Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ After the Dream ❯ Yours Forever ( Chapter 19 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

~b~ normal story

~B~ flash backs

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Yours Forever

“So the kid's hers?” Genma said to Anko.

After the funeral the group of Jounin and one Chuunin had gathered once more at Waruyoi's Sake House. “Yeah, I wish I could remember that other chick's name; Rin introduced me to her,” Anko replied.

“Wait, who is whose kid?” Kurenai asked.

“Did you see the little brown haired kid with a stripe on each cheek?” Anko asked. Kurenai and the majority of the others looked at her blankly and shook their heads. “He walked up near the end. The woman with him set a bunch of blue hydrangea flowers down,” Anko added.

“Oh…,” Kurenai added. “So he's Rin's son,” she added after a moment.

“Yeah, but there's something about the woman with him that bothered Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama. It would help if I could just remember her name,” Anko said.

“I didn't recognize her,” Kurenai said in confusion, “and she definitely was not a shinobi.”

“Yeah I know that; she worked with Rin,” Anko said.

“Where exactly has Rin been?” Genma asked. “She just disappeared one night, but from the looks of it at least Kakashi has known where she was,” he added.

“She was in Yasumido a few months ago, but I don't know how long she had been there,” Anko said with a shrug. “They had a meeting with Tsunade-sama this afternoon; hopefully she'll be able to give us some answers later on,” she added after a moment.

Ten minutes later her hopes were dashed to pieces when two rather angry Sannin walked in. “This doesn't look good,” Ibiki said watching them cautiously.

“Hmmm… I wonder how much Itachi has picked up from them over the years,” Anko muttered to herself.

“What do you mean?” Kurenai asked.

Anko nervously scratched the back of her head and grinned at the others. “Rin and Kakashi didn't always get along with Jiraiya-sama, and the one time they met Tsunade-sama she was arguing with their sensei. Not to mention the fact that Rin and Kakashi have never really gotten along with authority other than their sensei and Sandaime-sama,” she said.

“So, if those feelings still persist…,” Iruka said.

“And it would be pointless to pretend that they weren't passed on to Itachi,” Genma added.

“The meeting didn't go well,” Tsunade said walking over to the group and answering their question.

“May I ask how bad it went?” Ebisu asked delicately.

“All I learned was that I have no power of Rin's actions; somehow in the past eight years she's managed to become close to the Nami family, which means I have to be careful not to offend her…”

“That's the name,” Anko said triumphantly, accidentally interrupting Tsunade. “Sorry,” she added apologetically.

“Uchiha refuses to answer questions because he believes his clan's actions and the resulting massacre are not the business of the village. And all three refuse to actually tell me what they've been doing for the past four years other than passing information,” Tsunade said as her rant trailed off. “Sorry,” she said a bit sheepishly, in apology for her outburst.

“What do you know about them?” Jiraiya asked the group.

“That depends on what you're looking for,” Anko replied a bit confused.

“Let's start on what Rin's been doing,” Tsunade responded with false cheeriness.

“I wasn't here; I came back from a mission to find out she hadn't been to work in three days. Kakashi wouldn't tell me anything,” Anko responded. When no one else had anything to add, Anko shrugged apologetically.

“I should have known they covered their tracks,” Tsunade responded.

“How long has Kakashi known that Uchiha-san was innocent?” Kurenai asked.

“From what we can see, since the beginning,” Jiraiya answered.

“Then, the fight was a fake?” Kurenai asked.

“Not Kisame's part in it,” Jiraiya responded with a shrug.

“Can I ask what's going to be done?” Kurenai asked.

“Right now we're going to focus on continuing to strengthen the village. We won't strike out against the remains of the Akatsuki yet; maybe that will happen in another year or two,” Tsunade answered sighing. “As far as those three are concerned: I don't care what they do as long as it isn't against Konoha,” she added honestly. “I'd prefer it if they were more cooperative, but I don't have the whole picture and that leaves me at a disadvantage. I'm going to let things cool off a bit; once everyone has settled down a bit, maybe they'll be more willing to give us some answers.”

“The longer you let Itachi wait to answer, the more likely he is to never give you the answers,” Genma stated. Tsunade looked at him in confusion for a moment and he shrugged nonchalantly. “I was his sensei three years,” he said. “I should also mention that he looked up to Rin and Kakashi; they're the same way,” he added.

“Lovely, three psychotic, too-powerful, spoiled brats,” Tsunade muttered. Anko quirked an eyebrow slightly and laughed, but most of the others looked confused.

“Too powerful?” Kurenai asked.

“All three of them,” Tsunade reiterated. “They gained rank and power too quickly and too young,” she said. “All three were Chuunin by eleven and Jounin fourteen,” she added.

“Rin was a talented medic, but I don't recall her being particularly powerful,” Asuma countered.

