Kids! You can talk and talk till your face turns blue
Kids! But they still just do what they want to do
Why can't they be like we are, perfect in every way?
What's the matter with kids today?
-From the musical Bye Bye Birdie, "Kids"
"Hey, kid. Don't just go wandering around, okay? Second floor's no safer than the first."
Naruto blinked sleepily and turned toward his aunt's voice. He quickly turned around and dashed for his new room.
"Geez, Aunt Setsuna! Put a shirt on, will ya?"
Setsuna looked down at herself and then slowly returned to her room; she'd forgotten that she was actually living with someone now, and kept on sleeping in next to nothing.
"Don't tell me you've never seen a rack before, Naruto."
His answer was muffled from coming through two doors. "Yeah, but it wasn't one related to me!"
Setsuna didn't stop laughing for a good long while.
Her nephew was still refusing to look at her when they met again at the top of the second floor stairs.
"I'm dressed now; you can turn around."
Naruto didn't move. Setsuna arched an eyebrow as she looked on.
"You sure you're not mad?"
Setsuna, you dimwit. Here's this kid who hasn't had any parents, not even anybody who's supposed to care about him. Now he's probably scared you're gonna boot him out of the house 'cause he got a good look at your chest.
"Kid, it's all a learning process. I'm as new to this family crap as you are. Now, if I catch ya peeping on me in the shower, I'll kick your ass; otherwise, we're cool. I just gotta remember to keep some more clothes on in the future." And possibly find someone to tell you about sex, 'cause I sure ain't gonna do it.
Naruto breathed an audible sigh of relief and turned to go down the stairs. He didn't make it to the landing, as Setsuna grabbed his collar.
"Okay, Naruto. Lesson number one about the house is to watch the staircase. It likes to eat people who just go straight up or down without thinking."
"Eat people?"
"Just watch." Setsuna had picked up one of Naruto's spare ring weights the night before, and now she tossed it onto a step in the middle of the staircase. In seconds, the staircase swung downwards from the top, collapsing into a slide that led down to a cavernous pit.
"So what's in the pit?"
"I really don't know. Nobody's been down there since my great-grandfather installed the staircase about 100 or so years ago. Your uncle Sentaro reckoned he once heard tigers roaring when the staircase opened, but I doubt it. There isn't enough sunlight down there and we don't get enough unwanted visitors to keep an animal fed anyway. Probably just wooden stakes or something."
Naruto watched as the staircase slowly began to rise, finally locking itself back into place with a soft click. The ring weight had disappeared.
"So how do I get up and down without going way down? Can't always bounce off walls and banisters like we did yesterday."
"There's always tricks to this place. For the staircase, it's math practice."
Naruto made a face, drawing more laughter from Setsuna.
"If you ever want to survive the training ground, you have to learn a little geometry and physics. It's not only about blindly getting hit or dodging. Fastest way to get through is to use the course to your advantage, borrowing the momentum of the traps."
"So what's the math practice?"
"Simple addition. One plus two, and so on. When you're coming up, the first step is always safe. Then you skip a step and hit the third step, skip two more and hit the sixth. Keep adding one to the number of steps to skip, and you'll be fine. Helps with the number crunching you'll have to do when you start learning higher math."
"Wait a minute; that only covers going up. How do I get down? I can't remember all that stuff going backwards!"
"So jump."
Naruto wondered when his aunt had turned cuckoo.
"Just jump? What if there's a trap on the floor where I land?"
"Hah! The kid's got a brain in his head after all. You know, you've got a similar enough build to Sentaro that you could try what he used to do to get down." Setsuna took a running start and leaped onto the banister.
"Aunt Setsuna, what the hell are you doing?"
"Just watch and learn, Naruto. Leave the screaming to some girly girl."
He looked on as she slid down the banister, only to leap off halfway down, to land on the first step of the staircase.
"Simple and fast. Least that's what Sentaro used to say about it."
Naruto shrugged. Why not? Taking a running leap himself, he slid down as well, intending to just go all the way without jumping off. Then he heard the soft click. Oh, crap. Before Naruto could find a foothold to jump off the stairs, they had already begun swinging away from him. He shut his eyes, flailing around for the edge of the hole that was opening up.
"Naruto, when I said you had a brain in your head, I didn't think it'd make your noggin swell."
He felt a hard jerk as a hand latched onto his jacket. Setsuna landed on the first floor next to the staircase and let her nephew drop to the ground.
"No place for arrogance or cockiness in this house, Naruto. The minute you forget this place is dangerous, you're gonna get hurt. Your mom wouldn't be too pleased, and I'd be out of a job."
"So shouldn't you be going to work about now? I know how to get in and upstairs now, so it's time to go replace the traps I blew up two days ago. Gotta get the course to work again."
