Chapter Text
Part 5: Choice
Naruto pushed himself against the wall. He had been a few seconds too late. The guard was coming his way. Without needing a hand sign, he activated the henge technique. The colours of his skin and clothes changed, until he was indistinguishable from the wall. He made himself flatter and thinner, changing himself into stone. These inorganic transformations were useful, but they had their downsides. Without lungs he had to hold his breath, and without eyes or ears he was forced to rely on his chakra sense.
The guard examined the hallway carefully, and for a moment Naruto thought he had been caught. But then the guard turned away again and continued his patrol.
Naruto released his transformation as soon as it was safe. He pressed a hand against his mouth to still the sound of his frantic breathing as his body struggled to catch up on the oxygen it had been deprived. As a genin, it had sometimes taken minutes to get back to normal. But he was a jounin now with more practice with the Henge than anyone else in Konoha. It took only seconds.
Naruto dashed off quickly. Chakra concentrated on the soles of his feet helped him run without making a single sound. He had studied the guard patrol and he knew he could make it through undetected if he was fast enough.
Finally. The final chamber at the centre of this whole facility. Naruto pressed his hand against the door and flushed the security seals with chakra to destroy them. Detection seals were too delicate to withstand Naruto’s vast chakra stores. He was happy that the seals had not contained any explosions. If they had, this whole operation would take twice as long. First he would have to hide out and wait for the commotion to die down, and then try again once they were convinced Naruto had escaped instead of hid among them.
He pushed one more wave of chakra through the lock. His wind nature hated the confined space and from that resentment gave a clear image of what the dimensions of the lock were. Naruto changed one of his fingers into the corresponding key and unlocked the door.
He slipped inside and closed the door again. Just in time. A guard passed by the door without stopping. Nothing about the door had seemed suspicious. Naruto’s infiltration had been a success.
The room itself was dark and Naruto had to give himself fox eyes to make out any shape at all. A large circle with a pedestal in the centre. The walls were stone and thicker than anywhere else. The ground was wavy stone, as if the dropping of the pedestal had disturbed the foundations of the room.
Naruto crouched down and put a hand on the stony ground. It was cold and Naruto could feel a small vibration going through it. There were traps imbedded in the floor that Naruto would have to avoid. He took a few deep breaths, and then focused on another transformation. He became the crow, gently lifting off the ground and making his way to the pedestal. He was about to reach it when suddenly he was forced to the ground by a net that had come from above him.
Naruto dropped his form and spun with outstretched kunai, slicing up the net. He was just in time to see a guard’s weapon heading towards him and dodge to the side. It was a kanabo, a spiked metal bat that could knock him down with a single hit. And its wielder was already gearing up for a second strike.
Naruto gathered his kunai and transformed them into a large thick sword, blocking the strike and then countering. They exchanged blows, dancing around the ground. Hit by hit, step by step. Naruto did not dare step anywhere he had not been before. He pushed his opponent instead, stepping his ow feet into the space that the guard’s had been. Again and again. He could see the sweat forming on the ninja’s face, even behind the ANBU mask. Naruto had the advantage of stamina and he would win.
Suddenly his footing fell. He lost his balance, and the kanabo swung against his head.
It stopped just an inch shy of hitting him.
“Good attempt.” The ninja said. He took off his mask to reveal the grin. “You’ve gotten better with that sword.”
“It’s the only thing I can think of to counter you, Yamato.” Naruto laughed, getting up and rubbing his arm where he had broken his fall. He looked at the ground that had given way. A booby trap. “Why didn’t that activate for you?”
“Chakra underneath my foot.” He smirked. “To prevent its activation.”
Naruto groaned. “Of course.”
There was a female sounding cackling from the top of the room. Naruto immediately flinched. He wondered if he could run away if he was fast enough.
“Your form was far too sloppy!” She said, dropping from her hiding place with that huge head of red hair trailing her. “And you didn’t even sense me, did you?”
“I was going to use another wind chakra scout.” Naruto pouted. “As soon as I got to the pedestal.”