“She trained with a Hokage and one of our youngest Jounin; she was, and still is, more powerful than most realize,” Jiraiya stated.

XXXXXXXX

“So how do you think everyone is?” Naruto asked turning to Sasuke. Sakura remained sleeping silently behind the two.

“I'm sure their recovering just fine,” Sasuke said turning away to stare into the fire. A moment later, he felt a something smack the side of his face, and he turned to find Naruto innocently holding a bundle of sticks.

“You shouldn't stare into the flames like that; it's bad for your eyes,” Naruto responded merrily.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but continued watching his teammate instead of turning back to the fire. After several minutes of watching Naruto's grin slowly slip off his face Sasuke finally spoke up. “What?” he asked.

Naruto looked slightly startled by Sasuke's question, before frowning slightly and turning away. “We made her cry,” he muttered shocking Sasuke.

“Yeah,” he finally responded looking away from the blond.

“We always make her cry,” Naruto said again.

“Not that often,” Sasuke said, trying to defend himself.

“She cried during the Genin exam because of you,” Naruto stated looking over at Sasuke. “She cried in Wave Country, during the Exams multiple times, after the Exam a lot, when you left, after you left, when her parents died, after her parents died, at her parent's funeral, after that, at the demonstration, after the demonstration…” he was cut off by Sasuke.

“I get the point Naruto. We're bastards,” he said, turning around to face Naruto.

“We shouldn't have made her cry,” Naruto stated.

“We shouldn't have been fighting,” Sasuke added.

“Neh, we always fight; we just got carried away,” Naruto said. “That isn't an excuse for making her cry,” he said.

“No, it wasn't,” Sasuke said with a sigh.

“She was supposed to stop crying when we left Konoha,” Naruto said, “The first thing we did was make her cry more.”

“We can't change what happened,” Sasuke stated. Naruto glared at his teammate and Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Well, we can't, and we already apologized so there isn't much else for us to do,” Sasuke said exasperatedly.

“We can't make her cry again. It isn't fair,” Naruto said childishly.

“No it isn't,” Sasuke responded.

“So…” Naruto said looking at him.

“What do you want me to do?” Sasuke said.

“We can't make her cry again,” Naruto stated.

“No we can't,” Sasuke agreed.

“Is that a promise?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked at him in surprise before nodding. “It's a promise,” he added quietly after a moment.

XXXXXXXX

A month later Sasuke's prediction had rung true. Konoha was recovering just fine. Admittedly it took Anko a week to calm down after she realized that Rin had ditched a second time without saying goodbye. After that everyone began getting back to normal. The Rookies trained and went on missions. The Konohamaru Corps continued with their schoolwork and training; they slowly began integrating both Inari and Rishito into their little group.

The only thing that changed was the atmosphere of Konoha. No one could really put a finger on it, but the village had changed. Some said it was the power of new Hokage and rapidly improving force of shinobi. Some said it was the complete lack of pranks from the Konohamaru Corps. The village was most definitely more serious; every one of its citizens took Tsunade's message to heart. Konoha would show that they were a power to be reckoned with.

Tsunade had taken all the gifts from the memorial and placed them away in her office. She was considering building a more permanent memorial for the three; all that was left was picking the location. At the moment, however, she had to focus on the Chuunin Exam.

XXXXXXXX

“You don't get tired of getting your asses kicked, do you?” Naruto said incredulously.

The bandit in front of him sneered at the three brown haired siblings in front of him. “The Yozoku are not bothered by three little brats,” he replied, despite the fact that two of his partners were lying unconscious just a meter away. Also despite the fact, that this was fourth time in just over a month that these same siblings had beaten members of their group.

“So you're not bothered at all when we do this…” Sasuke stated, as Sakura managed to creep around the bandit and land a blow.

He landed flat on his face in front of Naruto and the former blond stepped forward and onto the man's face. “Our sister packs quite the punch,” he said jokingly. “I'm going to knock you out in just a moment, but before that would you mind doing us a favor when you wake up?” he asked mockingly.

The bandit glared up at him, but the action was quite ineffective as Naruto was still standing on him. “Tell the rest of the Yozoku to back off. You bother us as much as we bother you; so why don't we just save each other the trouble by ignoring each other,” Sasuke stated.

A moment later Naruto kept his promise, and three brown eyed, brunettes walked away, leaving behind three unconscious bandits.

“This is really too easy,” Sakura said sighing. “Where are we going anyway?” she asked, turning to other two in confusion.

“I thought you knew,” Naruto stated, turning to her.

“I thought Sasuke did,” Sakura said in return, as both turned to look at their teammate and “sibling”.

“Well,” Naruto said, after several moments of watching Sasuke smirk at him.

“We're near Tea Country; where we go doesn't really matter,” Sasuke finally replied.

