Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Imouto Trilogy :: Hatake :: Even After All These Years ❯ Chapter 6: The Shopkeeper ( Chapter 6 )

A/N: Eh, well, not too much happens in this chapter, and yet at the same time a lot does (grins). It's kind of a filler chapter because it mainly details Naruto's training, but it is very important for the development of the story. You'll see what I mean. Anyways, please read, review, and enjoy. Ja ne.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

 

Claimer: I do own Kyomi and the story plot.

 

(1) - You can find a picture of what these look like on my profile, under the "Pics" section.

(2) - Ame no Kuni means Land of Rain (Rain Country).

(3) - He's talking about the Cloak of Invisibility jutsu that academy students are taught. It allows a shinobi to to take a cloak or a piece of cloth and blend into an object, making them invisible. It's the same one that Konohamaru uses--badly--when he looks like a square rock with eye holes, cloaks that are incorrectly patterned or the wrong way round, etc.

(4) - These two jutsu are ones that I came up with myself, so the names might be a little off. I'm fairly sure that "muon" does translate literally to "soundless", but for other one I literally just took "miotosu", which means "to fail to notice", and "nioi", which means smell/odor, and put them together. If anyone who knows Japanese can correct this, please pm or email me!

(5) - Ninken are ninja dogs, like Pakkun.

 

Thanks to my beta reader, BattleStations!

 

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Even After All These Years

 

Chapter 6

The Shopkeeper

 

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One week. It had been one week since Naruto had met Kyomi. One week since he had become her apprentice. One week since he'd started his training.

 

And Naruto was exhausted.

 

With a groan, Naruto pulled himself out of bed. He ached all over, in places that he hadn't even known had muscles. Kyomi's training was intense, easily up to ANBU level. She expected not perfection, but better than Naruto's best, even if she had to yank it out of him. Naruto had no doubt that any normal person in his position would already be in the hospital from chakra exhaustion and physical exhaustion. After all, if Naruto was barely able to keep up even with his advanced healing rate and boundless amount of energy...Well, that really said something about Kyomi's training regimen.

 

Naruto stumbled into his shower and turned the cold water on at full blast. He gasped as the icy cold water met his skin, and then sighed as it began to work the knots out of his muscles. It might be different than the relaxing feeling of a hot shower, but it certainly did the trick in the mornings.

 

During the first few days under Kyomi, Naruto had worked on the doton jutsu. This wasn't as simple as it sounded however, as Kyomi had had him practice it over and over and over, until Naruto had expanded his control and the size and number of rocks that he could use. By the end of the third day, Naruto had just about mastered the jutsu, being able to lift the largest boulders in Training Ground #24 for nearly an hour straight--testing that had been a pain to go through.

 

After that Kyomi had stated him on physical conditioning. She'd also given him weights to wear at all times on his forearms and calves. They reminded him a bit of Rock Lee's, but they looked more like black metal bracers and were currently a lot lighter(1). That was to be expected though, since Lee was a Taijutsu freak in every meaning of the word and had been wearing weights for years.

 

The physical conditioning that Naruto had to go through consisted mostly of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, laps, etc., though Kyomi also spent about an hour a day having a hell of time using multiple Kage Bunshin--which Naruto was shocked to find out that she knew--to throw kunai at him. Kyomi claimed that it was to help increase his reaction time and hone his instincts, but Naruto swore that he also heard her mutter something about keeping her own skills in shape. The vicious smirk that she wore during the exercise didn't exactly help to reassure Naruto either.

 

At the end of everyday, Kyomi and Naruto would finish up with a sparring session or, as Naruto preferred to call it, His-Face's-Quality-Time-with-Mr.-Ground-and-Mrs.-Tree. Naruto swore that if it wasn't for the Kyuubi no Kitsune, he'd probably just look like one big bruise at the end of the day. Naruto was, however, proud to be able to say that he could go head to head with a solo ANBU in a Taijutsu match and hold his own for at least a little while. Granted, Kyomi was holding back quite a bit--he probably be dead if she didn't--but she certainly wasn't coddling him either. He still had bruises to testify to that.

 

Naruto, however, despite the harshness of the training regimen, just couldn't find it within himself to complain. This was the first time that he'd ever had someone who focused their entire attention and time on him. Even Iruka had had a whole class to take care of and the Sandaime, as kind as he'd been, had had an entire village to watch over. Kyomi may have been a slave driver of a sensei, but she was his sensei.

