Life was different for the girls now that Naruto was back, at least a little bit. For one, the Hyūga stopped trying to talk to Hinata through the gate. They would still try to corner er on the streets every once in awhile, but never when Naruto was around. Likewise, since his presence was a reminder of the event at his estate and as such the civilians tended to shy away from him a bit more rather than confront him or yell out their insults. Apparently killing a few of them had managed to at least make them a little wary of him, after all it wasn't smart to taunt a demon. On the other hand, some of the people whose family and friends he had only injured seemed to be a little more tolerant at least. He even managed to slip himself and the girls into a restaurant the day after he'd gotten background
Naruto was still a little angry after hearing what all had happened to them while he was away, but there wasn't anything he would be able to do about it at the moment. Nor was he happy about Haku and Kin being moved onto a team with Kiba, but again there was little he could do. At least Kakashi wouldn't allow anything to happen to them. Despite the man's tardiness, he was a capable ninja. That only left him a couple things to do during the day since everyone was busy. Option one was to train. Option two was to do solo missions again. He decided to settle for both and went back to his previous strategy of doing D-ranks with shadow clones, only this time he studied while they worked if the missions were easy enough. Considering there were still some repairs going on that clones were more than enough for, he managed to get a lot of study time in.
Today he planned on doing the same. Sure it was tedious, but it got him money to support his living expenses. However, upon nearing the mission building he was stopped as a chakra signature closed in. "How may I help you ANBU-san?" He glanced over at a nearby tree where an otter-masked ninja was looking at him. After watching each other for a couple minutes he was about to ask again when the man decided to speak up.
"Uzumaki Naruto, you are to come with me to report to the council chambers immediately."
"Well if you wanted me to come immediately, don't you think you should have said something sooner?"
"...Let's go" Without another word the man shunshinned away.
"Typical." Shrugging the obvious insult off he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked casually towards the council building. It barely took a couple minutes due to the fact that it was so close to the mission hall, but that didn't seem to matter much to some of the occupants who decided to glare at him as he came into the room.
"Well, now that the final one has decided to grace us with his presence, I suppose we can get this over with now." Hiashi didn't even bother to keep the contempt out of his voice, not that Naruto really cared.
"So sorry for the long wait I must have given you all, but had the ANBU that decided to finally let me know I was being summoned had decided to grace me with a shunshin as he left I may have made it here a few minutes sooner."
"We sent that messenger out half an hour ago boy."
"I guess he must have never thought to look for me on the main road that leads from my estate, directly to the mission hall. Of course is didn't help matters that he decided it would be a great time for an impromptu staring contest when he did find me. Maybe next time you'll send a competent operative to notify me of any future meetings." It was rather obvious that tensions were still high between the two.
"If you two are finished flexing your egos, lets get this over with. I have better things to do then be here right now."
Hearing the familiar voice to his side, near the head of the table, he looked to find Tsunade throwing them her own glare before indicating him towards the wall behind him. Turning around he now saw there were a few others in the room that weren't normally there.
"Shino-san, Shikamaru-san, Haku-chan." He gave each of the boys a nod in acknowledgment and Haku a smile before joining them in their lineup. "So, now that you have us all lined up for the firing squad, why are we here?" He could see some of them turning in their seats at his aloofness of the situation.
Whereas the others had been at least somewhat nervous of their situation, Naruto was the picture of calm. For the councilors it was a familiar sight with the boy, but that didn't make it any less irritating. For Tsunade and Jiraiya, who hadn't seen him in this stage before, it was rather unnerving. "The reason you were called here is because you are all being considered for chūnin promotions. Do any of you have anything to say on your behalf?"
Silence reigned for a minute until Shino, being the one on the end closest to Tsunade, shook his head slightly and turned towards Shikamaru.
"Troublesome...I am a strategist, but I'm rather lazy. I don't know that I would be a decent chūnin, so I will leave that decision to the will of the council." The Nara yawned, making his father grumble a little and Chōza pat his fellow clan head on the back to console him.
"Um...I haven't been a part of this village for long, but if it is decided that I am to be promoted then I will gladly accept the position. After being on the run for so long, it would be nice to have official recognition of my skills..." Haku felt a comforting squeeze of her hand and had to wonder just when Naruto had started holding it.
Everyone turned to Naruto who simply stood there with his eyes closed for a moment. Opening them, he stared at the council with a hard gaze. "A chūnin is a rank in which we will be responsible for the lives of those who are at our command. We will be trusted to lead teams when their jōnin instructors are not available, and to carry out our duties as leaf ninja to the utmost of our abilities. You all know who I am, or at least think you do. All I ask is that you set any petty arguments against me aside for the moment and actually consider what is best for the village as a whole instead of vengeance for any actions you may think I've taken against you personally. I also ask that you keep in mind that everything I have done recently has fallen well within the laws of this village and the rights I have been given as a citizen and ninja of Konohagakure no Sato. Give me the same chances that you would give to these other three standing beside me. If you do that then I will have no qualms with whatever decision that is made." Saying his peace, Naruto backed up against the wall once more.
"...You four are dismissed. Wait in the lobby until you are called upon." With the dismissal, the four genin made their way out of the room to allow the council to discuss what they heard.
"Man Naruto, I knew the council didn't like you but those were some really heated glares." Shikamaru gave the blond a calculating eye, watching for anything that may betray hidden information.
"Let's just say they believe they have more reason to hate me than anyone else in the village." Naruto walked over to one of the benches in the waiting area and sat down in it. He tilted his head back against the wall and closed his eyes while letting out a sigh. It didn't take long for Haku to join him and interlace her fingers with his before resting her own head on his shoulder. Despite his tension, Naruto couldn't help but smile at the comfort she gave him. He may be closer to Hinata than any of the other girl, but that didn't mean he didn't care for them all dearly. They had accepted him for being him and he would take any affection they were willing to share.
"It would seem there is more to you than first appears Uzumaki Naruto..."
Naruto looked at Shino before turning his head towards the window. "We all have our skeletons Shino. For some of us they fit comfortably in our closets. Others have to find other methods of containing them, lest they spill out and consume everything they hold dear. Someday maybe you'll appreciate the luck that you've been able to sleep comfortably for so many nights while you were young."
"Jeez Naruto. You sound like an old man."
The blond just chuckled at the Nara. "Yeah I guess that's supposed to be your area of expertise."
"So troublesome."