"Hah! Responsibility advice from a kid who wakes up at ten in the morning?" Setsuna grinned. "You ain't the man of the house yet."
Naruto's answer was no less sarcastic. "You should talk, Aunt I-Own-A-Restaurant-I-Haven't-Even-Started-Building-Yet."
"Okay, you win. Get the course fixed. I gotta check on Slinger before he has the crew build some three-story monstrosity."
As they prepared to leave the house in their separate directions, both of the Uzumakis felt good, but for different reasons. Setsuna found she'd missed the easy banter and company of a family; Naruto just felt lucky he finally had someone to talk to all the time that wasn't named Kakashi, Sasuke or Sakura.
Oddly enough, they were about the only two people in the Leaf Village with anything to feel happy about that morning.
* * *
"Ikegata Tenji! You get back here and finish your breakfast!"
People in the southern neighborhood of Konoha didn't even blink at the sight of a half-dressed six year-old boy running and jumping down the street, being chased by a harried girl twice his age. Given that it happened every day, they were getting used to it. One old grandmother sunning herself waved a hand cheerily at the girl.
"Keep at it, girl! You'll get him one of these days, I'll wager."
Ikegata Tenten smiled at their family's neighbor before she turned back to Tenji's escape. As she did, her expression turned back into one of murderous rage. Being placed in charge of her little brother made Tenten wonder what she'd done to tick her parents off. Forget the rumors. The Ninetails must have made a stop at our house before it got sealed away.
Her younger brother, Ikegata Tenji, turned around in midair and stuck his tongue out at her.
"Nyah! It's not my fault your cooking sucks, sis!"
Tenten suppressed a frustrated scream.
"I only burned the eggs once, you little brat! You didn't even try them before you waltzed out today anyway!"
"Why should I? Souta's mom makes more sausages than they can eat; he always leaves some for me."
Tenten reached into the pouch on her back as Tenji continued to insult her. That's IT! I've had it! Grabbing a little ball inside, she hurled it off a wall in front of Tenji. The little boy had enough time to make one last rude gesture at his sister before the ball exploded out and formed a rope net, enveloping Tenji and pinning him to the ground. Stalking over, Tenten grabbed the end of the net and began dragging her brother back home.
"Go get dressed! I don't care if you don't want to eat, but at least put the rest of your Academy uniform on! Don't embarrass the family any more than you already do." Tenten untied the net and threw the door of the Ikegata house open as they reached the front gate. Tenji, who was usually too surly to reply after getting caught, just kicked at the dirt before running into the house.
His sister folded the net and put it on the table next to the door; she was usually too tired to stuff it back into its normal shape until bedtime.
"Used the net again, huh?"
Tenten turned to see her father lean his head out the kitchen door, holding onto the doorframe. Ikegata Kazumasa was still wearing his sunglasses, even though the bandages on his eyes told everyone he didn't really need them.
"When's Mom supposed to get back, anyway?"
"Oh, you know her. She usually only gets the quick Rank B missions because of our situation. I make it three or four days at most." Kazumasa stopped his attempt to cheer his daughter up as Tenten slammed the front door and headed for her room.
"I'm sorry, Princess."
Tenten reluctantly trudged back to the kitchen. Her father had been temporarily blinded by a sword slash to the face on an Anbu mission, while defending her mother. The Leaf Village medics had mostly fixed his eyes, but Kazumasa wouldn't be able to see again until the internal damage healed itself. From the doctors' looks of pity, Tenten had gathered it wouldn't be anytime soon. Ikegata Tenko had become the sole breadwinner for the family, and was usually gone six days out of the week, leaving Tenten as housekeeper and babysitter on top of her Genin duties. She also had to make sure that Kazumasa didn't kill himself stumbling blindly around the house. Having him come up the stairs trying to apologize wouldn't have been safe.
"Daddy, you know nobody blames you. But Tenji's been taking advantage of everyone, and I'm getting tired of it." Kazumasa could still sense individual chakra auras, but not inanimate objects like walls and furniture. When he attempted to discipline his son, Tenji often managed to hide behind corners until his father gave up and left him alone. Tenko wasn't much help; nobody wanted to burden her with anything when they saw how exhausted she was all the time.
"I honestly figured that teacher at the Academy would have been able to do something with him. If he could get that Naruto kid to behave and make Genin, Tenji shouldn't have been a problem."
Tenten's thoughts wandered off as Kazumasa continued to ramble about Iruka's failure. Unlike Hinata, Sakura and Ino, she didn't know much about Naruto. All she had were the rumors in the village, and what she'd seen in the forest. Oh, she'd seen that stupid prank he'd pulled by painting the Hokage memorial, but other than that, Naruto hadn't done anything else in her sight that was so bad. Why would he be such a burden on Iruka-sensei? When she asked her father, he shrugged.