 

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One week. Kyomi couldn't believe that it'd already been one week since she'd taken Naruto up as her apprentice. And he was already improving. She could see him growing everyday and even Kakashi had once commented to her that he could see little improvements in Naruto when they went on their D-class missions. It wasn't enough yet for the blonde's teammate to notice--if they even bothered to look at all that is--but it was there. And today, well, Kyomi had a surprise for Naruto.

 

Speak of the devil--or perhaps demon was more appropriate in this case-- at that moment Kyomi heard footsteps approaching. A smirk on her face, Kyomi crouched down lower on the branch she was standing on. She was currently in Training Ground #59-- which was where she had told Naruto they were meeting today--and it had a rainforest terrain, actually not too dissimilar from what one would find in Ame no Kuni(2). Kyomi was switching from training ground to training ground to get Naruto acclimated to fighting in different regions and to learn to use the terrain to his advantage without prior knowledge of, but today this also worked well in her favor because the thick foliage hid her well.

 

It had become a bit of a game/training exercise for Naruto to have to try to find Kyomi each day before the actual training began. Naruto was getting a lot better at it--and becoming much more observant at the same time--but he had yet to really find Kyomi without her giving him a clue or two. Still, he had only had six different tries so far.

 

It was then that Naruto came into view, looking warily around him. He was walking slowly, cautiously, looking for any signs of a human's passing. Kyomi couldn't help but snicker slightly. Despite all of his attempts, Naruto still stood out far too easily. Oh well, though, she planned on fixing that little problem today anyway.

 

After another minute or so of watching Naruto, Kyomi saw him stop at the base of the tree that she was sitting in. He crouched down, examining a barely visible footprint that Kyomi had purposely left. It was almost invisible and most Genin and Chuunin probably wouldn't have noticed it, unless specifically trained in tracking. Kyomi smirked lightly as Naruto looked up into the tree that she was in, searching for some other sign of her. This little exercise was good not only to make Naruto more observant and aware of his surroundings, but also to increase his tracking skills. As time went on, Kyomi would start leaving less and less clues for Naruto and make herself harder and harder to find. This meant that eventually, in a few months or so, Naruto would also have pretty good skills as a tracker.

 

Finally deciding that it was enough, Kyomi leapt from her hiding spot and appeared behind Naruto. Hearing the slight rustle, the Genin whirled around and came face to face with his grinning sensei.

 

"Good afternoon, Hige-kun!" the silver haired kunoichi chirped.

 

Naruto bowed slightly, a smile--though one tinged with frustration at still not being able to find his sensei--on his face. "Hello, Kyomi-sensei."

 

"Today," Kyomi began, getting straight to the point as she usually did. "We're going to be doing something a bit different before we get started." Naruto blinked in surprise, but Kyomi didn't wait for him to say anything and instead threw her fist up into the air. "We're going shopping!"

 

Naruto's jaw dropped and he stared at his sensei like she'd grown a second head. "...W-what? Why?!"

 

Kyomi grinned widely at her apprentice's reaction. "Yes," she said, growing a bit more serious. "For you stealth."

 

Naruto blinked again. "...Huh?"

 

Kyomi sighed. "You're wearing orange, Hige-kun. I know that you did it for attention, but you're a shinobi and will probably be a Chuunin soon. Wearing orange will point you out to enemies, no matter how good your stealth skill are, and make you a walking target." Kyomi frowned down at Naruto. "I'm not going to train anyone just to have them killed because of their clothes. Remember, Hige-kun, you're a shinobi, not a samurai."

 

Naruto understood--and even agreed with--what she was saying, but a panicked light still entered his eyes. "But what about the villagers? If they see me change so suddenly, they'll probably wonder what happened! They'll probably jump to conclusions and think that the Kyuubi no Kitsune has something to do with it...!"

 

Kyomi rested her chin in her hand and stared off into space for a moment, thinking. "I'll make you a deal then," she said after a moment. Naruto raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering what she was talking about. "You can still wear your orange outfit, but you're to change into your new clothes for training with me, and for any C-class and above missions that you go on, especially if they're out of the village."

 

Naruto thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "Alright," he said with a grin. "I promise to do that."

 

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Kyomi and Naruto walked slowly down a main road in the shopping district. Seeing that someone was with Naruto, the majority of the villagers just turned around and blatantly ignored the two. There were, of course, a couple of people--most of them older--who glared, but neither the sensei nor the apprentice paid them any mind.

