques have you taught him?”

Jagaa started stroking his chin again as he thought. “Hmm, let’s see…Well other than the Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu I haven’t taught him anything much more than the basics. You know, Henge , Kawarimi , Katon: Goukakyuu , and the Doton: Doryuheki .”

“Uhm, those last two aren’t part of the basics. Only the Henge and Kawarimi are, as well as the Bunshin in normal cases.” Kakashi pointed out.

Jagaa’s eyebrows rose over his glasses in surprise. “So you teach your students Jutsu to deceive, dodge, and distract, but not to attack or defend?” He asked. “Sounds like half assed teaching to me.”

Kakashi was about to protest but stopped short and put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. “You know, you may have a point. It would make sense to teach them an attack and defensive jutsu. The problem is that most genin don’t have enough chakra to do them before they graduate.”

“So have them doing chakra enhancing exercises in the academy instead of learning about a bunch of dead guys.” Jagaa said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

‘ I’m not dead .’ Sarutobi thought mournfully before he cleared his throat. “I don’t think this is the time to be discussing the flaws we may have in our training system at the academy. Right now we are talking about what Naruto has learned.”

“Like I said, besides those five, I haven’t really taught him any Jutsu. I’m a firm believer in learning through experience, so almost all of our training sessions are sparing and physical conditioning. Because of this, his ability to use surprise, terrain, and strategy in battle is exceptional. He actually has a real knack for it. He’s surprised me on several occasions with some impressive plan he pulled out of his ass. So if you ever plan to fight him, I would highly recommend that you expect the unexpected.”

“Hmm, I actually prefer the term ‘Look underneath the underneath’.” Kakashi said with a smile.

“That’s catchy. I may have to adopt that.”

“We are getting off topic again.” The Hokage said exasperatedly. “So other than those five techniques and what he’s learned of tactics through sparring, you really haven’t taught him all that much then?”

“Not personally , no, but who knows what he may have learned from some of the other people we met on our travels.” Jagaa shrugged.

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, ‘who knows’? You were his sensei, weren’t you keeping track of everything he was learning?”

“Nope.” Both Sarutobi and Kakashi sweat-dropped. “In fact, I told him straight out not to tell me any techniques he’s learned outside of what I’ve taught him.”

“Why would you do that?” Kakashi asked before the old man.

Jagaa tilted his head at Kakashi in a way that the masked Jounin was almost sure was saying ‘Duh’. “For this exact reason. I can’t tell what I don’t know, and everyone knows that surprise is a Shinobi’s greatest weapon. Just to be on the safe side, I also told him that he wasn’t allowed to use any other techniques he’s learned against me, or anyone other than the one who taught it to him, in a spar until after he became a Genin. I did that for two reasons. One, it keeps his full abilities hidden from the public, and two, it ensures that he doesn’t become so dependent on his large and powerful attacks that he forgets the importance of the basics like so many others do once they learn how to level the land in a single attack.”

Sarutobi could honestly find no fault in the scarred young man's logic. He was well aware that keeping your true abilities secret until a critical time could be the difference between life and death. He also knew first hand what could happen to a powerful shinobi when they relied too much on powerful attacks. He had defeated more than a few by simply letting them waste their chakra on large flashy moves while he used simpler Jutsus or straight taijutsu to conserve his own. “I do understand your motives, Jagaa-san. Still, I am somewhat concerned for what Naruto may have learned without your knowledge.”

“Don’t worry, I'm pretty sure that none of the people we met would have taught him anything…” Jagaa trailed off and grimaced a little. “Well, I’m pretty sure most of them wouldn’t have taught him anything dangerous.”

Now Sarutobi felt a small amount of annoyance rising. “Jagaa-san…”

“Oh don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be just fine.” Jagaa said with a dismissive wave.

The old man sighed and covered his eyes with his hand. If Naruto was rowdy and disrespectful before leaving Konoha, it could only have doubled under this particular role model. Sarutobi had a feeling he should start fearing for his sanity in the days to come.

“Oh yeah, I should probably mention a couple more things.” Jagaa said. “The first, being to watch out for Naruto’s original technique that he developed. It is by far one of the most devastating things I’ve ever encountered. I’ve actually witnessed it lay low at least thirty men at one time before.”

Both Sarutobi and Kakashi’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What sort of technique did he create?” The old man asked in a worried voice.

“Hmm, I could tell you, but I think it’d be more entert…uh, informative, for you to see it first hand.” Jagaa said seriously.

“Hmm, you may have a point.” Sarutobi said thoughtfully. He heard something sounding like a snort and looked up to see Jagaa covering his mouth.

“Excuse me.” Jagaa said calmly and Sarutobi nodded. At least the young man was polite enough to cover his sneezes.

“So, what was the other thing you were going to tell us about?” Kakashi asked.

“Oh yeah, it’s probably not a big deal, but I’ve been honing Naruto’s instincts at sensing danger while he’s sleeping and he’s gotten pretty good at detecting incoming attacks. Now I just need to teach him proportional force for countering instead of overdoing it like he does.”

“What do you mean by ‘overdoing’ it?” Sarutobi asked with a small frown.

“Well…”

X   X   X   X   X

Iruka looked in shock at the eraser that was currently impaled by two kunai and surrounded by six more all stuck into the black board behind where he had been standing less than a second ago. With wide eyes he looked, along with the rest of the class, at the golden-blond haired boy who had been sleeping in class before Iruka threw the eraser to awaken him.

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as the entire class stared at him in shock. “Uh, heh heh, oops.”

X     X     X     X     X

How long had it been since he’d tasted freedom? Months? Years? An eternity? He didn’t know anymore.

He wanted to feel the sun on his skin and the wind in his hair. He wanted to run through the fields and smell the flowers that grew there.

He wanted his freedom.

‘ Soon. ’ He thought. It was the only thing keeping him alive. The only thing he could hold on to in this miserable hell he had been sentenced to.

He saw his jailor stand from his place of watch and look across him and the others locked inside this hellish prison. It was time. After enduring the torture for so long, he would finally feel his first taste of salvation again.

“Okay everyone, it’s time for lunch.”

“YATTA! FREEDOM!” Naruto yelled in joy from the back of class as tears of happiness coursed down his cheeks.

“You’ve only been here for three hours!” Iruka snapped at the sunny-blond only to find that said person had already made his escape by diving through an open window. In an instant Iruka was at the same window yelling. “DON’T YOU DARE TRY TO DITCH!” If Naruto heard him, he gave no indication as he rolled around in the grass like a happy puppy. Iruka could only sigh wearily as he watched the boy. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to handle a full year with him

As he lay in the grass with his eyes closed enjoying the feel of the sun and wind, Naruto was having much the same thoughts. Only his were about academy life in general.

‘ Kuso, why the hell did I want to go to the academy for a full year? ’ He thought dejectedly. In truth he already knew why he had believed it would be a great idea. It was because when he thought of a ‘Ninja Academy’, he thought they would focus more on the ‘Ninja’ part and less on the ‘Academy’ part.

Just his luck that it would be the complete opposite.

The worst part was that if he were to complain to Jagaa about it, the scarred man would probably just laugh at him the same way he had earlier, and then rub it in Naruto’s face that it had been his bright idea to go in the first place.

‘ Stupid Nii-san! I’ll get him back for ditching me like that if it’s the last thing… ’ Suddenly Naruto felt his danger senses going haywire. Not the danger sense that comes from being surrounded by enemy forces. No, this was a far more sinister and deadly force than a thousand Kage level shinobi out for your blood. A terror beyond all imagining.

Fangirls!

“NARUTO-KUN!!!” The terrible war cry of doom rang out.

His eyes snapped open as he rolled backwards just in time to avoid two diving glomps from the front. Coming to his feet he jumped backwards to avoid another two that came from his left and right, and watched them sail in front of him like pouncing animals. His senses alerting him just in time, he ducked another attempted glomping from behind and let the girl pass just over the top of his head. The five original attackers began refocusing on him for their next try and Naruto could sense more of them incoming. Doing the only thing one could do when faced with the horror known as fangirls, Naruto ran for dear life.

His efforts seemed to be in vain as he felt more presences moving to intercept him along with the ones coming up from behind. He was about to be trapped and he knew it. Looking around desperately, he saw a very large tree with no branches for at least twenty feet up the base. Taking a gamble that the girls hadn’t yet learned tree walking, Naruto raced up the base to one of the large lower branches where he perched and looked down like a frightened cat as a horde of girls encircled the trunk. It was then Naruto realized he may have made a mistake, as he saw the girls eyes grow even more impressed and admiring at the display of skill. He almost wanted to cry at his stupidity when they started calling up to him.

“Naruto-kun, come eat with me!”

“No, Naruto-kun, eat with me!”

“Naruto-kun is going to eat with me!”

“Like hell he is! Naruto-kun is eating with me!”

Naruto looked around the tree in a panic. The girls were starting to get a dangerous gleam in their eyes and he was sure it was only a matter of time before they tried to chop the tree down to get to him. Too bad he had picked the one tree with nothing within jumping distance and any attempt to escape would force him to go back to the ground and into the clutches of the frightening females.

Just as he felt all hope was lost, the yells of the girls below silenced and they all turned to look behind them. Curious as to what had diverted their attention, Naruto looked the same way and saw another large group of females, that held all the signs of being fangirls, following behind a raven-haired boy like lost puppies. At the front of this new group were the blonde and pink haired girls that had been fighting when Naruto came into class earlier that day.

Naruto watched warily as the raven haired boy leading the group walked casually up to his current refuge with his hands in his pockets and looked up at Naruto with sharp, piercing eyes. “Your name is Uzumaki, correct?” His voice was low and cool, Naruto noticed idly that the both the girls behind the boy and the ones who had been chasing Naruto himself looked like they were about to swoon just from the sound of it.

“Yeah, and who are you?” Naruto asked with a defensive edge in his voice.

“Uchiha Sasuke, I wish to speak with you.”

Naruto was about to point out that they were, in fact, already talking to each other, but knew that the other boy was essentially telling him to come out of the tree. Naruto wasn’t sure if that was such a great idea considering they were completely surrounded by hormone driven females, but decided to risk it since the girls had quieted simply from the other boy’s presence and were unlikely to attack. Besides, he could always run back up the tree…hopefully.

Still being cautious of a possible ambush, Naruto slowly walked down the trunk of the tree to the ground. As he did he noticed the black haired boy’s eyes narrow on him. Naruto was startled to see the amount of anger and resentment that seemed to rise behind them. When he got to the ground and saw for sure that the girls were indeed not attacking he walked up to the Uchiha. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Sasuke’s eyes were still narrow as he sized Naruto up. “I want to fight you.”

Naruto tilted his head and squinted his eyes at the Uchiha. “Why?”

“I want to test my strength against yours. Will you fight me or not?” Sasuke’s voice spoke of nothing but cool confidence. His eyes however, were burning with a fierceness Naruto was not expecting. However, if the look was meant to be intimidating, it failed miserably as Naruto felt his battle lust rising.

“Sure, why not.” Naruto said with his own fierce grin. “Besides, Nii-san would kick my ass around Konoha if he found out I backed down from a fight.” Sasuke smirked wider at Naruto’s words and took a few steps back to get some distance.

The crowd that had originally been filled with only girls had also been quickly filling up with the boys of the class who were eager to see the new guy, who seemed to be pretty strong, fight with the number one in the class. When they heard Naruto’s agreement the crowd backed up considerably to give the two boys a large amount of space to fight on.

The two combatants stared at each other across the distance between them, each one trying to find a weakness in the other. A gust of wind blew through the area, stirring up dust and leaves before letting them fall one by one back to the earth. Just as the final leaf touched the ground, the two boys attacked.

The space between them was filled with Kunai and Shuriken that crashed into each other, knocking each other out of the way. As the ring of steel on steel filled the air the two boys charged directly into the falling projectiles and attacked each other head on.

Sasuke’s punch was blocked by Naruto’s forearm even as Sasuke blocked Naruto’s kick with his own. Pulling his leg back Naruto dropped low and swept at Sasuke’s feet but Sasuke back flipped high into the air and threw several more shuriken. Naruto blocked them all with a kunai he quickly pulled out before throwing the weapon at Sasuke as he landed. Sasuke twisted his body so that the kunai just passed his chest and sped at Naruto again even as the blond charged the raven haired boy himself.

The boy’s fists collided with each other and each strove to over power the other. Sasuke quickly realized that Naruto’s brute strength was greater than his own when his arm was being forced back by the blond and dropped his fist causing Naruto to be caught off balance and stumble forward. Stepping to the side and bringing his elbow around, Sasuke aimed for the back of the blond’s head. Naruto realized Sasuke’s goal and instead of trying to stand again, dove forward away from the blow and rolled back to his feet facing Sasuke again. Leaping forward, Naruto struck at Sasuke’s face, but Sasuke once again jumped backwards into the air to avoid it. This time instead of throwing shuriken Sasuke’s hands started flashing through seals. Naruto’s eyes widened when he recognized the sequence and quickly started forming his own seals.

“ Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu !” Sasuke yelled out before exhaling a large fireball from his mouth at Naruto.

“ Doton: Doryuheki no Justu !” Naruto shouted and slammed his palms onto the ground creating a large wall of earth in front of him.

Fire met earth and the air filled with the sound of the flames burning whatever vegetation had been in the wall before fizzling out. Sasuke landed and dashed at the wall with several kunai in hand. Just as he expected, Naruto came leaping over the top of the wall and Sasuke launched his kunai at the blond. Stuck in the air, Naruto was unable to dodge and crossed his arms in front of him as the sharp projectiles buried themselves in his body. Sasuke smirked at his victory until something strange happened. The Naruto in the air turned into a body of water and fell out of the air like as if dumped from a bucket.

“What in the-” Sasuke started before a sound in front of him caught his attention. Looking down he was just in time to see Naruto come smashing through the very wall he had created with his arm cocked back. Sasuke had no time to react before the whiskered boy’s fist shot forward and collided with his face, sending Sasuke flying backwards and rolling along the ground.

Coming back to his feet in a slight daze, Sasuke saw Naruto rushing at him again and shook his head to clear it before rushing forward himself. Just as the two were about to clash again, there was a burst of smoke and each boy found themselves being forcefully restrained.

“What the HELL do you two think you’re doing?” Iruka yelled at the pair of boys as he held Naruto. His left arm around the boy’s neck and holding Naruto’s right arm with his own.

“Now now, Iruka.” The one restraining Sasuke, a man with almost shoulder length silver hair said with a good natured smile. “They are young boys after all. It’s only natural they’d want to test each other.”

“That may be true, Mizuki, but to fight unrestricted like that without anybody supervising is just plain reckless. They could have killed each other the way they were fighting.”

“Ahh, don’t worry, Iruka-sensei.” Naruto said looking back over his shoulder with a foxy grin. “I was going easy on him.”

Sasuke growled at the blond. “Don’t think because you got in one lucky shot that you are better than me. You were just fortunate you surprised me.”

Naruto smirked back while still in Iruka’s hold. “Heh, surprise is a shinobi’s greatest weapon, Teme. Don’t forget, if I had decided to use a kunai instead of my fist you wouldn’t be around to bitch about it would you?”

Sasuke’s face grew red from anger and embarrassment. The blond was right. If Naruto had wanted to kill him, there would have been no way for Sasuke to have stopped him in that moment. The fact that he had also made a fool out of himself by yelling his thoughts before thinking the events completely through didn’t help his mood either.

“Both of you are getting detention for this!” Iruka yelled at the pair, making Naruto have to rub his ears due to the proximity of the shout.

“Oh come now, Iruka. Don’t you think that’s a little harsh? Naruto is new to the academy and has spent four years training outside of Konoha. He probably didn’t realize that he wasn’t supposed to spar with somebody without supervision.” Mizuki smiled at Naruto in a friendly way. “Isn’t that right, Naruto?”

“Well, yeah.” Naruto said rubbing the back of his head with his now free right hand and smiling hesitantly back at Mizuki. Naruto was surprised, and more than a little grateful, that somebody was sticking up for him, but something didn’t seem quite right. He couldn’t really place it, but something definitely felt…off, with the way Mizuki seemed to be trying to help him. Maybe he’d just been around Jagaa too long.

Iruka sighed and looked down at Naruto. “I suppose you have a point. Okay, Naruto, you will be spared detention this time, but this is your only warning. If I catch you fighting like that again without a proper supervisor I will not be so lenient. Understood?” Naruto nodded and Iruka shifted his gaze to Sasuke. “You however are fully aware of the rules of this academy and will not be getting off so easy. Today you will be staying after class and cleaning all the erasers in the academy.”

Sasuke actually managed to look shocked and Naruto was doing everything in his power to keep from laughing and possibly having his release voided.

“All right, shows over!” Iruka declared loudly with a clap of his hands. “Everyone clear out before I decide to cut your lunch period short.” He hadn’t even finished the sentence when the sounds of frantic escape filled the air. ‘ It’s amazing how fast children move when properly motivated. ’ Iruka thought as he watched the dust settling where the crowd had been a few seconds before.

However, there was one raven-haired boy that made no move to escape the teacher’s wrath, and instead was glaring in the direction a certain blond-haired, blue eyed boy had run. He would admit that Naruto was stronger than he had expected, but it would make no difference. He would surpass him and prove his own strength.

‘ Uzumaki Naruto. You are nothing more than another stepping stone on my path to power, in order to kill that man. ’

 X     X     X     X     X

Naruto rounded the corner of the school and flattened himself to the wall, listening for the sounds of any possible pursuit, the main worry being the ever fearsome fangirls. After some time, Naruto let out a relieved sigh and looked around to see where his mad dash had landed him.

He found himself in an open area that, despite the fact it was currently empty, showed signs of being used often. About fifty feet from where he stood was a lone tree with a single red wooden swing hanging from its lower branches.

Curiously, Naruto moved over to the swing and examined it before putting his leg through the old ropes and sitting sideways on the wooden platform. As soon as he was seated a small smile that was both sad and nostalgic came to his lips.

He remembered the times before he left Konoha when he would sit just like he was now on a swing at the park, sadly watching the other children laughing and playing. He had wanted so badly to join them, but every time he tried the parents would yell at him to stay away from their children. Calling him monster and demon and even throwing rocks or anything else on hand at him.

Of course, the children saw this and began following their parents' lead, and soon enough Naruto was effectively and completely ostracized from his young peers. In the seven years of life he had in Konoha before he left, Naruto had not once had even a single friend.

Naruto shook his head to clear his rapidly descending thoughts. It was always the same. No matter how long he had been gone, every time he did something that reminded him of his early life, he would once again feel all the sadness and loneliness that had plagued him before he left Konoha, and before he met Jagaa.

‘ Maybe Nii-san was right. ’ Naruto thought gloomily. ‘ Maybe it was too soon to come back. ’ Even after four years of being happy and traveling the world, he still couldn’t get past the years before them. He was starting to wonder if he ever would.

“Hey, new kid!” Someone yelled cutting into Naruto’s thoughts. “Uzumaki!” Looking up to where the voice was coming from, Naruto saw a boy with short brown hair, strange slit-like pupils but no irises, and wearing a grey hooded jacket walking towards him while waving his arm and grinning widely which showed off his slightly elongated canines. Stranger still was that the boy had a little white dog sitting on top of his head barking happily as well.

Naruto got off the swing and somewhat cautiously waited for the other boy to get closer. Normally he wouldn’t have been so guarded, but with his memories of life in Konoha before having just come back full force it was hard not to be a bit wary. His caution turned out to be completely unneeded though when the boy walked up beside him and clapped him heartily on the back, surprising the blond.

“Man, that was freaking awesome!” The boy laughed. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to see somebody show that stuck up prick that he’s not some kind of gift from Kami? The look on his face when you slugged him was freaking priceless!” The boy laughed again accompanied by the happy barks of the dog on his head.

Naruto scratched his head in a mixture of confusion and embarrassment, smiling lightly. “Well, I’m glad somebody liked it, but somehow I doubt his fangirls are gonna let me off too easily.”

“You gotta be kidding! All his fangirls will probably be yours after today.” The boy laughed again. “Which means if I start hanging around you, the girls might start coming after me in an attempt to get closer to you .” The boy put on a rather lecherous grin for an eleven year old, earning a loud laugh from Naruto.

“So you’re just planning to use me as a way to pick up girls. I think I’m offended.” Naruto said with a mock hurt in his voice. The other boy just grinned.

“Yep. Oh and there’s also the fact that I might get to see the teme get embarrassed again if I hang around you.” The boy held out his hand. “The names Inuzuka Kiba. The little guy on my head is Akamaru, and as of today we are your new best friends.”

Naruto laughed again as he took Kiba’s hand, already liking the other boy. “Uzumaki Naruto, and I have to say, this isn’t exactly how I was expecting to make my first friend here.” The two boys shared another laugh as the bell marking the end of lunch rang.

“Race ya back.” Kiba yelled and dashed off in the direction of the classroom. Naruto sprinted after him, sparing just enough time to look back at the lone swing and smile.

Maybe coming back was a good idea after all.

X   X   X   X   X

“School is so troublesome.” One Nara Shikamaru said with a wide yawn.

“I don’t know about troublesome, but it’s boring as hell.” Naruto answered with his own yawn.

“You guys want some food? It will help keep your energy up.” A plump boy known as Akimichi Chouji asked, holding out a bag of potato chips. Both Naruto and Shikamaru declined, but Kiba immediately threw his hand forward. “Hell yeah, fill me up.” With a kind smile, Chouji poured a fair amount of chips into the Inuzuka’s hand before going back to munching on the chips himself.

Naruto looked at each of the three boys with something akin to wonder, almost afraid that he would blink and that they would disappear. After Kiba had declared himself Naruto’s new friend and raced him back, he had introduced the blond to the other two, explaining that they knew each other due to numerous detentions together because of their inability to focus in class. Needless to say, Naruto was fitting in perfectly.

It was astounding to him. In less than a day, Naruto had made three friends. Well, in actuality they were really only acquaintances right now, but he had a lot of hope for the future. After all, hope for the future was the only thing that had kept him going for most of his life.

“So,” Kiba said, pulling Naruto from his thoughts. “You gonna tell us why you gave up a life of freedom and traveling the world to come to our little piece of hell?” Yes, Kiba had a rather low opinion of school.

Naruto frowned. “I was asking myself the same thing earlier.” Kiba grinned knowingly.

“What was it like while you were traveling?” Chouji asked through a mouthful of chips.

Naruto’s frown gave way to a look of longing. “It was great. I got to see so many things, go so many places, meet so many people, and learn a lot. I loved every minute of it.” Naruto's longing changed into a slight grimace. “Well…maybe not every minute. Training under Nii-san can be a little…dangerous…after all.”

Kiba’s curiosity was instantly roused. “What do you mean by dangerous?”

Naruto’s grimace became more pronounced. “Let me put it this way. One of the milder things he did was string me upside down from a tree, hand me a kunai to block with, and start throwing shuriken at me. His reasoning, at least what he told me, was that if I could block a projectile while I was upside down with the blood rushing to my head, then blocking them normally should be easy. Personally, I think he just enjoys it torturing people. He can be a little sadistic at times.”

Shikamaru looked a bit unnerved. “Your brother sounds like a troublesome person.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Hey you four, shut up and pay attention!” Iruka yelled from the front of the class.

Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba all mumbled but started to obey. Naruto though, raised his hand with a large, impudent smile spreading over his face.

“Iruka-sensei, if I don’t talk to somebody I’m gonna end up falling asleep again you know.”

Iruka‘s eyes narrowed slightly. He could tell Naruto was just trying to test him, but he also knew that if he didn’t do something to stop him, Naruto really would go to sleep. If for no other reason than to alleviate the risk that came from waking the blond up, Iruka had to prevent that. The question was ‘How’.

As Iruka pondered, he heard several low feminine giggles and looked up to see several girls looking at Naruto in longing (or whatever it is that eleven-year-old girls feel for an equally pre-pubescent boy) and amusement, and Iruka was struck with a positively brilliant (evil) idea. Clearing his throat to get the class’s attention, specifically Naruto’s, the scarred Chunnin gave Naruto a smile that instantly unnerved the whisker marked boy.

“You know, I’m glad you brought that up, Naruto. It wouldn’t do to have you falling asleep in class and harming your learning experience now would it.” Iruka’s grin grew wider. “That’s why I’m going to be asking the lovely young women in the class to help you stay awake.”

Naruto paled. “W-w-what do you mean?”

Iruka’s overly friendly smile turned malicious. Pulling out a sheet of paper, he quickly started writing. Once finished, Iruka pulled out a kunai and sliced the paper up and threw the pieces into a little box he pulled out of a drawer in his desk.

Iruka once again looked up to the class. “Now girls, I have put each of your names in this box. Since there are four seats to a row, I will pull three names out of the box each day. For those of you whose names are picked that day, it will be your job to keep our new classmate, Naruto, from falling asleep.” Naruto was suddenly struck by the sensation that he had just been put in the guillotine and the blade was about to fall. He was proven right by Iruka’s finish. “By any means you deem fit.”

Naruto stared at the smirking teacher in horror. “Y-you can’t be serious.” He choked out.

“I’m just doing everything I can to help you, Naruto. We wouldn’t want your education to suffer because you couldn’t stay awake, now would we?” Naruto gaped at the man before slowly looking around the room. All around him the girls were looking at him with an air of eagerness, some with a hungry look in their eyes, and some that seemed a little vengeful. Naruto could only assume the latter were some of the more devout Sasuke fans. The sad part was that he was actually hoping for the ones cracking their knuckles to be picked.

“Well now, let’s start today’s drawing.” Iruka announced grandly and put his hand in the box.

Naruto swallowed hard. This was not going to be good.

X   X   X   X   X

‘ I guess this isn’t so bad. ’ Naruto thought as he looked left and right. On his left was the blonde haired girl who had been fighting when Naruto had first entered the classroom, Yamanaka Ino, if he heard the name right. Coincidentally enough, on her left, was the pink haired girl she had been fighting with, Haruno Sakura. He also remembered that it had been these two who were at the forefront of the mass of girls that had followed Sasuke.

Which would probably explain the malicious gleam in their eyes.

On his right was a girl that Naruto hadn’t really noticed before, Hyuuga Hinata. She was kind of cute, with short blue black hair, large pupil-less lavender eyes, and soft pale skin. However, the way she kept smirking at him with a curious, yet superior look in her eyes as she leaned her head on her right hand was really starting to bug him. Oh well, at least she seemed content just to look, whereas he knew his other two watchers were just itching for him to start nodding off so they could employ their, most likely painful, plans to keep him awake.

Deciding to try to make the best of the situation Naruto attempted some small talk after glancing left at Sakura and Ino. “So, I’m guessing you two like the Teme, huh?” He instantly knew that was the wrong thing to say when he had to duck two swipes to the back of his head.

“Don’t you dare insult Sasuke-kun!” They both growled at him.

“I’ll take that as a ‘Yes’.” Naruto muttered, glancing warily at the two girls for any signs of further attacks.

“Oh, they just don’t like him, they love him.” Hinata finally spoke with a mocking voice. “It’s sickening the way they fall all over themselves just to get a passing glance from the Uchiha.”

“Shut up, Hyuuga!” Ino snapped at the pale eyed girl.

“Oh, and who’s going to make me, Yamanaka? You?” Hinata’s smirk turned dangerous. “You’re welcome to try.”

Ino growled but didn’t say anything else and Hinata smirked a little wider. “All bark and no bite, eh Yamanaka? I guess it can’t be helped. Your skills aren’t that much better than Haruno’s after all.” Both Ino and Sakura glared at the Hyuuga girl who simply smirked back confidently.

Between the three girls, Naruto was trying to decide if he should make a run for it to avoid the ensuing cat fight or grab a bag of popcorn and sit back to watch the show. He once again attributed that second thought to his time with Jagaa. In the end he opted for option three, intervening through subject change.

“So, what does it take to graduate from the academy? Kami knows I don’t want to stay here any longer than I absolutely have to.”

With a final glare at Hinata, both Sakura and Ino ‘Hmphed’ and looked away, ignoring him.

“…Okay, uh, Hinata-chan, would you tell me?”

“Awfully familiar considering this is our first time meeting, don’t you think?” Naruto grimaced and tried to apologize but was cut off when Hinata raised her hand in front of her. “But I guess I can forgive you. After all, you did improve my day considerably when you embarrassed the Uchiha.” This time Hinata gave Naruto an actual smile instead of a smirk and Naruto decided that he would probably be able to get along pretty well with this girl.

“Why thank you Hinata-chan. It’s always nice to know that I was able to brighten someone’s day.” Hinata laughed while Ino and Sakura growled.

“So anyway, what does it take to graduate?” Naruto asked again, leaning in a little.

Hinata shrugged. “Well, according to Neji-niisan, the only requirements to passing was that you had to score at least sixty percent or better on the written exam, show at least average proficiency with kunai and shuriken, and perform one of the three basic jutsus that will be randomly selected on the day of the test.”

Naruto’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Really, that’s it.” Hinata nodded. “This is gonna be easy then. Well, the written test will be annoying, but I’m pretty sure I can get at least sixty percent without too much trouble. The rest of it will be a piece of cake though. This is great!”

Hinata just laughed again and tilted her head in the direction of the board. “It’s nice to see you’re so confident, but you might want to start paying more attention in class if you really want to hit the sixty percent mark.”

Naruto grinned sheepishly but turned his attention to Iruka with more enthusiasm. ‘ Becoming a Genin is going to be a cinch. I can’t wait to tell Nii-san. ’ He thought happily before focusing on the lesson.

X   X   X   X   X

“Why are you following me around again?” Jagaa asked in annoyance to the masked man with his nose in a little orange book as the two of them walked through the streets of Konoha. Kakashi had been following him relentlessly since he left the Hokage tower and it was starting to annoy him. It didn’t help that as they had been walking, Jagaa had been noticing some of the curious and even admiring looks he was getting from both civilians and Shinobi alike. The reason this bothered him was because he had started wondering how much those looks would change as soon as it got around that he was more or less Naruto’s guardian. He didn’t tell Kakashi this, but Jagaa was hoping that someone would be dumb enough to attack him just so that he could make an example of them.

A very painful example.

“All foreign ninja within Konoha, outside of the Chuunin exams and Diplomatic missions, must be escorted by a Ninja of equal or greater strength for the duration of their stay.” Kakashi stated matter-of-factly without looking away from the book.

“One, that’s bullshit. Two, I’m not foreign, I’m freelance . There’s a difference.”

Kakashi smiled. “Well you could always take Hokage-sama up on his offer and become a Konoha Shinobi. Then you wouldn’t have me following you around any more.”

“Why would I want to be tied down to one village?” Jagaa asked. “I enjoy the freedom that comes from being a wandering nin. You village ninja can’t even leave without being labeled a Missing Nin and having Hunter Nin sent after you. What in the hell would make you think I want any part of that?”

“I believe you said that to Hokage-sama as well, and if I remember right, he was willing to make a few concessions for you so you would keep a fair deal of your freedom.”

“I still don’t like the idea. Besides, why the hell do you want me to sign up anyway? Konoha’s supposed to be the strongest of the hidden villages. I’m sure that you have plenty of Ninja stronger than me running around.”

“Not many who can replace themselves with the Hokage, after being used as a replacement themselves.” Kakashi said pointedly.

Jagaa just shrugged. “So the old man wanted to play with the kids and let me do the replacement. What’s the big deal?”

Kakashi looked up from his book for the first time, his visible eye narrowing slightly. “For someone who keeps calling him a half dead geezer, you are quick to say that Hokage-sama allowed you to replace yourself with him.”

“Just because he looks ready to drop dead any day, doesn’t mean I can’t recognize his strength.” Jagaa shrugged. “Besides, you can’t become a kage if you don’t have the skills to back it up.”

“Then why are you so disrespectful to him if you know how strong he is?” Kakashi asked pointedly.

“I’ve never respected anybody.” Jagaa smirked. “Besides, it’s fun.”

Kakashi sweat dropped.

“By the way Kakashi, why do they have you guarding me? The old guy can’t think I’m that big a threat, can he?”

“No, not really. However it is a rule of the village that you need to be escorted by someone at least as strong as you are, usually judged by rank, and from our encounter four years ago I can vouch that you deserve nothing less than a Jounin.” Kakashi smiled.

“Uh, thanks I guess?”

Kakashi’s smile grew behind his mask. “Oh don’t thank me just yet, since Hokage-sama also told me to bug you until you agreed to become a Konoha Jounin.”

Jagaa smacked his forehead and Kakashi heard a mumble that sounded like ‘I knew it’.

“Sooooo, will you become a Jounin?”

“Bite me, Kakashi.”

“Come one, it wouldn’t be that bad would it?”

“I said shove it.”

“Ah come on, become a Jounin.”

Jagaa snapped his head over to the silver haired man. “Tell you what, Kakashi. I’ll become a Jounin for Konoha when Naruto becomes-”

  “Hey, Nii-san!” An excited Naruto shouted behind him after having dashed from school to tell Jagaa the good news. “It’s gonna be so easy to become a Genin!”

“-a Genin.” Jagaa finished, distracted by Naruto’s shout. “Wait, what? No, I meant to say the Hok-” It was too late as Kakashi was already shaking his hand vigorously.

“Deal! You’ll become a Jounin when Naruto becomes Genin. I’m sure Hokage-sama will find that to be perfectly acceptable.” Kakashi said with his usual smile.

“N-no…That wasn’t….” Jagaa tried again but Kakashi cut him off.

“Well I’m going to go tell Hokage-sama the good news. He’ll be very happy to hear that you agreed so quickly. Ja ne.” With a swirl of wind and dust, Kakashi Shunshined away.

Jagaa stood rooted to the spot, staring at where Kakashi had just been standing until a certain person’s voice reached him.

“Hey, Nii-san, what’s wrong?” Naruto’s answer was a huge wave of killing intent that rippled out from the scarred man, focused on Naruto himself. Jagaa’s head turned like an un-oiled machine to look at the young blonde, and Naruto could swear he saw a red glow coming through Jagaa’s dark sunglasses.

“Uh, Nii-san?” Naruto asked, stepping back hesitantly. “Sensei? Nii-san-sensei, heheh?”

“ NaaaaRuuuuTooooo !” Jagaa growled demonically.

“WAHHHH!” With his fearful cry Naruto tried to run away, but instantly fell to the ground when Jagaa grabbed him around an ankle. “Where are you going, Naruto?” Jagaa’s voice had gone from demonic to extremely friendly, and it scared the shit out of Naruto. “It’s time for you to do some training .” Naruto’s eyes widened in terror at the emphasis on ‘training’.

For the second time that day, citizens of Konoha were treated to an extremely strange sight as Jagaa drug Naruto through the streets as the boy clawed at the earth in his attempts to escape while screaming in high, feminine pitch.

“WHAT DID I DO!? WHAT DID I DOOOOOOOO!?”

X     X     X     X     X

“Will you please tell me what I did?” A very dirty and bruised Naruto pleaded as he sprinted back and forth between two trees spaced one hundred meters apart. At least he was only being forced to run now. Naruto’s earlier ‘Training’ had involved Jagaa basically using him as a punching bag…enthusiastically. His answer was a rain of kunai and shuriken that forced him to put out a burst of speed to avoid being impaled.

“If you got the breath to whine then you’re not running hard enough.” Jagaa growled, pulling out more projectiles and raising his arm to throw them. “So it looks like I’ll have to motivate you.”

“Gahh, No! I’m running! I’m running!” Naruto yelled and picked up speed considerably. Jagaa put his arm back down, but kept the weapons in hand as a warning to Naruto what would happen if he slowed down again.

“Well, it would seem that Kakashi was telling me the truth about your quick agreement.” An aged voice said from behind Jagaa.

Jagaa growled. “Yeah, and I’d like to thank you soooo much for the unpleasant turn my life is about to take.”

“Oh, come now, Jagaa-kun. I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think.” Sarutobi said easily as he came up beside Jagaa. “You might even grow to like it here.”

“All right, Naruto, you can stop now!” Jagaa yelled out to the boy. Naruto’s response was to simply collapse on the ground panting heavily while Jagaa turned to the Hokage with an annoyed expression. “Is there something specific you wanted, or are you just here to gloat?”

Surprisingly, the kindly old man put on a mischievous smirk. “A little of both actually.”

Jagaa smacked his forehead.

The Hokage’s smirk turned to an amused smile. “Actually the reason I came down was to tell you that, mostly because of the conditions of how we got your agreement, that I won’t resend my offer on the special conditions I offered you.”

Jagaa lowered his hand and gave the old man a look that, despite the fact his eyes couldn’t be seen, spoke volumes. “You may not believe this, but for someone who has spent nearly his whole life living completely unrestricted, only getting a month out of a year to leave the village and do whatever I want is not something that makes me feel like leaping for joy.”

“That’s on top of any normal vacation time you get, as well you know.” Sarutobi said, but was answered by Jagaa’s less than amused grunt. “All right, then how about we call it penance for using me as your replacement earlier?” The old man’s eyes were dancing in mirth.

“You let me, and you know it!”

Sarutobi just smiled. The truth was that he had not allowed himself to be used as a replacement any more than Jagaa had. He had honestly been surprised. Being able to replace yourself with another human with such speed was impressive, especially since it was much harder than replacing yourself with an inanimate object such as a log. The fact that both of them appeared to have done it instinctively only made it that much more impressive. The small display from both parties had been enough for the old man to decide he wanted the scarred young man to join Konoha’s forces.

That and the fact that Sarutobi wanted to make sure Naruto didn’t lose his brother figure anytime soon.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore. As long as you have agreed, I’m satisfied.” The Hokage said with a smile. “Now, do you think you could stop trying to kill Naruto with training?”

Jagaa raised an eyebrow before twisting his head to the sprawled out young blonde, and Sarutobi became curious at the way the same eyebrow started twitching at the sight.

“Naruto! Wake the fuck up!” Jagaa yelled, throwing a shuriken at him. Almost instantly, Naruto sprung to his feet with his hands already in his weapons pouch and the old Hokage soon found himself dodging ten incoming kunai and two shuriken that the boy had thrown as a counter. His eyes widening from the amount of projectiles thrown at once, Sarutobi looked back just in time to see Jagaa appear behind Naruto and bash him upside the head, knocking the boy face first into the dirt.

“How many times do I have to tell you, ‘One for One’?” Jagaa asked the boy who was furiously trying to clean the dirt off his tongue. ”What the hell good does it do to waste all your weapons knocking away a single shuriken?”

“But Niiiiii-saaaaaannnnn, I can’t help it.” Naruto whined, pausing to spit out the few remaining pieces of gravel. “I just throw whatever I grab.”

Jagaa let out a heavy sigh and started rubbing the bridge of his nose. “There has to be some way to fix that. Maybe if I make you empty your weapons pouch of everything but a single kunai or shuriken before you go to sleep your body will get used to only throwing one weapon at a time.”

“What if I miss?” Naruto asked with a tilt of his head.

“Then you better hope I wasn’t aiming for anything vital.” Jagaa said coolly.

Naruto paled and started sweating heavily. “Uhm, I think I’m gonna go work on my aim a bit.” He muttered. Running over to a tree, Naruto marked it with five ‘X’s in a line going down the trunk before running back about one hundred feet. Bending his knees slightly, Naruto held his hand steadily over his pouch on his right leg. After gazing intently at the tree for a moment, Sarutobi was surprised to see Naruto close his eyes.

With a swift motion, Naruto pulled out a kunai and threw it high into the air. Naruto’s hand dipped in his pouch again, pulling out four more kunai and tossing two to his left hand. In a smooth flow of motion, Naruto made an overhead throw with his right hand followed by a backwards side arm with his left. Without pause, he followed with an underhand throw from his right again before reversing his turn to mirror the last throw with his left hand. As the kunai left his fingertips, Naruto leapt into the air and grabbed the first kunai he had thrown upwards and spun once before releasing it from his right hand in a side arm throw. Finishing his throw, Naruto came down to land in a graceful half crouch as he exhaled slowly.

Four almost simultaneous ‘thunks’ followed closely by a fifth one had Sarutobi’s eyes widening slightly. Each Kunai had hit a different ‘X’ with three out of five of them being directly in the center of the marks.

“How’d I do, Nii-san?” Naruto asked with a grin as Jagaa walked up to examine the tree closer.

“Not bad,” He said after a quick inspection. “But you’re still losing your orientation when you reverse direction,” Jagaa pointed at the top kunai which had hit about an inch to the left of the center of the ‘X’. “And on the last throw from the air.” This time he pointed to the center kunai that had hit about two inches high and right. “Also, you did last week’s pattern of two, four, five, one, and three. This week’s pattern is one, five, three, two, and four.” Jagaa pulled the kunai out the tree and threw them back to Naruto. “Try again, and remember to feel the target, not just see it.”

“Hai, Sensei.”

Sarutobi watched in amazement as Naruto went through the routine again, this time following the pattern he had been told. However, it wasn’t just the display of skill that was so impressive to the old man. It was the way the two blonds in front of him were acting.

No longer was Naruto the loud, cocky, carefree boy he had been earlier in the day. Just as Jagaa was no longer the sarcastic, laid back, disrespectful man he had been. They had become serious, focused, and intent. A Teacher and his Student. It was such a drastic change that Sarutobi could hardly recognize the two before him. Jagaa calmly and professionally correcting Naruto’s form while the boy in turn listened intently and adjusted as Jagaa instructed, never once complaining or trying to cover up his mistakes with boasts or excuses.

‘ Are they really the same two people that were in my office earlier today? ’ The old man thought in wonderment, before another thought seeped into his mind. ‘ If Jagaa could help Naruto this much, I wonder… ’ Sarutobi nodded to himself. It may be worth a shot.

“All right, Naruto, let’s call it a day.” Jagaa said after Naruto had done his maneuver for the twelfth time.

“Are you sure, Nii-san? I can still do more.” Naruto said as he put the kunai he had been using back into his pouch.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I figure I owe you anyway since I beat the crap out of you for so long just because I was irritated.” Jagaa said with a shrug.

Naruto coughed lightly and glanced at Jagaa a bit nervously. “So…will you tell me what irritated you?” Naruto decided, for the sake of his health, not to point out that what Jagaa called ‘Irritated’ was what most people called being ‘ Extremely Pissed Off’.

Jagaa looked at the boy and a chill ran down his spine. “Well, because of a certain someone ,” Naruto paled slightly. “I got myself roped into becoming a Jounin for Konoha once you become a Genin. I was going to say I’d join up when you became ‘Hokage’ so that I’d have a long, long , time to think of a way out of it, but then someone started shouting about how easy it would be to become a Genin , and it screwed me up.”

Naruto laughed nervously and glanced back and forth as if looking for an escape route. “Uhmm, I’m sorry?”

Jagaa smiled at the boy. “Oh, don’t worry, Naruto. I’m not angry with you anymore. Besides,” Jagaa’s smile became wicked. “I’ve already thought of the best way to properly thank the man responsible .” Jagaa leaned in close and whispered to Naruto, who in turn got an evil smile that Sarutobi felt he should recognize. The old man didn’t get time to think on it, because as soon as Jagaa pulled away, Naruto ran up to the old man with his evil smile still in place.

“Hey, Ojii-san, Nii-san said to show the Jutsu I made up.”

The old man remembered Jagaa’s warning about Naruto’s incredibly powerful original Jutsu, but didn’t have time to say anything as Naruto formed the ram seal. “ Henge !”

‘ A Henge? ’ Sarutobi thought in confusion. ‘ Jagaa said it was one of the most powerful techniques he’d ever seen. How could a Henge… ’ Sarutobi’s thoughts were brought to a screeching halt when the smoke around Naruto cleared away to reveal one of the most beautiful women Sarutobi had ever seen.

Her golden blonde hair was pulled into long pigtails that fell gently down her shoulders. Her incredible blue eyes shined like polished sapphires, and her soft, full lips were formed into a small pout between her cutely whiskered cheeks.

But most importantly…she was completely naked.

Sarutobi stared for almost a full three seconds at the vision in front of him before being blasted backwards by the torrent of blood that erupted from his nose, and lay twitching on the ground.

Naruto, now back in his normal form, was on the ground as well, unable to breath due to how hard he was laughing. Jagaa walked up and looked down on the twitching form of the village leader with a satisfied smile. “That’s Naruto’s Oiroke no Jutsu , and as you can see, I wasn’t exaggerating about the devastation it can cause.” Jagaa smirked and kicked some dirt into the puddle of blood from the old man’s nose. “Well, he may be half dead, but it looks like he’s still lively where it counts.”  Still smirking, Jagaa reached into his shuriken pouch and pulled out a disposable camera he carried for just such occasions. A few flashes later Jagaa put the camera back into the pouch while chuckling amusedly. “Now we’re even.”

Jagaa turned back to Naruto. “Okay, you did your part. So now I’ll hold up with my end of the deal.”

Naruto was back on his feet so fast lightning would have been impressed. “YATTA, ALL I CAN EAT ICHIRAKU RAMEN!!!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jagaa replied as he massaged his ears. “Let’s just get the emptying of my wallet over with.” With Naruto still jumping for joy, the two blonds left the area, leaving the old Hokage twitching on the forest floor.

X     X     X     X     X

Naruto couldn’t help the sense of wonderful nostalgia that came over him as he looked at the small ramen stand in front of him. It felt like a lifetime ago since he had last tasted the wonderful food made inside, but now he was back and only a few moments away from once again having the best ramen that he had ever tasted.

“Hey!” Jagaa’s voice pulled Naruto out of his blissful thoughts. “Are you just gonna stand there drooling or do you plan on going inside?”

“I’m coming!” Naruto yelled and practically sprinted the remaining twenty feet or so.

As soon as Naruto passed under the entrance a pretty brunette came out of the back with a pad of paper and a pencil, smiling kindly. Naruto instantly recognized her as the twelve year old girl named ‘Ayame’ that used to talk to him while he ate if she wasn’t busy helping her dad in the back. Now at sixteen, she had become quite an attractive young woman. “What can I get you gentlemen?” She asked sweetly.

Naruto’s trip down memory lane was cut short by the question as his mouth started watering. “One of everything and keep em coming!” Naruto shouted happily and sat on his favorite old stool.

The pencil and pad fell from the girl’s hands as she stared at Naruto as if she’d just seen a ghost. For an indefinite amount of time the small stand was completely silent, save the low snickering of Jagaa as he watched Naruto’s growing nervousness.

“Uhh, are you okay, Ayame-nee-chan?” Naruto asked and the girl’s eyes regained their focus.

“NARUTO-KUN!” The girl screamed before launching herself over the counter to one of the most spectacular glomps ever seen by man.
“Where have you been? Dad and I were so worried about you? Why did you just disappear like that?”

“A…Aya…me…nee…chan…ca…n’t…brea…th…” A quickly turning blue Naruto choked out. Off to the side, Jagaa was openly laughing at the boy’s plight.

“Oh, sorry Naruto-kun.” Ayame said and loosened her hold without fully letting go. “I was just so happy to see you again. We’ve really been worried about you, you know.”

Naruto smiled apologetically despite his gasping. “I’m really sorry, Ayame-chan. I just had to get away for a while. Don’t worry though. I won’t be leaving again anytime soon.”

Ayame pulled away with a happy smile. “I’m glad.”

A flash of light off to the side drew the reunited friend’s attention and they turned their heads just in time to see Jagaa stowing his disposable camera. “What are you taking a picture for?” Naruto asked suspiciously.

Jagaa shrugged. “You never know when it could come in handy. Besides that though, are you two gonna hug all day or can we order now? I’m starting to get hungry here.”

“Oh, yes, right away.” Ayame said with a rosy blush as she broke away from Naruto and quickly moved back around the counter. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll start with one shrimp ramen and go from there.” Jagaa said easily. “I think you already heard what the brat wanted.”

With a nod, Ayame ran into the back of the shop. A few seconds later there was a surprised ‘What?’ from the other side of the wall and soon after an elderly man walked through the doorway, his eyes lighting up as soon as he saw Naruto. “Well I’ll be! It really is you! How have you been, boy? It’s been far too quiet around here without you. You had us worried when you disappeared without telling us like that.” The old man reached over the counter and ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately.

Naruto smiled at the old man. “Sorry Jii-san, I won’t do it again. I promise.”

The kind old man smiled wider. “Good to hear. How about in celebration of your return, I give you the first five bowls free?”

“You’re the best, Jii-san!” Naruto exclaimed happily.

Jagaa just shook his head. ‘ Only because he knows giving Naruto five bowls free is like giving a normal person a ten percent discount on one bowl. ’

With another happy smile the old man followed his daughter to the back to make the orders.

Jagaa turned to Naruto with a small frown. “You know, I think I should be offended that I wasn’t even noticed. Where’s the customer service card? I’m gonna complain.”

“Ha ha.” Naruto said sarcastically. “You’re just upset that Ayame-nee-chan was so happy to see me that she didn’t pay any attention to you.”

Jagaa’s frown turned into a smirk. “Funny you should mention her. You seemed to be pretty happy while she was hugging you. Could it be that little Naru-kun has a crush on an older girl?”

Naruto blushed a deep red. “I do not have a crush on Ayame-nee-chan! She’s just a friend!”

“Well I’ve seen plenty of other girls that would love to be your friend , but you always run away from them. Seems pretty likely that it could have been because you had another girl in mind?”

Naruto growled. “Fangirls are not normal girls and you know it.” Naruto’s angry look became smug. “Or have you forgotten about your Fangirls in Kiri?”

Jagaa shuddered violently. “Point taken. You win this one.”

Naruto smiled smugly but let the issue drop. He didn’t want to think about Fangirls anymore. It might make him lose his appetite.

For a time the two of them just sat quietly as the sounds of cooking filled the air until Jagaa decided to break the silence. “So how was your first day at the academy? Well, minus the fact I know you must have hated sitting on your ass all day.”

Naruto shuddered almost as much as Jagaa had. “Yeah, that part wasn’t fun in the least.” Naruto’s face lit up with a grin. “But I did make a few friends and embarrass that Uchiha-teme. So overall I’d say that it was worth coming back.” Naruto looked up to the roof of the Ramen stand with determined and happy grin on his face. “Things are going to be different this time.”

Jagaa smiled lightly at the boy’s happy expression before his eyebrows rose questioningly. “Uchiha-teme?”

Naruto nodded vigorously. “Yeah, he challenged me to a fight and I totally…YATTA, RAMEN!” Naruto yelled happily as Ayame set a bowl of the steaming Miso Ramen in front of the whiskered blonde. Naruto immediately grabbed his chopsticks and broke them apart. “Itadakimasu!” He yelled before shoveling noodles into his mouth at a ferocious rate.

‘ The only thing Naruto likes better than boasting is eating ramen. ’ Jagaa thought with a shake of his head before looking up to Ayame as she set his Shrimp Ramen in front of him. “I hope you have a few bowls already on back up. He goes through those things fast you know.”

The girl nodded with a small blush on her cheeks. “Don’t worry. We know all about how much he can eat. Excuse me.” Turning quickly the girl darted back through the door to the back, rushing past her father just as he was coming out. He smiled at her fondly before walking over to lean on one elbow in front of Jagaa. “Heheh, it seems my daughter is quite taken with you.”

Jagaa just swallowed the noodles in his mouth before looking up to the old man with a smirk. “It’s the sunglasses. Chicks dig the mysterious look.” Seeing the old man’s slight frown, Jagaa’s smirk changed to a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. She’s safe from me. I may not be the most chaste of people, but I don’t touch innocent girls like her. It feels kinda wrong.”

“You’re a player?” The old man asked with an eyebrow raised.

“More like, non-committal.” Jagaa answered easily. “So I only ever hook up with women who have the same mindset.”

The old man nodded. “At least you’re honest.” The old man looked away long enough to hand Naruto another bowl of Ramen just before the boy could yell for more. With a happy cry Naruto proceeded to dig in again. Turning back to Jagaa the old man smiled widely. “There are some things that are impossible to forget.” He explained.

“I’ll bet.” Jagaa said dryly before taking another bite of noodles. “You know, this stuff is really good.” He added thoughtfully.

“Thank you.” The old man smiled kindly again, and Jagaa started to wonder if the man even had an aggressive bone in his body. “My name is Teuchi.” The man said, extending his hand. Jagaa examined it curiously for a moment before taking it in his own. “Jagaa.”

“Nice to meet you, Jagaa.”

“Same to you.”

“Old Man, another bowl!” Naruto yelled happily. Still smiling, Teuchi pulled up another pre-prepared bowl.

Jagaa watched the old man hand Naruto his next bowl as he asked the boy how he had been for the last few years. Naruto of course started to animatedly tell the kind old man everything he could think of, through a mouth full of noodles. Ayame soon came out of the back as well holding three more bowls of ramen. Her face heated up slightly when she looked over at Jagaa again, but soon enough was chatting happily with Naruto alongside her father.

Jagaa smiled slightly. It was nice to know that Naruto at least had a few people in the village that hadn’t hated him. It was starting to make sense to the scarred man why Naruto wanted to come back so badly. Sometimes it was worth putting up with the hatred of a hundred people, just to feel the kindness of one.

It was about then, that Tuechi raised his head to look at something outside of the stand and his eyes widened fearfully before glancing back down worriedly at the happy blond boy. Catching the motion, Ayame too looked up and her own eyes widened as well. Jagaa didn’t need to check to know what they had seen, and from the expression on Naruto’s face, neither did he. Without a word, Jagaa reached out and rubbed the top of the boy’s head comfortingly. Starting in surprise, Naruto looked at Jagaa.

“Don’t worry, Naruto. Like you said before, things are gonna be different this time.” Jagaa’s mouth formed a confident and reassuring smirk as he ruffled the boy’s hair. “Because this time, I’m here.”

Naruto felt tears well up in his eyes as he looked at the man that had become like his brother over the last four years. Closing his eyes and wiping them furiously, he nodded his understanding, still not able to look at the man because of all the emotion welling inside him.

Jagaa smiled fondly at the young boy as he gently ruffled his hair one more time before standing up from the stool and facing the oncoming mob. 

X     X     X     X     X

“Such power.” The old Hokage muttered, now sitting behind his desk after waking up from his fainting due to blood loss. How could such a young boy come up with such a devastating technique? It was unfair.

“Now I remember that smile.” Sarutobi chastised himself. “That was Naruto’s ‘prank’ smile. Seeing that has never been a good sign.” The old man’s voice hardened slightly. “And why do I suddenly know that the ‘snort’ Jagaa let out earlier was not a sneeze?” Sarutobi’s face shifted again to take on a surprisingly malicious smile. “Having Naruto use such a technique on me was rather low, Jagaa-kun. However, I have already thought of a suitable vengeance. You will rue the day you tangled with the one known as ‘The Professor’.” Sarutobi chuckled darkly as his plans for retribution played through his mind.

“Uh, should I come back later, Hokage-sama?” A lazy voice said from in front of him.

The old man snapped his eyes up to see Kakashi standing in the middle of the room, his visible eye watching him warily. “Uh, Kakashi-kun…what are you doing here?”

“You asked me to come.” The silver haired Jounin stated bluntly, still watching him carefully.

Sarutobi was seriously fighting the urge to slap himself right now. “Oh, yes, well thank you for coming. Please have a seat.” He indicated one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“Thank you, Hokage-sama, but I think I’d prefer to stand.” Kakashi said politely even as his mind finished his thought. ‘ Just in case I have to run away from the crazy old man. ’

Sarutobi nodded, his years of experience being the only thing keeping him from blushing at being caught acting like a vengeful ten year old. “Very well, do you know why I called you here?” At Kakashi’s negative shake of his head, Sarutobi lifted his pipe to his mouth. “The truth is that I would like your opinion on a few matters.”

Kakashi tilted his head curiously. “What matters are those, Hokage-sama.”

“For starters, I would like to know how strong you think Jagaa-kun is.”

Kakashi paused, putting his hand in his chin thoughtfully and looking at the ceiling. “Hmm, I can’t say for sure having only had a brief exchange with him four years ago, but if he’s stronger now than he was then. I have no doubt that I would lose if I didn’t use the Sharingan .”

The sure way Kakashi answered made Sarutobi’s eyes widen. “And if you did use it?”

Kakashi stayed silent for a while, staring at the ceiling. When he finally looked down, his eye was curved into a relaxed smile. “I have no idea, Hokage-sama.” Sarutobi’s left eye twitched in annoyance as he fought down the urge to pound some seriousness into the masked man.

“I see.” The old man said as he took a calming puff on his pipe. “Do you feel I was wrong in my decision to allow him unescorted movement based on only his word that he would become a Jounin of Konoha? Should I have waited until the day he actually wore the Konoha Hitai-ate?” The old man dropped his pipe and looked at Kakashi expectantly.

“With all due respect, Hokage-sama, why are you asking me about this?” Kakashi stated. “Wouldn’t it be better for you to consult with your advisors in this situation?”

“No, it wouldn’t.” Sarutobi answered, causing Kakashi’s head to tilt in confusion. “They would only look at things in the sense of ‘He’s a Wandering Nin’ and demand his actions be restricted. I also feel that, despite how much it pains me to admit, they may be biased due to the fact he has been training Naruto. That’s why I want the opinion of someone who has talked with and spent a bit of time with him, and who holds no grudge against Naruto.” The Hokage took another puff on his pipe. “So I’ll ask you again, Kakashi-kun. Do you think he should still be escorted?”

Kakashi nodded his acceptance of the old man’s answer and frowned lightly behind his mask as he thought. “I don’t know about being escorted, Hokage-sama, but I do think you should have ANBU following him.” Sarutobi raised his eyebrows curiously, but Kakashi held up a hand. “Let me finish, sir. He needs ANBU following him, and so does Naruto. Not because of anything they might do, but because of what others might try to do. I don’t think I need to remind you of how happy the villagers, and a large amount of the Shinobi, were to hear that Naruto had left the village. They won’t take the news that he’s back well.” Kakashi looked directly into the old Hokage’s eyes. “And if there’s one thing I do know, it’s that Jagaa will not allow Naruto to be mistreated.”

The Hokage narrowed his eyes. “How far would he go?”

Kakashi smiled. “Well, let’s just say that it is a very good thing I happened to be walking by the gate today or we’d be short two gate guards.”

Sarutobi rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Wonderful.”

Kakashi smile faded slightly. “Don’t worry, Hokage-sama, I’ve already asked some old ANBU friends of mine to keep an eye on the two of them, so it should be….” The sound of rushing wind marked someone’s arrival through shunshin , and both the aged Hokage and the silver haired Jounin looked over to see a man in dark ANBU clothing and a wolf mask kneeling off to the side.

“Hokage-sama, Kakashi-san, we have a situation!”

“What is it?” Sarutobi asked crisply.

“There is a large group of villagers moving to Naruto-san and Jagaa-san’s location. I have my men ready to step in if they show signs of violence, but it may require Hokage-sama’s intervention to keep the peace.”

The old man instantly stood up from behind his desk, complete seriousness in his eyes. “Let’s go.” He commanded and all three of them disappeared.

X   X   X   X   X

When Sarutobi arrived, he had expected to see a large crowd of angry villagers, possibly being blocked off by ANBU, standing in front of the small ramen stand and screaming for blood while Jagaa stood protectively in front of Naruto.

What he did not expect to see, was a large crowd of villagers laying on the ground and groaning in pain while the ANBU stood nervously off to the side. Watching as Jagaa held a terrified man half a meter off the ground with one hand.

“This is the only warning you all get!” Sarutobi heard Jagaa growl at the man. “If anyone tries to harm Naruto in any way, they probably won’t live to regret the mistake! Do I make myself clear?” The frightened man, who now had a wet trail running down his pants, nodded vigorously. With a grunt of acceptance Jagaa dropped the man, watching as his knees buckled beneath him. “I suggest you and your friends spread the word fast. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for the deaths of unwarned people now would you?” The man shook his head so hard it looked like it was about to fly off his shoulders. “Good. Now get the hell out of my sight.”

The man took off at a speed that could have put some Shinobi to shame and most of the people on the ground were already crawling away as fast as their injured bodies would allow. Without another word, Jagaa turned and walked back into the ramen stand and took a seat next to Naruto as the boy himself stared in awe. Behind the counter, an elderly man clapped Jagaa on the shoulder heartily as he offered him a fresh bowl of ramen, and a brown haired girl was looking at him with hearts in her eyes.

The old Hokage looked from the four in the stand, to the people on the ground groaning or crawling away, then at the ANBU standing around nervously, before going back to the four in the ramen stand. The action was repeated again and again, to the point Kakashi was starting to wonder if the village leader was going to make himself dizzy.

Shaking his head, Kakashi turned and addressed one of the present ANBU. “What happened here?” The question seemed to snap the old man back to reality and he too turned to listen to the response.

The ANBU shifted from side to side uncomfortably. “W-well, we were watching the new arrival just as you asked us to, when a large group of villagers gathered behind the ramen stand. The villagers started yelling various insults such as ‘Demon Lover’ and ‘Monster Protector’, and we were about to intervene, when one of the villagers picked up a rock and made as if to throw it.” The ANBU looked over to the stand, and a slight awe came to his voice. “I could barely even see him move. He grabbed the man’s hand from behind to stop the throw, but that was after he had already knocked out everyone else in the group with low powered strikes to their heads and abdomens. The only people I’ve ever seen move like that before, were either Kakashi-san or Gai-san.”

Kakashi and Sarutobi glanced at each other and nodded. It seemed that Kakashi’s predictions on Jagaa’s strength, as well as his lack of hesitation to protect Naruto, were right on the mark.

“Take any of the injured villagers who have not left by their own power already to the hospital for a checkup.” The Hokage ordered the ANBU. “Kakashi and I will talk with Jagaa.”

“Yes, Sir!” The ANBU saluted before motioning to his colleges, who immediately set to work gathering up the remaining people on the ground. With another nod to Kakashi, the Hokage entered the stand followed by the masked Jounin. “Good evening, Jagaa-san, Naruto-kun.” Sarutobi said smoothly and took a seat next to the scarred man.