“Would have been too late. At this rate, my grandchildren will be jounin before you have your elite specialisation.”
“I’m ready! I just got unlucky today.”
“You’re not ready until I say you’re ready.” She glared at him. “Tomorrow morning I’m going to take you through basic drills again.”
“No!” Naruto blanched. “I’ll get it next time! I’m so close!”
“You’re the one who’s insisting on infiltration.” She reminded him. “There are far easier specialisations still readily available as alternatives, that won’t have me drilling you to perfection.”
“I just need to get to the Forest of Death and participate in the trial. It’s the hardest specialisation because it’s my best bet of becoming Hokage.” Naruto said. “It’s the specialisation that’ll make me the strongest.”
“I know.” She sighed. “But you can’t blame me for worrying. What else are mothers for?”
Naruto rolled his eyes. “Annoying me, pestering me, getting between me and Sasuke.”
“Hey, brat!” Kushina forced Naruto into a head lock to rub at the top of his head. “Take that back!”
“Make me!” Naruto fought back just as hard, fuelling his wrestling with his frustrations of failing again.
Yamato sighed. “You Uzumaki are all the same.”
~*~
Sakura ran her hands over Naruto’s arm. “It’s just a bruise. I’ll have it fixed in no time.”
The hospital was quiet, far too large for the limited activity it saw. Sakura had to get in her hours as a medic and she was this close to just giving up on that elite specialisation to just focus on genjutsu. She needed more patients, but nothing serious ever happened in Konoha. The ninja village was one of the safest places on earth. It was a wonder they still had a hospital.
“Thanks.” Naruto said. “I can’t believe they tricked me again.”
“I can’t believe you got tricked.” Sakura pointed out. She frowned as she applied her medical chakra. “The healing isn’t taking.”
Naruto opened his mouth to explain why, but no sound came out. There had been a sentence in his head, but it had slipped out of his grasp before he could speak it. He knew he had always been difficult to heal. But he could not remember any time where it had mattered.
“I’ll just push through the resistance.” Sakura said. “Naruto, you’re supposed to be an infiltration specialist. What are you going to do if this happens in an enemy village?”
“Enemy villages won’t have this level of protection.” Naruto pouted. “Mom’s just trying to keep me in the village.”
“Would that be so bad?”
“Don’t you start.” Naruto said. “You know how I feel about this. I specialised in the Henge and that means infiltration is my best path to Hokage.”
“Oh yeah, blame me for wanting my best friend to stay in the village with me instead of going into dangerous enemy territory where god knows what could happen. I still don’t understand why you won’t even consider a body double specialisation.”
“Because it’s glorified body guarding. It might be in the village, but it’s mostly about standing still and looking pretty. With infiltration I get to experience the different villages and test myself against real opponents. I get to build connections that will serve me for years to come.”
“Connections with other villages and their shady underbelly. If you stay here, you get to make connections with the most important of Konoha’s politicians. The ones whose support you need to make it as Hokage.”
“Like any of those stuck-up geezers talk to a bodyguard.” Naruto rolled his eyes.
“More than they talk to the ninja who are staying in a completely different village. Besides, there are other advantages too.” Sakura said, a little softer. The green aura around her hands disappeared as she finished the healing. “Staying here with me. And Sasuke.”
“It’s not like it isn’t a tempting option.” Naruto said. “Of course it’s tempting. I would love to stay in Konoha with you.”
“Then just do it.” Sakura said.
Naruto almost relented. Except there was some discomfort in the pit of his stomach. Like saying yes was the worst thing that he could do. Like he had been running for so long that he was afraid his legs would give out if he stopped now. There was so much happiness around him and he did not know how to trust that. Which was strange, because he had always been happy.
“Naruto?”
“I should grab a bite to eat from the cafeteria.”
“No you shouldn’t.” Sakura smirked. “You should wait here. And while you do, you can help me with my files.”
“They’re your files.” Naruto said.
“Can you believe her?” Naruto asked in his head to… someone. Himself? Why did he have the feeling he should be getting a response?
