Being an observer before being a player
It´s been two days since the mission and Naruto had yet to go out for new supplies, which, really, he probably should do some time soon. But you couldn´t really blame him. The first day after the mission was spent blankly staring at a wall and trying to process what exactly had just happened, and the second days was spent meditating in order to calm his inner turmoil. He might have just lost his sense of time during that.
So, he had yet to go to the marketplace to stock up on whatever necessities he needed. Not to mention, there was also the small crack in his fox mask that he sustained from when he´d saved Hikaku, so maybe he could go to the old man to get him to fix it.
The blonde sighed and swiftly stored his mask in the storage seal on his arm, intending to go out without it on his face for today. Despite his extraordinary and very much bright and noticeable looks, he could very well blend within a crowd if he wanted to, even without the use of a henge. It became a necessity during the time he was still an academy student, on bad days, when he had wanted to avoid all the people around him, but still had to go out and do things. Not being able to form a henge during that time forced him to adapt, meaning he was quite skillful at it by now.
Choosing to go the longer route and not use the hiraishin marker that was near the marketplace, Naruto hauled himself through the entrance of his hidden home, scaling up the mountainside and landing on top without so much as a noise.
It was a beautiful day, making Naruto smile. The sky was a bright and clear blue, much like his eyes, only a little lighter and paler. There were some clouds obstructing the clear view, enough to throw a little shade here and there but not too many to obscure the view.
Shikamaru would have thought that this was an amazing day to cloud-watch, Naruto mused with a fond huff as he walked into the direction of the market.
He wasn´t wearing his shinobi clothes today, at least not the full gear – what little of actual gear he had, that is. He still choose the same dark grey loose pants, simply because they allowed him the most and best mobility and comfort, but instead of his usual undershirt and his mesh shirt, Naruto was wearing a pale blue, short sleeved shirt that loosely around over his frame, perfect for the rather warm temperature.
None of the seals on his arm were visible, since none of them had chakra channeling through them, so Naruto wasn’t worried about curious glances either.
His golden hair was let down today, much like during the mission. Naruto saw no need to constantly tie what little excessive length he had into a short ponytail, not even when his bangs started getting longer. Most of the time, wearing the mask, they didn´t bother him. Today he simply tucked them aside with a small pin that constantly seemed to be getting lost inside his thick and wild locks, barely able to do their job and keep the bangs aside. The pin was plain black with a small Sakura-flower on top, small enough to be overlooked when one was searching for it.
He´d found the delicate hair pin in a shop the same day he brought the mask. It had reminded him a lot of Sakura and the shopkeeper, a lovely elderly woman with a warm smile and kind eyes, gave him a discount, saying it was sweet that he intended to wear it once he told her it reminded him of his friend. Worried that it might fall out or worse, break, he never wore it out on any of the missions he had been on so far.
Alas, today was a good day, so he enjoyed the fresh air and the familiar scent of wood, fresh forest and flowers as he made his way to his destination.
The land of fire, and the place that would soon be Konoha, was just as beautiful in its atmosphere as it had been before the fourth war, before the destruction and devastation.
Soon enough, nature passed and the busy streets of the marketplace came to light. The many people walking and chatting all around him almost overloaded his senses, but not in a way that would make him uncomfortable. Instead, Naruto could feel the life sprout around him, dance through his senses like the melody of a beautiful song. His steps felt light and easy as he maneuvered through the crowds, careful not to bump into anyone and destroy the easy-going rhythm and steadiness he found himself in.
Most people around here were very clearly civilians, judging by the way he seemed like a ghost to them. The few that did peek at him occasionally, shinobi whose eyes were keener to oddities than those of civilians, whenever his blonde hair peeked out of the sea of brown and black shades lost sight of him just as fast.
Finding the shop that he bought the mask from was relatively easy. Despite the shopkeeper not having large chakra reserves, or a rather noticeable one, Naruto memorized it anyway. After a few minutes of walking through the busy streets, the shop he was looking for was right in front of him.
Just like the first time around, there was no one but the man and Naruto himself.
The shopkeeper had his back turned, but the pale red shade of hair was unmistakably his. The man was hunched over and his hands were moving in fluent motions, like he was working on something. Given his profession, Naruto guessed that the pale-red haired man was probably working on another ornament.
