Naruto : Struggle Of Childhood

The Bridge Builder's Daughter

"That was really stupid, but it was kinda funny," Sai commented.

Sai still wore black. All black, and nothing but black. Even though they were supposed to look poor and ragged, his stuff didn't show any sign of ill use, possibly because of some ink that he had used to cover things up. He had never lost his habit of not lying, but he had learned when to keep his mouth shut. Frequent beatings from Sakura must have taught him something.

"It wasn't that funny when Tsunade almost kept us training until we were fifteen," Sasuke said, "I was afraid we'd never leave."

Sasuke was wearing a dingy blue shirt and tan pants, and was lying on the only couch. His hair still looked like a cockatoo, and he still had his obsession with tomatoes. He hadn't activated the Sharingan yet, a fact that really annoyed him. He had been wanting to leave since he was ten, if only to get into a situation that was life threatening enough for him to activate it.

"We would leave, don't over dramatize things," Sakura cut in.

Sakura had kept her hair short, and now she wore it without bangs. Naruto assumed that she was daring anyone to say something about her forehead. She wore a sleeveless red shirt and some tan shorts. She was if anything, more violent then ever, but Naruto wouldn't have on his life have told her that. Tsunade had once said that she had the potential to surpass her. Naruto believed it.

"What do you want to tell her?" Kimimaro asked, "we could describe just what this place looks like."

Kimimaro no longer had the red marks under his eyes, according to Tsunade it had been one of the many signs of having Tainted Blood. His hair was still long, but now he wore it in a style that resembled Tsunade's. He always seemed to be drinking milk, which made sense considering his kekkei genkai. He also had developed a love of freaking people out. Sometimes he would take out his bones and play with them just to see the revolted looks on the others face. Naruto would never be able to get over the times where he pulled his spinal cord out.

"If we do that, well probably have Tsunade marching up to take us back," Hinata pointed out, "When she suggested that we go here, she didn't know that it was run by Gato. Even if it's a perfect cover, she'll probably think it's too dangerous."

Hinata had grown her hair out long again, letting it fall past her shoulders. Her eyes also had the genjutsu to make them appear brown, and she had a love for a jacket and baggy pants. She was leaning against one of the walls, looking at the ceiling.

"Hinata's right," Haku said, "We should tell her that everything's fine here if we want to stay."

Haku, mostly because of the fact that money was scarce and the others managed to get the more masculine clothes, wore his hair down and a simple looking yukata. He hated to be mistaken for a girl, but he had taken to a sort of resigned acceptance of his fate. He was prettier then most girls, and he would probably spend half of his life explaining to men that he was in fact just a male as they were.

Everyone nodded their assent to Haku's comment. This was the first time they had been allowed to do anything on their own since they came unto Tsunade's protection, and it was a bit of a thrill. Actually, it was only because of Jiraiya's insistence that they were all at least twelve now, so they should be allowed to go on missions like every other ninja their age. Tsunade had chosen to send them to Wave Country because in her time it had been a quiet place where the most they would do was get plenty of exercise chasing the local cats.