Before they could take their conversation any farther, one of the ANBU guards signaled for them to reenter the council chambers. Entering the room was much the same as leaving it, though some of the looks were a bit more guarded and they could see a few red faces amongst the councilors. Each of the candidates lined up against the wall where they had originally started and waited for the announcements to come.
Tsunade had been glaring at Jiraiya as she listened to the genin walk in. Much to her ire her fellow sannin met her glare with one of indifference. He hadn't budged once when they had called out their standings on the promotions. He was the barer of the Sandaime's will and there was nothing they were able to do to sway him. Slowly she turned from him towards the four young ninja and looked at each one in turn. "We have reviewed your performances during the exams as well as your mission reports and village standing. I will say that some of you shined in certain areas while looking rather crude in others." Jiraiya coughed behind her. His way of warning her not to go further on those lines. She just sniffed at him. "By will of Konoha you are all promoted to chūnin. Now get out of here and be prepared for your new duties tomorrow."
"Tsunade...promoted ninja normally get a couple of days to celebrate." Inoichi informed her.
"Yeah well, we're still recovering from an attack and there is no telling who might think we're weak right now, so you get tonight and that's it. Any complaints? Good, scram." She didn't wait for anyone to move as she let herself out the door and disappeared down the hall.
"So that is Tsunade-sama? ...My first impression of her leaves much to be desired." Shino said lowly to the other three.
"Oh you have no idea." Naruto turned to Haku. "So want to get some stuff for dinner tonight? No doubt the others will want to celebrate."
"Sure. Shino-san, Shikamaru-san, you are welcome to join us tonight as well I'm sure." Her words were confirmed as Naruto nodded in agreement.
"Sorry but my mom's probably going to want me to celebrate with the clan. With any luck I'll be able to slip away long enough to fall asleep." Shikamaru stuck his hands in his pockets and walked out of the room.
"Regretfully I must decline your offer. While my clan does not celebrate such events, my father will want to take my training up another level. Perhaps we will be able to share a meal another day." Shino nodded once before leaving them alone...well almost.
"This is a council chamber, not a hang-out for delinquents. Move along before we have you forcefully removed." Junzo said, earning himself a sneer from Haku as Naruto pulled her towards the door.
That night they did manage to get Tenten, Ino, Chōji and Lee to come over as well as Kurenai, Asuma, Kakashi and Gai. It stayed as a small cookout in the back yard, but it was pleasant enough for them. There was no alcohol though, both to keep everyone safe from Lee and because they all had missions the next day. With so little warning no one was able to get the two new chūnin any gifts, but they were waved off anyway. Naruto and Haku were congratulated numerous times that night by everyone though Naruto, arguably, got the best out of it all. Each female that showed up gave him a kiss, though Kurenai's was only on the cheek.
After the celebration everyone that didn't live on the estate had gone home including Ino and Tenten as they would be due for missions the following day as well. It was already getting late as Naruto, Hinata, Haku and Kin waved at the last people to leave while they shouted phrases of youth back at the quartet. The four could only chuckle at the antics of the two spandex clad shinobi as they walked/hobbled away.
"Well, this was all a little anticlimactic for a promotion, but I guess ninja are supposed to be quiet about their lives huh?" Haku sighed a little as they walked back into the house. She felt a little put out at the dismissal of the council with no congratulations at all from those who ran the village. You'd think they'd at least have the decency to thank them for their hard work.
"There are things more important than rank for us Haku-chan. You two may be chūnin now, but that doesn't mean that your going to suddenly disappear from the village, same goes for us. It just means you get higher ranked mission or get to lead genin on lower ranked ones if their sensei's need a break or have to go on a higher mission." Hinata explained in an attempt to comfort whatever Haku was feeling disgruntled about.
"It would have been nice if the old team seven was still around though." The other three turned to Kin as though they expected her to start talking about flying, pink elephants any second. "What? I would have paid to see their faces when Kakashi-san took a day off and Naruto-kun showed up to lead them." She grinned evilly, letting them know just how she would expect him to 'lead' them.
Naruto just chuckled and shook his head. "As amusing as that would be, I don't think the council would like me dragging back two body bags from a D-rank mission."
"Only two?"
"Well, Kiba seems to have backed off, at least for now. If I had found out he was on your team and still up to his old antics I would have neutered him myself before making sure he wouldn't be a ninja much longer."
"Hmph, like you would have gotten the chance. Me and Kin-chan wouldn't have left much for you to play with. I think he knows that so he's a little scared, especially after he saw what we did in the exams."
By this time they had managed to make it to the sitting room and had all found a spot to sit or lay down. Haku sat on one side of Naruto on the couch while Kin managed to coax him into massaging her legs as she laid them across his lap. He gave an apologetic look to Hinata as she came back into the room from making tea, but she didn't seem to mind too much as she handed them each a cup and took a seat on one of the comfy chairs.
"So, how about another tale of how you beat Orochimaru and saved Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama?" Hinata said with a giggle as she watched him grimace.
"I told you I only did what I could think to do to keep us all alive. I think I caught Hebi-teme and his lover off guard a few times, but that's it really."
"Sure, sure. We all know you were the hero of the day Naruto-kun."
He rolled his eyes. "Think what you want. I still got the crap kicked outta me while those two got away."
"That's true...hmmm. I guess you're not as strong as we thought you were...ahhh." Kin was absolutely loving her massage. It felt so good after training under Kakashi-sensei. It seemed that after acquiring a new team, he was more than happy to actually teach them things. Of course it probably went hand in hand with the fact that if he didn't, Naruto probably would have caused him bodily harm.
"Well excuse me for not being sannin level yet. I'll just have to release my own inner pervert, pedophile or alcoholic and I should be right there with them."
The girls chuckled a little before Kin gave him a half asleep smirk over her shoulder. "I think we could live with you being a bit more of a pervert." She knew she had tread into dangerous waters when he tensed up a little, but after a moment he continued working on her muscles.
"Maybe someday Kin-chan...Maybe someday."
The four spent the rest of the evening just lounging around and finishing their tea. Once they were all finished, they made their way to their bedrooms for the night, and like the night before, Hinata slipped into his room and crawled into bed with him. She didn't say a word this time though. She simply came in, shut the door, got under the covers and snuggled up to him. One kiss on his cheek was the only other action she took before sighing in contentment and closing her eyes. It didn't take him nearly as long this time to follow her into slumber, though he still laid there for a good bit just watching her sleep.
• • •
The mission hall seemed rather empty for so late in the morning. He'd already done a few solo D-ranks and was currently waiting as instructed for his new mission to be given to him. It seemed his chūnin rank was already going to be tested as one of the jōnin instructors decided to take a day off for some personal errands and asked for his specifically to lead their team. The only thing was, he hadn't been told who he was leading.