 

Or at least, on the outside they didn't. On the inside, Kyomi was fuming. She had understood that some people didn't like Naruto because of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, but this was insane! Just about everyone on this street acted as though Naruto didn't even exist and those that did looked at him like he was Satan himself! It was absolutely disgusting. And yet, Kyomi couldn't do anything about it. Well, perhaps she could prepare him and make him a good shinobi. As far as she could see, that'd probably be the only thing that would ever change people's views...This put a whole new perspective on what she was doing for Naruto.

 

"So," Naruto said after a little while, eyeing the people around them from the corners of his eyes. "Exactly...where...are we going to go...'cause...you know..."

 

"Don't worry," Kyomi said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I know the perfect place to go to; it's where I get most of my equipment from." Naruto nodded, but he still wasn't completely convinced.

 

Not a minute later, Kyomi steered them down onto a lesser used side street, where only a handful of people were milling about. Then, abruptly, she stopped in front of a small, dark, dusty little store. Naruto, who had continued forward a few steps, turned back around and then gave the store a dubious look.

 

"Here?" he asked incredulously.

 

Kyomi flashed him a grin. "Looks can be deceiving, remember?" she said with a wink. Naruto shrugged, but still looked warily at the store; it didn't even have a name displayed outside!

 

Regardless of all of his misgivings, Naruto followed quickly behind Kyomi as she entered the store noiselessly. The inside of the store turned out to be exactly what the outside suggested. It was dark and cramped, with shelves that seemed to hold nothing of any real value to shinobi or civilians, and certainly nothing that he would ever consider buying himself. Naruto opened his mouth and turned from where he'd been inspecting the shop to question Kyomi, only to find that she was already making her way toward the dusty old counter in the back of the store.

 

Naruto immediately hurried after her, twitching slightly as a rat came out of a dusty corner and ran across his path. It disappeared into a hole in the floorboards soon after. 'Looks can be deceiving?' Naruto couldn't help but think sarcastically. 'I'm seeing the looks part, but not the deceiving part...'

 

As he approached where Kyomi was standing, Naruto saw that there was someone behind the counter that he hadn't noticed before; the shopkeeper probably. He was a scarred older man, with graying hair, a crooked nose, and a pointed little goatee. Sharp black eyes focused on Naruto as the blonde stopped next to Kyomi. The man's face raked over Naruto for a moment before apparently dismissing him and turning back to Kyomi. The man's face then split into a grin, surprising Naruto.

 

"Back already, Hatake-san?" the man said with a rough voice. "It's usually a few months before I see you again, not a few days. And I'm sure that it's not because my products were defective..."

 

Kyomi waved her hand dismissively. "No, of course not," she replied. "The weights are just fine, of course."

 

At this, Naruto froze. Weights? She meant that his weights came from this place? Naruto glanced around the small shop again. He just couldn't believe that his weights--which were of very good make and quality--came from here. It just didn't add up. Naruto turned his attention back to the shopkeeper and Kyomi just in time to hear the older man let out a cackling laugh.

 

"So this is your, apprentice, eh?" the shopkeeper said. Then, with agility and speed belying his age, the man nimbly leapt around the counter and stood in front of Naruto, studying him. "Not bad," he muttered appraisingly. "You'll need a little work of course, but I think that you'll turn out to be a fine shinobi with time."

 

"Hige-kun," Kyomi put in. "This is Kenmaru-san. He used to be a fairly well-known shinobi before he retired and opened up this shop."

 

"Yes, yes," Kenmaru said with a toothy grin. "I just got too old for all that death business. And after my team died..." Suddenly Kenmaru was on the other side of the room, heading for a door in the back corner. "Well, come on, come on, we can't stand around chatting all day." Kyomi followed the older man and, blinking, Naruto did too.

 

The door opened up to a hall just as dark and dusty as the rest of the shop. Naruto was wary about entering such an enclosed space, but Kyomi seemed completely relaxed and so he trusted her. The hall was fairly short and after only a few feet they passed through another door.

 

The room on the other side of this door was the exact opposite of the rest of the store. It was clean and well lit, filled with racks and shelves of quality, items, clothing, explosive notes, etc. Off to the side, Naruto saw a collection of different sized weights that appeared to be of the same make as the ones that he himself was currently wearing. Multiple cases against the walls held weapons of all sorts, including many that Naruto had never seen before. For example, how the heck was a spiked ball attached to a chain a weapon? Kenmaru and Kyomi headed over to the clothing section first, with a wide-eyed Naruto trailing along behind.

