Gathering Clouds

The sounds of gently rustling leaves floated through the room on a soft breeze that brought some reprieve from the Konoha summer heat. The faint sounds of the village could just barely be heard and Naruto took a deep breath of the cool air, looking up from his place at the kitchen table. He watched Kazuya’s plants sway just beneath the window for a moment, admiring the blue sky behind them. His ginger tea beside him had cooled and as Naruto heard a page turn from one of the couches, he smiled.

He loved days like this. No one was asking him to do something or another, he didn’t have to be at the office; he didn’t have to anywhere. He could just sit in his home and work on seals with Kakashi quietly reading nearby. It was peaceful. Naruto didn’t get peaceful very often.

When Rio had first left for his trip with Jiraiya one and a half years ago, and Sasuke and Sakura had moved out at the same time, it had been hard. He didn’t see it as peaceful back then. In fact, it’d been the opposite. He was so used to being around people; even when he hid in his room when he was particularly unwell he could always hear someone talking in the next room or heard people entering and leaving the flat. Their home had been a hive of activity since they’d moved in and to go from that to barely seeing even Kazuya, it had been a hard adjustment as much as he’d told everyone it wouldn’t be before Rio had left.

In the first few months, he had practically moved into the office. If he wasn’t at home, he didn’t have to think about it. He’d dived into his responsibilities with the International Relations division and the Desk, even managing to finally catch up on the backlog of seals that the hospital had been asking for. He went to dinner with Shikaku and his check-ups with Baa-chan and hung around Kakashi’s apartment. He even went to the academy and helped Kazuya sort through some of the new curriculum.

Momo had been thrilled at the change of scenery. With all the kids away and Kazuya busier than ever at the academy, Naruto had taken Momo along with him in his avoidance of the silence. She’d been a big support for him; it was amazing the difference a dog could make. The Shiba Inu even tagged along to work and Naruto had set up a nest of blankets in the corner of his office for her. She was also a great reminder to day-to-day tasks: eating, taking a walk, sleeping. Taking care of Momo made it easier to take care of himself.

Many people had nagged him about it but it was Kakashi who finally dragged him back to his flat. He had stayed with Naruto for a few days and it had made it a little easier, the constant sounds of another person taking some of the anxiety away; even after that though Naruto still took Momo to work and dinner with him. It wouldn’t be fair to leave her by herself that much.

As time had gone by, he’d settled into his new routines and new circumstances. Kakashi was still there more often than not but Naruto could confidently say that the other jounin benefitted as much from it as him. He could read that man like a scroll now and the opposite was true. It was nice, having someone to just be there.

His reminiscing was cut short as he felt a familiar signature start to climb the stairs in their building. He smiled softly as he rose from his seat to boil the kettle once more. He smoothed down the fluffy hoodie Kazuya had made for him last year. It was one of the softest things he owned and all he wore when he was home. It was a wonderfully bright orange and came down to his knees. Hana commented that it made him look half his age; Naruto loved it too much to care.

“Which one?” Kakashi asked idly, still lying down with one hand holding his book and the other petting Momo. The Shiba Inu had taken up the habit of lying down on Kakashi at any given opportunity and with how much Kakashi was around these days, she was delighted. He knew Kakashi purposely lay down on that couch to give Momo that opportunity. The man was so soft for dogs.

“Our resident ANBU,” Naruto answered, taking his seat at the table once more and brushing his loose braid back over his shoulder.

“I hope he doesn’t want to work on his kenjutsu,” Kakashi groaned and Naruto shook his head fondly. “He’s a taskmaster, never letting his poor old sensei rest.”

“You love working with him on that,” he pointed out, propping his chin on a hand. “Incorporating raiton into kenjutsu is just the sort of technical, difficult thing that you love. You already taught him the Chidori.”

“And he learned it in a day,” Kakashi grumbled but Naruto hear the note of pride in his voice.

The front door finally opened and Naruto grinned at Sasuke. The Uchiha just looked back at him grumpily as he kicked off his sandals.

“Nice day?”

“People are idiots.”

“Yes, yes they are.”

Sasuke groaned and headed towards the kitchen. He had grown so much. He was still only fourteen but he’d shot up in height; Naruto knew he could be as tall as Kakashi one day. He was still pretty slim but Sasuke’s style centered more on speed, accuracy and ninjutsu than anything requiring more muscle mass. He’d kept his hairstyle the same and dressed simply when off duty, a small Uchiha crest sown on his back and shoulders. He was the quietest of the kids but there was a dry humour there that Naruto had a lot of fun with. He also cared a lot more than he would ever admit out loud. He showed it in his own little ways, usually with more dramatic flair than strictly necessary. He’d come so far. Naruto was so proud of him and never hesitated to tell him so.

He was doing really well with ANBU. He’d been the closest of any of the recruits in his year to tagging Naruto in the stealth exercise despite him knowing Sasuke’s chakra signature almost as well as his own. The kid had had years of exposure and time to find ways around it but Naruto was proud nonetheless. From what he’d heard from the other ANBU trainers Sasuke had graduated near the top of the class and had performed exceptionally well on missions since. He also took every chance to continue his training and Kakashi had been helping out a lot with that. Naruto could see him getting closer and closer every day to his goals; he would be a jounin in no time.

He moved some papers out of the way as Sasuke dumped his plate on the table with his own cup of tea.

“I thought Kazuya had banned you from working on seals in the apartment?” He asked, looking pointedly at the pages.

“He did,” Naruto nodded. “And I’m not. Sketching doesn’t count; it was only working with active seals he banned.”

Sasuke looked at him dubiously before shrugging, shoving a tomato into his mouth.

“Did you just come to raid the fridge then?” Naruto asked before taking a sip of his own lukewarm tea.

“If you didn’t want me to, you would stop buying tomatoes,” Sasuke pointed out. “Besides, I’m leaving in a couple hours and I don’t have anything in.”

“Where are they sending you this time?”