“But you’re so good with them.” Sakura smiled. “And I have the new Shojo Manga I’ll let you borrow.”
“I can get it from Ino too.”
“But she’ll ask so much more for it.” Sakura had a triumphant grin on her face.
And yeah, she wasn’t wrong. “Fine.”
Naruto sat down and opened up her paperwork. “You need to work on your penmanship.”
“It’s still too neat. None of the other doctors take me seriously.”
“It’s illegible!” Naruto grumbled.
“It’s practice for your cryptography. Just like you enjoy.”
“If anyone could consciously make a code as unbreakable as this, they would become the richest ninja in Konoha.”
Sakura chuckled, before settling down to help. Except Naruto had already translated most of it. “It’s not fair. Your handwriting is so neat.”
“Yours is better when you take the time for it.”
“Too busy saving lives.” Sakura nodded.
Naruto’s stomach was starting to grumble, but if Sakura told him to wait, he would. He trusted his teammate. After fifteen minutes, he had gotten through most of the pile. And he found out why he was supposed to wait.
“Sasuke!” Naruto smiled wide. “How did you know I’d be here?”
“You were training with your mom. Either you’d end up here or she would.”
“I’m going to let that slander slide only because of how factually true it is.” Naruto glared. “But you’d better make it up to me.”
“I brought you something.” Sasuke said, holding up the take-out containers of ramen.
“You are the best boyfriend!”
“I thought we could go to the roof and eat some. I like the view from there.”
“Then let’s go.”
~*~
The whole of Konoha was visible. From the Hokage monument and the four faces on it, to the forests beyond Konoha’s great wall. This was called the village Hidden in the Leaf for a reason. And between the walls that kept them safe, the faces of their leaders looking over them, and the nature all around, were the houses and apartments of all the citizens whom Naruto and the other ninja were tasked to protect.
By the river, Naruto could see the shop with the smoking yellow chimney from Tenten’s forge, and the red graffiti that had become the easiest way to locate the shop and dojo. Naruto should head over soon to build up his weapon reserves again. Sasuke’s little goblins had both started training in the dojo to supplement their education in the Academy and it would be nice to see their progress.
“Did Kushina go easy on you?”
“Does she ever?” Naruto smiled. “I know she means well, but it’s difficult with parents. You know what it’s like.”
“Yeah. Tou-san keeps pushing me and Itachi to work together on a collaborative fire jutsu. But you know how much I hate the guy. We’re more likely to burn each other than an enemy.”
“Your dad just wants his heirs to get along.”
“No, he wants to combine the two of us. The strength and heterosexuality of Itachi, with my loyalty to the clan and willingness to have children.”
“I’m sorry, but if he starts combining you with Itachi then we’re breaking up. I mean, I promised to love you no matter what, but even I have my limits.”
Sasuke glared. “If tou-san tries anything, I’m expecting you to save me from him.”
“And go against the leader of the Uchiha clan? I though you supported my dreams of being Hokage.”
“Sure. Let me stay a Frankenstein hybrid just so you can become leader of the village.”
“It wouldn’t all be bad. At least you’d still be my jounin commander.”
Sasuke nodded. “Of course. So I can stab you in the back the first chance I get.”
“Sweetheart, you can stab me all night long.” Naruto smirked as he slurped on his noodles. They tasted amazing. “This is just what I needed.”
“I know how hard you’ve been working.” Sasuke said. “And I’m proud of you for how hard you’re working towards your goals. I’m glad I get to provide some respite.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“And I feel much the same way. Which is why I asked my father’s permission.”
“For what?”
Sasuke kneeled and showed a ring. It was a golden ring with a fox head, rubies for its eyes. “I want to share my life with you.”
Naruto could not believe it. “Of course I want to marry you!” He reached for the ring.
But Sasuke held it just out of reach. “But Naruto, I want you to stay in the village for me.”
“What?”
“I want to marry you now, but when we do there will be responsibilities for you as an Uchiha main family member. You can’t be out of the village for long infiltration missions.”