A large grin spread on Naruto´s face before he even got to the counter, already feeling incredibly happy to see this person. Safe for Kurama, in this time this man was the only one who knew him by his name, even if it wasn´t his full one.
Naruto wasn´t one to keep strangers as strangers for long, known to make friends and allies at every turn he makes – at least during his own time – so already Naruto was confident in calling the shopkeeper a friend, even if the sentiment might not be shared.
He raised his arm in greeting grinned even brighter, so bright that his whiskers scrunched up on his face in a childish, but very endearing fashion. “Hey, old man! I´m back!”
His greeting was just loud enough for the man to hear and he turned around, chakra pulsing in confusion that was just as clearly displayed on his face, before his features lit up in recognition. Whatever the man as working on was discarded and he turned to full face his costumer, the corners of his eyes crinkled in a kind smile.
“Well hello, my boy. Naruto-kun, was it? I didn´t expect you back so soon.”
Naruto laughed cheerily, finally stopping in front of the man and leaning against the counter. “I wouldn’t have thought you´d remember me that easily.”
The man only huffed like Naruto had said something stupid and, to Naruto´s utter surprise, raised one of his hands to ruffle his hair in a fond gesture. The blonde paused for only a split second before he brightened and leaned into the fond touch, finding that he very much liked it.
The man reminded him of Iruka a lot. The same scar on his nose, and the same oddly understanding and kind eyes, whenever he wasn´t particularly annoyed with Naruto. Perhaps that´s the reason it was so easy to fall into easy conversation and teasing with him.
“Please. I may be a little older, but my eyes are working just as well as they had been in my youth. That shade of blonde – I would recognize it anywhere. And those whiskers too. How could I forget the customer who took one of my best pieces with him?” His lips tilted up in amusement.
Naruto hummed, suddenly mourning the loss of warmth in his hair, but didn´t show it outwardly. Instead, he smiled and tapped his cheek with his finger, symbolizing the mask. “It´s a beautiful piece of work, truly.”
This time it was the old man´s turn to laugh. It was scratchy and quiet, but no less genuine. “Well, I did make it myself, so I thank you for the compliment, Naruto-kun.”
There was a small but very comfortable silence that fell between them, and Naruto was content to let it linger a little longer. The chatter and noise of the busy people behind him tuned into the background, easing him into a little more relaxed feeling. The background noise and the man impressions were soothing, as was the man´s presence.
Sadly, the moment was broken when the shopkeeper hum thoughtfully, placing a hand on the wooden counter and tapping his fingers against it in a steady rhythm. “Somehow I have a feeling that you´re not here to only visit this old man, are you?”
Ah, well, that was true. He did need his mask fixed.
Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with his hand, Naruto admitted, “You´re right, it´s not. The – The mask you gifted me. It´s about that.”
Like he´d known, and Naruto was sure he did, the man sighed good naturedly and beckoned him over, motioning for Naruto to give him the item. Naruto did so, pulsing his chakra through the storage seal on his exposed arm, making the seal glow in a faint blue color, before the mask popped into the air with a small puff of smoke.
The man whistled lowly, muttering something about very impressive sealwork, but let his attention stray back to the mask. Taking the contemplating silence in which the man turned the mask in his head, much in similar fashion to the first time Naruto was here, as his sign to explain, Naruto did. “It was an accident, but the mask cracked some time ago. I didn´t want to make it worse by tinkering with it myself, so I wanted to ask if maybe you could fix it. I it could be fixed at all.”
Naruto hoped he could, because this mask was very precious to him, even if Kurama was awake again.
For a long moment, the man didn´t answer and Naruto already suspected that it might not work, but then he sighed – long-sufferingly in a way that could rival a Nara on a bad day.
“I should have known this could have happened. Really, you shinobi are reckless to a fault. The mask is incredibly sturdy, meaning that the fact that it cracked makes the fact that your skull is not in the same condition a wonder. What kind of trouble have you been getting into as Kitsune, Naruto-kun?”
Naruto choked.
His eyes widened and he spluttered, caught completely off guard at the man´s response. “Wait, how do you – I mean, why would you think that?” Naruto would forever deny that his voice got a pitch higher in his panic at the end of the sentence. He was very much calm and collected, thank you.