"I knew his parents."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Kazumasa couldn't wink at his daughter, but his grin said it all.
"That…is a secret."
"DADDY!"
"All right, all right." Kazumasa dodged Tenten's elbow and leaned back against the wall. "But I better not hear you tell anybody else about this, not even Naruto. His father and the Third Hokage laid a bond of secrecy on me a long time ago for everybody's good.
"Naruto's mother was Uzumaki Haruka, my squad leader. His father was Kazama Arashi, the Fourth Hokage."
"Kazama? Why isn't he named for the Fourth?"
"They were planning to get married someday." Kazumasa shook his head. "Then the Ninetails showed up.
"Nobody knew how to get rid of the demon. Best we could do for a long while was to damage it, and hope it would back off until it healed up. The Fourth finally thought of something that could kill it, but by the time he had it all figured out, Haruka was already dead. Our team had drawn the short straw to face the demon, and she wouldn't let Arashi pull her off the front lines. We got out there, and she saved all our butts, at the cost of her own life."
"That explains why he has no mother. But why would the Fourth deliberately turn Naruto into an orphan?"
"He didn't have any other choice. Without Haruka his first technique wouldn't work; had to come up with something else, so he went with sealing the demon away. The sealing killed him in the process, but it did the trick."
"You still haven't told me why Naruto's supposed to be such a handful."
"Before Arashi learned a little responsibility, he was the biggest practical joker in the village. His sensei, his teammates, even the Third Hokage – nobody was safe. Smart as hell, but he didn't take too much seriously. They were taking a big gamble when they made him Hokage, and they were lucky it paid off.
"Haruka was the serious one; she wouldn't take crap from anybody. If you pissed her off, she'd let you know, and she generally did something about it too.
"Any kid of theirs…man, would he be a force of nature."
Tenten tried to match the heroic legend that was the Fourth Hokage with the sometimes-hotheaded, always loud Naruto. Other than the hairstyles, they didn't seem that similar. Of course, his constant desire to be Hokage made a lot more sense now. She couldn't have known it then, but the words that came out as her mouth opened would change her life forever.
"If he's improved that much, you might as well hire him to keep Tenji in line."
"You know something, Princess?" There was a loud crack as Kazumasa's hand slapped the kitchen counter. "What the hell. We've got nothing to lose, right?"
For the first time in a while, the Master of Blades and his daughter had a reason to laugh. With some luck their little problem might not be so bothersome after all. The fact that they'd be dumping their problem on Naruto was forgotten for now.
Across the village, there wasn't any laughing going on at the bridge where Team 7 usually met.
* * *
"What do you mean, you can't tutor me?"
Kakashi scratched at the back of his neck as Sakura stared up at him, bewildered.
"I'm sorry, Sakura. Right now I've got to train Sasuke, and with his condition it's all I can do to keep him from hurting himself. Maybe you should ask your parents, or go find Naruto."
Her flat expression told Kakashi what the pink-haired girl thought about that idea.
"I know Naruto can be a little hyper, but from what you've told me he's getting a little more serious about his duties. Besides, he hasn't shown up since he got back from the forest, and I'm too busy to check. Could you find him and let me know how he's doing?"
Sakura looked hesitant, but it wasn't for the reason Kakashi seemed to think was stopping her.
The Uzumaki Naruto that had come back from the forest wasn't the one she was used to. This one made her feel strange, half interested, half scared. And for the life of her, Sakura wasn't sure she wanted to know what had happened to Naruto and whether it was permanent. But without anyone else to help her train, she reluctantly bowed to reality.
"All right, Kakashi-sensei."
Only it wasn't all right, as Sakura found out when she reached Naruto's house. The door was open and apparently, nothing was inside. It was as though nobody had ever lived there.
"If you're looking for Naruto, he doesn't live here anymore."
The voice behind her echoed in the empty halls; Sakura jumped a bit in surprise and turned to find Iruka looking in through the front door.
"But Iruka-sensei…where would he move?"
The Academy teacher shrugged.
"Seems he has a family after all. Naruto's aunt left the village twenty years ago, but she got a letter from his mother asking her to come back. Soon as she arrived, they both moved to the old Uzumaki house."
Sakura could only stand and wonder about another odd turn of events involving Naruto. What was going on?
"You know, Naruto's aunt is building a restaurant. If you want to find him, she'd probably know where he is."
"Where would I have to go?"
Iruka smiled down at his former pupil. "Hokage-sama told me where the building site is. I have to drop off something I was going to give Naruto; why don't you come along?"
"Okay, I guess."