He'd been waiting for almost a half hour already and was about to tell the chūnin handing out missions to give him another quick D-rank when the door to the room opened as Ino and Chōji spilled into the room.
Ino looked around the room once and sighed in relief. "You're lucky Chōji. If we were late meeting our temporary fill-in for Asuma-sensei I would have made your day hell!"
"But Ino-chaaan. it was all you can eat! I couldn't just let it go to waste."
"Your stomach is going to get you into soo much trouble one day, and I am not going to pull you out of it." She huffed at him before going over the people in the room once more. "Oh, hey Naruto-kun!" She bounded over to him, not even noticing his mischievous smirk as he waited for the questions to come. "So what are you doing here? I would have thought you'd already be out on a mission somewhere."
"Oh I've already done some missions today. A few D-ranks."
"So, new chūnin life isn't all that different huh? Still the same crappy missions till something good comes along. Suddenly I'm not all that eager to be promoted."
It was all he could do to not crack a smile. Over Ino's shoulder he could see the other chūnin not having nearly as much luck hiding his own. "Yeah well. I guess it can't all be as exciting as fighting an insane jinchūriki or a sannin, but it'll come in time. Besides, there are other things that chūnin do."
"I suppose. So, if you're finished with your missions, why are you hanging around here? Reminiscing about the good old days of whooping everyone's butts at catching Tora?"
"Actually I'm waiting for my next assignment to arrive, but I have a feeling it'll be here soon." He couldn't keep the smirk off his face and it only widened as he saw Chōji's face go from confused to understanding to amusement. "You might as well get your mission awhile. I;m sure your sensei's stand in will be here any minute. No point in making them wait, right?"
"You're probably right. Good luck on your mission Naruto-kun." She gave him a small peck on the lips before turning to the man handing out the mission scrolls. While her back was turned Naruto sent Chōji a wink which was immediately returned. "I'd like to get a mission for team ten." The chūnin looked from her to Chōji then to Naruto, who made a few signals with his hand. The man nodded and grabbed one of the C-ranks scrolls.
"This should do for you're team. A small band of bandits have been harassing a nearby town. You are to go there, see how bad things are then your leader will decide on an appropriate punishment for them."
Ino reached out for the scroll, expecting the man to hand it over. To her surprise, he flicked it over her shoulder and behind her. She was about to yell at him when a voice spoke up from behind her.
"Looks like a pretty easy one. Pack for three days and meet at the gate in an hour."
She turned around with her mouth hanging open as she looked directly at Naruto who was smiling while waving the scroll around. She saw Chōji's barely contained laughter and turned back to the chūnin behind the desk to see him chuckling as well. Rounding once again to Naruto she narrowed her eyes. "Very funny."
"Seems you're in agreement with the rest of us then." At her frustrated yell, Naruto fled the scene while calling out behind him. "Remember, three days and meet at the gate in an hour." He started to laugh again as he shot away, leaving Ino stomping rather childishly in the entrance to the building.
• • •
They all met up at the gate in exactly an hour, almost to the minute. Chōji and Ino each had a small pack while Naruto simply had his scrolls on hand. Before they left, Naruto inspected some of their equipment o make sure they had everything they would need before sealing it away and handing them their own respective scrolls, much to Ino's relief. Chōji just shrugged it off with a thanks.
Getting their clearance, they headed out the gates and made their way Southwest through the trees. When asked why they were going through the trees, Naruto responded that it would take about three hours off of their travel time. While they were moving, he began to ask them both questions about their abilities.. He already knew most of Ino's, but it didn't hurt to get a refresher on them. Chōji's he also knew rather well, but it soon became apparent that they had both been training during his month of absence.
Ino was a little stronger thanks to the weights she was using. Weights that all his closest friends had on now, though some of them needed...convincing to use them. With the added exercise her appetite went up to the point where she completely blew away her diet and didn't even try to stick to it anymore. Not that it mattered much since her new training and the weights burned off pretty much every calorie she ingested.
Chōji had already been stronger than Ino, but with the added weights he started to bulk up a bit more. He wasn't muscle-bound by any means, but he had managed to gain a bit more muscle mass. As a result he ate even more, seemingly determined to not allow his figure to slip. His family decided to increase his training as well though he wouldn't reveal just what that was, only that it was along the same lines of what he'd used in the preliminary matches of the chūnin exams. Naruto didn't make them go into detail of their new abilities as he already had a decent idea of what they were capable of.
The sun was beginning to settle near the horizon by the time they made it to their target, a small town nestled in a clearing about halfway between Konoha and the Southern boarder of Hi no Kuni. They stopped on the edge of the tree line as Naruto came to a standstill.
"Takatani. Population, less than three hundred. Notable for being one of the few stops for anyone going to Southern Hi no Kuni."
"Not much to look at if you ask me."
"I hope they have some good food here. After that long run I'm so hungry."
"Stage one is intelligence gathering. I want you two to go in under henge as a couple headed for the beach. Ask what you can about the town and see what reactions you get. If you encounter the bandits, don't engage. We want to take them all out at once if possible. If a couple end up missing the others could get suspicious and that'll make our lives harder. Just follow them if you can and find out where they're based out of."
"And what will you be doing while we're gathering information, oh fearless leader?"
"I'm going to let whoever is leading this town know that I'm here. After that I'll be doing basically the same thing you two are doing. Trying to find the bandits' hideout. We'll meet back here tomorrow at this time to collaborate information." With a nod of acceptance from each, he bounded off.
"Well that sure was a different start for a mission. Well Ino, I guess we should see what we can find while we get some dinner." Chōji hopped down to the road and henged into an old, but still slightly rotund, man. Ino followed suit and became a slightly plain looking, but still somewhat attractive brunette around his apparent age. Chōji lifted an eyebrow at her. He might be rather plain looking himself, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate having a beautiful woman next to him. "I would have thought you'd go for something a little more appealing."
"Baka, we're not supposed to stand out too much. If I made myself into a whore we would stick out like a sore thumb in a small town like this. Better that we at least look like a normal couple. Let's go." Before Chōji could think of anything to persuade her to turn a little more attractive she was already out in the open between the trees and the town.
"So that's all you can tell me about the group of bandits that have been terrorizing your town and nearby travelers for the past two weeks."