Jagaa turned and smiled easily. “Hey old timer, you just missed the party. A group of villagers came to celebrate Naruto’s return to Konoha. I just finished showing them how much we appreciated their efforts.” Sarutobi felt his irritation rise at Jagaa’s casualness at attacking villagers…or maybe it was because Jagaa had just called him ‘Old Timer’. He wasn’t sure.

Naruto was watching Hokage somewhat nervously. He knew that the old man was nice, but he might not take too kindly to Jagaa attacking villagers. He was afraid that his worries had been confirmed when he saw the kindly old man frown. “May I ask why you decided to attack the villagers before they actually attacked you?” He said pointedly.

“Preemptive strike.” Jagaa shrugged. “Besides, it’s my policy to kill anyone who attacks me without provocation. So it was either to hurt them but not kill them by making the first move myself, or let them attack first and kill them all.” Jagaa gave the old man a vicious grin. “However, if you don’t like the fact I went with option one, I’d be more than happy to go with option two.”

Sarutobi sighed. “I would prefer that you not attack the villagers at all. You are going to be a Jounin of this village in less than a year. I can probably get this incident past the council as you being ignorant of how things work here, but that won’t work twice.”

Jagaa’s voice hardened slightly. “You say that as if I give a fuck. Don’t forget, I didn’t ask, nor do I want to become a Jounin of this village. The only reason I don’t just leave now is because of Naruto. So if you think I’m gonna sit back and let these shit for brains fucktards you call ‘villagers’ hurt him based on nothing more than their own stupidity, then you should book yourself a room in an old folks home because you’ve gone senile.”

Naruto, Ayame, and Teuchi were all staring at Jagaa in a mixture of shock and amazement. Even Kakashi’s visible eye had widened slightly in surprise at Jagaa’s bold statement. All four of them were looking back and forth from Jagaa to the Hokage in anticipation of what would happen next, and were surprised when the old man smiled lightly.

“Hnn, you certainly don’t mince your words do you, Jagaa-san?”

Jagaa smirked back. “Nope.”

The old man shook his head. “Maybe having you around will be more trouble than I thought.”

“You could always…”

“No, I’m holding you to your deal to become a Jounin.” The old man actually smirked at Jagaa’s scowl. “Call it payback for the little prank you and Naruto played on me.” The old man’s smirk widened evilly. “And that’s only the beginning.”

Jagaa’s own scowl deepened. “I think I’m starting to dislike you, old man.” The Hokage simply smiled in response.

Now that the fear of Jagaa getting in trouble was gone, Naruto had started snickering quietly along with Kakashi as they watched the exchange.

“Uhm, sorry to interrupt,” The four sitting at the counter turned their heads to look at Teuchi as he addressed Naruto and Jagaa. “But didn’t you two just get here today?” At the pair of blonds nod, the old man continued. “So do you have a place to stay?”

Jagaa and Naruto blinked a couple times at the man, Naruto’s blinks the only ones able to be seen due to Jagaa’s sunglasses, before turning to each other.

“Do we have a place to stay?” Jagaa asked.

“How should I know? You’re the adult!” Naruto answered.

“You’re the one who’s lived here before, and the one that wanted to come back! Didn’t you have some kind of plan?”

“I’m eleven! What do I know about making plans?”

“Well I’m a Wanderer ! Why the hell would I think about a permanent residence? I usually sleep in the woods! Something you should be well aware of!”

“I can’t believe you’d try to blame this on a kid, you irresponsible pervert!”

“Hey, I’m not the one who wanted to come here in the first place, you Chibi pain in the ass! That makes it your fault by de fault!”

“WHO ARE YOU CALLIN ‘CHIBI’!?”

The other four occupants of the little ramen stand could only watch in amazement as Jagaa and Naruto continued to argue back and forth like a pair of school boys over whose fault it was that they had no place to stay. The Sandaime was finally about to suggest that they stay at his house for the night, if for no other reason than to stop the bickering, when a new voice cut in.

“Yo, Naruto, what’s up man?” Everyone in the stand turned back to see Kiba walking up to them with Akamaru on his shoulder.

“Oh, hey Kiba. What are you doing here?” Naruto asked, completely forgetting he was currently in an argument.

“I just heard some people yelling and thought I recognized your voice so I came to check it out.” Kiba said with a shrug.

“Oh, yeah.” Naruto laughed. “Me and Nii-san were arguing about whose fault it is that we don’t have a place to stay.”

“Yours.” Jagaa said from beside him as he took a bite of the ramen he had been neglecting.

“It is NOT!”

The two once again degenerated into an argument leaving Kiba to blink along with the rest of the observing group. “Uh, you know. You could probably stay at my place for a couple nights.” He said after a few moments of stupor.

Naruto and Jagaa instantly stopped arguing and looked at Kiba curiously. “Really?” They asked in unison.

“Uh, yeah, sure. I mean, Mom is always telling me that she’s worried about me because I never bring any friends over. So I don’t think she’ll mind.” Kiba said with Akamaru barking his agreement.

Naruto and Jagaa looked from Kiba to each other and Naruto’s questioning eyes were met with a shrug. “I guess it’s worth a shot.” Jagaa said casually, even though he was wondering how Kiba’s mother would react to Naruto.

“Cool!” Kiba said before walking in and hoping on the last remaining stool. “We can go once you’ve finished eating.”

Jagaa glanced over to Kiba and then to Teuchi who nodded and handed Kiba a bowl of beef ramen. “What’s this? I didn’t order anything.” Kiba said perplexed.

“Just eat up, kid.” Jagaa said as he took another bite of his shrimp ramen. “We’re gonna be here for a while.”

“What does that mean?” Kiba asked.

Jagaa smirked lightly. “Just watch and see. I’d hate to ruin the surprise for you.”

“So you’ll be taking young Inuzuka here up on his offer then?” Sarutobi asked.

“Well, we’ll try to anyway.” Jagaa answered. The Sandaime just nodded, fully aware of the hidden meaning in Jagaa’s words. “If it does not work out, feel free to come to my manor. I’d be happy to let you both stay with me for a time.”

Jagaa smiled and clapped the old man on the back in a hearty manner, making his hat fall into his eyes. “That’s mighty considerate of you there, old timer. Maybe you’re not so bad after all.”

Sarutobi adjusted his hat to sit right on his head again, casting a less than amused look at Jagaa. “Anyway, I must be going. Take care, all of you.” With that, the Sandaime removed himself from the counter stool and exited the shop. As he left, all the remaining occupants of the stand, with the exception of Jagaa, were staring at his retreating figure with wide eyes.

“You know you’re going to catch hell for that, right?” Kakashi said easily as he put his nose back in his book.

“Probably, but it was worth it.” Jagaa responded before looking over to Naruto who was laughing too hard to even eat his ramen. An incredible thing in itself. “You! Quit laughing and finish eating so we can go to your friend’s house. It’s gonna take you long enough as it is.”

“All right, all right, I’m eating.” Naruto said as he calmed himself down before practically diving into his bowl.

Jagaa looked back to Kiba who was watching Naruto eat in fascination. “Like I said, eat up kid. We’re gonna be here a while.”

X   X   X   X   X

Thirty-seven bowls of ramen and one shocked Kiba later, the three of them were walking into the Inuzuka compound with Kiba leading the way. As soon as they entered the large gate, Naruto and Jagaa were assaulted by the overwhelming smell of dogs. Kiba noticed the two of them flinch violently and cover their noses with loud gagging sounds and laughed apologetically. “Heheh, sorry for not warning you. I forgot that the smell can be a bit much for people who aren’t used to it.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It just caught me off guard.” Naruto laughed, massaging his nose. “Nii-san’s cooking smells way worse than this anyway.” Naruto was sent sprawling into the dirt a second later by Jagaa’s blow to the back of his head. A second after that , Naruto was jumping around wiping his tongue and spitting, a horrified and disgusted look on his face. “GAAAHHH, THERE WAS DOG SHIT THERE!!!”

“Teach you to insult my cooking.” Jagaa smirked as Naruto dunked his face into a nearby trough of water and shook his head viciously trying to get the taste out of his mouth.

“Uh, Naruto, that’s what our dogs drink from.” Kiba said from the sidelines.

Naruto’s head stopped cold with his face still underwater before the trough practically exploded upwards as Naruto ripped his face from the water. “GAAHHH, I WAS DRINKING DOG DROOL!!!” This was followed by Naruto running around the clearing in the compound screaming about rabies and the fact dogs lick their butts.

Kiba stared at Naruto incredulously before turning to look at Jagaa. “You know, when he fought the Uchiha-teme today, he was pretty badass. Now he just looks like an idiot.”

Jagaa shrugged. “You get used to it.” Kiba just shook his head in amazement and turned back to watch Naruto, who was now being chased around by Akamaru and several other puppies that thought the boy was playing some kind of game.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT HERE!?” A powerful female voice rang out, cutting through Naruto’s screaming. Naruto instantly froze and Kiba went white as a sheet. “Uh oh.”

A few seconds later a woman with long, wild brown hair came slamming through the door followed by a large black dog with a scar over its eye on her heels, her slit pupils roving over the scene in front of her. The first thing she saw was Kiba, pale as ghost and shaking nervously, before she moved on to the source of the ruckus. As soon as she saw Naruto surrounded by puppies, her eyes widened. “You’re…”

“That’s right.” Jagaa said, moving into the woman’s line of sight. “His name is Uzumaki Naruto.”

The woman focused on Jagaa with hard eyes. “And you are?”

“Jagaa.” He answered before finishing with an edge in his voice. “The brat’s guardian .”

“Hey, I’m not a brat!” Naruto yelled, but he was ignored by both Jagaa and the woman.

“Kiba!” The woman barked making the boy go rigid. “Who are these people and what are they doing here?”

“Uhh, well,” Kiba started nervously. “Naruto is my new friend at the academy and Jagaa is the guy that’s been training him while he was away from Konoha. I heard them saying that they didn’t have a place to stay and offered to let them crash here. You know, since you’re always telling me I should invite friends over and such.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed as several more people and dogs came out of the house behind them. Jagaa noticed many people’s eyes widen in recognition when they saw Naruto, some becoming hateful, and his expression hardened.

“Naruto, we’re leaving.” He said curtly, earning a surprised look from Kiba and a sorrowfully understanding one from Naruto.

“What? Why? I’m sure mom will let you stay if…” Kiba was cut off when Naruto put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a large foxy grin.

“Don’t worry about it, Kiba. We’ll just sleep in the woods. We’re used to it anyway, right Nii-san?” Jagaa nodded in response and Naruto smiled wider. “See, we’ll be just fine. Thanks for the offer though. I’ll see you at the academy tomorrow.” Looking a bit downtrodden, Kiba nodded his understanding.

Seeing the depressed look that came over her son’s face, the woman sighed and started to call out to the retreating pair. She was unable to do so though as another voice, one that held nothing but spite, called out before her.

“That’s right! Get that monster out of our home!”

The next thing anyone saw was a black blur appear in front of the man who had yelled and slam him by his throat into the side of the large home.

“Care to say that again?” Jagaa growled as he slowly tightened his grip on the choking and struggling man. There was a loud snarl as a large brown dog leapt at Jagaa. Without letting go of the man, or even facing the animal, Jagaa swung his free hand around and smashed the back of his fist into the side of the dog’s head, sending it to the ground with a painful yelp. Without sparing the dog a glance, Jagaa turned his face to the rest of the gathered Inuzuka challengingly. “Next.”

Kiba and Naruto watched in a mixture of awe and horror as the remaining Inuzuka braced to attack the scarred man. Fortunately, before anyone could start what would definitely be a large scale fight, Kiba’s mother’s voice rang out directed at her fellow Inuzuka.

“ENOUGH ALL OF YOU!” The shout stopped the other Inuzuka cold and made Jagaa raise his eyebrows curiously. Turning away from her clansmen she addressed Jagaa. “Please let our pack mate go.”

Jagaa’s eyebrows rose higher. “And just why should I do that? He insulted someone that, although he’s annoying most of the time, I’ve grown rather fond of.”

Surprisingly, it was the large black dog next to her that spoke next, his voice a low growl. “Human, do you know what will happen if you continue to harm our pack mate?”

Jagaa gave the dog a vicious smile and his grip tightened a little more. “Why don’t we find out?”

“Why you…” The dog growled but was cut off when the woman put her hand in front of him.

“Enough, Kuromaru.” She said as she looked at Jagaa.

The dog looked up at the woman. “Tsume?”

Tsume took a few steps toward Jagaa, her eyes glinting strangely. Then to the shock of all present, she bowed to Jagaa. “Please let our pack mate go. He may be an idiot Omega (the other Inuzuka flinched at the insult) that does not know how to hold his tongue, but he is still one of our own. I ask you to release him as the head of the clan.”

Jagaa turned his face from the woman to the man that was turning blue in his grip and then back to Tsume before sighing lightly. “Fine.” He said before pulling his hand away to let the man fall limply to the floor where he gasped painfully for air.

“Thank you.” Tsume said gratefully but Jagaa merely grunted.

“I only did it because you’re one of the few clan heads I’ve met that’s willing to swallow their pride for the sake of a clan member. Otherwise he would be dead, and I’d be in the middle of killing anyone who tried to do something about it.”

Kuromaru growled. “Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you human?”

“In more ways than one, Mutt.” Jagaa smirked at the dog before looking to the rest of the group. “Well, I’ve had enough fun for the day.” He said just before a blue and yellow figure launched at him from the side. Casually raising his hand Jagaa caught the punch aimed for his face before glancing down at Naruto. “What are you doing?”

“That’s what I was gonna ask!” Naruto yelled, surprising the onlookers. “You were about to kill that guy!”

“You weren’t complaining when I knocked out all of those civilians earlier.” Jagaa countered.

“That was different.” The young boy growled. “You were only scaring them.”

“So you think.” Jagaa smirked at the scowling Naruto. “Besides, you were doing the same thing as me when we were outside of Konoha, even if it wasn’t to a lethal extent. Like that time you put those five Iwa Genin in the hospital because they were harassing that civilian girl.”

Naruto blushed lightly and glanced at Kiba who was looking at him in amazement. “It wasn’t that big a deal. They were fresh out of their academy and trying to show off. I mostly got them by surprise.”

“Oh, what about the three Kiri Genin that were torturing that puppy.” Jagaa added, instantly catching the attention of all the Inuzuka. “If I recall, you made sure they knew you were there before you attacked them.”

“Uhm…” Naruto fidgeted nervously.

“And then there was that time…”

“OKAY!” Naruto yelled out in exasperation causing Jagaa to smirk wider.

“I’m just saying that you’ve never had any problems with using violence when needed before. So why are you going all pansy on me now?”

Naruto shifted from foot to foot looking at the ground. “I wasn’t trying to become Hokage out there.” He mumbled.

Jagaa sighed. He could understand Naruto’s hesitation to stand up for himself now that he was back in Konoha. Not only was he already tainted with an inescapable stigma, a curse Jagaa was still deciding if he should tell the boy about or not, it wouldn’t make things easier to achieve his dreams if the villagers thought he was willing to attack them. No matter how much they deserved it. With a shake of his head, he reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“All right, Brat. I’ll try to curb my more violent tendencies. ‘Try’ being the key word here.” Jagaa smiled mischievously.

Naruto grinned up at Jagaa. “Thanks Nii-san.”

The on looking Inuzuka stood in amazement as they watched the exchange between the two. It wasn’t until Kiba’s sixteen year old sister, Inuzuka Hana, stepped forward and addressed the pair that the silence was broken. “Excuse me, but what happened to that puppy you mentioned?” She asked.

Naruto’s face fell and he looked to the ground, leaving Jagaa to answer. “It died.” A gasp ran through the clan as Jagaa continued. “By the time Naruto got there, they had already stabbed it several times in vital areas. It died before we could get it anywhere for treatment.”

A low growl emitted from all of the gathered Inuzuka. “What happened to the Genin who tortured it?” Tsume snarled.

“They lived, but they’ll never be able to be Shinobi again. Hell, they’ll be lucky if they can even walk.” Jagaa smirked lightly. “That was the only time so far that I had to stop Naruto from killing someone.” There was a grunt of satisfaction, even if it wasn’t complete satisfaction, and many of the Inuzuka actually looked favorably at the young blond as Tsume walked over and looked down at him. “Why were you so concerned for a pup, young one?”

Naruto's expression became defiant. “No one has a right to treat any living thing like that. Especially for amusement . They deserved worse than they got as far as I’m concerned.”

Tsume smiled approvingly at the boy before her expression became serious. “Even if it was not one of our own, we Inuzuka feel a keen connection to all canine life. You may not have saved the pup, but your effort is proof enough of your honorable nature. From now on, you are welcome in the Inuzuka home.”

Naruto’s stunned face showed his astonishment as he stared at the woman. Finally snapping himself out of his stupor, Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “Thank you.” Tsume smiled at him and Naruto Turned happily to Jagaa, but paused when he noticed his older brother was frowning. “What’s wrong, Nii-san.”

Jagaa shook his head. “I don’t know. It just seems like all of this is unrealistically convenient.” At Naruto’s puzzled stare he elaborated. “Think about it. I just happen to say one of things you’ve done that just happens to strike an emotional chord in a group of people who just happen to be dog lovers. So now they all instantly decide you’re a good person. Doesn’t that seem just a little strange to you?”

“I think you’re over thinking things, Nii-san.” Naruto said pointedly.

“And I think you accept things to easy.” Jagaa’s frown became a victorious smirk. “Oh well, even if it is unrealistic, it proves I’m right. Resorting to violence does have its rewards.”

Naruto just rolled his eyes.

“So, does that mean Naruto can stay?” Kiba asked his mother. At her acknowledging nod, Kiba pumped his fist into the air. “Hell yeah!” Running over, he grabbed Naruto by the arm. “Come on man, you can stay in my room!” Grinning widely the two took off inside the house with the other Inuzuka falling in behind as they too went in. Jagaa noticed that several of the Inuzuka were still regarding Naruto with somewhat distrustful eyes, but that was only to be expected. Nobody could completely change so quickly after all. It actually made him feel a bit better about the whole situation.

“It seems that my son and your brother will probably be good friends in the years to come.” Tsume said as she walked up beside him. Jagaa simply nodded his agreement before facing the Inuzuka clan head. “Considering I probably pissed off most of your clan, I’ll just go sleep in the forest. I’ll be back in the morning to get Naruto.” Jagaa turned to leave but Tsume’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“That won’t be necessary. Your actions were justifiable. I would have reacted much the same way if someone was to insult my son without just cause, and it probably would have been more brutal than what you did.” Tsume smiled viciously. “We Inuzuka live close to our instincts after all.”

“I see.” Jagaa replied and examined the woman for a bit before shrugging. “Eh, whatever. If it doesn’t bother you, then I’ll go ahead and take you up on the offer. I guess sleeping on a bed would be better than sleeping in a tree anyway.”

Tsume smiled and motioned for him to follow. “I’ll show you to the room you’ll be staying in.” Jagaa complied and fell in step behind as she led him through the halls of the Inuzuka home until they came to a large door. “After you.” Tsume said with a grin, getting another shrug from Jagaa as he opened the door and walked inside. After a quick inspection, he found himself in a spacious, well-furnished bedroom with a king sized bed against the middle of the wall. Jagaa whistled lowly as he examined the room. “Kind of fancy for a guest bedroom, don’t you think?” He asked out loud. His answer was the door shutting behind him and a small click. As he turned to question what was going on, he felt a small wave of chakra travel across the walls of the room. ‘ A silencing Jutsu? That would mean…Uh oh! ’ The next thing Jagaa knew, he was tackled to the bed with his vest and sword having somehow been removed and a pair of lips hungrily locked on to his own. As soon as the initial surprise wore off Jagaa actually shrugged under the woman before returning the kiss vigorously.

After a few minutes of a fierce battle of tongues, Tsume pulled back panting and wearing a feral grin. “You like?”

Jagaa smirked. “Very much.” The smirk then turned into a small frown. “Not that I’m complaining, but what exactly brought this on?”

Tsume leaned in close, her eyes glowing with lust as she spoke. “I told you, we Inuzuka live close to our instincts, and your little display out there has mine running wild.”

“I hope you’re not planning anything long term.” Jagaa said. “I’m not the settling down type.”

Tsume smirked and trailed her hand down his exposed chest, tracing one of the longer scars. “Neither am I.”

Jagaa matched Tsume smirk for smirk. “I see. That’s good to hear.” With a quick motion, Jagaa flipped Tsume onto her back and took position above her as he ripped her shirt away from her body. Tsume shuddered as the air hit her now exposed breasts and groaned when Jagaa leaned in and started kissing the crook of her neck. “Then I’ll just have to satisfy those instincts of yours, won't I?” He said huskily just before he nipped her neck with his teeth eliciting a gasp from the woman.

Jagaa smirked at the woman’s lustful moans, his own desire increasing with each one. ‘ And Naruto didn’t believe me when I told him that violence can be rewarding. ’

X   X   X   X   X

Naruto sneezed violently and looked around the room suspiciously.

“Got a cold?” Kiba asked and Naruto shook his head.

“Nah, I don’t really get sick. I’m guessing Nii-san is bad mouthing me.”

Kiba cocked his head mockingly. “You actually believe that old wives tale?”

Naruto frowned at Kiba before motioning for Akamaru to come over to him. Once the puppy was close enough, Naruto leaned down and whispered in the dog’s ear. A few seconds later, Kiba sneezed violently and Akamaru was snickering in his canine way.

“What the hell did you just say about me!?” Kiba yelled and Naruto just looked at him innocently.

“Why Kiba, whatever do you mean? You don’t actually believe that old wives tale, do you?”

Kiba glared at the blond boy who was now snickering along with the little white dog. “How about both of you go sleep in the kennel instead.”

“Kiba!” A female voice came from the doorway, and the three occupants turned to see Kiba’s sister, Hana, with a disapproving frown. “That’s no way to talk to your guest.” Naruto and Akamaru were trying to hold in their laughter at Kiba’s caught expression.

With a quick glare at the pair, Kiba looked back to his sister smiling apologetically. “Sorry, Nee-chan.”

Hana nodded her acceptance before looking at Naruto. “Would you like anything to eat, Naruto-kun.”

Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his head. “Ah, no thanks. I ate ramen earlier so I’m good.”

“More like inhaled it. A shit load of it.” Kiba muttered with Akamaru barking his agreement.

“Okay then.” Hana said sweetly. “If you need anything just let me know, okay.” His smile widening Naruto nodded and Hana left the room closing the door behind her.

“Don’t get any ideas!” Kiba suddenly growled at Naruto.

The blond quickly raised his hands up in a placating way, fully realizing what Kiba was talking about. “Never had any.”

“Good.”

Kiba visibly relaxed and the three of them sat in a comfortable silence for a while. The silence was cut short when Kiba started snickering. “So do you think he noticed yet?”

It took a while for Naruto to understand what Kiba meant, but as soon as he did, he too started snickering insanely. “Oh Kami, I wish I could see the look on his face when he does!”

“No kidding!” Kiba’s snickering turned into full blown laughter. “I still can’t believe someone would actually do that to the Hokage ! Your brother is nuts!”

“You just notice that?” Naruto asked and both fell into fresh gales of laughter.

Eventually the laughter died away and the two boys sat on the floor smiling as they caught their breath with Akamaru looking between the two like they were insane.

“I’m glad I came back.” Naruto said as he looked at the ceiling with a smile.

“I’m glad you did too.” Kiba said before frowning slightly. “Too bad we didn’t meet before you left.”

“We probably did.” Naruto replied. “You just wouldn’t have talked to me back then.”

Kiba tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Why not?”

Naruto waved dismissively. “Nothing. Forget I said anything.” Naruto decided it would be best to change the subject, and he had just the way to do it. “By the way, your sister is hot.”

Naruto grinned widely as he saw Kiba’s eyes widen and then narrow to the points they were slits. If there was one thing Naruto knew well it was when it was time to run, which he did by leaping out Kiba’s open window while blowing a raspberry at him. Kiba’s face instantly reddened as he charged after the boy.

“I’M GONNA KILL YOU!”

X     X     X     X     X

Sarutobi was confused. No, he was beyond confused. He was completely baffled.

The walk back to his home had started off normal. He would nod and smile to villagers as he passed, and they in turn would smile and wave, if not bow, to him as he passed. What made it so different tonight was that this time he was sure he could hear people snickering and giggling after he had walked by them. Several times he had looked back to see what was so funny, only to catch people snapping their heads away as if caught looking at something they shouldn’t be.

What was even stranger than that was that he also had had several people come up to him and ask if they could apply for “The Job”. Sarutobi had no idea what “The Job” could be though. As far as he knew, he had no job openings for people to be applying for. Not for civilians at least.

Now that he was finally home, the old man sighed wearily as he removed his Hokage robes. He was looking forward to taking a long relaxing shower and then going to bed. As he laid out the white robe on top of his bed, he heard a strange crackling sound. Curiously, he lifted the robe up again and heard the same sound only less pronounced this time. Frowning, the old man turned the robe around to see the back, and to his great surprise, found a piece of paper taped to it. Noticing there was writing, the Sandaime read through it, his pipe falling out of his mouth once he did.

ATTENTION

Seeking Live In Nurse To Take Care Of This

Feeble, Half Dead Old Man.

Advisory To All Applicants .

There Is A High Risk Of Him

Dying On The Toilet.

Sarutobi stared at the note for several minutes. His mouth opening and closing like a fish. After what seemed like an eternity, the old man finally cleared his head enough for only one thought to enter his mind.

‘ Revenge! ’

Chapter Text

“I’m telling you, Kiba, there is no greater food on the entire planet than Ramen!” Naruto’s loud voice rang out.

“And I’m telling you that red meat is better! Something you should consider eating more of.” Kiba growled. “You’ll probably kill yourself with the amount you of Ramen you devour in one sitting!”

“There’s meat in Ramen!” Naruto argued defensively. “Besides, at least I’ll die happy if I die eating ramen!”

“That’s true, Naruto. Ramen is truly a happy food. Those who eat it are blessed with joy and fulfillment as the thick yet tender noodles slide down your throat followed by a flavorful mixture of seasoned broth. That is why there are no evil people amongst ramen lovers.” Chouji said sagely, his head down and eyes closed in reverence.

“Both of you have some serious issues!” Kiba growled as Akamaru barked his agreement.

“Would you three please, shut up .” Hinata said in annoyance as she looked up from her book. “You’ve been having the same argument almost every day for nearly a year . Can’t you think of something new to argue about?”

“I won’t give up until Kiba accepts that Ramen is the most wonderful thing Kami has ever given us lowly, undeserving mortals!” Naruto declared striking a proud pose.

“Which is never gonna happen!” Kiba yelled.

Hinata shook her head in exasperation. “Why did I ever start hanging around all of you?”

“I believe you said that it was because we’re the only ones that don’t treat you like some sort of dignitary. Which is something you’ve always hated because it made you feel old.” Chouji offered helpfully, earning a glare from Hinata.

“Yeah, Hinata-chan!” Naruto smirked and threw his arm over her shoulder. “We’re your ‘Buddies’! We don’t treat you like the old lady you act like.” His reward was a swift elbow to his gut that left him gasping for air before the girl picked him up by the front of his shirt glaring murderously into his eyes with her Byakugan activated.

“Would you care to repeat that, Naruto-kun?” She asked in a dangerously sweet voice.

Naruto was sweating bullets as he gulped. “W-whatever are you talking about? Dear, sweet, forgiving, Hinata-chan who in no way acts anything like an old lady!”

Hinata smiled approvingly and impudently patted Naruto on the head. “Well aren’t you sweet.” She said before dropping him unceremoniously on the ground and picking up her book again.

“I thought I was gonna die.” Naruto muttered as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

“How many times is it that she’s almost killed you now? Like sixty? You’d think you would have learned by now.” Kiba said as he drug his hand down his face in exasperation while Chouji nodded his agreement.

“You’d think so wouldn’t you?” Naruto replied.

“Well now that we’ve established that Naruto is gonna live to see tomorrow, could all of you shut the hell up so I can get my ass handed to me in relative peace?” Jagaa snapped at them as he stared with murderous intensity down at the Shougi table in front of him while Shikamaru yawned on the other side.

“You’re playing him again , Nii-san?” Naruto asked in surprise. “How many times have you lost already?”

“For the sake of my pride, I’ve blocked all previous losses from memory.” Jagaa responded with a growl before reaching out and moving one of his pieces. Taking a bored glance at the table, Shikamaru reached out and lazily moved his own piece.

“That’s game. My win.”

“GAAAAHHHHH! HOW THE FUCK DOES HE ALWAYS WIN!?”

It was a scenario that had played out within Naruto and Jagaa’s two room apartment many times over the course of the last year.

After the Hokage had arranged for Naruto and Jagaa to live in their current apartment, Naruto and Kiba had started staying over at each other’s homes constantly. After some time, Naruto had invited Chouji and Shikamaru over as well so that they could meet Jagaa. At some point after the introductions, though for some odd reason nobody could remember how or why, Jagaa and Shikamaru had decided to play a game of Shougi. The result was Jagaa being horribly destroyed by a boy that didn’t even seem to be trying. 

Of course, as Shikamaru admitted to Naruto later, it might not have been so easy if Jagaa didn’t seem to have such a ‘Kill Everything’ mentality when he played. The young genius then paled a bit when Naruto told him that was more or less Jagaa’s mentality on all problems he faced.

It was only a couple weeks later that Naruto had invited Hinata (who had become his only female friend his age due to the fact she never tried to glomp him or kill him for insulting Sasuke) over to hang out with all of them. Soon after the five of them were hanging out together almost constantly, with Naruto’s apartment being the primary source of gathering, and it had remained that way for the rest of the year.

“So, is everyone ready for tomorrow?” Chouji asked as munched on a bag of potato chips.

“HELL YEAH!” Naruto yelled, causing everyone one to wince at the volume. “It’s gonna be so easy to become a Genin!”

Jagaa was putting off an extremely irritated aura as he faced Naruto. “How much will it take to get you to fail the test?”

“Hah! You couldn’t afford to buy that much Ramen!”

Hinata looked up from her book curiously. “You don’t want Naruto to become a Genin?”

“You’re fucking right I don’t want him to become a Genin!” Jagaa practically snarled.

Kiba, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Chouji all looked at each other in confusion before looking at the pair of blonds. “Why?” They asked in synch.

Jagaa’s response was to turn away with a grunt while Naruto started snickering. “It’s because, Nii-san accidentally agreed to become a Jounin for Konoha when I became a Genin.”

A small, yet intimidating amount of killing intent radiated off the scarred man. “Do I have to remind you just whose fault that is?” Jagaa said menacingly. Naruto gulped and backed away while smiling nervously.

“Would it really be so bad to become a Konoha Jounin?” Hinata asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Why the fuck would I want to be stuck in this shithole for the rest of my life!?” Jagaa almost shouted at the children who all flinched away instinctively. Taking a few deep breaths, Jagaa picked up his sword from the wall and started for the door. “I’m going drinking!”

“Nii-san, it’s too early for you to go drinking.” Naruto frowned disapprovingly.

Jagaa turned his face toward Naruto with what appeared to be a steady gaze. “Let me put it this way. Either I go drinking, or we go training .”

“WellhavefundrinkingNii-sanseeyalater!” Naruto yelled out as he shoved Jagaa out the door and slammed it behind him. Sliding down to the floor Naruto started taking long deep breaths.

Kiba looked at the panting blonde before turning back to the other three. “If for some reason I ever decide that I want to be trained by Jagaa. Please kill me.”

After taking a look at Naruto themselves, the others nodded in agreement.

X     X     X     X     X

Inside a lounge made exclusively for the Jounin of Konoha, a group of such individuals had gathered together.

“So the finals are tomorrow, eh?” A bearded Jounin, Sarutobi Asuma, asked as he took a drag on his cigarette.

“Indeed! Tomorrow will be the day that more of Konoha’s youthful children will step into the bright world of being Shinobi.” An eccentric Jounin with very large eyebrows wearing an ugly green jumpsuit named Maito Gai yelled before turning to Kakashi. “Maybe this year you too shall have a team like I do, my Eternal Rival! Then I shall have a chance to prove once and for all that I am indeed the better teacher!”

Kakashi looked up lazily from his book. “Hmm, you say something, Gai?”

“OH MY GOD!” Gai yelled, grabbing his head in horror. “There’s that ‘Hip Attitude’ of yours again, Kakashi!”

Kakashi rolled his visible eye before looking back to his book. Asuma chuckled at the masked Jounin. “You sure know how to rile him up, Kakashi.” He said as he took another drag.

“Asuma, could you at least not smoke when you are inside?” A woman named Yuuhi Kurenai said with her blood red eyes narrowed disapprovingly.

“Ah lighten up, Kurenai-chan.” A plum color haired woman wearing a long brown trench coat and a revealing fishnet body suit said casually as she pulled a dango off the stick in her hand. “It’s just a bit of smoke. Besides, I’m more interested in finding out if I’ll be able to get a team this year.”

“Considering that you told the Hokage that your idea for a good final test would be to drop the kids off in the forest of death for a day and see if they survived, I don’t think you have much chance at getting a team, Anko.” Kurenai said bluntly.

Anko pouted and took another bite of Dango with a huff.

“Say, Kakashi.” Asuma said to the masked man. “Speaking of my old man. He’s been saying something about getting a new Jounin based on the outcome of the finals. You know anything about that?”

Kakashi looked up from his book with a smile. “That’s true. If Uzumaki Naruto becomes a Genin then Jagaa, his guardian for the last five years, will become a Jounin.”

“This is wonderful news!” Gai cried out. “We shall soon have a new ‘Youthful’ comrade in arms! I’m sure the Flames of His Youth will burn powerfully as a Jounin of Konoha!”

“We’ll see.” Kakashi smiled, deciding to keep the technicalities surrounding Jagaa’s agreement a secret.

“So what’s this guy like?” Asuma asked.

Kakashi tilted his head. “Hmm, I guess the best way to describe Jagaa would be…”

Kakashi was interrupted by a loud crash that drew his, and the rest of the occupants of the lounge, attention just in time to see a body fly across the room and slam against the wall before slumping unconsciously on the floor surrounded by wooden splinters. As the rest of the Jounin quickly prepared for an attack, Kakashi just smiled. “He has a quick temper.” He finished.

The other Jounin glanced at the silver haired man in confusion before watching the doorway warily. Soon after, a young man wearing all black and dark sunglasses walked through the fragments of what used to be a door as he adjusted the sword on his back.

“All you had to do was politely tell me that this was a lounge exclusively for the Jounin of Konoha and I would have left.” Jagaa growled. “But no, you had to be an asshole about it on a day when I’m already in a lousy mood.”

With an irritated sigh, Jagaa reached into his pouch and pulled out a wad of bills that he then tossed to the man behind the bar. “That should cover the repairs to your door. Though if you don’t want it to happen again, I suggest you hire a new doorman.” The bartender could only nod dumbly.

“You certainly have a way of making a first impression on your future colleagues, Jagaa.” Kakashi called out easily as he stood up and pocketed his orange novel.

“ He’s Jagaa!” Anko yelled looking over to Kakashi. At the man’s confirming nod she looked back and licked her lips with a lustful glint in her eyes. “Me like.” Behind her, Kurenai rolled her eyes at the other woman.

Jagaa turned and faced the masked man with a surprised raise of his eyebrows. “Kakashi?” His surprise instantly became irritation as he stalked toward the masked Jounin. “Why the hell do I always run into you?”

Kakashi smiled. “I guess we just keep crossing paths on the road of life.”

A slight twitch of Jagaa’s eyebrows indicated he was probably rolling his eyes. “Whatever, just tell me where I can go to get some Sake. A lot of Sake.”

Before Kakashi could answer, he was cut off by a loud voice. “Ah, so you are the one who shall be joining us in our ‘Youthfulness’ as Jounin of Konoha.” Gai yelled out exuberantly. “In that case, you should stay and drink with us so that all of our ‘Flames of Youth’ will burn together and make us closer comrades.”

Jagaa looked at Gai with his eyebrows raised before turning to Kakashi. “Is this guy okay?”

Kakashi just shrugged.

“Despite his strange way of saying it, Gai has the right idea.” Asuma said with a puff from his cigarette. “It wouldn’t hurt to get to know each other over a couple drinks.” As Jagaa turned to him Asuma felt a strange sensation, as if something had just lightly brushed his skin. He didn’t have time to think on it though since Jagaa was already speaking.

“No thanks.” Jagaa said bluntly. “I’m still trying to find a way out of that damned deal. So getting acquainted with everyone isn’t on my priority list.”

“You mean you don’t actually want to be part of the village?” Asuma asked with a raise of his eyebrows.

“You got that fucking right. Why the hell would I want to stay in this village full of self-righteous hypocrites? If I can somehow convince Naruto to throw the test I’ll be out of here in less time than it takes Kakashi to blow his load…and that’s saying something.”

Anko burst out laughing at Jagaa’s insult to Kakashi, while the man himself got a tick in his visible eye. “I take it you’re still a bit upset with me?”

“Ya think?” Jagaa growled. “To be perfectly honest I’m not sure whose ass I want to kick more right now, yours or the geezer’s.”

“Excuse me.” Kurenai cut in frostily from the side. ”But who are you to say such things about our village? You’ve even gone so far as to disrespect our Hokage. You don’t even wear the Konoha Hitai-ate, so what do you think gives you the right to judge us?”

Jagaa turned and focused on the woman before smirking lightly. “That’s quite the scary tone you have there, Princess.”

Kurenai’s eyes narrowed and most of the Jounin in the room started backing away slowly in fear of what the woman might do. “My name is Yuuhi Kurenai, not ‘Princess’.”

“Oh, forgive me.” Jagaa’s voice was laced with sarcasm. “I guess it was that ‘I’m so much better than you’ tone you had that made me think you must be some snobbish princess.” A small smirk came to life on Jagaa’s lips. “I guess you’re actually just a bitch.”

Kurenai’s eyes widened before growing furious. “How dare you!” She snarled as her hands moved to start forming seals, but had not even finished the first one before she was forcefully slammed against the wall with her hands crossed at the wrist above her and being held in place by Jagaa’s left one. Bringing his face in close, he growled low and dangerously. “Don’t even try it, Princess .” His tone sent a chill down Kurenai’s spine as she stared at her startled image reflected in his dark sunglasses.

The other Jounin all stood and prepared to step in, but only if Jagaa appeared to be about to hurt her. As it stood, Jagaa had done nothing more than defend himself from her attack. So unless he became dangerous, they had no justification for interfering.

“Let’s get one thing clear, Princess. I am not one of these pansies you’re used to dealing with, and I don’t let people attack me just because they don’t like what I have to say. You try it again, and I won’t be so nice.” Jagaa’s lips formed a smirk and he leaned even closer so that their faces were mere inches apart. “Or maybe…you actually like it rough.”

All of Kurenai’s apprehension vanished as her teeth clenched. Wrenching her leg up she aimed a knee for Jagaa’s gut, but he had already jumped back having expected the reaction. Kurenai’s anger only grew when she saw that Jagaa was grinning. “Are you mocking me!?”

“Would I do that?” Jagaa asked with an innocent smile.

Kurenai’s eyes narrowed and her teeth ground audibly. Off to the side, Anko was laughing in amusement, making Kurenai glare at her. Instead of being intimidated the woman just laughed harder. With a growl of annoyance, Kurenai turned to yell at Jagaa again…only to find he wasn’t there anymore.

“I’ll take two bottles.” Jagaa’s voice came from the side. She looked over to see him being handed two Sake bottles by the bartender and clenched her fists. “What the hell are you doing!?” She yelled.

Jagaa turned his face to her with his eyebrows raised. “I’m buying Sake, duh.”

Kurenai thought she was going to break her teeth in her effort not to try and attack him again, or Anko for that matter seeing as the woman was still laughing. “Well get back over here so I can finish yelling at you!” If she had been a little calmer, she might have realized just how childish that sounded.

“Uhmm, what’s the word I’m looking for?” Jagaa mused.

“I’d rather not.” Kakashi offered helpfully. Kurenai glared at him, but Kakashi just smiled.

“That’s three words, but it’s more polite than what I was thinking, so let’s go with yours.” Jagaa replied with his own smile.

If looks could kill, Jagaa and Kakashi would have been nothing but piles of melted goo.

“Sir, please take another bottle, on the house, in apology for our doorman’s rudeness.” The bar keeper said, holding out another bottle. With a pleased grin, Jagaa took the bottle from the man’s hand. “Why thank you.”

As it happened, it was at the exact moment that the bartender had offered Jagaa the extra bottle that Maito Gai popped up beside him frowning disapprovingly. “Jagaa-san, it is very unyouthful for you to treat Kurenai-san in such a manner! Although I admire how powerfully your flames burn, I must insist that you apologize to our fair Kunoichi!”

Unfortunately, Jagaa had only half heard the exuberant Jounin, and in response did the only thing he felt appropriate at the time as he turned to face the man. “Did you say something?”

The effect was instantaneous. Gai’s body turned stony white and his face froze in a look of horror, Kakashi’s book slipped from his hand, Kurenai’s eyes widened in disbelief, Asuma’s cigarette fell out of his mouth, and Anko fell onto the floor laughing so hard that people started to wonder if she would survive.

Jagaa shifted his attention around at the shocked Jounin with an annoyed expression. “Okay, what’d I do this time?”

Kakashi made a miraculous recovery and appeared in front of Jagaa with a look of glee in his eye that actually scared the scarred man. Grasping Jagaa’s hand with both of his own, Kakashi started shaking it furiously. “THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!” The masked man yelled with a tear in his eye. “I never thought this day would come! I finally have an ally.”

“I don’t suppose you’d care to explain your sudden happiness?” Jagaa asked in annoyance as he struggled to keep from dropping the three bottles he was holding in his left arm.

Kakashi’s eye was positively dancing in its socket. “Nope, I’d hate to ruin the surprise.”

Jagaa’s eyebrow twitched. “Why do I get the feeling that my desire to kill you is going to increase exponentially soon?”

“Yeah, it probably will, but you won’t do it for the same reason I’m so happy right now.” Kakashi smiled.

“…I hate you.”

“Mah, whatever.” Kakashi proceeded to start dragging Jagaa out the door. “I can tell you that we need to get out of here before he regains what little sense he has. Why don’t we go drinking together?”

“Fine, but you’re buying your own booze.” Jagaa said in a tone that was surprisingly calm considering his several declarations of wanting to kill the other man.

“Cheapskate.” Kakashi pouted.

“Mind if I join you? Even if you don’t want to be a Konoha Nin, I think I’d still like to get to know you a bit.” Asuma asked as he walked up to them. Jagaa just shrugged in response.

“I wanna go too!” Anko yelled as she miraculously appeared on Jagaa’s back. “Take me with you, Jagaa-chan!”

If Jagaa was surprised at the plum haired Kunoichi’s sudden appearance on his back, he hid it well as he turned his head back to face her. “Jagaa- chan ? Why the hell am I chan ?”

Anko smirked mischievously. “You’re gonna be ‘Chan’ until you prove it wrong.”

Jagaa’s eyebrow quirked. “Well well, that sounds like a challenge.”

“Oh, but it is.”

Jagaa smirked back at her. “You’re on.”

Kurenai was glaring at Jagaa as he bantered and a frightening thought entered her mind. “Don’t tell me you’re just like Anko !” She almost yelled at the man.

Jagaa shifted his face to Kurenai then back to Anko. “Am I like you?”

“Let’s find out through drinking and sex!” Anko crowed happily.

Jagaa raised his eyebrows at the woman before turning back to Kurenai. “Yep, we’re a lot alike.”

It took all the control Kurenai had not to smack herself in the forehead.

“Come oooonnnnnnn!” Anko whined, shaking Jagaa’s shoulders like a six year old. “Let’s go to the bar already!”

Jagaa, Kakashi, and Asuma just shook their heads before turning to leave. Kakashi had somehow acquired one of Jagaa’s Sake bottles and Anko another, giving each of the three something to drink on the walk, while Asuma puffed away on his cigarette. Without looking back, Jagaa called over his shoulder to Kurenai. “See you later, Princess. Much later if I’m lucky. Don’t’ want to risk frostbite by being around you too much after all.”

Kurenai was grinding her teeth so hard she was afraid she’d have to go see a dentist afterward. She decided right then and there that she did not like that man.

X     X     X     X     X

It was around half an hour later that Maito Gai finally came out of his horror induced shock and cried out to the heavens.

“OH MY GOD!!! TWO PEOPLE WITH SUCH HIP ATTITUDES! I SHALL NOW DECLARE THEM BOTH MY ETERNAL RIVALS AND SHALL DEFEAT THEM IN ORDER TO PROVE MY ‘SHININGPOWER OF YOOOUUUTTTTHHHH’!!!”

At that moment, Jagaa felt a chill run down his spine for some unknown reason. As soon as Kakashi saw the scarred young man start looking around in confusion he smiled gleefully beneath his mask.

Finally, someone would share his pain.

X   X   X   X   X

“Hmm, what should I do now?” Naruto asked himself as he walked through the streets of Konoha. About an hour after Jagaa had left, the rest of his friends had needed to go home as well. Kiba had to help his sister, Hana, take care of the kennels today. Hinata had some sort of formal dinner she had to be at. Shikamaru had muttered something about troublesome women with loud voices before he left. Finally, Chouji left saying he had to get back home for dinner.

That left Naruto alone in the apartment with a few hours of light left, and Naruto wasn’t good at sitting idly when he could be out doing something. Unfortunately, he had left the apartment without knowing exactly what he wanted to do. So now he was simply wandering the streets aimlessly while hoping to be hit with some sort of inspiration.

He saw an elderly couple glare at him as he passed by, but he really didn’t care. He could live with glares. It was the attacks that scared him. However, he was happy to say that ever since that first night back when Jagaa scared all those villagers, not only had mobs stopped coming after him, but no one had tried to hurt him in any way. They even stopped overcharging him when he went into stores. He didn’t think that just one scare from Jagaa would be enough to change people that much. It was incredible.

Of course what he didn’t know was that after Jagaa and Tsume had had their introduction a year ago (both of them agreeing that it would be best to just pretend it never happened and that Kiba and Naruto were to never find out about it) Tsume had promised Jagaa that she and her clan would support him in protecting Naruto, even if she had to force them. Somewhat surprisingly, none of her clan had objected, and once word had gotten around to the villagers that not only Jagaa, but the entire Inuzuka clan (a clan rather known for their lack of restraint in dealing with people who angered them due to their animalistic nature) was protecting Naruto, they decided it would be a good idea not to push their luck.

His wanderings eventually brought the blonde boy within the sight of the training grounds. With a grin, Naruto decided that doing some light training would be a good way to pass the time and headed into the nearest field. As he walked into the area, he saw a great deal of well used targets nailed to trees and wooden figures resembling humans planted into the ground. He realized that it must be a projectile weapons practice area and his smile widened at his luck. He had always found throwing Kunai and Shuriken to be relaxing. There was just something about the feel of the metal weapons leaving your hand to be followed by the dull sound of wood being pierced that brought about a strange sense of tranquility.

Thunk Thunk Thunk

Naruto was brought out of his reverie by the very sound he had been planning to be the one creating. Taking a quick look around it seemed as if he was the only one in the area, but the continuous sound of metal striking wood countered that perception. Letting his curiosity drive him, Naruto started following the sounds while at the same time, being careful not to accidentally walk in front of any targets and become a target himself.

It only took about a minute for Naruto’s ears to tell him that his company was just on the other side of the small cluster of trees he was coming up on. Still being cautious of any possibly incoming Kunai, Naruto worked his way through the trees. As he moved around the last tree blocking his way, he stopped and stared at what he saw.

In the middle of a clearing with targets set on most of the surrounding tree trunks and branches, there was a girl that appeared to be about Naruto’s age. She was wearing a pink, Chinese style shirt and loose green pants with a weapons pouch strapped to her right leg. Her brown hair was pulled up to form two bun shapes on the top of her head and a Konoha Hitai-ate covered her forehead. Naruto would be the first to admit that she was attractive, but it wasn’t her looks that had stopped him cold on sight. It was her skill.

Every throw she made was graceful and elegant. Every twist of her body and bend of her back as she smoothly let each weapon fly made it almost appear as if she was dancing. The weapons in her hands would vanish almost as soon as she pulled them out with a smooth flick of her wrist, flying with deadly accuracy into her targets before she would spin and let several more weapons fly with the same lethal grace. Kunai, Shuriken, Senbon Needles, all flew just as smooth and just as accurate from her delicate fingers. Even from where he stood, Naruto could see the focus in the girls chocolate brown eyes and he was amazed at how serious she was. Since he had arrived at Konoha, it had seemed like every girl he met, with the exception of Hinata, didn’t really take being a Kunoichi seriously and acted like it was some kind of game. The girl before him was nothing like that. He could tell just by the way she moved that she not only took it seriously, but that it meant something to her. There was a drive in her eyes, a desire to succeed, to be the best. He could see it clearly, because he had seen it in his own eyes before when he would look into the mirror and tell himself that he would be the Hokage no matter what it took.

Naruto could only stare silently as the girl continued her graceful dance of blades until she leapt into the air and with one twirl of motion sent a final barrage of weapons at targets in nearly every direction, not one failing to hit its mark. She landed in an elegant crouch with her hands spread out to her sides like an eagle in flight and let out a contented sigh as she slowly stood up again.

That was when Naruto started clapping.

The girl whirled on him, a new Kunai already in hand as her eyes focused on him in suspicion. Even as Naruto raised his hands peacefully, and somewhat defensively, he was once again amazed by the professionalism of the girl in front of him. Even though she was only training, she had not used all of her weapons, making sure to have a few left on hand just in case. Always being prepared was something Jagaa had started drilling into Naruto’s head from the first day of training, so it was easy for him to understand why. What impressed him though was that it wasn’t something that most other Genin could seem to understand.

Keeping his hands raised, Naruto walked forward with his big foxy grin in place. “Heh heh, sorry about startling you. I was just really impressed. You’re really good.”

The girl seemed to relax slightly, but she kept the Kunai in hand. “That’s okay, but you should be careful about startling me when I’m training. You’re lucky I didn’t skewer you.” She emphasized her statement by pointing the Kunai at him.

Naruto laughed nervously. “Uh, yeah, good point. I’ll try to remember that next time.”

The girl’s eyebrow rose curiously. “Next time? Are you planning to make a habit out of spying on me?”

Naruto faltered as he realized that he really had sounded like some kind of stalker. “Wha…no, that’s not what I meant. I was just, uh…” He wasn’t really happy with himself at the moment. He had been hoping to talk to this girl and maybe get to know her, but now it looked like he’d be lucky to just get her to believe he wasn’t some sort of pervert who spied on girls. His internal rant was cut off by the amused laughter of the girl in front of him.

“Jeez, I didn’t think you’d take it so seriously. I was just messing with you.” She said a smile gracing her lips as she put the kunai away “You were almost as bad as my teammate, Lee. Only he would started yelling about how he would never do that because of how ‘Unyouthful’ it would be to spy on someone.”

“Well excuuuusssseeee me if I was a little afraid of ticking off the girl that could probably turn me into a pin cushion.” Naruto huffed, looking away and folding his arms.

The girl walked over and impudently petted Naruto’s head. “Oh, poor little kid.”

“Who are you calling ‘Little Kid’?” Naruto growled, pushing her hand away. “You’re probably the same age as me.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Really? You’re so short though. You look like your ten at the oldest.”

“I’M TWLEVE!” Naruto shouted. “And I’m not short! I just haven’t hit my growth spurt yet!”

The bun haired girl just shrugged before smiling cheekily. “Whatever. Besides, even if you really are twelve, I’m thirteen. So you’re still just a kid to me.”

“That’s a load of crap!” Naruto protested defiantly. “Fine, if you want to be like that then I challenge you to a ‘Throw Down’!”

The girl’s eyebrows rose in confusion. “A ‘Throw Down’? You mean like a fight?”

Naruto paused and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, it’s more like a ‘Throw Off ’. You know, where we see who can throw weapons the best. But Nii-san said that ‘Throw Off’ sounded weird.”

The girl looked at the boy in disbelief. “Are you serious? There’s no way you could beat me in weapons.” She glanced around the training area pointedly. “Weapons are my specialty in case you couldn’t tell.”

Naruto grinned wolfishly. “Good, that’ll just make it all the sweeter when I beat you.”

“Oh, is that so?” The girl crossed her arms challengingly. “Well we’ll just have to see about that won’t we. So do I get to know the name of the boy I’m about to humiliate?”

“Uzumaki Naruto! That’s the name of the victor today!” He boasted proudly.

“My name’s Tenten.” The girl’s expression became smug. “The one who’s going to knock those words back down your throat.”

“We’ll see about that!” Naruto challenged back.

Both grinning confidently, they each pulled out their weapons and the challenge commenced.

X     X     X     X     X

About one hour later, the sun was just starting to set on the horizon as Naruto and the girl lay on the ground panting and grinning. Though, Naruto’s grin wasn’t quite as wide as the girl beside him due to the fact he had just lost…horribly. He couldn’t believe that anyone could be that good with weapons. Not just Kunai, Shuriken, and Senbon Needles though. Also Sickles, Axes, Sai, Swords, Spears, and anything else that happened to come out of those scrolls of hers. Everything she threw hit the dead center of the bull’s-eye every single time. It had been incredible, if not a bit irritating, to see.

Tenten herself was extremely impressed with Naruto’s skill as well. She had tested her skills against other Genin multiple times before, but none of them, not even her teammate, Neji, had been able to keep it so close. While the blond boy still had a long way to go before he would have a real shot at actually beating her, it was impressive enough that he had made her have to focus. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to gloat though.

“So,” Tenten said, propping herself up on her elbows and looking down at Naruto, “are you ready to surrender yet?”  

“Hell no! Uzumaki Naruto never gives up!” Naruto declared proudly, still lying on the ground. He turned his head and looked around at the targets hit by all her perfect shots along with all his good, but not perfect shots, before turning back to face her and grinning sheepishly. “Buuuut, he does know when to make a tactical retreat until he actually has a chance at winning.”

Tenten laughed musically and looked down at Naruto playfully. “Bring it on any time, Chibi.”

“Quit calling me Chibi!” Naruto growled, still a bit too tired to actually yell.

“Why? Not only are you shorter than me,” Tenten gave him a quick once over and smirked at his lack of Hitai-ate , “but you’re also not even a Genin yet. I think I have every right to call you Chibi.”

“I graduate tomorrow. So you can’t hold that one against me.” Naruto’s tired voice sounded more factual than argumentative. 

“Well you’re still short.” Tenten answered bluntly. Naruto tried to glare at her, but Tenten countered by putting her finger to her chin innocently and managing to make herself look ridiculously cute. Naruto found it more than a little unfair.

“Whatever.” He said in exasperation as he slowly climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. “I’m gonna go home now. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.” He was just turning around to leave when Tenten grabbed his shoulder and spun him back, forcing Naruto to stare directly into a devastating ‘Puppy Eyes’ attack.

“You’re not really going to leave me to pick up all these weapons all alone, are you?” Tenten’s lip was quivering and her eyes were starting to get teary. “How could you be so cruel?”

“GAAHHH!” Naruto screamed covering his eyes. “STOP! STOP! I’LL HELP YOU PICK THEM UP!”

“Great!” Tenten squealed delightedly, dropping her attack and running over to the nearest tree to start pulling out Kunai. “But we better get started now, otherwise we’re going to be here all night.”

Naruto passed a hand over his eyes in exasperation. This girl was just too much. Walking over to a different tree, he started pulling out the many Shuriken that were embedded in the trunk. ‘ I better make sure Nii-san doesn’t find out I was alone with a girl after dark. That pervert would never let me hear the end of it.”

X     X     X     X     X

At that moment in a bar across town, Jagaa sneezed just as he was about to take a drink of Sake, causing it to spill all over him. “Ah, for the love of...” Jagaa growled as he grabbed several napkins and furiously wiped at the liquid.

“Somebody must be talking about you.” Kakashi said with a smile as he took a sip of Sake so fast that no one even saw him lower his mask.

“And I’m willing to bet I know what little loudmouth it is.” Jagaa replied in a low growl as he signaled the bartender to bring him another bottle. “By the way, does she do that often?” He asked, making a motion with his head at Anko who was pole-dancing on the bar in nothing but her fishnet body suit.

“She’s fairly well known for it.” Asuma said from beside Kakashi. The three of them were sitting at the bar with Jagaa on the far right, Kakashi in the middle, and Asuma taking up the left. Anko had at one point been sitting on Jagaa’s right, but after a few rounds of heavy drinking, she had decided she felt like dancing. Hence the crowd of horny men standing a little ways down and drooling as she twisted and slid along the pole like a sensual serpent, her eyes narrowed provocatively and a seductive smirk on her lips.

“She’s pretty good at it, I have to admit.” Jagaa said as he sipped his Sake before turning his head to the other two males. “So exactly why did you all want to come drinking with me? It sure as hell can’t be because of my ‘Charming’ personality.”

“Well, I’m here because I wanted to get to know the guy my old man has been talking about.” Asuma said as he inhaled some smoke. “I don’t know why, but he seems to be both pleased that you’re here, and incredibly irritated with you at the same time. I’ve also heard him mutter something about revenge and serving it cold a couple of times. I don’t suppose you know what that’s about?”

Jagaa’s evil smile was enough to make Asuma decide it would be better if he didn’t know.

“I’m here to celebrate that I have a new comrade in suffering, as well as try to get on your good side before anything else happens that increases your desire to kill me.” Kakashi said with his eye smiling. Jagaa turned to the one eyed Jounin suspiciously.

“So when are you going to tell me what that means? You know something, Kakashi, and I don’t think it only has to do with that weirdo from the bar. What are you hiding?” Jagaa questioned accusingly, but Kakashi simply continued to smile.

“Oh, I may know a few things the Hokage has planned, but I would hate to ruin anything by giving away the surprise too soon.” ‘ Not to mention that the Hokage would skin me alive if I did. ’ Kakashi finished mentally.

“I hate you.” Jagaa growled before taking another swig of Sake.

Asuma just chuckled in amusement at them.

“So what about her?” Jagaa asked, indicating Anko who was now crawling across the bar sensually. The crowd of men watching her had thinned considerably due to most of them having passed out from excessive bleeding of the nose.

“Ah Anko.” Asuma grinned. “Well for one, she just loves to drink and will find any reason to do it. Secondly, I think she-” Asuma was cut off as the very woman he was about to speak for appeared on the bar in front of Jagaa before hoping off to land straddling his lap. Without even a word of warning, she crashed her lips into his passionately.

“…Wants to jump your bones.” Kakashi finished for Asuma who was shaking his head at the plum haired woman’s antics.

“fo i feemf.” (Translation: So it seems.) Jagaa managed to say around Anko’s lips.

“I guess we’d better be going now that Anko’s reached this point.” Asuma said, putting out the remainder of his cigarette. “We’ll be seeing you tomorrow when you’re presented your Hitai-ate anyway.” He could almost feel Jagaa’s glare.

“Don’t forget, Jagaa.” Kakashi smiled. “The presentation is at nine p.m.” Kakashi was having a similar sensation as Asuma.

“Mmph cn sll hof hn fls.” (Translation: I can still hope he fails.) Jagaa ‘mmphd’ out through Anko’s continuous assault.

“Well you can hope, but I’m pretty sure you know that he’s not going to.” Kakashi said while still smiling. “And you have only yourself to thank for that.”

“Mmph ht oo.” (Translation: I hate you.)

“So you’ve said.” Kakashi’s smile widened as he waved in goodbye. Asuma gave Jagaa the two finger salute before following Kakashi out the door.

Jagaa wanted to be irritated with them. He really did. But there was just something about having a very well-endowed woman pressing into his chest doing very impressive things in his mouth with her tongue that just made holding onto anger kind of difficult. Anko finally broke off her attack on his mouth and stared at him with lust and hunger shining clear in her eyes. ‘ Well, at least there are some benefits to being in this village. ’ Jagaa thought with a smirk before speaking out loud to Anko. “So…your place or mine?” His answer was Anko grabbing her trench coat from the stool next to them and start forcefully dragging him to the door with a large, eager grin.

‘ I’ll take that to mean ‘whichever ones closer’. ’ Jagaa thought in amusement as he stumbled along trying to keep pace with the woman dragging him.

X     X     X     X     X

Naruto yawned widely as he stumbled tiredly along the road. He still couldn’t believe she had carried that many weapons in those scrolls of hers. If Naruto hadn’t remembered that he could use Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu the two of them would have probably been out there all night, instead of a couple hours.

Although, he wasn’t sure if he would have complained too much about being stuck out all night with Tenten. She was attractive after all, and her seriousness about being a Kunoichi was admirable, even if her personality was a little hard to handle. He was hoping he could run into her more often in the days to come.

He was also planning to ask Jagaa to increase his weapons training…a lot.

After what felt like an eternity of walking to the tired blonde, Naruto finally reached the front door of his apartment. Once inside, Naruto kicked off his sandals and stumbled his way into his room, falling on his bed with a heavy thump and passing out almost immediately, blissfully unaware of the muffled noises that had been coming through the wall of Jagaa’s room.

Chapter Text

Naruto was in a good mood when he woke up. He couldn’t remember what he’d dreamed about, but he was sure it had been enjoyable. His good mood only increased when he remembered what day it was.

It was Graduation day.

With a huge foxy grin, Naruto quickly got dressed and practically dashed out of his room, still tying his blue bandana around his head as he walked into the small kitchen area. He saw Jagaa already sitting at the table wearing only his pants and sunglasses, clearly revealing his heavily scarred torso, as he sipped on a cup of coffee while listening to the radio.