Iruka stopped them at an old building that was being torn down; voices were coming from within, but nobody was outside. Sakura could hear faint arguing going on.
"Look, I ain't paying you guys overtime for a simple demolition job! Knock this thing over and let's get building."
"Slinger, would ya shut up? Everybody just step back and calm down. I'll give you time and a half for today only, 'cause you had to deal with this windbag. But only if everybody leaves the building right now."
"What the hell for, Setsuna? Gonna blow the thing down?"
"Remember what happened the night you got wasted and challenged all those lumberjacks in the Timber Town bar?"
"Uh, only from what Miki told me the next day."
"Well, this old building has the exact same design flaw as the Timber Town did. Bust the two central supports and the entire thing'll come crashing down."
"So, ya want me to destroy every post in the room?"
"Not unless you want to wind up buried under two stories of wood and brick. I can do it.
"Come on, everybody out!"
Iruka and Sakura watched as a team of construction workers filed out of the building, followed by a stocky man in a chef's hat. The chef turned around and yelled something back through the door, but a shout sent him running back to where the workers had gathered. The two ninjas went a little closer and saw a woman walking back and forth on the ground floor, rapping every post in the room with her knuckles. Once she had tested each one, she turned around and cupped her hands to her mouth.
"Don't get close! This sucker's going down!"
Setsuna turned her attention back to the biggest support in front of her, going into an attack stance. A ninja she wasn't, but a very tough street fighter she definitely was. Taking a running start, she launched herself at the wooden pillar and lashed out with a spinning kick.
"You're standin' in the way of progress. So hit the skids!"
The pillar disintegrated into a cloud of wooden splinters, accompanied by a loud creaking noise as the building sagged on one side. Okay, one left, and then book it out the door. Wouldn't want to leave Naruto an orphan AGAIN.
Striding over to the side without a support, Setsuna braced herself against the wall before launching herself at the other support with a flying shoulder block. Well, old man, who'd have thought it? That junk you taught us in the training ground served some use after all. Summoning what she remembered of the Diamond Body training, Setsuna slammed into the remaining support pillar and blasted right through it. Now get out, girl! No time to admire your handiwork. Leaping through an open window, the ex-waitress kept on running until she was a good two hundred feet away from the condemned building. She didn't need to turn around to know her work was done; the loud crash of wood and stone collapsing in on itself was proof enough.
"Pay 'em their overtime and then go back to the inn, Slinger. We'll clean the place up tomorrow and get to building." Setsuna waived a lazy hand back at the stunned workers and her chef.
"Where are you going?"
"The hell do you think I'm going? I'm gonna go take a *#^@%))! nap, is what I'm gonna do. Haven't had to get rough like that in years, even with all the bar fights you get us into."
Iruka stopped her with a question as she turned to leave again.
"Excuse me, madam. You wouldn't happen to be Uzumaki Setsuna, would you? Naruto's aunt?"
"What'd he do?"
Iruka blinked in surprise at Setsuna's quick, sharp response.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Look, it's no secret Naruto and I are family. All day long I've been getting weird stares, people coming up to me telling me he's done this, he's a monster, pulled some prank or pissed somebody off. Some of 'em even say I'm crazy for raising a kid like him. As if they even tried to get to know him…
"I don't need to hear about any more grudges or be insulted. Save your breath and throw down. Mess with the kid and you get me thrown in."
The Academy teacher put his hands up quickly to ward off any violence.
"I don't think any such thing, Uzumaki-san. Let me introduce myself; I'm Iruka, Naruto's Academy sensei. Before you came to the village, I was the one who was mostly in charge of looking after him."
Setsuna relaxed visibly.
"So you're the one who feeds him all that ramen. I swear he won't eat anything else."
Now that the tensions had been done away with, Iruka could let himself laugh about it.
"Well, I guess this new restaurant means I won't have to treat him to meals anymore. Teachers only make so much."
Setsuna looked at him impassively, then shrugged.
"Ya want some food, you're welcome to drop in on this place after it's been built. Anyone who takes care of my family's a friend of mine."
"Actually…there's something I need to stop by your house for. Got a little message for Naruto that has to be delivered in person."
"Follow me, then. Probably a waste of your time, though."
"What makes you say that?"
Iruka (and Sakura) had to jog to keep up with Setsuna as she turned to leave. She tossed a comment idly back over her shoulder.
"Kid's busy training in the family obstacle course. A team of Jounin couldn't pry him out of there now if they tried."
Sakura pondered that as she hurried along behind Naruto's aunt. What could he be learning that would be stronger than what he was doing in the forest? Looking at Setsuna as she strode into the forest, the Genin wondered if another Uzumaki could help her train instead of Naruto.