"Afraid so. They aren't exactly the most social bunch. They mainly attack travelers to the south that are on their way to the capital or Konoha, or they go after those coming from the North that might be carrying some money for a vacation in the Southern regions. They stick to the forest mostly and only send a small group to come get supplies. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't steal some of the supplies we require and try to sell them to us at inflated prices."
Naruto ground his teeth a bit. He had precious little to go on when they came here and the leadership of the town wasn't helping any. All he knew was that the group alternated between the North and South sides of the town and no one had any idea how large the group actually was. Even those that were attacked had given different descriptions of those they saw in the bandits that attacked them. Accounting for different views of the same person they estimated a total of around twenty that would actually come out of the woods.
That was another thing about this. Some of the bandits stayed amongst the trees. The victims were never able to get a good look at them to confirm that they might be amongst those already known about or not. The bandits in hiding, stayed in hiding throughout an entire raid. He supposed they were there as a deterrent. If a target had more people than those that were charged with raiding them, they could be persuaded to hand over their goods anyway by pointing out the vast number of shadows amongst the trees. A risky tactic if someone decided to question it, unless one could back it up.
"I see. Well we will do what we can and if we can't find the bandits we will try to at least scare them off." The elderly leader bowed his head in thanks as Naruto left. He was out the back door to the house and into the shadows without anyone knowing as he rushed towards the forest once more. If he was going to start his own information gathering he couldn't just pop up in the middle of town.
He had already henged as a middle-aged ruffian in order to disguise his age. Even though he was a chūnin he was still only thirteen. Adults could be a little condescending when talking to what they considered a child, so he decided not to give them a chance. It almost cave the elder a heart attack until he showed the man his hitai ite as proof that he was in fact a ninja.
Based on the information he gained so far, he traveled a bit farther South before cutting across to the road. His instincts, it seemed, were right on as he had to keep dead silent as to not alert the numerous bandits that were hidden in the forest. Once he felt he was far enough past them he strode out and started walking back towards the town. He had only traveled about two hundred feet when he started hearing the sound of twigs breaking and leaves rustling. He grinned to himself. 'Scare tactics. Not bad for bandits.' The random noises would have done well against a normal person, but he could easily shake them off.
After another few hundred feet, he finally got his first up close view of one of the bandits as the man walked out onto the road in front of him and planted his large sword into the ground. "Say, stranger, where ya headed?"
"I hear there's a town not far North of here. Small thing. Should be easy for me to have some 'fun' in." He talked as he walked closer to the man, but stopped as the blade was pulled from the ground and hoisted to the bandits shoulder.
"That so? I'm afraid you'll have ta turn back then. Me and my men run this stretch and we don't want ay competition." While he was talking, about a dozen more bandits joined him and circled the traveler.
"Well there isn't much game back that way so I'd much rather keep going North. It's not like I'll be staying long. It's only a small town."
"Sorry pal, but the boss don't want others coming through unless they can pay a toll. Now, unless you wanna pay up, I'd suggest you take your business somewhere else."
Naruto shrugged. "Fine, if that's the way you want to be then I'll go. Too bad though, I hear there's some fun to be had in that town lately. Something about ninja or some such. Well, have fun and good hunting." He waved over his shoulder as he walked away, smiling to himself. The bandits didn't even realize they had gained another comrade.
He slipped back into the woods once he was far enough away and circled back around before reentering the town from the North. It wasn't difficult to find Ino and Chōji since they were the only ones with notable chakra anywhere close by. He calmly walked in the restaurant they were eating at and took a look around, noting the looks on the few customer's faces. It was nothing close to Nami, but it was starting.
Taking a seat at the bar, he ordered his meal and a bottle of sake and took his time eating it, giving his companions a the time they needed to realize that he was there. He almost panicked when Ino started to get up to head towards him, but a gentle touch from Chōji got her to sit down again. Finally they left and he followed shortly after, letting two other groups leave before doing so. All three eventually checked into the same inn, Chōji and Ino getting a room with two beds to 'keep it proper until they were married', and Naruto taking whatever was available.
Once the lights in the town began to go out Naruto walked up the outside of the building and in through the window of the room his teammates were staying in only to have to duck down as a pillow came flying his way courtesy of a changing Ino as she ducked under the blankets of the bed. She calmed down once she saw who it was but decided it best to finish changing under the safety of the sheets. A smart choice considering Chōji had rushed in the room at the sound of her scream. He looked between the window and Ino before grumbling about overreacting and going back into the bathroom to finish his bedtime preparations.
"Sorry about that Ino, I didn't think you two would be going to bed so soon. After all, we haven't even discussed what you two may have found."
"Oh don't worry about it. I just kind of freaked cause I thought it was Chōji peeking. If I'd known it was you I wouldn't have screamed you're allowed to peek on me." She smiled a little too sweetly for him as she came out from under the sheets. He was almost afraid to look but, thankfully, she had on some decent sleeping clothes. "Of course that doesn't mean it should be something we make a habit of on missions." She gave him a wink as she closed in an kissed him.
He surprised her when he lifted her up and carried her back to her bead. As he went to drop her back on it, he was in turn surprised when she clamped her legs around his waste causing them both to fall on the bed.
Of course it was at this prime moment that Chōji decided to finish in the bathroom and came walking back out only to see Naruto laying on top of Ino on her bed. "If you guys really want to do that here, maybe Naruto and I should switch disguises and you two can have all the alone time you want."
Immediately Naruto was off Ino and sitting in a nearby chair. Ino sent Chōji a rather disgruntled look, but didn't say anything. "Ahem, recent events aside, did you two see or hear anything interesting while I was gone?"
"Nothing really of note. Everyone seems depressed and looked like they were pitying us, but other than that they weren't really forthcoming. Seems the bandits never targeted the town directly, so the villagers probably just feel sorry for anyone just passing through since they'll most likely be hit by the bandits." Ino told him. She couldn't really feel sorry for the town since they weren't directly affected, but at the same time she could see that it brought the atmosphere of the place down after no doubt seeing so many people lose everything they had on them.
Chōji added in his own observations. "There were a couple scouts checking for new arrivals in the main streets. They obviously pick their targets before they attack. Thing is, they would have just blended in if they didn't look more attentive than the rest of the villagers. When they had first started they probably were given no mind while they just stood about looking at people. By the time they became obvious it was probably already too late, and they aren't technically doing anything wrong by standing there so the locals couldn't just arrest them."