 

Stopping in front of a rack, Kenmaru clasped his hands in front of him and spoke. "So," he said to Kyomi. "What exactly are you looking for?"

 

"Well," Kyomi replied. "Dark colors for stealth. Preferably the formfitting material, to remove the hazards of loose clothing catching on things...But also lots of pouches and pockets for storage."

 

As she finished, Kenmaru raised an eyebrow, "So basically ANBU issue stuff?" Kyomi shrugged in reply so Kenmaru just turned to the racks of clothing and began randomly--at least to Naruto--pulling things out, murmuring to himself all the while. Once he was done, he shoved a pile of clothing into Naruto's arms and pushed the boy toward what appeared to be a small dressing room in the corner of the room, telling the blonde to try everything on. Naruto couldn't help but sigh.

 

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A half an hour later found Naruto with a new outfit. Staring at himself in a mirror at the back of the room while Kyomi and Kenmaru talked in the background, the blonde was shocked at how different he appeared. He was now wearing a long-sleeved, high-necked black shirt that clung to his body like a second skin. Despite its apparent tightness however, when Naruto twisted and stretched it wasn't constricting at all; it felt almost as though he wasn't wearing it at all. Naruto was also now wearing a pair of black pants similar to Kyomi's. They were, however, tucked into a pair of soft-soled, knee-high black combat boots. Naruto would have expected the boots to make a lot more noise than the normal shinobi sandals, but, surprisingly, they made no noise as he walked. The final touch to the outfit was the pair of black fingerless gloves that adorned his hands. He was, of course, also wearing his weights over the outfit, though they just appeared to be metal bracers over his forearms and the legs ones were hidden beneath his boots, and there was a belt with multiple pouches attached around his waist.

 

"You like the material?" a voice behind Naruto suddenly rasped, causing said blonde to whirl around. Kenmaru just grinned at him and then turned his attention back to the clothing that Naruto was wearing. "There are small amounts of mesh wire woven into the material. This making the clothing more durable, much more difficult to be torn--be it from battle or wear--, and just generally last a lot longer." Naruto stared down at the material covering his upper torso, legs, and hands in surprise. There was metal in it?! "Also," Kenmaru continued. "This makes the material waterproof, so soggy clothing will never be a problem." Kenmaru cackled then and before wandering back to where Kyomi was standing, looking at some items on the shelves. Naruto couldn't help but wonder just how many marbles the man had left.

 

"Is there anything else you'd like to get?" Kenmaru asked Kyomi.

 

The silver haired kunoichi tapped her lower lip in thought. "Hmm, how about a full set of kunai, shuriken, and explosive notes?"

 

The old shopkeeper nodded and then flitted around the room, picking up a couple of boxes. He dumped them into Naruto's arms and then turned to face Kyomi once more.

 

"Shall I just add it all to your tab?"

 

Kyomi nodded, but Naruto immediately protested, speaking up for the first time since he'd entered the store. "Kyomi-sensei!" he said. "You can't...I mean, I won't...Yo-you just can't pay for all of this for me!"

 

Kyomi, however, just waved him off, chuckling slightly. "Of course I can. You're my student after all." Naruto spluttered for another minute, but neither Kyomi nor Kenmaru paid him any mind.

 

"Would you like to have the, ah, other items delivered to you house?"

 

"Yes," Kyomi nodded and then she began walking towards the door. "Thank you for your help Kenmaru-san."

 

The older man just cackled. "Good day Hatake-san, Uzumaki-san." Naruto found himself walking a bit quicker after Kyomi, the content of the boxes in his arms clacking, only barely muted by his old clothes which had been stuffed haphazardly inside them.

 

As soon as Naruto and Kyomi had stepped out of the store and back onto the street, Naruto shot Kyomi a curious look. "Other items?"

 

Kyomi shrugged and then gave a mysterious smile. "Just a couple of other things that I ordered." Not allowing Naruto to question further, Kyomi continued on, "Go and deliver those boxes to your apartment and then meet me back at Training Ground #59. Oh, and it'll be a new exercise for you to use all of your stealth to get to and from training, since you don't want people to recognize you."

 

"Will everything I do now be some sort of training?" Naruto grumbled.

 

Kyomi's ringing laughter was his reply.