“You know that’s my chosen specialisation.”
“I know that there is an alternative.”
Now Naruto really could not believe it. “You’re holding our relationship over my head?”
“Of course not. But this is my dad’s condition. He won’t support the engagement unless you can spend more time in the village. It’s what needs to happen in order to get his blessing.”
“You could have just led with that.” Naruto groaned. “We’ll have to postpone until we’re older.”
Sasuke looked struck. “You’re not even going to consider it?”
“You know this is the path I must take, Sasuke.” Naruto said.
“Aren’t you happy with me?”
“Of course I am. It’s not that simple.”
“Why shouldn’t it be? I love you, Naruto. And you love me. Let’s be happy together.”
Naruto looked at the ring. There was something about the metal fox that itched in the back of his mind. Like this was not the fox he should be looking at. He wanted to be happy with Sasuke. He did. But then why did it feel so wrong to say yes to this? “Let me think about it.”
“That’s all I’m asking.” Sasuke said. “Did you know I’ve already got an Uchiha house picked out for us? It’s close to my concubines and the kids, so that you’ll get to spend more time with them. And close to your old house too, so your parents can visit.”
“That does sound nice.”
Sasuke leaned his head against Naruto’s shoulder. “I want to be able to be like this every day.”
~*~
“I don’t see the problem.” Kushina said, refusing to let Naruto out of her bear hug. “We both know how much you want to stay with Sasuke.”
“It’s not what I’m meant to do!” Naruto complained. “I’m supposed to go out of the village and work on my dream.”
“You know that’s not required. If there wasn’t a war to fight, none of the previous Hokage spent much time outside of the village. Everyone you love is right here.”
And yet Naruto kept feeling like he needed to go outside. To escape. Like something was missing.
“I’m home!” A male voice said.
And it took Naruto a few moments to place it.
The Fourth Hokage walked into Naruto’s home, hanging his long white coat. “Anyone want some tea?”
It felt impossible. The Fourth Hokage had… he was the longest running Hokage. He lived with Naruto. So why did his presence feel so strange?
“You talk some sense into him, Minato!” Kushina cried.
“It’s the boy’s decision.” Minato said. “Though I for one would hate to miss our sparring sessions. It’s the highlight of my day. Unless you think I’ve run out of things to teach you?”
And Naruto could remember crossing blades with The Yellow Flash, getting faster every day as the legendary ninja tutored him.
“You okay kiddo?” Kushina asked. “Your dad asked you a question.”
“He’s not my dad.” Naruto immediately said. The Fourth Hokage was Naruto’s childhood hero, not his father.
The world seemed to still, an empty void that encompassed everything Naruto was. And then it kept going like nothing was the matter.
“We’ve talked about this.” Kushina said. “Just because he’s your adoptive father, doesn’t make him any less family.”
Because Minato had been around for all of Naruto’s birthdays. He had given advice when Naruto struggled in the Academy and had helped Naruto develop his wind chakra. That was all Minato. Even though Naruto had a biological dad somewhere, it did not count. That was the guy who had abandoned Kushina.
“Right. Sorry.” Naruto rubbed at his head. “Don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“It’s that training schedule you keep.” Kushina said. “It’s messing with your concentration. You’re allowed to take some easier days. Everyone does it. Just because you have one of the highest talent scores in the village, doesn’t mean you need to cram so much into a single hour every single day.”
Naruto shook his head. “I don’t have high talent.”
“Of course you do. My special boy, blessed by the foxes. Heir to the noble Uzumaki clan.”
“I don’t…” Naruto’s eyes unfocussed. This was wrong. Something was wrong. This world was wrong. He had to get out.
~*~
“It’s that training schedule you keep.” Kushina said. “It’s messing with your concentration. You’re allowed to take some easier days. Everyone does it. Just because you have to keep up with the talented, doesn’t mean you need to overexert yourself all the time.”
“I’m doing exactly as much as needed to stay at their level.” Naruto said. He blinked the dizziness away. The tea Minato handed him helped.