“Somewhere in the Land of Rivers. Have you heard from Rio? He was there at some point.”

Naruto started shoving pages out of the way, digging out a slightly crumpled letter from the bottom of the pile. He managed to exchange letters with his little brother every couple of months but it was hard when he and Jiraiya were moving around so much. There was also the danger of someone tracing the letter back to the travelling duo. There had been a five month spell near the beginning of the year where Naruto hadn’t heard anything. The only thing stopping him from marching out of Konoha to track them down was one of Jiraiya’s toad summons popping up to assure him of their safety. It had been a rough time.

He wondered how much his brother had grown. It had been a year and a half; he was bound to have grown a few inches like Sasuke. Was he cutting his hair? He’d probably grown out of the clothes he took with him by now. He wondered what friends he’d made, if he was stronger, if he was still enjoying travelling. There was only so much he could learn from letters and Rio included less information the longer he was away. Rio crept into his thoughts every single day and while he was less worried than he was initially, he couldn’t avoid the sting of missing out on his brother’s growth.

“He was still in the Land of Water as of a month ago,” he said, handing over the letter. “Haku was helping him with his suiton jutsu and the Mizukage was happy to keep housing them.”

“Can’t believe that dobe is related to the Mizukage,” Sasuke mumbled under his breath as he scanned the letter.

“I am also related to her,” Naruto said pointedly.

“Yeah, but you know everyone,” Sasuke waved him off and Naruto raised an eyebrow.

“That’s true,” Kakashi piped up.

“I do not know everyone.”

“You know more people than Kazuya and he used to live at the bars,” Sasuke replied, lowering the letter to look at him. “Where is he anyway? The academy?”

“Staring at Iruka longingly,” Kakashi answered and Naruto rolled his eyes at the pair of them.

Kazuya had been working full time at the academy, teaching the new medical curriculum since the start of the school year last year. He had really taken to the role and anyone could see how much he loved teaching. He’d fully recovered from the poisoning and was back in prime fighting condition. Some things hadn’t gone back to the way they had been before; Kazuya was less outgoing now, spending less time socializing at the bars and more time holed up in the academy staffroom. Naruto knew that the long recovery had affected his best friend more than he would admit and it’d had a big impact on Kazuya’s confidence.

He was glad his friend had Iruka backing him up although even Naruto had noticed how he was around the older man. He was slightly better at picking up signs like that but most of the time was beyond him. Naruto wasn’t that bothered; he wasn’t interested in stuff like that anymore than he had been two years ago. He had only really found out by asking Kazuya directly. He also had been informed by Sakura that Iruka almost definitely liked Kazuya back. He didn’t get why they wouldn’t just tell each other but it was Kazuya’s decision. A dumb decision but how would Naruto know how these things worked. Maybe this was a necessary part of dating. He just wanted him to be happy.

“Have the bets gone up about that?” Sasuke turned around in his chair to look at his jounin-sensei. “One of my teammates was whining about it yesterday.”

“I think someone spotted them having dinner together so there was a big shuffle,” Kakashi sat up a little, putting his book down so he could readjust Momo. “People have been betting on it happening sooner.”

“Are the bets about us still going around?” Naruto asked although he felt like he already knew the answer.

“Last I heard,” Sasuke turned back around. “Although how people are still debating if you two are together or not is the stupidest bet going, even worse than the one about the Nara deer.”

Naruto rolled his eyes in annoyance. His and Kakashi’s exact relationship had been a topic of gossip for a while. He knew they weren’t exactly the most conventional but he would have thought people would have better things to do than wonder about it. Neither of them felt that romantic or sexual attraction that everyone else seemed to be obsessed with and Naruto liked it that way. It always sounded like it just made everything far more complicated than it needed to be. He liked the way things were; the word they’d found for it was queerplatonic. Naruto had never heard of it before but it fit them well.

Kakashi did hold a special place in his life and Naruto did hold him apart from the others. He would never allow anyone as close to him as Kakashi and he knew it was the same for the other jounin. They had really settled into it over the last year and a half and Naruto couldn’t imagine his life now without him. He made it easier to live and breathe and handle anything that came his way and he understood in a way no one else did.

They were mistaken as dating a few times and Naruto had stopped arguing the point. It was hard to describe what he had with Kakashi to people who couldn’t understand; most of the time, he found that people didn’t want to understand. They either didn’t understand how two people as close as them didn’t want to sleep with each other or they insisted it was just a normal close friendship, that it didn’t need a label. It really frustrated Naruto sometimes. The concept wasn’t that hard and they didn’t have to understand; they just had to respect it.

“So what else do you need to do before you go?” Naruto changed the subject abruptly. He left the betting to everyone else; he didn’t have a taste for it.

Sasuke shot a look at Kakashi before he shrugged.

“I need to pick up a couple things from the ANBU barracks,” he said, standing up and shoving the last tomato into his mouth. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

Naruto nodded, watching the Uchiha clean up and head out the door.

“Be safe!” he called out as the front door closed with a click.

Although Sasuke and Sakura were so busy with their own things, it was nice when they would come back even if it was just for a meal or to pick something up. With Rio gone, Kiba and the others didn’t really come around but he saw them around the village anyway. They were all moving on and growing up and as long as they knew his door would always be open to them, Naruto could live with that.

The peaceful silence returned and the sound of flipping pages soon picked up again. A lot had changed over the past eighteen months, but it wasn’t all bad. Naruto picked up a brush to continue working on his design; he’d promised Konohamaru a version of this seal for their next lesson.

“I have told you before, no.”

“You have more than enough people and the support of the Mizukage herself. It just makes sense.”

“I don’t need another position of authority in this village.”

“Re-establishing the Uzumaki Clan wouldn’t get you that much power but it would open some doors for you.”

“I have too many doors already!”

Shikaku shook his head and Naruto could practically hear the ‘troublesome’ even if the man didn’t say it aloud.

“There is no such thing as too many doors. Have you learned nothing from shogi?”

Naruto frowned, confused for a moment.