“Hey Nii-san!” Naruto greeted happily as he walked past his older brother and opened up the cupboard that held his ramen. He was just about to reach in and grab a cup of his beloved food, when a butter knife impaled the door, only just missing Naruto’s hand, and slammed it closed. His face pailing at the near loss of his finger, Naruto turned to see Jagaa with his arm still extended from the throw calmly taking a sip of his coffee without even facing Naruto.

“How many times do I have to tell you?” The scarred man said as he lowered his arm. “No ramen for breakfast.”

“But Niiiii-saaaaannn, today’s a special day.” Naruto whined. Seeing Jagaa’s hand start inching for the fork still sitting on the table, Naruto quickly started waving his hands in front of him. “Okay! Okay! I’ll eat something else.” Grumbling Naruto moved to another cupboard and pulled out a box of cereal. After pouring himself a bowl and putting in as much milk as he possibly could before it spilled over, Naruto moved over and took a seat opposite of Jagaa.

As he ate, Naruto continued to grumble about unfairness towards ramen and how cereal wasn’t any healthier even if you did put milk on it.In response, Jagaa simply continued to sip his coffee, completely ignoring the boy’s indignation. Finally giving up due to Jagaa’s lack of reaction, Naruto ate his cereal in a pouting silence.

Finishing his bowl about ten minutes later, Naruto drank the milk with a satisfied smile. That was the one thing he liked about cereal, drinking what was left of the milk after it had been filled with the sweet taste of its flavor. It was almost as good as drinking the broth from a bowl of Ramen after finishing the noodles.Almost.

“Okay, I’m leaving now.” Naruto said as he picked up his empty bowl and grinned as he looked over at Jagaa. “You gonna be there to congratulate me at the graduation ceremony, Nii-san?”

Jagaa paused midway through taking another sip of coffee and focused on Naruto. “Naruto, wait. Don’t-”

“Sorry, Nii-san,” Naruto cut him off quickly, already certain of what the man was about to say, “But I’m not failing the test just so you don’t have to honor your agreement to be a Jounin. It’s my dream to be Hokage and this is the first step. So you’ll just have to deal with it.” The boy gave Jagaa a small smirk as he finished before turning around to leave…only to find himself facing a very naked Anko that had been standing directly behind him as she sleepily rubbed her eyes.

“Mmm…What’s for breakfast?” She asked tiredly, stretching her arms high over her head and arching her back. An act that only made it that much easier to view her exposed breasts.

Naruto stood completely dumbfounded with his eyes locked on the plum haired woman’s lush body. At least, for the few seconds before he was launched backwards and over the table by the eruption of blood from his nose. Jagaa calmly leaned to the side to let the boy sail past and crash into the counter behind him with a loud symphony of splintering wood and shattering glass.

“Maybe next time he’ll listen when I try to tell him not to turn around.” Jagaa commented idly as he took another sip of coffee.

X X X X X

Approximately an hour later, Naruto had still not stopped blushing from the incident. Of course, it didn’t help that after he had finally woken up Jagaa had started making comments on how happy he was that Naruto had finally proven that he wasn’t gay and that the next step was to get him laid. This was quickly followed by the crazy naked lady pressing the poor boy to her bare chest and shouting about how she would be happy to help with that, to which Jagaa gave his full approval.

After fighting back another enormous nosebleed, Naruto ripped himself from the crazy woman’s arms and ran with all the speed he could muster for the Academy with the two insane adults’ maniacal laughter fading behind him.

Naruto had never been happier to be behind the Academy walls than he was right now.

“Dude, you look like shit.” Kiba said as he took the seat next to Naruto. “What the hell happened?”

“I was nearly killed this morning.” Naruto cried pathetically, waterfall like tears coursing down his cheeks.

Tensing with worry for his friend, Kiba looked seriously at Naruto. “What happened?”

After a moment of hesitation, Naruto recapped the morning’s events to his best friend. However, as soon as he got to the point that he made his escape, that same best friend grabbed the front of his sleeveless jacket and started shaking him violently.

“YOU RAN AWAY ! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!? ARE YOU GAY OR SOMETHING!?”

“Excuse me!” Naruto growled as he stopped Kiba from shaking him and forcibly removed the Inuzuka’s hands. “But the fact I almost died from blood loss is proof enough that I’m not gay.” He defended. “Besides, I’m almost certain that she was just helping Nii-san tease me!”

“ Almost ?” Kiba questioned accusingly.

“Well she was walking around my apartment naked. Who knows what that crazy woman might have done.” Naruto argued.

Kiba smacked himself in the forehead,nearly dislodging Akamaru. “I can’t believe you had the type of opportunity that most guys only dream of, and you ran away from it. I’ve lost respect for you.”

“Bite me, Dog Breath. Unlike you, I wasn’t horny by the time I was seven .” Naruto stated pointedly. Kiba just grinned in response. “What can I say? We Inuzuka live close to our instincts.” This time it was Naruto’s turn to smack himself on the forehead.

“What are the two of you arguing about this time?” Hinata’s testy voice reached their ears as she walked over and took one of the remaining seats. With a glare at Kiba, Naruto recapped the morning’s events to the pale eyed girl. Hinata listened with a curious raise of her eyebrows until Naruto finished before speaking. “You ran away? What are you? Gay?” Naruto’s head slammed into the desk in front of him and Kiba started howling with laughter.

“Hinata, why the hell are you acting like Kiba?” Naruto yelled in exasperation. “Aren’t girls supposed to get all flushed and embarrassed about something like this?”

Hinata just shrugged in a bored manner. “Seeing as I am from a Noble clan, there has always been a possibility of my being married off early for either political or social gain. Because of this, I was educated very thoroughly in the matters of sexual intercourse at a young age. I’ve even been made to sit in and watch various demonstrations of the act in order to prepare me better for my wedding night. The same holds true for my imouto. She is five years younger than me and already has a full understanding of what sex is.”

Both boys looked like they were going to have a meltdown at what they were hearing. Hinata’s eyes glinted before she smiled mischievously. “Why, just the other day the two of us sat in on a very open couple. Some of the things they were doing were quite interesting , to say the least. For example at one point they-” Hinata was stopped by Naruto and Kiba slapping their hands over her mouth while blushing furiously.

“Stop! Stop! For the love of Kami just STOP!” Naruto cried, mentally screaming about how everyone he knew seemed to be a freaking pervert.

Kiba was shaking his head, his cheeks flaming. “I thought I could handle anything, but hearing a girl talk like that is just too much.” He muttered to himself.

Behind their hands, Hinata was smirking victoriously.

“Would you three losers keep it down! You’re annoying Sasuke-kun!”

Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata looked callously to their left where the yell had come from, and ended up in a glaring match with Ino and Sakura who were flanking the brooding Sasuke, the boy himself only giving them a cold look through the corner of his eyes.

“The only thing annoying here is that damn hair color of yours, Haruno!” Kiba growled. “Why don’t you try dyeing it…or shaving it off? Either one should help stop my sudden need to puke whenever you’re around!”

“At least nobody has to worry about being covered with fleas when I’m around, dog boy!” Sakura snarled back.

“No. They just have to worry about being knocked out by that enormous forehead of yours.”

“Oh, nice one Butt Sniffer.” Ino spoke up. “You’re good at using other people’s insults at least.”

“Who was talking to you? You disgrace to blondes everywhere.” Naruto piped up in defense of his friend.

“Go shove your head down a toilet, you whiskered idiot!” Ino glared at the other blonde.

“Hey, leave my birthmarks out of this!” Naruto yelled back with his own glare.

Kiba and Hinata glanced at each other before starting a mental countdown. ‘ Five, four, three, two, one… ’

“AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT!?”

There was a loud crash as the students listening fell out of their seats while Kiba and Hinata just sighed. If one were to listen closely, they might have heard the low chuckle that was coming from a certain Uchiha at the blond’s expense.

“QUIET DOWN IN HERE!” Iruka’s bellow marked his entrance into the classroom. The room instantly quieted down, but not before Naruto managed to hit Sasuke in the back of the head with an eraser out of spite, since he was sure Sasuke had laughed at him even if he hadn’t actually heard it.

Glancing sternly around the room, Iruka waited for the last sounds of chatter to die away before clearing his throat loudly. “As you all know, today is the day for the final exams. Should you pass, you will be able to receive your Hitai-ate and enter the world of Ninja as Genin. I expect all of you to give it your best shot and make me proud by passing.With that being said, we will now begin the day's finals, starting with the written test.” Iruka glanced up and locked eyes with Naruto, and a maliciously gleeful smile came to his lips. “But first, I do believe we have a tradition to maintain.”

Naruto’s eyes widened to impossible sizes as Iruka pulled out a small box that seemed to be overflowing with evil energy…at least to Naruto. “YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!? THIS IS SABOTAGE I SAY! SABOTAGE!”

Grinning wickedly, Iruka drew out the first name. 

X X X X X

A few hours later, Naruto was furiously stomping through the grass to his favorite spot to eat lunch with Hinata and Kiba in tow, both of whom were fighting back laughter as Naruto muttered and wiped at his cheek. “Damn Iruka-sensei. I just know he rigged that drawing. He had to have, to get those three of all people sitting next to me on the last day.”

The three that had just happened to win the final drawing, turned out to be three of Naruto’s biggest Fangirls, as well as the most forceful of them. He couldn’t count how many times they had ‘Kept him awake’ by giving him random kisses on the cheek, neck, forehead, and anywhere else they could get their eager little lips on. Naruto had been forced to keep extreme vigilance in order to protect the chastity of his own lips against their attacks. It had been a tough battle, with his cheeks sustaining heavy casualties, but in the end, victory was his.

At least that’s what he told himself in order to feel better as he wiped at the still damp spots on various parts of his face.

“You know, you’re gonna rub your face off if you keep wiping like that.” Kiba said, the smirk in his voice clearly evident.

“So what? It’s been contaminated anyway.” Naruto whined, much to his friends’ amusement.

“Ah, you shouldn’t say things like that. You’ll hurt their feelings.” Kiba grinned as he threw his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the large mass of girls that were following them, known to many as the ‘Naruto Faction’ or ‘NF’ for short. Naruto shuddered as he watched them ‘stealthily’ dart from tree to tree in their attempts to stalk him.

“Why can’t they just go back to stalking the Teme? What did I ever do to deserve this?” Naruto whined toward the heavens.

“Maybe it was that time you painted the Hokage monument to make them all look like clowns, and then put a big oval next to the Yondaime with the words ‘ Insert Uzumaki Naruto’s face here ’.” Hinata pointed out.

Naruto’s pitiful crying instantly became victorious laughter as he remembered the incident. “That was so much fun, and Nii-san gave me huge props when we heard the old man yell my name all the way from the tower.”  As he laughed, Naruto looked up ahead of them and his laughter died away at who he saw. “YOU!” He screamed and dashed forward and directly in front of Iruka, who was coming out of the building with a stack of papers in his hand. “HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME!?”

As Iruka looked down at the indignant blond with slightly surprised eyes, Kiba turned to Hinata with a puzzled expression. “Have you ever met anyone else who can change moods as fast as he can?”

“I’ve given up trying to figure out the way Naruto’s mind works.” She stated as she continued forward with Kiba shrugging and following behind.

“What are you so upset about, Naruto.” They heard Iruka ask as they reached the pair. The Chuunin’s tone and facial expression made it believable that he really didn’t know what the boy was so angry about. Unfortunately, the mischievous glint in his eye gave him away.

“You know exactly what I mean!” Naruto shouted. “How could you do that drawing on the day of the test? Were you trying to make me fail?”

The amusement fell away from the scarred Chuunin’s face and was replaced by a small, disappointed frown. “Do you really think I was trying to make you fail, Naruto?”

“Well why the hell else would you put those three next to me on the final exam? I barely even had time to think about what answers I was putting down before I had to protect myself from a three sided assault!” Naruto’s incensed shouting carried across the yard. “I’m not even sure if they were even doing their own test or if they just devoted the whole time to trying to molest me!”

Iruka just sighed and shook his head. “Well I’m sorry that you think I would deliberately try to harm your score. I have to go and finish grading the rest of the tests before the practical exam. So if you’ll excuse me.” Without another word, Iruka slipped by the three of them and continued on his way and disappeared around a corner leaving a fuming Naruto behind.

“I agree, Naruto. I can’t believe you would think so lowly of Iruka.”

The new voice caused Naruto, Hinata, and Kiba to jump in surprise and turn around to find themselves facing a frowning Mizuki.

Naruto’s surprise at seeing his other teacher quickly turned to defensiveness as soon as he registered what Mizuki had said.

“What do you mean ‘you can’t believe it’, Mizuki-sensei? What else am I supposed to think when he does something like that on the day of the most important test of my life?”

Mizuki’s frown became more pronounced. “Naruto, you and I both know that, despite your continuous pranks on him, Iruka is fond of you and would never intentionally try to harm your academic achievements.”

Naruto winced. It was true. He knew that Iruka wasn’t like that. He knew because both Iruka and Mizuki had spent a great deal of their own free time trying to help him catch up on the academic points of the academy since he was three years behind the rest of the class on the curriculum. Because of this, the three of them had actually become quite close to each other; Going out for ramen together after lessons, doing some light sparring now and then (something needed since Naruto and Sasuke had been forbidden from sparing each other ever again while they were in the academy due to their increasing tendency to try to kill each other) and just having good times in general together. Naruto could honestly say that he had come to look at both of the Chuunin more as friends than teachers over the last year.

Naruto tried to keep up his glare at the white haired Chuunin, but eventually he gave up and let out a long sigh. “I know, Mizuki-sensei, I really do, but I just can’t understand why he would do something that would make it impossible for me to focus on the test. I can’t even remember half of what I put down.”

“It’s exactly for that reason that he did it.” Mizuki’s reply got a confused look from all three of the Genin hopefuls. “Naruto, Iruka and I have been keeping you after class every day for nearly a year to help you catch up to your age group in the academics of your schooling, and do you know what we’ve noticed?” Naruto slowly shook his head in the negative, his confusion showing through. “We’ve noticed that on most of the mock tests we gave you, you would start to put the right answer, and then second guess yourself and change it to a wrong answer. Neither of us knows why you do it. It might be nerves, or it could just be that you have no confidence in your test taking abilities, but you always seem to harm your grade if you’re given too much time to think over the answers you’ve written. So, knowing that, does it help you understand why Iruka would put the girls that would cause the most distraction next to you while you were testing?”

Naruto’s confusion was clear on his face as he looked back at the Chuunin before turning to Kiba who responded with a shrug. Naruto faced his teacher again to tell him that he still didn’t understand, but Hinata cut him off.

“Iruka-sensei created an environment that would make it difficult, if not impossible, for Naruto to have the chance to go over his answers again and start changing them. Thereby increasing Naruto’s chances of getting a higher than average grade.”

Naruto looked at Hinata in mild shock before turning his wide eyed gaze back to Mizuki. “Is that true?”

Mizuki’s frown turned into a small, smug smirk. “Let me answer that with another question. Until today, what was the highest score you’ve gotten on a test, Naruto?”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and cast a somewhat shame filled glance to his two friends. “Uhh, forty seven percent.” He heard a snort of amusement and gave Kiba a withering glare that the other boy just smirked at.

“Well,” Mizuki’s voice regained their attention, “I’m not really supposed to tell you this yet, but…” Mizuki looked Naruto directly in the eyes. “Today, Naruto, you scored eighty three percent on your test.”

Naruto went rigid with shock. He had scored an eighty three, an eighty three. He was praying to Kami just to get above sixty and now he was told he scored better than eighty . It was too good to be true, he had to be dreaming. Remembering what Jagaa had told him to do if he ever thought he was in a dream, Naruto made a fist and punched himself as hard as he could in the side of the head.

Needless to say, he instantly regretted it as he stumbled around with little swirls in his eyes.

Mizuki, Hinata, and Kiba all looked at each other in confusion at Naruto’s sudden self attack before turning back to the blonde boy. “What are you doing, Naruto?” Mizuki voiced the question on all their minds.

The whiskered boy shook his head vigorously to clear his thoughts and looked back at them all sheepishly. “Well, I was so surprised to hear I got such a good score that I thought I was in a dream and decided to check if I was.”

“Don’t people normally pinch themselves to do that?” Hinata asked, with Kiba nodding his agreement.

Naruto looked at them, his face mirroring their earlier confusion. “What do you mean? Nii-san told me that…” Naruto’s confusion turned to realization which was quickly followed by an angry shout. “NIIII-SAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!”

X X

Back at their apartment, Jagaa’s head perked up and he faced out the window. “Hmm, why do I suddenly feel so pleased with myself?” He wondered out loud.

X X

Meanwhile, back with Naruto, Kiba was howling with laughter as he lay on the ground clutching his side. “I…can’t…believe…you fell…for that!” He gasped out between his fits of laughs. A bit to his left, Hinata’s body was shaking heavily as she turned her head away with her eyes closed and a hand covering her mouth in a poor attempt to hide her enjoyment at the blond boy’s gullibility.

“It’s not that funny.” Naruto muttered despondently, which of course only increased his friends’ laughter.

“So…what other advice has he given you?” Hinata asked, forcing down her mirth somewhat.

“None of your business.” Naruto answered, turning his head to the side and squinting his eyes in a huff. Kiba and Hinata laughed harder than ever as they imagined some of the other things Jagaa might have told him, or worse, what Naruto might have already tried .

Off to the side, Mizuki also seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face, and was finally forced to clear his throat loudly in order to bring some kind of order back to the small group. “Anyway, now that you see the results of Iruka’s tactic, don’t you think you should apologize to him for accusing him of trying to sabotage you?”

Naruto looked at the white haired Chuunin for a moment before letting out a long sigh. “You’re right, Mizuki-sensei, I should, and I will. I promise.”

Mizuki messed up Naruto’s hair with a pleased smile. “Good to hear. Now, you three better hurry if you want to get anything to eat before the tests resume. Lunch is almost over.”

“Oh crap!” Naruto cried in a panic turning to Kiba and Hinata, “I’ve still got to buy some ramen! I’ll meet you two at the tree!” At the pairs confirming nods, Naruto dashed off in the direction of the cafeteria. “See you later Mizuki-sensei!” He yelled back as he disappeared around the corner.

“Yeah, later Sensei.” Kiba added with a casual wave as he and Hinata walked away.

Behind them, Mizuki looked down the path Naruto had taken with an unreadable expression before he too turned and walked off.

X X X X X

“ Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu !” Naruto called out.

Four balls of water, two on each side, appeared in the air beside him before shifting and coloring to make four identical copies of the blond boy. He was glad that the ‘Land of Fire” wasn’t living up to its name and had plenty of moisture in the air to perform his technique. Especially considering he would have been royally screwed if it didn’t.

Behind the desk, both Iruka and Mizuki smiled proudly at the boy

“Congratulations, Naruto. You’ve passed with flying colors.” Iruka beamed, making Naruto scratch the back of his head sheepishly.

“Well done indeed, Naruto.” Mizuki said. “Come and claim your Hitai-ate while I go get the next student.” Still grinning triumphantly, Naruto moved to the front of the desk as Mizuki got up from his seat and headed for the door.

“I’m proud of you, Naruto.” Iruka praised the boy as he handed him the blue cloth embedded with a metal plate that carried a carving of the Konoha symbol in the middle. “I knew you could do it.”

Naruto’s hand faltered slightly as he took the coveted item, guilt rising in him as he looked at the scarred Chuunin’s smiling face. Naruto had still not apologized to Iruka for accusing him of trying to sabotage his test. He wanted to during the ‘Projectile Weapons Skills’ portion of the test, but the man was still grading the papers and had not been present. That gave rise to another pang of guilt for Naruto since the fact Mizuki had known Naruto’s score so fast meant that Iruka had graded it first to see how well Naruto had done. However, none of his earlier guilt could compare to what he was feeling now as he looked into the face of the proudly smiling man. Deciding there was no time like the present, Naruto took a deep, calming breath. “Say, umm, Iruka-sensei…”

“Hmm, what is it, Naruto?” Iruka asked. Naruto could hear the genuine kindness radiating in Iruka’s voice and it made him feel like someone had punched him in the gut. Couldn’t the man be at least a little resentful of Naruto’s unfounded accusation?

Taking another deep breath, Naruto started. “Iruka-sensei, I wanted to-”

“Iruka, are you ready for the next one?” Mizuki’s question cut Naruto short.

“Huh? Oh, yes I’m ready.” Iruka called back before giving Naruto an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, Naruto, but can this wait until later?”

Naruto sighed quietly before perking up and giving Iruka a foxy grin. “Sure, Sensei, I’ll just talk to you later then.” With a quick wave, Naruto ran to the door with his brand new Hitai-ate in hand. He was disappointed that he had missed his chance to apologize to Iruka again, but he took heart in the fact it would be easier to do it after everything calmed down anyway. Feeling a bit better, Naruto exited the large room smiling triumphantly as he walked past the line of students who had yet to take the test, the last in line being none other than Yamanaka Ino.

“So you actually passed.” She said snidely as she saw the Hitai-ate in his hand. “It doesn’t matter though, Sasuke-kun is still better than you.”

Naruto stopped and pretended to do a double take. “Huh? Oh, Ino, sorry I didn’t see you there. Did you say something?” Naruto smirked internally when he saw the girl's jaw tighten. He had realized a while ago that insults didn’t faze Ino in the slightest (since she would just come back with one of her own) but she absolutely hated not being noticed. As Ino started to open her mouth to deliver whatever insult she had concocted, Naruto quickly cut her off. “Well, see ya later, Ino.” Naruto then dashed off before the girl could say anything back, knowing full well that not letting Ino get the last word would be the icing on the cake.

The loud screech of frustration that followed proved his point beautifully.

Laughing to himself, Naruto walked back into the classroom where all the Genin that had passed were assembling. He spotted Sasuke being his normal stoic self in the front of the class room with Sakura being her normal fangirl self as she tried to ask him on a date, and for a moment Naruto entertained the thought of picking a fight with the raven-haired boy. Bragging again that he knew MizuBunshin and Sasuke didn’t (something that was always good to piss the teme off) and that he had used it to pass sounded appealing, but he decided against it since that would make Iruka angry as well, and Naruto still hadn’t apologized yet. So instead he simply made his way to the back where Hinata and Kiba were waiting for him.

“Heh, check it out,” Naruto declared proudly and brandished the metal plate in front of him, “I passed with flying colors!”

“Big deal,” Kiba brushed off Naruto’s enthusiasm by pointing his thumb at his own Hitai-ate tied around his forehead. “We passed before you did. Remember?” Hinata nodded her agreement, her own proof of passing moving gently against her neck where it was hanging casually.

Naruto visibly deflated. “You know, you two could at least pretend to care. I mean, would saying “Good job” or “I knew you could do it” really be so much to ask?”

Kiba and Hinata looked at each other for a moment before turning back to Naruto with matching smirks and answering in perfect sync. “Yes.”

“We knew you could do it, Naruto-kun!” A female’s voice called out followed by a chorus of feminine squeals of agreement and delight from the NF both of which Naruto managed to tune out admirably. He had gotten good at that throughout the last year.

“I can’t believe I actually call you two my friends.” Naruto muttered before brightening again with a smirk of his own. “That’s ok though. I’m sure Hana -chan will praise me when I tell her.”

Kiba’s face darkened dangerously. “How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from my sister, Naruto?”

Naruto feigned a look of sudden realization. “Oh, that’s right. Sorry, I forgot about your sister complex.”

“I DO NOT HAVE A SISTER COMPLEX!” Kiba stood up and screamed, completely forgetting he was still in class, only to be painfully reminded of that fact when a chorus of laughs and snickers started filling the room. Naruto couldn’t remember a time he had seen the Inuzuka blush even close to the amount he was blushing now as he shamefacedly sat down again.

Naruto was quite proud of himself for that.

“Naruto, just put on your Hitai-ate and quit teasing Kiba about his sister complex.” Hinata commanded.

“I don’t have a sister complex.” Kiba mumbled sulkily.

Naruto just grinned victoriously down at Kiba before giving in to Hinata’s order. “Okay, okay.” Putting his new head accessory on the desk Naruto reached up and removed his old blue bandana. Looking at it fondly, Naruto pocketed the item before reaching for the metal plate. However, just before he reached it, his hand was forcibly stopped by another hand on his wrist. Eyes widening in surprise, Naruto followed the path of the hand back to its owner and found that it was Hinata who had grabbed him and was now gazing at him with a strange, starry look in her eye.

“H-Hinata, what are you…” Naruto trailed off as a chill raced up his spine. Taking a quick look around, he felt his dread rising at a rapid pace. Every girl in the room, including Sasuke’s own Fangirls (AKA the ‘Sasuke Faction’ or ‘SF’), were giving him the same look as Hinata. Glancing behind him, Naruto was terrified to see that even Sakura seemed to have been possessed by something as she looked back and forth between Sasuke and himself with an expression that made it seem like she may actually be in physical pain over which one of them she should be looking at.

What had started out as dread was quickly becoming full blown panic as the girls slowly started getting up from their seats and moving almost like zombies towards him. ‘ Not good! Not good! NOT GOOD! What the hell is going on? There’s no way just taking off my bandana could have done this! ’ The sound of the door sliding open caught Naruto’s attention and he looked over praying to Kami that Iruka had just walked in. His hopes were brutally crushed by the sight of the platinum haired Ino.

“What’s going on? Why’s it so quiet in…” Ino trailed off once she caught sight of Naruto and was now staring at him with her mouth hanging open and a small amount of drool slipping from the corner.

‘ Even Ino ? I’M DOOMED! ’ Naruto wailed mentally before turning to Kiba in desperation. “Kiba! Help me! They’ve all been possessed!”

Kiba answered with a smirk that Naruto knew meant nothing but trouble. “What was that, Naruto? Sorry, I couldn’t hear you since I'm so busy fantasizing about my Nee-chan. You know, me and my sister complex and all.”Naruto could only gape in disbelief. His best friend had just left him to the figurative (or maybe not) wolves.

Sure Naruto may have deserved it, but that wasn’t the point right now.

“KYAAAAA!”

Naruto turned in time to see that Sakura had apparently solved her internal dispute and was sailing through the air at him like a pouncing tiger. The other girls seemed to take that as the signal to charge and followed suit with loud hunting cries of their own.

In a way, it was almost like a perfect ending to match the start of the year as, just as it had happened on Naruto’s first day, a giant pile of hormone driven girls formed where the blond boy had been standing and, holding true to tradition, soon found themselves piled on top of the wrong person.

“I’m going to kill you, Uzumaki!” Sasuke’s muffled voice ghosted out from beneath the pile of girls.

From the doorway Naruto shouted back. “You’re welcome to try anytime Teme!” His shout drew the hungry gazes of the pile of girls, making Naruto swallow hard. “Except right now! Right now I have to RUN !”

Naruto bolted out the door followed soon after by the sound of a mass of pounding feet. Going against his better judgment, Naruto looked back to see the whole horde of women chasing him with a predatory gleam in their eyes. The most frightening (not to mention completely against the natural order of the universe) part of it all being that Hinata, Ino, and Sakura, were the ones leading the charge.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!” Naruto screamed to the heavens with waterfall tears pouring down his cheeks as he sprinted down the hall with the horde of screaming girls hot on his heels.

X X

Iruka had just finished marking up the final scores of the exams and was pleased to see that all the students in his class had passed. Though it was true that most of them would be coming back to the academy because of the final test that they were given by their Jounin sensei, it was still a proud day when a teacher could say that his class had done the best. Whistling lightly, Iruka gathered up his papers and walked to the door, sliding it open with a smile of accomplishment shining on his face.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!”

The shout startled the Chuunin so much that he almost dropped his papers, but he managed to keep them all in hand and looked up just in time to see Naruto blur passed him like the devil was on his heels followed not two seconds later by every girl from his class.

Iruka blinked several times as he followed the spectacle curiously. “Hmm, it seems Naruto is really popular these days. Oh well, I need to get back to my class.” Humming lightly to himself, Iruka started down the hall. He had taken all of three steps when he stumbled to a stop as his mind fully processed what had just happened.

‘ Class…students…my students…not in class…CRAP! ’ Spinning so fast he kicked up a wind, Iruka tore down the hallway after his wayward students. “ALL OF YOU GET BACK TO THE CLASSROOM THIS INSTANT !!!”

X X X X X

“What was it Naruto!?” Hinata yelled as she held the blond boy against the wall by the collar of his shirt, her Byakugan flaring dangerously. “Was it Genjutsu? Some kind of drug? What did you do to me?”

It had been almost an hour since the strange three way chase had begun, and less than twenty minutes since it had ended by Iruka saving Naruto just in the nick of time as the blond was cornered by the mob of young females. All it had taken was one furious bellow from the scarred Chuunin to somehow snap the girls back to their senses. This was followed by the Chuunin directing them back to the class and yelling at all of them for several minutes before he unceremoniously sent all the graduates out to the yard to wait for their families.

Which now brings us back to Naruto being pinned against the wall by the pissed off Hyuuga heiress.

“I-I don’t know what happened. Honest. A-all I did was take off my bandana so I could put my Hitai-ate on and suddenly you and the rest of the girls went crazy. I’m innocent I tell you!” Naruto was sweating heavily as Hinata continued to glare at him with the promise of extreme pain reflected in her eyes. It seemed that having somehow been turned into a raging Fangirl for half an hour had not made her happy. Though, Naruto thought that she may have been taking it better than others. Behind the pissed off Hinata, Ino and Sakura were sitting under a tree clutching each other with wide, haunted eyes.

“I can’t believe I was chasing Naruto.” Ino said in a hollow tone. “I think I’m scarred for life.”

“I…I betrayed Sasuke-kun.” Sakura responded in a voice near to tears. “Now he’ll think I don’t like him anymore. What am I going to do? How can I even bring myself to face him again?” Inside the pink haired girls mind, a crude looking image of herself with the words “Inner Sakura” on its forehead, was repeatedly beating its head on a large boulder yelling ‘STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!’ as loud as it could.

Around them, the other ardent SF members seemed to be having similar thoughts as the crowded together with dark, depressed auras.

From off to the side, Sasuke was watching with mixed emotions, his thoughts mostly focused on a certain whisker marked blond. On one hand, Naruto had forced him to endure a spectacular glomp from a horde of fangirls, something he had managed to avoid throughout his Academy life before. On the other hand, it looked like his Fangirls were so depressed that they may give up on chasing him, at least for a while. So now Sasuke’s dilemma was should he continue to hate the blond for all the trouble he had caused him? Or should he thank Naruto, and maybe even try to make peace with the other boy, for granting him a reprieve from the horrors of Fangirls?

“NO! I won’t accept this!” Sakura suddenly shouted, springing to her feet with a fire burning in her eyes. “I’ll prove to Sasuke-kun that I still love him and only him. I’ll just have to try twice as hard to win his affections!”

Her rival’s declaration snapped Ino out of her own depression and she immediately jumped to her own feet, pointing at Sakura challengingly. “Hah! You wish forehead girl! If you’re going to try twice as hard, then so will I! I’ll show you and everybody else that I’m the one for Sasuke-kun! Not some girl who could sell her forehead as real-estate!”

“Hah! You’ll be eating those words at mine and Sasuke-kun’s wedding, Mud-Wallower!” Sakura snarled back as Inner Sakura put on a pair of boxing gloves and started to beat the crap out of a punching bag with a crude picture of Ino drawn on it while shouting ‘Shannaro!’

As the two girls degenerated into a battle of insults, the rest of the SF also made recoveries, their depressed auras becoming ones of determination as they too declared their intentions to try harder than ever to win over Sasuke.

Sasuke watched in horror as each girl stood up and started shouting their declarations of victory. They had been a force to be reckoned with, but now…they would be more powerful than ever before. Needless to say, Sasuke’s hatred of Naruto came back full force and with interest.

Meanwhile, back with the hapless blond himself.

“Please let me live! I swear I didn’t do anything!” Naruto begged the girl who was still attempting to strangle him with his own shirt. Hinata continued to glare at him suspiciously before slowly loosening her hold.

However, before fully letting go, Hinata brought her face in close to his, making Naruto go rigid with fright. “I swear to you, Naruto,” She said in a low, silky voice that promised death, “If I ever find out that you’re lying, and you really did do something to make me act like that. I. Will. Kill you!” Naruto couldn’t make a sound due to his throat constricting in fear and simply nodded with wide eyes.

Through the whole thing, Kiba had just been standing off to the side with a huge smirk.

“Tch, you’re so damn troublesome, Naruto.” Shikamaru’s lazy voice came from the side as he casually walked up with his hands in his pockets. As usual, Chouji was right next to the pineapple haired boy, continuously munching on a bag of chips. “First you ruin my nap by riling up the girls in class, now I can’t watch clouds because the SF is using my favorite spot to make plans to prove their love to the Teme. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Well sorry if my almost being mauled by possessed girls ruined your day.” Naruto answered back icily. “I was a little too busy running for my life to care about what happened to your lazy ass.”

“Speaking of which,” Chouji spoke through his mouthful of chips, “Why did that happen anyway? I mean, sure the Naruto Faction always finds an excuse to chase you, but for the Sasuke Faction to act like that… What’s even stranger is that we all know for a fact that Hinata has seen you without your bandana on before and not gone into a Fangirl frenzy, so what the heck happened?”

“I don’t know.” Naruto answered with a shake of his head. “I just hope it never happens again.”

“Agreed.” Hinata added.

“Mah, whatever.” Shikamaru shrugged then indicated behind them with a slight thrust of his chin. “It looks like the families are starting to gather.”

The rest of the group looked over to see that, true to Shikamaru’s words, family and friends of the graduating class had started coming through the front gate and were making their way to the group of proud new Genins. Naruto eagerly started checking through the crowd for the black clad appearance of his older brother figure, but soon wilted when he found no trace of the scarred man.

‘ I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. ’ The boy thought with a depressed sigh. ‘ He really isn’t too happy that he’s going to have to become a Jounin because of me passing. ’

“Oi, Naruto! Why are you just standing in a daze over there? At least come say hi to my family.” Naruto turned to the shout to see Kiba waving him over to where he was standing with his mother and sister. Taking one last quick look around for Jagaa, Naruto walked over to the trio of Inuzuka.

“So you passed, eh brat?” Tsume grinned as soon as Naruto joined them. “Good job.”

Naruto returned her grin with his own foxy one and thumped his chest proudly. “Of course, I’m Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage! There’s no way some stupid test is going to get the best of me!”

“At least not when Iruka-sensei is there to save your ass.” Kiba muttered just loud enough for Naruto to hear, earning a threatening glare from the blond.

“Congratulations Naruto.” Hana said happily, pulling the boy into a friendly hug, “I knew you could do it.”

As he was being hugged, Naruto was struck with an idea that could only have been due to his time with Jagaa. Taking a quick glance at Kiba to make sure he was watching, Naruto returned Hana’s hug, bringing his mouth close to her ear and whispering huskily, “Thank you, Hana-chan. That means a lot to me coming from you.” Naruto finished by giving her a kiss on the cheek that was a just a little bit too long to be called just friendly.

“N-Naruto?” Hana stammered, pulling back from Naruto with a rosy blush and wide eyes. Just behind her, Kiba was recovering from the state of shock Naruto’s actions had put him in and was now looking like he was going to rip out the whiskered boy’s throat. Naruto grinned impudently at the near raging Inuzuka boy even as he wallowed in his own success. Not only had Naruto fully succeeded in completely pissing Kiba off, he had even made a beautiful older girl like Hana blush.

Jagaa would be proud.

“Hey now, we’ll have none of that.” Tsume said with a light whack to the back of Naruto’s head despite the amusement in her voice, “Don’t go turning into that brother of yours already. One of him is hard enough to handle.”

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and smiled at the older woman. “Okay, okay, sorry.” Turning back to Hana, Naruto’s smile became a foxy but apologetic grin. “Sorry I startled you Hana-chan. I was just playing around.”

Hana let out an audible sigh of relief before smiling a bit sheepishly. “That’s good to hear, Naruto. For a minute there I really thought you were serious.” Hana eyed him for a couple seconds before her sheepish smile became a dangerous grin. “But you do understand that if you ever pull a stunt like that again I’ll be forced to neuter you, right?”

Naruto gulped loudly. “Yes Ma’am! Won’t happen again Ma’am!” He responded with a sharp salute.

“He learns fast.” Tsume laughed as Hana nodded her acceptance of Naruto’s promise. Hana opened her mouth to say something else, but she was cut off by a low snarl coming from behind her causing all three to look over and see Kiba staring at Naruto with blood lust in his eyes. On his head, Akamaru was whining softly, as if attempting to calm his master down.

Hana and Tsume looked confused as to why Kiba looked like he was planning to kill Naruto, but the blond himself had been hoping for this exact reaction. Putting on his best puzzled expression, Naruto spoke up. “Oi, what’s the matter with you?”

Kiba growled low in his throat and crouched down into an attack position. “I don’t care if it was a joke or not you bastard! You went way too far!” Poor Akamaru was continuing to whine piteously on top of Kiba’s head.

Naruto was smirking like a maniac internally, but on the outside he was doing a wonderful job of looking completely baffled. After a few seconds, he made a show of remembering something by lighting up his face and catching his fist in his palm. “Oh that’s right. Sorry Kiba. I just keep forgetting about your si…” Naruto was silenced by Kiba’s hand slamming over his mouth with the Inuzuka himself going from murderous to panicked in half a second flat.

“Shut up !” Kiba whispered in a slightly hoarse voice. “Just shut up ! Don’t you even dare try to say that bullshit in front of Nee-chan!”

Naruto smirked evilly as he pulled Kiba’s hand away and whispered back. “Sorry, sorry, I guess I forgot I’m not supposed to say anything about that in front of Hana-chan. My memory must have suffered a bit of trauma when somebody abandoned me to the mercy of a horde of hormone driven girls.”

Kiba’s narrowed dangerously, “You deserved it.” He growled out.

“Yeah, well so did you.” Naruto responded with his own growl. The two boys were glaring into each other's eyes with their faces mere inches apart.

“You know, it’s really hard to tell if you two are actually friends sometimes.”

The new voice had Naruto’s head snapping over to see the last person he had expected to show.

Jagaa was standing a bit off to the left of Tsume (who, for some reason, always looked a bit uncomfortable when he was around) standing with his arms folded and his eyebrows raised curiously. “I swear. You two fight worse than an old married couple. Was there a wedding I wasn’t invited to?”

“Hey!” Kiba shouted in disgust, but Naruto was still too surprised to register what the remark had suggested.

“Nii-san? What are you doing here?” He asked. Not really sure if he should be happy that Jagaa had come, or scared that the older blond was up to something.

“What do you mean ‘What am I doing here’? Are you saying you didn’t want me to come?” Jagaa questioned with a tilt of his head.

Naruto shook his head furiously. “No, that’s not it. I was just surprised. I…” Naruto wilted a little, unable to meet Jagaa’s eyes. “I didn’t think you’d want to come.”

“Why would you think that?” Naruto’s head jerked up to look into the face of a smirking Jagaa. “Just because I don’t fully agree with the dream you’re chasing, since I think most of the people here are idiots, doesn’t mean I won’t support you in reaching it. Sure, I’m not too thrilled about the prospect of being tied down to one village, but I find that I can forgive that by telling myself that it will just give me that many more chances to make life hell for the half dead old bastard.” Jagaa’s smirk became a sadistic smile that made all who saw it take a step backwards.

X X

In his office, the Sandaime sneezed violently behind his desk sending several tall stacks of papers flying in every direction, mixing all of the documents together on the floor and promising hours of sorting through them to get them all back into proper organization.

The old man stared at the mess from over his desk for a few minutes before leaning back and rubbing the bridge of his nose with a long, suffering sigh.

“I don’t even need to ask.”

X X

Back with the groups of graduates and family, Jagaa had dropped his sadistic smirk and was gazing towards the sky thoughtfully. “That’s twice today I’ve felt strangely pleased with myself. I wonder why.” He muttered questioningly to himself.

“Well, anyway, congratulations to both of you.” Tsume said with a proud smile to the two boys.

Her comment managed to pull Jagaa out of his thoughts, and with a grin he reached out and ruffled Naruto’s hair. “Yeah.Congratulations, Brat. I guess that puts you one step closer to reaching that pain in the ass dream of yours.”

“Hey, it’s not a pain in the ass!” Naruto yelled in defense, “It’s so I can gain the respect and acknowledgement of the entire village and show them I’m worth something, no matter what the reason they’ve hated me might be!”

Jagaa’s went still on top of Naruto’s head and his grin faded into an unreadable expression that only Naruto saw. “No matter what the reason, huh?” He muttered to himself.

“Nii-san?” Naruto asked in confusion at the man’s sudden change in demeanor.

“Hmm, what is it Naruto?” Jagaa asked in a light voice, his grin back in place and showing no hint that it had ever left.

“…Nothing…never mind.” Naruto replied with a shake of his head. Maybe he had just imagined it. After all, nothing he said should have bothered the older blond.

“Hmm, you’re kind of weird sometimes, you know?” Jagaa smirked, giving Naruto’s head one more messing.

“Heh, probably because I’ve been around you for so long.” Naruto retorted as he pushed Jagaa’s hand away.

Jagaa just shrugged, the smirk still playing on his lips. “Who knows?” Reaching out, Jagaa clapped Naruto once on the back. “Well, sorry to bail on you so soon brat, but there are a few things I need to do before my official induction into Hell. Catch all of you later.” With a slight wave, Jagaa turned and started walking into the crowd.

“I really don’t think being a Jounin will be that bad, Nii-san!” Naruto chided. Jagaa just waved dismissively above his head before his form was swallowed by the mass of people.

“He didn’t stay long.” Kiba grunted.

“I’m just glad he came at all.” Naruto said sincerely. It had definitely been one of the better surprises throughout his life. A hand came down on Naruto’s shoulder in a friendly manner from behind, causing him to jump in surprise.

“I agree, Naruto, it is good of him to show his support for you.”

“Mizuki-sensei?” Naruto asked before turning to look into the white haired man’s face. “Quit popping up out of nowhere like that! You’re going to give me a heart attack!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Mizuki laughed, patting Naruto on the shoulder before turning to Tsume, “Inuzuka-sama.” He greeted with a small bow.

“Mizuki.” Tsume responded in an oddly cool tone that had both her children and Naruto looking at her curiously. Tsume wasn’t usually the type to act aloof with anyone.

If Mizuki noticed, he didn’t make any mention of it as he continued to smile. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting something, but I’m afraid I need to borrow Naruto for a bit.” Mizuki’s smile was warm and friendly. A significant disparity to the small frown that had appeared on Tsume’s face. If she had anything to say though, it was cut off by Naruto’s panicked blabbering.

“Wha? Why? Did I mess up on my test? Did I actually not pass? What happened, Sensei? I did graduate didn’t I? I must have? I-”

“Calm down Naruto.” Mizuki said with a laugh, “You passed your exams excellently. I just want to have a word with you, that’s all.”

Naruto let out an explosive breath of relief before scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Oh…Okay then.” He turned back to the trio of Inuzuka and gave them a cheerful wave. “I’ll catch up to you guys later, all right.”

“Got it. Catch ya later man.” Kiba called out as Naruto walked off with the white haired Chuunin.

“Hey, Mom, are you okay?” Kiba heard his sister ask with a trace of worry in her voice. Kiba didn’t understand what she meant until he turned around and saw his mother staring after Naruto and Mizuki with a steely gaze. “Mom?” He asked, in confusion.

Tsume shook her head and turned back to her children. “It’s nothing, I suppose. I just…don’t really trust that man.”

X    X X X X

“ARE YOU SERIOUS!?”

Naruto’s shout echoed through the hall before Mizuki slapped his hand over the boy’s mouth. Taking a wary glance around before looking back to Naruto, Mizuki whispered low and conspiratorially. “Shhh, yes I’m serious, but I’ll also get in serious trouble if anyone of the other Genin, even some Chuunin for that matter, find out about it. Understand?” Mizuki waited for Naruto’s nod before slowly removing his hand from the boy’s mouth.

“But it’s just so incredible!” Naruto whispered back excitedly, “I mean, a chance to become a Chuunin right after graduating!”

Mizuki nodded in understanding. “I know. I didn’t know about it either, until I was approached by the Hokage and asked who I thought would be best suited for the opportunity.” Mizuki paused for a minute, his face showing some hesitancy, “To be honest, Naruto, the Hokage had seemed certain that it should be Sasuke, seeing that he was the number one in the class and that is usually who the chance will go to. But after some discussion, I managed to convince him that you were a far better choice.”

Naruto stared at the Chuunin, the amazement showing in his eyes. “You did that for me?”

Mizuki put his hands on Naruto’s shoulders and smiled down at him. “Naruto, I may have only been teaching you for a year now, but I have no doubts in my mind that only you should get this chance. You have worked hard to keep up with your class despite being so far behind, and you understand that nothing worthwhile ever comes free. Sasuke is good, I’ll give him that, but he still has some maturing to do because of his pride at being an Uchiha. You deserve this, Naruto.”

Naruto could only stare at the man in front of him in wonder as the pride and gratitude filled his chest. Finally, with a shake of his head to clear his thoughts, he gave the white haired man a determined look. “I won’t let you down, Sensei.”

Mizuki’s smile widened, a strange glint coming to his eyes. “I know you won’t Naruto. I know you won’t.”

X X X X X

Jagaa sat on the roof of the three story apartment complex that he and Naruto lived in, his expression blank and his body unmoving. The gentle breeze ruffled his hair and caressed his skin comfortingly, but Jagaa was too lost in his thoughts to feel the pleasant sensation as he struggled with one of the biggest decisions he felt he had ever, or would ever, have to make.

It was a decision he had been sitting on for the last year and honestly wished he could just avoid, but he knew that couldn’t happen. Even still, he was putting it off, sitting on the roof letting time pass by as his mind and heart clashed on the matter.

An old fashioned clock started chiming nearby, just loud enough to hear, surprising Jagaa greatly when it ended at eight chimes. Naruto’s graduation had been at three p.m. and Jagaa had left only a few minutes after he got there, going straight to the roof he now sat on. Meaning he had been there for almost five hours.

“Time flies when you’re having fun.” Jagaa muttered sarcastically to himself.

It would still be half an hour before Jagaa finally stood up, dusting himself off and turning to face the direction of the Hokage tower. There was no avoiding it anymore.

“I guess this is it.”

X X X X X

Naruto leapt through the trees quickly and silently, a large scroll held under his left arm. He couldn’t believe how easy the test had been.

Just like Mizuki had said, Naruto had been careful not to say anything to anybody about his test, even going so far as to hide out in the forest and not go celebrating with his friends about becoming Genin. Besides, if all went well, he would be celebrating becoming a Chuunin soon. Naruto couldn’t stop the excited grin that leapt to his face at the thought.

Especially when he thought about how good it would feel to rub it into the Teme’s face.

Smirking at the mental images of him towering mightily over a pitifully crying Sasuke, Naruto finished his race through the trees and leapt down into a clearing next to a small cabin.

“Just like Mizuki-sensei said.” Naruto mused as he took in his surroundings. Naruto checked the watch strapped to his wrist that Mizuki had given him for the test and a proud smile came to his face. Mizuki had told him to have the scroll at the little cabin by nine-thirty p.m., but Naruto had managed to accomplish the mission a whole hour and fifteen minutes early. If that didn’t get him some bonus points, Naruto wasn’t sure what would.

Then again, an hour and fifteen minutes was a long time to just sit around and wait for Mizuki to show up with the judges. So now Naruto was left with the dilemma of just what he was going to do for that long. It wasn’t until he caught himself absently stroking the large scroll under his arm that Naruto was hit with inspiration.

He’d just check out what was in the scroll. Mizuki had never said he wasn’t allowed to after all. He remembered a time Jagaa had said that there was nothing wrong with curiosity, and as long as nobody actually told you that you couldn’t do something, you couldn’t be held accountable for it.

Granted, Jagaa had said that when he was defending himself for a time his ‘curiosity’ led him to ‘investigating’ the women’s bathroom while he was drunk. But good advice was good advice no matter what the source.

So, with his conscience completely clear, Naruto opened the scroll and eagerly examined the writing. He was rather surprised to find himself staring at a scroll full of techniques that looked to be fairly difficult. Naruto stared at the scroll for several minutes as he tried to figure out why he would be told to get a technique scroll, when a light bulb went off inside his brain.

“OF COURSE! I’m supposed to learn a technique from the scroll! I can’t believe I almost failed the test!” Feeling incredibly proud of himself on his insight, Naruto decided to do things the old fashioned way and work on the list from the top down and moved his eyes back to the top of the list.

“Hmm… Kage Bunshin no Jutsu . It looks like it uses pure chakra to make clones instead of relying on an outside substance like Mizu Bunshin .” Naruto was about to pass it by with a dismissive shrug, but stopped when he realized that knowing another form of the Bunshin no Jutsu could come in handy. Especially since the Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu was limited to the amount of water in the area and only possessed one tenth of his strength. Nodding to himself to confirm his decision, Naruto began reading through the instructions on how to perform the technique.

X     X     X     X     X

Naruto panted heavily as he lay on the ground staring up at the stars visible in the small clearing. He had just managed to perform the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and was feeling extremely proud of himself. It had taken over an hour of hard training and throwing everything he had into it, but he had finally managed to do it. He was actually quite pleased with the results. With the Mizu Bunshin Naruto could make four, maybe five out of the water in the air if there wasn’t a river or lake nearby, and at least fifty if there was.

Just now, after finally getting it right, Naruto had made forty Kage Bunshin even though he had already used a lot of chakra in training. It made him extremely glad he had decided to learn it. Now he wouldn’t be limited by lack of water, even if he was in Suna.

Tiredly lifting his arm and glancing at the watch, Naruto sighed when he saw it was only fifteen minutes until Mizuki was supposed to arrive. “Guess I don’t have time to learn another one. Heh heh, oh well, I’m still freaking AWESOME for learning this one so fast.” With a happy grin, Naruto forced himself into a sitting position to wait for Mizuki.

“Ah, there you are, Naruto!” Naruto’s head snapped around at the voice to see Iruka running up to him looking relieved. “I’ve been looking all over for you.” The scarred Chuunin said as he closed the distance between them.

“Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here?” Naruto asked. He couldn’t remember if Mizuki had said Iruka knew about the test or not, but it would be best to treat it like he didn’t so that he didn’t fail by revealing it.

“Tsume-sama asked me a couple hours ago if I would help her look for you.” Iruka answered, “She told me that you had gone off somewhere with Mizuki after you graduated and that she hadn’t seen you since. I think she was worried something happened to you since you didn’t join them all to celebrate.”

Naruto flinched guiltily. He hadn’t thought people would start worrying after only a few hours, but he was certain his friends would forgive him once they learned the reason. For now though, he still couldn’t tell anyone. “Sorry, Iruka-sensei, something came up.”

Iruka frowned at the boy. He knew Naruto well enough by now to know that the boy put friends before practically everything. So, just taking off without letting anyone know where he was going wasn’t like the boy at all. “Naruto, are you sure everything is okay? If something is bothering you, you know you can tell me.”

The concern in Iruka’s voice brought another wave of guilt to the boy, a wave strengthened by the fact that Naruto had been so unfair to the man earlier in the day. Well, at least he could apologize for that , even if he would have to wait to apologize for worrying everyone.

“Uh, actually, Iruka-sensei…there is something that’s been bothering me all day.” Naruto waited for the expectant nod from his teacher before taking a long breath, “I…wanted to apologize…for how I acted today. I know that you would never try to deliberately sabotage my grade, and I was wrong to accuse you of doing it.” Naruto took a step backwards and bowed low, “I’m really sorry.”

Iruka stared at the mop of blond hair in surprise for a few moments before his mouth formed a friendly smile and he stretched his arms out to lay his hands on each of Naruto’s shoulders, causing the boy to look up and meet his eyes. “There’s no need to apologize, Naruto. To be honest, if it had been the other way around, I would have felt the same way you did.” Iruka’s smile became a little guilty, and Naruto’s eyebrow quirked. “There’s also the small fact that I almost did sabotage you by using those three. They were much more… enthusiastic about the arrangement than I had wanted. I still don’t know how they actually managed to do their own tests with how much attention they were giving you.”

Iruka’s confession mixed with the sheepish, slightly guilty expression he was wearing caused a slight chuckle to escape from Naruto, which in turn caused the Chuunin to chuckle as well. Soon the chuckling turned into a full on laughter, leaving both the Chuunin and the Genin feeling much better than they had throughout most of the day.

When their laughter finally died down, Iruka smiled at Naruto and offered his hand to the young boy. “So what do you say? Still friends?”

Naruto smiled and took the man’s hand in his own, “Sure, but you’re treating me to ramen.”

Iruka laughed again, this time a bit pleadingly. “Ah, come on, give a poor teacher a-” The sound of something flying through the air caught the pair’s attention and they snapped their heads around to see several shuriken coming straight at them. Acting on instinct, Iruka tried to push Naruto out of the way, only to find the boy had already jumped clear. Caught off guard by Naruto’s quick reflexes, Iruka missed his own chance to get clear and was only able to protect his vitals as the sharp blades bit into his flesh. With a cry of pain Iruka fell to his knees, blood flowing freely from his wounds.

“Iruka-Sensei!” Naruto cried out in alarm, jumping over to his teacher’s side. “Are you okay!? What’s going on!?” Naruto’s panicked questions were interrupted by the sound of a slow, cold applause coming from the trees. Using the sound as their guide, Iruka and Naruto looked up into the foliage to see Mizuki standing on a branch almost ten meters above them, a cruel smile playing on his mouth.

“Well, well, well, isn’t this the touching scene.” Mizuki’s eyes were pictures of disgust, “A teacher bonding with a monster. How low can you sink, Iruka?”

Iruka grit his teeth against the pain as his mind tried to process what the hell had just happened. He was about to yell out for an explanation, but Naruto’s shocked voice stopped him. “Mizuki-sensei? What’s going on? Is this part of the test?”

Iruka twisted his face sharply to the blond boy beside him. “What test are you talking about, Naruto?”

The fear and confusion was clear on Naruto’s face as he looked at his teacher. “He told me that there was a special test to become a Chuunin right after graduating. All I had to do was keep the test a secret, steal that big scroll from the Hokage tower, and then wait here for the judges to arrive.” The word “Scroll” instantly had Iruka’s attention and he looked over to where Naruto had pointed only to have his fears realized. “Naruto, that is-”

“The ‘Forbidden Scroll’, filled with the most powerful and dangerous techniques Konoha has produced. That’s right.” Mizuki cut in with a sadistic smirk, which then became an irritated frown. “I was planning to kill that demon when he handed me the scroll at the end of his ‘Test’ and simply vanish from Konoha, but your presence here forced me to act a bit more rashly than I would have liked. Oh well, it doesn’t really matter. It just means there will be two bodies for them to find instead of just one.”

Iruka glared at Mizuki, his wounds allowing him to do little else. Naruto continued to stare up at the white haired man in a state of shock. “What…what are you saying…Mizuki-sensei? I…I don’t understand. Why are you attacking Iruka-sensei? Why did you tell me this was all a test?” Naruto couldn’t believe what was happening. He was desperately hoping, praying, that this was all some sort of horrible nightmare. That one of his teachers wasn’t saying he had been planning to kill him as the other kneeled injured on the forest floor. That the whole test wasn’t a lie and that maybe this was part of the test. But as his eyes took in the cruelty of Mizuki's own, Naruto couldn’t deny that it all really was happening.

“Why, you ask? The reason is very simple, Naruto.” Mizuki’s eyes narrowed maliciously, “I hate you.”

Naruto’s eyes widened in disbelief, but Mizuki wasn’t done yet.

“It’s not just me either. Haven’t you ever wondered why the villagers have always treated you so terribly? Wondered what you did to deserve so much scorn and contempt?” A cruel amusement shined in Mizuki’s narrowed eyes, “Do you want to know the truth? The truth hidden by the law set by the Sandaime Hokage twelve years ago?”

Naruto felt fear welling up inside of him. “What law?”

“Stop it, Mizuki!” Iruka shouted desperately, but the white haired man simply ignored him.

“I’m talking about the law that forbids anybody from saying that you are the demon that attacked this village twelve years ago. The demon that destroyed our homes and killed our families. The demon that the Yondaime Hokage sacrificed his life to seal into human form.” Mizuki’s smile became crueler than ever as he finished, “The law that forbids us from saying that you…are the Kyuubi no Youko.”

The world froze around Naruto. He was the Kyuubi? The demon fox that had nearly destroyed Konoha and took the life of Konoha’s strongest Kage? Suddenly all the glares and abuse made sense. The reason for his painful memories and terrible treatment, he finally knew why.

“Do you know, Naruto, how hard it was to be nice to you for the last year?” Naruto’s attention was pulled back to Mizuki who was now looking at him in disgust. “Treating you like a human. Acting kindly and friendly to you. Gaining your trust . It was the most sickening thing I have ever done.” Mizuki motioned to Iruka with his eyes, “I’m sure Iruka feels the same way. After all, it can’t be easy trying to be a good teacher to the thing that killed his parents.”

Naruto’s eyes went wide in horror at the words. Slowly, he turned his head to look at Iruka, his eyes pleading for it not to be true, but the man could only look away with a grimace that looked almost ashamed, and the boy’s heart clenched painfully inside his chest.

“You see?” Mizuki called down gleefully, “He’s the same me. He hates you just like everyone else.”

“That’s not true, Naruto!” Iruka cried out desperately, but Naruto couldn’t hear him over Mizuki’s malicious voice.

“The last year of being nice to you, being friendly with you, it was all for this night.” Mizuki continued, his eyes boring into Naruto’s, “All to gain your trust so that you wouldn’t doubt me about the fake test, and it worked wonderfully. All because you crave acceptance, you stupidly trust anyone that shows you even the slightest kindness. It was almost too easy.”

Naruto couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. The last year flashed through his mind. All the after class lessons, the lunches together, the friendly spars, the smiles, the kind words. All of it had been a lie. Time slowed down for the boy as the white haired man reached behind his back, grabbing a giant shuriken strapped to it.

Mizuki’s smile widened insanely as he started spinning the shuriken over his head, “Now I’ll finally do what should have been done twelve years ago!” His arm snapped forward sending the spinning blades directly at the boy with all his strength. “DIE YOU DAMNED DEMON!”

“RUN, NARUTO!” Iruka cried out, but to his horror, Naruto simply stood unmoving as the weapon closed in on him. Metal pierced flesh, blood flew through the air, and both Chuunin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Naruto stood with his right arm extended straight out in front of him, blood dripping from the wound on the hand that now held the giant shuriken in an iron grip and his eye shadowed by his golden hair.

“I-impossible.” Mizuki stammered as Iruka gaped.

“You…” Naruto’s fingernails became claw-like as he tightened his grip on the cold steel in his hand. “All this time…” his voice became guttural, the whisker marks on his face grew wider and darker, his canines grew into fangs, and a deep red, sinister chakra began leaking from his body. “ You… ” Naruto raised his head, his blood red eyes glaring into Mizuki’s as the metal weapon in his hand snapped in half, “ YOU BASTARD! ” Naruto charged forward, his arm drawn back and rage in his eyes.

Mizuki could only scream.

X     X     X     X     X

Jagaa stood in front of the Hokage’s desk with a room full of Jounin behind him while the old man himself sat with his hands under his chin smiling kindly at him. Among the group to his rear, Kakashi stood with his face buried in his book next to Gai, who was smiling obnoxiously, and Asuma. Anko had taken up a spot next to Tsume and the two of them had somehow ended up in a whispered conversation that involved a fair deal of blushing and side glances at Jagaa as Kurenai stood behind them looking disgusted by both the conversation and the fact she had to be within the same room as Jagaa, if the glares she was giving him was any indication. However, none of that mattered to the scarred man as he watched the old Hokage set the engraved piece of metal on the desk with a friendly smile and started to speak.

“Well, Jagaa, it’s been a long time coming, but today you will finally officially be a Jounin of Konoha. I look forward to seeing what your contributions will bring to our fair village.” A polite applause sounded behind him, as well as a shrill whistle that Jagaa could only assume came from Anko, but he made no move to pick up the item on the desk. The applause died away and Sarutobi frowned over at the black clad man. “Jagaa, is something-”

“Tomorrow.” Jagaa cut the old man off, “I’ll accept it tomorrow.”

A low murmuring broke out amongst the gathered Jounin and Sarutobi’s frown deepened. “May I ask, why tomorrow?” Jagaa raised his head slightly, and Sarutobi was certain he was being looked dead in the eye.

“Because, as long as I haven’t accepted, I don’t answer to you…and am not bound to your laws.”

Sarutobi’s eyes widened slightly in realization, but his tone stayed neutral. “You intend to tell him then?”

Jagaa nodded slowly. “He deserves to know.”

Behind him, the Jounin were coming into realization of his intentions as well, causing another eruption of muttering. Tsume and Anko stopped their conversation and were watching intently along with Asuma and Gai. Kurenai’s eyes narrowed at the man and even Kakashi put his book away to listen.

Sarutobi sighed tiredly and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t suppose there is any way for me to convince you not to tell him?”

“No.” Jagaa answered bluntly. “I’ve been putting this off for too long as it is. For the entire last year, I’ve been asking myself; Is ignorance bliss, or is there strength in knowledge? The fact is though, that no one deserves to be hated without even knowing why. Naruto has suffered long enough without knowing what he ever did to deserve it.”

Sarutobi sighed again before looking at Jagaa seriously. “I understand how you feel, but I still think you should reconsider. I made that law in order to prote-” Sarutobi was stopped cold by Jagaa’s fist smashing into his desk with enough force to send splinters flying as his killing intent flooded the room.

“If you try to finish that sentence then we’ll be finding out if I’m strong enough to kill a Kage.” Jagaa’s voice was low, and his tone deadly, “You did nothing to protect him. You just sat back in your office patting yourself on the back about your bullshit law and letting those sons of bitches you call ‘Villagers’ abuse him. As far as I’m concerned, you’re as guilty as the rest of them.”