"Add in the fact that the bandits may have raided the town if they did arrest the scouts and you have just enough of a deterrent to let them be. Thus we get hired when the pressure got to be too much and now it's our job to flush the system. They're lucky they didn't wait any longer or they may not have had the money to pay us. At least we might get some decent weapons out of this regardless." The two others quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "While you two were gathering information inside the village, I was gathering some from the source directly." He watched their eyes widen a little as understanding hit them.
"So you saw the bandits? Why not just take them out if they were already there?" Ino inquired.
"Because they weren't all there. I'd rather find out where they're based at and take them all out at once. The village elder was kind enough to document the thefts as they came and through cross referencing them I was able to find that no more than twenty actually took part in the attacks, but there are more than that out there. My guess is somewhere around thirty to forty including the scouts and the ring leader, who wasn't with the bandits that attacked me by the way."
Now Chōji got curious and decided to offer his own input. "So what do we do now? We could continue our act and get robbed then follow them back to their camp and attack, but then we risk them spotting us and running. We could pic them off little by little and hope the leader eventually comes to see what's going on, but he could be a chicken and run away to another part of the country to start up his business elsewhere. Or we could..."
"We'll be fine. I sent a henged clone with them. It'll follow them to their camp before dismissing itself when it gets a chance. We'll know where the camp is and attack before dawn tomorrow. After the camp is taken we'll split into two groups and head North and South to take out any groups that may have already set up for the day. Last will be the scouts. We should be done in time for lunch."
"...You could have done all this yourself with clones couldn't you?" Ino deadpanned.
Naruto grinned at her. "Probably, but it's better to have a team to watch your back in case something unexpected shows up. If there's a ninja among them, even a low ranking one, it would be better to go in with a team regardless of the ranks involved. I was a genin and I took out a jōnin, granted it was by surprise, but it just shows that sometimes the rank you're given is just a word and has no meaning to your actual skill. Keep that in mind."
"Ok hot shot. I guess we should get some sleep if we're going to do this so early." She walked over and gave him a kiss, which Chōji was decent enough to turn away from. "Nighty-night Naruto-kun."
He nodded back to her before addressing the room. "Be ready to leave in five hours." That made them slump a little and he chuckled before jumping out the window and heading back to his own room.
"Man, I hope he at least lets us have some breakfast before we leave." Chōji whined.
"I'm sure he'll have plenty of ration bars if you get hungry." She laughed as the hefty boy wept before crawling into bed.
• • •
The sky was still dark as they leapt through the treetops. It was a bit more of a challenge here than in the North. Here the trees seemed farther apart and not nearly as thick in most areas, causing them to proceed on foot. Other areas they were thicker but the branches were denser making them harder to maneuver around. They would have called it quits if Naruto hadn't told them to think of it as training. They still managed to get a few bumps and bruises, though having Naruto lead the pack did help a little. For some reason he could see a lot better than they could in the twilight hours.
As he told them, they left the village before it was even light out, and like Ino told Chōji he had a lot of ration bars. Naruto didn't let them know he'd heard that last conversation the night before and he couldn't help but laugh as he handed the bars over to Chōji when he showed up that morning. Ino seemed to be the first to figure it out as she started to crack up a bit. After Chōji figured out why they were laughing he grimaced and tossed one of the bars at each of them. Neither hit of course, but it got his annoyance to go down a little.
Naruto signaled for them to stop as he came up to a less dense section of the forest. They could hear the clinking of metal and saw the first sparks of fire lighting some cooking fires. "Alright. We're about fifty yards from the camp now and most of the bandits are still in the sack. They are going to resist heavily so I need to know...have either of you killed before?" Both of them gulped, realizing what was being implied.
Chōji looked down a bit. "I got my first kills during the invasion. I mowed down a bunch of ninja with my Nikudan Sensha. They fell off the stadium wall unconscious, so they weren't able to adjust before they hit the stone stairs outside. They didn't get up..." He found a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Naruto there.
"You did what you had to. You kept those precious to you safe Chōji. There is no shame in that." He watched the boy nod in acceptance before turning to his other charge. "What about you Ino?"
"Taking the civilians to the shelter. We had to protect them from a group of Oto-nin. I took control of one that was fighting Tenten-chan and used him to attack another. The other ninja killed the one I was controlling, but technically it was me that killed him since he wasn't able to control himself." She didn't look nearly as hurt as Chōji did.
"Well, not that knowing that will make this any easier, but at least you might not freeze up here. Yes, if it is necessary you will kill these bandits. Do not let a single one escape. Ino, no mind controlling, we won't be able to watch your body. No flash, just go in, knock them out if you can, kill them if you can't. Quick, silent, and efficient. When we're done here we'll bind up the survivors and move on to our next targets." He created about two dozen clones and signaled for them to spread out and make a perimeter around the camp. No one would be escaping them.
"Well I have to say Naruto, you are a lot more demanding than Asuma-sensei. He would have just gone in and taken them all out while we watched."
"That's the difference between us I guess. I want you to actually gain experience by doing, not just watching me kick a whole lot of ass. You'd never be prepared for a promotion if you didn't get any actual field experience."
"..."
"..."
"Let's go."
The trio silently crept into the camp, taking out the half-asleep guards as they went without a sound. They started at the tents and bound those inside, knocking them out before doing so if needed. By the time they made it halfway to the main gathering area they had already dealt with a dozen bandits. Up ahead a bandit staggered sleepily out of his tent and stretched. Ino was about to take him out when he turned towards her. He squinted, trying to figure out who she was. When realization dawned in his eyes he went to make a call of alarm, only to have her kunai pierce his throat. His gurgling wouldn't have been enough to alert anyone, but unfortunately he tipped into the tent he came out of making his bunk-mate yell out in surprise. Just like that their surprise attack had turned into a full assault.
Naruto swore as he saw what happened, but there wasn't much any of them could have done in that situation. Even he would have been hard pressed to catch the guy before he fell. As bandits started to pour out of the tents he drew his own shuriken and took out those that he deemed were the greatest threats. Anyone that was holding a weapon was cut down immediately as he and Chōji charged in and started knocking out those that they could before the rest grabbed weapons as well. The sounds of the battle were already alerting the cooks and the rest of the guards as they came running over as well. He could also see movement in the windows of the only solid structure in the camp. A makeshift cabin that most likely held the leader.
Bandits fell left and right as Chōji rolled over them. Ino hopped around behind him, binding those that were only unconscious while letting out a few kunai and shuriken towards anyone that tried to get too close. It was enough of a deterrent to allow her the time she needed to work. Meanwhile Naruto was headed through the throng with a purpose. After all, it was only right that a leader take on a leader, right?