“You can keep up with them with a regular amount of work. Just like you can become Hokage without going through all the unnecessary hassle of becoming an infiltration specialist.”
“I really wish you’d just support me.”
“We do support you, kiddo.” Minato said. “But we also care for you so much. We’re looking out for you. Do you really want to be out there pretending to be someone you’re not, knowing you’re sleeping alone each night? There’s so much family for you here in Konoha.”
Naruto had to admit they had a point. “I get it. You guys love me. How embarrassing for you.”
“Bit more respect.” Kushina glared.
“When you earn it, hag.” Naruto snapped back with a smile.
Minato grabbed the teacups away from the table as Naruto and his mother started up again.
And much as Naruto felt like he had to leave, he knew this was what he would miss the most. With each second he spent there, the temptation grew to stay.
“I really do need to be off though.” Naruto said. “I was just supposed to grab my books on the Henge, but I had to share the news.”
“Another lesson with Konohamaru?”
“He’s progressing so fast.” Naruto said. “He’ll graduate the academy with an animal form at this rate.”
“It’s because he has a wonderful teacher.” Kushina kissed his head. “Are you going to be home for dinner.”
“Sakura invited Team 7 over.” Naruto said. “But I’ll be home right after.”
“You keep busy.”
Naruto stood up, leaning against the chair. “And I haven’t even mentioned going by the brothel first to meet Natsu.”
“Excuse me?” Kushina fumed. “The hell you are! How do you even know that word? I didn’t raise you like that.”
There was a silence between them that stretched and bended. It was like neither could speak for a moment, until the laws of the universe settled once again.
“Stop calling her dance studio a brothel!”
“But you get so nicely flustered when I do.” Naruto grinned. He tightened his grip on the chair, fighting another dizzy spell. Maybe his mom had been right and he had been pushing it.
“It’s disrespectful. What would poor Natsu think if she heard you say that?”
“She’s the one who started it.” Naruto said. His mother still could not believe that a toddler Natsu had seen women using their bodies to earn money and loudly proclaimed the studio to be a brothel to the utter shock and horror of all the adults present. And to the charm of the head teacher, who instantly took a shine to her.
“She’s the only one as unpredictable as you.” Kushina admitted. “Stay safe.”
“Of course.”
Naruto grabbed his things and made his way to the dance studio. The swearing nee-san was not in, it seemed, which was a shame. He had some cards he wanted to trade.
“Look who’s here!” Natsu exclaimed, running over for a hug. “You here to see the new routine?”
“Have been waiting with bated breath.” Naruto said, smiling. “Hope I’m not disturbing anything.”
“Dance lessons just finished. We can go right into the practice room. And I can hear you play the flute as my accompaniment.”
“I don’t play the flute.” Naruto said.
“Don’t be so modest.” Natsu laughed. “Come play.”
Naruto went into the room and found the flute. He brought it to his lips and he knew exactly how to play it. He remembered as a child fumbling around with it and Natsu encouraging him despite the false notes that kept escaping the instrument. He remembered countless hours of practice, until he had achieved a mastery of the musical instrument.
He played and Natsu immediately started her routine.
But Naruto wasn’t watching her. How did he have time to learn to play an instrument? He was talentless and all his time went into training to be a ninja. He remembered how much he wanted to learn an instrument, but he also remembered squashing down that desire because there were more important things to learn.
Something was wrong. He stopped playing. “Kai.”
Nothing happened. This was not genjutsu, but the world was wrong. He had to get out.
~*~
“Dance lessons just finished. We can go right into the practice room. And I can hear you play whatever new song Ino got you as my accompaniment.”
Naruto laughed, already going through his tapes in his head. He landed on one of them, but hesitated when he pulled it out. “I’m having a strange sense of déjà vu.”
“It’s almost like you hang out here a lot.” Natsu rolled her eyes. “Come on already.”
Naruto shook it off, grabbing the cassette and placing it in the speaker. The music started playing and Natsu took off immediately, a red hood around her body swaying with each big motion, along with the sound of the singing. A small wolf followed her in the dance, summoned by the genjutsu Sakura had taught her.