The old man flinched back guiltily. “I can’t deny that I have not done as much for him as I would have liked, but you must understand that I did everything within my power to-”

“THAT’S FUCKING BULLSHIT!” Jagaa shouted, shoving his fist further into the desk and snapping it in half with an eruption of splinters while sending out a surge of chakra that ripped through the room like a violent wind. “Are you trying to tell me that the position of Hokage is nothing more than a fucking hat and title? Aren’t you supposed to be the strongest person in this damned village? If you had really done everything you could for him then people would have been hospitalized for mistreating him at the least ! Oh, I’m sure that mantra of “I’ve done everything I can” that you kept telling yourself made Naruto feel so much better as they drove his head into the pavement! But hey, what the fuck do you care? I mean, as long as they didn’t tell anyone under a certain age about what he carries, he was perfectly safe, right?”

“YOU! How dare you be so disrespectful to our Hokage!” A young Jounin shouted, stepping in front of the rest of them, “You are lucky you aren’t imprisoned for your…” The Jounin was unable to finish before he was driven to his knees by a wave of concentrated killing intent unlike anything he had ever felt.

“Little peons that don’t want to die should shut the fuck up.” Jagaa said coldly without even bothering to turn around and look at the man who was now puking on the floor.

“Jagaa, stop this now!” Sarutobi said sharply.

Jagaa simply stood unmoving. “And what if I don’t?”

Sarutobi’s eyes narrowed and his chakra spiked threateningly. “I’ll make you.”

“So you’re willing to step up and do what is needed to protect someone who is supposed to be able to protect himself, but not a small boy being beaten half to death in an alley.” Jagaa said icily, “How fucking noble of you.”

The aged Hokage’s eyes widened and the chakra spike died away. Looking down in shame, he fell back into his chair and covered his eyes with his right hand. “I understand, Jagaa. Just please…stop.” Jagaa looked at the old man for a few more moments before finally reining in his bloodlust, leaving the new Jounin to pass out in relief at being freed from the overwhelming pressure

The silence in the room was deafening for the next several minutes as the present Jounin tried to wrap their minds around what had just happened. However, where most of them were shocked by the blatant disrespect, even threats of violence, that Jagaa was displaying, Kakashi, Anko, Asuma, Kurenai, and even Gai, were more surprised by the conversation itself.

“I truly did fail him, didn’t I?” Sarutobi’s saddened words finally filled the silence of the room.

Jagaa’s answer was a cold silence that sent chills down the spines of everyone present.

“When do you plan to tell him?” The aged Hokage asked, his voice sounding far older than it ever had before.

“As soon as I’ve found him after leaving this room.”

Sarutobi nodded, finally removing his hand from his eyes and looking up at Jagaa. “I hope it goes well.”

Surprisingly, Jagaa smiled ever so slightly. “He’s stronger than you realize, Old Man. As long as I sit him down and explain it to him gently, everything should be…” Jagaa stopped and his head snapped up, his gaze going to the window at the back of the room and a worried expression rising to his face.

Sarutobi frowned at Jagaa’s sudden change. “Jagaa, what’s wro-” The old man froze mid sentence, his eyes widening in fear at the sudden feeling of a sinister chakra that was all too familiar to himself and the Konoha Jounin. “Th-that’s…”

“Naruto.” Jagaa’s whispered word was that was all he said before he blasted past Sarutobi, filling the air with shattered glass and wood as he ripped through the wall. Quickly shaking off his shock, the Sandaime shot off after the scarred man with all the Jounin following suit.

Jagaa didn’t care about the group behind him, nor did he care about the damage he was causing as he tore through the streets at incredible speeds. All he cared about was getting to Naruto now .

‘ Damn it, Brat, you’d better be all right! ’ Clenching his teeth, Jagaa ran faster.

X      X      X      X      X

Naruto’s fist rammed into Mizuki’s stomach, causing a spray of blood to erupt from the white haired man’s mouth. Pulling back, Naruto drove that same fist into Mizuki’s face, sending the man sprawling backwards to come crashing into a tree with a pained grunt. Mizuki tried to roll to the side to avoid the next onslaught, but Naruto grabbed his legs, swinging the Chuunin over his head and bringing him crashing back down to the ground. The sound of snapping ribs filled the air along with Mizuki’s cry of pain. Naruto paused, looking down with blood-red eyes on the man as he rolled on the ground howling in agony.

For a moment, Naruto felt pity for the man. For a moment, he felt pain at hurting someone he had considered a friend. However, when the image of Mizuki’s cruel smile as he revealed his plans to trick and kill Naruto from the day they met flashed through his mind, the moment passed. Pain and betrayal filled the young boy’s heart, as he lifted Mizuki by the throat to face level and drew back his fist.

Iruka could only watch in horror as Naruto repeatedly slammed his fist into Mizuki’s head. There was no mercy in the boy’s demonic eyes, no hesitancy in his blows. Iruka could see what was about to happen, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. Mizuki’s body was going limp, his eyes were glazing over, and it was only a matter of time before Naruto delivered the final blow. As if responding to his thoughts, Iruka saw Naruto’s arm draw back farther than it had before to add as much power as physically possible to the hit. Iruka desperately wanted to stop him, to keep the boy from crossing that line, but he knew his voice wouldn’t reach now. Closing his eyes, Iruka waited for the inevitable.

Naruto’s eyes were locked onto the unfocused ones of the man in front of him. All the fun and happy times they had shared started flashing through the boys mind, but each one was followed by Mizuki’s contemptuous laughter or malicious smirk, and Naruto’s rage grew with all of them. All the pain, all the abuse, all the contempt of the villagers, all the hard times in his life, none of it compared to what he was feeling now, and the man he was holding by the throat was the cause of it. He just wanted the pain to stop.

“NARUTO!”

The boy’s eyes widened and his arm froze. He felt his grip loosen on Mizuki’s throat, allowing the man to fall with a dull thud to the forest floor. Slowly, Naruto turned around, his red eyes still wide as he looked at Jagaa’s scarred form bathed in the moonlight less than ten meters away. “Nii…san.”

Sarutobi, followed by the Jounin and ANBU of Konoha, came to a stop in the trees surrounding the small clearing. A quick examination of Naruto was all it took for the old man to see that the boy had managed to tap into the dark power sealed within him. The Sandaime could feel the unease of his subordinates as they looked at the blond boy, some even going so far as to reach for their weapons. The old man just hoped they all would let Jagaa handle it and not do anything rash.

Because it wasn’t Naruto he was worried about becoming dangerous if they did.

Naruto stared at his older brother figure in silence, surprise and fear showing in his still red eyes, and when Jagaa started walking towards him, he unconsciously stepped backwards. “S-stay away!”

Jagaa stopped, his expression unreadable. “Why?”

“Because…I’m a monster!” Naruto yelled, tears forming on the edges of his eyes.

“Naruto…” Jagaa started, but Naruto cut him off.

“NO! I’m a demon, a murderer! I almost destroyed Konoha! I killed Iruka-sensei’s parents!” Naruto’s eyes clenched shut, the tears still standing in his eyes but refusing to fall, “I deserved everything! The glares, the insults, the attacks! I deserved it all! THEY WERE RIGHT TO HATE ME!” A twig snapped in front of him and Naruto opened his eyes, looking up just in time to see Jagaa’s fist before it impacted his face. The force of the blow sent him stumbling backwards and twisting around to fall face down to the ground away from Jagaa.

“Are you finished yet?” Jagaa asked in a cool tone, “If you’re not, could you tell me so I can get some popcorn or something? I can only take so much melodrama at once.” Still on the ground, Naruto raised himself on his elbows and looked back at Jagaa incredulously, his red eyes reverting back to their normal ocean blue.

Jagaa walked forward and kneeled down by the boy, reaching out to lift him to his knees and gently started brushing off the dirt. “But…I suppose this is my fault more than anything. I should have told you about it the same day I found out. But I kept putting it off, waiting for the right time.” Jagaa tilted his head up to look directly at Naruto. “I’m sorry, Naruto. It looks like I screwed up and made you go through something painful.”

“Then…you already knew?” Naruto asked in a quavering voice. Jagaa nodded slowly and Naruto looked down. “So I really am…”

“No.” Naruto looked up again to see Jagaa shaking his head. “Twelve years ago, being unable to kill the Kyuubi, the Yondaime was left with no choice but to seal its power into a newborn child at the cost of his life. Turning that child into the demon’s living prison.” Jagaa put his hands on Naruto’s shoulders.

“It’s true that you contain the Kyuubi within you, but you are not the Kyuubi itself. After all, a sheath doesn’t become a blade just because you put a sword in it. And that’s exactly what you are, Naruto. You are the sheath that protects everyone from the blade known as Kyuubi, and a hero to all whose lives you save everyday by being such.”

Jagaa raised his right hand and gently started ruffling Naruto’s hair. “But I really don’t give a damn about any of that. Because, Kyuubi or not,” A caring smile rose on the scarred man’s lips, “you’re still my Otouto.”

Naruto couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, all he could do was stare into Jagaa’s face as the tears he had held back finally flowed down his whiskered cheeks. It felt like a wall crumbled away inside him and soon he threw himself forward, burying his face into Jagaa’s shoulder and crying without caring who saw as his older brother wordlessly wrapped his arms around him comfortingly.

He cried because of the burden he was forced to carry. He cried for all the abuse and suffering he had endured because of that burden, and the betrayal it had brought him tonight. He cried because he knew he could. Because he had a brother that loved him enough to let him. To let all the pain and sorrow he had stored through the years finally find release.

It was in that small clearing bathed by the moonlight, watched by the all the highest ranking Ninja of Konoha and held in the comforting embrace of his older brother, that Naruto cried.

Knowing for the first time in his life why he did.

Chapter Text

Sarutobi looked at the form in his hand with a slight twitch developing in his right eye before looking back up at the happily grinning subject of the document’s photo. “Retake it.” He said flatly.

“What? No way!” Naruto declared hotly, his grin vanishing, “It took forever to get a pose that good!”

Sarutobi held up the file, showing Naruto’s picture. The boy’s face had been painted white with a red spiral while he frowned at the camera with his hand in front of him painted in the same manner. “This is an official document showing that you know a Kinjutsu, take the picture seriously.”

“I was taking it seriously! That’s why I wanted such a cool pose!” Naruto protested, squinting his eyes at the old man.

Sarutobi sighed and looked over to the figure leaning casually against the wall. “Would you please say something to him?”

Jagaa shrugged, “You told him to get a picture taken, but you never put any guidelines on it. It’s not my fault you didn’t take his personality into account.”

Sarutobi sighed again looking at the Hitai-ate tied around Jagaa’s right bicep, the blue cloth it normally set on having been replaced by a black one.‘ Why did I think just because he’s wearing that, that he would actually start listening to me? ’ The old man thought ruefully.

Turning back to Naruto, Sarutobi put on a stern expression. “Just retake the picture.”

“No.” Naruto declared defiantly.

“Retake it!” The old man grated out.

“Not a chance.” Naruto growled back.

Their eyes met, a jolt of electricity shot between them, sparking and crackling as their battle of wills continued. A flash of light off to the side cut the contest short and both competitors looked over to see Jagaa with his disposable camera in hand. “What?” He asked innocently.

Sarutobi shook his head and turned back to Naruto. “You will retake the picture.”

“We’ll see about that!” Naruto yelled before forming the ram seal, “ Henge !”

Sarutobi’s eyes widened, ‘ Oh no, that’s- ’ His thought was left unfinished as he was hit full on by the sight of Naruto’s Oiroke no Jutsu . A second later, Sarutobi was blasted backwards by the force of his nose bleed even as another flash of light came from the side.

“Dear Kami, please let that picture turn out good.” Jagaa prayed as he lovingly patted his camera.

“STOP USING THAT RIDICULOUS TECHNIQUE!” Sarutobi shouted so loud that even Naruto fell back in fright, covering his ears.

“For something so ridiculous, it’s sure effective on you .” Jagaa muttered just loud enough to hear, earning a glare from the old man.

Unknown to any of them, a pair of large brown eyes was watching the events through the cracked door.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, covering his eyes with his hand. “Whatever, I don’t care anymore.”

“I think that means you win, Naruto.” Jagaa said to the boy, who smiled victoriously as he flashed the ‘V’ sign.

Suddenly the door slammed open and a small, brown haired boy who couldn’t be older than ten, wearing a long blue scarf dashed in wielding a wooden shuriken. “Old man, fight me!” He challenged, charging towards the Sandaime…only to trip on his own scarf and land face first on the wooden floor. “Gah, a trap. What a dirty trick.” The boy muttered as he pushed himself off the ground.

‘ Who the hell is this kid? ’ Both Naruto and Jagaa thought at the same time.

“Young Master,” A man wearing a blue sweatshirt, blue Shinobi pants, a pair of circular sunglasses, and a Konoha Hitai-ate completely covering his head called out in concern. “Are you okay? By the way, there are no traps.”

Watching the scene, Jagaa reached up and brushed his own sunglasses with his fingertips. ‘ Mine are better. ’ He thought smugly.

Standing up, the young boy looked around the room until his eyes fell on Naruto, who was still watching the boy with a confused expression. “YOU!” The boy cried out, stomping over to Naruto. “You’re the one who tripped me aren’t you?”

“What!?” Naruto yelled, grabbing the boy by the front of his shirt, “You tripped your own damn self! So don’t go accusing me!”

“How dare you act so rudely to the Young Master!” The new man yelled. “Do you have any idea who that is? That is the honorable grandson of the Sandaime Hokage!”

Naruto looked up to the man and then back to the boy he was holding by the shirt, but said nothing on the subject.

The boy looked up at Naruto and his face twisted into a sneer. ‘ Heh, he’s just like everybody else. As soon as he hears I’m the grandson of the Hokage, he’s afraid to do anything. ’ Confident in his assessment, the boy started yelling at Naruto. “What’s the matter? Weren’t you going to hit me? Does the fact I’m the grandson of the Hokage scare you! Why don’t you do something you chicken?”

If anyone had been looking at him, they would have seen Jagaa’s finger hovering over the shutter button of his camera.

Naruto snapped. “YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT WHOSE GRANDSON YOU ARE, DUMBASS!” Naruto emphasized his insult by driving his fist into the top of the boy’s head, the strike accompanied by yet another flash of light.

‘ This…this guy… ’ The boy thought incredulously as he fell to the floor with a thud.

“Young master!” The man cried, dropping on his knees next to the boy.

“This is a great day for pictures.” Jagaa commented, smirking at the less than pleased look on the Sandaime’s face.

“I’m out of here!” Naruto declared, stomping towards the door, “I’ll see you at home, Nii-san.”

Jagaa just waved in acknowledgment as the boy stormed out.

“Who…who was that guy?” The boy asked, one hand holding his head as the other pushed up to his knees.

“Young master, you shouldn’t concern yourself with a person like him . He is nothing but trouble.” The man said as he proudly thumped his chest, “Instead you should…” The man froze mid-sentence when he felt a slowly rising killing intent focusing on him. Turning around, he saw Jagaa leaning against the wall and his eyes widened. “Y-you…”

“It looks like you didn’t notice I was here. Not much of a Shinobi are you.” Jagaa said in a low voice. “Now, why don’t you explain to me exactly what you meant with that comment about Naruto.”

The man took a small step back. “N-nothing, nothing at all. He’s a fine boy.” The killing intent in the room dissipated and Jagaa gave the man a smirk.

“He is, isn’t he? Glad you’re such a good judge of character.” It was clear there was a hidden challenge behind Jagaa’s smirk, but the man had no intention of taking it.

“Ebisu,” Sarutobi cut in, “It’s time for you to leave.”

The man called Ebisu gave a barely audible sigh of relief. “Of course, Hokage-sama.” He looked down to where the boy had been kneeling a few moments ago, “Come along Young Master we should…Gahh, where did the Young Master go?”

“I believe he followed Naruto.” The Sandaime remarked off handedly.

“AHH, YOUNG MASTER!” Ebisu yelled, bolting out the door to begin his frantic search for his missing student.

“I think that guy has a few screws loose.” Jagaa commented after Ebisu had run out of the room.

“He’s very passionate about his job.” Sarutobi said before frowning at Jagaa, “Did you really need to threaten him though?”

“Huh?” Jagaa asked, turning his head away and scratching his chin, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sarutobi sighed for what he was sure was the millionth time that day. “Just try to refrain from doing it in the future please.” He almost pleaded.

“No promises.” Jagaa smirked, turning to exit the room. “Now, I think I’ll go look for Anko and see if she wants to go out for drinks.”

“Don’t forget that you’re supposed to come back at seven for your first official Jounin assignment.” The Sandaime called after him.

“Hai, hai.” Jagaa said dismissively, waving his scarred arm in acknowledgement as he walked through the doorway.

Sarutobi sighed and leaned back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Dealing with the combination of both Naruto and Jagaa was making the old man feel his years, and he had a lot of them to feel. It also didn’t help that the events of the night before had caused a great deal of tension throughout the Shinobi ranks regarding the pair.

For Naruto, it was the fact that he had drawn on the Kyuubi’s chakra. A fair amount Jounin had been frightened by the sight, some going so far as to say that the seal was weakening and that the Kyuubi was breaking free. A few even tried to say he should be executed for the safety of the village.

On the other hand, there were also Jounin who defended the young boy, using Jagaa’s metaphor of Naruto being a ‘sheath’ and that a blade could be drawn from the sheath when needed. Holding firm to the argument that Naruto using the fox’s power to fight was no different than using a sword or Kunai. That it was his weapon . Fortunately, it was Ninja such as Kakashi, Gai, Tsume, Asuma, and several other well-known Ninja of Konoha that were siding with the boy, so most of the people sitting on the fence about it were more willing to believe them over the others.

‘ The situation is to be expected though. ’ Sarutobi grudgingly admitted to himself. He knew that Naruto’s using the Kyuubi’s chakra would cause problems for the boy, especially after his talk with Jagaa the night before. It was hard for people to let go of their fears, no matter how long ago it was.

‘ I wonder if that’s why he did it? ’ The old man asked himself, ‘ Was he trying to take some of the focus off of Naruto? ’ Sarutobi’s mind drifted back to the night before.

///Flashback///

Sarutobi could only watch as Jagaa held Naruto, letting the boy find release for twelve years of pain that he had held inside. How long the two kneeled together in that moonlit clearing, the old man wasn’t sure. He just wished he could have done something to stop things from turning out this way.

‘ The truth is that I could have. ’ The old man thought to himself ruefully. It was a fact that he was forced to look in the face more with every passing moment. Knowing that he could have done more for Naruto, but hadn’t. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

A slight glow caught his attention, and the Sandaime looked up to see a small amount of chakra forming at the tip of Jagaa’s right index finger.

“Sleep now, Otouto.” Jagaa said, touching Naruto’s temple with the chakra. The boy’s eyes immediately closed and his body went limp in his brother’s arms. Putting his left arm under Naruto’s thighs, Jagaa lifted him up so that the boy was held in front of him, his arms wrapped around the older man’s neck and his head resting on Jagaa’s shoulder.

“What did you do?” Sarutobi asked, walking up to Jagaa.

“That was a jutsu to put a person into a dreamless sleep.” Jagaa responded quietly, “I developed it when I realized that Naruto was suffering from nightmares nearly every night.”

The old man felt his stomach twist into a knot, fully aware of where those nightmares must have come from.

“Heh…ha ha…how pathetic.” Sarutobi and Jagaa looked over to see Mizuki, having just regained consciousness, being lifted up by two ANBU as he laughed mockingly. “You’re just a demon lover. You’re no better than that damn little Demon Brat.”

Sarutobi was about to chastise Mizuki, but never got the chance as he was hit by a rush of air before a gurgled scream filled the air, leaving the old man staring at the scene in front of him in a state of shock. Gasps ran through the trees as the two ANBU tripped backwards and away from Mizuki.

Mizuki clutched at the blade that had passed through his throat to come out the back of his neck. His eyes were wide and filled with terror as he looked into the calm face of the one holding the weapon, his cries coming out as nothing but frothing blood and choking sounds.

“You’re right.” Jagaa said coolly, still holding the sleeping boy in his left arm, “Naruto is a much better person than me. He would have actually felt bad about killing you.” Jagaa twisted the blade in Mizuki’s throat and wrenched to the right, freeing his sword by cutting through half of the white haired man’s neck.

Mizuki’s final cry was drowned out by the blood spilling from his throat as he fell to the forest floor. Without a word, Jagaa calmly wiped his blade on the dead man’s clothes before sliding it into the sheath on his back. Shifting the sleeping Naruto to better support the boy’s weight, Jagaa turned and walked back to the Hokage, stopping as he reached the old man’s side. “Know this, old man. Nobody gets away with hurting Naruto. Not your Ninja. Not your Villagers…not even you.” Sarutobi couldn’t find his voice as Jagaa continued to walk away.

“I’ll come pick up my Hitai-ate tomorrow. Do me a favor and get me one with a black cloth, would ya?” Jagaa called back as he disappeared into the night, leaving the shaken group of Ninja behind him.

///Flashback End///

Sarutobi looked out the window, watching the birds flutter through the trees as they sang. Jagaa’s actions, combined with the way the man had practically threatened to kill the village leader earlier that night, had sparked almost as much controversy amongst the Ninja ranks as Naruto had. Some admired him for his dedication to protecting his adopted brother, while others criticized him for being the protector of a demon and his willingness to kill. One thing that was agreed on by all of them though, was that it was a very bad idea to try to hurt Naruto with Jagaa protecting him.

‘ The future looks like it will be quite interesting indeed…if not exhausting. ’ Sarutobi thought, taking a long draw off his pipe. He sat in his chair for some time, calmly smoking his pipe and enjoying the small moment of peace. Unfortunately, that peace was disturbed by a call of nature.

“The worst part about getting old is that your bladder gets old with you.” Sarutobi chuckled to himself as he attempted to push himself out of his chair, ‘Attempted’ being the key word, because he soon found himself unable to do so. “What in the world?” Sarutobi asked out loud, looking down at the chair as best he could. As he did, he felt his foot kick a lightweight object beneath his desk. Frowning, he used his foot to pull the unknown object into view and his eyes widened.

An empty bottle labeled “Elephant Glue” with a smaller print of “World’s Strongest Super Glue” below it, was facing up at him. On the bottom of the label, a small picture of a Smiley Face in Sunglasses was flashing the “V” sign.

Sarutobi stared at the bottle for several minutes, his mind slowly working its way to the only conclusion that this could mean, until finally…

“JAAAGGAAAAA!”

X X X X X

Jagaa was about a mile from the Hokage tower when he heard his name echo through the air, shouted like a vile curse.

“I guess he finally noticed. I’ll have to thank Naruto for getting him to fall out of his chair with that nose bleed or else I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.” Jagaa laughed as he continued walking, “I have to say though, for such an old geezer, he has a good set of lungs.”

“Indeed he does.” A voice said directly behind Jagaa. With a yelp of surprise, Jagaa drew his sword and made a slash for the unknown person. With a yelp of his own, the man managed to duck the attack just in time, losing the tip of one of his silver spikes of hair. “That was close.” Kakashi said, sounding relieved. “You almost cut through my book.” He held up the item to emphasize his point.

“You almost get decapitated and you’re worried about your book.” Jagaa deadpanned. “Why are you sneaking up on me anyway…No wait, screw that. How did you even manage to sneak up on me? It’s definitely not an easy thing to do.”

“Actually, I already knew that because of our meeting five years ago. That’s why I used Shunshin from a distance to get behind you before you would notice me.” Kakashi smiled and Jagaa’s eyebrow twitched.

“May I ask why you felt the need to sneak up on me, especially considering it seems to require a fair amount of effort?” Jagaa asked coolly.

Kakashi’s smile widened. “Because it was fun.”

“I see…” Jagaa appeared to be pondering the answer before raising his head a little, “Have I told you today that I hate you?”

“Nope, not today.”

“Well, I just did.”

“I figured that.”

Jagaa shook his head in exasperation while Kakashi continued to smile.

“Whatever, I’m going to go find Anko now. I really need a drink.” Jagaa said as he turned to leave, but was stopped by a strange chill running down his spine. “What the hell was that?” He asked, looking around.

“You felt it too?” Kakashi asked, sounding almost smug, “That must mean you really have been targeted.”

“What do you mean by ‘Targeted’?” Jagaa asked suspiciously.

Kakashi smiled. “Oh you’ll find out in approximately…5…4…3…2…1…”

“KAKASHI! JAGAA! I HAVE FINALLY FOUND YOU, MY ETERNAL RIVALS!” Gai’s shout rang out as the man himself dashed up with a dust cloud following his wake.

Jagaa turned to Kakashi in confusion. “Did he say ‘Rivals’?”

Kakashi nodded.

“As in plural?”

Another nod.

“Meaning he’s saying that both of us are his…uh…Eternal Rivals?”

Another nod, this time accompanied by a smile.

“How exactly did this happen?”

Kakashi just smiled.

“…I hate you.”

Gai finally finished his mad dash, sliding to a stop in front of Jagaa and Kakashi. Taking a few quick breaths, Gai straightened his back and snapped into the nice guy pose. “Hello my Eternal Rivals, it is good to see you both on this Youthful morning!”

Jagaa could only stare at the strange man in amazement before turning back to Kakashi. “I may have asked this before, but is this guy really okay?” Kakashi simply shrugged in response once again.

”KAKASHI!” Gai shouted, making both the other men jump, “I wish I could use our meeting today to break our tie, but unfortunately I have come to challenge Jagaa to our first ever competition, so you will have to be patient!”

“Hmm, did you say something?” Kakashi asked, looking up from his book. His outward appearance was completely calm, but mentally he was doing cartwheels and back handsprings in his excitement over Gai having found someone else to bother.

“OH MY GOD!” Gai screamed out, grabbing his head, “KAKASHI, THAT ATTITUDE OF YOURS IS SO HIP AND PISSES ME OFF!”

Jagaa watched the exchange with raised eyebrows. At Gai’s reaction to Kakashi’s statement, the events of the other night at the Jounin bar ran through his mind, causing Jagaa to smack himself in the forehead. “I get it now…that would be just my luck.” He muttered.

“NOW, JAGAA,” Gai yelled, pointing at the dirty blonde, “I CHALLENGE YOU TO OUR FIRST EVER CONTEST!”

Jagaa scratched the side of his head. “Uhh, does that mean you want to fight me?”

“It doesn’t have to be a fight!” Gai clarified, “Just a contest in which only one of us can be victorious, thereby proving which one of us is superior! Seeing as this is our first contest, I will even allow you to choose the event!”

Kakashi watched in anticipation as Jagaa put his chin in his hand in thought. With any luck, Jagaa would win the first event and increase Gai’s desire to defeat him, subsequently reducing the strange Jounin’s desire to beat Kakashi himself. As the thoughts of possible freedom ran through his mind, Kakashi noticed something strange.

Jagaa was smiling.

However, the fact he was smiling wasn’t the strange part. It was the way he was smiling. There was something about it, something Kakashi felt he should recognize, but wasn’t quite sure why. He shook his head lightly to clear away his thoughts of freedom and focused more on the situation.

“Okay,” Jagaa said, his smile still in place, “I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“YOSH,” Gai shouted in excitement, “WHAT WILL THE CHALLENGE BE? I’LL DEFEAT YOU NO MATTER WHAT YOU CHOSE, MY NEWEST ETERNAL RIVAL!”

Jagaa’s smile widened slightly and he spoke enthusiastically. “Yosh, then I challenge you to race! First one to do five hundred laps around Konoha is the winner!”

Gai gaped at Jagaa incredulously before tears of joy started pouring down his face. “THE FLAMES OF MY NEW ETERNAL RIVAL BURN SO BRIGHTLY! KAKASHI HAS NEVER BEEN SO PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR CONTESTS!” Gai made yet another nice guy pose and smiled with a sparkle of teeth of his teeth that Jagaa didn’t seem to mind (a small fact that made Kakashi realize the advantages that could come from wearing sunglasses all the time), “NOW, MY NEW ‘NUMBER ONE’ ETERNAL RIVAL, LET OUR CHALLENGE COMENCE! AND SHOULD I LOSE I WILL DO AN EXTRA THOUSAND LAPS AROUND KONOHA!”

‘ He’s been made the number one? Jagaa’s Number One ?! ’ Kakashi thought in exhilaration, ‘ I’m almost as good as free now! ’

“All right, let’s get started!” Jagaa grinned and turned to Kakashi, “Kakashi, make yourself useful and call the start for us.”

Still looking calm on the outside despite doing mental cartwheels of joy, Kakashi took his place off to the side of them as both Gai and Jagaa prepared themselves for the race. “Are both of you ready?” Two confirming nods answered him, Gai’s making look like his head would fly off. “All right then.” Kakashi raised his arm, “On your mark…get set…GO!”

A blast of wind tore through the street and a trail of dust and dirt rose up along the road. Kakashi watched down the street, smiling in victory. ‘ Gai may never bother me again if Jagaa is this willing to compete with people. I’m so happy right now I could cry...I won’t because that would ruin my image, but I really could if it weren’t for that. ’ Feeling incredibly lucky for the way things turned out, Kakashi started turning to leave…only to freeze in place at the sight of the starting line.

Jagaa was still there. Standing with his arms folded and watching the fading cloud of dust.

As Kakashi gaped in disbelief, Jagaa turned to him wearing the same strange smile he had worn while making the challenge. “I guess he wins.” Jagaa said with a laugh before turning and walking off.

Kakashi stared after him, his mouth hanging open beneath his mask. “He…He…He tricked him…” Kakashi mumbled, “And knowing Gai, he won’t even notice he was tricked until he’s finished the race.” Suddenly Kakashi remembered exactly where he had seen that smile before. It was the same smile he had when he taped that note to the Hokage’s back a year ago, and the same type of smile that Naruto was well known for.

It was a Prankster’s smile.

He watched Jagaa for a little longer before following the black clothed man, a sort of awe shining out of his visible eye. ‘ I think he just became my hero. ’

X X X X X

Naruto walked casually down the alley, his arms behind his head and whistling a tune. He was still a bit irritated by the fact the old man had wanted him to retake his picture despite the amount of effort he had put into it, but it was slowly fading with each step he took. He never was able to stay mad at the old man for very long. Probably because the aged Hokage had been one of the few people who had been kind to him when he was little.That didn’t stop the boy from vowing that, when he became Hokage, people would be allowed to take whatever kind of picture they wanted for their profiles. 

Later in life he would reflect on this vow and realize that would be a very bad idea…for various reasons.

As he walked, Naruto came across something extremely odd. The fence he had been paralleling had a section of it that looked like the wood was put in left to right instead of up and down. Upon closer inspection, Naruto also saw a pair of small hands curled around the top of the section, making it obvious that it was a cloth being held up by the unknown person in a poor attempt to conceal themselves by blending into the fence.

Naruto stared at the strange sight for a few seconds before clearing his throat pointedly. “You know you’re not fooling anyone, right?”

The cloth gave a guilty twitch before a young voice spoke behind it, “Heh heh, just what I would expect from you.” The concealing cloth was thrown away to reveal the same boy that Naruto had walloped earlier, looking at Naruto and smirking, “You are quite perceptive to have noticed me.”

‘ Uh, I would have had to be blind not to. ’ Naruto thought before addressing the boy again. “What do you want, Chibi?”

“Train me!” The boy commanded.

Naruto was almost floored by the response. “Huh!?”

“I want you to teach me that move you used to defeat my Grandfather!” The boy emphasized, dropping to his hands and knees, “Please teach me, Boss!”

‘ Boss? ’ Naruto turned the title over in his mind a few times, ‘ It does have a nice ring to it. ’ He admitted to himself before looking down at the boy again. ‘ Eh, why not? It’s not like I have anything better to do. ’

“Okay Gaki, I’ll teach you my super powerful and unrivaled Oiroke no Jutsu !” Naruto announced dramatically, “You’d better be grateful!”

The boy sprang to his feet and saluted smartly, an eager grin spread across his face. “YES SIR!”

Naruto nodded in approval, “So, what’s your name kid?”

The boys smile stretched further than ever, “Konohamaru, my name is Konohamaru.”

X X X X X

“You sure she’ll be here?” Jagaa asked Kakashi as the taller man led him into a popular dango stand.

“She usually is around lunch time.” Kakashi replied without taking his eyes off his book, “She likes dango almost as much as Naruto likes ramen.”

“I really hope you're exaggerating.” Jagaa said in an almost fearful tone.

Kakashi shrugged, “Maybe I am, but not by much.”

Jagaa shuddered slightly at the thought. It had taken him almost a year to get his taste for ramen back after the first time he saw Naruto shoveling it down his throat. He’d rather not lose his taste for dango right now. Well, at least if it was true he had some kind of warning this time, whereas with Naruto it had been a complete shock to his system. “Any way,” Jagaa said aloud, pulling himself out of his thoughts, “I can’t find her with all these other people here. Do you see her?”

“No, but that’s okay.” Kakashi smiled, “As long as she sees you , we won’t have to look for her.”

Jagaa tilted his head to the side in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“JAGAA-CHAN!”

It was the only thing Jagaa heard before the air rushed out of his lungs and he was tackled to the floor by the very person he had been looking for. ‘ Oh, that’s what it meant. ’ Jagaa thought weakly as he struggled to regain his breath while Anko straddled his waist, smiling down at him.

“Hi, Jagaa-chan. Did you come here looking for me?” Anko asked the prone man who lay unmoving beneath her. Her smile turned into a small frown at his lack of response. “Jagaa-chan?”

“Leave me alone. I’m dead.”

Anko smirked down at the man beneath her. “That’s okay. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a Necrophiliac.”

Jagaa tilted his head a bit so that Anko was looking directly into his face. “That’s a bit…disturbing.”

“Isn’t it though?” Anko laughed.

“Now might be a good time for you two to stop.” Kakashi said, pointing his thumb to the side, “You’re starting to scare people.”

Anko and Jagaa twisted their heads in opposite directions to examine the crowd surrounding them before focusing back on Kakashi and replying in unison. “So?”

Kakashi sighed.

“Anko, is that you over there causing another commotion?” A female voice called.

Jagaa’s face actually brightened a bit at the familiar voice. “Oh, it’s the princess.” He raised his arm and waved at Kurenai, who had just managed to push her way through the crowd. “Hi, Princess! Did you miss me?”

Kurenai’s red narrowed on the man on the floor. “Oh, it’s you . I supposed I should have guessed.” It was then she noticed the position Jagaa and Anko were in and her eye twitched visibly. “Don’t you two think you could try to show at least a little shame?”

Jagaa’s expression became confused and he turned back to Anko. “What is this ‘shame’ she speaks of?”

“I’m not sure.” Anko answered with her own confused expression, “Maybe it’s some kind of food.”

“Really?” Jagaa questioned unsurely, “If it is, it doesn’t sound very appetizing.”

Anko frowned, “That’s true. It doesn’t.” The woman then brightened with excitement. “Maybe it’s something sexual!”

Jagaa shook his head. “No way. You’d definitely know what it was if that was the case.”

“Hmm, good point.” Anko conceded.

Kurenai started rubbing her temples in irritation as the pair continued on their verbal journey to the mystery of what ‘shame’ may be. She should have known this would happen. The two of them were so much alike it was scary. “These two could be siblings with how alike they are.” Kurenai said out loud, instantly catching the attention of Jagaa and Anko.

“Did you hear that? She said we could be brother and sister.” Anko said in excitement.

Jagaa frowned a little. “Hmm, but if that’s true…wouldn’t that mean what we did the other night was Incest?”

Anko looked down at him in realization. “Oh, you’re right. That would be Incest wouldn’t it?”

The two continued to stare at each other, and Kurenai felt a twinge of fear as she took the pair’s personalities into account. ‘ Please don’t say it! Please don’t say it! ’

Anko, it seems, didn’t hear the mental plea. “…That’s kind of hot.”

“You think so too?”

Kurenai screamed.

X X X X X

“WRONG!” Naruto shouted at Konohamaru, who had just henged into a decidedly overweight brunette. “Make it slimmer, more sexy!”

“Got it, Boss!” The boy shouted and performed the Henge again, this time becoming almost bone thin. “How’s this?”

“No, No, NO!” Naruto shouted, “That looks like she’s Anorexic or something!” Scratching his head in frustration, Naruto reluctantly decided it was time to pull out his last resort. Taking a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, Naruto reached into his Kunai pouch and pulled out a rolled up magazine. “Okay, I didn’t really want it to come to this, but it’s clear that this is going to require desperate measures.” He told the boy who was looking at him in confusion. “I stole this from my friend Kiba a while back. It may be a bit extreme, but if you can’t figure out what you need for a successful Oiroke no Jutsu from this, then there is nothing I can do for you.” Naruto finished by holding the magazine out in front of him for the younger boy to take.

Eyes shining with excitement, Konohamaru eagerly snatched the magazine out the blond’s hand. Not even looking at the cover after he unrolled it, the boy opened it to somewhere around the middle and examined the contents.

Four seconds later, Naruto was privileged to see the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage do a wonderful impression of his grandfather as he was launched backwards by a violent nosebleed.

“I think he understands now.” Naruto said out loud, walking over and picking up the blood soaked magazine with two fingers and grimacing, “So much for returning it to Kiba someday.” Looking around, he saw a trash can about twenty meters away, and just beyond that, a vending machine. Smiling at his luck, Naruto headed towards them. “At least I can get something to drink while I wait for him to wake up.”

X X X X X

Approximately two hours after the start of the race, Maito Gai arrived back at the starting point, doubled over and clutching his knees while panting heavily. Turning around so that he was facing the way he came, he raised his head with a victorious smile. “Ha…ha ha…I win…Jagaa-san.” He stopped to pant heavily for a bit more before forcing himself to stand upright, grinning proudly.

“Now I simply have to wait for my opponent’s arrival.”

X X X X X

“Yes, that’s it! You finally got it!” Naruto cheered, jumping up and down in excitement. Konohamaru would have been doing the same, but he was still trying to catch his breath after the several hundred (or at least that’s how many it seemed like to him) henge he had just done.

“Congratulations, Konohamaru! You’ve managed to do the Oiroke no Jutsu !” Naruto exclaimed, patting the boy on the back before pointing to the vending machine, “Go get something to drink and take a break. Once you’ve rested a bit, we’ll do a few more to make certain that you’ve got it down pat.”

“Yes, Boss!” Konohamaru saluted before walking a little unsteadily to where Naruto had pointed.

Naruto frowned as he watched the boy go. He didn’t remember being that tired when he had created the technique, and he was sure it had taken him longer to get it down than it had Konohamaru. With a shrug, Naruto decided that it must just be that his chakra reserves were better than the other boy’s at that age.

“Huh, oh, Naruto, what are you doing here?” Naruto spun around at the appearance of the new voice to find Iruka standing about twenty meters away, the white bandages covering his wounds from the previous night showing clearly on his face.

“Iruka-sensei?” The blond boy asked in surprise, “I thought you were in the hospital. Were you released already?”

Iruka shifted a bit guiltily on his feet. “Ah, well, sort of. They wanted me to stay another night just in case, but didn’t feel it was really necessary, so…” The Chuunin left the sentence unfinished.

Naruto stared at the man in amazement, “You mean you actually snuck out ?” Naruto suddenly felt extremely pleased that the man had done something that he would have done.

“Um, yeah.” Iruka admitted shamefully. “Not setting a very good example as a teacher am I.”

Naruto laughed in response. “Well, it’s better than Nii-san. He actually helps people sneak out.”

Iruka couldn’t help but let out a small laugh of his own. Afterwards though, his face became concerned as he looked down at the boy. “Naruto, are you, well, feeling alright today. You know…after last night and all.” Iruka had the urge to bite his own tongue off when he saw the cheerfulness fall away from the boy’s face. He knew he should have just kept his mouth shut, but his worry for the young boy had overridden his ability to be more tactful. He was just about to apologize to the Genin, when Naruto surprised him by smiling gratefully.

“Thanks for worrying, Iruka-sensei, but I’m alright. I actually feel better than I have in a long time.” At Iruka’s somewhat skeptical look, Naruto elaborated. “I’m not saying that what Mizuki-se…what Mizuki did wasn’t painful, but because of him, I finally learned why I’ve always been treated the way I have. Something I’ve wanted to know my entire life. I think I really needed that.” Naruto raised his head and looked up through an opening in the trees. His smile softened as he remembered the words Jagaa had said to him, and how his brother had held him as he finally found release for his hidden pain, but most importantly of all, how Jagaa had called him ‘Otouto’ for the first time since they had met.

“Yeah, I think I needed everything that happened last night.” He said, his voice barely carrying above the sound of the wind passing through the trees.

Iruka stared down at the boy with a hint of pride in his eyes. “You really are something, Naruto.”

Naruto grinned foxily at him. “Of course, I’m the future Hokage after all.” Both of them shared a laugh at the boy’s declaration.

“Hey, Boss, I’m ready again!” Konohamaru’s voice rang out as the brown haired boy ran over to where Naruto and Iruka were standing.

Iruka did a small double when he saw who the new arrival was. “Excuse me, but aren’t you the grandson of the Sandaime? What are you doing here?”

“Boss has been teaching me a super powerful new technique that can even take down my Grandpa!” Konohamaru explained enthusiastically, earning a confused frown from the Chuunin.

“Boss?” Iruka questioned.

“That would be me.” Naruto said proudly.

Iruka turned and looked at Naruto, a sense of foreboding settling in his stomach. “Naruto? You’re teaching the Hokage’s grandson a technique?” Naruto nodded vigorously and the feeling in Iruka’s stomach amplified. “May I ask exactly what technique you’re teaching him?”

Naruto and Konohamaru looked at Iruka for a moment, then at each other, and then back to Iruka, both wearing evil smiles.

Iruka wished he hadn’t asked.

X X X X X

“You need to lighten up, Nai-chan.” Anko egged Kurenai playfully as they walked down the dusty road a ways behind Jagaa and Kakashi as the four of them made their way to Hokage tower, “We were just joking.” A wide grin split Anko’s face. “Well, mostly.”

Kurenai let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s the ‘We’ part that is making this so hard to deal with. At least when it’s just you, you have a little bit of restraint, but when you throw him ,” Kurenai practically spat the word, “into the mix, you get five times worse.” As she finished, Kurenai glared at the current object of her ire who was currently up ahead of them amusing himself by subtly trying to guide Kakashi to walking into a telephone pole while his nose was in his book.

“You know, Nai-chan, don’t you think you might be being a little too hard on Jagaa-chan?” Anko asked in a surprisingly serious tone. “I would’ve thought, after seeing what happened last night, you might be willing to rethink your opinion of him.”

“I remember quite clearly the events of last night, Anko.” Kurenai responded coldly, “I remember him disrespecting, even threatening, the Hokage. I remember him threatening to kill a fellow Jounin as he drove the man to the floor with killing intent. But most importantly, I remember the cold blooded murder of a man who was already in custody and was too wounded to even defend himself. Exactly what, out of all that, is supposed to improve my opinion of him?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Anko answered back coolly. “How about the part where he let Naruto cry on his shoulder as he hugged the boy comfortingly. Or when he admitted to the Hokage that he developed a jutsu for a dreamless sleep when he learned that Naruto suffered from nightmares. Or when you ask yourself what you would have done to Mizuki if you were in Jagaa’s place.” The edge in Anko’s voice when she said the final part made it very clear that what she would have done to Mizuki would have been far worse than what Jagaa had.

Kurenai looked into Anko’s eyes for a moment, seeing the challenge reflected in them, before looking ahead again at the person they were talking about, seeing him snap his fingers in disappointment when Kakashi narrowly avoided the latest attempt at walking him into a telephone pole.

It was hard for her to admit, but she understood what Anko was saying. She could remember the small amount of resentment she had felt towards the village leader when he had claimed to have done everything in his power to protect Naruto, and could even force herself to admit that she had found some satisfaction Jagaa shouted the claim down.

However, the fact that she had felt a slight thrill at the power he displayed by bringing the other Jounin to his knees, or that she had gotten butterflies in her stomach seeing the caring way Jagaa had comforted Naruto, she wouldn’t admit to even under torture.

Still watching Jagaa as he tried to aim Kakashi for yet another telephone pole, the image of Jagaa and Naruto in that moonlit clearing entered her mind, and her eyes softened slightly. ‘ Maybe he really does have some good points. ’

Suddenly, both Jagaa and Kakashi stopped dead in their tracks, Kakashi lowering his book to stare in disbelief at something further in front of them. Looking at each other in confusion, Kurenai and Anko made their way up to stand behind the pair. “What’s up?” Anko asked, slapping Jagaa on the back.

“He’s actually still there.” Kakashi answered in Jagaa’s stead.

Looking past the two men, Anko and Kurenai saw a lone, all too recognizable figure standing in the middle of the road and looking the other way. “What’s Gai doing here?” Anko asked.

“So how are you going to get out of this?” Kakashi asked Jagaa. “Once he finds out that you never actually ran the race, you’ll never get rid of him.”

Jagaa’s answering smile was the same one he had worn before the start of the race, and Kakashi actually felt excited at seeing whatever Jagaa was planning.  Anko and Kurenai just stared in utter confusion as the four of them started moving towards Gai.

Gai was starting to get drowsy as he continued to watch the direction he was certain Jagaa would come from. It had been almost an hour now, and he was starting to wonder if maybe Jagaa had run afoul of something and was having trouble finishing the race. He would give the other man a few more minutes and go looking for him. After all, he couldn’t let his newest rival be unable to finish their challenge.

“Oh, hey Gai, you finally showed up.”

Gai’s eyes widened at the voice of the very person he was waiting on and he whirled around to face the four people who had walked up behind him. “Jagaa-san? Why are you coming from that way? I’ve been awaiting your arrival patiently for some time now thinking you hadn’t finished the race.”

Jagaa frowned, confusion shining on his face. “What are you talking about? I finished before you did.”

If Gai hadn’t been so shocked by Jagaa’s statement, he might have seen Kakashi almost drop his book along with Kurenai and Anko’s mouths falling open.

“W-what? How is that possible?” Gai asked incredulously.

“You don’t remember?” Jagaa asked, his frown still in place, “I passed you one hundred thirteen times…or was it one hundred fourteen…maybe one hundred twelve…I don’t know for sure. I started losing count somewhere in the nineties.” Jagaa shrugged, “Anyway, after I was finished, Kakashi and I waited for you for about twenty minutes, but I got bored and decided to go look for Anko and Kakashi offered to take me to her usual hangout. Sorry for ditching you like that, but I’m not very good at waiting on people.”

Gai felt like he was going to have a meltdown. How could he have been passed so many times without realizing it? Was Jagaa really that fast? Maybe he had just been so absorbed in the race that he had not paid enough attention to his surroundings. Yes, that made sense. He had gotten so excited about having a willing opponent that he had failed to pay attention and didn’t notice he was being passed, that had to be it. Nodding to himself at the explanation, Gai looked up and went straight into his ‘Nice Guy’ pose.

“Jagaa-san, it seems that today I have not only lost, but have discovered the dangers of letting the Flames of my Youth burn too powerfully and make me unable to see what is happening around me! I thank you for this lesson and will resolve to correct this error, but first, I must honor our agreement and run another thousand laps around our fair village!I look forward to our next match!” Without waiting for an answer, Gai turned back around and dashed of screaming, “POWER OF YOOOUUUTTTHHH!”

Jagaa watched the man fade off into the distance with an astonished expression. “Holy shit, it actually worked. He’s even more gullible than I thought. Hmm, too bad it probably won’t work again though. Guess I’ll have to think up something else next time.” Turning back to the other three, he smiled impudently. “Shall we get going?” With a laugh at their shocked expressions, Jagaa continued on his way down the road.

Kurenai, Anko, and Kakashi stared after him for a moment before looking at each other. Anko was the first to break out of her stupor by throwing on a huge grin and running after Jagaa, jumping on his back as soon as she reached him shouting, “Jagaa-chan!” in a sing-song voice.

Kakashi started following soon after, his visible eye shining with admiration. ‘ He has definitely just become my hero in how to deal with Gai. ’

Kurenai, however, was less than pleased at Jagaa’s blatant lying and complete lack of guilt at doing so. In fact, it was taking everything she had not to go up and start berating him for it. The only thing stopping her was that she knew it would be completely futile due to the man’s personality, and would probably make her even more aggravated than she already was.

‘ I take it back. He has no good points whatsoever. ’

X     X     X     X     X

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING BY TEACHING A YOUNG BOY LIKE KONOHAMARU A PERVERTED TECHNIQUE LIKE THAT!?” Iruka screamed, two pieces of white cloth that had been torn off his bandages shoved up his nostrils to stop the blood flow that had resulted from his being used as a test subject for Konohamaru’s completed Oroike no Jutsu . In front of him, the two boys were kneeling on the ground and snickering despite the tongue lashing they were getting.

“Come on, Iruka-sensei, it’s a great technique to use on perverts.” Naruto defended before mumbling just loud enough for Konohamaru to hear, “Which you seem to be.” The other boy erupted into a fresh fit of giggles.

“I don’t want to hear you excuses!” Iruka barked, “The point is, that it is a ridiculous technique that you have no business teaching to anyone else. Especially not the grandson of the Hokage!”

“I quite agree, Iruka. That boy has no business teaching the young master any of his unsightly habits.” The new voice caused the three on the ground to look up into the trees where Ebisu stood looking down at them.

“Crap, it’s the annoying guy.” Konohamaru yelled, causing a vein to bulge on Ebisu’s forehead.

“You see, that boy has already started to corrupt you.” Ebisu stated arrogantly as he leapt from the trees and started towards them with his hand held out. “Nothing good will come from associating yourself with a person like him , Young Master. I insist you come with me before he taints you anymore than he already has.”

“Now just a minute!” Iruka shouted defensively, “I may have issues with some of the things Naruto likes to do, but he’s not some kind of ‘Taint’ like you’re trying to make him out to be. He’s a good, hardworking boy, and there is nothing wrong with him being around Konohamaru-san!”

Ebisu looked at Iruka coldly, “I believe you know quite well why I wouldn’t want that, person , anywhere near the Young Master.”

Iruka’s eyes became dangerous. “You’re walking a fine line, Ebisu.”

“Oh, and what do you plan to do about it, Iruka?” Ebisu sneered.

“He won’t have to do anything.” Naruto growled, forming his hands into a cross shaped seal. “I’ll take care of you myself. KageBunshin no Jutsu !”

Iruka gaped in astonishment at the sight of no less than thirty more Naruto’s appearing around him with puffs of smoke. “Naruto, you know the KageBunshin no Jutsu !”

“Yeah, I learned it last night.” Naruto said, never taking his eyes off Ebisu.

“YOU’RE INCREDIBLE, BOSS!” Konohamaru shouted in admiration.

“Hmph, Kage Bunshin, eh?” Ebisu arrogantly adjusted his glasses and walked into the middle of the crowd of Narutos. “I may not look it, but I am an elite teacher. You won’t be able to beat me with just this.”

Naruto smirked at the man, “We’ll see about that. Let’s see how you handle my newest super powerful technique.” Every Naruto in the area put their hands into the ‘Ram’ seal and shouted in sync. “ HENGE !”

Iruka’s eyes widened in terror as Naruto and his clones were engulfed in smoke. ‘ No…he wouldn’t… ’ The next second his worst fears were realized when the smoke cleared to reveal that every one of them had performed the Oiroke no Jutsu .

“W-W-WHAT IS THIS!?” Ebisu screamed as all the female Naruto’s converged on him, calling out “Ebisu-sama” in sexy voices and draping themselves all over his body. A torrent of blood erupted from the man’s nose and he was sent rocketing through the air to land in a crumpled heap thirty meters away.

“Heh, feel the power of the Harem no Jutsu !” Naruto shouted victoriously after changing back to normal as he looked at Ebisu lying in a twitching heap.

“Boss, Boss, I think Iruka-sensei is dead!” Konohamaru’s panicked shout reached him. Spinning around, Naruto saw the boy leaning over Iruka with tears in his eyes while the man himself lay on the ground bleeding excessively from his nose and looking extremely pale.

“GAH, I FORGOT IT WORKS ON HIM TO!” Naruto screamed in panic, dashing over and grabbing underneath Iruka’s shoulders. “GRAB HIS LEGS! WE HAVE TO GET HIM TO THE HOSPITAL!”

“R-roger, Boss!” Konohamaru shouted, running around and placing himself in between the man’s legs facing away from Naruto before reaching down and pulling Iruka’s legs into his armpits. “I’m ready, Boss.”

“Let’s move! 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2…” With Naruto counting rhythm, the two of them dashed off for the hospital with the unconscious man held between them, leaving Ebisu forgotten and twitching on the forest floor.

X X X X X

“All right, I’m here ya old fart!” Jagaa yelled as he walked into the Hokage’s office with Anko, Kurenai, and Kakashi following in behind him. Kurenai glared at Jagaa, but he either didn’t notice, or didn’t care. “By the way, have you managed to leave your seat yet?”

Sarutobi felt his annoyance rising. It had proven extremely difficult to release the hold the powerful glue had on his robe without damaging the fabric, requiring a great deal of careful chakra manipulation. It had taken so long that the old man had almost lost control of his bladder before finishing. Taking a few breaths, Sarutobi managed to smother the feeling with the anticipation of the pleasure he was about to get once he told Jagaa the news.

Deciding not to give Jagaa the satisfaction of knowing how much trouble he had caused, the old man greeted them as if he hadn’t heard him. “Ah, it’s good to see all of you here. Asuma and I have been waiting.”

The bearded Jounin turned from the old Hokage and gave them all a two finger salute in greeting. “Yo, you all sure took your time.” Catching sight of Anko, Asuma looked mildly surprised. “What are you doing here, Anko? I wasn’t told you were coming.”

“I just came because Jagaa-chan was coming.” Anko shrugged, “Besides, I didn’t have anything better to do anyway.”

“It’s fine if she’s here.” The Hokage said before clearing his throat. “Now, I have called all of you here for a reason, and I believe some of you already know what that reason is.” He looked meaningfully at Kakashi who nodded in response, but the others seemed confused.

“You told me you were giving me my first assignment tonight, right? So does it have something to do with that?” Jagaa asked.

Sarutobi nodded. “Indeed it does. Jagaa-san. Kurenai-san. Would both of you please step forward.” The two complied with confused and slightly apprehensive glances at each other.

“Kurenai-san, Jagaa-san, what I’m about to do is unprecedented, and will most likely have the council in an uproar, but I feel it is an idea that will be well worth the trouble that may come.” The old man looked between the two, a small smile forming at the confusion on their face. “I have taken many factors into account before making my decision, but ultimately, I felt this would be the best answer. Therefore, I am pleased to tell you that, starting tomorrow, the two of you will take on the joint responsibility of being Jounin-sensei for a team of new Genin.”

Sarutobi watched as the two Jounin stared at him, emotions playing out freely across their faces. Their confusion had slowly begun turning into understanding, which then turned into shock, only to follow up by a growing horror. Sarutobi could admit that he felt a bit guilty that he had to involve Kurenai like this in his plan to get Jagaa into a teaching position, but as he watched Jagaa’s mouth opening and closing like a landed fish, the guilt gave way to a pleasurable feeling of payback for everything Jagaa had put him through to date.

Seeing that both Kurenai and Jagaa were starting to regain their senses, Sarutobi (along with Kakashi, Asuma, and Anko) quickly covered his ears as the two let out a yell that could have startled people walking through the streets of Kiri.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!”

Chapter Text

“Okay, everyone, listen up.” Iruka called out to the happily chatting Genin. “It’s time for the team announcements.” A loud cheer rang out through the classroom, a certain blond boy’s voice rising above the rest. With a smile, Iruka looked down at his sheet, “All right, first up is Team 1. Your members are…”

“We’re finally getting our teams.” Naruto whispered excitedly to Kiba. “I can’t wait. I wonder what kinds of missions Konoha Genin get to do.”

“Most likely nothing very exciting to begin with.” Hinata answered before Kiba. “I doubt they would let fresh academy graduates do anything potentially dangerous for some time.”

“She’s probably right.” Kiba added, “I don’t know for sure, but whenever I ask Mom or Nee-san about it, they get this weird smile and tell me I’ll just have to wait and see.”

“It can’t be that bad.” Naruto argued. “I mean, we’re Ninja after all. It’s not like they’d make us do meaningless things like, oh I don’t know, pulling weeds, or picking up trash, or something.”

“That’s true, that would be completely pointless.” Hinata agreed.

“Ah, whatever, we’ll find out once we start doing missions.” Kiba said with a shrug. On his head, Akamaru yawned before curling back up and going back to sleep.

“Team 7 will be…” Iruka’s voice caught the three's attention, “Uchiha Sasuke…”

‘ Please don’t put me on the same team with him .’ Naruto begged the heavens.

“Haruno Sakura…”

“I’m with Sasuke-kun! Take that Ino pig!” Sakura yelled in triumph.

“And…Yamanaka Ino.”

The insult Ino was about to throw at Sakura died on her lips when she realized what had just been said. “Yatta! I’m on Sasuke-kun’s team too! In your face, Forehead Girl!”

A thumping noise started reverberating around the room, the source being one Uchiha Sasuke who had started beating his head heavily against the desk in a steady rhythm.

“I almost feel sorry for the teme.” Naruto muttered to Kiba and Hinata, who both laughed in response.

Iruka cleared his throat noisily to get the class's attention again before continuing. “Team 8 will consist of…Uzumaki Naruto…”

Naruto’s head rose expectantly.

“Inuzuka Kiba…”

“Dude, we’re on the same team!” Kiba yelled, happily giving his blond friend a high five.

“and the final member is…Hyuuga Hinata.”

“We even got Hinata-chan!” Naruto cheered, accompanied by a “Hell yeah!” from Kiba.

“I can’t say I’m disappointed with the arrangement.” Hinata said with a small smile as Naruto and Kiba each threw an arm over her shoulders and gave each other another high five.

“Hmph, it looks like they threw all the losers on the same team after all.” Ino said haughtily.

“You’re right, Yamanaka, but we were trying to spare your feelings by not pointing that out to you.” Hinata smirked back as Naruto and Kiba howled with laughter.

“AND FINALLY,” Iruka shouted to get some order back, “Team 10 will consist of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Aburame Shino.”

“Well at least it doesn’t sound like I have any troublesome people on my team.” Shikamaru said with a yawn. Chouji just smiled as he continued eating his chips and Shino made no movement whatsoever.

“Now that you know your teams, you will just have to wait for your Jounin Sensei to arrive.” Iruka said to the class, “You should use this time to talk to the other members of your team and get to know each other.” When Iruka finished, most of the class got up and started exchanging seats to group together with their teams even as Ino and Sakura got into yet another fight over Sasuke while the Uchiha himself looked like he was seriously considering committing suicide.

Turning to his two friends, Naruto grinned at them. “So…I really like ramen.” Hinata and Kiba just shook their heads as they laughed.

X     X     X     X     X

“WHERE THE HELL ARE THESE BASTARDS!” Naruto shouted in frustration after two and a half hours of waiting.

“Quiet down, Naruto, I’m trying to sleep.” Shikamaru said with a yawn.

“But it’s been two and half hours !” Naruto yelled, “What the hell is taking them so long?”

“Well your whining isn’t helping anything, you blockhead.” Ino practically snarled at him.

Needless to say, tempers were starting to run high for the members of teams 7, 8, and 10 as they sat in the classroom waiting on their extremely late new teachers. However, none of them were feeling quite as irritated as Naruto who had very little skills in the ‘patience’ department.

“THAT’S IT!” Naruto finally declared. Reaching into his Kunai pouch he pulled out a scroll and started unrolling it. “These guys are gonna pay for making us wait so long!”

Kiba got up from his seat and walked over to Naruto. “What are you going to do with that?” He asked as he curiously examined the scroll.

Naruto’s smirk was pure evil as he looked Kiba in the eye. “You’ll see.”

X     X     X     X     X

“So, could someone tell me again why we had to wait on the book nerd?” Jagaa asked irritably as he walked through the Academy halls along with Kurenai, Kakashi, and Asuma.

“Because the Hokage recommended it.” Asuma said calmly as he took a drag on his cigarette.

“Asuma!” Kurenai snapped, “I thought I told you to put that out before you came in. This is an academy, not a bar.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re really bossy, Princess?” Jagaa asked seriously, causing Asuma to snort in amusement.

“Now, now,” Kakashi said in a pacifying voice, “Let’s not have any arguments just before we meet our teams.”

“If anyone is to blame for any arguments right now, it would be you , Cyclops.” Jagaa stated, “Seeing as we had to wait on you for three fucking hours .”

“Sorry, but I had gotten lost on the road of life.” Kakashi smiled.

“I hate you.”

“You know, you could have always left before me.” Kakashi added in his own defense.

“I would have… gladly . Unfortunately, the ball and chain,” Jagaa pointed at Kurenai, “Said she was going to wait for you like the Hokage said to, and since she and I are stuck on the same team together, there was no point leaving without her.

“Excuse me,” Kurenai cut in icily, “But I am not your wife. So I would appreciate it if you didn’t use a term associated with one about me.”

“You’re right, you’re not my wife.” Jagaa agreed with a nod, “You’re worse, because now I have to deal withall your bitching, and I don’t even get any sex out of it.”

Kakashi snorted lightly and Asuma started backing away from Jagaa, who simply smirked at a murderous Kurenai.

“She’s going to kill you one of these days.” Kakashi muttered.

“Eh, she’ll calm down if she ever gets laid.” Jagaa shrugged. A spike of killing intent came from in front of them and Kakashi started to sweat.

“Uh, I think I’ll walk a little closer to her.” Kakashi said nervously. “That way I won’t be near you when she decides to attack.”

