Chapter 13 - The Best at Introductions
Editor's Note: Wow, another chapter without an Author's Note. That's fun. Come check out the links in my bio! (shameless self-promotion over [for now])
Chapter 13
Naruto's P.O.V.
I stumble to the front of the room, Sakura still reprimanding me for falling on Sasuke. I hear whispers as I walk past everyone, likely about my height. I sneeze, and Sasuke chuckles.
"Something funny, bastard?" I growl, trying (and failing) to keep the sickness out of my voice.
"Absolutely nothing," he says quickly. "He sounds like a spray bottle," he whispers to himself and I turn livid eyes on him. Something in his voice is odd though. Whatever.
I huff and I make my way to Kakashi and drape myself on his back, loosely dangling my arms over his shoulders. Kakashi sighs before lifting me up like I'm not over a hundred pounds.
"Naruto-baka!" Sakura screeches as I shut off my Sensory again to conserve chakra. "What on earth do you think you're doing!? I'm really sorry for his behavior, um, sensei?" she remarks.
"Oh, no need. I've known Naru for years, and this is about par for the course with him," Kakashi says sweetly.
I can imagine that her loud voice is giving his sensitive ears a headache. There's more than one reason why I call him "puppy." I would chuckle if I wasn't so tired.
"Oh?" Sakura mutters in a questioning manner. Kakashi-nii doesn't elaborate. Instead, Kakashi walks out of the room.
"Are they going to follow us?" I ask, coughing right after when I don't hear two sets of footsteps trailing behind us.
"We'll see." Kakashi answers. A moment later, what sounds like two people come running out of the room. "Boom," he snickers. Sasuke and Sakura (I presume, kami-sama, sometimes I hate being blind) run up to us.
"Where are we going, sensei?" Sakura asks.
"Hm, where indeed?" Kakashi replies, beginning to walk up a set of stairs.
"The roof?" Sakura asks again.
"I wonder," Kakashi drawls lazily.
"Kaka-nii, there's no need to be a jackass," I huff hoarsely, trying to keep myself from coughing because that fucking hurts. "You can't decide whether you like them or not based on the loudness of their voices for your," cough "touchy-feely ears," And a sneeze. Fuck.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pot calling the kettle black, Naru?" he replies.
"Shut up," I sniffle. Kakashi chuckles at the effects of my more than interesting sickness.
It's annoying, but I can't even tell for sure where we're going. Whether we're ascending a flight of stairs or walking down a hill, I can't even tell the difference. I sigh in displeasure. Displeasure that I had long since forgotten what happened when the darkness came back. I had long since forgotten what it was like to play how long can I pretend that I'm not afraid of being blind, of being afraid of the dark.
Third Person P.O.V.
Kakashi carries Naruto up the flight of stairs, his two other students following behind them with wary expressions on their faces. Those expressions would have made Kakashi chuckle had he not wanted to avoid jostling his "little brother." Kakashi forces the doors open with his chakra in a similar way to what Iruka had done and walks across the roof, pausing near the railing.
He gives his pupils a warm smile as they seat themselves in front of him. They were young, yes. Most jonin were put off by how young this year's genin seem to be, the memories of when they had graduated long since forgotten. Of course, Kakashi had trained younger. Stronger, too. But that child was still on his back. It made him proud to think that he had trained the ANBU commander, but he'd had little to do with it.
He had taught Naruto everything he knew, and Naruto took it, twisted it, and made it his own. There was nothing for Kakashi to be proud of. He had merely been a tool for Naruto, a stepping stone. That didn't mean that he'd be a hindrance now, though. Pushing Naruto to become even better and rise to the occasion of his station was his main goal.
"I guess we should start with introductions, ne?" Kakashi asks.
"What sort of stuff should we say, sensei?" Sakura replies.
The pinkette tilts her head to the side in a confused manner, and Kakashi wanted to beat some sense into her like he did Naruto all that time ago. That would be considered child abuse, and Kakashi honestly doubted the pinkette could take it.