* * *
Setsuna's sarcastic comment to Iruka had actually been wrong. Right now, Naruto wasn't feeling too great about the training ground. The rock nets had been fairly easy to replace. Heavy and unwieldy logs were a different story. Still, it was either fix the place or go back to reading scrolls like before. Picking up an axe and saw from the rack in the Uzumaki toolshed, Naruto strode out into the forest to find a dead tree. A conversation he'd had with Arashi the night before occupied his thoughts.
"Okay, Dad, spill it. You didn't even know the Ghost Girl was an Uzumaki?"
For once, the Fourth Hokage was on the defensive.
"Hey, don't blame me. Your mom might have let me know all about herself, but when it came to her family, she could clam up as quick as anyone.
"Besides, she hated burdening others with her problems. Haruka would listen to you bitch and moan about something, but the only thing she ever did when you asked her how she was feeling was smile a little. Wouldn't complain for the life of her."
Naruto wasn't buying it, as the look in his eyes told Arashi.
"She obviously had a temper, Dad. Mom had to vent sometime, and you were both probably too busy to scream at each other all the time."
"Well…" Arashi hesitated. Should he tell the boy? True to form, he ignored his misgivings and plunged on.
"She didn't vent. Haruka had another way of dealing with her problems, as I found out one day spying on her."
The dreamscape shifted from Naruto's new room to a clearing in the forest outside the village. Haruka sat on a tree stump, idly tossing a kunai at a fallen log nearby, then pulling it back with a string tied through the ring on its end.
"Wouldn't Mom have known you were here?"
Naruto's question drew a laugh from his father.
"I know you don't think that much of me, Naruto, but even a Hokage has some special tricks. Take a look at the third tree from the left, behind her."
Naruto looked up and saw an outline of his father's younger self against the branches and trunk of a tree a distance from Haruka.
"Your mom was good, but she wasn't that good. I had ways to screen out light and sound with my chakra; if I didn't go making any quick moves, nobody could find me. Helps a bit on assassinations.
"Anyhow, Haruka always walked off when her father or her grandfather got her angry. I used to think she was only doing it to annoy Gramps, until the day you're seeing. Caught the end of another screaming fight between the two of them and decided to follow her on a whim."
A branch snapped in the forest behind Uzumaki Haruka, but she didn't seem to notice. The younger Arashi started as a pack of large wolves emerged from the trees in the direction of the noise, causing his outline to waver.
"What the hell is she doing? Those are dire wolves, not the timber wolves I've seen the Chuunins summon!"
The Fourth laid a restraining hand on his son's shoulder.
"Relax, son. That was what I thought at the time. She's about to prove us both wrong."
Haruka turned around without any apparent concern. Naruto kept a tense watch, clenching and unclenching his fists. In the back of his head the blonde boy knew it was only a memory; Haruka couldn't have been killed here. It didn't make having to watch his mother in apparent danger any easier. Of course, that was before the danger vanished.
The young Arashi's outline blurred again and Naruto's jaw dropped, as the largest dire wolf simply sat down on its haunches and fixed Haruka with an expectant look on its battle-scarred face. She smiled and inclined her head briefly in a gesture of respect.
"You're early, Pack Master. What is it you want of me?"
The dire wolf growled deep in its throat, ears flicking slightly backward. Haruka's smile was unfazed.
"Don't play innocent with me, Blood Fang. You never come here early unless something's bothering the pack."
This time the leader of the pack lay down fully, head resting on its front paws and barking sharply. Haruka laughed.
"Bears? You've never had problems with bears before. What happened to those boasts about your sire and grandsire slaughtering whole packs of them?"
A faint whine was all Naruto heard, as the dire wolf's ears laid fully back.
"Oh, I get it. They send in the younger, stronger warriors, and now you want me to save your hides."
One of the smaller wolves emerged from the pack, clutching a dead raccoon in its mouth, which it laid at Haruka's feet. The young woman's eyebrows arched.
"Asking me to face down a family of bears and the best tribute you could get was a tanuki? You're lucky the wolves have my favor."
Rising from the stump, Haruka snapped the string off her kunai and tucked it into the pouch at her waist.
"All right, you lazy git. Lead me to them before I change my mind."
Naruto watched his mother leap into the forest as the dire wolves ran back the way they'd come.
"You're kidding."
Arashi chuckled.
"Welcome to the weird, wonderful world of the Uzumakis, Naruto. Otherwise known as the Nature Ninjas."
"Nature Ninjas?"
"You never wondered why almost all of them were Anbu? They were the perfect killing machines, even without any actual man-made weapons.