“We're that far south?” Sakura asked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned to look at the other two. “Yes,” he replied flatly.

“Maybe we should head back north,” she said sheepishly.

“Eh?” Naruto said turning to his teammate.

“Well it's just that…I don't like it down here,” she finished lamely.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and glanced over to see Naruto shaking his head. “Fine,” he finally said, “well head back north.”

“Where to then?' Naruto asked, turning around and beginning to walk off. He continued walking for several meters, but turned around when he didn't hear his teammates doing the same. “What?” he asked, looking at them in confusion.

“We'll head back north after the next village,” Sasuke said smirking. “We need to get supplies and rest,” he added.

“And we need to pick a different route; it would be stupid if we passed through all the same villages,” Sakura said.

“Well you could have said so sooner,” Naruto grumbled, as he walked back up to them. The three set off again hoping to reach another town by nightfall.

“So…” Sakura said an hour later. “You think they'll back off?” she asked, grinning at Naruto and Sasuke.

“Do you think thick brow's sensei will ever stop challenging Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto said in response.

“Right,” Sakura said nodding. “They're following us wherever we go, right? I mean these guys don't have the numbers to be this spread out, do they?” she asked after another moment.

“They have to be following us,” Naruto stated.

“He's right. The roads we're using aren't busy; so it would be stupid for bandits to watch them,” Sasuke added.

“When we were farther north everyone was talking about bandits in the area, as we've gotten farther south no one's mentioned them. That means this isn't their territory and they aren't entering it until after we do,” Naruto said. Without even turning to look at the other two, Naruto rolled his eyes and added, “Get used to it.” When he finally glanced at them from the corner of his eye, Sakura and Sasuke were stifling laughter.

After walking for two more hours, Sakura turned to look at Naruto and Sasuke. “How much farther do you think the next town is?” she asked.

“How are we supposed to know?” Naruto replied. “None of us have a map, and we don't actually know where we're going anyway,” he added.

“You have to stop doing that,” Sakura responded. “Maybe start with one reasonable remark a day and work up from there,” she added happily.

Naruto glared lightly at her and turned to ask Sasuke to help, only to find the Uchiha laughing at them. “I'll do it if he stops laughing so much,” Naruto deadpanned.

“Why should he stop laughing?” Sakura asked, smiling a little too sweetly. Naruto didn't seem to catch the joke. “Oh, so he can laugh and be as cheerful as

he wants, but I can't be intelligent,” he stated. He glared at Sasuke when the boy started laughing harder. “Teme,” Naruto growled out lightly, before giving Sakura and Sasuke the cold shoulder.

“Oh, come on, I was just teasing,” Sakura said, trying to reconcile with the still silent Naruto half an hour later.

“Seriously, dobe,” Sasuke said, “moping for an half an hour is a bit much, don't you think?”

“Moping for half an hour is a bit much,” Naruto replied mockingly. “This from a guy who moped his way through childhood and into puberty,” he added, laughing at Sasuke.

“I didn't mope,” Sasuke replied.

“Sorry, sorry,” Naruto answered. “You brooded your way through childhood and into puberty; I can see how you have to keep up that dark mysterious persona, and mope just doesn't have the same effect,” he added. Sakura giggled, and Sasuke glared at both of his teammates.

“Naruto,” Sasuke responded darkly. His glare had little effect on the grinning former blond, so he sighed and continued walking. “I didn't brood either,” he muttered after several minutes.

He stopped and stared in dismay when the other two brunettes collapsed in a fit of laughter. “He…didn't…brood?” Sakura gasped out between laughs.

“You must…have a…very…selective…memory,” Naruto managed to say after several moments, before laughing even harder.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat down, as he waited for the other two to calm down. After several minutes, he grew restless and turned to them with exasperation. “You know, the faster you stop laughing and we get moving, the faster we'll reach the next town,” he stated.

Sakura and Naruto managed to stand up, while still laughing, and start walking a bit. They gradually calmed down as they walked along, but every time one of them glanced at Sasuke they would snicker loudly.

It took them another two days to reach a village.

XXXXXXXX

“So, where exactly are we going?” Naruto asked three weeks later.

“I don't know, but we need to avoid the eastern coast. The Chuunin Exams start in two weeks, and they're being held in mist,” Sasuke said.

“So avoid going near the bridge to Wave Country, because a lot of shinobi will be passing through there?” Naruto said.

“Yeah, shinobi from Kumo (Hidden Cloud) will be the only ones who won't travel through Konoha,” Sasuke replied.

“So we're going west?” Sakura asked.

“I don't know,” Sasuke replied. “We still don't really know where we're going,” he added.

“Hmm…, where do you think the Yozoku are? We haven't seen any of them in a week,” Sakura asked after several days.

“Yeah, I kind of miss of them,” Naruto said sarcastically.