“There are no doors in shogi.”

Shikaku sighed as he slouched even further down into the couch. Naruto leaned back in his own chair. The Nara Clan Head had been bothering him about this for a while and while Naruto understood that there were benefits, they’d been getting along fine without them.

His office had been rearranged a few times over the past year and half as odds and ends were added and taken out depending on the need for them. His oak desk was barely visible beneath the scrolls and pages covering it in haphazard piles and he’d traded his old chair out for a slightly more comfortable black leather one. The plain wooden floor was covered by an orange and blue patchwork rug he’d managed to spot in a dumpster; it was amazing the stuff people would just throw away. Kazuya had been horrified but Naruto liked to think it added some personality. It almost matched the pale blue walls.

An old brown couch faced his desk with the door to the office behind it and a couple of chairs were shoved against the right wall. He’d set up Momo’s corner in the corner behind him to his right as the left corner was occupied by three overfilled filing cabinets. The shelves behind him had been crammed with even more stuff and Naruto knew he was going to have to rearrange it at some point. He was not looking forward to that. The window let in plenty of light and Naruto had to say he’d really made it his own. Some might say messy, but everything had its place despite what Kazuya seemed to think.

“Well what about Rio then?”

Naruto threw the Nara a sharp look.

“What about Rio?”

“A clan is as much about security and autonomy as it is about having a say in the functioning of the village,” Shikaku pointed out, his dark eyes watching him knowingly. “It would benefit him in the future as it would his descendents.”

Naruto held the man’s gaze for a long moment before he sighed. It was hard to argue against a Nara; they were all too smart for their own good. He’d worked with Shikaku for over three years now and while he considered the man one of his most trusted friends, he was also the most cunning. Once the man got an idea in his head, it was hard to dissuade him and most of the time he was right anyway which could be very annoying. If only he could bring that level of dedication into his actual work instead of taking naps on Naruto’s furniture.

“Low blow,” he grumbled as Shikaku grinned. “Fine, but it’s not happening until Rio comes back from his training trip. It’s his future and he should have a say in it.”

“I’ll take it,” Shikaku threw his hands up. “Usually it’s not so hard to talk someone into a position like that.”

“I live to be unpredictable,” Naruto grinned back. “Now was that it or did you need to bother me about anything else?”

“You know, you would almost think you were sick of me the way you try to get rid of me,” he said casually but Naruto recognized that look on his face.

“I am not playing shogi with you.”

“One game wouldn’t hurt,” Shikaku whined and if only the jounin could hear their commander now. “I’ve run out of decent opponents and Shikamaru is busy with the chunin exams.”

“No. I actually have stuff I need to get done today,” Naruto looked past the Nara to the door. “Speaking of which…”

A moment later, there was a gentle knock on the door and a woman popped her head in.

“Sorry to interrupt sir, but Hokage-sama has requested you at the front desk.”

“Thank you, Haru, I’ll be right there,” Naruto smiled at her before turning back to Shikaku triumphantly. “Well, looks like we’ll have to have that match another time. Try not to drool on my furniture.”

Naruto stood and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. Kazuya had made him a new jacket after he lost his during the Oto kidnapping. It was almost identical to the old one with a black collar, black sleeves and a black lining on the long middle zip. The two lower pockets and ribbing on the bottom hem that matched the end of the sleeves were also black, leaving the rest a burnt orange. He’d sown the Konoha headband plate into the upper left shoulder and Uzumaki spiral on the right chest. He’d left the back blank this time, stating that everyone knows who he was by now so he didn’t need his rank sown on. Naruto loved it just as much as the one he’d lost and was grateful to have a friend like Kazuya. He was the best.

“I also have work to do today despite what you may think,” Shikaku rolled his eyes as he dragged himself off the couch. “I get a lot done you know.”

“Sure,” Naruto grinned evilly. “I’ll ask Yoshino about that next time I come round.”

Shikaku slouched and let out an annoyed ‘tch’.

“That doesn’t count,” he grumbled. “You’re her favourite; that troublesome woman would trade both me and Shikamaru for you.”

“Amazing what helping out with some cooking and cleaning gets me,” Naruto pointed out, amused. “Now come on, let’s see what Baa-chan wants. Let’s go, Momo.”

The Shiba Inu lifted her head and bounced to her feet, tail wagging. Naruto gently scratched behind her soft ears. They walked out of his office and down the corridor towards the Hokage’s office, Momo trotting by his heels. Shikaku accompanied him, nodding to the odd shinobi who passed them.

“You know if anyone else called her that they would be long dead.”

“It’s a gift.”

They soon came to the large wooden doors and Naruto waved Shikaku off before entering the room. Tsunade was behind her desk, the paperwork in front of her sorted neatly in a way that screamed ‘Shizune’. No one else was in the room and Naruto walked forward, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. Momo sat down beside him as he stopped in front of the desk.

“Hey, Baa-chan.”

She eyed him with a fond sort of annoyance that Naruto had grown long familiar with. He’d worked pretty closely with Tsunade since she took over the role as Hokage and despite her initial apprehension, Naruto thought she was great. She was different than the Sandaime, less concerned with tradition and appeasing the older generations, and Naruto was absolutely here for it. He’d had his issues with some of the Sandaime’s decisions as Hokage and he was glad that Tsunade was forging her own path.

“I’ve told you not to call me that, brat,” Tsunade said with no real heat.

Naruto grinned widely at her. It had become something of a running joke between them over the past year and a half.

“So what can I do for you today?” he asked. “The reports from Suna about the preparations chunin exams haven’t come in yet but Gaara has sent the dates for the next meeting.”

Gaara had become the Kazekage not too long ago and Naruto was still bursting with pride for the kid. He’d attended the ceremony officially as the Konoha delegation in his role as part of International Relations but there was never a chance he wasn’t going to go. He wanted to see Gaara take this important step in his life with his own eyes. He had worked so hard to earn the trust of the villagers and redeem himself for his past and Naruto knew he would be a great Kazekage. Gaara had done nothing in the past few months to change his mind on that. It was a little crazy at times to think back to that angry, murderous little kid he met years ago and compare it to the calm, kind leader Gaara had become.