"Other bloodlines may have their power in the eyes or the body, but only the Uzumakis had it in the soul. Every last one of them had an innate ability to commune with animals. Haruka's favorite was always the dire wolves. Your uncle Sentaro had an owl familiar, and Gramps Uzumaki kept some ravens."
"I still don't get it." Naruto turned away from his mother and the wolf pack to look at Arashi. "Sure it's great to be one with nature, but what's that got to do with the Anbu?"
"It has everything to do with the Anbu." Arashi snapped his fingers, taking them to a model of a large house. Armed guards appeared on the veranda facing the rear courtyard, while other shadowy forms lurked inside, behind the shoji panels. "Most humans are either too dumb or proud to admit that animals are useful for anything other than food. The Uzumakis knew better.
"Need a scout? Send a human in, and if he gets caught, you're screwed. Guards are alerted, and your job just got that much harder, maybe even deadlier." As Arashi spoke, the guards at the model house sprung into action, drawing swords and moving to cover all the entrances. "But send a bird or a squirrel, and nobody even bats an eye. It can tell you exactly how many you're up against, where they are, and you keep the element of surprise." Now the guards went back to their original posts, some alert, but others asleep or distracted.
"Need to distract guards once you're in? Summon a skunk, snakes, something people are always afraid of. They're too busy dealing with a little annoyance to realize you've crept up on them. By then it's too late; they get knocked out or they're dead."
Naruto scratched the back of his neck. Learning taijutsu and stuff was one thing, but talking to animals? He remembered Hinata's teammates vaguely; one could control bugs, the other dogs. The idea that he might be able to do the same was just…bizarre.
"What's this got to do with Mom and Aunt Setsuna anyway?"
Arashi shrugged.
"The forest was Haruka's refuge when the human world got too messy or frustrating. The rest of the family had an animal or two to speak with, but she became something of a roving problem-solver for the creatures in the forest. It made her feel like she had control over something in her life, and kept her from venting in public, where embarrassing stuff like the Ghost Girl thing might have come out."
"You'd think she would have said something about Aunt Setsuna to you, at least."
The Fourth Hokage sat down, shaking his head.
"Some wounds run deep, Naruto. Deeper than even a lover or a spouse can reach sometimes. Living in a house with people as old-fashioned and inflexible as Uzumaki Kotaro wasn't easy for Haruka. I get the feeling she buried her memories of Setsuna deep inside as much to keep from reminding Gramps of his failures, as to keep from missing her sister. Telling me about it would only have brought back bad memories."
Arashi waited for a response; when none came, he looked over to his son, sitting next to him and staring out into space.
"What's eating you? Looks like someone kicked your dog or something."
"Dad, can you miss someone you've never even met?"
The Fourth kicked himself mentally. He should have known that using memories of Haruka to motivate their son would do this. Why wouldn't the boy hunger for his mother's love once he'd seen her, and discovered what had been taken from him? Damn you forever, Haruka. Did you even know what you were doing to our son and me that day? Why, out of all the duties in the world to fulfill, would you be so stubborn about fighting that thing?
The irony was, she probably had known what might happen. Setsuna's arrival had made that much clear. Family duties aside, all the forward thinking in the world couldn't make up for a decade's worth of neglect. Arashi knew it had been unavoidable; Naruto had to become strong on his own, or else he would never be able to kill the demon fox. The Fourth had logic on his side. But logic rarely trumped guilt. Arashi hung his head; when he spoke, it was much softer than usual.
"Yeah, you can. But missing someone can go one of two ways, son. You can let it get you down, or use it to make yourself stronger. Which one do you think Haruka would have wanted for you?"
"I know all that," Naruto muttered. "The scrolls you left behind are a big help, but it's just not the same. I do this stuff, but unless you choose to show up at night, there's nobody to tell me whether I'm doing it right or wrong. Even if I do get stronger, I wonder if that's even worth it anymore.
"You won't let me tell people I'm your son, and how many of the villagers would change their opinions of me even if they believed me to begin with?"
"This is not about you, son." Arashi let the guilt pass for a moment and fixed his child with a stern gaze. "The becoming Hokage thing? You could give it up today, and nobody would think any worse of you. But the one thing I ain't gonna let you do is stop improving or getting stronger. Killing the Ninetails is your duty now. Can't just drop everything halfway."
"I'm not!" Naruto shouted hotly. "Who said anything about quitting? It's just a lot harder than what I used to be learning, and you can't help me with the physical stuff anyway."
"Well, you won't be doing anything physical anyway until you fix the course. Why don't you try and see if you can activate your mother's ability while you're off getting the logs?"
Naruto glared darkly at his father.
"Typical. I haven't even finished learning one thing and you stick me with another."
Arashi simply whistled, trying to look innocent.
"One hint, and one hint only. Your mom used to say that the secret to dealing with anything in nature was using your soul to do things."