“They've probably left the area,” Sasuke said. “They may have gone to the coast hoping to catch the wealthier travelers, but if they get in the way any shinobi in the area will take them out,” he added as an afterthought.

“Damn, I kinda liked kicking their asses,” Naruto remarked, shaking his mournfully.

“Probably because it was so difficult for you to kick anyone else's ass,” Sasuke shot back smirking.

Naruto glared at him and prepared to lunge at the smirking Uchiha, when Sakura grabbed the back of his shirt. “Look,” she whispered, pointing to the road ahead.

A young woman and her daughter were surrounded by several shady looking figures. “Hey isn't that…,” Naruto trailed off when the other two nodded.

“Damn,” Sasuke muttered. One of the figures near the woman was quite obviously the bandit they had knocked out several times in the past two months.

“So much for them going back east,” Sakura mumbled.

“Why are we still standing here?” Naruto said, turning to the other two in confusion. “We are going to help them, right?” he said, pointing back to the bandits.

“That's not…” Sasuke was cut off by Sakura

“Yeah, let's go,” she said, taking off up the road.

“…a good idea,” Sasuke finished, watching Naruto take off after her.

Sakura obviously reached the group first and managed to take out two of the bandits before they even realized what was going on.

When Naruto joined the fray a moment later, the bandits were a bit more prepared. He managed to punch one of them in the gut, but the man wasn't knocked out. It took two more hits, one of which he received, before the bandit he was fighting finally went down. He glared at the unconscious man for a moment before picking his next target.

Meanwhile, Sakura had managed to disarm and knock out another bandit. She was just turning to another, when she noticed Sasuke had joined them. Two bandits had gone after the Uchiha, and he had already gotten rid of one of them. Sasuke landed a kick to the other man's head that sent him flying into a tree on the side of the road. Sasuke jumped after the man closest to Sakura, leaving the girl temporarily without a target. “Are you two okay?” she asked the woman and her daughter.

The woman nodded and was about to thank them, when several more members of the Yozoku jumped out from the woods lining the road. Sakura's eyes widened and she jumped in front of the woman and her daughter to block several hits. “Look out!” the woman shouted when three men dropped down near Sasuke.

Sasuke easily landed a punch on one of the men and dodged a blow from another. The third man was knocked out from behind by a kick from Naruto. The former blond quickly turned back to his own fight, only to find that his previous opponent was no longer any where in sight. He spotted him a moment later standing beside the woman they were trying to help. “Haru!” he shouted hoping the girl would be able to help her. Unfortunately it had been a week since they had gone by their pseudonyms, and Sakura didn't respond quickly enough.

The bandit behind her knocked the woman out in one blow. Her daughter screamed, and Sakura quickly grabbed the little girl and the woman's body and moved them out of the way. Naruto's next kick sent her assaulter skidding several meters; he didn't get back up. With the little girl and her mother out of the way, Naruto and Sasuke took full advantage of the open space. The remaining five bandits were taken down in under two minutes. The last one was left conscious just long enough to hear Sasuke growl, “Pathetic.”

While Sasuke and Naruto trounced the unfortunate Yozoku, Sakura checked on the little girl and her mother. The little girl was curled up near her mother sniffling pitifully. Sakura gazed down at her, before finally asking, “What's your name?”

The girl gazed at Sakura distrustfully for a moment before looking back down. “Ayame,” she finally responded.

“What a pretty name,” Sakura said, checking the woman for any other injuries. “I used to know a girl named Ayame; she grew up to be really pretty,” Sakura added, trying to distract the little girl.

After several minutes, Ayame glanced up at Sakura and bit her lip lightly. “What's your name?” she asked, surprising Sakura slightly.

“H-Haru,” Sakura responded, stumbling slightly over the unfamiliar name.

“Is she alright?” Sakura heard Naruto ask behind her.

“They're both fine. Ayame, here, is just a bit shaken,” she said pointing to the little girl. “Her mother should wake up in an hour or so. She took a hard blow, but it won't cause permanent damage,” Sakura added.

“Alright, we'll stay here until she recovers,” Sasuke said, leaning against a tree.

Naruto glanced back at the bandits they had left unconscious and frowned. “Maybe we shouldn't stay here,” he said referring to their current location.

Sakura shrugged and glanced down at the little girl. “Do you know where you and your mommy were going?” she asked.

Ayame nodded and brightened. “We were going home,” she chirped. Apparently hearing that her mother would be fine had relieved the little girl's worries.

“Where's home?” Naruto asked. Sakura wondered if he knew how sad he sounded when he said it.

“Utsuro,” she answered.

“I think that's up the road, that way,” Sakura said, pointing in the direction they had been traveling before.

“I guess that's where we're going then,” Sasuke said straightening.

“Are you up for a walk?” Sakura asked looking down at the little ebony haired girl.