"Your name, of course," Kakashi drawls dumbly. "Maybe your likes and dislikes? Hobbies?" All Kakashi was thinking was something along the lines of, 'Doesn't she know how to introduce herself. I never had to do this in the ANBU,'
"Dreams for the future?" Naruto suggests from Kakashi's back.
Kakashi's visible eye widens. Apparently, Kakashi had forgotten that Naruto was still on his back. Kakashi turned so that his back wasn't towards the railing and unceremoniously dropped Naruto in a sitting position next to Sasuke. Naruto proceeded to act like water and become a puddle on the roof, lying down boneless beside his new teammate.
"There wasn't any need to drop me because you got flustered, Kakashi-nii," Naruto teases lightly, not seeming put out by Kakashi's rough treatment.
Kakashi sighs in exasperation, noting the way Naruto's eyes closed in apparent exhaustion, a tell-tale sign that he wasn't using Sensory.
"I believe Naruto had a good idea with the dreams thing. Do that," Kakashi directs.
There's a certain lack of warmth in his voice, but it's difficult to determine whether that's because he doesn't care, or is acting like his ANBU captain self accidentally.
"Can you give us an example, sensei? So we know what to do?" Sakura prompts. She has a hopeful look on her face, and Kakashi finds it tugging at his heartstrings.
"Alright, I guess," he mutters shyly. He's never been good at this whole introduction thing. "My name is Hatake Kakashi," Naruto makes a sound of approval when Kakashi gives his last name first. Kakashi knows that it's something Naruto is touchy about for some reason.
"My likes are—you're too young to know that," he cuts himself off, sweat dropping and realizing exactly what his likes consist of. Naruto chuckles at him.
"As for my dislikes," he utters nervously. "I guess there's a certain group of people that I dislike because all of these people have hurt someone dear to me," Kakashi says, casting a discreet glance at Naruto and catching the sigh and sarcastic, "surprise, surprise" escaping from his lips, hardly different than the breath passing between them previously.
"My hobbies are—nope, you're too young to know that, too," Kakashi cuts himself off again, skin turning ashen as he imagined exactly what genjutsu Kurenai would put him under if she were here. Kakashi chuckles nervously, drowning out the light laughter from Naruto.
"And my dreams for the future?" he asks himself. "I haven't really considered it."
"Don't you mean marrying your pretty boyfriend?" Naruto taunts good-naturedly.
"Sh-shut up, gaki!" Kakashi stutters, the visible part of his face flushing scarlet. Naruto chuckles at his reaction. "Ugh, pinkie, you're next." he snaps.
"Wait, wait," Naruto rasps. "I have rules to add," he says, glancing at Kakashi for approval. Kakashi grunts in response, catching the way that Naruto's eyes don't meet his.
"For both of you, I don't know if you caught it, but Kakashi gave his last name first. This is a formal introduction, so that's only polite. For Sakura," no one missed the lack of -chan, "no mentions of Sasuke. This is your introduction, not his, and everyone already knows that you love him. For Sasuke, could you stop being an emo-revenge-obsessed-geek for like two seconds?" he asks sarcastically, finishing off the listing of his new rules with a coughing fit.
Kakashi motions for Sakura to start her introduction.
"Um, well, I'm Haruno Sakura," she starts off.
'She seems to be as terrible at introductions as I am.' Kakashi thinks.
"Uh, I'm not really sure what to say," she says nervously.
"What's your favorite color?" Naruto asks suddenly.
"Huh? Oh," Sakura glances at Sasuke, her cheeks flushing. "Black," she says surely. Sasuke rolls his eyes and Naruto arches an eyebrow.
"What's your favorite animal?" Naruto asks again.
"Um," Sakura glances once more at Sasuke and gives a sure answer of, "Crow,"
Sasuke scoffs, his face contorting in mild anger. Kakashi and Naruto suppressed their laughter. A crow. Itachi. It was probably the most ironic thing to happen in a while, especially because Sakura didn't notice Sasuke's reaction.
"Favorite season?" Naruto asks.