“I have something a little different for you today,” Tsunade replied. “We just need to wait for your teammates.”

Naruto raised an eyebrow. That was a little cryptic. He didn’t bother to ask as some very familiar signatures reached the door. He turned to smile at the pair entering the office.

“Sakura, Shikamaru,” he smiled. “It’s been a while.”

They had really grown. Shikamaru was turning into the spitting image of his father and Sakura was flourishing under Tsunade’s tutelage. She’d kept her hair short and tied back with her headband and wore the dark pink vest and light pink skirt he’d remember her bringing home after she went shopping with Kazuya. Her black biker shorts, and knee-high sandals reminded him of Hana.

“Naruto,” Sakura smiled back at him. “Hi, Momo!”

She knelt to greet the dog and Momo jumped forward, pushing her snout into Sakura’s cheek.

“It’s almost like you’re happier to see Momo than me,” Naruto teased.

“Become the cutest dog ever and you might stand a chance.”

Naruto grinned and looked over at Shikamaru, the teen slouched as he stood back. He’d been transferred part-time to the Intelligence and Analysis department and Naruto had only heard good things. He was completing a secondary, working with Temari to organise the joint Konoha-Suna chunin exams that would be held soon.

“We’re just waiting for one more,” Tsunade cut in.

Naruto opened his mouth but paused, focusing on the signature making a beeline for the tower.

“That’s your ‘I sense something’ face,” Sakura said, standing straight. “Who are we waiting on?”

Naruto didn’t answer and soon enough Kakashi appeared in the open window of the office. He smiled at him and Kakashi slid into the room, waving a hand.

“Yo,” he drawled. “You called?”

He looked at Naruto for some reason and Naruto raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t call for you?”

“I did,” Tsunade said. “I signed off as Naruto as I know he’s the only reason you would turn up remotely on time.”

Kakashi turned to her in horror.

“Tsunade-sama, I have a reputation to maintain.”

“Not her fault you’re so weak for Naruto,” Sakura chimed in gleefully. “Besides, everyone knows that you only turn up on time for him.”

Naruto shook his head but was unable to argue the point. The Desk had tried to get Naruto to summon Kakashi for all his missions but he’d refused. Kakashi’s lateness was a part of who he was and he knew how much the other jounin enjoyed coming up with excuses to wind people up with. As much as he was grateful that Kakashi made an effort for him, he didn’t want to take advantage of that. He hadn’t been very popular with people trying to track down the copy-nin but they’d learned better by now.

Kakashi turned to him for support but all Naruto could do was beam at him. He respected Kakashi’s lateness but it was nice to be considered important enough for Kakashi to make an effort. Kakashi pouted and slouched, looking away.

“Now for the reason I called you all here,” Tsunade interrupted, her tone straightening their backs in attention. “As you all know the chunin exams will be arriving shortly and the time has come to send invitations. You will all be heading to Takigakure.”

Naruto froze, his mind thrust back to two years ago, the last time he’d been send to deliver invitations for a chunin exam. He had gotten better with it but he still occasionally had moments of panic when he thought he’d lost his sensing ability. That experience had stuck with him much longer than he’d expected and while he and Kakashi had worked to get over that using chakra-blocking seals for short periods of time, thinking about the kidnapping still left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. He felt wetness on the back of his hand and he sank a hand into Momo’s fur, grounding himself.

“Tsunade-sama, should we be the ones going?” Shikamaru asked. “I’m one of the organizers and Naruto is coordinating the communications side of things.”

“This is a part of the role of the diplomacy department so Naruto is one of the better choices to go,” Tsunade explained. “We haven’t really been able to cultivate a relationship with Taki and I am hoping we will be able to change that. As for you, there is nothing for you to do until we send out these invitations and I believe this would be a good change of pace for you. It’s been a busy time. Sakura, this mission will help you gain experience that you can apply at the chunin exams.”

“Doesn’t Naruto have a big red stamp in his file about leaving the village though?”

“That’s why Kakashi is going,” Tsunade waved in the jounin’s direction. “This mission shouldn’t take you longer than a week. Naruto is also very capable of defending himself. He’s the leader for this mission.”

“Aww, thanks Baa-chan,” Naruto grinned, suppressing thoughts of his time with the Oto nin.

“Brat.” Tsunade chucked him the scroll. “Get out of here.”

Naruto threw his own mock salute and walked out with the others. As the door closed, he turned to them.

“Meet at the gates in a couple hours,” he grinned. “Pack and organise, the usual mission stuff.”

Shikamaru and Sakura nodded and quickly dispersed while Kakashi lingered.

“You okay?”

Naruto heard the hidden meaning in his words and nodded. Kakashi knew better than anyone the effect the Oto kidnapping had on him but he really did feel okay about this mission. He was so much stronger now and he would have Kakashi watching his back. It was a stupid fear for a shinobi to have anyway. Plenty of people got by just fine without a sensing ability.

“Yes,” he smiled softly at him. “Thanks.”

Kakashi watched him for a moment longer before nodding, accepting his words. Naruto looked down at Momo.

“Come on, we better go drop you at the Inuzuka compound,” he patted her head. “We should probably tell Kazuya we’ll be away so the stuff in the fridge doesn’t go bad. I also need to send a memo around the offices so no one goes looking for me.”

“Do you have enough medication to take with you?”

“Yeah, I have a storage scroll for it.”

Naruto set off down the corridor. This mission would be fine. Kakashi was with him and he was stronger than he was two years ago. They would go to Taki, get the reply for the chunin exams and come home without incident. Nothing would go wrong.

Shikamaru walked along the road quietly, hands shoved in his pockets as he observed their surrounding for anything out of place. Nothing had happened so far and he could see the massive cliff hiding Taki in the distance, but the nagging voice in his head didn’t allow him to let down his guard. The dense trees around them felt familiar but it was missing that thing that made it feel like Konoha.