“Chicken.” Jagaa mocked as the silver haired man moved up closer to Kurenai.

Asuma chuckled lightly as he walked just behind everyone else. This was almost better than television in his opinion, and somehow he knew that if Anko were here, it would be better than television. As that thought was playing through his mind, Asuma noticed that Jagaa had slowed down significantly and was letting both Kakashi and Kurenai pull a good deal ahead of him. Asuma shrugged, thinking Jagaa was just getting some space to dodge if Kurenai attacked, but as he started to pass the younger man he was stopped by a scarred arm blocking his path. “What’s up?” He questioned.

“Stay back a bit until they open the door.” Jagaa muttered.

Asuma raised his eyebrows curiously. “Why?”

“You’ll see.” Jagaa answered with an evil smirk that only served to heighten the bearded man’s curiosity.

He didn’t have to wait long, because at that moment Kurenai had just reached the door about ten meters ahead of them with Kakashi standing directly behind her, reading his book. “Why are you two walking so slow?” She asked, looking over at Jagaa and Asuma as she opened the door. “Hurry up so we- KYAA!”

It was with a sort of shocked fascination that Asuma watched as Kurenai was struck by the surprise attack. One struck her in the abdomen, another in the chest, and finally a third in the side of the head. A fourth landed a glancing blow to her left shoulder and was sent spinning into the air to come down directly on top of Kakashi’s head with a squelching plop.

As Asuma stared in wonder at the scene before him, he could only manage to say a single word for his shock.

“Pies?”

As if waiting for his word as a signal, an eruption of laughter came from the room that the four Jounin were about to enter.

“Rule number one about dealing with Naruto,” Jagaa said from beside him, his voice calm but laced with amusement, “ never give him enough time to get bored.” Leaving Asuma in his stupefied state, Jagaa walked over to the shocked Kurenai and impudently drew his finger across her cheek to pick up some of the pie filling dripping down her face before taking his finger back to his mouth and sampling the flavor. “Hmm, that’s pretty good.”

Kurenai managed to turn her head enough to look at the man with wide, incredulous eyes.

Behind them, Kakashi had removed the pie from his head and was looking over his precious book for any signs of it having been hit by splashing pie filling and sighing with relief when he saw there was none. Not concerned in the least that his hair had been matted down by the creamy filling. What could he say? A man has to have his priorities after all.

“Nii-san, is that you? What are you doing here?” Naruto called from inside the classroom.

“Just enjoying the view.” Jagaa grinned, scraping a bit more pie off Kurenai’s cheek before heading into the classroom. “By the way, I thought I told you to stop wasting the Banana Cream Pies. I like those.”

“Sorry, Nii-san, but that's all I had left.” Naruto admitted, scratching the back of his head.

“Eh, whatever,” Jagaa said, smirking over his shoulder at the still shocked Kurenai, “I think it may have tasted even better that way.” Making a mental note that included both Anko and more pies, Jagaa turned back to Naruto and pointed to the object behind him. “I see you made some modifications.”

Naruto’s grin widened to unbelievable proportions as he swept his arm back to indicate the strange, catapult-like machine that had been previously stored in a scroll. “That’s right, meet the ‘Pieanator Mark 4’.” He said grandly as he pointed out the four barrel-like protrusions mounted at an angle on a flat plank. “Unlike the Mark3 that had square launch tubes and could only launch a pie about ten meters, the Mark4 has circular launch tubes made to be the exact size of a standard pie and lined with vegetable oil for a smooth exit, and by putting the tubes at an angle, the pie isn’t sent into the ground like it was with the Mark2. Also, the insides of the tubes have been grooved to put the pie into a spiral, increasing the overall flight time. On the last test, I managed to pie a target almost thirty meters away.” Naruto finished by puffing out his chest proudly.

“Hmm, impressive.” Jagaa said with a nod of his head, making Naruto practically glow with joy from the praise.

The other Genin in the room could only stare at the pair before them. None of them had thought Naruto’s pie throwing machine would actually work . What was even more incredible was the fact he actually seemed to have put some serious thought into the thing.

“Naruto,” Hinata finally said, breaking the stunned silence, “Did it ever occur to you that if you had put even half the amount of effort into studying as it seems you put into that device, you probably would have been the rookie of the year.”

Sasuke growled lowly at that.

“But studying is boooorrrreiiinnnng.” Naruto whined, causing the rest of the Genin to sweatdrop.

“She does have a point though.” Jagaa said reflectively.

“Nii-san, not you too!” Naruto wailed in despair.

Jagaa was about to say something else, when a feeling of impending death washed over everyone in the room. Slowly, they all turned to the doorway and saw Kurenai taking slow, deliberate steps into the room, her eyes shadowed by her bangs.

“…Who…was…it?” Her voice came out as barely a whisper, and yet still managed to terrify everyone in the room.

Kurenai’s steady steps continued, taking her directly towards Naruto who stood frozen in terror. “Was it you?”

“N-N-N-Nii-s-s-san,” Naruto stammered, “H-h-help me.”

“Sorry, Naruto, but you’re on your own this time.” Unable to turn his head, Naruto shifted his eyes over to see Jagaa hiding behind Sakura as if he was intending to use her as a human shield.

A shadow loomed over Naruto and his eyes shifted up to the shadowed face above him, and he had a sudden desire to wet himself.

“You, hit, me, with, Pies!” Kurenai’s voice became demonic, and her eyes burned like the fires of hell.

The woman’s fist drew back, and Naruto screamed.

X     X     X     X     X

“Is he still alive?” Kiba asked uncertainly as he poked at the charred and smoking remains of the figure that was once Naruto with a meter stick he had found near Iruka’s desk.

“Probably, Naruto is fairly resilient.” Jagaa replied in a calm tone.

“You don’t seem very concerned.” Asuma said with a frown, his cigarette having been put out due to his fear of angering Kurenai any further.

Jagaa just shrugged. “Like I said, he’s fairly resilient.”

“So, should we wait for Kurenai to get back before we collect our teams, or should we just go ahead and take them?” Kakashi asked, his book having also been put away for the same reasons Asuma wasn’t smoking.

“We should probably wait.” Asuma answered, “We’ve waited this long anyway. What are a few more minutes while she cleans up?”

“Again, the waiting time being Kakashi’s fault.” Jagaa added. Kakashi just smiled.

The sound of the door opening drew their attention and Kurenai walked into the room, her hair damp from having just been rinsed out. It also appeared she had somehow either cleaned her clothes or acquired new ones. “Sorry I took so long.” She said, running her fingers through her hair.

“At least it wasn’t as long as Cyclops would have taken.” Jagaa said, following by tilting his head and smirking mischievously at the woman. “By the way, could you run your fingers through your hair again? That was kind of sexy.”

Kurenai’s eyes narrowed, and both Kakashi and Asuma took a few steps away from the scarred man who continued to smirk. “Would you care to repeat that?” She asked icily.

“Just a second.” Jagaa responded and, much to the confusion of the others, walked over to Ino, picked her up under the armpits, moved back to where he had been standing, and finally put her back down facing Kurenai as he crouched behind her. “Preparations complete.”

“What are you doing?” Kurenai asked, unable to restrain her curiosity.

“Well, after I repeat what I said, I’m going to push this girl in front of you to distract and slow you down.Thereby allowing me to jump through the window and run for my life.” Jagaa stated matter-of-factly, followed by Ino shouting and indignant “Hey!”

A large sweatdrop formed on everyone watching as Kurenai clenched her teeth. “Or, you could just not say it.” She grated.

Jagaa tilted his head in confusion, still hiding behind Ino. “What would be the fun in that?”

Kurenai just knew she would have to see the dentist soon.

“Uh, maybe to forestall any ensuing bloodshed, we should all gather our teams now.” Kakashi said in a slightly nervous tone as his visible eye stayed locked on Kurenai.

“There’s just one problem with that.” Asuma said, looking down at Naruto’s still smoking figure. “One of the team’s members is, uh, incapacitated.”

Despite her anger at Jagaa, Kurenai had the good grace to blush lightly.

“Oh, that’s no problem. Just give me a sec.” Jagaa said and started digging through his Kunai pouch. “Ah, here it is.” He declared as pulled out a scroll and unrolled it. Putting some chakra into it, the scroll made a puff of smoke before clearing away to show Jagaa now holding a steaming bowl of ramen and a pair of chopsticks that he put down about three meters in front of the blackened body.

The effect was instantaneous.

Naruto shot forward from the floor, leaving a trail of ashes behind him, and grabbed the steaming bowl before he immediately began shoveling noodles down his mouth. It took all of fifteen seconds for the bowl to be emptied and for Naruto to lean back with a contented sigh. Getting the feeling he was being watched, Naruto looked around to see everyone but Jagaa looking at him with wide eyes. “What?”

“You see.” Jagaa said to the group, “He’s very resilient.”

“He’s a freak.” Sakura said in disgust. “How can someone like ramen that much?”

“I don’t think you have any right to call someone a freak, Bubblegum Head.” Kiba retorted.

“Enough!” Kurenai yelled to stop the argument before it could get out of hand and turned to the other three Jounin, “Let’s just get our teams and go before things get any worse.”

“Uh, I have a question.” Shikamaru called out. “You keep saying you are here to all get your teams, but there are only three teams here and there are four Jounin. Does that mean there is supposed to be another team, or did one Jounin just tag along with the Jounin-sensei?”

“Hey, that’s right!” Naruto yelled and turned to Jagaa. “What are you doing here, Nii-san?”

Jagaa grimaced at the boy’s question. “Wishing I wasn’t here.”

Naruto stared at the man in disbelief. “Wait, does that mean you’re a Jounin-sensei!?”

“Please don’t remind me. I’m still hoping I’ll wake up to find it’s all just some horrible dream.” Jagaa pleaded.

“I can agree with those sympathies.” Kurenai said without looking at them.

“And that ,” Jagaa pointed at Kurenai, “Is the biggest reason I hope it’s just a nightmare.”

“Would somebody explain what’s going on?” Ino yelled.

“Well to put it simply,” Kakashi said with a smile, “One of the teams here is going to have two Jounin-sensei.”

“Seriously!” Naruto yelled. “Which team is it and who are the two?”

“Well, I’ll solve some of the confusion now.” Asuma said, clearing his throat. “Everyone from Team 10, please stand up and come with me.” Chouji, Shikamaru, and Shino all wordlessly stood up and went down to stand by Asuma.

“Ne, Ne, Nii-san! Am I on your team?” Naruto asked eagerly.

“I don’t really know.” Jagaa answered and turned to Kurenai, “What was our team number again.

“I have Team 8.” Kakashi said before Kurenai could respond.

“WHAT? That’s my team!” Naruto shouted. “Damnit! I wanted to be on Nii-san’s team.”

“Really?” Jagaa asked with a smirk. “I thought you’d like a break from me training you. We might be able to arrange a switch if you really want it though.”

The other Jounin watched Naruto’s reaction, expecting the boy to try to convince Jagaa to get the switch. What they didn’t expect, was for Naruto to start trembling violently before grabbing Hinata and Kiba by the arms and dragging them down to Kakashi, whom he proceeded to push to the exit with his head. “ByeNii-sanI’llseeyouathome!”

Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the boy in surprise as he was continuously headbutted for the door and then up at Jagaa who was still smirking. ‘ Just what kind of training does he put him through? ’ Kakashi questioned as he was pushed around the corner.

“Hmm, guess he wanted someone else teaching him after all.” Jagaa said with a laugh and turned to Kurenai. “Does that mean the three that are still sitting down are the annoyances we have to deal with?”

“Yes, those three will be…” Kurenai grit her teeth, almost feeling physical pain over what she was about to say, “ Our students.”

Jagaa turned from Kurenai and did a once over of the three Genin still behind their desks. The two girl’s eyes were widened in slight apprehension as they looked at him, but the boy’s eyes had narrowed on him in an almost defiant manner. Jagaa just sighed after he finished examining the three of them. ‘ I just know this is gonna suck. ’

X     X     X     X     X

“So, why don’t you all tell me about yourselves?” Kakashi said in a friendly manner. “You know, such as your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, your future dreams, that sort of thing.”

“In this situation, Sensei, wouldn’t it be appropriate for you to tell us about yourself first?” Hinata asked calmly.

“Ah, that’s true isn’t it?” The silver haired man said thoughtfully, “Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes…, dislikes…hmm, well, I have a few hobbies.” He looked up at them and smiled.  “So who’s next?”

‘What the hell kind of introduction was that? ’ The three Genin thought simultaneously.

“How about you go next?” Kakashi, pointed to Kiba.

“Me? Ah whatever. My name is Inuzuka Kiba, and this little guy,” He pointed to the pup on his head, “Is Akamaru.” Akamaru barked a greeting of his own, “I like my clan, playing with Akumaru, my sister, and usually hanging out with Naruto…but sometimes I’d rather kill him.” He glared slightly at the blond who smiled innocently back. “Hmm, my dislikes…I can’t really think of any right now, and my hobbies are-”

“Fantasizing about his sister and collecting dirty magazines.” Naruto whispered just loud enough to be heard.

“-fantasizing about my sister and…YOU BASTARD! I’LL KILL YOU!” Kiba snarled and leapt for Naruto who nimbly rolled out of the way and dove behind Hinata. “Hinata-chan, save me!” He cried out in a high-pitched voice.

“Now, now, let’s not get rowdy.” Kakashi said as he raised his hands in a placating gesture and waited until Kiba sat back down. “How about you continue then, Naruto?”

Moving from behind Hinata but still keeping an eye on the fuming Inuzuka, Naruto took his spot back between the two and gave his introduction. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like Ramen, hanging out with my friends, sometimes annoying those same friends,” He smirked at Kiba again who growled in response, “and my Nii-san. I don’t like Sasuke-teme, crazy Fangirls, or some of Nii-san’s training methods. My hobby is eating all the ramen I can…”

‘ Can that really be considered a hobby? ’ The other three thought with a sweatdrop.

Naruto kept speaking, unaware of their collective thoughts, “And my dream is to become the Hokage and earn the respect of everyone in Konoha.”

“Hmm, that’s quite a goal you have.” Kakashi smiled before pointing at Hinata “Okay, last up is the flower of our little team.”

Hinata sent the man an icy glare that made him chuckle nervously. “My name is Hyuuga Hinata, I enjoy reading and dislike it when I’m interrupted while doing so.”

“I can vouch for that.” Naruto said, rubbing his neck.

“Other than reading, I really have no hobbies.” Hinata continued as if she hadn’t heard him, “Seeing as I am to be the head of the Hyuuga clan one day, I can’t say I’ve ever had need to have any dreams for the future. The only thing I could really call a dream would be to someday…” Hinata trailed off, and Kakashi thought he saw her eyes shift in the direction of the two boys for a moment before she spoke again. “Nothing, never mind.”

“Hey, you can’t do that, Hinata-chan!” Naruto protested, “What were you going to say?”

“I said it was nothing, Naruto.” Hinata turned her head away from the blond, but he refused to give up and started shaking her shoulders. “Come on, Hinata-chan, tell me what you were going to say! Please, please, please, please, please, plea-oof.” Naruto fell to the ground clutching his stomach after Hinata elbowed him in the solar plexus.

“You’d think he would have learned by now.” Kiba said with a shake of his head before adding with a smirk, “Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it though.”

“Screw you, Dog Breath.” Naruto wheezed out.

Kakashi watched the three with barely hidden amusement in his visible eye. ‘ I think I’m going to enjoy having this team. ’ He thought before speaking out loud, “Well, now the introductions are over, let’s meet tomorrow at 5 a.m. on training ground 13.”

“THAT EARLY!” Naruto screamed.

“Yep.” Kakashi said happily, “Oh, and don’t eat breakfast okay. You’ll just end up throwing it all back up anyway. Ja ne.” Kakashi smiled at them before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata all looked at each other uncertainly. “Should we be worried?” Naruto asked, to which the other two just shrugged.

X     X     X     X     X

“Well first off, I suppose you’re all wondering why you will be having two Jounin leading your team.” Kurenai said to the three Genin sitting in front of her. “Well, the reason for that is-”

“Because that half dead old bastard hates me!” Jagaa cut her off.

“At least try to show some respect for the Hokage in front of the Genin!” Kurenai snapped.

“That could be detrimental to my health therefore I refuse to take the chance.” Jagaa replied with a smirk.

Kurenai covered her eyes with her hand and let out an irritated sigh. What in the world had the Hokage been thinking?

///Flashback///

“What is the meaning of this, Hokage-sama?” Kurenai yelled as she slapped her hands on the old man’s desk. “How can you make him a Jounin-sensei when he wasn’t even a citizen of Konoha until less than twelve hours ago ?”

“Yeah, what the hell are you trying to pull, you foot in the grave bastard?” Jagaa added, “Trying to make me deal with a group of annoying brats is bad enough, but making me have to deal with those annoying brats and her ,” He jerked his thumb at Kurenai, “is cruel and unusual punishment.”

“And being partnered with someone who has all the manners of a stray dog is just the highlight of my career as a Kunoichi.” Kurenai said sarcastically.

“Why don’t you just go paint your nails or something, Princess?” Jagaa growled at her.

Behind the two angry Jounin, Anko had pulled out a bag of popcorn from a sealing scroll and was sharing it with Kakashi and Asuma. “I knew it would be a good idea to bring this.” She said to them, receiving two agreeing nods.

“SILENCE BOTH OF YOU!” Sarutobi shouted, his voice carrying an authority that even made Jagaa go quiet. “The fact is that this was my decision, and no amount of complaining on either of your parts is going to change it. Is that understood?” He turned his hard eyes to each of them in turn, practically daring them to try to argue any further.

“…Yes, Hokage-sama.” Kurenai answered in a subdued tone.

“Tch, senile old bastard.” Jagaa muttered, turning his head away.

Deciding that it was the closest thing he was going to get to an agreement from Jagaa, Sarutobi nodded his acceptance. “Thank you, and just so you know. I actually chose you two for practical purposes.” Kurenai and Jagaa became more attentive as the old man continued. “Kurenai-san, you have never had any students before but have lived in Konoha your entire life. Jagaa-san, you have teaching experience due to training Naruto, but have been in Konoha for less than a year. By putting you both as teachers on the same team, I’m more or less filling in the blanks that each of you possess. Do you understand?”

Kurenai nodded, understanding showing on her face, but Jagaa frowned at the old man. “And that’s the bullshit reason you’re planning to use to get the council to agree to this?” He asked.

The Sandaime smiled at him. “Yes, it is.

“What do you plan to do if they still don’t like it?” Jagaa questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

“Maybe I’ll take a page out of your book, and do it anyway.” The old man said, his smile becoming something close to a smirk.

Jagaa raised his eyebrows at the old man. “I think I may have just gained a little respect for you.” He said in a surprised voice. “Not much, but a little.”

Sarutobi laughed lightly. “Well a little is better than none.” He eyed the pair once more with an encouraging smile, “I look forward to seeing how the two of you work together in the future.”

“My money is on, like cats and dogs.” Asuma said with a puff of smoke. “How about you, Kakashi?”

“I was thinking, oil and water, but cats and dogs works too.” Kakashi smiled.

“The Tiger and the Dragon. Bitter enemies locked in combat for all time.” Jagaa piped up and turned to Kurenai, “By the way, you’re the Tiger.”

“Why?” Kurenai asked suspiciously.

Jagaa grinned. “Isn't it obvious? Because the one who should be the cat, is the one who has the pus-yikes!” Jagaa ducked under the swipe Kurenai made for his head with a kunai and bolted for the door while laughing maniacally with the angry woman hot on his heels as Anko, Asuma, and Kakashi started placing bets on if he would survive or not.

Sarutobi just sighed.

///Flashback End///

Kurenai rubbed her temples to calm herself down. No matter what her personal feelings on the matter, the Hokage had ordered that she team up with Jagaa, so that meant she would do it.

Even if she was sure she would end up killing him herself.

“Anyway,” She said with a slight glare at Jagaa, “The Hokage is the one who made this arrangement, so Team 7 will have two Jounin-sensei.” Kurenai turned away from Jagaa and back to the three Genin, missing the quiet raspberry Jagaa blew at her. “That may change in the future, but for now this is how our team has been arranged. Now, why don’t we all introduce ourselves? Let’s start with you.” Kurenai pointed at Ino.

“Huh, oh, okay.” Ino sat up and straightened out a bit. “Uh, well, my name is Yamanaka Ino. I like flower arranging, my parents, and Sasuke-kun.” She looked over at Sasuke with a smile but he simply turned away with a grunt, “I don’t like certain pink haired girls with overly large foreheads,” Sakura glared at her, “and my plans for the future are to become a great Kunoichi before retiring to take over my families flower shop. Of course, I’ll also marry Sasuke-kun somewhere in there.” Her grin split her face and Sakura looked ready to throttle the blonde girl.

Kurenai examined Ino with a slight frown. ‘ Hmm, I didn’t think she was the Fangirl type, or that she was in a rivalry with the other girl. This could complicate things.’ Beside her, Jagaa had made his thoughts on the matter known with an audible groan.

“Okay, then, how about you go next?” Kurenai indicated to Sakura.

“My name is Haruno Sakura.” The girl said instantly. “My likes…” She looked over at Sasuke and squealed, “My dreams for the future…” another look and another squeal before she stopped talking completely.

Jagaa started beating his head against a nearby pillar, and Kurenai was barely able to restrain herself from joining him. ‘ Dear Kami, she’s even worse than the other one! Why do I have to deal with two fangirls? I hate fangirls. ’ She thought in despair before speaking out loud, controlling her emotions to keep her voice calm. “I see. Is there anything you don’t like”?

“Ino-pig!” Sakura declared hotly.

Jagaa stopped in his head banging and turned to Sakura, “I don’t think you have the right to call anyone ‘pig’, little Miss Squealer.” he deadpanned the girl. Ino openly laughed at Sakura’s indignant expression, and even Sasuke was sporting a small smirk if you looked close enough.

“Jagaa, behave yourself.” Kurenai chided, though her tone lacked some of the bite it would have usually carried. What could she say? She really didn’t like fangirls. They were a stigma on all womankind.

“Yes, Princess.” Jagaa replied with a smirk before adding, “I guess the only one left is the brooder.” He pointed at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at Jagaa coolly as he spoke. “My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are not many things I like, and a lot that I don’t like. As for my plans for the future,” He paused for a moment, “I wouldn’t call it a dream, more like an ambition, but I wish to kill a certain man.”

Jagaa’s head perked up with interest. “Oh? Who is it that you want to kill? Maybe I know him.”

“That’s not something that needs to be discussed right now.” Kurenai cut in.

“Spoilsport.” Jagaa muttered.

Kurenai ignored him and started her own introduction. “My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. I specialize in Genjutsu and enjoy spending time creating new ones. I also enjoy reading, and spending quiet nights at home.” She gave Jagaa a scathing look, “I dislike those who have no respect for others and I detest perverts.”

“Which means she’s probably planning to murder me, seeing as I’ve been told I have both those problems.” Jagaa grinned.

Sakura and Ino sweat dropped while Sasuke got a light twitch in his eye.

Kurenai shook her head and looked back at the Genin. “I’m afraid I won’t be telling you my dreams for the future, but know that as your Jounin sensei, I will do my best to help you achieve your own dreams.” Kurenai felt nauseous after she finished, realizing that she had more or less just promised to help two fangirls with their stalking and to help a boy in his goals to kill someone.

Jagaa cocked his head at the strangely sick expression that had come over the Jounin woman’s face, but just shrugged it off and started his own introduction.

“I guess that means I have to introduce myself too eh? Well, my name is Jagaa. Hmm, I like drinking, fighting, pissing people off, and my…I guess ‘adopted’ would be the best term…little brother, Naruto. I don’t like Fangirls,” Ino and Sakura flinched, “broody little Emos,” Sasuke glared at the man, “or stuck up Princesses.” Kurenai ground her teeth and Jagaa grinned at her before moving on. “As for my dreams for the future,” Jagaa paused and shrugged, “I never look that far ahead, and I’ve never had a reason to.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Kurenai stated coolly. “Also, do you think you could have left out the drinking and annoying people in your list of likes? You could at least try to set a good example.”

“Hey cut me some slack. I never said anything about sex, did I?” Jagaa argued and Kurenai smacked herself in the forehead.

“Forget it. I don’t care anymore.” She said plaintively and turned back to the three Genin, “Well, that’s it for today. We will meet again tomorrow at 9 a.m. on training grounds 10. Until then you are free to go.”

“YES, FREEDOM!” Jagaa yelled, jumping over the railing and dashing madly away over the rooftops.

“NOT YOU!” Kurenai yelled, chasing after the fleeing man. “JAGAA, GET BACK HERE! WE STILL HAVE TO DISCUSS THE PLANS FOR TOMORROW! JAGAA!”

Ino, Sakura, and Sasuke watched their two Jounin-sensei disappear into the distance, each of them trying to wrap their mind around what to make of the pair. Finally Ino turned to the other two with apprehension showing on her face. “I’m kind of worried about our future.”

Sakura silently nodded in agreement and Sasuke just grunted.

X     X     X     X     X

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Jagaa yelled as he held Naruto in the air by the front of his shirt and shook him violently. “Not only have I been tied down to one village, I have to play babysitter to two freaking fangirls , a fucking brooding Emo boy , and work with stuck up little Princess ! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!”

“I’m…sor…ry…Nii…san!” Naruto managed to get out amidst the violent shakes.

“Do you think we should try to do something?” Kiba asked Hinata. The two of them had gone home with Naruto to discuss what Kakashi might have planned for them the next day, but as soon as Jagaa had gotten home, Naruto had been a bit…preoccupied.

“It’s best just to let it play out.” Hinata answered, taking a sip of tea she had made courtesy of Naruto and Jagaa’s cupboard. “I think Jagaa won’t kill him.”

“I hope you’re right.” Kiba said as he looked back at Naruto, wondering if the other boy’s head was going to stay attached with how hard Jagaa was shaking him.

“Gah, I need some Sake!” Jagaa shouted, dropping Naruto onto the floor before stomping into the kitchen. Kiba and Hinata took the opportunity to move over next to Naruto who was lying on the floor with swirls in his eyes.

“You okay man?” Kiba asked.

Naruto flopped his head over to look at the Inuzuka, a strange grin coming to his face. “Oh wow, there are six Kibas. Hi, six Kibas. Are you all friends with the six Hinata-chans? And why is the world spinning? Spinney world, spinney world. Tehehehehe”

“He’s fine.” Hinata remarked dryly.

Jagaa came back into the living room, drinking a bottle of Sake as he walked. “Ah, I needed that.” He said, flopping down on the couch after downing half the bottle in one go. “By the way, what’s he so happy about?”

“I think you might have broken him.” Kiba said unsurely, looking back down at his friend who was in the process of trying to grab something out of the air while still giggling.

“Eh, he’ll be alright.” Jagaa waved dismissively, taking another drink of sake.

“If you say so.” Kiba shrugged, turning back to Jagaa. “So, going off of your greeting to Naruto, I’d say you’re not all that happy with your new team, huh.”

“What gave you that idea?” Jagaa asked, feigning surprise. “Why I love the fact I get to listen to a couple of prissy little fangirls squeal over their crush and I’m ecstatic to listen to the unintelligible grunts and brooding silence of the little Emo boy. Oh, and how could I forget to mention how happy I am to be working with a stuck up Princess who has about as much of a sense of humor as a rock. Seriously, Kiba, I’m shocked you would suggest that I would have anything less than complete joy at my new position as a Jounin-sensei.” He finished by tipping back his head and downing the rest of his sake.

“Yes, not upset in the least.” Hinata said, matching Jagaa’s sarcasm.

Jagaa finished his bottle and looked back at her with a slight smile. “Yeah, I’m a bit, make that quite a bit, upset with the whole arrangement, but I’ll figure out a way to cope with it. I’m pretty good at that.” Jagaa’s smile widened. “Hell, who knows? Maybe if the Fangirls grow up a little, the Emo pulls the stick out of his ass, and Kurenai loosens up a bit, it won’t be so bad.”

“Yeah, I bet you’d love it if Kurenai-sensei loosened up !” Kiba snickered.

Jagaa quirked his eyebrow at the Inuzuka boy, “Hmm, I wonder what Tsume would think if I told her you were making sexual innuendos? Even if it wasn’t a very good one.” he said thoughtfully.

Kiba’s eyes widened in fear. “You won’t tell her right? Please don’t tell her!”

Jagaa smirked mischievously, “I’ll think about it, but for now…I need more Sake.” Getting up from the couch the man headed for the kitchen again, leaving a worried looking Kiba behind.

“Oh, my head.” Naruto’s groaning voice came from the floor.

“It seems you’ve come back to your senses.” Hinata said calmly. “I don’t suppose you had any inspiration as to what Kakashi-sensei might be planning tomorrow while you were enjoying your spinning world?”

“Uh, hehheh, no. Not really.” Naruto said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

“He said it was survival training,” Kiba recalled, “and that we shouldn’t eat breakfast or we’d throw up. So whatever it is must be hard.”

“It’s going to be a test to see how well you work as a team.” Jagaa’s voice drew their attention as the man walked back in with a fresh bottle of sake. “All the Jounin-sensei are supposed to give one.”

“A teamwork test?” Hinata clarified, to which Jagaa nodded.

“Why didn’t he just say so then?” Naruto asked indignantly.

“That would be, because the test will be designed to pit you against each other and see if you can grasp the concept of teamwork despite that.” Jagaa grinned.

“Wait! What do you mean “pit us against each other”?” Kiba asked aggressively.

“Exactly as it sounds.” Jagaa said easily, “From what I’ve heard, the most popular method is called the Bell Test. The Jounin has two bells and tells the Genin that they have to get a bell if they don’t want to be sent back to the academy. Can you see the trick behind it?”

“The set up suggests that no matter what, at least one person will be sent back to the academy.” Hinata said in understanding. “So the Genin will work against each other instead of with each other in order to acquire a bell and not be sent back.”

“Exactly,” Jagaa nodded, “The best part is, that if they don’t end up working together, they all get sent back. Kind of fucked up if you ask me.”

“No kidding.” Kiba growled, “It’s completely rigged.”

“What I would like to know, Jagaa-san, is why you are telling us all this.” Hinata asked.

“Simple,” Jagaa said with a vicious smirk, “If I’m not allowed to fail my team to get out of this. Then there’s no way in hell I’m letting Kakashi fail his team to get out of it. Especially when my Otouto and his friends happen to be on that team.”

“Naruto, have I ever told you how happy I am that we're friends and how awesome your brother is?” Kiba laughed, Akamaru barking in agreement.

“I can’t say I disagree with that statement.” Hinata said with a small smile.

“He he,” Naruto laughed embarrassedly, rubbing his finger under his nose. “Thanks guys.”

“Oh, by the way,” Jagaa spoke up, “Did I hear you say that Kakashi told you all not to eat?”

“Yeah,” Naruto answered, “He also told us to be at Training Ground 13 at five in the freaking morning!”

“I see,” The dirty blond said thoughtfully before smirking at them, “Well, from what I’ve learned about the Cyclops, he’s at least three hours late to everything . So I think you’ll be good if you don’t show up until around eight or so. I don’t know what he’s planning with the whole ‘Don’t eat’ thing, but if you wake up early enough to have breakfast, you’ll probably be out of danger of puking by the time anything starts.”

The three Genin all looked at Jagaa with a sort of admiration, and the older man started feeling a bit uncomfortable. “What?”

“Can you be my brother instead?” Kiba asked suddenly. “I’d even be okay with it if you married Hana!”

“KIBA!” Naruto shouted indignantly.

“I believe that the Hyuuga clan would be willing to accept you as well.” Hinata added. “And since you don’t have our bloodline, they wouldn’t try to put a seal on you. Are you interested?”

“Would both of you stop trying to steal my brother!” Naruto shouted.

“It’s so nice to be wanted.” Jagaa mumbled to himself.

X     X     X     X     X

Something wasn’t right.

That was the only thing Kakashi could think as he looked at the three Genin before him. They didn’t seem tired enough for being at the training field since 5 a.m., they didn’t seem angry enough that he was his customary three hours late, and he hadn’t heard a single one of their stomachs growl even a little since he arrived.

“Is something wrong, Kakashi-sensei?” Hinata asked mildly. “You seem to be bothered by something.”

Kakashi’s visible eye narrowed on the three of them suspiciously. “What time did the three of you show up?” He asked bluntly.

“5 a.m. of course,” Hinata replied, “Isn’t that the time you said to be here, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto and Kiba had doubled over and were holding their sides, their faces twisted strangely and their bodies shaking.

“What’s wrong with those two?” Kakashi asked, turning his narrowed eye on the two boys.

“I don’t know, Kakashi-sensei.” Hinata answered, turning to the boys as well. Kakashi couldn’t see, but she had started glaring at them warningly.

“My stomach hurts from not eating this morning.” Naruto gasped out, his face twisting into a pained grimace.

“Yeah, same here.” Kiba corresponded. If Kakashi could understand Akamaru, he would have heard the little dog calling Kiba a liar.

Skepticism was practically oozing out of Kakashi’s visible eye, but seeing as he had no proof, he couldn’t voice his lack of belief for their answer. “Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. Now that we’re all here though, I think we should start the test now.”

“Test? What test?” Kiba asked, his face the picture of a questioning expression.

Kakashi held up two bells, feeling a bit grateful that all three of them looked confused since he had been starting to think his test may have been compromised somehow.

(Somewhere else in Konoha, Jagaa sneezed.)

“These,” Kakashi said, giving the bells a small shake, “are the test. Your objective is to get one of these bells from me in order to pass.” Kakashi smiled and pointed to three nearby training logs, “Anyone who doesn’t get a bell by noon will be tied to one of those logs and made to watch while I eat lunch in front of them.”

“Hold on! That’s why you didn’t want us to eat breakfast!” Naruto shouted, his anger on the subject only being partially faked.

“Yep.” Kakashi smiled. “Also, anyone who doesn’t get a bell will be sent back to the academy.”

“Then why are there only two bells?” Kiba asked. “Doesn’t that mean someone is gonna fail no matter what?”

“That’s exactly right.” Kakashi smiled, closing his eye. He was pleased about the three Genins’ reactions. It seemed his worries about someone revealing the test were unfounded after all.

Unfortunately for Kakashi, closing his eye made him miss the confident smirk that had passed between his three students.

“Well then, shall we start the test?” Kakashi asked, taking out a small alarm clock and putting it down on a stump. “I’ll also tell you this, if you don’t come at me with the intent to kill, you’ll never have a chance at getting the bells.” He saw their eyes harden and he smiled again. “Okay then, there is still four hours until noon, so you have four hours to get a bell. The test will start, now.”

The three Genin jumped away and Kakashi naturally assumed they were all moving to hiding places to plan their separate attacks. So he was rather surprised when he saw each of them stop about thirty meters away in a triangle formation around him.

“So,” Kiba asked, cracking his knuckles while Akamaru gave a low growl on the ground next to him. “You guy’s want to take turns, or go at him all at once?”

“He’s a Jounin, Kiba.” Hinata reprimanded as she slipped into the Jyuuken stance of the Hyuuga clan. “We’ll have to go at him all at once. It’s the only chance we’ll have.”

“All at once it is then.” Naruto said, crouching down and dropping his arms to his side as he readied himself to spring into action. “Now, let’s get wild.”

Kakashi glanced around at the three, his considerable amazement at what had happened showing clearly in his eye. ‘ Well, this is unexpected. ’ He thought as the Genin charged him.

X     X     X     X     X

“I just don’t know why you’re so insistent we give them a test when we don’t even have the option of failing them.” Jagaa argued.

“The test is designed to teach them the value of teamwork.” Kurenai grated out. “Even if we are not allowed to fail them, we should still find out if they could have passed anyway.”

“Are we even thinking of the same Genin?” Jagaa asked irritably, “There’s no way those three could ever pass a test like that. The emo will just try to ditch the other two and do it himself, and the fangirls will spend the whole time fighting with each other . Can you honestly tell me you think it would happen any different?”

Kurenai paused for a second but quickly regained her bearings. “Sometimes being put in extreme situations will bring out the best in people. They might rally together out of desperation.”

“You’re being naïve.” Jagaa stated bluntly. “People don’t change that easily. Especially people like that.”

“Then what would you do?” Kurenai snapped.

Jagaa gave her a small smirk. “You want to find out? Then just let me handle it. You may even agree with me on it being the best thing to do with a team like this.”

Kurenai glared at the man but Jagaa simply gazed back steadily. Finally, she let out a sigh, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I’d say ‘trust me’, but I doubt you would anyways.” Jagaa said with an impudent grin.

Kurenai felt the faintest of smiles rise on her lips at the man’s remark, but she turned it back into a frown as quickly as it came. “This whole situation would have been easier if Hokage-sama hadn’t told us we weren’t allowed to fail this team. I can’t figure out why he would do that though.”

“Probably because we don’t like each other, combined with the fact I never wanted this job, he thought we might try to take the easy way out and fail them on purpose.” Jagaa said thoughtfully.

“I would never do something like that and Hokage-sama knows that.” Kurenai defended.

“Oh? In that case he must have known I wanted to do it.” Jagaa stated with a smile.

Kurenai had to fight to keep from smacking herself.

“Anyway,” Jagaa said with a yawn, “you asked me here early so we could go over the plans for today, but it looks like we're done and there’s still forty-five minutes until they’re supposed to get here. So I’m taking a nap.” Jagaa walked over to a nearby tree and sat down in the shade, smirking at the woman who was looking at him in disapproval. “Care to join me, Princess?” He asked with a suggestive wag of his eyebrows.

Kurenai threw a Kunai at him, but he caught it easily before tossing it back to her with a laugh and laying on his back in the grass.

X     X     X     X     X

About thirty minutes after laying down for his nap, Jagaa was awakened by Kurenai’s yell that their team had arrived. Sitting up and stretching lightly, he hopped to his feet and walked over to where Kurenai was standing, arriving almost in sync with the three Genin.

“I’m glad to see everyone is here, and early at that.” Kurenai said approvingly.

“Kurenai-sensei, what will we be doing today?” Sakura asked, sounding slightly concerned.

“Yeah, do we start missions today or are we going to be training or something?” Ino followed up. “You just told us to be here.”

Sasuke just grunted.

“That’s where I come in.” Jagaa spoke up before Kurenai could answer. Stepping forward, Jagaa held up three bells for everyone to see. “You three are going to be given a little test to see how well you can work together, and we're going to use a variation I thought up of something called ‘The Bell Test’ to do it.”

“A teamwork test?” Sakura asked as Ino and Sasuke looked questioningly at the bells. “How are those bells going to test us in teamwork?”

“Yes, I would like to hear that as well.” Kurenai said with her eyes narrowed on the man.

Jagaa smirked lightly at Kurenai before turning back to the Genin. “As you can see, I have three bells here. All you three have to do is take them from me.”

“That’s it.” Ino asked suspiciously. “There has to be a catch.”

“Nice to see you’re not a completely typical blonde.” Jagaa smiled, “You’re right though, there is a catch.” Jagaa lowered the bells and attached them to his waist on the right side without dropping his gaze. “There are three bells and three of you. The first catch is that each one of you has to take a bell from me and none of you are allowed to take more than just one. The second catch is that if all of you don’t manage to take your individual bell from me, then you all fail. It’s that simple.” Jagaa turned and focused on Sasuke. “Which means, Emo Boy, you can’t be a one man show in this. You will all have to help each other so each of you can get a bell, or all fail together. Win or lose, you will be a team in this.”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed on the scarred man, but Ino and Sakura were looking a bit worried. “What happens if we fail?” Sakura finally asked.

Jagaa gave them a grin that looked almost exactly like Naruto’s. “Then you get your status as Genin revoked and all of you will be sent back to the academy.”

“WHAT!?” Ino screamed with Sakura mirroring the blonde girl's shocked look. Sasuke almost looked murderous, and kept casting sidelong glares at the two girls as if he was certain they were going to make him fail.

“What are you so upset about?” Jagaa asked with a raised eyebrow. “I already told you exactly what you had to do to pass. You just have to work as a team, each get a bell, and you’re officially Genin.” Jagaa smiled reassuringly at the three. “Tell ya what. To make things a little easier for you, I’ll even give myself a handicap.” Reaching back into his Kunai pouch, Jagaa pulled out a scroll that the other four thought looked familiar. They immediately knew why it looked familiar once Jagaa put chakra into it and was soon holding a steaming bowl of ramen.

“You had another ramen scroll?” Kurenai asked.

Jagaa shrugged. “I used to end up knocking Naruto unconscious in nearly every sparring match. It just became a habit for me to always have a bowl of ramen on me to wake him up with.”

Four sweatdrops formed simultaneously.

“Anyway, this will be my handicap.” Jagaa said, holding up the bowl. “I’ll fight all three of you while eating this bowl of ramen. Also, so as to make it last long enough for you to actually get your bells, I’ll only eat one noodle at a time. And since I’m feeling generous, I’ll even throw in a rule that says if I spill any of it at any point of the test, I’ll pass you all without question. Sound good?”

Ino and Sakura looked extremely relieved at Jagaa’s self limitations, but Sasuke was glaring furiously at the man. “Are you trying to insult me?” The boy growled. “I am an Uchiha. I don’t need handicaps in order to pass your test.”

Jagaa gazed down at the boy for some time before smirking lightly. “Oh, is that so?”

Sasuke’s eyes widened as the razor edge of cold steel touched his neck.

Jagaa, who had been standing only five meters in front of the boy less than a second ago, was now standing with his back to Sasuke’s, holding his sword behind him so that the blade ran at an angle across the young Uchiha’s throat. The bowl of ramen was still being held in his left hand, shocking Ino and Sakura when they saw almost no movement from its contents.

“This will be my first lesson to the three of you as a Jounin-sensei.” Jagaa said, his voice cool. “You will never be able to become strong, until you first understand how weak you really are.” Jagaa twitched his arm just enough for the blade to bite into Sasuke’s neck, making the boy let out a pained gasp as a thin trail of blood flowed from the small wound.

Sasuke raised his hand and wiped at the warm wetness that he felt trailing down his neck before holding it out in front of him and staring in shock at the red liquid covering his finger tips. He felt the blade pull away from his neck and heard the hiss of the steel sliding back into a sheath followed by a light click. Raising his eyes, Sasuke once again found Jagaa standing in front of him, slowly pulling his right hand away from the hilt of his weapon and still holding the bowl of ramen in his left.

Sasuke stared at the man for several moments before looking back down to his bloodied fingers and his throat went dry.

Kurenai had to admit she was impressed by the display she had just seen. Jagaa’s approach was direct and efficient, even if a little over the top for her taste. ‘ Still, I think I’m starting to see why Hokage-sama wanted him on this team so badly. ’ Kurenai thought, looking back to Jagaa.

“So, now that we’ve established that I could easily kick all three of your little Genin assess from here to Kumo and back, even with a handicap, how about we get this test started?” Jagaa grinned at three before jumping back about twenty meters to sit on his knees in the grass and place the ramen on the ground in front of him. “Come at me whenever you’re ready.”

Sakura and Ino looked at each other in uncertainty, neither one seeming willing to make a move. Finally, Sasuke managed to pull himself back from the state Jagaa’s demonstration had put him in and was soon ordering both of them to stay out of his way and cover him while he went in to get his bell first. Of course, both girls instantly agreed with him and each pulled out a kunai as Sasuke braced for his charge.

Jagaa watched the three Genin as they broke off from each other, Ino and Sakura banking to his left and right to provide long range support as Sasuke charged directly at him from the front. ‘ Predictable, and not even real teamwork. ’ Jagaa thought with a shake of his head. ‘ Oh well, I knew it would start out like this anyway. We’ll just have to see if they can start to actually figure it out. ’ Calmly snapping apart his chopsticks as Sasuke closed the distance between them, Jagaa picked up his bowl of ramen again and grinned.

“Itadakimasu.”

X     X     X     X     X

‘ Hmm, so much for reading Icha Icha. ’ Kakashi thought blandly as he ducked the spinning kick to his head from Naruto and twisted out of the way of the palm strike to his abdomen from Hinata. He aimed a light strike for the back of the girl's head, but had to pull his arm back quickly to avoid having it torn off by a clawed slash from Kiba. Jumping backwards he avoided Akamaru’s attempt to bite his leg as he pulled out a kunai to knock several incoming shuriken out of the air before he landed. Keeping his kunai ready for any more projectiles, Kakashi looked over the area.

‘ These three are nothing to laugh at.’ He thought to himself as he watched the Genin getting ready to attack him again. ‘ All three of them excel at close range combat, and they have been covering each other well. The way they work with each other suggests they have trained together in the past. ’ Kakashi took his eyes off the three Genin to do a quick examination of the ten identical figures with kunai and shuriken in hand, watching him carefully for a chance to use them. ‘ Using Kagebunshin to provide some long range support was a good move as well. It’s safe to say that if I were an average Chuunin, possibly even above average, I’d already be dead. ’ Kakashi smiled behind his mask as his team once again resumed the attack. ‘ I guess it’s time to put in a little more effort on my part. ’ Waiting until his three students were almost on top of him, Kakashi made his move.

Naruto, Hinata, and Kiba barely saw Kakashi move before he appeared in the middle of their formation, his arm already drawn back for a strike.

“Holy shi-” Was all Kiba was able to say before Kakashi’s fist went into his stomach knocking him back and leaving him gasping for air. Turning sharply, Kakashi brought his knee up, catching the attacking Akamaru under the jaw and sending the puppy sailing backwards with a pained yelp before he hit the ground.

“Kiba! Akamaru!” Naruto shouted, He didn’t get much time to worry about the pair though before he was forced to block Kakashi’s punch to his face by crossing his arms in front of him. Through the sting of the impact, Naruto caught sight of Kakashi’s left leg heading for his unprotected side. With reflexes born through constant spars with Jagaa, Naruto snapped his own leg up just in time to intercept Kakashi’s. The force of the kick made Naruto lose his balance, but he was able to twist his body around and turn his fall into a roll, bringing him right back to his feet where he quickly spun around to face Kakashi again.

As Naruto was regaining his footing, Hinata had aimed a Jyuuken strike for Kakashi’s kidneys, but the man easily dodged out of the way and countered with punch aimed for the side of her head. The girl quickly leaned back to avoid the strike, only to realize it had been a feint as her legs were swept from underneath her and she landed painfully on her back. Kakashi looked like he was about to make a follow through attack, but instead had to jump back to avoid Kiba’s clawed slash for his ribs followed by barrage of Kunai from Naruto as he covered for the Inuzuka. Giving the three Genin an impressed look, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

“Akamaru!” Kiba yelled in concern once Kakashi was out of sight, “Are you okay, Buddy?”

“I think he was just knocked out. He should be all right.” Naruto said as he helped Hinata back to her feet. “Can either of you tell where Kakashi-sensei went.”

Picking up Akamaru, who was already whining in pain as he returned to consciousness, Kiba sniffed the air. “I can’t smell him.”

“Give me a moment.” Hinata said, moving away from Naruto and activating her Byakugan and scanning the area. As she was searching, Kiba and Naruto both took up defensive positions beside her, shielding her from a possible surprise attack.

‘ They work together better than I could have imagined. ’ Kakashi thought as he watched them through a gap in the leaves concealing him, thoroughly impressed by what he had seen so far, ‘ I wonder if this is why Hokage-sama was so insistent that the three of them be on the same team? ’

“Over there, in that tree!” Hinata shouted, pointing to Kakashi’s hiding spot. Naruto’s clones responded instantly by throwing every weapon they had into the foliage. Kakashi leapt from the branch he was crouched on, the weapons sinking into the tree behind where he had been hiding, and landed in the middle of the clearing.

“NOW!” Naruto shouted, and four clones closed in around Kakashi from all sides, their hands flashing through seals. Just before they reached him, they slammed their hands into the ground shouting “Doton: Doryuheki no Justu!” and Kakashi soon found himself literally ‘boxed In’ as the four walls of earth shot up around him.

“Katon ,” Kakashi looked above him to see Naruto in the air with his hands forming the Tiger seal, “ Goukakyuu no Jutsu!” Naruto shouted before sending his attack directly into the open top of the enclousure.

‘Not bad at all. ’ Kakashi thought with a smile as the fireball closed in on him.

Naruto landed thirty meters away from the cage of earth his clones had created just after his attack impacted through the opening, and spun around to see the results. The four clones took it as their signal and jumped away from the area, allowing the four walls to dissolve into mounds of earth.

“Damn! Where’d he go?” Naruto muttered as he saw nothing but a smoking crater in the middle of the four dirt piles.

“Naruto! Below you!” Hinata shouted urgently.

Reacting automatically to Hinata’s warning, Naruto jumped into the air just as a pair of hands burst from the ground where he had been standing, with Kakashi’s head and torso following behind. Naruto hurled two kunai at the silver haired man, his eyes going wide when they struck their target in the chest which immediately disappeared in puff of smoke. “Kagebunshin!?” Naruto exclaimed as he landed in the grass.

“You didn’t think you were the only one who knew it, did you?” As soon as the voice appeared behind Naruto, the boy was thrown facedown to the ground and his arm twisted painfully behind his back.

“Damn! Naruto!” Kiba yelled, rushing forward with Hinata following close behind.

“Both of you stop right there!” Kakashi commanded, pulling out a kunai and holding it to Naruto’s neck. The two other Genin instantly slid to a stop, glaring at the Jounin.

Kakashi smirked lightly behind his mask and turned his eye back down to the boy beneath him. “That was some attack you just used. Honestly I’ve never seen anyone use the Doryuheki no Justu as anything other than a defensive technique. I’m impressed. Have you used that on Jagaa before?”

Naruto smirked painfully underneath the Jounin. “Heh heh, no, it was just something I thought up a little while ago. At least now I know that I never should use it on Nii-san, because if you could get away from it, he definitely could have.”

“Oh,” Kakashi smiled, “Is it because you think he’s stronger than me?”

“I don’t know about stronger, but he definitely knows me better than you.” Naruto’s smirk became victorious, “For example, Nii-san wouldn’t have fallen for this !” Kakashi’s eye widened when the blonde beneath him burst into a cloud of smoke.

“Another Kagebunshin !” Kakashi gasped, before hearing Naruto’s voiceshout from the side.

“Doton: Yomi no Muma!” (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld)

The next thing Kakashi knew, he was submerged in a thick sludge and fighting to get back to the surface of what had been solid ground only a moment before. Gasping for air as his head broke free of the thick liquid, he forced his body to stay on the surface and made his way to the edge of the sludge. Finally reaching solid ground again, Kakashi exhaled in relief and started pull himself out of the thick liquid, only to be stopped by the feel of cold steel on each side of his neck and a glowing palm in front of his face. Raising his single eye he rotated it from left to right, looking and Kiba, Hinata, and Naruto in turn. “Well, that was unexpected.” He said casually to Naruto, “Where’d you learn that?”

“A few years ago, Nii-san and I were at a hot spring and found some old pervert peeping on the women’s baths.” Naruto smirked. “In exchange for not ratting him out, he agreed to teach us a few techniques he knew. Yomi no Muma was one of them.”

Kakashi smiled up at the blond. “I see.”

“Heh heh, looks like we got you, Kakashi-sensei.” Kiba smirked.

“So if you would kindly hand over the bells.” Hinata followed, inching her hand closer to his forehead, “We would appreciate it.”

“I suppose it would only be right.” Kakashi replied, still smiling. Slowly, he reached back under the marshy waters and undid the bells from his waist, raising his arm back up for Hinata to take the bells from him. “However, now that you have them, how are you going to decide who gets them?”

“That’s really quite simple, Kakashi-sensei.” Hinata smiled as she and the two boys moved away from the half submerged Jounin. Putting a bell into the palm of each hand, Hinata held her arms out to her side. Grinning foxily down at Kakashi, Naruto moved to Hinata’s left and clasped her hand with his as Kiba mirrored his actions to Hinata’s right, firmly locking the bells between each of their joined hands.

“We all get them.” Naruto finished, his foxy grin widening as Hinata smiled and Kiba smirked.

Kakashi stared at the three Genin for some time before his eye curved into a smile that showed how proud he was of his new team. “I suppose there’s no way for me to argue with that, now is there?” The Genin smugly shook their heads and Kakashi’s smile widened. “Well then, as this moment, we are officially Team 8. We’ll meet up here tomorrow at 7a.m. to start doing missions.”

Kiba and Naruto let out whoops of joy as Akamaru barked out his own celebration and Hinata smiled satisfactorily.

“Okay then. You’re all free to go until tomorrow morning, but before you do,” Kakashi reached out imploringly to his new students, “help me.”

The three Genin all burst out laughing at the pleading in the Jounin’s voice, and continued to laugh even as Naruto and Kiba pulled the man from the swampy water.

X     X     X     X     X

Jagaa slurped down a single noodle as he leaned to the side, Sasuke’s foot passing where his head had been a moment ago. Taking a step forward and to the right, Jagaa moved out of the way of Sasuke’s follow up punch to the abdomen. Stepping to the left this time, Jagaa placed himself behind the boy and, with a quick twist of his body, planted his foot in the middle Sasuke’s back, sending him sprawling into the dirt. Raising his chopsticks, Jagaa brought another noodle to his mouth as he leaned back just enough for a kunai to fly in front of him, before turning slightly to allow the one coming from his rear to harmlessly pass by his right shoulder as he slurped the noodle into his mouth. “This stuff ain’t bad at all.” He remarked to know one in particular.

Sasuke growled low in his throat as he picked himself up off the ground, glaring at Jagaa. Honestly, Sasuke wasn’t sure what he was more angry about. The fact that Jagaa was calmly eating ramen and treating him like he wasn’t even worth his time, or the fact that it was that same man who seemed so relaxed that had made Sasuke tremble in fear as the sword bit into his neck.

‘ No, I won’t accept this! ’ Sasuke snared internally, ‘ I am an Uchiha, superior to all others. I will prove to this clanless upstart that he is nothing compared to the power of my clan. ’ Sasuke charged in again, drawing a kunai as he ran. Closing the distance between them, Sasuke noticed Jagaa had started twirling a noodle around on his chopsticks in a bored manner and his anger grew. ‘ I’ll teach him to take me lightly. ’ Ducking low, Sasuke cut left with the intent to slash for Jagaa’s thigh, but instead was forced to throw himself to the ground in a roll in order to avoid the shuriken that had been heading for the same target. Finishing his role, Sasuke came up and glared in the direction the shuriken had come from to see Ino looking horrified that she had almost hit him.

“What do you think you’re doing, Ino-Pig!?” Sakura screeched from across the field. “You almost hit Sasuke-kun!”

Ino shook herself out of her shock at nearly harming her crush and quickly defended herself. “How was I supposed to know he’d go in low like that?” She shouted, pointing indignantly at the other girl, “At least I’m trying to help Sasuke-kun, instead of just standing back and watching like a certain Forehead girl!”

“I’m trying to make sure I won’t hit Sasuke-kun, unlike you, Ino-pig!” Sakura snapped back.

‘ They’re both completely useless. ’ Sasuke thought with a scowl as his female teammates continued their heated argument.

“You know,” Jagaa spoke to the three Genin with a smirk, “this ramen is really good. It’s nice to be able to just relax and take your time eating now and then, don’t you think?”

Jagaa’s statement about being relaxed made Sasuke’s anger grow to new heights.Charging forward again, he threw a kunai for Jagaa’s head, which the man calmly avoided by tilting it to side and letting the weapon pass by. Still allowing his anger at being toyed with to drive him, Sasuke closed the distance between them and renewed his assault.

Standing in the shade of a larger tree, Kurenai was frowning at the scene before her as Jagaa easily dodged around Sasuke’s attempts to land some sort of blow. Behind them, she could see Sakura and Ino looking on uncertainly, each one holding a kunai ready to throw, but obviously hesitant to do so. Both seeming to have been affected by Ino’s near miss on their teammate earlier.

‘ It’s just like he said. ’ Kurenai thought with a shake of her head, ‘ Even after being told the test was about teamwork, they still can’t figure it out. Sasuke told Ino and Sakura to stay back and cover him, but without some sort of plan or knowledge of the one you’re covering, that kind of teamwork is more likely to get him killed, as almost happened earlier. Ino and Sakura just don’t know enough about how Sasuke fights to predict him and attack accordingly. ’ She noticed that the two girls had apparently ended up in an argument over how to best help Sasuke, each one saying that they could do it better than the other.

Kurenai shifted her gaze back over to the two males. ‘ As for Sasuke, he isn’t even trying to follow the test’s guidelines. He only thinks of the girls as nuisances and is still trying to figure out a way to win by himself. His arrogance is going to be a serious problem in the future. I hate to say it, but Jagaa was right about the fact they would never have passed the normal test. They can’t even work together when they’re told that’s the object of the test. ’ she watched Jagaa sidestep Sasuke’s latest punch before calmly kicking the boy in the shin as he slurped a ramen noodle into his mouth.

Kurenai would keep the satisfaction she got as Sasuke landed face first into the grass to herself.

“This is starting to get boring.” Jagaa complained as Sasuke picked himself up off the ground. Setting his chopsticks on the side of his bowl, Jagaa caught a kunai aimed for his side with his right hand and used the weapon knock the one heading for his chest out of the air. With a negligent toss, he rid himself of the weapon he had intercepted and picked up his chopsticks again. “You know, you’ll never have a chance at hitting me with one of those if you only attack when Emo Boy is well out of the way.” He called out to the two girls, “It’s like shouting ‘Here it comes’ before you throw because I always know what to expect.”

“Well what are we supposed to do?” Ino shouted. “If we throw when he’s by you one of us might hit him like I almost did!”

Jagaa shrugged as he picked up another noodle. “I guess you’ll just have to try something else then.”

“Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!” Sasuke’s shout drew everyone’s attention to the large fireball that was heading straight for Jagaa.

“Something like, that.” Jagaa said and pointed at the incoming attack with his chopsticks. As he did so, he was struck with an idea and his face lit up with a wide grin.

‘ A Genin isn’t supposed to have enough chakra for an attack like that! ’ Kurenai thought in shock as the attack bore down on Jagaa. Shifting her sights to see what the man was going to do in response, the red-eyed woman was surprised to see Jagaa grinning happily and reaching for his sword.

Now, Kurenai, in here years of being an active Kunoichi, had seen many things that most people wouldn’t normally do when a raging ball of fire was heading for them, but none of them could have prepared her what Jagaa did next.

Drawing his sword quickly, the scarred man held it in front of him with the flat of the blade facing up, and placed the bowl of ramen almost to the very tip of the blade, balancing it carefully. Then, just as the flaming attack was about to reach him, Jagaa stuck the sword straight out in front of him so that the ramen bowl was less than two feet away from the fire and started back peddling away from it, making sure to keep the same distance between his food and the fireball as he did.

Four jaws all dropped in sync as Jagaa raced backwards, his sword never wavering and the bowl staying perfectly balanced in front of the raging fire. He continued his reversed run for about fifty meters before deciding his goal was accomplished and leapt to the side to let the fireball pass him by. Turning his blade back so that it ran in front of him, Jagaa smiled at the now freshly steaming bowl before looking back up to the still stunned Sasuke. “Wow! That worked way better than I expected! The ramen was starting to get cold since I’ve had to play around with you so long, but it’s good now. You know, if the whole ‘Ninja’ thing doesn’t work out, maybe you could earn a living reheating leftovers in restaurants.”

Sasuke recovered from his state of shock and practically snarled at the man. “Are you mocking me?’

“Would I do that?” Jagaa replied with a smile.

Kurenai was suddenly having flashbacks to the first night she met Jagaa.

“Mocking you or not,” Jagaa continued, putting another noodle into his mouth and slurping it up, “The fact remains that you’ll never succeed in this test without teamwork, and I’m not talking about this ‘stay out of my way and cover me’ shit you’re trying to pull. I mean actual teamwork. You need tomake plans, form strategies, and cover each other properly. As it is now, you don’t stand a chance.”

Sakura and Ino seemed incline to agree, but Sasuke just became more infuriated. “Stop trying to insult me! I am an Uchiha! The whole world knows of our power! I don’t need these two pathetic girls in order to-” Sasuke never finished as Jagaa appeared directly in front of him, tossing his ramen bowl high into the air.

“T” Jagaa smashed a fist into Sasuke’s stomach, causing the boy to double over with a pained gasp.

“E” Sasuke’s head snapped up from the upper cut to his jaw.

“A” Jagaa’s right fist came around, impacting the side of Sasuke’s head.

“M” This time Jagaa’s left fist crashed into the other side of the Uchiha’s head.

“W” Jagaa’s right leg came up, slamming into the boy’s unprotected side.

“O” The scarred man’s left knee rammed into Sasuke’s gut, lifting him into the air as blood flew from his mouth.

“R” Pulling his knee back, Jagaa snapped his leg up, catching the boy under the chin and sending him even higher into the air. Without pause, Jagaa leapt into the air after him, turning his body sideways and spinning with his left leg extended.

“K” Jagaa shouted, slamming his heal into of Sasuke’s chest, launching the boy back to the earth, where he landed hard on his back, more blood spurting from his mouth from the impact.

Landing smoothly, Jagaa extended his left right hand and easily caught his descending bowl of ramen before bringing the bowl to his lips and drinking down all the ramen that was left. “This test is over.” Jagaa declared, tossing the bowl aside and wiping his mouth on his arm.

“S-Sasuke-Kun!” Sakura shouted as she and Ino rushed over to the boy who had turned on his side andcurled up in pain.

“Out of the way!” Kurenai yelled, pulling the two girls aside before kneeling down next to the boy. Her hands flashed through a few seals and started to glow a soft green color, after which Kurenai placed one on Sasuke’s forehead and one on his chest. The worry on her face instantly became relief when her hasty examination didn’t reveal any broken bones or internal bleeding. Sighing gratefully that the boy was going to be all right, she snapped her head up and glared at the scarred man in front of her. “What do you think you were doing!?” She shouted at him, “Do you have any idea how lucky you are that he wasn’t seriously injured!?”