“This is ripped off from the chuunin exhibition.”
“Inspired!” Natsu smiled and added a flourish to her move. “A tribute to our mighty ninja.”
“Oh my god you’re pandering!” Naruto laughed. “The old geezers will love that!”
“You’re not the only one who can play with politics!” Natsu chuckled, before concentrating on her routine again.
It was tradition, and very deliberately not. Each of her moves were inspired by the chuunin exams and Naruto could see the parallels. But also there was something new about it. She pulled off moves that no chuunin would ever manage, by sheer expertise in her craft. And all the time that red cloak and wolf danced with her, like there were three people instead of just one.
She finished just as the song did. And Naruto had to stand up to applause. “Bravo!”
She was panting. “I still have some things that need polishing. And I was hoping you’d help me practice chakra walking later.”
“What for?”
“I can walk up walls, but I’ve heard it’s eventually possible to walk on air. Imagine the crazy moves I’d be able to pull off then!”
Naruto could imagine it just fine. “You realise I’m not actually able to do that.”
“Don’t pretend you haven’t tried. We can figure it out together. Will give us an excuse to hang out again, like old times.”
“I won’t have time.” Naruto sighed. “As fun as that sounds.”
“You would if you chose to stay in the village.”
“Not you too.” Naruto groaned. “You know why I have to go.”
“I know why you keep telling yourself you need to go. You’re worried that we won’t like you as much if you spend time with us.”
Naruto made a face.
“Don’t deny it. You like having the excuse of always being busy. You’re terrified if you stop and enjoy yourself, we’re going to figure out something about you that you’ve tried to keep hidden. And it’s ridiculous. We all love you Naruto. You can trust us.”
“I do trust you.” Naruto said. “And I love all of you too. But I’m really at my best in small bursts. Everyone says so.”
“You’ve made yourself scarce to seem more valuable. I get that. I’ve done it. But it’s not good for you. You don’t need to be your best self all the time. You are allowed to take a break every once and a while without worrying we’ll run to the hills.”
“Speaking of running, I’m almost late for a tutoring appointment.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Look, I’m weighing all my options. Thanks for telling me how you feel. But this is going to be my decision.”
“Fine. Grab a cookie on your way out. You know how much Yume likes to cook.”
Naruto perked right up.
“And tell the little pipsqueaks I said hi.”
It was oatmeal cookie with chocolate and Naruto wasn’t allowed to leave until he picked one up for his students too. Even then Yume kept trying to slip more into his pockets as extra snacks. Naruto was refusing as politely as he could and walking backwards from her, when he bumped right into an older ninja.
“You should really look where you’re going.”
Naruto tensed, goosebumps covering all of his body. He turned slowly and bowed as politely as could. “Sorry, Itachi-san.”
“I missed the performance then?”
“What performance? You were going to watch Natsu?”
“I heard you’d be here.” Itachi said, appraising. “You are, after all, dating the heir of our noble clan and we don’t spend nearly enough time together.”
“Your ANBU duties keep you busy.” Naruto pointed out. It was the official reason Itachi had been skipped over as heir despite being the older brother. “We could take a mission together maybe?”
“I have time right now.” Itachi said, draping one arm over Naruto’s shoulder and walking with him. Somehow Itachi already knew perfectly well where Naruto was going.
Naruto wanted to run. “That sounds lovely, Itachi-san.”
“Call me Aniki.” Itachi said simply. “Has anyone ever told you about my elite specialisation?”
“The whole village knows how you’re the first ninja to specialise in generalisation, stronger than any of the specialists in their chosen fields.”
“You flatter me, but on paper I’m still specialised in a traditional field.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Torture and interrogation. I once made a bandit sell out half his family after just two days of fun. It would’ve been the whole family, but his mind was a bit too broken to remember them all.”
“Th-that’s impressive.”
“And relevant. Now, long overdue, I should tell you exactly what will happen if you ever hurt my dear little brother’s feelings. I have been giving it a lot of thought and it is only fair you’re fully informed of the possible consequences.”
