𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚡:𝚊𝚑,𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚒𝚛
Naruto and Jiraiya were speechless as they listened to Nagato. All Jiraiya could think about was despair. He hadn't known such a thing happened to the three students, and realized that even if he went now, it was already too late.
Other memories flashed through, most were when he started taking the girl in as an apprentice, to when they went to get Tsunade. He felt how attached Naruto was to his future self, so much like a daughter would to a father.
The last one, Naruto was seventeen, when she met her mother, Kushina. He watched as they interacted, before it started getting serious. Kushina told her what happened on the day of her birth, and how―why―the Nine Tails attacked the village. Jiraiya's face turned hard, and stayed that way until he was the only one left.
Do you understand now?" He turned to face the thirteen year old version of Naruto, her face calm and emotionless. "I made you watch this to see a little of what happened in the future, and what's going to happen in a little under two years. I want to save Nagato and Konan. I want them to change their way of trying to grab peace, but I need your help in doing so."
"How?"
Naruto held the sealing paper they used, burning it to ashes with her chakra. Her eyes seemed to shine more azure as she looked at the blue flames, before shifting them to his.
"I want to go on a training trip with you."
The white haired man's eyes widened, before his eyebrows knit together, "Training trip?"
She nodded, "For five months, starting one month after the Jounin Exams ended. In that time, I wish for you to train me in the sealing arts, and to convince Nagato. I can't go on my own, nor can I just suddenly appear with a bunch of ninjas he doesn't know. You're the best person to go with. Would you do it?"
"As long as we'd have enough time to go to the bathhouses, yes."
Naruto's eyes squinted in suspicion. He never agreed so easily before. "Are you sure?"
Jiraiya rolled his eyes, waving a hand dismissively at her. "Positive. Besides, I'll take you on as an apprentice later in the future, wouldn't I? Easier to get it done with now, and besides, judging from what I said in your memories, having you around didn't sound too bad. It would also be good to grab Tsunade on the way."
She couldn't help it. Naruto threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his stomach tightly as she resisted the urge to cry.
She missed her godfather so much.
Jiraiya softened his gaze as he patted her head lightly.
Naruto looked around feeling nostalgic as she listened to the waterfall, and rolled her eyes at the perverted sage who was discreetly watching a bunch of women playing in the pool. "Oi! Ero―I mean, Jiraiya-sensei!"
He looked back and nodded in satisfaction. He sighed, "Right, the Toad Summoning Contract." Jiraiya flashed his hands to seals, bit is thumb, and slammed the ground.In a puff of smoke, Gama appeared with the scroll, passing it to the Sage. He unraveled it before leaving the long contract on the dry, rocky floor. "I'm sure you know what to do?"
Yep." She bit and drew blood on her thumb, using it as ink. She wrote her name neatly, impressing the white haired man.
"Hm, why would you need me to train you in the sealing arts anyways? You seem good enough to be able to make your own like the one you used on me before. I haven't seen anything like that."
She looked up at him from the scroll, "I haven't mastered it though. That seal was done with the help of the furball, after all. I didn't make it myself. I'll need it later on in case something happened to him." Naruto's gaze turned sad at the idea. Jiraiya nodded in understanding of what she meant. They were still in public, so they had to be careful of their words.
"Alright, so you try summoning a toad, and we'll have some lunch later after a while of training, got it?"
She saluted, "Yes, sir!"
The two could now be seen walking down the streets. Jiraiya looked down to the bubbly twelve year old who was ignorant to the whispers around them.
"Jiraiya-sama's walking with Minato-sama's sister! And they seemed like they were training!"
"Well, duh! They are ninja. Learn her name, idiot! It's Naruto-sama!"
Said girl was busy smiling, eyes crinkling upwards, "Ero-sennin! Can we go eat some dango for dessert?" More rushed whispers surrounded them.
Jiraiya bopped her head, "Its Jiraiya-sensei, brat!" He sighed, "Sure. You'll pay for your own though." A whole lot more excited whispers exploded.
"Did he just…?"
"Oh my gosh, is he taking her on as his student?"
Naruto groaned as she patted her wallet, "Aw, man!" She tugged on his sleeve, her pout returning to a grin. "They're doing a sale anyways!"
Jiraiya twitched his eye as he watched the girl vacuumed up the dango off her fourth stick. "You'll get fat if you eat like that, are you even sure you have enough money?"
Naruto swallowed loudly, "Yup! They're thirty percent off today; something about the owner's birthday." She looked around, "Occhan! Three more mitarashi sticks please!"
The man behind the counter smiled as he waved a hand, "Comin' right up!"
Jiraiya snapped his fingers in front of her face, gaining the blonde's attention after the waiter left the plate on their table. "I want to know one thing before we do everything else." She nodded as she brought the dessert up to her lips. "Did―was Orochimaru found guilty of anything?"