At least he wasn’t thinking of his mile-long to-do list. When it had first been suggested that he complete a secondary, he hadn’t thought much of it. It was pretty common for office-bound shinobi and a lot of them went back to missions for that duration. It had quickly become apparent that wasn’t what Shikamaru would be doing. He had no clue what insanity had gripped Naruto to nominate him as one of the organizers but Shikamaru hadn’t known peace since.

He had stuck around the Desk for the first few months after he made chunin but Naruto had soon approached him with an offer to join the Intelligence department. The tokubetsu jounin had insisted Shikamaru was wasted on them, that he was much better suit to the decryptions and strategizing in the Intelligence department. After a couple weeks, Shikamaru found himself agreeing. It was like shogi and he did like the work; the only thing was that he couldn’t slack off like he did when he was a genin. He had to actually use his brain, something he’d managed to avoid in the academy. He had vowed to be a little bit more proactive as a ninja but this was taking it too far. He was lucky if he got a couple hours a day to go cloud watching.

He was a better shinobi for it though. He noticed that tended to happen around Naruto. He made people want to be better by leading by example and he had yet to meet someone in the village that hadn’t been impacted by Naruto in one way or another. The redhead remained as oblivious as ever to the range of his influence but that was why it worked.

Six months ago Naruto had popped up again and Shikamaru should have known he was scheming to get Shikamaru even busier than he already was. By the time he realized what he was getting into it was too late. It didn’t help that his parents were so supportive of his involvement in organizing the chunin exams. His mother was thrilled at how active Shikamaru was now in the village and had built up unreasonable expectations for Shikamaru to help out around the Nara compound more. His father hadn’t helped; he jumped on the ‘drown Shikamaru with work’ bandwagon and had started training him in his clan heir duties. Shikamaru was starting to run out of hiding places where he could take a nap in peace.

He occasionally met up with Chouji, Ino and Asuma, now with the addition of Sakura. It was strange at times; to be living such different lives now to people he used to spend every day with. He hadn’t thought a difference in rank would lead to such a big rift in their responsibilities but when they talked about missions and training, it sounded so far removed from his life now. He knew the hundreds of small decisions that went into the running of the village and it was weird to think decisions Shikamaru made impacted his former teammates and they didn’t even know it. Ino still thought of him as her lazy teammate and Shikamaru felt no need to correct her; he still was at heart.

With the joint organizing of the chunin exams, Suna had chosen their own representative to head up things on their end. It had been a while since he’d seen Temari and she hadn’t changed much in the past year. She was direct and no-nonsense and driven and it was damn troublesome. She had no concept of ‘taking it easy’. He also had the suspicion she was still pissed at him for forfeiting during their own chunin exams but had no way to prove it.

She was damn good at her job though and she was strong. She could match Shikamaru intellectually and there weren’t many who could do that. He never had to worry about her end of things; if anything, he had to put up with her nagging for his side of things. She was the most troublesome woman he’d ever met.

“We’ll be at Taki in a few minutes,” Naruto looked back at them, smiling.

Shikamaru nodded, Sakura doing the same next to him. She had taken his place on Team Ten and Shikamaru had to listen to Chouji whine about how much the pair bickered and competed. He did feel a little bad for his best friend being outnumbered; memories of being on a genin team with Ino had not faded in the slightest. It’d had a positive influence on Chouji though. He’d put on a lot of muscle as he shot up in height and he was a lot more confident now. He could stand his ground with the girls. Shikamaru was secretly glad; his best friend had been treated poorly in the past and he hadn’t deserved it. He was finally shedding that burden.

Naruto turned back to continue talking quietly to Kakashi, his grin softening. Shikamaru had noticed on the trip how Naruto treated them differently to the silver-haired jounin. It wasn’t in a bad way but Shikamaru always got the feeling that Naruto looked at him and Sakura and pretty much everyone in their age group as his kids. It made sense considering he’d known most of them since they were young children but it felt like no matter how much they grew or how strong they got, Naruto would always look at them like that.

He’d never thought twice about it before, categorizing Naruto into the same group as his father or Asuma, but he was the same age as Temari. Working with her made Shikamaru think twice about Naruto; how was there such a difference between two people? Naruto had started young, raising Rio and graduating early, but Temari had hit early milestones too. It felt like there was something he was missing about Naruto and Shikamaru hated unsolved puzzles.

Naruto usually wore the black long-sleeve shirts the rest of the jounin wore with his orange jacket over it. He only wore his jounin vest for official occasions; apparently he’d never liked them. It was easy to forget sometimes that the redhead had so many seals tattooed over him since he was pretty covered up in the village. He was tall too; not as much as Kakashi or Asuma but enough to notice. He’d heard Ino comment a few times about Naruto’s ‘ultimate hotness’ but he tried to tune that out at any given opportunity.

He dressed very differently for missions. Naruto currently wore black shinobi pants, sandals and a black, cap-sleeved, form-fitting crop top that left the seals on his abdomen freely accessible. He also had a loose, sleeveless mesh vest over this that offered some protection to his stomach. On one arm, his black brace reached all the way to his shoulder while the other had a reinforced fingerless glove that reached his bicep. The Konoha head plate was embedded into his brace and his long, straight red hair was tied up out of the way. He didn’t carry any bags, with everything he needed stored in the seals, and he had a kunai pouch on one leg wrapped with the same grey bandages that tied down the bottom of his trouser legs. It kind of reminded him of Ino’s kunoichi outfit in a way.

They approached the base of the singular waterfall crashing down the rock face. The dense forest stopped just before the cliff and Shikamaru could see even more trees peeking over the edge of the cliff when he looked up. It certainly earned the name ‘hidden village’. Naruto stopped short of the lake at the bottom, watching the white spray of the waterfall hitting the surface. Shikamaru took his position as they waited. Only seconds later, a woman emerged from the waterfall with short grey hair to her chin, a loose navy jumpsuit with a grey jounin vest and a Taki headband.