Judging by the very unimpressed look he received however, his act wasn´t all that convincing. “Listen boy, I´m not stupid. The day after you received your mask, I started hearing rumors about a shinobi with the exact same mask going around, naming himself Kitsune – not very creative on your part, really,” Naruto spluttered again at the jab at his naming skills, before totally not pouting. Not all that surprising though, given his mother named him after a fishcake and his father had absolutely zero naming skill, even when his life depended on it.
“But don´t worry Naruto-kun, I´ve told no one about it. I´m rather good at keeping secrets and I must admit that I do enjoy the man rumors floating around about your true identity. It´s always very entertaining to hear what other people theorize,” his smile turned foxy, mischievous even, and somehow Naruto was very much reminded of Iruka again. The Iruka that could easily keep up with his own wits when it came to pranks. Who was just as much of a menace as Naruto had been.
Naruto had a sudden feeling this man had been a good prankster too.
Hearing the confirmation that nothing was leaked about his identity though, Naruto let out a slow and relieved exhale. “Thanks, old man. I´ve been trying to lay low until I reached my goal, so you not telling anyone really helps.”
That seemed to spark something very curious in the man, because one pale eyebrow raised in question. “Your goal? And what would that be?”
Naruto smiled. This time, it was a mixture of wistful, happy and determined. And going by the way the shopkeeper reacted, Naruto allowed his chakra to unconsciously leak his feeling as well, making the man´s chakra react and brighten in retaliation.
“Peace. I want to unite the shinobi, break the cycle of hatred and create peace. That is my goal.”
.
They had talked for some more, about Naruto´s dreams, his ambitions and his adventures and missions so far. It turned out that Hiroshi – that turned out to be the shopkeeper´s name – was a wonderful listener. It didn´t matter what Naruto said, or how impossible it sounded, as the blonde explained, the man listened, understood and most importantly agreed.
“I too was a shinobi once, but an injury forced me to retire. I do not move as well as I used to, as you can see. But I do agree with you, Naruto-kun. Peace is something I have wished for since I can remember. I´m glad to see that there are more people out there that strive for the same goal. Keep reaching for the stars, Naruto-kun, one day they too will reach back and you will be able to embrace them, I´m sure of it.”
Naruto loved Hiroshi. It was easy to love a man as kind as him. Naruto could tell that the man was genuine, after all, his chakra expressed more about him than spoken words ever could.
Hiroshi had fixed his mask and Naruto had stored it into his seal once again. The man´s gaze had lingered on his sealwork and Naruto promised that the next time he came around, he would show the man some things in case he was interested. Hiroshi liked the idea a lot and made Naruto promise to come back as soon as possible, even when he didn´t need his mask fixed again.
They parted ways on a good note and with bright smiles and Naruto made his way to get the rest of his supplies.
It was rather uneventful after that, since the blonde only had to get a little more ink and sealing papers, as well as some clothes to replace the ones he damaged on the mission. Shopping wasn´t one of his favorite past times anyway, so he hurried to get it over with as fast as possible.
Once done, a quick glance at what money he had left that he hadn´t put aside for later use made him come to a rather spontaneous decision.
Why not treat himself to a meal and a drink?
Naruto wasn´t a drinker, not by far. But sometimes in between the missions of the Akatsuki, before the world had gone to shit, Naruto had enjoyed going out with his friends from time to time, even if they rarely ever had the time for that. They had a lot of fun trying to get him drunk once, when they had been underage, and Sakura of all people, nose buried deep in her medical studies and absolutely fascinated with Naruto´s poison resistance, theorized that since he was poison resistant because of the Kyuubi, that alcohol should be able to burn through his system in the same way.
Well, that ended with a lecture from Yamato about underage drinking, a ban of any pub from Tsunade, and some new information about Naruto.
He could not get drunk. Like, at all.
Tsunade was even madder after finding that out. The memory of furious yells of jealousy and a demand to a dinking contest – right after he had been told not to drink, mind you – still made him shudder. The woman was a maniac, especially with some alcohol in her system. Not as bad as Lee or Gai, but still a force to be reckoned with.
Either way, Naruto decided to just do that.