"Once again, you've lost me."
"Figured out the last one, didn't you? Just remember. See with your soul, not just your eyes, for the eye simply sees what the heart believes."
* * *
"He's not a Hokage, he's a court jester."
Naruto muttered an oath as he trudged deeper into the forest. So far, most of the trees he'd seen were too young or small to replace the logs he'd blown up. All the older growth was further back, towards the mountain. As the blond-haired ninja walked, Arashi's next puzzle taunted him. See with your soul, not just your eyes, for the eye simply sees what the heart believes.
What was he supposed to do, walk up to an animal, say hello, and wait for a response? That was too easy; too simple. Putting it out of his mind, Naruto kept looking for a likely tree. Spotting a fairly old one, he readied the axe; just as he was about to strike, chirping began to echo from the surrounding trees. It stopped the blond ninja short, but when he lowered his axe, the chirping ceased. What the hell…?
Shrugging the bird calls aside, Naruto raised the axe again. As soon as he did so, the chirping started again. Geez, you'd think they were trying to warn me off this tree or something. The thought gave him pause. Nah.
"If you're going to warn a guy, you could at least do it in a way he can understand." Naruto smirked flippantly as he looked back in the direction of the chirping. Let's see you respond to THAT. Even knowing what Arashi told him, Naruto wasn't prepared for what he heard next. As he turned back to the tree, the renewed chirping suddenly became something very different.
[…bloody Human! Just chop the tree down! Why taunt us about it?] Who the…?
Another voice spoke, female to the first one's male.
[That's enough. If you're going to feel anything for the Humans, feel pity. They know not what they do.]
[Isn't it enough that they destroy our homes? Must we watch and do nothing?]
This time the female sounded exasperated.
[What would you do? Peck its face? It's pointless to speak of such things.]
Naruto shook his head. He had to be going nuts. As that belief arose, the conversation disappeared, to be replaced by chirping again. It can't be that simple.
Was it that simple? As soon as he had treated the chirping a little seriously, taken it as more than simple bird song, it was understandable. But think of the birds as dumb animals again, and speech faded back into chirps. Just believe, Naruto. How is this any different from having to trust that Dad's not just a figment of my imagination?
But Arashi, at least, was human. Naruto expected to understand what the Fourth said. That doesn't stop Kiba or Shino from talking to their companions. If they can do it, why can't you? Just because it's not human doesn't mean it can't think, or feel.
Years later, Uzumaki Naruto would look back on that very thought as the one that had made him worthy of his family's legacy. The birds' voices immediately returned, still arguing. Taking a chance, he spoke.
"All right, then, what's so special about this tree?"
The clearing was silent for a minute or so before anyone spoke again.
[Did he just talk to us? And more importantly, did you actually understand that?]
"Can you birds get what I'm saying?"
Naruto watched as a pair of tiny sparrows flitted out of the forest, coming to rest on a branch of the tree he'd tried to cut down. The male bird chirped/spoke first.
[That much, I understood.]
[If I didn't know any better, I'd swear the Speakers had returned.]
Speakers? Did they mean the Uzumaki family, perhaps? Naruto chanced a question.
"Excuse me…was the last Speaker a human woman, about this tall, with black hair?"
The female sparrow cocked her head at him, hopping along the branch until it could peer down at Naruto's features.
[Indeed. There is something of her in your voice, Human. Where have the Speakers been these long years? There has been no one to maintain order since the Destroyer's time. The strong run rampant, the weak have no champion. Is the ancient pact forgotten?]
Naruto shrugged, shaking his head. "I don't know anything about any pact. I didn't even know I could speak to animals until last night."
For once, the male sparrow didn't sound agitated; instead, its voice bore faint disgust.
[How far have the Speakers fallen? The only one left is completely ignorant of everything!]
I didn't come here to be insulted by a couple of birds. Naruto's mouth twisted in a snarl.
"Maybe that's because my family was nearly wiped out, or had you forgotten? I'm sorry I don't meet your exalted expectations."
[Enough.] The female sparrow fluttered down to Naruto's shoulder. [As long as he is of the blood, he can be taught. If you have waited this long, surely you can continue.]
"Wait a minute. You still haven't explained what my job is even supposed to be, or why I have to do it."
[It is quite simple. Some centuries ago, the first of your line, as well as some in other places, the original Speakers, made a pact. In exchange for the ability to speak with and gain the trust of the animals, the Speakers agreed that they would help to watch over and resolve the petty problems that plagued us all.
[Your ability to speak with us proves that you are of the blood. But with that power comes responsibility; if you choose to speak with the children of nature, you must abide by the pact.]
"So what is it that I actually have to do? And does it have anything to do with this tree? I really need to get some logs."