“I know what I’m doing.” Jagaa responded coolly. “Besides, what I just did to him isn’t even close to some of the punishment I’ve put Naruto through.” ‘ Though I do need to remember that not everyone heals as quickly he does. ’ He added mentally.

“Is Sasuke-kun going to be all right?” Ino asked anxiously.

Kurenai nodded. “Yes, he’ll be fine. It seems it just looked worse than it really was.” After reassuring the girls, she resumed glaring at Jagaa. “Even though it was completely unjustified.”

“Depends on your point of view.” Jagaa replied. “But I suppose, since I’m partnered with you and all, I should at least pretend to care about yours.”

Kurenai’s red eyes went ice cold, but Jagaa’s expression remained neutral as the two of them stared each other down. The contest of wills was left unfinished though when their attention was pulled away by Sasuke’s pained groaning as he tried to sit up.

“Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?” Ino and Sakura asked simultaneously, casting hard looks at each other after they did.

“Try not to move too much yet.” Kurenai advised, placing her hand on the boy’s back. Sasuke glared at her in response before shifting the glare to the man who had just used him as a punching bag.

“I think it’s safe to say, that you three failed this test horribly.” Jagaa said, crossing his arms and nodding. “Yep, definitely failed.”

“Does…does that mean we’re going to be sent back to the academy?” Sakura asked, a slight quaver in her voice.

Jagaa and Kurenai exchanged a glance, Kurenai’s still showing her displeasure with the scarred man, and Jagaa shrugged. “You can tell them.”

“Tell us what?” Ino asked.

Kurenai stood up and moved in front of the three Genin, a small frown on her face. “The truth is that this test was more or less just to see if you could have passed the real test if it had been required.” She stated, casting a glance at each of them in turn. “However, though I don’t know why, Hokage-sama has forbidden me and Jagaa-san from failing this team under any circumstances. Therefore you will not be sent back to the academy.”

“Then,” Sakura asked hopefully, “We still get to be Genin? We get to stay on this team?”

Kurenai nodded. “Yes, as of now we are officially Team 7. Tomorrow we will all meet here at 9 a.m. to begin receiving missions.”

“Yatta, we’re still Genin! We don’t have to go back to the academy!” Ino cheered, her and Sakura putting aside there normal rivalry to give each other a celebratory hug. Even Sasuke, despite the pain his body was in, smirked lightly at the news.

“I don’t know why the three of you are so happy.” Jagaa remarked, cutting the celebration short, “If we hadn’t been forbidden from failing you, I don’t think even Princess there would have disagreed with sending you back. The fact of the matter is, you three are only still Genin because we have to let you be.” Jagaa turned his face to each of them in turn, his expression hard. “I wonder how long you’ll be able to be so pleased with yourselves, knowing that every time you see another team of Genin, you’ll have to live with the fact that they earned their places and the hitai-ate they wear. You did not .” Without another word, Jagaa spun around and began walking out of the training field. Behind him, Sakura and Ino had cast their eyes to the ground while Sasuke glared at the man. 

Kurenai’s eyes were also on Jagaa’s retreating back, narrowed in thought as she tried to figure out what to make of her new partner. She didn’t like his methods, there was no question of that. They were too direct, too brutal.  From his attempt to literally pound ‘Teamwork’ into Sasuke, to bluntly telling the three children that they didn’t deserve their new position, everything was too harsh and hurtful in Kurenai’s opinion. She believed that children should be guided carefully and caringly, giving them a chance to see their own faults and learn from their mistakes. From their personalities to their teaching styles, she and Jagaa were nothing alike.

‘ The Tiger and the Dragon indeed. ’ Kurenai thought with a shake of her head. ‘ I truly don’t know what Hokage-sama could have been thinking with this. ’

X     X    X     X      X

“Hey Nii-san, how did the test for your team go?” Naruto asked Jagaa he walked through the door to their apartment, pausing the game he was playing so he could look back at his older brother.

“Let me put it this way.” Jagaa replied, going into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of Sake that he immediately started chugging without signs of stopping until the bottle was empty.

“That bad huh?” Naruto grinned.

Jagaa finished off the entire bottle and threw it away before reaching for another one. “Yeah, that bad. I finally understand completely why you were always bitching about those three. I’ve only known them a few hours and I already feel my sanity slipping.”

“Pfft, you’d of had to have sanity to begin with for it to be slipping.” Naruto joked.

Jagaa laughed as he walked back into the living room. “Heh, good point. Anyway, how’d it go on your end? Did you kick Kakashi’s ass?”

Naruto’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Man, Nii-san, it was so cool! You should have seen us! First the three of us surrounded him and all charged him together! Then we…”

Jagaa listened patiently as Naruto recapped an extremely exaggerated account of his team’s victory over their sensei, praising the boy on his attempt to box Kakashi in as well as catching him with the Yomi no Muma , and laughing loudly when Naruto told him about Kakashi’s plea for help in getting out of the swamp. “Sounds like you three did a great job.” Jagaa said proudly through his laughter, “How about we go out for some Ichiraku’s to celebrate?”

Naruto’s cheered exuberantly and before Jagaa could even blink the boy was already out the door and in the middle of the street, jumping up and down impatiently as he shouted for Jagaa to hurry up. Laughing at his little brother’s antics Jagaa exited the apartment, locking the door behind him, and jumped down to the street to follow the excited boy who was continuing to cheer for his favorite food.

Chapter Text

“This is outrageous, Hokage-sama!” A councilman shouted indignantly as murmurs of agreement ran through the meeting chambers.

Sarutobi rubbed the bridge of his nose irritably. Even though he knew this was going to happen, all the yelling and indignant protests were starting to grate on his nerves. “I don’t see what the council is so upset about.” The old man replied, using all the willpower he had to keep the exasperation out of his voice. “You all asked that it be ensured that Uchiha Sasuke would be placed on a Genin team, no matter what it took, and I fulfilled that request. I even did it in a way that would avoid showing favoritism to Sasuke-kun by using the personalities of his new sensei to justify it.”

“We have no complaint over the fact that Uchiha Sasuke has been placed on a Genin team.” Another council member declared, “We do however have a concern over whose team you placed him on. It was bad enough that you even made this ‘Jagaa’ character a Jounin sensei in the first place, but to then put him in charge of the last Uchiha. What motivation could you possibly have for such a decision?”

“Yes, Sarutobi, what is your motivation for having the Uchiha trained by an outsider? An outsider that, if I’m not mistaken, has shown neither love nor loyalty for our village?”

Sarutobi turned to look into the half bandaged face of the man he had beaten out for the position of Sandaime Hokage. “There were many factors in my decision, Danzou-san. The biggest one would be that, despite his complete lack of respect for anyone , I feel Jagaa is best suited to train that particular team, especially with Kurenai-san on the team as well. I believe they shall be excellent instructors for Sasuke-kun, Yamanaka-san, and Haruno-san…as soon as the two of them learn to overcome their differences.” Sarutobi added the last part with a slight frown.

“As always, you put too much faith in people, Sarutobi.” Danzou said snidely, “I would have thought that certain events would have made you a bit more cautious.”

“Danzou! This is neither the time nor place for that!” One of Sarutobi’s advisors, and elderly woman named Utatane Koharu snapped.

“Indeed, this isn’t the time to bring up old disputes.” The Sandaime’s second advisor, an old man named Motokado Homura agreed. “However, I do have my own concerns in this matter.” He turned and faced the Hokage with a questioning frown. “Why did you not assign the Uchiha to Hatake Kakashi’s team? Seeing as he is the strongest Jounin our village currently has to offer and even possesses the Sharingan. I believe he would have best suited to train the boy in the use of his bloodline, as well as protect the boy from anyone who might seek to claim the Sharingan for themselves. Even your reason of using the senseis’ personalities is voided since you could have done the same thing to Hatake-san due to his having failed every team he’s ever been chosen to teach.”

“Those are valid points.” Sarutobi conceded. “However, what you seem to be forgetting, Homura, is that the Sharingan is a bloodline ability. Unlike a normal jutsu that can be taught and shared, a person with a bloodline can only learn how to control their abilities on their own. If you need an example, Kakashi-kun himself is a prime one. He was never taught how to use the Sharingan he inherited, but now he holds mastery over it. With the exhaustion that the eye brings due to the fact he is not an Uchiha being his only limitation. It may be true that Kakashi-kun could give Sasuke-kun tips or pointers, but that would be all. Also, in regards to being able to protect Sasuke-kun, a fact that it seems you overlooked is that I put two Jounin in charge of Team 7, meaning he already has double the protection he would normally have received.” Sarutobi paused for a moment to ensure that the entire room was listening. “If that is not enough for you, then I will also add the fact that Kakashi-kun himself has said that he is uncertain he could win in a fight against Jagaa-san.”

A stir of surprise passed through everyone present and soon the room was filled with low murmurs as the council discussed the revelation with each other. The private discussions continued for some time until Danzou made his voice heard again. “Be that as it may, Sarutobi, what of the man’s loyalty . How can you be so certain he won’t betray the village?”

“Because he won’t betray Naruto .” The Sandaime said pointedly. “Naruto is completely loyal to this village, despite everything he has been put through, and wants to protect it. Jagaa may have no love for his village, but he does love Naruto like a brother and will protect the village for Naruto’s sake if for nothing else.”

Danzou paused for a moment before voicing his opinion. “Your faith in dangerous elements will be the end of you, Sarutobi.”

“And your inability to have faith in people could be the end of you .” The Hokage replied before smiling lightly. “Why don’t we just wait and see how things turn out? Who knows, maybe you will even come to agree with my decision.”

X     X     X    X    X

“Nii-san! Nii-san ! Wake up!” Naruto yelled as he shook his brother’s slumbering form.

“Unn, lea me aone.” The man mumbled sleepily, rolling over and burying his face in his pillow without opening his eyes.

“Nii-san, get out of bed already!” Naruto said in exasperation. “You’re supposed to meet up with your team now! So am I for that matter! But my lazy brother is making me late!”

“No un assd oo to wae me u.” Jagaa’s muffled reply came back sullenly.

“Quit being a baby and go meet your team, Nii-san.” Naruto commanded, walking towards the door. “I’ll warm you up some breakfast, so hurry up.”

“…I’m nt bein a baby.” Jagaa pouted into his pillow as Naruto closed the door behind him.

X     X     X     X     X

“You’re late, Naruto.” Kakashi said without looking up from his book as the boy dashed up to the rest of his team. “And coming from me, that’s saying something.”

“S-sorry, Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto panted, “I was trying to get Nii-san out of bed and it ended up taking a while.”

“Is Jagaa really that deep of a sleeper?” Kiba asked with a frown.

Naruto shook his head. “No, he’s actually a pretty light sleeper usually. He just doesn’t want to meet up with his team so he’s trying to stay in bed all day.” Naruto put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. “He must really not like his team though. I haven’t seen him this determined to stay in bed since we were in Kiri and he was trying to hide from a group of Kunoichi Fangirls that were after him.”

This time Kakashi did look up from his book, his visible eye displaying his surprise. “Fangirls? In Kiri? That’s unusual. Kiri Kunoichi are well known for being some of the most dangerous Kunoichi in the Ninja world.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not really sure what happened either.” Naruto admitted. “From what Nii-san would tell me, he got in a fight with some guy, who also likes using a sword, in a bar one night and won. It raised a huge commotion though, and I think they were even trying to get him to join the village. It must have really impressed the Kunoichi because they wouldn’t leave him alone after that.” Naruto started laughing at the memory. “He hid in bed every day for a week before a moonless night came and we snuck out of the village.” Both Hinata and Kiba laughed along with Naruto as they pictured Jagaa cowering under the covers as he hid from a bunch of women.

Kakashi, however, for some reason was looking a bit shaken by what he had just heard.

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto yelled, snapping the man out of his thoughts. “You said we would be doing missions today right? So let’s get going already!”

“Hai, hai.” Kakashi answered in a bored manner after quickly recovering his composure. “Let’s go to the Hokage’s office then so we can get our first mission.”

“Yosh! Time to show you all what I’m made of!” Naruto shouted.

Akamaru barked from his place on top of Kiba’s head, causing the boy to snicker. “Akamaru says that you’re probably made of ramen, judging by how you smell.” Hinata let out small laugh of her own at the comment.

“Ah, thanks Akamaru. You’re a real pal.” Naruto said happily, scratching behind the puppy’s ears affectionately.

‘ Only Naruto would think being made of ramen was compliment. ’ The other three humans on the team thought with a sweat drop as the canine eagerly accepted Naruto’s administrations.

X     X     X     X     X

Kurenai was angry. No, scratch that, she was livid .

“Where is he!?” The red eyed woman practically snarled, making the three Genin take a few steps away in apprehension. “He’s three and a half hours late ! Not even Kakashi is ever this late!”

“Uh, Kurenai-sensei?” Sakura spoke up nervously. “Couldn’t we just leave without him? Since we already have one Jounin-sensei with us and everything, we’d still be able to take missions, right?”

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!” Kurenai snapped, making Sakura squeak in fright. “This is our first day as a team , meaning we all have to be here! I CAN’T BELIEVE HE HAS THE NERVE NOT TO SHOW UP AFTER WHAT HE DID YESTERDAY!”

Ino and Sakura both backed further away from the angry woman, but Sasuke simply glared at the ground, rubbing his sore ribs. He knew full well what she was talking about, and in all truth, he wouldn’t mind in the least if Jagaa didn’t show up.

“Damn you’re loud.” Jagaa’s familiar voice came from off to the side. “Are you on your rag or something?”

Kurenai didn’t even bother to respond before she started throwing every kunai and shuriken she could get her hands on at the dirty-blond arrival.

“Holy shit, Princess!” Jagaa yelled, peeking his head out from behind the tree he had used for cover. “That’s one hell of way to say good morning.”

“You show up three and a half hours late, even after your explanation about the importance of teamwork yesterday, and then on top of all that you have the nerve to ask me something so vulgar as soon as you finally do arrive.” Kurenai’s tone could have been measured in below zero temperatures. “Do you even care about the example you're setting?”

“I’m sorry, you’re right, Princess.” Jagaa said apologetically. However, his sincerity was quickly proven false when his expression became a mischievous smile. “What I should have asked is, is it that time of the month where you continuously bleed out of your- Oh Crap!” Jagaa dove behind another tree as more shuriken and kunai almost to impaled him. Glancing around the tree again he smirked at the irate woman. “I’ll take that as a Yes.”

“Let’s. Just. Go .” Kurenai grated out, turning on her heel and storming off in the direction of the Hokage tower.

“Hey, Princess, you need to wait for the rest of us! You’re not setting a very good example of teamwork!” Jagaa called after her just before ducking behind Sakura and Ino when he saw the woman’s hand moving towards her kunai pouch again. Kurenai glared back at the man before continuing her furious trek to the tower. Sasuke gave the man his own glare before following his female sensei.

“…I don’t think those two like me very well.” Jagaa mused as he watched Kurenai and Sasuke stalk away. Standing up, he grinned down at the two girls. “How about I walk with you two instead.”

Sakura turned away from the man with a huff. “I’d rather walk with Sasuke-kun.” She said aloofly before running to catch up to her crush.

“Ahh, it looks like nobody likes me.” Jagaa smirked and looked back down at Ino. “Shouldn’t you be going after them, miss ‘Fangirl Number 2’? Your crush is being hit on by your rival after all.”

Ino looked down the path, seeing Sakura actively trying to engage an unresponsive Sasuke in conversation, then back to Jagaa who was staring down at her with one eyebrow raised curiously at her hesitation and grit her teeth, unable to believe she was actually going to say this. “Uh, actually, Jagaa-sensei, I think I’ll take you up on your offer to walk together.”

Jagaa’s eyebrows rose high in surprise at the girl’s words. “…Huh?”

X     X     X     X     X

Sarutobi tapped his finger impatiently as he leaned on his left arm. All morning, teams had been coming and going as they received and completed missions, however, the two teams that he had been waiting on hadn’t even so much as made an appearance yet. Well, honestly, he had expected Team 8 to be late, due to having Kakashi as their sensei, but Team 7 should have been in hours ago. Then again, Jagaa was part of that team as well, and the man seemed to take perverse pleasure in making life difficult for people. A fact that still made the old man feel a bit guilty for having to involve Kurenai to make his plans reality. The poor woman may very well be driven insane by her unrestrained partner Jounin.

A quick knock on the door snapped the Hokage out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Kakashi’s face peeking around the door, his normal smile in place. “Excuse me, Team 8 is here to receive our first mission.” After his announcement, he casually walked into the room followed by an excited looking Naruto, a reserved Hinata, and an eager Kiba.

“All right!” Naruto cheered as the four of them entered. “We finally get to start doing some missions!”

“Ho ho, I’m glad to see you're so eager, Naruto.” The old man smiled before looking over to Kakashi. “I am curious as to why you’re even later than usual though, Kakashi.”

“It seems we all got lost on different roads of life and it took us a while to find an intersection where we could meet once again.” Kakashi smiled.

“I hate you.” Naruto said suddenly, surprising everyone…including himself by the look on his face.

“Naruto-kun, why did you say something like that?” Sarutobi asked.

Naruto scratched his head uncertainly. “I…don’t really know. It just seemed like someone should.”

Kakashi almost dropped his book at how deep Jagaa’s influence on the boy ran.

Another knock on the door cut off any further questions and soon Kurenai, Sasuke, and Sakura had joined the rest of them in the room. “Team 7 Reporting.” Kurenai said in a rather subdued tone, her eyes showing her current irritation.

“Ah, hello Kurenai-san.” Sarutobi said cordially, his eyes scanning the three new arrivals before he glanced at the door expectantly. “It seems you are missing a couple members of your team.”

Kurenai sighed pensively. “They’re coming, sir, Jagaa and Ino are just trailing behind us a bit.” As if clarify her words, a loud girlish laugh was heard on the other side of the door.

“Did he really do that?” Ino asked, clutching her sides in mirth as she and Jagaa walked into the office.

“Honest to Kami.” Jagaa laughed. “When he realized what he’d done, he ran back home screaming like a five year old in embarrassment. I couldn’t even get him to leave the hotel again for three days.”

“What are the two of you talking about?” Naruto asked quickly, suspicion and dread clearly evident in his voice. Ino and Jagaa looked at the boy for a full three seconds before both burst out laughing, much to the displeasure of the sunny-blond. “What’s so freaking funny?” He shouted at the other two blondes.

“Did you really run through a village naked when Jagaa-sensei told you that there was a stand giving out free ramen on the other side of town as you were getting out of the shower?” Ino asked, her voice breaking with her laughter.

Naruto paled as everyone in the room stared at him incredulously…except for Jagaa and Ino who were still too busy laughing. “You told her about that?”

“Among other things.” Jagaa smirked.

“As in, I’m going to be the object of ridicule for a few months before it goes away other things, or I should kill myself now other things?” Naruto asked fearfully.

“Hmm,” Jagaa turned to Ino thoughtfully. “What do you think?”

Smiling widely, Ino offered Naruto a kunai, and the boy instantly broke out into tears of despair.

“She’s exaggerating.” Jagaa said quickly, giving Ino a frown that was betrayed by the amusement behind it. Ino just smiled impudently and stuck her tongue out at him. Turning back to Naruto, Jagaa patted the boy on the back reassuringly. “I promise, it was only…well mostly, some of the milder stuff. At the very least, I didn’t tell her about that. ”

Naruto’s crying stopped instantly as he jumped, planting his knees in Jagaa’s chest and holding tightly to the man’s collar as he shook him violently. “YOU WOULDN’T! YOU PROMISED YOU’D NEVER TELL ANYONE ABOUT THAT ! YOU SAID YOU’D TAKE IT TO YOUR GRAVE! I REALLY WILL KILL MYSELF IF ANYONE EVER FINDS OUT ABOUT THAT !”

“Relax.” Jagaa laughed, easily pulling the boy off and setting him back on the ground. “I just said I didn’t tell her.”

“Tell me what?” Ino asked innocently.

Jagaa looked back to her with a knowing smirk. “He just doesn’t want anyone to know about the time that-“

“GYAAAA!” With a cry of horror, Naruto launched himself at his older brother, knocking him over and trying with everything he had to cover the scarred man’s mouth as they wrestled on the floor.

 As Naruto and Jagaa rolled around the room, the bystanders watching with large sweat drops, Sarutobi was only able to shake his head at the two blondes’ behavior.

“Say it!” Jagaa ordered, now holding the boy in a head lock and giving him a fierce noogie. “Say ‘Ramen Sucks’!”

“Never! I’ll never say it!” Naruto yelled defiantly.

“Say it!” Jagaa commanded again, rubbing his knuckles against Naruto’s head even harder.

“Gahh…never...” Naruto clenched his teeth against the pain. “I’ll die before I say it.”

Jagaa let out an explosive breath. “Fine, say the other one and I’ll let you go.”

“I, Uzumaki Naruto, wear pink tutus, sing ‘Flavor Girls’ songs in the shower, and dream about making sweet love to the members of the boy band ‘Out of Sync’!” Naruto yelled out without hesitation, followed by a loud crash as everyone in the room fell to the floor.

“Tch, fine.” Jagaa grumbled. Letting go of Naruto’s neck so they could both get back to their feet, Jagaa smirked widely as Naruto nursed his sore head. “One of these days though, I’m gonna get you to say ‘Ramen Sucks’.”

“Hah! Not in this lifetime!” Naruto declared, glaring at the man.

“You know, you really do like ramen way too much.” Kiba stated, as the others nodded their agreement with dumbstruck expressions.

“No way!” Naruto argued. “There’s no such thing as liking ramen too much.”

“Oh yes there is.” Jagaa piped in. “And Kiba’s right. You do like it too much.”

“Do not!” Naruto shouted.

“Do to.” Jagaa countered.

“Do not!”

“Do to.”

“Do not !”

“Do to times infinity.”

“Hey! That’s cheating!”

“Is not.”

“Is to!”

“Is no-”

“BOTH OF YOU JUST STOP !” Kurenai screamed out, unable to take the childish arguing any longer. “You’re acting like preschoolers, and in front of the Hokage no less! GROW UP AND START ACTING LIKE REAL NINJA!” Kurenai was actually panting in anger as she glared at the two blonds.

Naruto and Jagaa both stared at the woman for a little while before Naruto motioned for Jagaa to come closer and whispered audibly. “You know, that lady is really bossy.”

“You’re telling me.” Jagaa agreed with his own easily heard whisper. “I think she’s on her period too. That never helps matters.”

Kurenai’s hand started inching for her kunai pouch and the rest of the room’s occupants started moving to cover.

Naruto was looking at his brother in confusion, unaware of the impending danger. “What’s a ‘Period’, and what do women’s tempers have to do with them?”

Jagaa smirked. “Well, a period is when-”

In what could be termed a fortunate turn of events for the two blonds, due to the fact Kurenai’s hand had just closed around a kunai handle, the door to the Hokage’s office burst open followed by a loud and excited shout of “JAGAA-CHAN!”. Before anyone had a chance to blink, the man in question was tackled to the floor where he lay spread eagle on his back with the plum haired Anko hugging him tightly around the midsection. “I heard your voice from down the hall and I just had to come say Hi!” The woman confessed as she nuzzled into Jagaa’s stomach.

“…You know…I’m having the strangest feeling of déjà vu.” Jagaa commented from his place on the floor, only Anko, Kakashi, and Kurenai actually understanding what he meant.

“Gah, it’s the crazy lady that was walking around our apartment naked!” Naruto shouted, pointing at the trench coat wearing woman.

Anko stopped her nuzzling at the shout and looked over to Naruto, a wolfish smile lighting up her face as she raised herself up and eyed him seductively. “Oh, if it isn’t little Naru-chan. Are you finally ready to let Anko-nee-chan take away that pesky virginity for you?” The woman gave her lips a hungry lick as she finished.

Naruto’s face turned ghostly white before he dove behind Kurenai, somehow instinctively knowing the red eyed woman would be his best defense against the crazy purple haired one. “Help! She’s gonna molest me!” 

Before Kurenai even had a chance to either reassure Naruto or reprimand Anko, Kiba shot forward and grabbed Naruto by the collar and started screaming at his blond friend. “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! NOT ONLY IS THAT WOMAN COMPLETELY WILLING, SHE’S FUCKING HOT ! NOW YOU GET OVER THERE THIS INSTANT AND BECOME HER PERSONAL SEX TOY OR I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!”

“Uh, Kiba,” Jagaa said, raising his arm off the ground where Anko still had him pinned. “While I don’t mind you encouraging Naruto to stop being such a prude. You might want to consider who else is in the room before you start shouting things like that.”

Kiba looked over to Jagaa. “What do you mean by that?” In response, Jagaa pointed past the Inuzuka. Following Jagaa’s point, Kiba turned around to look behind him, only to break into a cold sweat when he saw Ino and Sakura bearing down on him, surrounded by an aura of Righteous Female Fury.

“N-now hold on a second. L-let’s talk this out.” Kiba stuttered, letting go of Naruto who dove to the floor and rolled away to keep from getting caught in the crossfire. The Inuzuka boy started backing away from the two girls, only to be stopped in his tracks by another body. Slowly, he tilted his head back to look up into Kurenai’s narrowed red eyes. In front of him, Ino and Sakura had closed the distance and began cracking their knuckles menacingly. Turning his terrified eyes to each of them in turn, Kiba spoke out in a small voice. “…Uh…I’m sorry?” As expected though, the half-hearted apology wasn’t enough to save him and the three females attacked.

Bystanders cringed and groaned in sympathy as they watched Kiba receive the beating of his life amidst shouted lectures of perverseness and proper conduct in mixed gender settings.

“Do you think he’s gonna survive?” Naruto asked Hinata.

Hinata just shrugged in response.

“He he, looks like they’ve forgotten all about us, Jagaa-chan.” Anko smiled, looking down at the man, only to have that smile turn into a confused frown at the almost sinister grin Jagaa had. Seeing her confusion, Jagaa mouthed the words ‘Watch this’ before taking a deep breath and yelling. “KAKASHI! HOW DARE YOU READ THAT SMUT WITH YOUNG GIRLS PRESENT!”

The effect was instantaneous. Kurenai, Ino, and Sakura stopped their relentless assault on the helpless Kiba and turned to glare at the masked Jounin with murderous intensity. His danger senses kicking into overdrive, Kakashi reacted by throwing his book out the window like an active grenade. The unexpected action made the three Kunoichi pause in amazement, which in turn gave Kakashi time to realize what he had just done. Once that realization had taken full hold of him, the masked Jounin let out a cry of despair and dove out the window after his precious book.

The room went dead silent as everyone stared at the window…at least for the five seconds before Naruto, Jagaa, and Anko all started laughing uproariously, rolling on the floor and pounding the ground with their fists as they clutched their stomachs from their hysterics.

A few seconds later Kakashi popped back into the room with a burst of smoke, cradling the book lovingly as he muttered apologies and reassurances to it. This, of course, made the three rolling Ninja start laughing harder than ever.

“Ow…my head.” Kiba groaned as he sat up. Noticing the trio of heavily laughing Ninja, the Inuzuka looked up to Hinata. “Did I miss something?” Despite his current pain, Kiba broke out into his own laughter once Hinata gave him a quick recap.

‘ They’re all idiots. ’ Sasuke growled in his mind as he watched the four people still rolling on the floor in mirth.

“Eh hem!” Sarutobi noisily cleared his throat in an effort to bring some sort of order back to the room. It took several tries before Anko, Jagaa, Naruto, and Kiba stopped laughing and Kurenai, Ino, and Sakura to fully calm down from their indignation. It took a couple extra throat clearings after that to get Kakashi to stop apologizing to his book.

With the gathered Ninja finally back to some form of professionalism, or at least as close as they could get to it with this particular group, Sarutobi crossed his hands in front of him and rested his chin on them. “So, it’s finally time for the last two rookie teams to get their first missions.” He smiled lightly at the nine people, though for some reason it looked a little…eager. “I hope you’re ready.”

“HELL YEAH!” Naruto shouted. “GIVE US THE MISSION ALREADY OLD-ouch!” Naruto stopped shouting to rub his sore head where Jagaa had struck him.

“How many times do I have to tell you to not yell all the time?” Jagaa lectured.

Kakashi looked up from his book, having resumed reading it as usual, and gave Jagaa a relaxed stare. “You know. Technically you’re not supposed to discipline him while he’s on duty. That’s my job as his sensei.”

“Hmm, oh, that’s true isn’t it?” Jagaa conceded. “Okay, by all means.” Jagaa indicated Naruto with a wave of his hand.

“Thank you.” Kakashi replied lightly, just before hitting Naruto upside the head with his free hand. “Don’t yell all the time.” He said casually.

“What the hell?” Naruto complained, rubbing his now doubly sore head. “I already got hit!”

“Yes, but now it’s official.” Kakashi smiled before turning his eye back to his book.

“Well, now that Naruto has been sufficiently reprimanded, I think it’s time for Teams 7 and 8 to receive their first D ranked missions as Genin.” Sarutobi glanced over to Jagaa, a small smirk coming to his lips. “I believe this will also be the first D ranked mission you have ever taken part of as well, Jagaa-san.”

“…Why don’t I like the way you said that, Geezer?” Jagaa’s tone was laced with suspicion.

To his side, Anko, Kakashi, and Kurenai seemed to have all come to a mutual realization. And it was a realization that had Kurenai smiling wickedly, Anko snickering quietly, and Kakashi’s visible eye dancing in anticipation as they watched Jagaa.

“All right then.” Sarutobi smiled, the smirk that had been ghosting on his lips becoming more pronounced. He knew what was going to happen. It always did when new Genin received their first D ranked mission. The disbelief and shock they showed as their duties were given to them was something Jounin and Chuunin laughed about, since they knew the feeling all too well. However, the Sandaime knew that no one, and that was no one , would take it quite as hard as a certain pair of male blonds that now stood before him. The old man could barely keep himself from bursting out into sinister laughter that would have even made his old student, Orochimaru, proud. It was this day he had waited for. For the last year, since being hit the first time by Naruto’s Oiroke no Jutsu and then to have Jagaa place such an embarrassing note on his back that very same night. This day, this moment, it was what he had dreamed about.

The day his revenge was completed.

“Here are your first missions.” The old man started professionally, making the Genin snap to attention and Jagaa turn his head a little to show he was listening. “Team 7, your mission today is to pull weeds for the Murasaki family, and Team 8 will be chopping wood for the newly wed Horikawa’s.” Once finished, Sarutobi leaned back in his chair to watch the show.

Kiba, Hinata, Sakura, and Ino all reacted like most new Genin did. Their faces became confused, as if waiting for someone to start laughing and saying it was a joke before giving them their real mission. As usual though, they soon realized that that was their real mission and soon all four of them were wearing incredulous expressions mixed with a bit of outrage.

Sasuke? He was just plain furious. He couldn’t believe he had been assigned to something as trivial as pulling weeds for his first official mission. How could he get stronger doing something so stupid? It was all he could do to keep his furious growl too low for the present Jounin to hear.

None of those reactions could compare to Naruto and Jagaa’s.

At first, the two blonds were wearing the same confused expressions as the first four. However, instead of taking a shocked and outraged expression, theirs was becoming completely horrified. Naruto’s eyes had gone ridiculously wide and his mouth had fallen open showing no signs of closing anytime soon, and even though it was hard to tell with Jagaa due to his glasses, his expression was practically a mirror image of the younger boy’s.

Anko burst out laughing at the sight, which drowned out the amused chuckling of Kakashi and the gleeful giggling of Kurenai whose amusement was solely due to how Jagaa, the current bane of her existence, was taking the news. Sarutobi had, thus far, managed to hold in his own laughter but the evil smirk that had been playing at his lips the whole time had finally been revealed in full force.

Having recovered from their own initial reactions, the Genin in the room turned to watch the two shocked blonds, Sasuke seeming to get almost as much pleasure out of their reaction as Kurenai and Sarutobi were receiving.

After some time of staring like wide eyed idiots, a strange, almost eerie calm seemed to come over both Jagaa and Naruto, making the onlookers a little nervous that the pair’s minds may have snapped.

“So…” Jagaa finally broke the silence with a tranquil voice. “You’re telling us…that D ranked missions in Konoha…are roughly equivalent to doing household chores?”

“And that all D ranked missions are like that?” Naruto finished, his own voice dreamy, as if he were lost in his own world.

Sarutobi frowned slightly in confusion before slowly nodding. This was definitely not what he was expecting for their reaction. Screaming, arguing, and possible threats of violence? Yes. That was anticipated. An almost frighteningly serene acceptance? That most certainly was not .

Jagaa and Naruto paused, contemplating the Sandaime’s answer. Finally, they looked to each other and something seemed to pass between them at which time they both nodded before suddenly pointing out the window behind the Hokage and shouting in perfect sync, “OH MY GOD! WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THAT ROOFTOP ACROSS THE ROAD!”

Every head in the room snapped around instinctively to find out what the pair seemed so conserned about. After about ten seconds of searching, the group collectively realized that there was nothing going on outside, meaning they had been lied to, and rounded on the two blonds, only to have their shouts of indignation die in their throats at the sight.

The space that Jagaa and Naruto had occupied stood completely empty, the only sign of them ever having been there being the groaning door as it slowly closed itself. The assembled Ninja could only blink as they stared in a stunned stupor while the door shut completely with a soft click.

X     X     X     X     X

“Don’t waste any time!” Jagaa shouted urgently, shoving various clothes and weapons into his black duffle bag haphazardly. “Only pack what you absolutely need!”

“Got it!” Naruto shouted back as he continued emptying the contents of his ramen cupboard into his own blue duffle bag.

Once he had finished filling his bag with whatever he had been able to conveniently carry, Jagaa rushed out of his room and grabbed the back of Naruto’s jacket, dragging the boy out of the apartment. Naruto started crying that he still hadn’t gotten all his ramen packed, only to be placated by Jagaa’s yell that he’d buy him more later. No longer needing to be dragged, Naruto pulled himself free of Jagaa’s grip and the two of them bolted out the door and into the street, only to skid to a stop when they found their paths blocked by three distinct Jounin. Namely Kurenai, Kakashi, and Anko.

“Going somewhere, Jagaa-san?” Kurenai asked in an overly sweet voice.

“Uh…” Jagaa floundered under the woman’s narrowed eyes.

“Now, now, Naruto, you wouldn’t be trying to leave would you?” Kakashi asked with a smile.

“Uh…” Naruto was as much at a loss as Jagaa was.

The two blonds exchanged a quick glance before each trying to bolt off in a different direction to escape. Unfortunately, having already seen the pair’s willingness to flee, Kurenai and Kakashi were prepared and had already moved to intercept, which ended with Jagaa cursing in pain as Kurenai caught his left ear with a vice like grip and Naruto being held two feet off the ground with Kakashi gripping the back of his shirt and jacket.

“Hold it right there.” Kurenai said, still using her sweet voice as she smirked widely, enjoying every second she was getting out of tormenting the scarred man. Hey, after all he had put her through in the short time she’d known him, she was perfectly entitled to it. “You lost the option to run yesterday, Jagaa-san. Remember, T, E, A, M, W, O, R, K.”

“G,O,T,O,H,E,L,L!” Jagaa yelled as he struggled to free his throbbing ear. “I did not sign on to do other people’s fucking chores ! I didn’t want to sign on at all !”

“NO! Don’t make me do chores!” Naruto wailed and he swung back and forth off the ground trying to break Kakashi’s grip on his clothes. “It’s boring! I wanna do real missions! I don’t wanna do chores! I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna…” Naruto continued his chant with no signs of stopping. Kakashi simply smiled as he began walking back to the Hokage tower, his orange book held in front of him with one hand and a struggling Naruto in the other.

“Anko, if you would please put their belongings back in the apartment.” Kurenai said to Anko who saluted smartly, a huge grin plastered on her face. Nodding to the other woman, Kurenai started down the street after Kakashi, dragging Jagaa behind her. “Let’s go, Jagaa-san. We have missions to do as a team .”

“Gah!” Jagaa shouted as he painfully followed in order to keep her from ripping his ear. “You bitch! I just know you’re enjoying this! I hope you break nail! I hope your hair goes frizzy! I hope your makeup runs! I hope you wake up tomorrow with a huge zit! I hope…”

Anko couldn’t hold back her laughter as she listened to Jagaa continuing to shout hopes for everything from premature aging to manicures gone wrong on the red eyed woman. Tossing the two bags into the middle of the living room, Anko locked the door and closed it behind her before jogging to catch up with the rest of the group, laughing the whole time.

X     X     X     X     X

“You should have seen it, Daddy. It was so funny.” Ino laughed as she told her parents about her day as they all sat around the dinner table. “He must have pouted for at least two hours, muttering about evil partners and half dead geezers. I think he may have even been considering making another run for it, but Kurenai threatened to castrate him if she had to drag him back again . I guess he believed she’d really do it because he stayed like a good boy.” Ino snickered as she remembered the sullen pout her male sensei had worn through most of the mission.

“He got better towards the end though and started telling me, and in a way Sasuke-kun, Sakura, and Kurenai-sensei since they started listening too, more about his and Naruto’s days on the road.” Ino’s were practically glowing as she continued to speak. “Seriously, Daddy, you wouldn’t believe all the places they’ve been. They’ve been to the hidden villages of Sand, Mist, Cloud, Rain, Grass, and even Waterfall. They’ve stayed in places all across the Elemental Countries and have even been to Snow Country as well as Rice Country. He even told us about some of the missions he and Naruto have done for other villages while they were still freelance.”

Ino pursed her lips thoughtfully. “You know, it’s actually not really surprising they reacted the way they did when they heard what the D ranked missions were like here. According to Jagaa-sensei, most of the other villages don’t even have D rank. The Jounin sensei just train their Genin until they’re strong enough for C rank before the team ever starts taking missions.” Ino laughed at the memory of the horrified look on her two fellow blondes’ faces. “I guess when you’re used to the lowest mission you ever get being fighting bandits or escorting people across countries to their destinations, being told you were going to basically be doing chores for your missions would be a bit of a shocker.”

“I’ll bet.” Ino’s father, a dark blond man named Yamanaka Inoichi, laughed. “Still, the reason Konoha make’s as good an income as it does is because we take on D ranked missions.” Inoichi smiled at Ino’s agreeing nod.

“Yeah, we heard about that from Kurenai-sensei when she was yelling at Jagaa-sensei for calling the Murasaki family ‘Lazy bastards who couldn’t do their own fucking grunt work’.” Ino giggled when her father snorted into his coffee at Jagaa’s description.

“Ino!” The girl’s mother, a woman with hair the same platinum blonde as Ino, chided. “You shouldn’t use language like that, even when you’re quoting someone.”

“Yes, Mom.” Ino said apologetically.

Inoichi looked at his daughter thoughtfully, slowly chewing a bite of rice. “You know,” He spoke up once he’d swallowed his food. “I must say I’m surprised to hear you talking about your male sensei so fondly. If I recall correctly, it was only yesterday that you came home in a furious rage over what he’d done to the Uchiha.”

Ino blushed lightly as she remembered her rampage yesterday. It was a good thing her mother had been out at the time because she had been using some rather colorful choice of descriptions for her scarred sensei. “Well…yeah, I was pretty mad about it. But Sasuke was fine today, so I guess it really did look worse than it was. I think that’s why I decided to do what you suggested. You know, try to get to know Jagaa-sensei a little better.”

“Hmm, I see.” Inoichi nodded. “So, it seems that he’s not as bad as you thought.”

Ino hesitated a bit before answering. “No, he’s just as bad as I thought.” Inoichi’s eyebrow quirked and Ino continued. “He’s rude, delights in tormenting people, drinks too much, and tends to think all problems can be solved by killing whatever is causing it…and that’s what I learned just by listening to him.” Ino paused again before smiling slightly. “But…He really cares about Naruto. That’s something else you can tell just by listening to him.”

“And also,” Ino continued, pursing her lips. “It makes me wonder just what type of person Naruto really is. I’m not saying that I think he might be a bad person.” She said defensively when she saw her father’s eyes narrow. “I just have to wonder what kind of person could earn so much loyalty…so much love…from someone like Jagaa-sensei? It makes me want to talk to him more. You know. Maybe find out for myself why Jagaa-sensei is so protective of his adopted Otouto.”

Inoichi nodded, his expression showing he was in deep thought. Finally, he raised his eyes back to his daughter and smiled. “You know, I think that would be a good idea.” The sound of breaking glass rang out in the kitchen, startling both Ino and her father. Looking to the source, Ino gasped at the sight of her mother’s rigid form as blood and liquid dripped off her hand that had once held the now shattered glass cup.

“Huh? Oh my.” The woman stated shakily, apparently having come back to her senses. “I don’t know what came over me. Excuse me. I’d better go take care of the bleeding.”

“I’ll help you, Dear.” Inoichi said, his voice holding a barely noticeable edge that made Ino’s eyes snap over to him, letting her see the briefest glimpse of what looked like a warning on her father’s face.

The two adults got up from the table hurriedly and headed directly to the bathroom, leaving a confused Ino behind who could only manage to mutter to herself. “What in the world was that about?”

X     X     X     X     X

“So why are we looking for a weapons shop again?” Naruto asked as he and Jagaa walked through the crowded streets of Konoha’s shopping district.

“I told you, I need a sharpening job done.” Jagaa said with a bit of exasperation. “Since I haven’t really done anything since we got here, I haven’t been all that worried about it. But since I’m technically on active duty now, I should start getting my shit back together.” Jagaa paused and faced the sky. “Besides, I may want to kill myself after a few more of these D rank missions and it would be less painful if my sword is nice and sharp.”

“You’re not gonna kill yourself, Nii-san.” Naruto chided. “If you did that you wouldn’t be able to annoy people anymore.”

“Damn. Good point.” Jagaa conceded.

Naruto shook his head at his older brother and started to look around at the crowds of people. He saw a few people glance at him in disgust or anger before quickly looking away, but the open hostility wasn’t as obvious anymore. Now that he thought about it, he had noticed this before. So he decided to ask Jagaa about it. “Hey, Nii-san,” Naruto addressed the man, getting his attention. “I’ve started to notice that people are a lot nicer to me lately…or at least less mean. Is it because of you?”

“Hmm, I wonder?” Jagaa said, waiting until Naruto shrugged and looked away before waving up to an apparently empty rooftop where two Inuzuka and an ANBU popped into existence and waved back before disappearing again.

Though the action went unnoticed by Naruto, several of the shop owners and passing villagers had witnessed the event, and many people who had been considering trying to start mistreating the boy again suddenly had second thoughts.

Idly, Jagaa wondered what would happen if Naruto ever figured out he had Inuzuka following him practically everywhere he went, since there was no doubt it would lead to questions as to why they were following him. Jagaa wasn’t relishing in the idea of explaining some of the events that led up to the increased security. Not so much because he was worried personally about telling Naruto, since Jagaa thought it would be funny to see the boy get uncomfortable whenever Tsume was around, but because the previously mentioned Inuzuka woman would probably skin Jagaa alive if word ever got out about that incident a year ago.

A slightly perverted grin made its way to Jagaa’s face as he remembered his frolic with the current head of the Inuzuka clan. That had been one wild night.

“Nii-san, what are you thinking about?” Naruto asked his scarred brother, his voice laced with suspicion.

Jagaa quickly shook himself out of his thoughts. “Uh, nothing, nothing at all.” Naruto’s eyes narrowed and Jagaa knew he needed to distract the boy. Fortunately, it seemed Kami was on his side this time, because at that moment Jagaa noticed a sign with pictures of various weapons engraved on it hanging over a shop door. “Oh look, we found a weapons shop.” Jagaa said quickly. “Let’s go get my sword sharpened shall we.” Without waiting for Naruto to respond, Jagaa power walked to the building making Naruto have to jog to keep up.

A bell chimed as the door of the weapons shop opened, marking the arrival of the two blonds and drawing the attention of the young girl behind the counter who looked up from the book she was reading to smile at them. “Welcome to our shop. How can I…Hey, it’s you!” The girl stood up, dropping her book as she leaned over the counter with one hand bracing her as the other pointed straight at Naruto. “What are you doing here, Chibi?”

Naruto snapped his head over to the girl and his eyes widened when he saw how her brown hair was pulled up into two buns on top of her head, something he had only ever seen on one person before. “Ah,” He yelled returning her point with his own, “You’re that weapons girl from a few days ago! Why are you here?”

Tenten smiled and hopped over the counter so she could approach them. “This is my family’s weapon shop.” Indicating the assorted weapons with a wave of her arm, “I’m just helping out today since my team finished our missions early.” She faced the pair again, namely Naruto, and grinned at him. “I have to admit, I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon, Chibi. Did you come here so you could lose in another weapons throwing contest?”

“First off, stop calling me Chibi!” Naruto growled. “Second, I’m here because my brother,” Naruto jerked his thumb at Jagaa, “was looking for a weapons shop so he could get his sword sharpened. And lastly, don’t think that just because you beat me last time means you’ll beat me next time. Because I’m Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, dattebayo!”

“Am I ever gonna be able to break you of that habit?” Jagaa asked almost mournfully.

“Probably not.” Naruto answered with a grin.

Jagaa just shook his head before focusing on Tenten. “So, exactly who are you and how do you know the Brat.” Naruto glared at the man for the insult.

Tenten laughed before introducing herself. “My name is Tenten, and I met the Chibi a couple nights ago at the training grounds, when I was practicing after my team separated for the day, and we ended up getting into a weapons throwing contest. A contest that I won of course.” Tenten smirked victoriously at the less than pleased Naruto.

“…You said your name was Tenten?” Jagaa asked the girl, crossing one arm in front of him and using the other to rub his chin in thought. ‘ Tenten…Tenten…where have I heard that name before? ’

“So anyway,” Tenten spoke up, pulling Jagaa out of his thoughts. “Chibi said you wanted to get your sword sharpened, right?”

“Stop calling me Chibi!” Naruto grated out.

Ignoring his irate brother Jagaa nodded and drew his sword, holding it out hilt first to the girl. “Yeah, it’s been about a year and half since the last time I got it sharpened, granted it didn’t get much use in a year of that time, but that’s still a long time between sharpening.”

“Yeah.” Tenten agreed, examining the blade with a critical eye. “It doesn’t look too bad though. I think Daddy could have it done by tomorrow morning, afternoon at the latest.” 

“I’m willing to pay extra if it will get me a guarantee that I can pick it up before I meet my team for missions tomorrow.” Jagaa offered.

The girl smiled confidently at the scarred man. “I don’t think Daddy will have a problem with that. Now if you’ll follow me.” Tenten turned and started walking back to the counter with Jagaa’s sword in hand and the two blondes trailing after her. “Hey, Mom!” The girl called out, “We’ve got a sharpening job!”

“Coming.” A voice called back followed moments later by a woman with long brown hair and deep green eyes coming through a door that led to a room behind the counter. “Who is it that needs the sharpen…ing…” The woman’s voice trailed off and her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the scarred man on the other side of the counter. “Jagaa-kun, is that you?”

Jagaa’s brow furrowed when the woman addressed him, but that quickly changed to his eyebrows shooting up and his mouth falling open in surprise. “Tsuki-nee-chan!?”

With a delighted squeal, the woman hurried around the counter and pulled Jagaa into a tight hug that the scarred man eagerly returned. Pulling back, the woman looked up to Jagaa who stood a full head taller than her and smiled happily. “Look at you. You’ve gotten so tall. I would never have recognized you if it weren’t for your sunglasses and clothing.”

Jagaa shrugged. “What can I say? I tend to stick with what I like.” Smiling wider, Jagaa gave the woman a once over. “Besides, look who’s talking. You haven’t changed a bit. In fact, I was even considering making a pass at you.” Jagaa wagged his eyebrows at the woman who responded with a playful punch to his chest.

“Knock that off you big flirt. Don’t forget I’m eight years older than you and already married.” Tsuki’s eyes lit up in realization. “Oh, that’s right!” Turning away from Jagaa, the brunette called out excitedly. “Kyougu! Get out here! You’re never going to believe who’s here!”

“Huh? Who is it?” A deep male voice called back before the door opened behind the counter opened again to reveal a man with black hair and chocolate brown eyes that widened the same way his wife’s had once they caught sight of the scarred man. “Well I’ll be damned, if it isn’t the little boy who escorted us to Konoha all those years ago looking all grown up and filled out!” Walking around the counter the man caught Jagaa in a solid hand shake before pulling him into a quick hug and patting him on the back. “It’s great to see you again kid!”

“Likewise, Old Man.” Jagaa smiled, returning the pat on the back before pulling away. “I gotta admit though, I never thought you two would still be in Konoha. Whatever happened to that whole speech you gave me about ‘Being one with the wind’ and ‘Never settling down until you were dead’ and all that other crap you were spouting when you were wandering from town to town as a traveling weapons merchant?”

By now, the two forgotten teens looked from the three happily conversing adults to each other, pure confusion in each of their eyes. Neither of them had even remotely expected something like this to happen. Turning back to the adults, Naruto tried to get their attention. “Uh, hey.” He called a bit uncertainly.

None of them heard since Kyougu was already answering the younger man. “Well, we hadn’t planned on staying here more than a year or so, but we ended up doing so well that we kept putting it off. Soon enough, one year became two, then two became three, and before we knew it we had pretty much settled down.”

“Hey.” This time Tenten tried calling out, ending with the same results as Naruto.

“Besides,” Tsuki spoke up, “I think we started to realize that constantly traveling wasn’t a good way for a child to grow up, and by the time we were thinking of leaving again, Tenten had already made friends and it would’ve broken her heart to have to leave them behind. So we decided to just stay here.”

“Hey!” Naruto and Tenten tried at the same time with more force than their previous attempts, only to still be ignored.

“I guess that’s understandable.” Jagaa conceded. “It’s still surprising though, especially with the old man. I thought nothing would be able to stop his wandering.”

“Hey, I’m only thirty five, certainly not an old man!” Kyougu argued.

“Thirteen years older than me, five years older than your wife.” Jagaa countered with a smirk, “Face it, you’re old.”

“Why you-” Kyougu started, only to be cut off by two very irritated teens.

“HEY!” Naruto and Tenten shouted, finally having had enough of being ignored. The three adults turned to them in surprise, and Naruto stepped forward and pointed at Jagaa. “Would you please explain what the hell is going on? Who are these people and how do you three know each other?”

“Uh…oh, right…sorry, Naruto. I forgot you weren’t with me when I met them.” Jagaa admitted sheepishly. “Well this old guy is Kazeyama Kyougu,” Kyougu gave Jagaa a mock glare before giving Naruto a quick nod in greeting. “And this,” Jagaa continued, shifting his hand to Tsuki, “is his extremely beautiful and way too good for him wife, Kazeyama Tsuki.” The woman blushed prettily and gave Naruto a short wave. “I met them both about ten years ago when I hired myself out as a bodyguard to escort them from a small town in Wave country to Konoha.”

“Ten years ago!” Tenten exclaimed, “Just how old are you?”

“I’m twenty two.” Jagaa answered easily.

Even Naruto’s eyes widened in surprise and Tenten openly gaped at the scarred man. “But…that would mean you were only twelve ! That’s younger than I am now!”

“Yeah, it was quite a surprise for us too.” Kyougu laughed. “I mean, there we are getting ready to leave, when this twelve year old kid wearing a sword almost as big as him on his back comes up and offers to be our bodyguard for a third of the cost it would have taken to hire a normal escort.” Kyougu laughed lightly at the memory. “To be honest, I probably would have turned him down if it weren’t for the fact I had heard a rumor of a young kid matching his description that had just claimed the bounty of a group of local bandits that had been attacking travelers. So I decided it was worth a shot.”

“It was a good thing he did.” Tsuki added solemnly. “Because less than half way through the trip we were attacked by thieves. But Jagaa-kun beat all twenty of them and kept us safe.”

Naruto and Tenten looked at Jagaa with wide eyes, who shrugged at them. “It’s not like they were all that skilled. Just normal highway robbers.” Leaning down, Jagaa put his face level with Tenten’s and smiled at her. “What surprises me is how big you’ve gotten, Ten-chan. It seems like only a few weeks ago you were just a three year old girl who kept bugging me to play with her and give her piggyback rides.” Tenten blushed at that even as she tried to remember having done what he just said.

“I’m surprised you don’t remember him at least a little bit, Ten-chan.” Tsuki smiled at her daughter. “You were very attached to Jagaa-kun by the time we got to Konoha. So much so that you cried for days after we separated.” Tsuki smiled fondly as she reminisced. “You two were so cute together. It was like you were brother and sister.”

Tenten was still trying to remember when any of this had happened, but was pulled out of her thoughts when Naruto started snickering audibly, despite his best efforts to silence it, and kept casting sidelong glances at her.

“What?” Tenten questioned in annoyance after the fifth not so discreet glance.

“Would you like me to give you a piggyback ride, Ten-chan ?” Naruto smirked at the bun haired girl.

Tenten reddened even more, but still managed to raise her chin and glare at Naruto. “Oh, do you think a little boy like you could actually carry me, Naru- chibi ?”

Their eyes looked as the two stared hard into each other’s eyes making sparks sizzle through the air. “Throw down?” Naruto asked challengingly.

“Throw down.” Tenten agreed before turning to her father. “We're going to go out back and use the Kunai targets.”

“Okay, just don’t go overboard.” Kyougu warned. “The neighbors still haven’t forgiven us for all the holes you put into their wall when you were younger.”

Tenten simply nodded before turning back to Naruto. “Follow me, Chibi.”

“Lead the way, Bun-chan.” Naruto smirked, falling in step behind the girl.

Jagaa, Kyougu, and Tsuki watched the pair leave. Once the pair had disappeared around a corner, Jagaa smirked amusedly. “Her mother’s beauty and her father’s personality. I think you created a monster.”

“Maybe, but we wouldn’t have her any other way.” Kyougu smiled. “Now, why don’t I throw the ‘Out to Lunch’ sign up, and the three of us can go upstairs and get back to catching up.”

X     X     X     X     X

Naruto was very quickly remembering what it was that had impressed him about this girl as she hit several more targets dead in the center.

She was really freaking good at this.

It was a point that was being driven home, once again, very effectively as Naruto found himself being outclassed in every way possible when it came to weapons throwing. Gritting his teeth, Naruto threw his next set of Kunai only to have to resist screaming in frustration when he didn’t score nearly as good as she had.

“What’s the matter, Chibi?” Tenten mocked playfully. “Not giving up already are you?”

Naruto gave her a hard look. “I’m pretty sure I already told you. Uzumaki Naruto never gives up.”

“You just make tactical retreats, right?” Tenten finished, casually putting another kunai into the bull’s-eye. “Too bad you’ll never be able to beat me.”

“Just keep talking, Bun-chan.” Naruto shot back. “I’ll make you eat those words soon enough.”

 Tenten smirked at the sunny blonde as she twirled a kunai around her finger. “Sounds like you’re ready for another round of defeat.”

“Bring it on.” Naruto challenged back. Unfortunately, despite his confident bolstering, Naruto was being faced with the reality that, as he was now, he really didn’t have any chance of beating her.

At least not while playing fair.

‘ What is that Nii-san likes to say? If you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying.’ Naruto smirked lightly as he watched the girl on his left preparing for her next throw through the corner of his eye. Focusing on her side just above her waist where he knew girls tended to be ticklish.

His plan was simple. He’d wait until Tenten was just about to throw her weapon then give her a quick poke in the side to throw off her aim when her body naturally shied away from the tickle. Doing his best to hide his mischievous smile, Naruto kept his eyes focused ahead and relied on his peripheral vision to let him know when to strike. Catching the movement showing she was preparing to throw, Naruto quickly shot out his hand at his intended target.

Unfortunately, because he had been keeping his eyes forward so as to not give away his intentions, Naruto didn’t notice that his aim had shifted down and to the left.

Tenten cried out in surprise and leapt away from the boy, her face flaming and her hands held protectively over her rump. “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, YOU PERVERT!” She screamed.

“Jeez, calm down. All I did was poke you in the side to throw you off.” Naruto defended himself, not sure why the girl was reacting so fiercely. “You don’t need to get so mad about it.”

“THAT WASN’T MY SIDE YOU CREEP!” Tenten screamed again, her anger rising drastically.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. “What are you talking about? If it wasn’t your side then where was…” Naruto trailed off as he finally took into account her embarrassed flush and just where her hands seemed to be so intently shielding. Realization dawning on his features, he slowly raised up his left hand to stare at his index finger, and a small trickle of blood came out of his nose.

Needless to say, that didn’t go over well with the already furious brunette.

Whipping out a scroll, Tenten bit her thumb and drew her blood across the contents, summoning very sharp Katana. With a war cry filled with Righteous Female Fury, the bun haired girl charged the sunny-blond with every intention of neutering him.

Awakened from his daze by the spine chilling cry, Naruto saw Tenten bearing down on him with death in her eyes and a Katana in her hands and did what any smart male would do in that situation. He let off a terrified high-pitched scream and started running while shouting out apologies and begging for forgiveness as he ducked and dodged the girl’s furious attempts to skin him alive.

X     X     X     X     X

“She overreacts like her mother though.” Jagaa commented, grinning through the open window as he watched Naruto’s desperate attempts to placate the furious girl as he continued to dodge her relentless assault.

“That’s just a female thing in general.” Kyougu replied, which promptly earned him a whack upside the head by his wife. “See what I mean.” He grinned at the woman as he rubbed his head.

Jagaa laughed at the display, but once finished he his smile changed into a small frown. “You seem to be reacting to Naruto pretty well. Does that mean the idiocy of this village didn’t manage to rub off on you?”

Kyougu shrugged. “We moved here after the Kyuubi attack, so we don’t have any grudges against the demon itself. So, we don’t hold anything against the boy either.”

“Besides,” Tsuki said as she poured some tea she had made for the three of them. “If you care about him, then he gets our trust automatically. I thought you would at least know that.” Looking up, the woman smiled at him, earning a return smile from Jagaa.

“I guess I should have at least expected that much from the two people who wanted to adopt me.” Jagaa laughed. “I still don’t know what you were thinking though. I mean the two of you might be able to pass as my siblings, but I think you’re a bit too young to be my parents. That includes the old man over there.” Jagaa smirked as he caught the towel Kyougu threw at him.

“What can I say,” Tsuki sighed. “You really were just like a brother to Ten-chan during that month we traveled together. I just thought it would be great if you could have stayed around and really been her brother.”

“Maybe if you’d tried asking me to be her uncle or something I would have been more inclined to accept, but calling you two Mom and Dad would have just been weird, Tsuki- nee-chan .” Jagaa smirked at the woman who just shook her head with a laugh.

“My question,” Kyougu spoke curiously, “Is what you’re doing in Konoha. You were even more adamant than I was about not staying in one place for very long. What changed your mind?”

Jagaa shrugged. “I got the brat to blame for that. I made the mistake of getting too attached to him while we were traveling together.” He turned to face back out the window again, watching Naruto still trying to calm the raging Tenten down. “Naruto didn’t have anybody who was there for him as he was growing up. I didn’t want to make him go through the pain of being alone again just because I didn’t want to be here. I’m not that much of a bastard.”

“Don’t talk like that!” Tsuki chastised. “You’re a wonderful person. Both Kyougu and I know that. If you were really as bad as you try to make people believe, Ten-chan wouldn’t have had you wrapped around her finger the way she did when you traveled with us.”

“She’s right, you know.” Kyougu added. “To be honest, I was starting to think you were just a normal twelve year old boy with how well you got along with our daughter. Hell, if those thieves hadn’t attacked us, I never would have believed you were really as tough as you claimed to be.”

Jagaa shrugged again. “You’d be surprised by how often that happens in the Ninja world. All over the Elemental Nations you’ll hear tales of talented Shinobi and Kunoichi who had incredible skills at a very young age. I was just lucky enough to be one of them. That’s all. Also, your daughter was a sweet three year old. It was easy to like her.” Jagaa gave the couple a smirk. “You shouldn’t let that fool you though. I can be quite the pain in the ass. Just ask my partner.”

Kyougu and Tsuki just laughed.

“WHAT THE HELL!” Jagaa’s suddenly shouted, startling Kyougu and Tsuki who watched as Jagaa leaned out the window for a second before digging through his Kunai pouch shouting, “CAMERA! CAMERA! WHERE’S MY CAMERA!” His face lit up as he pulled the small rectangular device out and held it front of him, laughing triumphantly before blurring out of the room so fast that papers were sent flying through the air.

“…What was that all about?” Kyougu asked in a bit of shock. Tsuki shook her head to show that she didn’t have the slightest clue.

X     X     X     X     X

(Back with Naruto and Tenten, a few minutes before Jagaa’s sudden need for his camera.)

Naruto was dodging slashes and stabs with everything he had while the furious girl doing the slashing showed no signs of stopping any time soon. He was glad that Tenten seemed to favor distance attacks and wasn’t quite as skilled with melee weapons as she was with throwing weapons. That didn’t mean she didn’t know what she was doing though as she slashed, lunged, and stabbed with the weapon in her attempts to severely injure him.

‘ I’m starting to see why even Nii-san will run from a girl when she’s really mad. ’ Naruto thought nervously as he ducked the whistling blade. ‘ They’re even more scary than Fangirls. ’

“Hold still so I can kill you!” Tenten yelled as she slashed for Naruto’s torso, her frustration rising with every missed attack.

“I’m not that dumb!” Naruto shouted in reply, dodging back so the blade passed harmlessly in front of him.

Tenten was going after Naruto with everything she had, fully intent on making the blond pay for poking her in her ass, accident or not. Her swings were becoming increasingly aggressive as she tried and failed again and again to at least draw blood from the sun-kissed boy, only to have him duck and dodge out the way with practiced and desperate precision. Gritting her teeth, Tenten renewed her assault full force.