"Spring, because that's when everything starts growing again," Sakura says surely, not even taking time to glance at Sasuke. Her lips curve into a gentle smile. Sasuke looks back at her, curiosity in his eyes.
"That's all you needed to say," Naruto says warmly, sneezing again.
Sakura gapes at him a bit. "Then, I guess I'll move onto my dislikes, then," she says unsurely. Kakashi gives her an eye smile to reassure her, and she seems to relax a bit.
"Um, well, I don't like it when my family and friends are treated badly for no reason. Then, my hobbies, I study and read, and hang out with my friends and family," she says with a soft expression on her face. "As for my dreams for the future," she looks at Sasuke unsurely. She looks at her lap, closing her eyes tightly. "I want to be a strong kunoichi and marry Sasuke-kun!" she declares, her face turning crimson. Naruto chuckles at her admission.
"Honestly, your introduction wouldn't be complete without some mention of Sasuke, would it?" Naruto asks himself, obviously trying to ease her worry over what their sensei would think over her breaking a rule. She looks up at him, smiling in an almost grateful manner.
"Alright, I guess Mr. Broody McBrooderson is up next, ne?" Kakashi asks teasingly, gesturing to Sasuke. Naruto starts laughing his booming laugh, despite being sick, and Sakura giggles at the nickname.
"I would not recommend calling me that again, unless of course, you want a bunch of kunai and shuriken buried in sporadic places in your body." Sasuke says darkly, his eyes glinting murderously.
Kakashi pales a bit as Naruto's laughter becomes even louder, being broken slightly by the force of his coughing.
"Your reactions are all the same," Kakashi deadpans.
"Hey, hey," Naruto gasps, "that thing Shisui-nii said was pretty good," he defends.
"He threatened to cut a certain one of my body parts off with his Katon: Rasen Shuriken. I don't think that's 'pretty good,'" Kakashi winces. Sakura laughs a bit louder and Sasuke's mood darkens a bit at the mention of a supposedly long dead Uchiha. "Alright, let's continue with the introductions," Kakashi pleads, wanting to get this done with. Naruto is the only one that picks up on his feelings.
"Remember Sasuke, don't be an emo-revenge-obsessed-geek," Naruto reminds him with a smirk. Sasuke's eyes narrow at him in a glare that he can't even see.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke," he says coldly. "I don't particularly like anything," he states.
"He likes tomatoes, cats, and being alone," Sakura interrupts with a calm expression on her face. Sasuke gapes at her, along with Kakashi. Naruto's eyes open in his surprise.
"Creepy fangirl," Kakashi hisses just loud enough for everyone to hear. Sakura twitches a bit.
"Stalkerish fangirl," Naruto amends, tilting his head to the side and wondering if there were times when he'd missed her spying on Sasuke. Sakura twitches again.
"Disturbing fangirl," Sasuke mutters with a shiver. "I get you knowing about the tomatoes, and my desire to be alone is obvious, but how the hell did you find out about the cats?" he asks, flabbergasted.
"You feed and play with the stray kittens near the Uchiha compound," she states matter-of-factly. A light blush tints Sasuke's cheeks, and the tips of his ears redden.
"I never denied it," he huffs in an embarrassed manner.
Sakura grins victoriously. Naruto just looks between the spots in the air where he think they currently are in a thoughtful way.
"I dislike a lot of things, and it would be a waste of time to discuss them all," Sasuke says harshly, daring Sakura to intervene again. She didn't.
"My hobbies are training and avoiding my fangirls," Sakura's face flushes. "I don't have a dream, per se, but I have an ambition. I will make sure that I accomplish it. I will restore my clan and kill the man who killed them in the first place," Sasuke says darkly. Kakashi internally panics about Naruto's reaction. PTSD can be terrible.
Naruto's eyes dull a bit, and Kakashi realizes that he must be having a flashback.
'Not good.' is his immediate thought. Kakashi still remembered how beat up Naruto looked, slicing through the last of the ROOT operatives that dared to come near. Blood splattered all over him, a helpless, lifeless look in his eyes, mixed with lethal determination. The determination to protect the small Uchiha boy cowering behind him, blood on his face, had kept him going long after all rational thought had fled. Because no one can be rational in that situation. Kill or be killed. And Kakashi knew how much Naruto hated the former and how he simply couldn't allow the latter.