 

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A few hours later found a panting Naruto with sweat running down his face standing before a grinning Kyomi. They had just finished up with their daily session of Throw-Sharp-Things-at-the-Blonde and Naruto was amazed at how well the material of his new clothes had stood up; he'd been hit multiple times--he was getting better at avoiding the kunai, but still wasn't there quite yet--but didn't had a scratch on him.

 

"Well," Kyomi said while Naruto caught his breath--the damned ANBU hadn't even broken a sweat!--"Next we're going to start working on a new jutsu." Naruto immediately perked up at this news and focused all of his attention on Kyomi. He didn't say anything--he'd learned a while ago not to interrupt when she was speaking; he winced at the very memory--but instead stood quietly. "It's a stealth jutsu--because your stealth is what we're going to be working on next--called Kakuremino no Jutsu (Cloak of Invisibility Technique)."

 

For a moment, Naruto wasn't sure if he'd heard right. "Umm...Kyomi-sensei..." he began tentatively.”Isn't that the E-class jutsu that we're taught in the academy...?"(3)

 

Kyomi smirked. "No, but that jutsu is a very basic version of it. The version that you'll be learning is a B-class jutsu. It does basically the same things as the E-class version, only you're using your chakra to basically bend the light around yourself to blend in with your surrounding. It makes you "invisible", though its best used in low-light situations. If you're in an area with a lot of light your form will shimmer slightly, giving you away. One other good thing about this jutsu though is that it is a Ninjutsu, not a Genjutsu, so bloodlines like the Byakuugan or Sharingan cannot see through it. It does not, however, mask your sound or scent."

 

Naruto looked at her wide eyed. That meant that you could use it while moving? That would be incredibly useful! Especially if you were using it at night there was no end to the uses for it...Immediately different pranks began running through his mind. And with this jutsu no one would be able to catch him!

 

As if sensing his thoughts, Kyomi frowned. "Just remember that this is a B-class jutsu. It takes a lot of effort and chakra control to maintain. It'll probably be a while before you're able to hold it for more than a few seconds." Naruto sighed at that, but Kyomi continued as if she hadn't heard him. "In tandem with this jutsu, I'll also begin teaching you Muon no Jutsu (Soundless Technique) and Miotosu Nioi no Jutsu (Fail to Notice Smell Technique)(4). These are both B-class stealth jutsu. Muon no Jutsu creates a void of sound around you so that you become, just as the name says, soundless. Miotosu Nioi no Jutsu does basically the same thing, only with your scent. These three jutsu together make for the perfect stealth. Of course, as is with Kakuremino no Jutsu, it takes a lot of effort and chakra control to maintain.

 

"To start off with," Kyomi continued, "I'll have you memorize the handseals for Kakuremino no Jutsu. Then for today you'll work on getting the jutsu down pat before we begin our daily spar. From tomorrow on you'll practice mastering the jutsu by attempting to hide from me for as long as possible." Kyomi grinned. "Think of it as an advanced game of hide-and-go-seek. Once I believe that you're proficient with the jutsu I'll teach you Muon no Jutsu and Miotosu Nioi no Jutsu. At that point I'll summon some of my Ninken(5) for you to try to hide from."

 

Naruto nodded and then blinked. "Wait, you have Ninken? Like Kakashi?"

 

Kyomi smirked. "Yes," she answered. "The summoning contract is an heirloom of the Hatake Clan."

 

"So then you can summon Pakkun and stuff?"

 

Kyomi chuckled slightly. "I could, but I don't. Pakkun is Kakashi-nii-kun's dog, and a part of the pack that he trained. I have my own pack of Ninken which I trained from when they were young."

 

Naruto's mouth made an "O" in understanding. "'Kay then, can I start learning the jutsu?"

 

"Alright," Kyomi said, placing her hands before her. "Let's get to it!"

 

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Preview of Chapter 7:The Team

 

Naruto sighed again. Yep, he'd figured when he saw the scroll that Kyomi had had to go on a mission again. This had happened two times before and, fortunately, both times she hadn't been gone for very long at all. Naruto did, however, grin when he read the part about his "final exam".

 

This was awesome! Not only would he get to start on a new jutsu if he passed--and get something else too, apparently--but the exam itself was something that he loved to do anyway! Naruto's grin took on a slightly vicious quality that was surprisingly similar to Kyomi's own. Because of their extra sharp senses and their dogs themselves, Naruto had never been able to prank that Inuzuka clan.

 

This would be fun.