Naruto quickly found himself having to put a good deal more effort into his dodging if he didn’t want to get skewered. Unfortunately, because his attention on the brunette had increased, his attention to his surroundings decreased, so he didn’t see the large rock that he was quickly backing towards until he stepped half on it and lost his footing. Seeing her chance, Tenten leapt forward with a victorious shout, her blade already descending upon the boy. In a desperate attempt at self-preservation, Naruto’s left hand shot out and was able to catch the girl’s wrist and, with a quick twist of his own wrist, managed to get her to drop the Katana. However, that movement also served to pull Tenten towards him, sending both of them rolling across the ground in a mass of flying limbs before they finally came to a stop.

A stop that ended up with Naruto and Tenten in a rather awkward position.

Naruto’s left hand was still holding on to Tenten’s right wrist, pinning it to the ground above her head as Naruto’s own right hand had ended up between the girl's left arm and her body, dangerously close to her chest. Naruto’s right leg had come to rest between the girl’s thighs in a very intimate fashion, leaving his left leg as the only thing really keeping their pelvises apart from each other. Tenten’s hair had become a bit loose from her exertion, causing small strands to fall from their tight buns and haphazardly frame her flushed face in a messy, but alluring way. Electric blue met chocolate brown as the two breathed heavily, and for some reason, neither could find the willpower to break that gaze.

Naruto knew he should jump away from the girl as quickly as possible and start apologizing profusely in hope of avoiding the beating he was sure this situation was going to get him…but for some reason, he couldn’t. It was as if her brown eyes had somehow captured him. Holding him in place and giving him the sensation he was falling into them. He couldn’t explain what it was that was happening, but somewhere deep inside him, he felt a stirring of something he couldn’t understand.

Shaking his head to clear his confused thoughts, Naruto refocused on the girl below him. “Are you all right?” He asked her, his voice for some reason coming out much quieter than he had intended. Her eyes still never leaving his, Tenten nodded slowly in response.

Before either of them could say anything else, a series of flashes snapped them out of their trance-like state and they looked over to see Jagaa snapping pictures as fast as he could, leaning this way and that in his attempts to get multiple angles.

“Finally!” He yelled joyously. “Just when I’m starting to think the brat will never take an interest in girls, here he is ravaging one in the backyard of her own home!” Tracing just underneath the lens of his sunglasses, Jagaa wiped away a mock tear. “I’m so proud!”

“Gah, Nii-san!” Naruto jumped up and pointed at the man indignantly. “Just what are you trying to say? I wasn’t ravaging her! We just fell and ended up like that!”

“That may be true.” Jagaa conceded, only to smirk and raise his camera. “But once these pictures get out, you’ll have a hard time proving that.”

Naruto’s features turned dark as he glared at his brother. “Nii-san…Give me that camera.”

Jagaa’s smirk became challenging and he tossed the camera into the air a couple times, his focus never leaving Naruto. “Make me.”

Naruto’s hands snapped into a cross shaped seal and his chakra spiked as he shouted. “ TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU! ” Smoke filled the air before dissipating to reveal a thousand Naruto’s all glaring at Jagaa with near murderous intensity.

Jagaa gave a low whistle as he took in the scene before him. “That’s a lot of brats.” He mumbled to himself.

Taking a step forward the real Naruto shouted a single order to his army of clones. “GET THAT CAMERA!”

“YOSH!” A thousand identical voices responded as every one of them charged.

Sitting forgotten on the grass behind them, Tenten watched the thousand Naruto’s chase after the maniacally laughing Jagaa, who was waving the camera and taunting his horde of blond pursuers, as she tried to make sense of everything that had just happened.

X     X     X     X     X

Sarutobi’s eye was twitching slightly as he looked up from the document in his hand to the two teams that were responsible for the complaints, or rather the blond males on each team, and started reciting the list of transgressions over the two weeks since Teams 7 and 8 had started taking missions.

“Taking bribes to allow peeking at the Onsen you were hired to guard.”

Jagaa shrugged. “I was a little short on cash, and they were paying well.” Sarutobi grit his teeth and continued.

“Planting weeds in flower gardens to encourage growth through ‘Healthy Competition’.

“What?” Naruto’s tone was defensive. “It could work.”

The old man’s eye twitched again. “Buying nothing but Sake on a grocery shopping mission.”

“…That was Naruto.” Jagaa stated, pointing to the younger blond.

“Nu uh! I bought nothing but ramen on my shopping mission.” Naruto argued.

“Oh, right. The Sake thing was me.” Jagaa amended.

More twitches. “Teaching the children you were babysitting to ask random women for Lap Dances.”

“The look on Princess’s face made it well worth the effort.” Jagaa smirked, earning very dangerous glare from Kurenai.

“Force feeding a chef, that you were supposed to be helping, a bowl of ramen when he claimed it wasn’t real food.”

“Never, insult, the ramen.” Naruto growled.

Several more twitches. “Challenging the goats at the local Petting Zoo to a ‘Duel of Honor’.”

“Okay, so I may have had a little too much to drink before that mission.” Jagaa admitted, holding his thumb and index finger a few millimetres apart to emphasize ‘Little’. Kurenai, Sasuke, and Sakura all nodded their agreement. Ino just giggled hers.

“Giving a speech to the birds at the village Aviary to ‘Rise up against the oppressors’.”

“…Can I use the drinking excuse to?” Naruto asked.

The old man rubbed his temples before continuing from memory. “Stuffing the Daiyamo’s wife’s cat into a burlap sack and spinning it over your head for thirty minutes straight, causing it to vomit several times.”

“In my defense…Ino came up with the ‘Spin the Kitty’ song.” Jagaa replied.

“Spin the Kitty round and round, till it doesn’t make a sound. Spin the Kitty overhead, keep on spinning till it’s dead.” Ino started chanting softly with an evil smile.

Sarutobi continued as if he hadn’t heard her. “Trying to cook the Daiyamo’s wife’s cat on a spit while doing a war dance around the fire.”

“It’s not like I actually got to cook it.” Naruto muttered. “Kakashi-sensei stopped me.”

“Uh, I actually gathered the wood for that. So Naruto’s not completely at fault.” Kiba admitted.

“And I was the one who provided the matches.” Hinata confessed.

“Why can’t we have teamwork like that?” Jagaa asked Kurenai and a vein popped up on the woman’s forehead.

“I’d be happy to bring matches next time, Jagaa-sensei.” Ino chirped.

“You’ll do no such thing!” Kurenai snapped.

“Yeah, come up with your own way to kill the cat!” Naruto added. “We’ve already got dibs on cooking it!”

“Quiet down! All of you!” Sarutobi commanded, waiting for them to comply before redirecting his gaze on Jagaa and Naruto. “Now, after hearing this rather large list of transgressions, tell me. Is there even one mission that you two have been on that you haven’t tried, or managed, to sabotage in some way?” After a moment of silence the old man grew impatient. “Well?”

“Come on, Jiji. You can’t ask us a difficult question like that and not give us some time to think.” Naruto argued and Jagaa solemnly nodded his agreement.

The aged Hokage leaned back in his chair and covered his face with his hands. “Even the enjoyment I got from seeing your first reactions to hearing about D rank missions isn’t enough of a buffer for this.”

“You should take up drinking.” Jagaa suggested helpfully. “It’s done wonders for me.”

“Yes, we’ve all seen what it’s done for you.” Kurenai said in a half growl that made Jagaa smile.

“CHANCE!” Naruto cried out and took a dive at Jagaa, only to end up spread-eagle on the ground on the opposite side of him when the man casually flipped the boy over his head.

Jagaa turned to face Naruto, an amused smirk playing on his lips. “Well, I’ll give you points for effort, but you also lose them for screaming out your intentions before attacking.”

Naruto rolled himself over and shook his head. “Grr, I almost got it that time.”

“You have a strange definition of ‘almost’.” Jagaa said in an amused voice. “If you keep this up, you’ll never be able to get it from me. Don’t forget, you’ve also got competition.”

“Don’t even think about letting that crazy lady get her hands on that!” Naruto yelled.

By now, everyone in the room had their full attention on the pair of blonds as they tried to figure out what was going on until Ino decided to find out the more direct way. “What’s Naruto trying to take from you, Jagaa-sensei?”

Still smirking, Jagaa reached into his Kunai pouch and pulled out his camera and showed it to Ino. On the top of it, she saw some words scratched into the plastic and read them out loud. “Naruto and Tenten Love-Love Pictures?”

“NO! Not Love-Love!” Naruto yelled vehemently. “There was no Love-Love going on! We just tripped and ended up that way!”

“Jagaa, just what is on that camera?” Kurenai asked.

“Oh, just some pictures of Naruto in a rather compromising position with a girl named Tenten.” Jagaa smiled, almost managing to make it look innocent.

“WE JUST TRIPPED!” Naruto shouted again.

This time it was Sakura who spoke up, her interest having been perked. “Jagaa-sensei, what did you mean when you said Naruto had competition?”

“Well, I kind of let it slip to Anko that I had gotten some compromising pictures of Naruto, and now she’s trying to get them so she can force him to give her his virginity in exchange for not posting them all over town.” Kurenai groaned at the news but Jagaa wasn’t done yet. “She even said she’d edit the pictures so that it would look like Naruto and Tenten were naked if he still wasn’t willing to comply.”

“I didn’t think Anko was that desperate to get Naruto.” Kakashi said as he turned a page in his book.

“I think she just enjoys the challenge.” Jagaa shrugged. "And she finds his reactions hilarious."

Sarutobi cleared his throat loudly to get their attention again. “If we could get back to the matter at hand, you two,” He looked pointedly at Naruto and Jagaa, “are supposed to be getting reprimanded.”

Naruto’s expression became confused as he turned to Jagaa. “What does ‘Reprimanded’ mean?”

“It means he talks to us sternly…and we ignore him.” Jagaa replied.

“Oh, okay then. I can do that.”

There was a loud thump as Sarutobi’s forehead smacked into his desk. “I’m too old for this.”

“Admitting you have a problem is the first step towards recovery.” Jagaa offered sagely.

“Forget the reprimand. Somehow I know it wouldn’t do any good anyways.” Sarutobi sighed dejectedly, pulling his head off his desk and leaning back in his chair so he wouldn’t have to see the victory smiles the two blondes were wearing. ‘ So much for vengeance through D rank missions. Maybe I’m thinking too small…or too much like a Hokage. Hmm...I’ll just have to do something so they’ll cause less trouble until I can come up with something better. I suppose for now I could start giving them C rank missions. At the very least, it will get them out of the village for a while. ’ Passing a hand in front of his eyes in resignation, Sarutobi sat forward again in his chair. “All right, I’m just going to start assigning you C rank missions. Maybe that will calm you both down enough to stop making my life so difficult.” Ignoring Jagaa’s cough that sound ed suspiciously like ‘Not likely’, he reached over to his stack of missions and started shuffling through them when one slipped out of the stack and settled on his desk.

Picking up the rogue piece of paper, Sarutobi frowned once he’d looked it over. ‘This is a B rank. How did it get in the C rank pile?’ He was about to put it back in the proper pile, but stopped when the details of the request caught his eye. It looked like the ranking wasn’t so much because of the danger, but because of the man power requested. The mission was to escort a large convoy of wagons carrying bridge building supplies from Konoha to a village in Wave Country. It had been ranked B due to the fact the convoy leader was requesting at least four Jounin to provide security, even though the danger level was only around a higher priority C rank.

Sarutobi glanced over the top of his paper at the two teams, his eyes narrowed slightly in thought as they examined the three Jounin. Kakashi, despite his need to constantly read his book, was easily one of the most powerful Jounin in Konoha and well known even through the other hidden villages. Kurenai, though inexperienced compared to her colleagues, had risen through the ranks at an admirable rate with her unparalleled prowess in Genjutsu . Then, there was Jagaa. Though there was still a great deal about him that was unknown (other than his love of irritating everyone around him) Kakashi had already claimed that the scarred man was at least as strong as Kakashi himself. Between the three of them, Sarutobi was certain that they easily carried enough combat power to count as at least five average Jounin. 

Then there were their students.

Kakashi’s report on his teams test stated quite clearly that he was certain that all three of them could be low Chuunin level, possibly mid Chuunin depending on how much they had been holding in reserve like proper Shinobi would, and had displayed a level of teamwork it usually took months of working together to form. Something Sarutobi had been hoping for when he formed the team. The only thing the three of them really lacked was experience, something that a mission like this would be perfect for gaining.

Shifting over to the remaining Genin, Sarutobi had to pause as the first doubts of sending them on the mission entered his mind. According to the verbal report Jagaa and Kurenai had given after their own test (which was the only thing the two of them had agreed on to date as far as Sarutobi knew) Team 7 should and would have been sent back to the academy, had they had the option, for their terrible performance. Sasuke in particular, despite his current skills and obvious potential, was still completely ignoring the importance of teamwork. Even after two weeks of missions the team had shown little improvement, according to Kurenai’s reports. Sakura and Ino still fought constantly over Sasuke, usually resulting in the missions taking far longer than was necessary, and Sasuke still treated his teammates like they weren’t worth his time. In fact, the only sort of cohesion in the group at all was the strangely friendly relationship Ino and Jagaa seemed to have formed somehow.

Sarutobi frowned behind the paper as another thought crossed his mind. If he recalled correctly, the six Genin before him had been something close to split factions in the academy with Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata always butting heads with Sasuke, Ino, and Sakura. Putting the six of them on the same mission would be like throwing a Cobra and a Mongoose in the same cage.

‘ Still, there are times when you have to work with people you wouldn’t usually get along with in order to accomplish the mission. ’ The old man mused. ‘ And it would be better for them all to learn that during a relatively safe mission, as opposed to a highly dangerous one. It may even be good for all of them. ’ Nodding to himself, the old man made up his mind.

Taking a breath, the old man spoke authoritatively. “Hatake Kakashi, Yuuhi Kurenai, and…Jagaa,” Sarutobi paused for a moment when he realized that Jagaa had still never actually given a clan name, but pushed it from his mind for now. “I have decided that your teams will conduct a joint escort mission. You will be guarding a convoy of wagons carrying bridge building supplies from Konoha to a village in Wave country. Due to the manpower requested, this mission is B rank, but the danger level shouldn’t be above a C rank, therefore I feel that this would be an excellent mission for both teams.” He looked over to each of the three Jounin in turn. “Are there any questions?”

Kakashi and Kurenai shook their heads in the negative, but Jagaa spoke up. “Did you say the mission was to Wave country?” At Sarutobi’s nod, Jagaa’s voice dropped. “I see.”

“Is that a problem?” The Sandaime asked.

“Hmm? Oh, no. No problem. I was just making sure old age hadn’t messed up your mind to the point you couldn’t keep your countries straight. That’s all.” Jagaa grinned impudently at the old man as he finished.

Sarutobi shook his head before speaking again. “Why don’t I just introduce you all to the leader of the convoy?” Raising his voice, he called out to the unknown person. “You may come in now!”

The door behind them slid open, and an old man carrying a bottle of Sake and wearing a strange straw hat, a disheveled gray shirt, and some loose tan shorts walked into the room. “Are these the people who are supposed to guard my supplies?” The old man asked, giving the nine Ninja a once over. “Most of them are just kids. I thought I asked for at least four Jounin? Not a bunch of wet behind the ears Genin.”

“I assure you, these two teams are quite capable.” Sarutobi responded easily. “You wanted four Jounin, but with these individuals, I could say that you have the combat power of five or six Jounin.”

“Hell yeah!” Naruto shouted, grinning at the client. “Not to mention we have Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, and all us Genin too. So there’s probably more like ten Jounin!”

“Nice attempt at flattery, Naruto, but I’m still not giving you the camera.” Jagaa deadpanned.

Naruto snapped his fingers in disappointment.

“Well, whatever.” The elderly client shrugged before taking a swig of Sake and wiping his mouth. “As long as I get the protection I’m paying for, I don’t care.” Looking to each of the assembled Ninja in turn, “My name is Tazuna, bridge building extraordinaire, and you all will be responsible for protecting my life and the lives of my workers.” The assembled Ninja all nodded in understanding.

Sarutobi gave his own small nod before speaking again. “The convoy, as directed by Tazuna-san, will be leaving tomorrow at 0700. So use tonight to pack whatever you may need for the trip and get a good night’s sleep. You are dismissed until then.”

“Nii-san, I need a sealing scroll.” Naruto pleaded, turning to his brother.

Jagaa heaved a small sigh and reached into his pouch. “All right, but you’re only allowed to take ten. That’s it.”

“Only ten !” Naruto cried. “That’s not even enough to last me a day !”

“Then I guess you’ll have to eat something other than ramen the rest of the trip.” Jagaa replied unsympathetically. “It’ll be good for you. Oh, and if I find out that you brought more than ten, you will regret it.”

Naruto looked away from Jagaa as he pouted.

“Well, see you all later.” Jagaa said with a wave over his shoulder as he started walking to the door. “I’m gonna go out for some drinks.” As the others gave various responses ranging from complete ignoring to cheery waves, Naruto’s eyes narrowed and he slowly started stalking forward and lunged just as Jagaa opened the door.

“CHANCE/CHANCE!”

There was a loud crash as blonde and purple blurs collided, leaving both Naruto and Anko lying on the floor with swirls in their eyes after colliding in their dual attempt to get the camera from Jagaa, who had simply turned to the side and let physics take its course.

“Keep trying you two.” Jagaa laughed as he walked past the two dazed Ninja.

It would be as he was walking out the front door of the tower that Jagaa would hear an excited shout of “Naru-chan” that would quickly be followed by a loud scream and the shattering of glass as Naruto jumped through a closed window to escape.

Chapter Text

“You ready to go yet, Brat?” Jagaa called from the living room as he waited on his sunny-blond brother.

“Almost!” Naruto called back from the kitchen, his voice distorted by the cup of ramen he was shoveling into his mouth as he tried to eat as much as possible before the mission, having been limited by how much he was allowed to take.

“That’s the last cup! Understand?” Jagaa stated firmly, earning a despaired whine from the boy. Shaking his head at Naruto’s insatiable love of ramen, Jagaa was doing a final once over of himself to make sure that he had everything when a light knock caught his attention. Frowning slightly, Jagaa turned to the front door. “Hmm, didn’t think we were that late yet.” He muttered to himself, figuring somebody had been sent to fetch the two of them for the mission. Shrugging once, he walked over and opened the door to tell whoever it was that they would be leaving soon.

In the kitchen, Naruto was just throwing away the cup that had contained the noodles he recently consumed when a strange squelching sound caught his ear. After looking down to see if he stepped in something, thankfully finding that he hadn’t, Naruto shrugged and finished disposing of his garbage just as Jagaa’s voice came from the living room again. This time holding a strangely light, almost musical tone. “Oh, Naruto. By any chance, did the scroll you keep your pie throwing machine in go missing?”

Naruto frowned slightly at the question. He didn’t remember telling his brother about that. “Yeah, I lost it a few days ago during a mission.” Naruto replied as he walked into the living room. “But how did you know…that…?” Naruto’s jaw dropped as he stared in bewilderment.

Jagaa turned to face the younger blond with a blank expression, his entire torso and the left half of his face covered in pie crust and chocolate filling. “Oh…call it a hunch.” It was at that moment, a large gob of pie filling dripped from the end of Jagaa’s nose and landed on the floor with an audible plop.

That was Naruto’s first near death experience due to being unable to breathe from laughing so hard.

X     X     X     X     X

“Would you stop laughing already?” Jagaa growled at the boy at his side as they reached the rendezvous sight for the convoy to Wave country were Kurenai, Ino, Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba, and surprisingly Kakashi were already waiting, watching the pair with a mixture of anger at their tardiness, Team 7 being the only ones really supplying the anger, and curiosity at the way they were acting.

“It…d-dripped off…y-your… nose !” Naruto laughed harder as the image replayed in his head.

Jagaa rubbed his temples in irritation. The worst part of it all was that he didn’t even have the right to really get mad about it because he knew that if it had happened to Naruto, Jagaa himself would have been laughing his ass off as well…and probably would later anyway once his irritation died down, if he were honest with himself.

“You’re late.” Kurenai’s stern voice drew his attention to where the woman was standing with her arms crossed and her eyes hard.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Jagaa sighed as he apologized. “We got held up by something…Speaking of which.” Jagaa turned to Kakashi accusingly. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about the pie machine set up outside of my door this morning. Would you, Cyclops?”

Kakashi looked over his book at Jagaa, his visible eye twinkling. “Well, there are several paths that can be taken on the road of life. I suppose it’s possible that one of them may have led to an event like that.”

Jagaa’s eye twitched behind his glasses. “Would it really be so hard to just say ‘Yes’?”

The silver haired man’s eye shifted to show his smile. “Yes.”

“…When’s the last time I told you that I hate you?” Jagaa asked.

Kakashi grasped the edge of his chin in thought with his free hand. “Hmm, I think it was about two weeks ago.”

“I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.” Jagaa paused for a moment and did a quick count on his fingers. “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”

“That was two ‘I hate you’s’ too many.” Kakashi pointed out.

“I know. I was covering tomorrow and the next day just to be on the safe side.” Jagaa stated.

“Ah.” Kakashi replied in acceptance before going back to his book.

“Plop.” Naruto sniggered, mimicking the sound of the pie filling hitting the floor and causing a vein to appear on the Jagaa’s forehead. This was followed by two, rather audible thuds as the scarred man’s fist slammed into the back of the boy’s head sending him face first into the ground.

And still he laughed…though a bit more painfully than before.

Jagaa sighed again and shook his head. “Sometimes I think I made him too tough.” He muttered to himself before facing the rest of the assembled Ninja. As he did, he noticed Kurenai was staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. “What’s up, Princess?”

Still staring as if she had never seen him before, Kurenai spoke almost hesitantly. “You… apologized to me.”

Jagaa’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “What? That can’t be right.”

“It’s true,” Sakura said in support of her female sensei, “and it wasn’t sarcastic or anything either. You didn’t even follow with an insult of some kind.”

Jagaa was starting to look a bit panicked. “I must have! At least a ‘Bite me’ or something!”

“Nope.” Ino piped in with an evil smile. “In fact, you almost sounded…polite.”

The blood drained from Jagaa’s face. “Nu uh! No way! I refuse to believe that! I do not do polite! There’s no possibility of polite! You all must have misheard me! Yeah, that’s it! It’s all just some horrible misunderstanding!”

“I’m afraid not, Jagaa-san.” Hinata said calmly, a small smirk playing on her lips. “You really did give Kurenai-san a seemingly sincere apology.”

Jagaa gaped at the group, his mouth opening and closing like a landed fish before rounding on Kakashi and pointing dramatically as he shouted. “Damn you, Kakashi! This is all your fault!”

Kakashi just smiled at the other man before turning the page of his book.

Meanwhile, in a private little room at the Hokage tower, The Sandaime Hokage could be found sitting behind a table and staring down into a little crystal ball and grinning like a four-year-old at Christmas.

“It’s about time you all showed up!” Tazuna called out gruffly as he joined the assembled Ninja. “The wagons are all ready to go, so we’ll be moving out within the next ten minutes.” The elderly man pulled out a jug of Sake and took a long draw before wiping his mouth and continuing. “I don’t care how you plan to do it, but I expect you all to protect this convoy with your lives, because we are entrusting you with ours. And I mean that in more ways than one.”

As the rest of the group nodded in acknowledgement, Jagaa raised his hand like a student in class, his mood seeming to have started returning to normal. “Excuse me, but I have a couple questions before we go.” Tazuna regarded the scarred man for a moment before nodding for Jagaa to continue. “Okay, first.” Jagaa pointed at the jug in Tazuna’s hand. “Do you have more of that?”

Tazuna raised an eyebrow at the question as he answered. “Yes, I’ve got another few bottles or so. Why?”

“Just checking before I did this.” The next thing Tazuna knew, his jug of Sake had appeared Jagaa’s hand and the content was dis appearing down the dirty-blond’s throat. “Ah, I needed that.” The scarred man said dreamily followed by a slight burp before he continued talking to the indignant Tazuna as if nothing had happened. “My second question is why you wanted a minimum of four Jounin guarding this convoy when a team or two of Chuunin would have been just as effective, and probably cheaper. I mean, from my experience, a convoy this big isn’t usually in much danger. At least not with what you’re carrying.”

“What do you mean by that, Jagaa-sensei?” Sakura asked.

“He means that these types of convoys don’t get attacked by small bands of thieves very often, and any that might be feeling brave enough to do it would be scared off by the sight of armed guards or Ninja.” Naruto cut in, shocking everyone but Jagaa with the professionalism in his voice. “There are larger, more organized groups that might attack it, but that’s only if it was something worth the losses they could take. So, unless these wagons have some kind of treasure hidden in all that wood and metal, the chance of a large group like that attacking is pretty low.”

“It’s just like the brat says.” Jagaa followed up. “All the experience I have dealing with this kind of thing says that you don’t need the level of protection you’re asking for, but for some reason you’ve been pretty adamant about getting it. I’d just like to know why.”

Blinking slightly, the other Ninja looked at the pair of blonds in mute amazement before shifting their gazes to Tazuna who was looking a little hesitant. “Does it really matter? I’m paying for the help I ask for, aren’t I?”

“It matters if you don’t want to be killed because we were caught off guard.” Naruto replied in a hard voice, shocking those who knew him even more. “You’re obviously expecting something bigger than just some random bandits. We need to know what that is.”

Naruto gave the man a steely gaze that made the Tazuna flinch back a bit. Soon after, the old man sighed and nodded. “Okay, the truth is that there is someone who fears this convoy reaching its destination. And even more than that, he fears the completion of the bridge we’re are building to connect our island to the mainland.”

“Who is it?” Ino asked with a tilt of her head. “And why would they be so afraid of a bridge?”

Tazuna’s eyes grew hard. “His name is Gatou, and he fears it because, if this bridge is finished, it will completely undermine his attempts to take over the Wave. Gatou wants our island because of its strategic positioning in the sea transportation business and has been trying to force us into submission by hiring thugs to raid our town and attack our supply ships. We’ve been fighting back with everything we have, but he has more money and an endless supply of ruthless underlings to do his dirty work.”

Tazuna moved as if intending to take a drink, only to remember that his jug had been taken. With a small growl at the loss of his Sake, Tazuna continued. “This bridge would change everything though. Trade would skyrocket due to the more convenient method of travel, and in turn, so would our economy. If he loses his ability to cripple our trade and supply, he loses his chance at taking over.” Tazuna looked to each of the listening ninja in turn, his eyes determined. “That’s why we need to protect this convoy no matter what. It may cost more to higher so much protection, especially when all he’s ever sent is low class thugs, but to us, this is our chance to keep our freedom. We’ve put everything we have into this and we’ll lay down our lives to see this bridge built. So you can imagine how little we care about putting forth a bit of extra money.” The old man’s eyes were filled with determination that dared the Ninja to try to fault him.

“Alrighty, let’s get this shit moving then.” Jagaa grinned before downing the rest of the Sake he’d stolen and throwing the bottle back to Tazuna. “We’re already late, aren’t we?”

There was a loud crash as everyone except Jagaa, Naruto, and surprisingly (or maybe not) Kakashi fell down.

“What? That’s it?” Ino yelled as she jumped to her feet. “After that third degree you two were giving him, that’s all you have to say?”

“We weren’t giving him the third degree, Ino.” Naruto replied. “We just wanted to know the job details so we’d know what to expect.”

Ino gave the other blond a skeptical look. “Oh really? Sure seemed like an interrogation to me.”

Naruto’s expression was filled with mischief and he looked up at Jagaa. “Hey, Nii-san, she thinks that was our idea of an interrogation. Think we should show her what our real interrogation tactics are?”

Jagaa smirked evilly at the blonde girl, who was starting to feel a bit nervous. “I think that’s an excellent idea, Brat.”

Ino took a couple steps back apprehensively. “What are you going to do?” Jagaa’s smirk grew a little wider and the next thing Ino knew, Jagaa was kneeling down beside her on one his left knee and pulling her up to sit on his right like a chair as her hands were pinned behind her head at the wrist by a strong grip and her legs held together by the ankles like an improvised restraining chair.

Before the girl could even attempt to struggle free from her confinement, Naruto stepped in front of her with his arms crossed and wearing a stern expression. “Yamanaka Ino. Where were you on the twenty third night of the seventh month at half past nineteen hundred hours?”

Ino looked at the other blonde with a mixture of contempt and confusion. “What the hell? How could I possibly remember that?!”

“She’s not talking, Jagaa-san.” Naruto said professionally to his current partner in torture.

Jagaa nodded firmly. “Give her ‘The Treatment’, Naruto-san.”

Ino’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute! What the hell is the-Kyaahahah!” Ino was cut off by fits of hysterical laughter as Naruto’s fingers started dancing along her sides, stomach, and under her armpits.

Stopping his tickle assault, but still keeping his hands dangerously close, Naruto looked Ino dead in the eye. “If I eat eight bowls of ramen in the morning, eleven in the afternoon, and sixteen in the evening, how many bottles of Sake will Nii-san have drank throughout the day?”

Flushed from her laughter, Ino glared at the boy like he was an idiot. “That doesn’t even make sense you-Bwahahaha-s-stop you bastard-hahaha!”

“Don’t let up until she talks.” Jagaa ordered. “I’m curious about the answer myself.”

“Roger.” Naruto acknowledged as he doubled his assault on the helpless Ino.

“Gahahaha-stop-wahaha-quit it you-pffthehe-fucking assholes-gahaha-I’m gonna kill you both-hehehe-cock sucking bastards-hahahaha!” Ino screeched, tears in her eyes from laughing.

As Ino continued to swear and shout death threats at her assailants, the rest of the group could only stare in mute amazement, blinking every few seconds since words seemed to have escaped them.

X     X     X     X     X

“Dear Kami, does it feel good to be on the road again!” Jagaa shouted joyously from the middle of the wagon train where he had been positioned along with Hinata and Sasuke. Looking down at the Uchiha, Jagaa grinned. “Don’t you think so too, Emo?” Sasuke glared at the man in response before turning away with a grunt.

Putting on a stricken expression, Jagaa turned to Hinata and whined piteously. “Hinata-chan, Sasuke’s being an anti-social weenie.” There was a very audible growl from the Uchiha for that comment.

“Maybe it’s because you called him an Emo?” Hinata replied. Her lips twitching as she tried to hold back an amused smile.

“But he is !” Jagaa complained. “I bet you he has scars all over his wrists and everything.”

Hinata gave the man a deadpanned look. “Somehow, Jagaa-san, I don’t think you have the right to criticize anyone about having scars.”

“Hey,” Jagaa defended indignantly, “ my scars aren’t some cry for attention. Mine are legitimate badges of honor to commemorate the fights I’ve lived through and my overall Bad Ass-ness.” The scarred man then paused for a second before grinning. “Except for some of the scars on my back. Those are badges of a different kind of honor.”

“JAGAA!” Kurenai’s voice snapped from about seven wagons back where she, Naruto, and Sakura were guarding the rear. “Stop being obscene! We’re on a mission!”

“What?” Jagaa called back, a smirk visible even from that distance. “I’m talking about the scars of my adventurous childhood and accidents that came with it. What are you talking about?”

Kurenai’s face reddened in both anger and embarrassment. “You were not and you know it!” Her embarrassed response earned audible laughter from the scarred man ahead.

“I could have told you he’d do that.” Naruto grinned at Kurenai. “He was baiting you from the beginning?”

Kurenai gave Naruto a sidelong glance. “How do you know that?”

“The tone of his voice.” Naruto answered simply. “The only time he talks like that is when he’s purposely trying to be overheard.”

“I didn’t notice anything different.” Sakura said.

“I’ve known him a lot longer than you.” Naruto replied with a light smile at the pink haired girl. He could honestly say he had been pleasantly surprised by Sakura’s attitude since the start of the trip. She was being much more relaxed and friendly than he could have ever thought possible from the Sasuke obsessed girl. They had even had a short but enjoyable conversation a little after the trip started. Mostly with Sakura looking for some dirt on Jagaa, but still enjoyable. ‘I guess this is how she is when she’s not trying to catch the Teme’s attention.’ Naruto thought. ‘To bad she’d probably just revert any time he was around. I think we could be good friends if it weren’t for that.’

Kurenai’s eyes narrowed in thought as she looked at the sunny-blonde boy beside her. “If you know him so well, could you tell me how to make him take his position seriously instead of acting like a disgruntled five-year-old?”

“Do I look like a miracle worker?” Naruto deadpanned, earning a snort of amusement from Sakura and a slight twitch of lips from Kurenai. “Nii-san won’t take anything seriously if he doesn’t have to. And, when he does, it usually means someone is about to die.” It was a bit disconcerting how casually the boy said that, but neither female had much time to think about it since Naruto was still speaking. “Anyway, you can’t get him to be serious, but you can get him to be nicer to you.”

“How?” Kurenai asked in a faintly desperate tone.

Naruto grinned foxily at the red eyed woman. “Prank him.”

Wind passed through the trees as Kurenai came to a stop and stared at the boy as if he were some sort of unknown life form. “Prank him?”

“That’s what I said. By the way, you’re falling behind, Kurenai-sensei.” After a quick shake of her head, Kurenai quickened her pace to catch up with the grinning Naruto and the giggling Sakura. Once the Jounin was next to them again, Naruto continued speaking. “Your problem, Sensei, is that you’re too serious about, well, everything . For people like me and Nii-san, that’s almost the same as putting a large target on your forehead.” Naruto grinned at the red eyed woman. “Nii-san isn’t kidding when he says that pissing you off is his favorite form of entertainment.”

Kurenai’s eyes hardened and her teeth clenched slightly. “And you’re telling me that the only way to get him to stop is to prank him?”

“No.” Naruto said with a shake of his head. “That’s how you get him to lighten up on you. Did you see the way he calmed down for a little while after Kakashi-sensei used my pie machine on him?” Naruto had to stop for a little while due to laughter as the image of a pie covered Jagaa replayed through his mind. “Anyway, that’s what you have to do. You have to show that you’re not afraid to go toe to toe with him at his own game, and then he’ll start to respect you. Just be ready to be in a prank war for a while. He’ll want to test you to make sure it wasn’t just a one time thing.” Naruto grimaced as he kept speaking. “To be honest, me and Nii-san were in an ongoing prank war for almost six months until we both decided to use laxatives on each other…on the same day. Let’s just say that an afternoon of near Mortal Combat to use the bathroom is a good sign that it’s time to call a truce.”

Sakura spewed a fair amount of saliva and ended up choking a bit when Naruto said that last part. An image forming in her mind of the two blonds stuck in the doorway to the bathroom as each tried to get in before the other one.

Kurenai managed to control her own reaction so as not to end up in the same state as Sakura, but left proof of her amusement with the upward curve of the corners of her mouth. Tilting her head back, the woman stared thoughtfully at the passing clouds as she walked. It would go against her nature, very much so in fact, but if it were the only way to get Jagaa to start behaving better, it might be worth it. With a nod to herself, she gave Naruto a sly, sidelong glance. “So, prank him, huh?”

Naruto grinned mischievously at the woman as he patted the still coughing Sakura’s back. “Prank him.”

“GAHH! WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY YOU FLEE INFESTED LEG HUMPER!” Ino’s voice suddenly rang out, startling everyone. “YOU HAVEN’T STOPPED YAPPING SINCE WE LEFT KONOHA!”

“I’LL TALK TO AKAMARU ALL I WANT YOU RETARTED BLONDE!” Kiba’s voice shouted back.

“HEY!” Naruto and Jagaa’s voices yelled out in sync at Kiba’s verbal attack on Ino’s hair color and its indirect application to them.

It would be half an hour and a change of groups later before the extremely loud argument between the Yamanaka and Inuzuka would finally be brought to an end.

X     X     X     X     X

About two weeks after leaving Konoha, the last of the wagons had just gotten off the large freighter that had carried the convoy across the open water to land on a secluded beach in the Wave Country.

“All right, that’s the last of them!” Tazuna yelled out once the final wagon touched ground on the shore. “Hitch up the oxen and get ready to move out! You all had plenty of time to rest on the boat!” There was a chorus of agreement from Tazuna’s workers as they all set about their tasks. While Tazuna and his group were preparing the wagons for departure, the Konoha Ninja had gathered together a bit off from the group for a tactical meeting.

“We’re all going to have to be extra vigilant from here on out.” Kakashi said to the group, his orange book put away to show his seriousness. “If what Tazuna said about this Gatou person is true, then he is desperate to stop this group from reaching their destination. Now that we're in the Wave, it will be easier for him to send a large enough force to pose a threat.”

“That would be the best strategy.” Kurenai agreed. “Instead of shipping smaller forces over and doing minor damage, he could set up an ambush with everything he could spare, and if he’s really as rich as Tazuna-san says, that could be a very large number.”

Kakashi nodded. “Fortunately, it seems Tazuna-san thought of that as well and said he’s chosen a path that will use mostly open areas with minimal movements through forest areas. And only through the least wooded areas as possible when we have to.”

“So we can see the enemy coming and have room to fight when they do.” Naruto clarified, earning an approving smile from Kakashi.

“Exactly, however, that doesn’t mean we won’t have to take roads that will have thick forest around it at least a couple times.” Kakashi added before turning to Hinata with a smile. “So, Hinata-chan, we’ll be counting on you to keep watch for us during those times.” The Hyuuga girl rolled her eyes at Kakashi’s term of address but nodded in understanding.

“Hey, Nii-san.” Naruto suddenly spoke up. “Do you have any contacts in Wave that could help us out?” The other Ninja looked over to where Naruto and Jagaa were standing to hear the answer, but instead saw Naruto frowning up at an unresponsive Jagaa who seemed to be staring off into the trees. “Nii-san?”

Jagaa’s head jerked slightly and he quickly turned his face to Naruto. “Huh? Oh, contacts. Yeah, I have a couple, but it won’t do us any good.”

“Why not?” Ino asked, cutting Naruto off who gave her a quick, somewhat annoyed look.

“Well for starters, I’d have to go talk to them personally, and finding them would take longer than it will take to get there.” Jagaa said with a shrug. “Also, if this Gatou guy is really that desperate to stop these wagons, he’s probably already set up watches and ambushes across half the country to catch us. So my contacts wouldn’t be able to do much more than tell us where the bigger ambushes are, and even that would take some time for them to get the information.” Jagaa shook his head. “No, it’s better to just keep doing as we’ve been doing. Staying wary of attack and choosing routes that give us enough room to fight large numbers.”

The others all nodded their agreement and Kakashi spoke again. “All right, it’s settled then. We’ll keep the same groups of three we’ve had and stay in the same order of movement. Any objections?” Kakashi looked at everyone in turn. Seeing that nobody disagreed with the decision the silver haired man smiled. “All right then. Let’s get going.”

As the group of Konoha Ninja started moving back to the wagons, Jagaa felt a tug on the back of his shirt and turned his head to find Naruto looking up at him with a concerned expression. “Nii-san, can we talk?”

Jagaa’s head tilted slightly as he looked down at the boy. “Sure. What’s up?”

“Are…are you okay, Nii-san?” Naruto asked hesitantly, not sure how his brother would react to the question.

Jagaa’s eyebrows rose slightly. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’ve just been so…I don’t know…it just seems like you’ve been getting quieter and more distracted the closer we’ve gotten to Wave.” Naruto paused for a moment, taking a breath before continuing. “Now that I think about it, you did this once before, just a couple months after I met you. I didn’t notice it back then because I didn’t know you very well, but I do know we were in Wave Country at the time.”

Jagaa’s expression tightened almost unnoticeably to anyone but Naruto and the scarred man turned away with a small sigh, but no answer.

Naruto’s eyes hardened slightly at his brother’s strange behavior. “Nii-san, are you hiding something from me?”

“Everyone has something they hide from others, Naruto. Even the people they care about.” Jagaa faced Naruto again with a faint smirk. “You should know that better than anyone.”

Naruto flinched back a little, his hand unconsciously grasping his stomach at the implication. “Sorry, Nii-san. I didn’t mean to pry. I just…” Naruto trailed off, unsure how to express his feelings on the matter, when a comforting hand came to rest on the top of his head. Looking back up, Naruto saw Jagaa smiling warmly down at him.

“I know, Brat. No need to feel bad.” Jagaa said as he playfully ruffled Naruto’s hair. “I just have a bit of history here, that’s all.”

Naruto smiled lightly as he knocked away the hand that was adding to the disarray of his spiky hair. “So, will you tell me about it someday?”

“Maybe someday.” Jagaa smirked mischievously. “But for now, it’s for me to know and for you to drive yourself insane wondering about.”

“Stingy Bastard.” Naruto said with a false glare.

“Damn right.” The scarred man laughed, giving Naruto a light slap to the back of the head. “Now let’s get back to the group before Princess gets her panties in a twist over the fact we're not there.”

“Oh, speaking of Kurenai-sensei.” Naruto said as the two of them started walking back to the wagons. “You might have to watch out for her in the future.”

Jagaa looked down to the boy with a curious frown. “Really? What makes you say that?”

“Because I told her that the only way to get you to lighten up on her was to prank you.” Naruto said easily, laughing to himself when he saw Jagaa nearly trip over his own feet.

“You didn’t.” Jagaa laughed. “Do you think she’ll actually do it?”

Naruto grinned. “She did seem pretty desperate to get you to start taking your job more seriously, so she might.”

“Ah well, I doubt it’ll be anything to worry about.” Jagaa shrugged. “I mean, come on. This is Princess were talking about. Does she even know how to pull a prank?”

“Be careful, Nii-san.” Naruto warned. “She could surprise you if you’re over confident.”

“We’ll see.” Jagaa said in an unconcerned voice.

“Jagaa!” Kurenai’s shout rang out. “Quit wasting time and get back here! We’re leaving!”

“…You know. I find it distinctly unfair that she singled me out like that without even mentioning you.” Jagaa pouted to the younger blond. “What did I do to deserve that?”

“JAGAA!” Kurenai shouted again.

“I’m coming! Keep your freaking panties on, ya damn Banshee!” Jagaa yelled back irritably.

“Nope, can’t imagine why she’d ever single you out.” Naruto said sarcastically, earning a grin from Jagaa as the two of them continued walking towards the wagons and a now pissed off Kurenai whom Kakashi was in the middle of trying to talk out of attempting to kill Jagaa in front of the clients.

X     X     X     X     X

“All right, everyone, we’ll take an hour's rest here!” Tazuna shouted to his workers, who gave a quick cheer as they pulled the wagons closer together to make them easier to defend while they rested. Due to a washout on the route Tazuna had originally planned, they had been forced to take a longer and more densely forested route than Tazuna wanted. So far, they had gotten through without incident, reaching the spars clearing they were currently in for a rest, but they still had a large stretch of woodlands to go before they would be back on the originally planned path.

“I guess this would be a good time to eat some lunch then.” Kakashi said to the other Konoha Ninja as the nine of them regrouped once the wagons were set up. “Three people at a time, one Jounin, two Genin, just like normal.”

“Blonds eat first!” Three voices yelled out as Ino, Naruto, and Jagaa all whipped out their respective lunches with giant grins on their faces.

“You know, that’s really unfair.” Kiba complained to the rest of the group as the three blonds plopped themselves on the ground and started happily munching on their food. “Don’t we have another group of three with something in common that can compete with them for eating first?” Akamaru barked his agreement from his place on Kiba’s head.

“Not really.” Hinata said with an irritated shake of her head. “Any other groups that might be formable wouldn’t be as natural as theirs, and therefore wouldn’t be able to compete very well.”

“You sound pretty sure of that.” Kiba said with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ve been trying to mix and match groups inside my head since they started doing that.” Hinata replied, a small twitch forming in her right eye. “Believe me. I’m certain.”

“Well, I don’t care if I’m the first to eat or the last as long as I get to eat with Sasuke-kun!” Sakura squealed, hugging the brooding Uchiha’s arm, who just gave her an annoyed glare.

Kakashi smiled down at the four remaining Genin. “Now, now, as long as everybody gets to eat it doesn’t really matter who goes first, does it?”

“It’s the principle.” Kiba pointed out as Hinata nodded in agreement.

“You see.” Naruto was saying to Jagaa around a mouth full of his sandwich, seeing as he was out of ramen, as he pointed at Sakura. “She’s easy enough to get along with when the Teme isn’t around, but once he is…” The boy trailed off and a shudder wracked his body.

“Hey!” Ino said indignantly. “Don’t insult Sasuke-kun!”

Naruto glanced at Ino uncertainly before looking at Jagaa. “I thought you said she wasn’t as bad as Sakura anymore?”

Jagaa shrugged. “She’s gotten a lot better since I first met her, but sometimes she-” Jagaa stopped and his head snapped up before he quickly climbed to his feet, even the wind seeming to pick up in anticipation as a small smirk came to his face. “So much for lunch.”

That was all the man needed to say to alert the other Ninja for battle, but before they could start moving to separate positions, Hinata caught sight of something through her activated Byakugan.

“Look out!” The Hyuuga girl yelled in warning at the sight of a giant blade spinning through the air straight at them and a mass jump cleared all but two of the Ninja jumped clear, with only Jagaa and Naruto remaining. The scarred man was calmly watching the large weapon heading for them and the whiskered boy seemed to have decided it wasn’t even worth getting up for as he sat on the ground taking a drink from his canteen.

“Jagaa! Naruto!” Kakashi yelled in panic bringing the attention of everyone else back to the pair, their eyes widening in shock when they saw that neither blond had yet to move.

Even as Kakashi yelled, the blade closed the distance making it impossible for the pair to move in time even if they wanted to now. However, it was soon shown that both had good reason to be unconcerned as Jagaa’s right hand shot out with perfect timing to catch the hilt of the large weapon. Using the blade's momentum, Jagaa brought his arm up and spun the sword around his head a few times to get it under his control before slashing it down to his side, the blade hovering only inches above Naruto’s head who was calmly taking another drink from his canteen.

“You know, Nii-san. I didn’t ask for a haircut.” Naruto reprimanded the man, giving the large sword a pointed glance.

“You could use one though.” Jagaa grinned. “Besides, I missed anyway. I guess you were shorter than I thought.”

Naruto glared at Jagaa for the insult to his height.

A low, rhythmic clapping sounded through the clearing coming from a lone tree about thirty meters away. “Well, well, well. Who would have thought that I’d run into you two on this job.” A deep, slightly raspy voice called out as the speaker came into view. Crouched on one of the thick lower branches, a man wearing gray camo print pants but no shirt, a hitai-ate worn on the side of his head instead of the front, and white bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face, was looking down at Jagaa and Naruto with piercing black eyes. “It’s been a while, Jagaa, Naruto.”

“Yeah, life’s funny that way.” Jagaa replied with a smirk. “I see you’re still trying to compensate by using this overgrown Butcher’s Knife, Zabuza.” As he spoke, Jagaa sent the blade spinning at the man in the tree the same way it had come at him. The man caught it by the handle and spun it a couple of times just like Jagaa had, only bringing it to rest on his shoulder instead of at his side.

“And I see you’re still as irritating as ever.” Zabuza growled back as he shifted his sword to rest more comfortably.

“Momichi Zabuza!” Kurenai gasped, her eyes going wide. “The ‘Demon of the Mist’ and former member of the Mist’s ‘Seven Swordsmen’! Why is he here?”

“I’ll give you three guesses.” Jagaa said sarcastically.

“Hey, Uncle Zabuza!” Naruto called cheerily, jumping to his feet and waving to the shirtless man. “Is Haku nii-chan here too?”

In response to his question, a small gale of wind and leaves howled next to Zabuza before fading away and leaving a boy wearing a loose, green shirt, baggy gray pants, and a white, oval shaped mask with two red markings on it standing next to Zabuza on the tree limb.

“Yes. I’m here as well, Naruto-kun.” The new arrival said in a pleasantly smooth voice as he reached up to remove his mask, revealing a feminine face that made placing his gender a very difficult thing. “It’s nice to see you again.” The boy said with a warm smile.

“OH MY GOD, HE’S GORGEOUS!” Ino and Sakura shrieked in true Fangirl fashion, little hearts forming in their eyes as they stared at Haku, while the boy himself shifted a little uncomfortably.

“Seriously, Haku,” Jagaa complained with a bit of despair in his voice, “couldn’t you at least get a haircut or something . You look more female than most females I know.”

Haku blushed lightly. “I’m very sorry, Jagaa-san, but I am content with my appearance as it is.”

“Leave Haku alone, Nii-san.” Naruto chastised his older brother. “He’s just fine the way he is.” Haku gave Naruto a grateful look, who just smiled in return.

“Are you sure you’re not gay?” Jagaa asked suspiciously.

“If you’re all finished catching up?” Zabuza growled with a hard look between Haku and the two blonds below. “We have a job to do.” Standing up and fully displaying his impressive height, Zabuza swung his giant sword around and pointed it at the wagons behind the group of Ninja. “We were hired to kill everyone in that convoy and destroy all the supplies. If you’re all willing to stand aside, then you won’t have to die.”

“Oh, come off it, Bandage Face.” Jagaa said, tilting his head and raising a single eyebrow. “I could take you on alone, and from what I hear, the Cyclops and the Princess over there,” Jagaa indicated to Kakashi and Kurenai with a jerk of his thumb, “are no slouches either. Do you really think you can win with these kinds of odds against you?”

Zabuza’s eyes gleamed down at them all in a way that showed he was smirking confidently underneath his bandages. “Just me and Haku? No, we probably couldn’t win trying to fight people like you and ‘Copy Ninja Kakashi’ at the same time.” Zabuza paused and did a sweeping motion with his sword. “But, then again, who said it was just us?”

“NII-SAN!” Naruto shouted and the three Konoha Jounin spun around and saw at least twenty men rushing out of the trees from the East and charging the wagons. A series of warlike shouts rang out as another ten appeared out of the North and sounds of yelling and branches breaking from the South signaled even more enemies coming towards them.

“So what will you do now, Jagaa?” Zabuza asked with an amused gleam in his eye while Jagaa grit his teeth in anger.

A woman’s scream pierced the air as the first group of enemies closed in on the wagons, one with a sword raised to end the life of the woman screaming, when a blast of wind and debris erupted in the middle of the attacking group.

Where once were twenty charging men, now twelve corpses and two groaning injured lay on the ground, clumps of dirt and vegetation falling around them as Jagaa stood in the middle of the massacre sending a wave of killing intent towards the six that had managed to jump clear, revealing their Shinobi training.

“Naruto! Hinata! Kiba! Ino! Sasuke! Sakura!” Jagaa shouted the Genins’ names with commander like authority. “Spread out and take care of the weaklings! I’ll handle the Ninja in the ranks! Kakashi! You and the Princess take on Zabuza and Haku!” Without waiting for a response, Jagaa launched himself at the remaining six men of the group.

Five Genin and two Jounin were locked in a state of shock at the complete change in the scarred man’s demeanor when Naruto’s angry shout shocked them even more. “You heard him! Quit staring like idiots and do what you were hired for!” With an animal-like growl, Naruto charged at the attackers coming from the north, sending shuriken and kunai flying ahead of him, killing five instantly and wounding three more before he arrived in their midst and started attacking with lethal intensity.

At the sight of Naruto charging into battle without a trace of hesitation, Sasuke felt a jealous rage boil inside of him and immediately attacked the enemies who had just arrived from the South with a flurry of Shuriken, grunting in satisfaction when four of the men screamed out in pain and dropped to the ground. Pulling out a kunai, Sasuke closed the distance and began attacking ferociously, determined to show his superiority to the blond.

“Kiba!” Hinata shouted, getting the still stunned Inuzuka’s attention as she sprinted after Sasuke with her Byakugan pulsing. “You and Akamaru go help Naruto! I’ll cover the Uchiha!”

Kiba gave her a thumbs up and a feral grin. “Got it! Akamaru!” The puppy gave a yip and jumped on Kiba’s back as the boy made a seal. “ Juujin Bunshin !” A burst of smoke later, Akamaru stood on Kiba’s back as an identical copy of his master before jumping to the ground. “Let’s go, Akamaru!” Kiba shouted, getting half growl, half bark in response from the transformed animal as the two of them charged towards the group Naruto was already wreaking havoc on.

“Come on, Sakura!” Ino shouted at her teammate as she too rushed into the fray, heading for a few enemy that had managed to get past the other Genin and Jagaa and were almost on top of the wagons. Shaking her head, Sakura took a quick glance between Ino and Sasuke but soon made her decision and started running to where Sasuke and Hinata were fighting.

Ino rushed the man that was the closest to the wagons from his right side but he saw her coming from the corner of his eye and turned to face her, raising his sword into the air and making a clumsy swing for her neck. Ducking the attack, Ino sidestepped to the man’s left, and drove her foot into the side of his knee. There was an audible pop as the knee bent in sideways followed by a blood curdling scream of pain as the man fell to the ground, clutching his ruined limb.

Ino flinched back at the scream, having never caused an injury like that to anything other than a training dummy before, and it almost cost her life when another enemy appeared behind her with an ax poised to cleave the girl’s skull in two. Ino’s senses kicked in too late for her to avoid the attack as she turned to see the man behind her. However, just before the man could deliver his fatal blow, a tan, muscular arm viciously slammed a large hammer into the side of her assailant’s head with a sickening crack, dropping him to the ground like a rag doll. Looking to where the attack had come from, Ino’s eyes widened in disbelief when she realized the identity of her rescuer. “Tazuna-san!?”

Holding the same type of small sledge hammer in each hand, Tazuna looked down at Ino with a slight smirk inside his determined eyes. “What are you doing just standing around, Girly? We got a fight on our hands!”

“B-but, why are you fighting?” Ino asked.

Tazuna’s eyes hardened. “Didn’t I tell you before? Everyone here is willing to lay down their life to get these supplies through! So you can bet your ass we’re going to fight!” A pained cry caught the pair’s attention, and they looked over to see another of the attackers fall to the ground with an arrow sticking out of his chest. Looking back to the wagons, Ino saw men jumping to the forest floor with swords, clubs, hammers, and anything else that could be used as a weapon, while the women of the party stood on the wagon seats, firing arrows and bolts from bows and crossbows at the attacking men. Tazuna looked back and grinned at the blonde girl in front of him. “Come on, Girly, time to do what you’re getting paid for! We’ll back you up with all we got!”

Despite the danger, Ino let out a grin of her own. “You got it, Boss!” Turning around, Ino charged at the newest enemies with Tazuna rushing in behind her.

X     X     X

“It would seem the plan worked, Zabuza-san.” Haku said in a slightly remorseful tone as he watched Jagaa and the six Genin rush over to fend off the attacking mercenaries.

“Yeah, but it won’t keep them occupied for long.” Zabuza replied through narrowed eyes. “We were only able to find about thirty Chuunin worth anything before we came, but that won't be enough to hold off Jagaa for more than ten minutes, and that’s if we’re lucky.” Zabuza’s eyes shifted down to Kakashi and Kurenai. “We have to finish those two off before he kills the Chuunin and comes back to help. You take the woman. I’ll fight ‘Copy Ninja Kakashi’.”

Haku put the white mask back over his face. “Hai, Zabuza-san.”

“They’re coming.” Kakashi said, his hand going up to his hitai-ate and uncovering his Sharingan. “I’ll deal with Zabuza, but don’t underestimate that Haku boy.”

“I know.” Kurenai replied as she kept her eyes locked on Haku’s masked figure.

“Sorry, Kakashi,” Zabuza called down to the silver haired Jounin as he pulled his sword off his shoulder, “but I have to make this quick. If I don’t kill you before Jagaa finishes off his opponents, things could become difficult.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Zabuza.” Kakashi said easily. “In that case, I’ll do my best to finish this quickly as well. I have cute little Genin that I need to look after anyway.”

The two elite Jounin leaked large amounts of killing intent as they held each other’s eyes, neither showing fear or hesitation. Without another word, the two Ninja blurred and re-materialized with a clashing of steel as Kakashi held Zabuza’s blade at bay with a single kunai. The stand off held for a few seconds before they leapt apart and into the trees to give themselves more room to fight. Kurenai felt a chill run down her spine as the two near legendary Jounin disappear into the surrounding forest, but was suddenly startled by a soft voice from the rear.

“Excuse me, but are you an acquaintance of Naruto-kun’s.”

Kurenai gasped and whirled around with a Kunai in hand to face Haku, her nervousness starting to rise. ‘ He’s fast! I only took my eyes off him for a second and he managed to get behind me. He’s definitely not an ordinary boy! ’ The woman shook her head and processed what Haku had just asked her. “I don’t really know Naruto, but I am partnered with his brother Jagaa.”

“I see.” Haku said in a low tone, a strange, cold air starting to rise from his body. “That is good to hear. I would hate to make Naruto suffer by killing someone close to him.”

Kurenai’s eyes widened as the cold air actually solidified, forming a dome of mirrors surrounding her. ‘ A Kekei Genkai! ’ She snapped her eyes back to Haku just in time to see the boy merging with the mirror directly behind him. As soon as he had completely sunk into the ice mirror, an image of the boy appeared in the rest of the surrounding mirrors, each image simultaneously pulling out several senbon needles and poised to attack.

“I have no grudge against you, Kunoichi-san,” Haku said in a resigned tone, “but it is Zabuza-san’s order that I finish this as quickly as possible. I’m very sorry.” As soon as he finished, senbon needles started flying at Kurenai from every direction at incredible speeds, and the Kunoichi knew she was in trouble.

X     X     X

Jagaa was starting to get irritated by the careful and guarded attacks the Ninja he was fighting were using on him. It had been a little more fun initially when some of them had tried to get around him and attack the convoy by blending in with the other mercenaries, but they figured out rather quickly that Jagaa seemed to know who was a Ninja and who wasn’t as he made sport of picking them off from a distance, and had given up on that approach in favor of what could best be described as harassment attacks. If only they would have been stupid enough to all charge in at once in an attempt to overwhelm him, he would have already finished the fight and been helping Kakashi and Kurenai smack Zabuza and Haku around. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

‘ It’s like they’re stalling me! ’ Jagaa realized as he dodged around a kunai slash to his abdomen before bringing his blade down and neatly taking the attacker’s head off. ‘ That damned Bandage face! He must have done some recon before attacking! ’ Sensing the incoming attack, Jagaa back flipped over the long chain stretched between two Chuunin that tried to wrap around him from behind and put a kunai in the skulls of two others that tried to rush him from each side while he was upside down. Landing smoothly, Jagaa stabbed under his armpit and impaled the Ninja that had attempted to blindside him before standing up and smirking at the two Chuunin with the chain.

“The ‘Demon Brothers’, huh?” Jagaa commented as offhandedly as his irritation would allow. “I suppose it was you two who did the recon for Bandage Face. I’m surprised I didn’t notice you though.” Jagaa leaned back and let several Kunai fly in front of him, responding with a few shuriken without bothering to look and smiling at the pained cry that followed. ‘ That’s seventeen! Judging by chakra signatures, about fifteen to go! ’

“We knew they would be hiring Jounin.” The brother with a large claw on his left had stated.

“So we were extra careful in observing.” The one with the claw on his right hand finished.

“I guess that explains it then.” Jagaa growled as he blocked the shuriken aimed for his back by moving his sword behind him. “But I know you can’t actually expect to kill me with just this, can you?”

“No, we don’t.” The first brother answered. “However, beating you was never our objective. We just have to keep you busy until Zabuza-sama and Haku-sama have killed the other two.”

“And since Haku-sama has already activated his bloodline,” The second brother continued, a noticeable smirk in his voice. “That Kunoichi won’t survive for much longer anyway.”

Jagaa’s expression hardened and his chakra spiked. “Is that so?” Jagaa’s sword slashed in front of him and the Demon Brothers’ eyes widened as they jumped away as fast as they possibly could. Behind the spot that the pair had just been standing, three other Chuunin who had been waiting to attack fell into two cleanly cut pieces, their now lifeless eyes locked in a state of confusion as to what had killed them. Jagaa pulled back his blade and faced the now frightened brothers that had managed to avoid his attack, his tone going lethal. “Then I guess I don’t have time to keep playing with you anymore.”

X     X     X

Kiba couldn’t believe what he was seeing as he and the transformed Akamaru fought the mercenaries that were managing to get past Naruto. The amazingly few that did anyways. Could this really be the same air head that he had befriended over a year ago? The same boy who went gaga over ramen and half the time acted like a clueless idiot? If it weren’t for the sunny-blond hair and the whiskered cheeks, Kiba would never believe that the hardened professional he was seeing at this moment was really his best friend.

Ducking under a sword swipe to his head, Naruto drove his kunai under into the man’s armpit, severing the major artery. Ripping out the kunai, Naruto grabbed the man’s sword and threw it with all his might at another attacker, putting the blade through the man’s throat all the way to the hilt. Rolling out of the way of a club coming down for his skull, Naruto sliced through both of another man’s Achilles Tendons. The man screamed in pain and fell to the ground, only to be silenced when Naruto drove his kunai into the man’s heart. Leaving the kunai in the dead man’s chest, Naruto launched himself at a new opponent, ramming his fist into the mercenary’s throat and collapsing his windpipe before moving on again.

Kiba dodged away from the club coming at his face before slashing the attacker's arm with his claws. The man cried out in pain, but Kiba cut the cry off by slamming his fist into the man’s jaw and knocking him unconscious, just like all the others that he had fought. Another cry rang out and Kiba looked over just in time to see another man fall to the ground with an arrow in his chest.

Kiba mentally cursed at himself. Naruto didn’t seem to be having any trouble killing the enemy, and even the women in the convoy weren’t hesitating to finish them off. So why was the thought of killing these men bothering him so much? Hell, even Akamaru was killing easily. Tearing through throats and with claws and fangs in true canine like fashion, but Kiba...

The Inuzuka growled low in his throat as his anger with himself continued to grow to new heights. The odor of an irregular bather caught his attention, and Kiba sidestepped the spear thrust to his back. His anger at himself becoming rage from the cowardly attack, Kiba grabbed the spear with his left hand, jerking it and the man holding it forward, and spun backwards along the shaft to throw a vicious slash at the man’s neck, ripping open his jugular.