Kakashi still remembered the hard, lifeless way Naruto had addressed them, his family, and the way his face lost all trace of anger and how loving his gaze seemed when it landed on the boy behind him. Kakashi stared numbly at his "little brother" and his taichou, sitting silently with dull eyes thinking about the war he had witnessed during peace times as a child.
They both snapped out of the spell simultaneously. Kakashi jerked slightly, his eye widening in mild horror as a barely suppressed whimper crowded his throat. Naruto didn't move or react in any way. The haze from his eyes cleared and he blinked once, twice. Sakura and Sasuke watched them with confusion in their eyes.
"I guess it's my turn," Naruto rasps before clearing his throat. Kakashi can't bring himself to respond, still caught up in the panic from the flashback. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto," he chirps, trying to find that happiness in his life that had been sucked away with Sasuke's words. "I like ramen, the color orange, a ridiculous amount of people," he chuckles a bit. "I won't bother to list all the people that I like. I don't like when people let their anger and hatred control them. I don't like it when people are too ignorant or arrogant to realize when they're hurting someone. I hate it when my precious people are hurt," he says harshly, glancing towards the spot he knew Sasuke sat. "I don't like the dark," he said, his voice getting quiet all of a sudden and his eyes closing.
"Naru," Kakashi mutters in a choked tone.
"My hobbies are training and spending time with my loved ones. My dreams for the future are to teach the people of the world that their choices affect others besides themselves. I want to show people to live with others in mind. Despite all the pain someone may suffer from, they can still spread love and kindness," Naruto's lips curve into a sentimental smile.
"I want to always protect my loved ones, and there are some of my loved ones that I want to bring home or free from an obligation they've never wanted," he sighs. "That's it for me, I guess," he shrugs.
Sasuke and Sakura gape openly at Naruto while Kakashi smiles behind his mask.
'I guess we all know who the best on our team at introductions is.' he thinks happily.
Naruto falls back, roughly landing on his back. Kakashi panics for a moment before he sees that Naruto is still fine, just tired and laying down. Sasuke scoffs softly, looking away, his cheeks a bit pink. Sakura looks back and forth between the two, trying to piece together what must have happened between the two of them for Sasuke to at least pretend to be mad.
"Alright," Kakashi claps, drawing Sasuke and Sakura's attention and knowing that he already has Naruto's. Then Kakashi notices that clapping to gain people's attention was a habit he picked up from Naruto, and smiles under his mask. "Tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., meet at the bridge near training ground 7. You'll be having your final exam,"
Sasuke quirks an eyebrow, Sakura looks downright confused, and a smug smirk curves Naruto's lips.
"You have a 66% chance of failure. I'll explain the exercise when we meet tomorrow, but I will give you a hint. Don't eat breakfast tomorrow unless you want to throw up," Kakashi's eye narrows sadistically, surely a habit he picked up from Anko.
"Kaa-san would kill you if he knew that you were telling me to skip a meal," Naruto chuckles, gently hinting to his team to eat tomorrow.
He stands shakily and stretches, his hood falling from his head, several of his scars on display from pulling his arms up above his head. Sakura gasps. Sasuke doesn't seem surprised. Kakashi knows that he isn't. Naruto makes an inquisitive hum, dropping his arms to his sides.
"Y-you have scars. A-and you're taller. Y-your hair," Sakura stuttered uselessly.
"I usually wear a henge," Naruto sniffs. "I'm out of chakra or else I would've,"
"What?!" Sakura shouts, flabbergasted.
"I'm too tired to bother explaining it," Naruto sighs. "I have been ordered to drop it, though," he says, turning those barely-open eyes in Kakashi's direction pointedly. Kakashi hums in acknowledgement.
"Oh," Sakura utters dumbly. Sasuke grunts in annoyance.