Her hand stopped, before she placed the dango stick back down on the plate. She flicked her blue eyes around the room, and saw that there weren't many people sitting close enough to hear them. The customers were also too busy in on their conversations, so she looked back at the man, her blue eyes reflecting the light. "He was caught doing many experiments on clan children. He managed to flee from Konoha, after the Third failed to stop him." Naruto combed her hair with her fingers, running it down. "A few years after dad was named Fourth Hokage, the Sandaime found out about his lab, and fought him." Naruto's hands shook as she gripped her blonde locks, her face twisted in anger.
"That snake wanted the hokage title, seeing it as power, but after someone else took the role, he found that he had nothing to gain in Konoha anymore. He wanted to be the ultimate being, and he wanted to be immortal. He experimented, kidnapping Konoha shinobi and using them as guinea pigs. The Third found out, and fought him, trying to stop Orochimaru."
Jiraiya's eyes held his grief as he tried to ask, "Is it possible to…"
Naruto finished for him, "Save him?" He nodded. "He's―he's a lost cause now, Jiraiya-sensei. I'm sure you've noticed."
He stayed silent, looking at his reflection from his tea. He finally spoke again after a few minutes, his voice deep and low. "I see. We'll have to do something about him later then, don't we?" He smiled weakly, and Naruto decided to change the topic, much to his relief as they got up to pay for the food at the counter.The Jounin Exams nearly take a month, right?" Jiraiya nodded. "So one month, another one after that, and then adding five months. It would leave me with ten months before my birthday.
Jiraiya understood what she meant, "We're on a tight schedule then, huh? Wish we could have had at least two full years." He sighed dramatically, "There goes my research time…"
The girl huffed while they walked out of the store, "You aren't even writing the books yet, but you still call peeping on women in baths 'research'?"
"Well I―"
A surprised, familiar voice cut him off. "Jiraiya-sensei? Naruto?"
The two turned to see Minato along with Rin, Obito and Kakashi, who all bowed their heads in respect. Naruto grinned as she waved a hand, Rin smiled and Obito waving back. The blonde looked at Kakashi, "Yo."
The silver headed boy raised a brow, "Hey?"
Naruto rolled her eyes, "Geez, man. It's what you used to say to me before, but when I say it, all you say in response is a 'hey?'" She flicked his forehead protector and withdrew her hand before he could slap it away in retort. "So what were you guys doing?"
Obito drawled, "Training, as usual. Your boyfriend missed you." Kakashi glared, as Rin giggled. Naruto whacked his arm.
"Seriously, Obito, it's getting old. We don't like each other like that!"
Kakashi was glad he had a mask on; he was sure he felt his lips form a frown. He furrowed his brows in confusion, ignoring the bickering of his two loud teammates and Rin trying to calm them down. For the last few weeks, he was acting strange. Hearing Naruto deny they had feelings for each other got him to react in displeasure.
He really didn't like where this was going.
It couldn't be true. He watched Naruto bring her hands up in frustration, feeling his lips quirk up in amusement before he caught himself.
Could it?
He shook his head. It had only been a month since he knew her, this girl was his future student, and he was technically going to be about fourteen years older than her. Besides, He thought, she isn't my type.
That got him confused again. What was his type? He looked at Rin, before shaking his head mentally. He thought of her as a sister, but were her personalities something close to it?
He tried thinking of characteristics that he viewed a girlfriend should have.
Calm, organized, great company, kind, caring, a strong kunoichi.
Naruto was calm when she wanted to be, was fun to be around, kind and very caring, strong… He knit his eyebrows close. This wasn't going as it should. He thought of things that he saw in a wife,
Good housework skills, great with children, supportive…
He mentally punched himself in the head. He doesn't know her well enough to know if she doesn't have these points (although he reluctantly admits she probably does). What was he trying to prove with all of this thinking anyway―
"―Kashi? Kakashi!" Obito clapped his hands in front of his face, frowning along with his other teammates.
Naruto's eyes looked up at him in concern, "Kakashi? Are you alright?"
He blinked before shaking his head, "Yeah, I'm fine." He turned his head around to look for the two adults. "Where's Minato-sensei and Jiraiya-sama?"
Rin raised a brow, "They said they were going to the Hokage's office to talk with him. Didn't you hear them?"
Kakashi shook his head, "No, I guess I was thinking too much."
The three shared a brief glance before silently deciding to not push him about it. Naruto nodded, "So… what do you guys wanna do?"
Obito blinked at her, "I thought you'd jump for training."
She scowled, "I'm not obsessed with it. I think it's better to relax once in a while. We've been training for so long; I want to do something else with the team." Although it's also because I won't get to spend much time with you guys once the exams start.
Rin pondered, "Well, we don't have many options. We all just ate, training's out… really, what's there to do?"
Obito moaned, "There's nothing!"
Kakashi sighed, "Why don't we just go home?"
Naruto lightly punched his arm, "That's boring, and I want team bonding." She suddenly grinned, "We can have a race!"
Obito scratched his cheek, "So much for relaxing. But that's the best we can come up with, let's do it. So where's the goal?"
Naruto draped an arm on Rin's shoulder, her grin growing wider. "The Hokage Mountain, on top of the Nidaime's head!"
He blinked before groaning, "Really, Naruto. You're a slave driver. This is like Gai's challenge with Kakashi."