The man’s gurgled scream froze the Inuzuka boy in place as he watched the man fall to the earth and drown in his own blood, killed by Kiba’s own hand. A wave of nausea washed over him as he realized that he had finally, and irreversibly, killed another human.

He heard a barked warning before something rushed past him and was followed by yet another dying scream. Spinning quickly, Kiba found his transformed partner crouched over a man who had just had his throat torn out that had been sneaking up behind Kiba. Looking at his master with reprimanding eyes, Akamaru barked at Kiba to keep his mind on the fight. Shaking his head, Kiba thanked his canine partner and dove back into the frey, forcing his nausea down through willpower alone. He would worry later about what he had just done, and may soon do again, but for now he had a job to do.

Attacking with new determination, Kiba shattered the kneecaps of another attacker and was moving to the next, when Naruto’s voice rose above the chaos shouting “Sakura!” as the boy himself shot past Kiba at a speed the Inuzuka didn’t know his blond friend was capable of. Following Naruto’s path, Kiba saw what Naruto had seen, and his eyes widened.

X     X     X

She’d done it without thinking. She’d done it to save the life of her client. She’d done it because she had no other choice at the time. So, why? Why was she feeling like she had just committed some irredeemable sin as she stared into the dying eyes of the man whose chest she had driven her kunai into just before he could kill Tazuna? Why was the bile building in the back of her throat and demanding release, even as she fought with everything she had to keep it down? She had done the right thing hadn’t she? She knew she had done the right thing.

So, why?

Ino started violently when a firm yet gentle hand came to rest on her shoulder and she looked up into Tazuna’s understanding eyes. “Thanks, Girly! You really saved my bacon! But don’t go spacing out just yet! We still got a fight on our hands after all!” Swallowing down the bile that was still trying to force its way to the outside, Ino nodded as determinedly as she could manage. “That’s the spirit!” Tazuna grinned, whipping around and raising his hammers into the air. “Come on you scum sucking bastards! Just try and get to these wagons!” With a mighty war cry, the old man threw himself at two new attackers and started hammering them into the ground with strong, solid blows.

Feeling encouraged by her client’s willingness to protect his country’s hope, Ino started running in behind him to help and protect the old man, when Naruto’s cry of her rival’s name reached her ears. Looking behind her, Ino saw the blond boy running as fast as he could with a panicked expression and quickly twisted her neck to see where he was going. As soon as she did, she cried in horror at what was about to happen.

“SAKURA!”

X     X     X

Hinata danced around attack after attack with a graceful ease that few could match as the enemy fell before her like leaves falling from a tree in autumn. Twisting around a stab to her chest, Hinata spun around behind the man and struck a glowing palm into the lower left side of his back, destroying his liver with a burst of chakra. As the man fell, Hinata ducked a swipe to her head from behind, spinning around in a crouch and springing forward and striking the new opponent's chest with another chakra infused palm, rupturing his heart.

It was surprisingly easy for the Hyuuga heiress to take these men’s lives. Fueled by the knowledge that they wouldn’t hesitate to kill her given the chance (which was being proven again and again as she danced around lethal blows) and the experience of being forced to do something that was far worse to her than killing an enemy she had never met before, every strike she made was made to be fatal.

However, even as she killed her own opponents, Hinata couldn’t help but feel revolted at the Uchiha fighting alongside her. The raven-haired boy was not only willing to kill his enemies, he was startlingly eager to do it. His eyes told of his desire to kill any enemy within his reach and that he very well may try to go through an ally to get to them. Hinata had actually been forced to put some distance between herself and the blood-lusting Uchiha in order to avoid a situation that could put her fighting against a teammate, even if he was only a temporary one.

“ Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu !”

The shouted attack and a sudden burst of heat made Hinata whip around in surprise as Sasuke launched his fire attack at three of the mercenaries that had gotten past them. However, Hinata also saw something that Sasuke hadn’t and panic struck her as she yelled, knowing it was too late for the warning to reach.

“Haruno!”

X     X     X

It wasn’t enough.

That’s all Sasuke could think as he drove a kunai into the skull of one of the attackers. He wasn’t doing enough to show up Naruto.

It had been bad enough that the blond had been the first to rush into battle after Jagaa, making Sasuke look as if he had hesitated, but that wasn’t what was eating at the Uchiha the most. No, what had infuriated Sasuke more than anything was that Naruto seemed so… professional !

There was no hesitation in the blond’s attacks. No doubt in his movements as he systematically killed the attacking mercenaries. Instead, Naruto tore through his enemies with hard eyes and a grim expression faster than Sasuke had ever seen the other boy move before. It enraged him to think that Naruto had most likely been holding back in their previous spars. It was a blow to his pride as a ninja, and even worse, as an Uchiha. Driven by his growing anger, Sasuke had attacked and killed his own opponents without pity or remorse. If Naruto could do it, then Sasuke could as well. And he would do it better , no matter what it took.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw three men running for the wagons and, still driven by his desire to outdo Naruto, the Uchiha boy’s hands started flashing through seals. “ Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu !” The attack erupted from Sasuke’s mouth and straight for the three mercenaries who screamed in terror at the sight of the large mass of fire closing in on them. Smirking to himself at three more kills (and in a much more impressive way than Naruto had yet done) Sasuke turned back to his other opponents, never seeing the flash of pink hair that had appeared behind the three men just as Sasuke launched his attack or hearing the warning cry from the Hyuuga heiress.

X     X     X

Sakura was frightened as she barely dodged her opponent’s clumsy swing. She wasn’t ready for this. This shouldn’t have happened.

Why was it like this? Sakura had been so sure that Kurenai-sensei, Jagaa-sensei, and Kakashi-sensei would be doing most of the fighting if anything happened that she hadn’t been worried about the mission in the least when they started. Even after Tazuna had told them about the person that was trying to stop the bridge supplies from getting through.

All of that changed though, when those two Ninja showed up and somehow managed to get all three of the Jounin in separate fights, leaving only the Genin to fight the common hired thugs. 

Now Sakura found herself fighting for her life with none of the powerful figures she had been leaning on near her. She hadn’t even been able to get close enough to Sasuke-kun to try to draw strength from his presence before she had ended up against her first opponent, making it all she could do to dodge out of the way of the attack that nearly ended her life. In truth, Sakura knew that she probably already would have been killed if it weren’t for Hinata and Sasuke in front of her, taking down most of the attackers before they could pass, and the support from the men and women of the convoy who were helping fight against anyone who managed to get past their Shinobi escort.

Sakura leapt back to avoid the blade that almost cut her in half before jumping forward again and planting a foot in her assailant’s face, making him stumble back as he spit out blood and teeth. Before the man could recover enough to attack again, a crossbow bolt impaled him in the eye and dropped him to the forest floor. Sakura didn’t know who it was, but somebody seemed to have noticed that she didn’t seem able to kill her opponents and had been acting like her back up. Finishing off anyone she injured. She was extremely grateful to her unknown help (since it was the biggest contributor to her will to fight) but her fear and inability to kill the opponent refused to leave her. Still, she somehow forced herself to keep going, to keep dodging, to keep fighting.

She had to, if she wanted to live.

“SAKURA! SAKURA/HARUNO!” 

The sudden shouts, accompanied by agonized screams, reached her at the same time an orange light caught her attention and she whipped her head around with wide, horrified eyes at the sight of the large ball of fire that had just incinerated three men now coming straight toward her.

Her body froze, taking away any chance she may have of avoiding the attack, and she could only stare with wide, nearly uncomprehending eyes at what would be the instrument of her death. Even as her heart and soul silently cried out for someone to save her.

“ Doton: Doryuheki no Jutsu !”

A mass of sunny-blond hair blurred into existence in front of her and a wall of earth shot from the ground just in time to intercept the oncoming attack. A crash of earth and fire filled the air around the girl with heat and debris as she stood locked in her trance-like state, unable to believe she was really still alive.

“Are you all right?” A concerned voice asked and soon Sakura found herself staring into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. “Sakura?”

Sakura shook her head at the call, managing to get some sort of grasp on reality again, but still feeling extremely lightheaded. “Y-yes. I…I’m all right.”

Her savior, who she could finally recognize as being Naruto, gave her an appraising look before grabbing her shoulders and setting her down against the earth wall. “Stay here! We’ll handle the rest!” Sakura nodded mutely, still in a state of shock as to what had just happened. She could see the relief in the blond boy’s eyes at her being okay, but she could also see something else.

Rage.

He was furious about something, but in her current condition, she couldn’t quite comprehend what it might be. She was considering questioning him on it, but another familiar shout seemed to have drawn the boy’s attention. So she decided it was probably better to wait and ask later. Naruto looked down at her one more time as if to make sure she was really still in one piece before pulling a kunai from his pouch and vanishing from her sights in a burst of speed.

Once the boy was gone, Sakura was able to recover just enough to whisper the words that had been running through her mind since the boy had appeared in front of her to answer her silent prayer.

“Thank you.”

X     X     X

Hinata all let out an explosive breath of relief at Naruto’s barely in time rescue of their pink haired comrade. Unfortunately, Hinata’s relief was short lived when her Byakugan caught movement coming in from the north, and her eyes widened at the sight of hundreds of more Mercenaries rushing out of the trees.

“REINFORCMENTS! A LOT OF THEM! COMING FROM THE NORTH!” She shouted at the top of her lungs.  It only took a couple of seconds for Naruto to shoot out from behind the defensive wall with a kunai held loosely in his left hand while he formed a cross shaped seal.

“NII-SAN!” Naruto shouted to Jagaa who was facing the oncoming horde surrounded by dead bodies, with his left hand outstretched and an irritated expression on his face. At the sound of the shout, Jagaa turned around to see Naruto coming, and his face lit up as if in understanding before changing into a smirk as he repositioned himself so his hand was now facing Naruto.

And then her jaw dropped.

X     X     X

Jagaa grabbed the left arm that was coming at his side with his own left hand, twisting his body and throwing the clawed appendage into the chest of the identical attacker coming from behind. The still living brother cried out in rage and grief, but the cry died along with the one crying out when the claw his brother had been wearing was rammed into the base of his skull by Jagaa, killing him instantly. Their bodies going limp, the two brothers fell to the forest floor, embracing each other in death.

“…I hope Bandage Face and Girly Boy didn’t like those two very much.” Jagaa muttered as he turned back to where he could feel Kakashi and Kurenai’s chakra signatures. “All right, time to-”

“REINFORCMENTS! A LOT OF THEM! COMING FROM THE NORTH!”

Jagaa swore loudly and turned towards the sound of a very large number of people, confirming Hinata’s yell, and he felt his annoyance rising as he expanded his senses and saw that there were nearly two hundred, at least, that were about to burst through the trees. Cursing his luck at the knowledge he could probably handle that many without resorting to anything flashy if he was on his own (and probably would just for the fun of it) but with the convoy and other people behind him he really didn’t have that option. Sighing irritably, Jagaa raised his free left hand, since his sword was held in his right, and held it in a loosely open position in the direction the hired men had just started emerging from.

‘ This is probably gonna raise a lot of questions that I don’t really feel like answering, but I’ll dodge those later. ’ Jagaa thought, before adding sarcastically to himself. ‘ Unless someone has a better idea. ’

“NII-SAN!” Naruto’s voice drew Jagaa’s attention and he faced back to find the boy rushing towards him with a kunai held loosely in his left hand as he formed a cross shaped seal. Jagaa immediately recognized the seal and his face lit up in understanding.

‘ Not bad, Brat. ’ Jagaa thought, his lips forming a smirk as he shifted his stance and held his left hand out to Naruto. The boy smirked in response and picked up his speed just before jumping into the air straight at Jagaa.

“ Kage Bunshin no -” Naruto’s flying form reached Jagaa, who grabbed the front of the blonde’s shirt and threw the boy forward at breakneck speed. “- Jutsu !” Naruto shouted just as Jagaa’s grip left his shirt and hundreds of Narutos materialized into existence, all flying at the same speed as the original with a kunai held out in front of them like human Javelins on a deadly flight path directly into the mass of attacking enemies.

Screams of fear, pain, and death filled the clearing and the surrounding forest as two hundred men were felled all at once by an equal number of identical blondes that disappeared in bursts of smoke on impact.

Having already found themselves in a far more difficult fight than they had signed on for, that last action was enough to break the remaining attackers' resolve and send them running back into the forest with terrified shrieks. A loud cheer erupted from the men and women in the convoy as they waved their weapons in the air in victory.

Jagaa didn’t join the celebration though, due to the fact he could still feel the flaring of chakra from Kakashi, Kurenai, Zabuza, and Haku, meaning that their battles were still being fought. Seeking out the closest pair of chakra signatures, Haku and Kurenai, Jagaa vanished like a gust of wind to intervene.

X     X     X

Yes, Kurenai was in serious trouble. That had become more apparent with every passing second as she blocked and dodged the barrage of needles coming from all directions with everything she possessed. Even though the needles hadn’t been flying faster than anything she could handle normally, the sheer volume of them were starting to wear her down as several managed to get through her guard and give her grazing injuries that were painful even if not lethal. What was hurting her the most though, was that even if the boy slowed down his rate of attack for a moment, the second Kurenai tried to form seals to create a Genjutsu that might be able to turn the tide to her favor Haku would immediately pick it up again in order to force her to break her seal sequence and defend herself from the rain of needles.

‘ If I could just get out of this dome, I could win! ’ The woman thought desperately as she looked for any chance to succeed in that goal. She had tried to make a rush for the gaps in the mirrors several times, but every time Haku would block her path with an increased number of senbon, forcing her back to the middle of the dome of ice.

A new wave of needles came at her, and Kurenai once again found herself ducking, dodging, and knocking senbon needles out of the air with one of the kunai in each hand. ‘ At least he’s starting to slow down…but then again, so am I. ’ Kurenai thought with gritted teeth due to the stinging pain from her injuries. ‘ If I can just last a little longer though, I may be able to get out of here. ’

“It appears I am starting to reach my limit. This technique is rather draining on my chakra after all.” Haku said in his usual polite tone. “However, I cannot allow you to join your teammate in fighting Zabuza-san, since that may prove difficult even for him.” Haku raised his right fist with three senbon needles held between his fingers. “I will end this now!”

Kurenai braced herself as the newest barrage of needles came at her and had just moved her leg in preparation to dodge when a piercing pain hit her in the back of the thigh. The surprise hit managed to stop Kurenai’s movement, and before she even had a chance to register what had happened, several more senbon struck her thighs and calves almost all at once. Screaming in pain, Kurenai dropped to her hands and knees, her kunai slipping from her grip and landing several feet in front of her with a steely clatter.

“It appears you didn’t notice, Kunoichi-san.” Haku said calmly. “My earlier attacks were not so much intended to hit you, as they were to analyze your movements and dodging patterns.” Kurenai wanted to curse violently when she heard that, furious to find out that she had been being toyed with the whole time. She glared at the boy’s image as he drew his arm back for a final attack, his voice going low and remorseful. “I’m sorry.”

As the senbon needles rained down on her this time, Kurenai knew she was done for. Her legs had been paralyzed by the weapons embedded into them, leaving her completely unable to move, much less dodge. Fear and anger mingled together as the red eyed woman watched the weapons close in on her. Fear, that she was truly about to die and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Anger, that she had let it come to this in the first place when she knew she could have won easily if she hadn’t let herself get trapped in the dome of mirrors. But whether fear or anger stood as the dominant emotion didn’t matter anymore, she was about to die, and that was that. Bowing her head in a mixture of defeat and shame, Kurenai closed her eyes and waited for her end.

Instead, she felt a blast of wind erupt around her as the sound of metal hitting earth filled the air. Snapping her head up in surprise, her eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of Jagaa’s black clothed form towering in front of her like a dark guardian angel, emitting an aura of power and danger that she would have never thought possible from the sarcastic, annoying man she knew.

“This fight is over.” Jagaa said in a cool, lethal tone that made Kurenai swallow unconsciously. “You and Zabuza are the only ones left, Haku. Do you really want to continue now that you don’t have anyone else to keep me out of the fight?” Jagaa’s chakra flared and even the very air around them started swirling as if marking the arrival of a powerful storm.

Haku appeared to flinch back at the display before speaking. “It seems I have no choice. I will withdraw.” The images of the boy faded away until only one remained before Haku slowly stepped out of the ice mirror and disappeared in a small whirlwind.

The panels of ice shattered like planes of glass, falling to the ground with a strangely musical melody. Turning back around, Jagaa kneeled down to Kurenai and started inspecting her legs. “Hmm, it doesn’t seem too bad, but we’ll have to wait to take out the needles. So…” Without warning, Jagaa put one arm under her legs, being careful to avoid the protruding weapons, and the other one under her back, lifting her up easily as her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck.

“W-what are you doing!” Kurenai stammered, her face flushing deeply at the intimate way she was being held even as she glared accusingly at the scarred man holding her.

“I told you.” Jagaa stated seriously, catching the red eyed woman completely off guard again. “We’ll have to wait to pull out the needles, and I’m not leaving you here alone when you’re injured.”

Kurenai felt her breath hitch in her throat as she stared up at Jagaa, astounded by this new side of him. Was this professional, protective person really the same man that had been going out of his way to make her life so difficult for the last month? If it really was, then why was he acting so…

“Hold on, we’re going to check on Kakashi.” Kurenai didn’t have a chance to respond before she felt the slight shifting sensation that came before using Shunshin, and she quickly tightened her grip on the man’s shoulders as they vanished in a swirl of wind.

X     X     X

Copy Ninja Kakashi stared hard into the black eyes of The Demon of the Mist, Zabuza, as each of them looked for an opening for their next attacks. Kakashi’s left hand was across his stomach, nursing the gash Zabuza’s sword had dealt him, while Zabuza’s own left arm dangled uselessly at his side due to Kakashi impaling his shoulder with a kunai in return.

“Hmm, you’re not bad, Kakashi.” Zabuza said with a trace of bitterness in his voice. “I thought for sure this would have been over already.”

“Thank you.” Kakashi said simply, his eyes never straying from his opponent’s.

Before any more words could be spoken, the two elite Shinobi felt a large spike of chakra that Kakashi thought he recognized and Zabuza’s eyes flashed in annoyance. “Tch, it looks like we took too long.” As soon as Zabuza finished speaking, there was a howling of wind and Haku materialized beside him.

“I’m sorry, Zabuza-san.” The boy said respectfully. “I was unable to kill her before Jagaa-san arrived.”

Zabuza’s eyes shifted to the boy at his side, giving him a half annoyed, half understanding look before closing his eyes and sighing irritably. “It doesn’t matter. I wasn’t able to kill Kakashi either, so it wouldn’t have made a difference.” The Demon of the Mist’s words were emphasized by another howling wind and three sets of eyes shifted to where Jagaa had just arrived with a furiously blushing Kurenai in his arms who seemed determined not to look at his face. Zabuza’s eyes narrowed on Jagaa, who gazed steadily back, as if daring him to make an attempt. Instead, Zabuza let out a grunt and turned back to Haku. “We’re leaving.”

“Hai, Zabuza-san.” Haku said with a nod and the two of them vanished in a howl of wind.

Expanding his senses to make sure that Zabuza was really clear of the area, Kakashi sighed in relief and pulled his hitai-ate back down over his left eye. “You certainly took your time coming back.”

“I had to make a detour.” Jagaa said simply, unconsciously shifting his grip on Kurenai to support her better and causing the woman’s flush to deepen.

“Mah, whatever.” Kakashi shrugged, turning in the direction of the wagons. “Let’s just get back and check on our…” His words died away as he fell face first onto the forest floor.

“Kakashi!” Kurenai cried out in alarm as Jagaa moved next to the silver haired man.

Kakashi was panting heavily as he lay on the ground, but he managed to turn his head just enough to give the pair a wan smile. “Ah, sorry about this. Using the Sharingan takes a heavy toll on my body and I also took an injury to my stomach. I guess I just couldn’t hold out any longer.”

“You have the Sharingan?” Jagaa questioned with a frown. “You’re not an Uchiha though.”

“It was a gift from my best friend.” Kakashi said in a tired voice. “But that’s not the point right now. The point is that I can’t move, so you’ll have to leave me here and come back for me once you make sure that our teams and clients are okay.”

“Why would we have to leave you?” Jagaa asked, getting a confused look from both Kurenai and Kakashi. Turning his neck so he was facing Kurenai, a small, almost unnoticeable smirk ghosted to his lips. “Don’t slap me for this.” Before Kurenai could ask what he meant, Jagaa shifted his left arm so that it was directly under Kurenai’s rear before taking his right out from under her legs, leaving her sitting on his left arm like a chair. If the red eyed woman had been blushing before, it was nothing compared to now as his hand grasped her left butt cheek firmly to keep her in place. As Kurenai tried to fight back her natural instinct to slap him, since he had at least sort of warned her with his request not to be slapped, Jagaa reached down and pulled Kakashi off the ground by the front of his Jounin vest before none to gently throwing the taller man over his shoulder like a sack of grain.

Kakashi let out a pained grunt as his wound was aggravated by the rough treatment. “Excuse me, but why is it that I get treated so roughly when you’ve been so careful with Kurenai?” He asked indignantly.

“Quit complaining, Cyclops.” Jagaa said without a trace of apology in his voice. “I’m the one who has to have your ass by my face. Now hold on.” The wind picked up around them as the three disappeared with a shunshin to where their teams and clients were regrouping, leaving only the echo of Kakashi’s sullen response behind.

“It’s not like my view is much better.”

X     X     X     X     X

“Empty out the load in the fifth wagon and spread it out amongst the others! We’ll use it to carry the most severely injured!” Tazuna’s voice carried through the clearing as the three Jounin materialized among the bustling people. “Treat the minor injuries on sight! If you can still walk, you walk the rest of the way!” The old man was received by shouts of understanding as everyone purposefully set about following the guidance.

“How bad is it?” Jagaa asked immediately, still carrying his fellow Jounin.

Tazuna snapped around in surprise at the sudden arrival, but his face quickly went serious again. “Out of fifty three of us, seventeen were injured, some minor and some serious,” Tazuna’s eyes darkened and his voice lowered, “and five were killed.”

The two Jounin being carried felt a slight tightening of the arm carrying them and Jagaa’s voice dropped. “I’m sorry.”

Kurenai looked up to Jagaa’s face after his reaction and tone, but nothing in his expression betrayed what he might be feeling on the matter, making it unclear if he truly felt something at the lost lives of the clients or if he was simply being polite.

Tazuna’s face saddened at Jagaa’s condolences. “So am I.” Taking a deep breath, Tazuna reined in his emotions and looked at the three Jounin resolutely. “But we knew the dangers when we started this and we were the ones who chose to fight instead of cowering in our wagons. We’re just lucky all of you were here. None of us would have survived that attack if you weren’t.”

Jagaa nodded in understanding before speaking again. “We need to go check on our teams.”

“Right.” The old man agreed. “I need to oversee the rest of the group as well.” Tazuna turned and walked back to the wagons as Jagaa started heading towards where the Genin of teams 7 and 8 gathered near one of the nearby trees. As they got closer, Kurenai noticed that something seemed off with the six Genin. The most obvious thing being the way Hinata and Kiba seemed to be keeping a firm grip on Naruto’s left arm while his right dangled limply at his side and talking to him with low voices and worried eyes. The whiskered boy himself seemed to be having some sort of internal struggle as his gaze kept shifting from Sakura (who was sitting on the ground staring into the distance with dull eyes as Ino rubbed her back and whispered reassurances to the girl) to Sasuke (who was the only one who looked completely normal) his blue eyes flashing from concern to unbridled fury with each shift.

“Jagaa-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Kakshi-sensei.” Ino said in relief as the three Jounin arrived on scene, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Is everyone okay?” Kurenai asked as Jagaa kneeled down and carefully set her on the ground before removing Kakashi from his shoulder and laying the man on his back and putting his hand directly over Kakashi’s wound, surprising the red eyed woman yet again when she saw the hand start to glow a soft green and Kakashi’s wound begin to close.

“Yeah, we’re all okay.” Ino paused and looked down at Sakura. “Well, no one got hurt at least, but Sakura…” Ino trailed off and had to take a slow, deep breath to steady her emotions. “Sakura was almost killed.”

Kurenai’s eyes widened at the news of what had almost happened to one of her Genin, and her head snapped over to look at Sakura. “Sakura? Are you okay?” She asked, but the girl made no response and instead continued to stare blankly.

“Tch.” Sasuke’s annoyed grunt sounded for everyone to hear. “To almost be killed by opponents of that level. What a pathetic excuse of a Kunoichi.”

“THAT’S IT !” Naruto roared, throwing Kiba and Hinata from him violently before grabbing the Uchiha by the throat with his left hand and slamming him against the tree. “YOU SON OF BITCH! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO ALMOST KILLED SAKURA, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!”

All three Jounin snapped their heads over to Naruto and Sasuke, Jagaa’s expression becoming incredulous while Kurenai and Kakashi’s eyes went wide. “WHAT!?” Kurenai screamed in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard. Jagaa and Kakashi managed to control their own outbursts, but each of their faces had gone stony as they looked at the Uchiha that was currently being strangled.

“What…are you…talking…about?” Sasuke gasped out as he struggled against the arm holding him against the tree, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break the vice like grip that was cutting off his air supply.

“What am I talking about? WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT!?” Naruto’s grip tightened even more and Sasuke could swear he saw the blonde’s eyes take on a red hue. “I’M TALKING ABOUT THAT KATON JUTSU YOU USED THAT ALMOST ROASTED YOUR OWN TEAMMATE ALIVE, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”

Sasuke’s eyes widened slightly, but still managed to stay defiant despite his dwindling oxygen supply. “She wasn’t…there…when I…attacked.”

“YES SHE WAS !” Naruto shouted, his anger flaring higher than ever at the Uchiha’s obliviousness. “ARE YOU SO GOD DAMNED BLIND TO EVERYONE BUT YOUR ENEMY THAT YOU DON’T EVEN CARE IF YOUR OWN TEAMMATES GET CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE!” Sasuke was starting to see spots as Naruto paused, letting up just enough to ensure that Sasuke didn’t pass out, before growling at the Uchiha. “When you’re on a mission, your team is the same as your family! Are you such an arrogant bastard that you’re willing to kill your family just because you’re out to prove something!?”

Sasuke’s eyes widened and his struggles stopped as Naruto’s words hit him like a blow from a hammer, his mind flashing to a certain memory of that terrible night.

///Flashback///

“Why!?” An eight year old Sasuke cried out with tears streaming down his face as he looked at the shadowed figure in front of him. “Why did you kill everyone!?”

The figure raised his head and revealed two fully evolved Sharingan staring at Sasuke with a cold intensity as he answered with a single sentence. “To test myself.”

///Flashback End///

All the fight died away from the young Uchiha as he turned his head away from Naruto with wide, haunted eyes. ‘ Am I really…just like him ? ’ Sasuke felt as if his spirit was shattering inside and his body went limp in Naruto’s grip.

Confusion mingled with the whisker marked boy’s anger as Sasuke’s body became like a rag doll in his hand and his expression became like that of a damned man. His anger waning slightly at the pathetic sight of the normally proud Uchiha, Naruto grudgingly let him go, allowing the raven haired boy to slide limply down the trunk of the tree and sit unresponsively at its base as the blonde turned away with a snort of disgust.

Several sighs of relief could be heard when Naruto finally let Sasuke go. The loudest being from one Yuuhi Kurenai who, after letting her relief be known, turned to glare at both Kakashi and Jagaa. “Why didn’t either of you try to stop him? He’s your subordinate,” She pointed accusingly at Kakashi before shifting the point to Jagaa, and he’s your brother!”

Kakashi, who was laying fully on his back again now that the situation was over, shrugged painfully. “Well one reason is that I can’t exactly move very well at the moment. The other is because Naruto more or less did what I felt like doing when I heard what Sasuke almost did.” Kakashi’s visible eye darkened and seemed to become almost self-loathing. “Those who don’t care about their comrades are worse than trash.”

“Well said.” Jagaa murmured.

Kurenai shook her head in exasperation and looked up to Jagaa. “And what about you?”

Jagaa’s attention had returned to treating Kakashi’s wound as he answered. “I knew Naruto wouldn’t kill him, no matter how much he may have wanted to, and nothing he said or did was wrong as far as I’m concerned.” The green glow faded from Jagaa’s hand and he turned his head to Kakashi’s. “All right, Cyclops, seems you’re gonna live.”

“You don’t have to sound so disappointed, you know.” Kakashi said with frown.

“Think of it as a replacement for today’s ‘I hate you’.” Jagaa said with a light smirk before turning back to the Genin. “Naruto! Get your ass over here so I can check your arm!”

“All right, all right, I’m coming.” The boy said as he walked over to the three Jounin with his left arm across his chest and gingerly holding his dangling right. “I can tell you right now that it’s dislocated though.” He grunted painfully as Jagaa took the arm in hand and started feeling along its length.

“Yeah, that’s fairly obvious.” Jagaa commented loudly, his voice then dropping low so that only Naruto and the other two Jounin could hear. “It’s also broken and needs to be set. I know it’ll be healed by tomorrow since it’s you, but it would draw a lot of questions you probably don’t want. You know what that means right?”

Naruto grimaced. “Yeah. It means I’m in for a lot of pain.”

“Yep.” Jagaa said in a much louder voice. “Relocating your shoulder is gonna hurt like hell, but at least you’ll still be able to use your arm.” An almost unnoticeable smirk made its way to his face, and the other Jounin could just make out the veiled amusement in his voice. “Good thing it wasn’t broken too, huh?”

Naruto growled slightly at the man. “Yeah, especially since any arm injuries were your fault for throwing me so damn hard.”

“Hey, it was your bright idea.” Jagaa defended calmly. “You should have braced yourself better.” Jagaa reached up and gripped around Naruto’s bicep with his left hand even as he discreetly wrapped his right around the middle of the boy’s forearm. “You ready?”

“Not really.” Naruto gritted out as he prepared for the coming pain.

This time Jagaa’s smirk appeared in full force. “Sucks to be you then.” With a firm downward jerk and sharp push forward, Naruto’s joint popped back into place audibly, drowning out the quieter crack of his bone being set with a quick twist of Jagaa’s wrist.

Naruto screamed in pain and started hurling obscenities at Jagaa that no twelve-year-old should know, much less say, as he gripped his throbbing arm tightly near the shoulder. Naruto’s reaction caused Ino, Hinata, and Kiba to flinch violently at the thought of how much pain he must have just been in, and even managed to pull both Sasuke and Sakura out of their trance-like states to stare at the sunny-blond in shock.

“See.” Jagaa said with his smirk still in place. “That wasn’t so bad. Was it?”

The glare Naruto sent his brother could have melted steel. “Fuck you, Nii-san! I hope you burn in the deepest pit of hell for all eternity while being the bitch of some giant demon named Teddy.” Several mouths fell open in shock at the boy’s declaration, including Tazuna’s, who had just arrived on the scene, drawn by the cry of pain.

“Teddy?” Jagaa asked in amusement, not seeming phased in the least by Naruto condemning him to eternal damnation.

“…Shut up. It was the first name that came into my head.” Naruto grumbled.

Jagaa chuckled for a moment but his expression soon became serious again as he turned to the new arrival. “Hey, Tazuna, do you think you’ll be able to fit Kakashi somewhere on the wagons? He's not gonna be able to move for a while, let alone walk.”

Brought out of his stupor at Naruto’s language, Tazuna hastily agreed. “Sure. We should be able to find a place for him. Hell, I’ll carry him myself if I have to.”

“Thanks.” Jagaa said appreciatively. “By the way, I think it’s safe to take the most direct route to your village now. I can pretty much guarantee that we cleared out any and all of Gatou’s hirelings.”

Tazuna nodded and bent down to hoist Kakashi up and support him on his shoulder. “Good. That means we should be able to be there by tonight, instead of tomorrow evening.”

“Good to hear.” Jagaa responded and turned to the Genin. “You six go help them in any way you can to get us on the road quicker. Once we start moving, Hinata and Sasuke take point, Sakura and Ino stay midway, and Kiba and Naruto guard the rear. Any questions?” The six Genin shook their heads and Jagaa nodded. “All right, move out.” The six Genin all nodded and started following Tazuna, who was supporting Kakashi, back to the wagons, Sasuke and Sakura each trailing at a much slower pace than the rest.

Watching the final two in the group for a moment, Jagaa turned and moved back to Kurenai. “All right, I finally have time to pull these things out.” Jagaa gently traced the area around a few of the needles with the tip of his fingers. “Yep, it’s a good thing we didn’t rush to do it though. Haku targeted specific muscles in your leg that could have left them useless if we’d just ripped the needles out. As it stands though, you should just be sore for a couple hours, a day at most, and then you’ll be fine.”

“How do you know all that?” Kurenai asked, another unwanted blush rising on her face. She knew Jagaa was only examining the wounds, but the soft caresses of Jagaa’s finger tips were sending frighteningly pleasurable shivers down her spine.

“Because that damn girly boy did the same thing to me once when I insulted Bandage Face.” Jagaa said with a low growl. “I swear. That’s the last time I ever drank while I was around those two. Intoxication doesn’t mix well with attempts to dodge hundreds of needles. I also, stupidly, didn’t think needles could do that much damage even if they did hit me.”

“Caught by your own overconfidence, huh.” Kurenai smiled mischievously. Strangely happy to see a bit of the Jagaa she was used to surfacing again. “I guess that’s what they call ‘Just rewards’.”

“Yeah, you might be right.” Jagaa said with a small laugh, surprising the woman yet again with his lack of a comeback. “Now hold still. This is going to sting.” Gripping a needle firmly, Jagaa carefully pulled it from the woman’s leg. Kurenai gasped and put her hand on Jagaa’s shoulder, squeezing tightly as he removed another with slow and meticulous movements. Finally, after what felt like hours to the pained woman, Jagaa pulled the last needle out of her right calf. “Okay, hard parts over.” Jagaa said, lightly placing his hands over the wounds where they once again started glowing a soft green. “I can’t do much about the bruising, which is the main reason your legs still won’t work well right away, but I can at least close the wounds.”

Kurenai propped her hands behind her so she could lean back as she watched the puncture marks in her legs fade quickly from Jagaa’s administrations due to their small size. “You know, with all those scars you have, I’m actually surprised that you know any medical jutsu.”

“Is that so?” Jagaa said with a small smirk. “Then you’ll be really surprised to know that the one that taught me basic medical jutsu was one of the people that gave me most of the injuries that caused these scars.”

Kurenai’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you serious?”

Jagaa laughed at the woman’s response. “Yep. It was one hell of a fight too, but surprisingly none of us were killed. Hell, we even ended up becoming friends when it was all said and done. Kind of like one of those ‘Fateful Meetings’ people like to talk about.” Jagaa shook his head with another low laugh as he continued. “Anyway, once the fight was over, I started taking care of my wounds in my usual way and I guess the shock of how I did it inspired Hitomi, the one who taught me, to give me some crash courses in healing techniques.” Jagaa moved to another wound as he finished, closing it within moments.

“What did you mean by your ‘Usual’ way?” Kurenai questioned.

“I’ll show you if it’s ever needed.” Jagaa replied as the glow around his hand faded away. “There. That’s the last of them.” He declared proudly.

Kurenai gingerly touched her legs and made an attempt to stand, only for her legs to immediately buckle and send her back to the ground. “…It seems you were right about not being able to walk.” She grudgingly admitted.

“I told you so.” Jagaa smirked, and Kurenai turned away with a huff, crossing her arms in front of her. The next thing she knew there was something sliding under her legs and lower back in a familiar way, and Kurenai snapped her head back around. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

Jagaa paused in his attempt to pick the woman up and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I’m gonna carry you again, obviously. Or did you already forget that you can’t even stand, let alone walk.”

Kurenai could feel the heat rising to her face again, and it was really starting to irritate her that it kept happening. Especially when it was Jagaa of all people that was causing it. “Right.” She agreed grudgingly. “Fine, just take me to the wagons and I’ll ride in one of them.”

“Nope.” Jagaa replied with a smirk, making the woman gape at him. “Seeing as we’re partners, it would be terribly bad manners of me to dump you off on the clients, right? No, no, it is only proper that I carry my teammate as a true partner should.” Jagaa grasped his chin and nodded several times. “Yep, it’s only right.”

Kurenai was glaring daggers at the dirty-blond. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Immensely.” Jagaa said with a wide grin and Kurenai had to restrain the urge to face palm. “So, Bridal or Piggyback, which do you prefer?”

“You’re really going to force me to let you carry me?” Kurenai asked in disbelief, receiving a mischievous grin in response. Finally she sighed and raised her arms. “Fine, then at least make it piggyback.” Smirking triumphantly, Jagaa turned around and helped the woman hoist herself onto his back. “Your hands better not stray anywhere further than my thighs this time.” Kurenai warned dangerously. “You don’t have to carry Kakashi anymore.”

“Ahh.” Jagaa mock pouted before looking with a small smile. “Just kidding. Don’t worry, Kurenai, I won’t do anything today. We’re still on the job after all.”

Kurenai’s breath caught in her throat when Jagaa addressed her by name for the first time since they had met. She didn’t know why he did, or what it could mean that he had, but for some reason it filled her chest with a strange, comfortable warmth.

“But seriously,” Jagaa said suddenly, snapping Kurenai out of her thoughts, “who would have thought I could play the ‘Knight in Shining Armor’ role so well. I mean seriously. Here I am rescuing damsels in distress and carrying injured princesses on my back like a true gentleman. I just hope you don’t fall head over heels in love with me because of my considerate nature and overall charm. I’m not interested in getting into a relationship after all.”

And just like that, the warm feeling was gone, replaced by rising irritation. “I can strangle you from this position you know.” Kurenai emphasized by tightening her grip around Jagaa’s neck.

Jagaa just laughed as he walked towards the wagons with his fuming passenger on his back.

X     X     X     X     X

Joyful shouts sounded throughout the convoy as they traveled up the main road of the small fishing town they had arrived at. All around them, lights and homes flared into life, lighting up the darkness as people rushed from their homes and welcomed the arrivals with cheers and applause.

“This is quite the welcome.” Kakashi said in an impressed tone as he leaned against the improvised side wall that had been made to keep from falling out of the seat of the wagon. They had been unable to find a spot to lay him down due to the number of other injuries, but Kakashi seemed content with the arrangement.

Tazuna turned to the silver haired man with a proud, yet grim expression. “I’ve said it many times. This bridge is everything to us. So naturally it would be well received. I can also guarantee that at first light tomorrow, every able bodied person who can help in some way will be working on completing it, even those of us on this convoy.”

Kakashi nodded, but didn’t say anything else.

“This is amazing.” Ino said in awe as the cheers and applause filled the air. “The whole village is turning out to welcome everyone.”

“Yeah.” Kiba agreed. “I know it’s not really for us, but it feels pretty good to be part of the side getting the welcomed.”

“Sure does.” Naruto grinned as he looked around. “By the way, where’s Nii-san?”

“PUT ME DOWN ALREADY!” Kurenai’s angry scream rose even above the noise of the welcoming. “I CAN WALK NOW DAMN IT!”

“You know, you’re being pretty bitchy considering you were the one who was sleeping while I did all the walking!” They heard Jagaa retort. “I was even nice enough not to complain while you were drooling all over my-gah-keh-uge-guh!”

“DIE! DIE! JUST DIE !” Kurenai screamed over the sounds of Jagaa being strangled.

“Oh, there he is.” Naruto said brightly, appearing completely unconcerned about his brothers dwindling oxygen supply and causing a sweatdrop to form on Ino, Kiba, and Hinata’s foreheads.

“Those two are a strange pair of brothers.” Ino commented to Hinata in a whisper, to which the Hyuuga girl just nodded.

A ways behind them, Sakura was watching her fellow Genin with something close to a glare. She didn’t know why, but she felt resentful to the four in front of her for seeming so relaxed. Wasn’t it less than twelve hours ago that all of them had been fighting for their lives against hundreds of hired bandits, and yet now they were happily joking and admiring the welcome as if it had never happened.

It just didn’t seem right.

Grunting, Sakura turned away from the four and looked over to Sasuke. She felt a small amount of relief to see that he also seemed bothered by the situation. Just maybe in a different way judging by the way he was so intently staring at the ground, his eyes troubled and clouded. Thinking that this would be a good chance to talk to him alone, Sakura turned to walk over to the Uchiha, when the image of a giant fireball bearing down on her flashed through her mind.

Sakura froze mid-step, a cold chill running through her body. Unconsciously she wrapped her arms around herself as she stared into the ground with wide, dilating eyes as her mind replayed everything. She could still feel the heat from the orange flames as they crashed against the wall of earth. She could hear the sound of burning the vegetation as the knowledge that it could have been her burning instead filled her mind. If it hadn’t been for Naruto…Sakura shuddered, unable to bring herself to finish the thought.

“Hey, Nee-chan.”

Sakura was snapped back into the present and she looked down to find a young boy wearing an old metal helmet, a quiver of crossbow bolts slung across his back, and resting the actual crossbow on his right shoulder.

“You okay, Nee-chan?” The boy asked. “You don’t look so good.”

Sakura shook her head a little to clear her thoughts and gave the boy the best smile she could manage. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for asking though.” She said in a forced, cheerful voice.

The boy grinned and scratched his nose with his free left hand. “That’s good. I was worried when I saw that big fireball flying at you. I couldn’t shoot that like I could the goons that had been trying to hurt you.”

Sakura’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened to impossible sizes. “That was you !” She gasped out, too shocked to manage a yell.

The boy’s grin widened and he held out his hand. “Yep. The names Inari. Nice to meet you Nee-chan.”

“S-Sakura.” The girl responded, holding out her hand automatically. “M-my name is Sakura.” The pink haired girl couldn’t believe that the young boy in front of her had really been the one who had saved her numerous times during the battle. He couldn’t be more than ten years old, and every shot that had prevented her own injury had been fatal for her attackers. How could such a young boy, a civilian no less, have been able to take the life of another human, and now stand here grinning at her as if he had done it many times before.

“Okay, well, see ya later, Sakura-nee-chan.” Inari said with his grin still in place. “I have to get home and let Kaa-chan know I’m okay.” The boy turned and ran a few meters but quickly stopped and turned around raising his left hand in a pleading way and closing one eye conspiratorially. “Oh, and do you think you could keep it a secret that I helped in the fight? Kaa-chan is already gonna be mad enough at me for sneaking onto the bridge convoy. She may ground me forever if she finds out about that .” Sakura nodded dumbly in response and the boy grinned wider and ran off while waving back at her. “Thanks a ton, Sakura-nee-chan! Bye bye!”

Sakura almost fell to her knees in disbelief as she watched the young boy run off. How could this really be happening? She had been saved, multiple times, by a little boy who couldn’t be older than ten. While she, who was supposed to be the trained Ninja, had barely been able to do more than act as a hindrance against the attackers. How could a civilian child have the resolve to kill someone, even from a distance, and yet she could not. Even though it had been her job, her mission, to protect those of the convoy.

Even if it meant killing.

“Nii-san/Jagaa, stop flirting while you’re on the job/mission!” Naruto and Kurenai’s voices shouted simultaneously.

“I’m not flirting!” Jagaa yelled back indignantly. “I’m just trying to improve relations with the local populace!” His voice dropped but Sakura was just close enough to hear him as he turned back to the woman he had been talking to. “So, how interested are you in improving relations ?”

“NII-SAN/JAGAA!”

For a moment, Sakura almost felt like laughing at the exchange, but her amusement was quickly drowned in the weight of her melancholy. After all, how could she laugh, when she was so close to crying?

“Shinobi rule number 35, a Ninja must never display their emotions.” Sakura whispered to herself as she fought with everything she had to follow that one rule.

She could at least do that much.

X     X     X     X     X

“YOU FOOLISH OLD MAN! HOW COULD YOU NOT EVEN NOTICE THAT YOUR OWN GRANDSON HAD SNUCK ON BOARD YOUR WAGONS!?” A woman with dark hair and black eyes, which were currently narrowed in fury, screamed at the top of her lungs at a cowering Tazuna.

Both the Jounin and Genin of Konoha were standing off to the side out of the angry woman’s line of sight to hopefully avoid her motherly wrath as they watched the sweating Tazuna. Inari, the boy Sakura had just met and also the boy in question, had edged into the group as well and was hiding behind Jagaa’s legs as he supported Kakashi on his shoulder, apparently deciding the scarred man would be the best defense against his angry mother should she direct her attention at him.

“B-b-but, Tsunami-chan, h-how was I supposed to know that he had snuck on board.” Tazuna pleaded his defense. “I had a lot of other things I had to keep track of, and nobody ever told me that they had seen him-”

“DON’T TRY TO PASS OFF YOUR FAILURE AS A GRANDFATHER BY BLAMING THE CIRCUMSTANCES!” Tsunami shouted, somehow increasing the volume of her voice again and causing everyone watching to wince.

After what seemed like another half an hour, but was probably only a couple minutes, the woman finally stopped shouting insults and lectures at her cringing father, the woman snapped around and narrowed her eyes on her son. “And you !” The boy yelped and hid further behind Jagaa as his mother bore down on him. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!? HOW COULD YOU SNEAK ALONG WHEN YOU WERE TOLD HOW DANGEROUS IT COULD BE!?”

Inari gulped as he gathered his courage to face his furious mom and peeked out from behind Jagaa’s legs and spoke with a mixture of defiance and fear as he looked up at her. “Because… Because Tou-chan would have gone.”

The woman who had been a towering storm of fury only moments before was stopped cold by the boy’s words, her eyes becoming hazy with a far away look. Catching herself, Tsunami quickly shook her head and hardened her gaze on the boy again. “I don’t care what he would have done! You’re too young to be putting yourself in harm's way like that!”

There was an audible snort and every head in the room turned to Naruto who looked like he was trying not to laugh. “What?” He asked at the questioning stares. “I was doing missions with Nii-san when I was seven and made my first kill when I was eight. So I don’t really buy the whole, ‘Too Young’ thing.”

Naruto turned his head to look directly at Tsunami, his blue eyes going serious. “Age doesn’t matter when you have something you’re fighting for. If you have something you believe in, or something to protect, you fight for it no matter how old you are.”

Tsunami was momentarily taken aback by Naruto’s mature response, but her motherly instinct quickly kicked back in and she met his gaze with her own. “That may be true for a Ninja, but he’s just a normal boy. He’s not strong enough to do things like that.”

Naruto’s gaze didn’t falter in the slightest. “If you’re not strong enough, then become stronger. If you’re not fast enough, then become faster. If you’re not smart enough, then gain wisdom. Those are the words you live by if you have something to protect or fight for.” Naruto brought up his right hand and formed a tight fist that whitened his knuckles. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a Ninja or a civilian, an adult or a child. You have to protect what you hold dear with your own strength.”

All but one pair of eyes widened in amazement as they stared at the sunny-blond boy. For those that knew him, it was yet another shock of how different and mature the boy had somehow become since leaving Konoha for the mission. Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari however, were struggling to keep their emotions under control as the boy’s statement reminded them of a certain person.

“Nice speech, Brat.” Jagaa said with a smirk, cutting off the silence that had settled into the room.

Naruto smirked back at his older brother cheekily. “I thought you might like it. It was based on one of yours after all.”

Jagaa’s smirk widened slightly but he made no comment.

There was a muffled sniffing and the Konoha Ninja looked over to see Tsunami wiping her eyes. Tazuna’s own eyes had become glassy as he stared at the bottle of Sake in his hand and Inari came out from behind Jagaa’s legs to stare at Naruto with a mixture of admiration and sorrow.

Naruto started to get distinctly uncomfortable and looked over to Jagaa in confusion. “Did I do something wrong?” Jagaa just shrugged, causing Kakashi to grunt as due to the ripple of pain that ran through him from the movement.

“Oh, no, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Tazuna said quickly, wiping his moistened eyes. “No, it was just that your words reminded us of the person who is considered a hero in this village.” Tazuna turned and motioned for the group to follow him as he started walking towards the back of the living room to a set of double doors. Once everyone had gathered behind him, the old man pushed the doors open.

Several gasps arose from the group of Ninja at the interior of the room they were being shown. The walls had been lined with numerous shelves, each filled from end to end with a beautiful assortment of flowers and two softly glowing round lanterns hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room with an almost mystical light. In the back of the room on an ornate stand was a large picture of a dark haired man with his right arm held up in front of him and his left hand holding his bicep. It was clear by his rough, weathered features, darkly tanned skin, well defined muscles from strenuous work, and the single piece of white rope around his head that the man had most likely been a fisherman for the village. The only real oddity marking him from any other fisherman you would see throughout a port city was the several scars that adorned his arms and the single one on his chin. However, despite this unknown man’s rough appearance, his eyes held warmth that mingled with his good-natured smile and gave him the image of a reliable friend.

“This man’s name was Kaiza. He was a drifter that came to our town to be a fisherman and ended up becoming a part of our family. He was also the one who came to be known as the Wave’s Hero.” Tazuna declared with a sadness tinged pride. “The reason your speech affected us so much was because he used to always say that you should protect what you hold dear with your own two arms. Similar to protecting it with your own strength don’t you think.” Tazuna sniffed a little as he continued. “Before Gatou’s arrival, he earned the title of a Hero when he saved the entire village from being washed away in a flood by braving the raging waters and making it possible to close the floodgates just in time.” Tazuna’s voice dropped, fading almost too much to hear. “But it was after Gatou came that he truly did become our Hero…at the cost of his life.”

///Flashback///

The villagers gathered around the chain link fence that had been erected in the center of town and stared horror struck as the one they thought of as a hero to their town hung beaten and bloodied from the cross he was tied to. The strong arms that he had proudly declared so many times that he would use to protect what he held dear were gnarled and bruised making it painfully clear that they had been broken in several places.

In the front of the crowd, pressed up against the fence, Inari, Tazuna, and Tsunami watched with tears streaming down their faces as they helplessly looked on.

An ugly little man that looked like a cross between a troll and a human walked up beside the cross wearing a suit and a pair of round sunglasses and looked amongst the gathered crowd with a smirk of confidence and contempt as he started to speak. “This man has disrupted the peace and order of this town by breaking into my company and physically attacking my men.” The ugly man’s smirk widened sickeningly as he looked up to the man on the cross. “He will now be executed. I just hope that something like this will never happen again.” Still smirking, the trollish man turned to walk away when he was stopped in his tracks by the sound of a low, pain-filled laugh and turned back to the man on the cross. “What are you laughing at? You’re about to die.” He spat contemptuously.

“…You…really are…pathetic.” Kaiza said with a pained smile on his face as he looked down at Gatou. “Do you really think…you can take over this country…like this?”

“Of course.” Gatou sneered up at the man. “You’ll serve as the example of what happens to anyone who crosses me and fear will do the rest. This country will be mine soon enough.”

Kaiza smiled almost pityingly at the little man. “If that’s what you think…then it shows how much of a fool you really are.” Kaiza’s voice steadied and gained strength with every word he spoke. “The people of this country won’t just let you walk over them without a fight. They’ll protect their homes and their loved ones from a monster like you.”

A low murmur filled the air at Kaiza’s words and Gatou quickly turned back to the gathered crowd, his eyes widening. Throughout the gathered townspeople, Gatou could see their eyes changing from being filled by a deep fear at what they were seeing , to a slowly hardening resolve at what they were hearing .

Kaiza took notice of the change as well and raised his voice to address the gathered people. “Do not let fear or doubt control you! Only you, the people of this village, can protect it from people like him! For the sake of yourselves! For the sake of your children! For the sake of your grandchildren! Protect what you hold dear by the strength of your own arms!” Kaiza lowered his head slightly and fixed his un-swollen eye on Inari, a calm smile rising to his face. “For the sake of the people you love. Fight!”

Inari’s eyes widened as he stared into the steady eye of the man that had become his father, his tears stopping as he felt the man’s inner strength and resolve wash over him like a comforting hug.

Throughout the crowd, eyes hardened and fists clenched tightly as the words of the beaten man worked deeply into their minds and hearts. Along the front rows many people began grabbing and shaking the fencing that separated them from the man tied to the cross, the sound of grating metal and cracking concrete signaling the effectiveness of their angry efforts.

Gatou’s eyes widened behind his glasses and he fearfully took a few steps back, unable to believe that the short speech of a dying man had riled the townspeople up to this extent. Turning quickly to the nearest guard, Gatou pointed urgently at Kaiza. “Shut him up!” The trollish man snarled. Smirking happily, the guard drew his Katana and stabbed it into Kaiza’s chest without hesitation.

The shaking stopped and the crowd stilled as they all stared on in horror, the shock of seeing the man they had been hoping to rescue being stabbed through the lung halting them in their movement. However, before Gatou could feel any pleasure in the silence of the crowd, an animal like roar ripped through the air and his head snapped over to the impaled man.

His eye narrowed in pain and blood dripping from his mouth, Kaiza let out another savage roar as he ripped through the ropes binding his legs to the cross in an inhuman feat of strength and will. Glaring down and the frightened little man, Kaiza’s bloodied right leg shot into the tycoon's face, severely breaking his nose and sending the little man reeling backwards and into the ground where he lay screaming in pain. Kaiza’s glare softened into a bold confidence and a proud smile rose to his face that couldn’t even be marred by the blood dripping from his mouth as he spoke down to the screaming man. “Just…a little…something…to remember me… by…” Even as his words faded, Kaiza’s bloody smile never left his face as his head slowly dropped to hang limply over his chest, never to rise again.

Cries of grief and rage filled the air and the assault on the dividing fence was renewed with unimaginable force. Within seconds, the poles holding the fence gave way under the mass of people, falling to the ground in a crash of metal as the crowd charged forward with hate in their eyes, picking up poles, rocks, and anything else that could be used as a weapon.

Panic gripped the Gatou’s men as they saw the mass of angry townspeople bearing down on them. With screams of fear they turned and ran towards the harbor, the one who had stabbed Kaiza pausing just long enough to scoop up his injured boss before fleeing to the emergency ship, leaving behind the few that had not reacted fast enough and were being beaten to death by the very people they had sought to intimidate. Making it to the ship with little distance between him and the murderous mob, the grunt kicked the gangplank off the ship and ducked behind the sidewall as rocks and metal rained down around them.

“GO! GO!” Gatou screamed to the captain as he covered his head, ducking down next to the underling that had saved his life to avoid the projectiles, blood still flowing freely from his broken nose. “I promise you! This isn’t over!” Gatou swore as the ship started pulling away. “I’ll get this country under my control if it’s the last thing I do!”

Back on the pier, the masses were finally forced to accept Gatou’s escape and turned back to the town, a somber silence falling over them as they began encircling the area and staring sadly at the scene before them.

Cut down from the cross he had been bound to, Kaiza now lay on the concrete with his head cradled gently in Tsunami’s lap as the woman cried silently, her tears dripping off her cheeks and onto Kaiza’s pale face. Inari’s tears were far from silent as the young boy clasped his father’s hand in his own two small ones, his grieved wails cutting through the silence of the onlookers as he clutched it to his chest while Tazuna stood off to the side, his own tears freely running down his cheeks.

And through it all, the gathered townspeople could only watch. Watch as a family cried for the loss of someone dear to them. However, even as they stood in respectful silence, the people of the Wave could not forget the bravery of the man that now lay lifeless amongst his loved ones and his determination to fight to the very end for what he believed in. Many people that day were forced to look inside themselves and ask if they too would be willing to fight that hard for the people they loved and the place they called home.

Looking down at the calmly smiling face of the man that had done just that, they found their answer. And that answer would hold firm in their hearts from that day forward.

///Flashback End///

Tazuna fell silent as he finished his story, unshed tears glistening in his aged eyes as he gazed on Kaiza’s picture alongside Inari and Tsunami as they too tried to hold back their resurfacing pain while the Konoha Ninja watched in respectful silence.

“...Fighting to the very end.” Jagaa said in a low, commending tone, finally breaking the silence. “I can appreciate that.”

Tazuna sniffed and wiped his eyes. “Yes. He was an amazing man, and a true hero.” Shaking his head slightly, Tazuna looked up to the Ninja and gave them what was obviously a forced smile followed by an equally forced cheerful tone. “Well, I felt like I should show you this and explain why we are fighting against Gatou so hard, but I really think it’s time that we should all try to get some rest. We’ve had a long trip and work is going to resume on the bridge at first light tomorrow.” Tazuna moved through the group and out of the room, gesturing for the Konoha Ninja to follow him. “I’ll show you all to the rooms you can use.” With a few nods of acceptance, the gathered Ninja fell in step behind the old man, none of them making comment on his change in demeanor.

Taking up the rear of the group, Naruto paused just before passing through the doorway and looked back at the remaining two figures. Just in front of Kaiza’s picture, Tsunami was on her knees as she and Inari clung to each other, their eyes closed and their teeth clenched and their tears quietly rolled down their cheeks.

Ocean blue eyes hardened, taking on an icy haze as he watched the scene until finally turning away and walking out of the room.

X     X     X     X     X

“Why do we have to wait a week!?” Naruto demanded as he and Jagaa stood on the small dock connected to Tazuna’s house under the crescent moon.

“Because I said so.” Jagaa said with a tired sigh. Honestly he knew that Naruto wouldn’t be happy about the delay, but he had hoped the boy would be more open-minded. “Just trust me on this. Okay, Brat?”

Naruto glared at his older brother for some time before finally letting out an explosive breath. “Fine, but what am I supposed to do while we’re waiting?”

“Why don’t you train?” Jagaa recommended, idly scratching his chin. “You’re not on restriction anymore because of your Genin status. So now’s a good time to get familiar with some of your more powerful techniques again.”

All traces of anger vanished from Naruto’s face as his eyes lit up in excitement. “You’re right! I had completely forgotten about that! I mean, sure, I was using chakra to enhance myself during the fight with Gatou’s goons, but I didn’t even think about the fact I could use some of my badass techniques to take them out!”

“…That’s probably a good thing then.” Jagaa said with a slight frown. “You tend to get carried away when you’re excited.”

“I’m not that bad.” The boy protested to which Jagaa just shrugged. “So what are you going to be doing for a week then?” Naruto questioned, hoping for some kind of explanation for the delay.

His brother’s evil grin was all the answer the boy needed.

X     X     X     X     X

Sunlight fell through the curtain in her borrowed room, casting its golden glow upon Kurenai’s face and rousing her back into the waking world. Slowly pushing herself up from the futon she stretched her arms high over her head, dropping her left arm to give a little extra tug on her right and enjoying the overall sensation. Finishing her stretch, Kurenai removed the blanket covering her lower half and reached down to rub her legs lightly, smiling when she didn’t feel any residual pain from the needles that had impaled them the day before.

‘ I guess he really did know what he was talking about. ’ She thought, her smile becoming a little softer as she remembered Jagaa’s reassurances that her legs would be fine. As she was thinking about her partner, her smile turned into a small frown as she realized something else from the day before. ‘ I never did thank him for saving me. I’ll have to remember to do that today. I owe him at least that much…no matter how much of pain in the ass he is. ’ Nodding to herself in resolve, Kurenai rose from her sleeping place to find her partner Jounin.

Upon arriving at the room Jagaa was supposed to be sharing with Kakashi, Kurenai could admit she wasn’t too surprised to find that the scarred man wasn’t there. What did bother her though, was when Kakashi revealed to her that Jagaa hadn’t come to the room and slept at all the night before. Still, she honestly didn’t know Jagaa’s sleeping habits very well. So it could be normal for him to, say, fall asleep sitting on the couch, or out on the porch, or even on the roof as even she had done a couple times while looking at stars. Feeling a bit more at ease at the possibilities, she resumed her search for her wayward teammate.

Unfortunately, her unease didn’t stay away long as, upon further exploration of the house, Kurenai found that not only Jagaa, but her entire team was missing. Neither Ino nor Sakura had been in the room that had been designated for the Kunoichi Genin to share. Hinata confirmed that the three of them had gone to bed at the same time last night but she had woken up as the only one in the room. It was the same story for Sasuke as well. With Kiba telling her that the Uchiha had gone to bed at the same time as him but was gone when he woke up.

Starting to feel a bit panicky at the absence of her team, Kurenai began her search with new vigor, going to absolutely every room in the house one by one, not caring who she may walk in on or disturb. It was because of this process she stumbled across a rather unusual sight. A sight that did nothing whatsoever to alleviate her current worry.

In a small room that was probably used for storage, Naruto was dressed in what looked like priest robes and kneeling down in front of three crudely drawn crayon pictures of Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino, slowly waving an olive branch in front of him and chanting in a low tone. Cautiously stepping into the room, Kurenai spoke in a gentle voice so as not to startle the boy. “Naruto, what are you doing in here?”

Pausing in his chant, Naruto looked back at the woman with a somber expression. “Oh, it’s you, Kurenai-sensei. Well, you see, Nii-san said last night that he was going to take Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino on a week-long training trip.” Turning back to the pictures, Naruto raised his olive branch again. “So I’m praying for their souls.”

Kurenai paled.

X     X     X     X     X

Somewhere deep in the forest the night before

Three pained grunts sounded as three burlap sacks were dropped unceremoniously on the forest floor followed by several splashing sounds as the ones carrying them turned into puddles of water. After several moments of struggling, the first of the three sacks opened to reveal the raven haired form of Uchiha Sasuke as he crawled out of his burlap prison, followed soon by Sakura and Ino as they too escaped confinement.

“What the hell is going on?” Ino demanded, coughing several times from the proximity of her face to the ground. “Did the enemy get us?”

“Nope.” A familiar voice replied in a smug tone. “But you can think of this as a lesson as to why you need to train your senses better. I was practically pouring hostile intent before I shoved the three of you in those sacks and not one of you even flinched. At least Kiba started to stir and Hinata almost caught me.”