[Speak with the ravens. They have always been the keepers of information, and can teach you what must be done. When you are ready, seek out any bird, and ask them to lead you to the Ebon Shadows.]
"Um, okay…what about the tree?"
[It is unwise to harm a living thing, even those you cannot speak with. We will lead you to a dead tree, if you so require.]
"Lead on, then…"
[Before I do, I would know the name of the future Speaker.]
"Uzumaki Naruto."
The female sparrow spread her wings and flew back into the tree.
[Well met, Naruto. Let us hope we see each other again. It has been too long since there was a Speaker in this forest.]
"I can't promise you anything much, but I'll keep it in mind. Don't exactly have a lot of free time right now."
[It's your life; we know that. But even if we do not demand an answer of you now, such a time will come. When it does, you must make a choice. For the sake of all in this forest, we pray that it will be a good one.]
Naruto only nodded, walking into the forest as the sparrows began to look for his tree. As he walked, a smile played over his face. At the very least, following in his mother's footsteps would be pretty interesting.
* * *
Even after lugging three huge log sections back to the training ground, Naruto was still faintly grinning when Setsuna, Iruka and Sakura arrived. Setsuna smirked as she watched her nephew try to hook up a hundred-pound piece of wood back into its rope harness.
"You must be a glutton for punishment, kid. Even your great-gramps never smiled when he had to fix this place up."
"Heh," Naruto shrugged. "A little sweat and dirt now compared to being able to kick Sasuke's butt someday? I think I can live with that."
"Our training ground alone is gonna let you beat that Sharingan kid you're always complaining about?"
"Among other things." Naruto spared an aside glance at Sakura. "Let's just say that there's some stuff even a super pair of eyes can't copy."
What more could he risk saying? Sakura was an unknown quantity; how much would she tell Sasuke of this? Still…she was his teammate. For now. Best to be charitable.
"What're you doing here, Sakura?"
She started, as if surprised that Naruto would speak to her.
"Oh! Nothing, really…Kakashi-sensei wanted me to check on how you were doing, while he's off training Sasuke-kun, that's all."
Training Sasuke? That's great. That's just #(@#^! great.
Visions of Kakashi's battle with Zabuza resurfaced; the power of the Sharingan wasn't lost on Naruto. Sasuke was already far enough ahead of him; this might just make it worse. More training ahead. If he's going to be learning from Kakashi-sensei, I can't afford to slack off. No reason to burden Sakura with that, though.
"Well, just training, is all. Nothing special."
Putting the troubling news about Sasuke aside for the moment, Naruto turned and greeted his favorite teacher.
"Yo, Iruka-sensei! I see you met Aunt Setsuna. Now I can get all the ramen I want without dragging you to Ichiraku!"
Iruka laughed, but in the back of his mind he felt a bit strange. He couldn't deny that he'd thought of Naruto as a little brother, if not a son, after what happened with Mizuki and the Forbidden Scroll. Maybe it was for the best. He was protective of the boy; so much so that he'd nearly convinced the Third Hokage to keep the rookie Genin teams from taking the Chuunin Exam. Instead, they'd passed their "preliminary" tests, and taught Iruka a valuable lesson. There comes a time to let go, even if it's hard on you. They can't be kids forever.
The proof of that was lying in Iruka's pocket; Kazumasa's request had specifically asked for Naruto, and the Anbu member had classified it as a Rank C mission. Knowing what he did about Ikegata Tenji, Iruka wasn't about to dispute the ranking. Naruto didn't know Tenji, and the prospect of getting to do a Rank C mission by himself would be too tempting to make him suspicious. Still… Some lessons have to be learned the hard way. Maybe this will teach Naruto a little responsibility.
"Food is all you think about, huh? Maybe I should take this mission somewhere else."
"Mission? What mission? We're in the middle of an exam here, Iruka-sensei!"
"Oh, that." Iruka waved a hand. "Don't worry. It's supposed to start after the Chuunin Exam is over; the client doesn't mind if you do it as a Genin."
"Geez, thanks a lot. I feel so confident now." Naruto glared at his old sensei.
"Fine, fine, you're a big boy. Just don't go getting yourself killed." Iruka rolled his eyes and handed Naruto the mission form.
"Two things: the Third Stage of the exam begins tomorrow morning. A path will be cleared for all remaining teams to go to the tower inside the Forest of Death.
"Secondly, you've been specially requested for an emergency, indefinite Rank C mission. The details are on that form in your hand; a mentoring job for one person. Payment will be discussed once you've decided whether or not you want to accept the mission."
Another step towards becoming a Chuunin? A mission just for him? Naruto had but one thing to say to Iruka about it.
"Bring it on!"
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