“Yup!” she responded cheerfully.

“Is it just me, or did she cheer up way too quickly?” Naruto whispered to the other two. Ayame remained happily oblivious of their conversation.

“Little kids do that some times. It helps them recover from distressing situations quickly,” Sakura responded.

“I never did it,” Naruto stated.

“It's not something you consciously do,” Sakura reasoned, “and yes, you did.”

“I did not,” Naruto responded defensively.

“Now isn't the time to talk about this,” Sasuke said cutting in. “Let's just try and get these two out of here,” he added, pointing to the overly curious little girl.

“Why were you fighting with him?” Ayame asked Sakura, as Naruto helped Sasuke settle the unconscious woman on his back.

“We weren't fighting,” Sakura responded innocently. Ayame looked up at her in disbelief for a moment before shrugging. “Do you know the way?” Sakura asked.

“Yup,” Ayame answered after a moment's consideration. “That way,” she said pointing to the way they had come from.

“I thought Utsuro was that way?” Sakura asked, pointing in the opposite direction.

“Okay,” Ayame said happily, spinning to head off in the direction Sakura pointed.

“So which way is it?” Naruto asked in confusion, looking between Ayame and Sakura.

“This way,” Ayame answered, pointing in the direction Sakura had steered her.

“Is it?” Sasuke asked.

“It should be,” Sakura said, looking along the road curiously.

“Let's just get out of here,” Naruto finally said. “We should probably stay off the road for a while,” he added, glancing back at the bandits.

“Right,” Sasuke said. “We need to hurry if we want to put distance between us and the bandits before they wake up; one of you should take her,” he added, pointing to Ayame.

Naruto shrugged and turned to Sakura. “You take her first, and I'll take their stuff; we'll switch if you want a break,” he said.

Sakura nodded and turned to Ayame. “You want a ride?” she asked. Ayame nodded and scampered over to Sakura. A moment later the group was off.

After getting over the initial shock of how fast her saviors were, Ayame began talking again. “How old are you?” she asked Sakura curiously.

“Thirteen,” Sakura responded.

“Wow, you're old,” Ayame stated. “I'm only five,” she added proudly.

“I am not old,” Sakura retorted. “Besides, Chi-kun is fifteen,” she added, after remembering their act. Sasuke had taken on the role of eldest once it was decided that she didn't want it, and Naruto couldn't act it.

“Who's Chi?” Ayame asked, testing out the new name.

“My brother,” Sakura responded. “He's the one carrying your mother,” she added, pointing ahead to where Sasuke was.

“Who's he?” Ayame asked pointing to Naruto.

“Our younger brother, Maki; he's twelve,” Sakura said smirking. She could still remember the fight Naruto put up when she and Sasuke had decided his age.

“Where are you from?” Ayame asked curiously.

“Up north,” Sakura answered, hoping the little girl wouldn't ask more.

“Where's your mommy?” she asked, causing Sakura to stumble slightly.

“You want me to take her?” Naruto asked falling back.

“No, I got her,” Sakura said, regaining her composure. Naruto nodded but didn't move away. After several minutes, Sakura finally responded to Ayame. “My mother died,” she answered simply.

“I'm sorry,” Ayame said, giving Sakura a slight hug, meaning of course that she nearly choked the older girl.

Naruto remained silent as they continued to move along in relative silence. Sasuke glanced back several times, but he remained stoic as ever. Admittedly, he had opened up a great deal in the two months they had been together, but he had the unfortunate tendency to relapse until Naruto beat him out of it.

“We should stop soon,” Sakura said nearly an hour later.

Ayame had fallen asleep after her run of questioning, but Sakura's voice woke her up. “Where are we?” she asked sleepily.

“We're still heading toward Utsuro,” Sakura responded. She set the little girl down and she began to hop around stretching her legs. “Set her down,” Sakura told Sasuke, “She should be waking up soon. I want to make sure she's alright.” As Sakura knelt down next to the woman, she noticed Naruto and Sasuke standing around awkwardly. She glanced up at the sky and noticed it was getting dark. “Maybe you two could get some firewood and see if there's a stream nearby,” she said to give them something to do.

The two boys nodded and took off out of the clearing. “Is she alright?” Ayame asked, crawling over to sit next to Sakura.

“She'll be fine,” Sakura responded absentmindedly.

Several minutes later, she was proved right as the woman began to stir. By the time Naruto and Sasuke reentered the clearing half an hour later, the woman was sitting, cheerfully talking with Sakura. Ayame was curled up in her lap smiling as well. “So these are your brothers?” the woman asked when they walked up. Naruto and Sasuke bowed slightly in greeting as they set down enough firewood to last the night and several fish they had caught.

“Hai,” Sakura said. “Chi and Maki,” she said pointing to Sasuke and then Naruto.