Naruto gulped. “Yes, Aniki.”
~*~
Training ground 7 was calm that time of day, only interrupted by the loud bickering of two boys. Konohamaru was telling a story to Daisuke that required big hand gestures and much yelling.
Konohamaru was the grandchild of the third Hokage, though Naruto mostly knew him as the child that only learned the talentless were able to keep up because of Naruto. Konohamaru had thought his talent was going to get him to the top no matter how he much of it he wasted. And he did have a leg up. Just one hour of work a day was needed, and then nine hours of skill was gifted by the spirits of his clan. Only Sasuke and Sakura got close to that amount of talent. But Konohamaru had never seen the limitation of the blessing of the talented until Naruto showed it was possible to work twelve hours a day and blow Konohamaru’s progress out of the water.
Naruto’s jounin life had been keeping him busy and it was hard to manage that many hours still. There were too many friends around.
The older Konohamaru got, the more Jiji wanted Naruto to keep an eye out for him. Naruto still did not understand why the old man didn’t just do it himself. The Third Hokage was retired and had more than enough time on his hands.
“And then what happened?!” Daisuke demanded.
“Why, the great ape looked down on me and got so close I could feel the heat of his breath. And he laughed!”
Daisuke squealed with glee. His raven black hair was the exact same as the other Uchiha, but he was a lot more mellow than the more serious family members. Naruto had met him acting as a gofer for Sasuke and Naruto had introduced him to Konohamaru. The two had hit it off quickly when they realised they were in the same Academy class.
“Why don’t you show us?” Naruto asked with a smirk.
Konohamaru did not skip a beat, making the hand signs and then becoming a giant ape, shouting at the boy next to him.
“Impressive.” Naruto said, looking over the creature. “But you’re still not managing a proper tail.”
Konohamaru looked behind himself. His monkey tail was unnaturally stiff. “At least it’s not limp anymore.”
“It’s still not going to fool anyone.”
With a cloud of smoke Konohamaru turned into his normal self again. “Like I’m going to fit in anywhere if I look like a giant ape.”
Naruto swatted the boy’s nose. “You need to know the animal you’re turning into, inside and out. If you’re not comfortable in its skin, you’re going to make mistakes in your Henge. And then you’re going to be in more trouble when it fails at the worst possible time.”
“It’s just a tail. Worst case I can make the animal without it.”
“Nope. Because you’re my student and I won’t have you hurting my good name with subpar showmanship.”
Konohamaru stuck his tongue out. “I got the fur down though.”
“You sure did. So you probably don’t need another demonstration.”
Their faces fell. “No!”
“You’re such good students after all. You’ve already learned more than enough from little old me.”
“We wanna see!” Daisuke said.
“I mean, if you really want to…”
The two boys nodded enthusiastically.
Naruto made the hand signs and then became a fox the size of a horse, baring his teeth at the boys menacingly. “Like this?” He asked in a deep voice.
The two of them immediately hopped onto his back. “Your fur is so fluffy!!!”
“Oh no! I have been viciously attacked by two young kits who are out to steal my magic!” Naruto cried out dramatically. “Let’s see if they can hold on!”
Naruto set off running, much to the giggling of the boys on top of him. He picked up speed once he was sure they were holding on securely, using chakra under his feet to jump across the training grounds.
“We’re going to get your magic, nii-san!” Daisuke giggled.
“Not if the mighty Naruto-sama can help it!” Naruto cried out, adding wind chakra to his speed. He dashed and manoeuvred, going as fast as he could through these trees.
“Not so mighty after all.” Konohamaru teased.
Oh, he was going to get it for that.
Naruto suddenly changed directions and headed straight towards the lake, diving right in.
Konohamaru realised what was happening and tried to jump off, but Naruto’s tails wrapped themselves around Daisuke and him. They hit the water with a loud splash and Naruto only released them once they were fully submerged and completely drenched.
He got out of the water and shook himself dry, laughing at the grumbling boys coming out of the water. “Told you I would escape.”