There was a nice pub, not too far from where he currently was, so he decided that that place would be his next and last destination for the day. He had set out at early noon after all and it was already beginning to get rather dark. Not that he minded the dark, but that´s when the civilians usually started to go to their homes and the shinobi came. He had no intention of accidentally running into anyone he knew from either stories, or previous interactions here, even if he knew to avoid them by sensing them before they could even see or notice him.
Naruto´s steps were steady and silent as he walked towards the entry of the restaurant. It was painted dark on the outside with some ornaments and light all around the large door frame. Over the door hung a big sign, showing a picture of a woman wearing a pastel yellow apron and holding up a tray with drinks and food. In swung letters beneath the woman it read, “Ayame´s kitchen,” which promptly reminded him of his Ayame, the on back in Konoha at Ichiraku´s.
Shaking the fond, but also very painful memories off, Naruto stepped inside, pushing the doors open with more care than necessary. Upon the door opening, a small bell residing on top of the frame was pushed against, announcing his presence to the establishment. Few heads turned, and those that did didn´t linger on him for too long either. Most went back to their respective conversations, not paying attention any longer than necessary.
Naruto was greeted by one of the workers who pointed him to one of the only free tables in the establishment, one with two chairs and close to one of the rather larger windows. The view wasn´t the greatest, but that wasn´t too much of a bother for him either way, so Naruto simply smile and thanked the waitress for her help, making her chakra flush oddly, before leaving to sit down.
His eyes wandered absently around, immediately noting every and any exits, as well as every person in the near vicinity. A quick check wouldn´t hurt anyone, and Naruto would rather be safe than sorry, especially if it didn´t take any effort to be careful.
He let himself sink into his chair, relaxing and letting the atmosphere flow around him. Happy and excited chatter came from all sides of the rooms, and if Naruto strained his hearing, then he would also be able to make out the individual conversation.
There was a civilian family with two daughters sitting in the corner of the place. One daughter looked to be around twelve, while the other was much older, probably sixteen. Both of them had similar ashen hair, but the younger one had hazel eyes, while the older´s eyes shone yellow-ish with a tint of gold when the light hit her eyes in a certain way.
The two girls were arguing very passionately about which of the two had won their game – Naruto didn´t know what game they were talking about – and who would have to do the chores as punishment for losing after they went back home.
The mother on the other hand, a fierce looking woman with sharp features, light brown hair and the same golden eyes her eldest daughter had, promptly ended the argument by flashing a smile, all teeth and threatening, and saying that if the two didn´t keep it down, they would each get the double load of work.
Naruto suppressed snickers behind his hand and discreetly turned his head away before he would be caught staring. No need to be on the other side of that frightening look of a mother.
No, seriously, mothers were a scary bunch of people. It didn´t matter whether they were civilians or shinobi, you never crossed a mother lest you wanted to be beheaded. That witch Kaguya had been a mother too – albeit a horrible one and more of a tyrant than a mother – but look at how that ended up.
He was shaken out of his thoughts when the same waitress from before came to take his order for drink. Naruto, having absolutely no idea what was good and what wasn´t, not caring either way, asked for her to recommend something and then proceeded to choose just that.
She gave a polite bow and headed off once again.
Naruto was about to fall back in his chair and bide his time, waiting for her to come back, but his plan to simply zone out and wait was interrupted by a dull thud followed by a seemingly very frustrated grumble of “Goddammit.”
Well, whoever the poor soul was that sounded like they were about to bury themselves under a doton jutsu out of sheer frustration definitely had his attention now. Naruto´s head turned to the side just enough to see where the call had been coming from, to find his eyes fixated on the table right next to his.
A group of three men were seated at the table, their attention focused on…
A shogi board?
Naruto didn´t even need to search for their chakra, because he could already very clearly feel the creeping sensation of shadows in their signatures. A signature with the similar base as the one of his best friend and advisor.
These were Nara.
His eyes widened by a fraction and he watched as the shortest out of the three men, probably also the youngest looking to be around his early twenties, groaned once again in utter defeat. His head falling onto the wooden table was apparently what had been the case of the thud that caught the blonde´s attention, so with his face still remaining where it was, Naruto couldn´t make out any facial features. What he could see however was a head with short shaved dark brown hair and a jagged scar peeking out from his deep green kimono and disappearing towards his equally jagged hairline.