“Well thank you very much,” the woman said standing to greet them. “My name is Boke Yoha,” she added with a small bow.

“Not a problem,” Sasuke replied. “We scouted around a bit and there isn't anything for the next five or so kilometers. Unless you're in a hurry, it would probably be best to camp here for the night,” he added, looking at Sakura and Yoha.

“That's what we were planning on doing,” Yoha responded with a smile. “Ayame and I like camping; don't we sweetheart?” she said, looking down at her daughter.

“Yup!” Ayame responded happily.

“Alone?” Naruto asked incredulously.

“Of course,” Yoha said. “You can't expect to make it from Tea Country to Utsuro in just a day. Every time Ayame and I visit my sister in Degarashi we always camp a few times on the way back,” she explained.

“Degarashi?” Sakura said, “Is that the port town in Tea Country?”

“Yes,” Yoha responded. “We could have taken a ship from there to Utsuro, but I don't really like sea travel so we always take the road back on foot,” she added. “We've never had any problems with bandits before,” she said a moment later.

“Hmm…,” Sasuke responded, glancing at the other two.

“Haru said you three were just headed west; it's a good thing you came along when you did,” she added thankfully. “If you come the rest of the way with us, I can give you something in return. My husband, Mato, owns the Inn there; you'll have a place to stay in free of charge,” she said to the three.

“Oh, we wouldn't want to be trouble,” Sakura said, a bit startled by the offer.

“Trouble,” Yoha said, laughing and looking down at her daughter. “They saved us, and now they think they'll be trouble. So silly, aren't they,” she added, gaining a giggling nod from Ayame. She looked back up at the three still smiling. “I promise it'll be my pleasure to thank you. Also, if you stay long enough we could help you out a bit,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked.

“Haru said you didn't really have a destination in mind. If you'd like to take a break from traveling a bit, you'd be more than welcome in Utsuro. We can help you get jobs or at least help you figure out where you're headed,” she explained.

The three looked at each other in shock for a moment, before Sakura turned back to the woman. “Are you sure we'd be no trouble?” she asked.

“No trouble at all. You'll be more pleasant than the rest of our guests,” she added laughing lightly.

“Then I guess we're headed to Utsuro,” Sasuke said, after several moments silence. The other two turned and smiled at Yoha, nodding their agreement.

“Looks like we're going to have some fun visitors for a while,” Yoha said to Ayame. The little girl grinned up at them happily.

“You'll like it. Daddy makes really good food,” she said happily.

XXXXXXXX

“Any of you kids know anything about shinobi,” Mato asked.

“No, why do you ask?” Sakura responded. The three had entered Utsuro with Ayame and Yoha just over three weeks before. They had immediately been welcomed into the Inn by Yoha's husband, just as she said they would. Naruto and Sasuke had both proven very handy around the village. They had been kept very busy running errands and doing small odd jobs for its residents. Apparently Ayame wasn't the only child to quickly latch onto Sakura. The girl had quickly become a sought after babysitter.

“The first two rounds of the Chuunin Exam just finished up over in Kiri (Hidden Mist),” Mato replied.

“Rounds?” Naruto asked feigning confusion. He was just finishing clearing off one of the tables in the small bar beside the inn. Sasuke was lazily watching him from beside Sakura at the bar.

Mato looked up and grinned at him. “First off, I told you didn't have to do that,” he said. Naruto shrugged and continued with his job, causing Yoha to laugh at him. “Honestly, you three do enough; you can relax once in a while,” he said shaking his head at the boy. “The Chuunin Exam is held in three stages. I don't know any particulars, because I don't know much about shinobi either,” he added. “I only brought it up because four young Genin from Konoha made it into the final. Now that's pretty big because Konoha has been having some trouble, did you hear about the three Genin they lost to Sound?” he asked, gaining somber nods from Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

“Well, after that incident the Hokage placed a lot of measures to cripple Sound. Somehow; she managed to get the other five main shinobi countries to agree to ban Sound from events like the Chuunin Exam. About a year ago, when the Chuunin Exam was held in Konoha, the little rookies that made it to the final round - two of which died in that accident I mentioned - made quite the impression on those watching. Now the exam about six months ago - I can't remember where that one was held - only one Genin from Konoha made it to the final. He did well also, but from what I hear he didn't have anything as showy as those rookies did,” he explained. “Apparently of the four that made it to the finals this time, two of them made it a year ago and the other two were in that rookie group,” he added, “It should help Konoha a lot.”

“That's good, right?” Naruto asked feigning stupidity.

“Yes, that's good,” Mato said.

“I heard from my cousin - she lives in Konoha,” Yoha said shocking the three Genin. “She said the Hokage is bringing Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi when she heads over for the finals,” she added.