“You cheated!” Konohamaru complained.
Daisuke pouted. “He’s the one who said mean things.”
“Don’t throw your friend under the bus.” Naruto said. “Band together and figure out revenge later.”
Daisuke and Konohamaru shared a look and nodded.
They were becoming more like Naruto each day. His tails could not help but wag.
Tails?
Naruto looked behind himself to see that he had not made one tail but nine. How strange. “Why did I…”
“Can you look at my inanimate transformation, Naruto-nii?” Daisuke asked, as he made the signs and turned into a large vase.
“Complex shape, that’s for sure.” Naruto said. “But you’re going to have to work on making smaller shapes. And a better pattern. Is this just the Uchiha symbol repeated over and over again?”
Daisuke released his shape, panting. “It-it’s the best I could think of.”
“It’s going to make you stick out like a sore thumb.”
“It’s still the best we’re going to be able to do if you’re not around anymore.” Konohamaru said. “Is it true you’re thinking of the infiltration specialisation?”
Naruto sighed, finally releasing his fox shape. “And this is the part where you’re going to tell me why I should stay?”
“We can offer you a raise for tutoring us.” Daisuke said. “I’ve been saving up all my allowance and doing odd jobs. Konohamaru has been too.”
“It’s not… it’s not about the money.”
“We can promise to practice more too.” Konohamaru said, diverting his gaze. “I’ll let Ebisu allocate more time to the Henge, so I can do better. Make sure this is something you can be proud of.”
“Do you think you’re failing me somehow?” Naruto asked. “Do you think that’s why I have to leave?”
“Isn’t it?”
“No! You’re the best students anyone could ask for.”
“Then why aren’t we enough?”
Naruto stared at them and tried to find the answer to that question. His mind kept prickling like there was something more he should be thinking of. Like there was something important he was forgetting. But maybe it really was just that he had gotten used to going full throttle. Why shouldn’t he be allowed some happiness and quiet?
“You make a good case.”
Their faces beamed. “Big brother’s staying!”
“Sasuke-nii will be so happy!” Daisuke preened.
Naruto did not have the heart to correct the misunderstanding. Especially when he felt such a force to just accept it.
~*~
Sakura’s kitchen was filled with the scent of spices. She was frying up aromatics and adding jars of coloured powders to the pan. Sasuke was using his ninja speed to chop up the vegetables in trick shots. Hanabi was next to Sakura, making a layered omelette.
Naruto was taking the time to make a dressing for the salad. It was so nice to cook together. It had started as a way to keep in touch after their promotions to Tokubetsu Jounin, and had become a weekly thing. He had always wanted to cook with his teammates, but they had never been interested to spend their talent on it.
They were jounin. They could not waste their talent on learning how to cook.
How were they doing this?
~*~
Naruto fried the aromatics and added the spices, while making a layered omelette to the side. Anything that required quick thinking was up to him. He had to lean on the countertop to steady himself, another dizzy spell attacking him.
Sasuke was adorable as he followed the drawn instructions to slice up the vegetables, as slow as an Academy student. Sakura looked like a mad scientist as she measured out the quantities for a dressing, stressing when she was off by more than a millilitre. Hanabi was setting the table using a ruler to make sure each plate and chop stick was perfect. Bless them.
The rice cooker dinged and it startled all of them, not used to the sound no matter how often they heard it.
It would have been nice if they could help at Naruto’s level, but they got points for trying. It had to be daunting to work at something without skill every week. But they did it because they cared for Naruto.
“I’m rethinking going to the Forest of Death.” Naruto said.
And it was Sasuke who tackled him into a hug from behind. “You mean it?”
“Yeah.” Naruto smiled. “You’ve got me doubting myself. I think I want to stay in the village.”
“We need something to drink.” Hanabi declared.
When they sat down with their finished dinner, Hanabi poured them each a glass of Sake. And then she toasted. “To allowing ourselves to be happy!”
Naruto raised his glass in salute and then drank. And surely that tugging feeling on his belly would stop soon.
After all, he was home.