Becoming

Part 2

Naruto entered the gates of Konoha, Jiraiya close behind. He was anxious to see Tsunade and places he used to go, but also dreaded seeing people that could recognize him. He didn't want to see those hateful expressions, see the looks of disgust.

Suddenly, someone ran headfirst into Naruto's legs. Naruto and whatever, or whoever it was that had hit him, both went tumbling. Naruto's head hit a wall and he winced as Jiraiya looked on in amazement. The blond sat up rubbing his head, eyes falling on the boy who was lying on top of him, looking dazed.
"Whoa!" the boy jumped up. "I didn't see you."
"That's okay," Naruto responded. "And who are you?" He stood and looked down at the boy who was looking everywhere but at him.
"Konohamaru," he said distractedly.
"Something wrong?" Naruto asked, looking where the boy was. Nothing jumped out at him, but then, he didn't know what to look for.
"Nothing's wrong," Konohamaru muttered, "I just seem to have misplaced a cat."
"How do you misplace a cat?" Naruto wondered aloud. "What does it look like? Maybe I could help you."
"Would you?" Konohamaru asked excitedly. "It's gray. I think. I'm pretty sure it is. You know, one with darker and lighter stripes?"
"Got it. Let's try finding it." Naruto set his pace to Konohamaru's, staying silent when the boy would call the name "Fluffy". Not only would that be embarrassing, but he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to himself.
"Naruto," a familiar voice said. Naruto whirled, expecting to see some of his old friends, but was relieved when he saw it was only Tsunade.
"Tsunade," Naruto said, smiling. "It's nice to see you again."
"You too, Naruto," Tsunade said. "I was wondering when you'd get here. I see you're helping Konohamaru with his failed mission."
Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, well, he reminded me of someone."
"Oh, I bet he did," Tsunade responded, remembering just how much trouble Naruto had been when he was dropped off at her place all those years ago. "Konohamaru was supposed to babysit Fluffy while the owner was away for the week, and he and his group let him out on accident."
"Ah. So that was how he misplaced the cat, eh?" Naruto said, ruffling Konohamaru's hair. The boy looked from the current Hokage to stranger.
"You know the Hokage?" he finally asked, looking back and forth, bewildered expression on his face. He obviously wasn't used to people speaking so familiarly with his Hokage.
"Of course," Naruto said, hand still on the boy's head. "Tsunade was one of the ones who raised me. Jiraiya's another."
Konohamaru's eyes widened. "The Legendary Sannin raised you?"
"Two of them."
"That's so cool!" Konohamaru shouted, and suddenly ran off. Naruto stared after him, a little confused.
"He's probably gone to tell his friends. Don't worry about it," Tsunade said, patting his shoulder.
"Why does he know about you guys? I thought the younger generation didn't know." Naruto hadn't known while he was still in Konoha. He just thought only the adults knew.
"He's a curious kid," the blonde woman answered with a shrug. Tsunade and Naruto found Jiraiya where Naruto had left him, and began walking to Tsunade's office.
"Naruto?" a soft voice said from behind. Naruto nearly groaned. He'd know that voice anywhere; no matter how it had changed in the years he'd been gone. He turned.
"Hey Hinata, Neji."