Naruto offered a scroll and she took it, scanning quickly. She gave a short nod and gestured for them to follow. Shikamaru applied chakra to his feet and followed them to the waterfall, already silently groaning at the soaking they were about to get. Taki must have had a technique or something and his chakra control was good enough for keeping the rain off, but not a damn waterfall. They could go behind it or something.

“Fūton: Bouseki Tate no Kaze,” Naruto said quietly, lifting his hand and summoning a dome of spiraling wind above their heads.

He stepped forward under the direct spray of the waterfall and the shield of wind didn’t falter. He stopped under the heavy deluge to look back at them.

“I made room for you,” he said slowly, as if that was the issue.

Kakashi shook his head and joined the redhead but it took Shikamaru a second to shake off the shock. The level of chakra control required to pull that off was something else; even Asuma had to use his knives to control wind chakra that well. It was well known that wind was the hardest of the elements to control and it was even worse without something to channel it through. Naruto did it as if was nothing to him. No one back in the village had an exact gauge of how strong Naruto really was since he didn’t fight or take missions very often but Shikamaru suddenly felt like Naruto was probably stronger than his current rank suggested, seals and sensing abilities excluded.

The Taki kunoichi had also been taken by surprise and Shikamaru managed to catch the glimpse of astonishment on her face before she schooled it back into blank professionalism. Sakura elbowed him and he shrugged back at her. They came out the other side of the waterfall and Naruto dropped the jutsu, stepping onto the hard rock and following the Taki shinobi down the tunnel. As they approached the light at the end, Shikamaru saw Naruto’s face twist.

“His sensing face,” Sakura whispered to him.

“The question is what,” he murmured back.

“Sometimes I hate that he can see more than we ever could,” Sakura frowned. “It always feels like I’m missing half the story.”

Shikamaru couldn’t help but agree but he didn’t speak as they emerged into the light proper. They had a job to do; if it was important Naruto would tell them.

“Welcome, Konoha!”

A young man greeted them and he hadn’t expected the village leader to be so young. He had long, dark brown hair tied back into a low ponytail and dark, almost black eyes that scanned their group. He was dressed colourfully, with a yellow kimono jacket over a green shirt, a turquoise haori over that and a red scarf around his neck. He’d been working at the Desk when they’d received the information that this leader had taken over from his father, but he hadn’t imagined him like this.

“I am Shibuki, leader of Taki,” he introduced himself. “Thank you for coming all this way.”

Naruto stepped forward, bowing his head and offering the scroll. As Shibuki took it, Naruto gestured to his team.

“It is an honour to be here,” he answered formally. “I am Uzumaki Naruto and this is my team, Hatake Kakashi, Nara Shikamaru and Haruno Sakura. Thank you for welcoming us into your village.”

“Oh, there’s no need for that,” Shibuki waved a hand, almost seeming nervous. “Please, come with me. We have accommodations for you to stay in tonight.”

He started to walk and Naruto fell in one step behind. He looked around, taking a moment to absorb his surroundings. The village was beautiful. It was well hidden and the cliff they’d just passed under towered behind them; it could even be described as cosy. With the angle of the sun it didn’t cast much of a shadow so the sun was free to brighten up the greenery around them. Orange-roofed buildings were scattered around, with plenty of trees, flowers and bushes filling the gaps between them. A tan dirt path wound its way through the village with no sign of a road; it was a lot smaller than Konoha and less developed. Naruto liked it though; the chakra was peaceful here. A massive tree sat in the middle distance, towering into the sky, and between the gaps in the scenery Naruto could see the still, sparkling water of a lake at its base.

“Your village is beautiful,” he spoke up, startling Shibuki.

“Oh, thank you,” he said quickly. “I’m sure it’s much smaller than Konoha.”

“It’s peaceful here,” Naruto responded, basking in the lack of activity. Konoha was peaceful but it was busy in a way a small village like wasn’t. It was nice to take a breather like this.

Shibuki smiled back at him, seeming to relax. Villager called out to them, greeting their leader, and children popped up every so often to stare at them. It had become obvious that Shibuki was well loved by his people and Naruto took it as an excellent sign. He seemed a little jumpy but who was he to judge?

“So you can sense things right?” Shibuki spoke up, looking at him curiously.

“Yeah,” Naruto agreed. There was no point in hiding it; Kumo had put it in print. “You have some strong shinobi here.”

“What do I feel like?” Shibuki asked eagerly.

Naruto took a moment to focus his sensing abilities on the man. He scanned him, tilting his head as he uncovered layer after layer of his chakra.

“You’re strong with suiton jutsu,” he said. “You have a lot of chakra too and it’s quite dense, so you’re probably pretty resilient and resistant to exhaustion.”

“Wow,” Shibuki grinned, taking years off him. “That’s so cool.”

Naruto shrugged. It wasn’t that special. Chakra flared in his periphery, the same that he’d sensed at the entrance, and he resisted the urge to look in its direction. He hadn’t known Taki had a jinchūriki and he was sure that they wanted to keep it that way. It felt strong, closer to Rio’s bijū chakra than Gaara’s. He also got the sensation of buzzing from it, similar to Shino’s and his clans. They were getting closer to it.

“We’ve prepared a meal for you and invited some of the villagers,” said Shibuki, drawing Naruto’s attention back. “We want this to be a new start for the relationship between our two villages.”

“That is something we want too,” Naruto smiled back at him.

They arrived at one of the larger buildings and entered to see a long table set up with food and dishes. Naruto’s eyes were drawn to the massive chakra signature of the bijū. It was a girl, maybe a little older than Rio. She was short, with tanned skin, mint-green hair and bright orange eyes. She wore an orange clip in her hair and white shinobi clothes consisting of an apron skirt and a crop top, both with mesh beneath it. She looked at them, grinning and Naruto waved back at her.

“Please sit,” Shibuki insisted. “We’ll get started.”