"You're dismissed. Just make sure to come tomorrow," Kakashi states monotonically.
"S-Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asks. "Do you want to—"
"No," Sasuke says quickly, immediately cutting her off.
Their sensei surges forward suddenly, scooping Naruto into his arms. Sasuke and Sakura jump at the sudden movement, moving forward on impulse to check on their new teammate. Kakashi eases Naruto onto the ground and the genin see that their teammate is unconscious.
"Kakashi, is he alright?" Sasuke asks, trying not to show his worry.
"I don't know, give me a second," Kakashi states worriedly.
He hovers his hands over Naruto's forehead and his chest, his hands taking on a faint green glow. Sasuke and Sakura wait a bit less than patiently. One of Kakashi's hands moves down his torso slowly, checking for injuries.
"Well, sensei?" Sakura asks once Kakashi releases the medical jutsu and sits back on his heels.
"He's completely out of chakra," Kakashi states emotionlessly. "He's really sick. His immune system has seemingly crashed," he says, contemplating the strange matter.
"If his immune system crashed, he'll get sick with every bug he comes into contact with!" Sasuke exclaims fearfully. No, not fearfully, for the great Uchiha do not show emotion.
"Yep," Kakashi says, popping the "p" in a childish manner.
"How would something like that even happen, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asks in a confused manner.
"Hm? Oh, well Naruto has a chakra-based immune system. Basically, that means that Naruto's immune system can't function if he doesn't have enough chakra, but when he has chakra, his immune system is ridiculously strong," Kakashi explains. "This is the first time he's ever been sick. His healing abilities are superb as well,"
"I didn't even know that something like that was possible," Sakura exclaims.
"He's the first I know of to have a chakra-based immune system like this," Kakashi says simply.
"The first?" Sasuke asks.
"Naruto's the first for a lot of things," Kakashi states.
"What should we do with him?" Sakura asks. "He needs to get better quickly if he's going to pass tomorrow's test,"
"Once he recovers some chakra, he'll start getting better incredibly fast. For now, he just needs rest. I'll take him home now, so don't worry too much about him. He'll probably be fine by tomorrow morning if he doesn't do anything strenuous," Kakashi says.
The other genin still looked a bit nervous. Sasuke and Sakura shared a glance. Sasuke didn't know why Sakura bothered to be concerned, but he was glad she was.
"Kakashi?" Sasuke asks. "Do you know why Naruto hasn't been sleeping?" he asks, making a pointed glance at Naruto's slightly ashen skin and the dark circles under his eyes.
"As far as I know, he made a deal with someone saying that he would help them out in exchange for a friend's safety. I can't tell you much more than that, why?" Kakashi informs them.
"Naruto told me that he wasn't sleeping because there have been break-ins at his place recently," Sasuke counters.
"Hmm?" Kakashi hums, his visible eye widening just a fraction. "That's new. Thanks for the tip, kid," he chuckles.
"Why are you laughing if Naruto could get hurt while recovering?" Sakura screeches.
"Didn't you say he shouldn't be doing anything strenuous until he recovers fully?" Sasuke asks darkly.
"Um, yeah, why?" Kakashi gulps.
"Are you going to look after him or will we have to?" Sasuke asks seriously.
"I believe that Iruka asked a friend of ours, who Naru trusts, to look after him tonight, so don't worry," Kakashi says, trying to satisfy them, eye-smiling nervously. Truthfully, Hokage-sama had asked Anko to look after Naruto already.
"Who?" Sakura asks.
"Mitarashi Anko," Kakashi replies.
"I have no idea who that is," the two genin deadpanned.
"Well, if you ask Naru, he calls her An-nee," Kakashi sighs.
"I suppose that's fine then," Sasuke considered after a moment.
"Just make sure that this 'Mitarashi Anko' gets there before you leave, alright sensei?" Sakura asks gently.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure of it," Kakashi says boredly.
Kakashi picks Naruto up off of the ground, carrying him bridal style and took off towards the jinchuuriki's apartment. Naruto was definitely out cold, that's for sure.
Edited 12-15-2020