XXXXXXXX

Later that night, Sakura snuck into Naruto and Sasuke's room. She wasn't at all surprised to find both still awake and waiting for her near the window. She walked over and sat down on the floor below them, but she didn't want to be the first to speak.

“Who do you think made the finals?” Naruto finally asked.

“Well, two of them have to Neji and Shino. We're gone, and Shikamaru is already Chuunin,” Sasuke said.

“He said the other two were from the rookie group as well,” Sakura stated.

“Probably TenTen and Lee,” Naruto said, answering her unspoken question.

“Why?” Sasuke asked. He didn't think Lee would have recovered enough already, and he couldn't remember TenTen showing that much ability at the last exam.

“Ino and Chouji couldn't have improved enough since we've been gone. Kiba's stronger, but I doubt he made it anyway. Hinata was doing better as well, but same as Kiba,” Sakura answered.

“TenTen is a lot stronger than she seems; plus she trained with Asuma-sensei for a while, and he uses more weapons than Gai-sensei. She just happened to be put against the wrong opponent in the exam we watched. Lee improved really rapidly; he actually ran after us on that rescue mission,” Naruto said.

“Really?” Sasuke asked.

“Yeah, he showed up right after you left the clearing,” Naruto answered, not really looking the other boy in the face. Sasuke turned away guiltily, and Sakura looked between the two in confusion.

“Sasuke,” Sakura said nervously, after several minutes of silence. “About Itachi…” she added when he looked up at her.

Sasuke took in a moment to realize what the girl had said. He had been afraid she would ask about why he left. He never expected her to ask about his brother. “What about him?” he asked a bit more roughly then he meant to.

Sakura appeared a bit taken back, but she recovered rather quickly. “I don't really…,” she started before trailing off nervously.

Naruto watched her a moment before taking pity on the girl and asking for her. “You said you wanted to kill him because he killed your family. If he was let back in Konoha…” Naruto said trailing off when Sasuke settled a glare on him. “Look, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense,” he added feebly, trying to regain some of his gusto, at least this time Sasuke hadn't switched on his sharingan.

“I don't know,” Sasuke finally said. “About a week before I left, I overheard Orochimaru talking to Kabuto,” he stopped when Naruto growled lightly. The former blond looked at them apologetically, when he realized they were both watching him. “Any way,” Sasuke said, shrugging off Naruto's odd behavior. “He said, `I wonder what he would do if he learned that I was the one who killed most of his clan including his parents?' I'm not sure what the real story is, but…” he trailed off, to find both of his teammates watching him in shock.

“Sasuke,” Sakura said sympathetically, before turning away.

Naruto broke the depressing mood several minutes later. “Well that really sucks,” he said.

“Naruto,” Sakura said looking at him curiously.

“Yeah,” he said, a bit perkily.

“You know how you said you didn't use defense mechanisms,” she said.

“Eh?” Naruto responded intelligently.

“When we were talking about Ayame recovering quickly,” Sakura said to refresh his memory. Naruto nodded, but he already looked uncomfortable with the topic. “What exactly would you call what you did?” she asked.

Naruto turned away from his teammates and looked out the window. After several minutes Sakura and Sasuke realized that he had no intention of answering.

“Naruto,” Sakura began cautiously. “How much of what that woman said was true?” she finally asked. It was Sasuke's turn to be confused, but he hid it well.

“I don't remember what all she said,” Naruto finally responded.

“Everything she said you put up with,” Sakura said, catching even more of Sasuke's attention; he still hid it well.

“Sakura…,” Naruto said, before trailing off and looking away guiltily.

“Naruto, please?” Sakura said a bit pathetically.

He looked back at her and bit his lip slightly. His resolve fell when he realized that Sasuke was trying to hide the fact that he wanted answers as well. “Some of it,” he finally answered.

Sakura looked at him in shock for a moment. Once she realized what he had actually said she reached up to hit him, but Sasuke beat her to it. “Hey,” Naruto whined, looking at the older boy.

“I answered; now you answer,” he said, glaring at Naruto.

The former blond pouted slightly, before turning back to Sakura. “What all did she mention?” he asked honestly.

“Hateful looks, hate notes and threats, beatings, and complete ignorance,” Sakura said a bit bluntly.

“Yeah,” Naruto responded. When Sakura and Sasuke glared at him, he rolled his eyes. “It's true; what else do you want me to say?” he asked in annoyance.

“I don't get it,” Sakura said, “Why?”

Naruto looked at her for a moment, before his eyes grew a bit fearful. “Sakura, you do understand and remember what she told you, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, but that's why it doesn't make sense. If Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi in you, aren't you… like a hero?” she asked.

“Yeah, but no one really understands the seal. As far as they're concerned, I'm not the host; I am the Kyuubi,” Naruto explained.

“Well that's stupid,” Sasuke mumbled, causing Naruto to roll his eyes.