The girl bounced over and snagged one of the seats next to Naruto, putting herself between him and Shibuki. Kakashi sat at his other side and Shikamaru and Sakura took their seats opposite to them. The few other Taki shinobi took the rest of the seats.

“Hi, I’m Fū,” she introduced herself cheerfully. “You’re the Uzumaki, right? With the seals?”  

“Fū,” Shibuki said exasperatedly and Naruto recognized that tone. “At least let him settle down a bit first.”

“You’re curious too, Shibuki-sensei,” she retorted, folding her arms. “We’ve never had a fūinjutsu master in the village before.”

Naruto felt Kakashi tense up beside him and touched his hand gently under the table. There was no danger here. He could feel the open curiosity pouring out of the girl and it reminded him of some of the genin back home. She reminded him of Rio especially; happy, curious and a lack of a filter.

“I’m not a master yet but I do dabble,” he replied easily. “Do you have an interest in them?”

“No way, too much studying. I would die of boredom,” she shook her head, grabbing one of the buns from the table. “Why’d you choose it?”

He couldn’t exactly say the true reason. If he mentioned his father then that would lead to questions he wasn’t allowed to answer. He picked the next safest option.

“The Uzumaki clan was famous for it before they were wiped out,” he replied. “I wanted to carry on the tradition, even if it was just me.”

“You’re only seventeen, right?” she asked, leaning towards him. “Kumo put you in the bingo book when you were like fourteen? When did you make chunin? Did you graduate early? Are you good at anything else?”

Naruto blinked in the face of the questions. No one was ever that curious about him; he considered himself pretty boring. He glanced at Shibuki and huffed a laugh at the openly curious look on his face. He was terrible at trying to hide it. He could see how they were teacher and student.

“I’m not sure I’m as interesting as you think,” he chuckled.

“You sense things right?” Fū insisted. “So you can sense…her?”

“Fū,” Shibuki whispered nervously.

“Yes, I can.” Naruto answered honestly.

Shibuki watched him carefully but Naruto remained calm, Kakashi tense by his side. His sensing wasn’t a secret and it was inevitable that it would come up. Sakura and Shikamaru were distracted talking to other Taki shinobi and no one else was paying attention to them.

“You don’t seem concerned,” Shibuki commented.

“It’s not my first time meeting a Jinchūriki.”

“You’ve met others like me?” Fū asked, eyes wide.

“One or two,” Naruto shrugged, deliberately vague.

“She likes you, you know,” Fū said, taking Naruto by surprise. “She won’t tell me why but she really likes you. She says that you’re a good one.”

Naruto stared back at her, not expecting that response. The only Bijū he’d really spoken to face-to-face was Shukaku and that hadn’t been a positive interaction. He’d met…five Jinchūriki now out of nine possibilities. Fū didn’t seem upset or ashamed talking about her Bijū; it seemed like she hadn’t shared Rio and Gaara’s experiences growing up. He had a feeling it had to do with Shibuki who was watching them fondly. He was glad. No one deserved to be miserable for something beyond their control. He knew the actions of the Kyūbi had soured Konoha and its inhabitants against the tailed beasts but Naruto had formed a different perspective.

The beasts were as trapped as their containers. He couldn’t imagine being caged like that for so long and with the Sanbi living peacefully outside a container, he didn’t believe they were mindless beasts bent on destruction. They weren’t demons. They were conscious beings whom humans had used and abused for years. The human containers suffered too and Naruto couldn’t help but feel this ‘Jinchūriki’ system wasn’t fair to anyone. He’d often wondered how much access to the outside world the Bijū had, if there was a way to improve things without risking the lives of the containers.

“Can she hear me?” He asked and Fū didn’t hide her surprise.

“Y-yeah, she can.”

“Well, thank you….what’s her name?”

“Her name’s Chōmei,” Fū grinned. “Although she prefers Lucky Seven Chōmei.”

Naruto nodded, smiling.

“Thank you, Lucky Seven Chōmei, for your words,” he said directly to Fū, aiming his words beyond her. “It is an honour to speak with you and I hope you are well.”

It was a little more formal than he would usually talk to someone but this was an ancient being that’s been around long before these villages. He figured respectful was the way to go. He felt the bijū’s chakra flicker in response and he couldn’t help a grin. He flared his own in response and Fū shifted in her seat.

“She’s really happy,” Fū said in awe. “Nobody ever talks to her directly.”

“She’s her own being,” Naruto shrugged, finally grabbing something to out on his plate. “As are you; it would be impolite to treat you both as one person. You can think for yourselves, you know?”

He looked up as there was a lack of response for several moments. He looked up confused as she stared at him. He looked over to Shibuki for help but he had a similar expression. He glanced at Kakashi to see if he knew what was going on but the man was just shaking his head fondly.

“I like you too,” Fū finally announced. “You’re really cool.”

Naruto had no idea where that had come from but he decided to leave it. He continued talking to the curious pair for the rest of the meal, enjoying their questions.

Sakura sank gratefully into the soft bed, letting out a heavy sigh. It had been a long journey to Taki and then she’d eaten a bit too much at dinner. There was a lot she’d never seen before and she wanted to try as much as she could. It’d been really interesting to talk to the Taki shinobi. They were similar in a lot of ways but so different too. She even got them to talk about their hospital and healing staff, something she could talk about for hours.

She was so glad she’d decided to study medical jutsu with Tsunade-sama. When Rio had left and Sasuke joined ANBU, she’d taken Shikamaru’s place on Team Ten. She knew she’d made a lot of progress since graduating the academy but it still felt like she was being left behind by her teammates. The mission to Wave had changed everything for her and when she looked back to the naïve girl from back then, she felt the warm glow of pride at how far she’d come. Kazuya had been instrumental in her journey; she wouldn’t be where she was today without him.