"The hell's going on out here?" It figured. The leader was a large musclebound man with slightly less ragged clothes than his cohorts. He hefted his own large sword, not unlike the man Naruto had met on the road, only this one did it with practiced ease.
Knocking his last bandit away with a kick to the head, Naruto advanced on the man. "Greetings hito-san. We were hired to bring you in to answer for your crimes. You can come quietly or, well I guess either way would be quiet. Just one would allow you to still be breathing."
"Some pipsqueak thinks he's going to tell me what I can do? I think not!" The man brought his sword around in an arc only to find it blocked by a much thinner, red blade. He was slightly impressed as he hadn't even seen the kid had a blade. "So you can handle a blade somewhat, but were you lucky or do you actually have skill?" He brought his sword around again and found it to once more be blocked by that unique wakizashi. "Ok I'll admit you know some things, and that's a very interesting blade you wield."
Naruto swung his sword this time and the man just barely blocked the quick strike. "It was my mothers before she died. Now I wield it in honor of her memory. I may not be a sword master, but I still know enough about how to handle a blade to make an opening." Before the man realized what he said, Naruto's tanto was slicing through the tricep on his open side. "Oh and I don't use only one blade."
The bandit leader grunted in pain as he backed off, trying to keep his sword in a guard with his one good arm. "Damn you! That was underhanded you little punk!"
Naruto just shrugged off his insults. "I'm a ninja, what did you expect?" He watched the man pale at the new information. "So, do you want to come quietly," He brought his blade up once again. "or do you want to come really quietly?"
Now, the bandits had hurt a few of the people that they came across, but they never had to kill anyone, so it was in his best interest to surrender, but if he did he would most likely either be put to death out of spite or imprisoned for a very long time. Neither option was particularly appealing to him so with a mighty heave he made one more last ditch attack. His blade swung high over his head and crashed down where the blond boy had been, but hit nothing but air. Looking up as the sun began to rise above the horizon he sighed. "It's been a good fight kid, but I guess this is the end of our fun."
Naruto didn't even bother to turn around from his position behind the man. "It is, hito-san. Rest well and pray that your shame in life will be forgiven in death."
Seeing their leader fall, the rest of the bandits decided it would be a good idea to cut their losses. As they made their retreat though, they were met by a wall of ninja and easily overtaken. When the fight was finally over there were only eight dead out of about two dozen. Those that survived were assigned a clone to take them back to town after disarming them. Other clones were given the task of breaking the camp and storing everything before either heading back to their hotel rooms or carrying the dead bodies to a secure location.
"Ok, I'll be going North, you two will be heading South with a few clones. If there are bandits there, take them out and then head back to town with them. If the road is empty come North and if I'm not finished, help me with the rest." Getting two nods, he once again signaled for them to split up. His clones that were heading back to town would deal with the scouts while they got rid of the actual brawlers.
By the time he got to the Northern road and started walking towards town, he already knew he would be up against the larger group of leftovers. He had already surrounded the area with clones in order to flush out anyone hidden in the trees while he played decoy. He wasn't disappointed as the same man from before walked out in front of him.
"Say stranger, where ya headed?"
"...You can't come up with something a little better?"
"A smart one huh? Dun matter. Hand over your valuables and we'll let you be on yer way."
"We?" Naruto waited as the rest of the men came out of the brush and once again surrounded him. "What about the rest?"
The bandit looked a little startled at first, but laughed. "So you saw them huh? I guess we'll have to work on our stealth a little more if a kid was able to see them."
"You aren't very smart are you?" Naruto mocked them as he took in each one. He could see them a lot easier than he could last night with the sun on its way through the sky.
His comment served its purpose as the man tensed up in anger. "What exactly do ya mean by that?"
"A lone kid walking down a road, far from anywhere and without protection. Don't you think there would be a reason for that?" He brought his eyes back to the main bandit and watched him shuffle his feet a little, trying to figure out what he meant. "I'm a ninja you moron."
The small spark of intelligence in the man's eye seemed to grow as the information hit him. Self preservation kicked in immediately. He may not be able to beat a ninja one on one, but if they all attacked they could overpower him easily. Plus, it was just a young ninja."The town must have hired him, take him out! We'll teach those fools that we can't be messed with!"
At his order, the bandits rushed forward as one with a battle cry. Naruto brought out his two blades again and cut a hole between two of the men, giving himself an escape route. As they collapsed the others turned towards him and followed. A high block with the tanto, followed by a slash with his wakizashi and another bandit's stomach was opened. He jumped back a bit to gain some distance as the main bandit's sword tried to cleave him in two.
"You know you could have just come quietly and dealt with a trial, but I guess you're more like your leader. You'd rather die than serve any prison time."
"What the hell do ya know about my brother brat?!"
"I know that he wasn't good enough to beat me. My team and I took our you base not too long ago." Seeing the men looking around, he sighed again at their stupidity. "I sent them to the South road in case you idiots were still there."
The man grit his teeth and gripped his sword a little tighter. "You bastard. You're dead!"
Once again they all rushed him. This time he formed a few hand signs. "Fūton: Kasairyuu." The gust of wind that came out of Naruto's mouth picked up the small stones and gravel that lay around him and flung them towards the bandits, smacking many of them in some very painful places. Three were left relatively unharmed and continued on their path. Once more he found himself blocking a couple of swords while the third man came at him from between the other two with a dagger. Not wanting to feel his intestines escaping the hole that would mar his body, Naruto jumped back once again.
It was then that he realized what they were doing. They were systematically trying to drive him back towards the woods. Maybe they weren't as stupid as he thought. Not that it mattered. By now his clones had already dealt with the hidden nuisances and he would be clear to use the forest as he pleased should they get him that far. Again they came at him, but this time he spun to the left, blocking the charge of one of them as he quickly parried and sliced the others leg before running past towards the slow-rising victims of his jutsu.
Those that didn't look like they were ready to give in yet, found cold steel sliding across their throats as he passed by them on his way to the head bandit. If he dropped the man the rest might lose their will to fight. He flew through more signs as he approached and called out to the man. "I hope for your sake this is quick. Doton: Kanon!" Naruto skidded to a stop in front of the man and punched the ground. A hole opened up between them and had the bandit not been so curious he may have run, unfortunately all he managed to see was a blob of stone and mud that came hurtling out of the ground towards him, but by then it was far too late and the ball was moving too fast for him to dodge. The result was a, now headless, bandit, half jumping to the side with a late reflex before it it fell flat on its side in the middle of the road.