After several more minutes Sakura got a confused look on her face and turned to Naruto. “When did you learn about it?” she asked him. Naruto blinked at her in confusion. “I mean I'd assume Sandaime-sama would have told you at some point. He would have had to explain the seal to you, explain about the Kyuubi's chakra, how it would affect you and everything. Right?” she asked when she noticed Naruto staring at her blankly.

“Ummm…” he responded smartly. “Actually, Mizuki-sensei told me,” he finally said scratching the back of his head.

“How did he know about it?” Sasuke asked.

“I think all of the adults pretty much know about it,” Naruto responded shrugging.

“But why Mizuki-sensei? He wasn't even your primary sensei,” Sakura said in confusion.

“Well, I don't think he was supposed to tell me,” Naruto answered.

“Oh,” Sakura said. “Was Iruka-sensei gone on that day?” she asked. Sasuke on the other hand, seemed to have realized what Naruto was hinting at.

“How old were you when you learned?” he asked.

Naruto glared at him half-heartedly. “Twelve,” he mumbled.

Sakura looked at him in horror for a moment. “Wait a minute,” she said. “We graduated just like right after you turned twelve,” she added. “Why weren't you told when you started at the academy? How on earth did you manage to graduate? The seal probably did all sorts of things to your chakra control, and,” she trailed off when she noticed Naruto looking at her in a slightly bemused fashion.

“Umm…, technically I never passed the exam. Iruka-sensei passed me after I learned Kage Bunshin,” he said.

“So you failed it three times?” Sakura asked.

“Yeah, I finally learned Henge correctly before the third one, but then Bunshin ended up being the final again,” he said pouting slightly.

“What do you mean `again'?” Sasuke asked. “Aren't the finals supposed to rotate every year?”

“I don't know,” Naruto responded.

“Wait,” Sakura said, “How did you take the Exam twice before taking it with us?”

“Eh?” Naruto asked.

“Well, Sandaime changed the rules after the war with Iwa (Hidden Stone) ended. Academy students take the exam at the end of their sixth year, for the most part that's when you're twelve. You can only take it early if a teacher recommends you or you're parents sign a special form,” she said.

“Ummm…” Naruto said, looking at them in confusion. “I'm special,” he added lamely, hoping to avoid further questions.

“How old were you when you started at the Academy?” Sakura asked.

“About four?” Naruto responded nervously.

“Four?” Sakura hissed out. The former blond scratched the back of his head in his normal nervous gesture. “What were they thinking?” she added.

“They were thinking they could train a very powerful weapon,” Sasuke muttered.

Naruto shrugged in agreement. “Guess I sorta of ruined their plans,” he joked half-heartedly.

“So why did Mizuki-sensei tell you?” she asked in confusion.

“I think it was because he thought I wouldn't survive the night,” Naruto responded. Both of his teammates turned to look at him in confusion. “Look, after I failed the exam, Mizuki-sensei told me that there was another way to pass. I was stupid and desperate so I bought it,” he explained.

“What did he tell you to do?” Sakura asked.

“He told me that if I stole the scroll of forbidden seals and learned one move out of it, I could graduate,” Naruto answered.

“You actually managed to steal it?” Sakura asked.

“Yeah, that's where I learned Kage Bunshin,” Naruto answered. “Anyways, right after Iruka-sensei caught me, Mizuki-sensei showed up. He tried to kill me; he hurt Iruka-sensei; he told me about the Kyuubi; and then I created a thousand kage bunshins, and we kicked his ass,” Naruto finished quickly.

“He told you about Kyuubi?” Sasuke asked.

Naruto glared at the Uchiha. “Okay, so he told me I was the Kyuubi. I kind of figured out the rest of it later when Jiraiya told me about it,” Naruto added.

“You had to wait until Jiraiya explained it to you,” Sakura stated doubtfully. “Why didn't Kakashi-sensei tell you anything?” she asked. Naruto shrugged in response and didn't offer any suggestions.

“Wow, how is our village considered one of the five greatest?” Sakura asked.

“At least our village sealed the Kyuubi because it was attacking,” Naruto responded.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Think about Gaara,” Naruto said. “He is way more messed up than I am,” he explained.

Agent's Spiel: Just a few notes on the timing in this chapter:

The first two scenes are the night after the funeral. They basically take place at the same time as Rin, Kakashi, and Itachi's scene in Chapter 18. If you really want to know the exact date, it is December 11.

The next two scenes take place about a month later. For those who wish to know: it is the middle January.

Three weeks later is, early February.

Three weeks after that, end of February, beginning of March.

Easy, right? If not, leave me a note.

The thing about the Genin Exams and Academy is for this fic. I'm not completely sure how it works in Naruto. A friend told me they enter the academy at six, but I have never been able to figure out Naruto's whole failing thing. This is my explanation.