She was grateful for the whole Uzumaki clan. They had taken her in without question and helped her to become a better version of herself. Since she had ditched that silly crush on Sasuke and saw him for who he was, things had really clicked into place. Sakura hadn’t realized what it would take to become as good kunoichi when she’d been in the academy but now she couldn’t imagine doing anything else. She’d started meeting up with her parents for the occasional dinner over the past year and while they still talked about her finding a safer career, they were starting to reach a good place. She knew they still didn’t understand what it was to be a ninja but it didn’t bother her anymore. She knew who she was.

She’d moved out of the apartment to live with Tsunade as part of her apprenticeship and it had been a little strange at first. The Uzumaki household was loud and busy and so warm and welcoming; the Hokage residence wasn’t like that at all. It was so big and quiet and she’d found it lonely. She’d since learned to appreciate the peace and quiet. There were so many books and scrolls and space to practice and learn. It was a different kind of freedom and while she still went home to visit the boys, she was happy where she was. She’d been intimidated by Tsunade-sama at first too, but the longer she lived with the Sannin the more she realized she was just like anyone else.

Sakura would make chunin at these exams. She wanted to make Tsunade-sama proud, to show her she’d made the right choice. She wanted to do it for Kazuya and Naruto too. She had to catch up to her teammates and support them. Sasuke was so strong and who knows what kinds of things Rio would be learning on his journey.

Ino kept insisting she would make chunin first and Sakura was also determined to make her eat her words. The Yamanaka was her best friend and being on the same team had allowed them to build their friendship into something unbreakable. Nothing like the ‘Sasuke’ situation would ever happen again and if it did, Sakura knew they were strong enough this time to stay friends. Ino pushed her in a way no one else did and while to others it looked like they did nothing but bicker and argue, Sakura knew they were just pushing each other to be their best. She’d been able to get to know Chouji too during her time in Team Ten and he was pretty cool. She’d learned more about his clan and she had joined Ino in her quest to push the boy out of his comfort zone. Chouji had so much potential; he was just a little shy sometimes.

It had taken some time to adjust to Asuma-sensei. He had a very different style of teaching compared to Kakashi-sensei and even after a year and a half, she still preferred Kakashi-sensei. He still taught her and Sasuke occasionally but they focused on specific things, like certain techniques or katas. Kakashi-sensei pushed her harder than Asuma-sensei and while he gave off the lazy pervert vibe she knew better. He wanted them to be their best and survive into retirement. He’d practically moved into the Uzumaki’s apartment so she still saw him often; he always made sure to ask about her progress and give her pointers when needed.

Sakura was happy. It had taken a lot to get here and she’d had to fight so many inner demons, but she could finally say she was happy with herself. She was her own pillar of strength and had the resilience to handle anything that came her way. She just had to continue doing her best.

Shikamaru groaned from the bed on the other side of the room. They’d been roomed in pairs so Sakura had been roomed with the Nara. It was a simple room, with two single beds, a couple of wooden side tables and a oak dresser topped with a simple lamp, but it was warm and clean. The blue rug beneath their feet was soft and the teal linen was fresh and cool. She’d slept in a lot worse places.

“So damn troublesome,” the Nara muttered and Sakura looked over at him.

“What is?”

“This mission,” he grouched, face still smooshed into the blanket. “I can feel the list of things I have to do growing while I’m here. It’s such a drag.”

“There’s nothing you can do about it now,” she pointed out. “Think of it like a holiday. Taki is coming to the exams so we just have to go home now. The mission is pretty much done.”

Shikamaru groaned again and Sakura rolled her eyes; he was just being dramatic now. A thought came to her.

“Hey, did you find out who the girl Naruto was talking to was?”

She seen them talking out of the corner of her eye and something about the conversation seemed off. Something was up although she didn’t have the faintest idea as to why.

“Fū,” he replied, sitting up slightly. “She’s a genin going to the chunin exams. She’s the village leader’s student.”

“Was there anything else?” she asked.

“You picked it up too?”

“I have no idea,” she shrugged. “I didn’t hear what they were saying but I got the feeling Naruto was doing his thing.”

“Who knows with him,” Shikamaru sighed, sitting up fully and swinging his feet down to the floor. “Every time I think I know what’s going on, he does something I don’t expect. It’s why my dad likes him so much; he’s unpredictable.”

“It’s like he exists in a whole different world sometimes,” Sakura admitted. “There’s so much that he can sense that we can’t and when I think he’s talking nonsense or exaggerating, he turns out to be right. It’s like he can see everything, you know.”

“He can’t,” Shikamaru shook his head. “He just sees enough.”

Naruto was such a mystery sometimes. She knew he was high up in the village administration, but she didn’t know what he actually did. She knew he was a fūinjutsu master but not what he could really do with them. She knew he was a sensor but not what he could sense. She knew he was strong but she’d never seen him fight. It was like they could only see a glimpse of the full picture at any given time. He didn’t do it on purpose either. He just wasn’t one of them; he was more like Tsunade-sama and Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei.

He didn’t talk about himself, preferring to help others and do his job. She looked up to him a lot and they’d gotten a lot closer over the past year, but sometimes she didn’t like how much of himself he hid from people. The thing was that he didn’t even seem like he was hiding anything; he was so open and giving and talkative. It was only if you knew him very well that you could tell something was a little off.

There was gentle knock at the door and the man himself popped his head in, long red hair hanging loosely over his shoulder and down to his waist. He smiled at them, his blue eyes warm, and Sakura smiled back.

“Just checking in,” His soft baritone was strong and familiar. “We’re planning to head out at first light but Shibuki-sama has arranged for breakfast before we go.”

“Okay, we’ll meet you outside a bit earlier then,” she confirmed.

Naruto nodded but before he could say anything further, he froze, eyes glazing over. Sakura shot a look over to Shikamaru who was now at attention. Something was up. Naruto blinked.

“Grab your combat gear and follow me,” he shot out before disappearing from the doorframe. “Go to the centre tree!”

Sakura grabbed her kunai pouch and launched herself out the doors after him, Shikamaru on her heels. She didn’t know what was wrong but she trusted Naruto. She had to be ready for anything.