"You bastard!."
Naruto spun around to see the rest of the bandits heading straight for him. Apparently taking out their sub-leader was the wrong thing to do. Sighing, he signaled for his clones to come out of hiding and the road became a battleground as the last handful of bandits tried to put up a fight. With the clones distracting them it was easy for him to weave in amongst them and slaughter them all. Not the ending he wanted, but there could be no other it seemed.
Once the last man fell, he dismissed his clones. Standing there in the middle of the carnage, it took him a moment to realize he was being watched. He looked South, toward the village and found his two teammates standing there staring at him, both looking a little green-faced. He casually walked out of the mess and over to them, causing Chōji to take a half-step back. Wondering what could be wrong he took a look down at himself. There were no random weapons sticking out of him, but he did see that he was now covered with quite a lot of blood. He laughed a little, scaring the other two.
"Don't worry Chōji, I'm fine. They just decided they didn't want to go quietly so I was forced to put them down, though it seems I'll need a shower after all that. Did you run into any trouble on your end?"
Chōji shook himself back to reality and tried to get back into his mission mindset. "Y-yeah. There were a couple of bandits just taking tabs on who was traveling. We only had to fight two of them and the others gave up after that. There were only six total though. Um...Naruto. How did you..." He couldn't finish his sentence and tried again. "Are they all..." Still no luck.
"Yes, they are all dead. I did it using tactics and clones. In the end I just proved that one ninja that knows what they're doing is better than a dozen or so untrained bandits that swing their weapons around like clubs while yelling out threats that they can't back up."
Throughout the conversation, Ino was still turning green. Sure she had killed before, but only this morning had it been face-to-face. Today was the first time she had to look her victim in the eyes as he died. Now she was seeing just how ruthless she may need to become in order to survive her occupation. She jerked suddenly as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Ino? Ino? Are you ok?"
She looked over at the hand, which was now only tinged a little red, and followed the arm up to the two blue eyes that she new all too well.
"Ino?"
"I-I-I'm sorry...I'm just...not used to seeing that yet..."
"...I would hug you but I'm kind of...anyhow, let my clones take care of this and let's go get cleaned up. I'll give our report to the elder and then we'll grab a quick bite to eat before we head home." Two, shaky, nods later and they were headed towards the town.
Chōji and Ino were able to walk through the town with no trouble at all, but when the villagers saw Naruto they rushed up and tried to take him to a doctor. This, more than anything else, told them that the bandits had often been a bit rough in their muggings. Suddenly the two genin didn't feel so bad about the lives they took. Those that hurt others for the sole reason of gaining more power were not people that should be free to roam their country.
It took about half an hour and many explanations before they reached their hotel. They split into their separate rooms so Naruto could shower without them having to wait too long. It took him almost an hour to get to a satisfactory point of cleanliness before he got dressed and went to meet with the other two. Upon entering their room he was immediately tackled by Ino. She wasn't in hysterics but she was eerily quiet, just holding him close while Chōji was busy in the shower.
"You ok?"
"...Yeah..." She whispered so low that he may not have heard it had he been anyone else. "...I've killed before, but...I didn't have to see his face when I did it. It's...different."
"Yeah...It is."
"Do you ever get used to it? The killing?"
"If you do you should start questioning your sanity, but then again you did decide you wanted me so maybe we should get you checked out anyway." His comment earned him a playful smack on the head, but it got her to smile again at least. "Now, once Chōji gets out of the shower we'll go finish up our mission, make sure all of our accounts are settled here, get some food then head home. Sound good to you?"
"Yeah."
Their talk with the elder was quick and to the point. They were thanked for their services and assured that those that were caught, alive, would see justice done to them. The three weren't about to sit around and see exactly what that justice entailed, so they packed their belongings, had a quick lunch and were well on their way in the early afternoon.
It wasn't until halfway back that anyone decided to strike up a conversation, and somewhat surprisingly it was Chōji that got bored of the silence before Ino. "So Naruto, why are we going back early if we didn't have to leave until tomorrow?"
"A couple of reasons really. First, if a mission was done satisfactorily and ahead of schedule, there is a chance that we get a bonus. I for one can use as much extra money as I can get at the moment."
Chōji grinned back at him. "It's your own fault for attracting women like Kiba attracts fleas."
"Are you calling me a flea Chōji." Ino glared at him, causing him to shrink back a little.
"N-no...I meant that, um, you all just seem attracted to him like fleas, not that you are fleas...um..."
The boy was sweating and looked to be a little fearful so Naruto cut in before Ino decided to give him a few more bruises. "It's not just that. I also don't have a family that can provided the things I need to survive. You know: food, water, utilities. I don't come from a clan, I come from an orphanage so I don't have the luxury of having people provide for me."
"...Sorry."
"Not your fault Chōji, so don't worry about it. Anyhow, another reason is because we could be needed. The invasion should have taught you that. The less time we spend outside the village, the less chance we have of not being there when we'll be needed the most. Even with our advanced warning there were still a lot of our ninja out on missions, some of which probably didn't need to be. Aside from those two facts we also have more time now to do another mission, train or just take a bit of a break. We won't be scheduled to take another mission until the day after tomorrow, assuming no injuries, so unless you want one you won't be required to take one."
"I guess those are good enough reasons to go back early. I never thought about it that way...I guess that's part of why I wasn't good enough to make chūnin..."
"Don't worry about that. I'm sure you'll be ready by the next exam if you keep up your training and hanging out with Shikamaru. Though you might have to coax him into doing more than just looking at clouds."
"Yeah, like that'll happen. Shika's never going to give up that hobby, though you could always ask him to teach you shōgi." Ino pointed out.
"She's right. It would help your strategic abilities, and you can talk to him about whatever else you want to know about being a chūnin while you're playing."
"...But shōgi's hard..." His downtrodden look made both of the others laugh a bit as they continued on their way home.
They entered the gates right around dinnertime and Naruto told them that he would turn in the mission report so they could be on their way. He waved at them one last time as they split up before making his way to the mission hall. It should be closing soon, but there was always someone on duty to handle mission reports. He was right on time to see the changing of the chūnin as he made his way to a desk that was used by returning mission leaders to fill out their reports. Once he sat down though he came to a realization. He had no idea what he was supposed to write. This wasn't exactly something that was covered in the academy, and he had his suspicions that it was normally the jōnin sensei that covered it with their teams as they prepared for the chūnin exams, or slightly after.