They got into position as Naruto shouted out, "Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
They all bent down, waiting for the last yell.
"GO!"
Rin, Naruto and Kakashi sprinted, as the blonde grinned maniacally.
Now where's Obito?
"GAH!" Thud.
Rin looked back, only to see the boy on the floor, in an embarrassing heap. She looked longingly at the mountain, before sighing and walking to him.
"Obito? Are you alright?" He looked up at her in surprise, before looking behind and glared.
"Dammit, I bet it was Naruto who did that!" Rin furrowed her brows in confusion before following his angry gaze, and laughed.
His ankles were tied together in a wire, making it near impossible to get out in less than a minute. She wiped a tear from her eye, "How did she manage to do that?"
Obito tried to cut it with a kunai, Rin also helping. "I bet she used a clone while she distracted us with the counting. Cheater." He glared at the floor with a pout, and Rin felt a little warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest.
It can't be… right?Naruto was still laughing as she ran, equal to Kakashi, who was rolling his eyes. "I can't believe Obito didn't notice."
The girl grinned, "It's 'cause I'm just that awesome!" She blinked when Kakashi was gaining speed quickly. "Oh no you don't!"
They were eventually pushing each other off, shoulder to shoulder, heads grinding as sparks flew and collided from their glares. They flew up the stairs; the movements of their feet pounding the floor were almost a blur.
"FIRST!" They both shout as the spread their arms wide, slapping each other in the cheek. They both panted heavily, as they glared at each other.
And broke into a fit of laughter.
Naruto clutched her stomach as she wiped a tear. "Why are we laughing?" She choked out, continuing to giggle.
Kakashi's eyes crinkled upwards, "Beats me."
The joyful sounds eventually died down, as they lied on their backs, watching clouds, reminding Naruto about a certain pineapple headed Nara. "I totally see why Shikamaru digs this."
"Hm?"
"Cloud watching. It's relaxing."
Kakashi grunted in agreement. It was quiet after that, waiting for the other two to arrive.
Naruto twitched, "They're not coming are they?" It's been about five minutes already, and Kakashi sighed as he got up.
"Yeah." He said simply, lending a hand.
Naruto moaned and lazily took it, letting him pull her up. Kakashi rolled his eyes, before patting his pants. Naruto yawned, before she nearly tripped back with a yelp, startling Kakashi. He quickly reached for her arm, before her weight made him lose balance. They both groaned in pain as Naruto tried to get up but found that she couldn't.
She opened her eyes, only to see Kakashi's wide ones stare back.
"Who trips over their own foot?" Kakashi gave her a pointed look when they returned to a normal size.
She pouted, "Shut up." She felt her face getting warm, and knew that Kakashi saw it.
Kakashi tried to get off her, but froze when a loud voice announced their teammate's appearance.
"NARUTO! I'M GOING TO―Woops." Kakashi and Naruto turned slowly to see Rin and Obito blushing. Naruto wanted to groan at the situation. Why did they have to come now?
Obito chuckled nervously, "Uh, hi." He glanced back before looking at Rin, exchanging nods. "Yeah, we'll go and leave you two in peace to do… whatever it is you're planning to do!" They scurried off before Naruto and Kakashi could even have a chance explain.
Once Kakashi soaks in everything, he jumps off as if burnt. Naruto lets out a breath of relief, and gets up herself. She was beet red, and was sure that the silver haired boy also blushed under his mask. She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"We should go before Obito tells dad."
Kakashi turned unbelievably pale.
They managed to find Obito at the streets before it was too late, and told him what really happened. Rin and Obito sighed in relief, before laughing outright, much to the misunderstood victims' displeasure.
Rin tried to compose herself, biting the inside of her cheek. "Now that I think about it, you two are always in a weird predicament. It's as if you're being matched up by God himself!" She gushed, "All you need is the red string of fate to pull you together!"
Naruto face palmed, as Kakashi sighed.
Obito rolled his eyes, "You read too much romance novels, Rin."
She slapped his shoulder playfully, "I do not! Besides, there isn't such a thing as 'too much' when it comes down to romance!" She giggled.
Naruto quietly whispered to Kakashi, "I'm so glad I'm normal." He nodded.
She blinked, "Hey, this is kind of off topic, but are you also judging in the Jounin Exams?"
He shrugged. She sighed. There was a long pause between the two. If it wasn't for their teammates' chattering and the busy streets, it would have been silent.
Naruto grew sick of staying quiet, "When are you planning to spend your 'three wishes' and get it over with?"
Kakashi smirked, "When I find a good use for it."
"I should have given you a time limit or something."
His smirk turned triumphant, although no one could really see it. "Too bad."
"Ass."
"Loser."
Naruto rolled her eyes, "So original." She smirked, "Not."
"Hm? So you've been called that before? Figures."
Naruto glared, "Prick."
"So original." He mimicked, and Naruto knew he was sporting a smirk. "Not."
Obito and Rin watched the exchange, before shooting each other knowing looks and crept away from the two.
Naruto pulled at her hair, "You're so…!" She stomps away in aggravation as Kakashi shook his head in amusement and followed.