A little nervous from coming across something he didn't know how to do, he walked up to the fresh chūnin behind the missions desk. "Er, excuse me but I have a little bit of a problem." The only response was a quirked eyebrow from the woman as she watched him scratch his head. "You see, I just got back from leading a mission for the first time, and I realized that I have no idea what's supposed to go in a mission report. Could I maybe, um, get a sample of one so I know what I need to cover?"
The woman smiled at him and for some reason it felt like she was laughing in her mind. "There is a sample of a mission report for all, public, rankings over there on the board. Mainly though, you just put in notable points and if the higher-ups have questions about anything they'll let you know. Just try to keep track of the missions you do in you head for a couple months so that any questions that come up can still be answered."
"I see..."
"Or you could always be like some of the lazier ninja and just write down 'completed' or 'failed' then hope that the review board is too busy to care." She thought for a minute, considering him. "In your case, no offense but, you may want to be a little more thorough than needed, just to avoid hassle."
"I see. Thank you." She nodded at him and he left to read the samples that were laid out. Only missions up to A-rank were covered as anything higher would most likely require a verbal report regardless of filling out any paperwork. Just to make sure nothing was missed or misinterpreted.
He made sure to read each level of samples just in case he got a mission of those ranks. They weren't real missions, and each was only a rough outline to use. There were some aspects that he immediately crossed out mentally as pointless information that didn't relate to the mission at all, which made him a little annoyed that they would try to find out things like 'personal affairs during the mission' or 'general interactions'. Ages and exact times were also scratched from the list. He didn't exactly have time to look at his watch every time he killed a thug or had a meeting with his team.
Having a list of what he considered 'needed information', he sat down and filled out his first mission report. By the time he was done he had been in the hall for over an hour and his report filled up a couple sheets of paper. There was no way he was going to chance a meeting with a bunch of bigots if he could help it. He turned in the signed mission scroll along with his report, getting a slightly wide-eyed reaction from the on duty chūnin.
"Well, I don't think you needed something quite this descriptive for a standard C-rank, but at least someone is taking their job seriously." She scanned over the report, giving approving nods ever now and then. "Ok, looks good Uzumaki-san. If you just sign off here, you can be on your way." She handed him her clipboard and waited for him to sign before taking it back. "Well, have a nice night, we'll see you in two days, well, unless something comes up."
"Sure, and thanks for the help." He bowed slightly and waved before heading home.
A nice meal and short story of his mission later and he was snuggled up on his couch with Hinata. Haku and Kin were apparently out on a low level mission of their own. Something about guarding a merchant caravan or something. It would have just been Kin and Kiba, but Kakashi seemed to want an extra hand. He didn't blame the guy considering his last C-rank ended as an A-rank.
"So you're going to get a full day to yourself tomorrow then? Must be nice, Shino's been filling in for Kurenai-sensei since she's taken some personal time off. I don't know who'll be filling in for us tomorrow though. He has a clan meeting, so we will be getting someone new." Hinata looked a little down at the probability of having someone she didn't know leading her. She'd gotten used to having Kurenai and Shino around that it probably made her a little nervous. Then there was always the chance that she would be assigned with a Hyūga chūnin and that just spelled disaster all over.
"Tell you what, if you get someone you don't feel willing to be around, just have them send for me and I'll take your team for whatever mission you and Harume get assigned. That way you won't have to worry about anything happening that you aren't comfortable with." He smiled as she looked up at him hopefully.
"But you have the day off. Don't you have anything you want to do with your free time?"
"Well, I spent the past two days with Ino-chan, even if it was on a mission. Kin-chan and Haku-chan are out on a mission. I'm not sure what Tenten-chan is up to, but considering her team they will probably either be on, or start, a mission tomorrow. It's not like I have that many other people to hang out with so I would rather go on another mission than sit around the house all day with nothing to do."
"But you could train, work on seals or go shopping."
Naruto grabbed Hinata's shoulders and turned her towards him. "Listen Hinata, the point is I would rather spend some time with you. With all the chūnin exams, the invasion and then finding Tsunade I haven't gotten to be with any of you girls. If a couple of days of missed training lets me spend some time with you then I'll make that sacrifice. It's not that big of a deal."
"...If you say so. I just don't want you to get bored watching over us."
"Heh, I don't think I could get bored when I'm around you Hinata-chan." He gave her a small peck on the lips, which soon turned into a full kiss and later into a little bit of tongue wrestling as Hinata moved from beside him to his lap. They stayed at it for about ten minutes before they finally parted. "Yeah, definitely not going to get bored." Hinata smiled at him as she blushed in embarrassment. "Now, I believe it's time for bed, so go get ready. I assume you'll be sleeping with me again?"
"Hai. I like sleeping beside you. It's...comfortable...and warm." She admitted. "I feel safer beside you than in my own bed. I'm...sorry if I'm intruding."
"That's fine. I think I'm starting to get a little more comfortable with it too. I don't know, maybe its the difference in the aura you put out. It's a lot more comforting than..." Naruto looked down towards the floor, not wanting to continue that train of thought.
Hinata hugged him close and laid her head on his shoulder. "I understand. I'm happy that you know I'm different than that. I'll never hurt you Naruto-koi." She lifted his chin and kissed him again.
He stopped sooner this time and gave her a smile. "If we keep this up we'll never make it to bed. People will start to question why we both look like zombies tomorrow. Go get changed. I'll see you again shortly." He stood her up and gave her a gentle push towards the stairs to get her moving. Once she was gone he stared at his shaking hand before trying to force it to stop with his other. Kissing her wasn't bad, but when she climbed into his lap it had started shaking so much that he was afraid she would notice, so he shoved it underneath himself to keep it still. Now though, he had to take a few minutes to get it to stop. Once it did he swept his hands through his hair. 'Girls, I want to hold you close so bad, but I can't like this. Just, please, be patient with me.'
He didn't want to admit it, but the thought of himself not being able to go fast enough for them was scaring him to death, especially the thought of losing Hinata or Haku because he was too afraid to go farther. He knew they were sympathetic with his issues, but there was only so far that sympathy could go before it turned into irritation.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata called from the top of the steps. "Are you coming?"
"Y-yes, Hinata-chan. I'll be right up." Gripping his hand one last time, he left to get ready for bed. At least they were still here and he couldn't ask for more than that at the moment.
Fūton: Kasairyuu – Wind Release: Stone Wind – D-rank
Chakra enhanced wind picks up any small projectiles on the surface of the ground and throws them in the direction desired. This is more of a deterrent, wide-ranged attack