The second man, the one on the other side of the board, wore a very smug and satisfactory smirk as he twirled around the king piece of his opponent between his fingers. This man had equally as dark hair as the first one, but his was much longer, tied into a low spiked bun and held together by a brown ribbon. His eyes were dark brown, so dark they would almost appear completely black, and a single very small scar ran right under his eyes, like a kunai had grazed his skin in that spot. Strands of loose hair were carefully brushed back behind his ears so that they wouldn´t get in the way.
The third man, the one who sat off to the side and had his attention firmly on the board had a very familiar looking high ponytail with spiked ends. His hair was a shade lighter than those of his two comrades, but it also seemed to defy gravity much more than the other two. His face showed no scars, neither did his hands, only the usual callouses that came with being a shinobi. His forest green eyes were narrowed at the board before his attention swiped over to the youngest, who was by now running a hand through his short hair.
“Oi, Jiro, you´ve missed two out of the five traps that Ichiro gave you. You need to pay better attention if you don´t want your brother to absolutely destroy you in every game.” The man with the forest green eyes chided the youngest, brows furrowed in what seemed to be mild exasperation.
Jiro groaned again but lifted his head from the table. This time, Naruto could make out the features of the man´s face way better. The face structure and the eye color were the same as Ichiro´s, his elder brother apparently, but instead of a scar under his left eye, the man had a scar on his lip that suggested he busted it open once and it never healed properly.
“I´m trying, seriously, but how was I supposed to know that elder brother would give me five traps. Where were they in the first place?”
His eyes narrowed in similar fashion onto the board trying to make sense of whatever had been the cause for his loss, but his concentration broke when Ichiro snorted before teasingly running a hand through his younger brother´s short hair, ruffling it uncomfortably and not pulling his hand away even when Jiro started squirming.
His eyes were on the other man however. “Don´t be too harsh on him, Shigeo. This brat is still learning after all.”
Jiro clicked his tongue, attempting to swat the hand annoying him away, but only failing when Ichiro dodged. “I´m not a brat! Also, you´re cheating!”
That comment earned him a whack over the head from Shigeo that almost left Ichiro´s hand as collateral damage, causing the older to quickly pull it away. Shigeo was narrowing his eyes again, and judging by the stress marks and crinkles around the man´s eyes, Naruto guessed that this was either his default expression, or he somehow found a lot of reasons to be scowling at things – or people, depending on which one infuriated him more in a particular situation.
“Have you forgotten that we are shinobi? Cheating is what we do. It´s what we´re good at. Also, Ichiro didn´t even need to cheat. He´s simply strategically better than you are.”
This time the youngest fumed, as much as a Nara could fume that is, and pointed an accusing finger at Shigeo. His mouth was set in a grim line and his chakra was swirling with annoyance. “I don´t want to hear that from you! You can´t beat elder brother in shogi either, so don´t go berating me.”
A tick mark appeared above the spiky haired man´s eyebrow almost in a comical way and he shoved the finger that was pointing at his face away with a little more force than necessary. “What was that, you punk? How about you play a round against me then –“
“Alright, that´s enough you two. Seriously, you are causing a ruckus and being incredibly troublesome. Any louder and we will get complaints.” Ichiro intervened, slamming the king-piece that he had been playing with before down onto the board with a resounding click to gain their attention.
It certainly seemed to work, because both men quieted down, albeit with very grumpy expressions on their faces.
Jiro muttered something that Naruto didn´t quite catch, but it apparently was enough for Ichiro to hear, because the man sent him a deadpan glare that perfectly contained the message of “Do you really want to have this conversation now?” Turns out that no, Jiro did not want to have that conversation, so he simply grunted and ran a hand across his face in defeat.
Shigeo on the other hand was still frowning, but much less than before. The man heavily sighed and proceeded to wipe the pieces carefully aside before rearranging them in order, throwing a look at Ichiro.
“Let´s play another round. This time you against me, Ichiro-kun,” the name was spoken with mockery and slight challenge, but teasingly enough to know that all was well and this was meant to be a friendly match.
“Troublesome and demanding as always, Shigeo. But, oh well, we did come here to enjoy friendly afternoon with matches. While also enjoying some drinks.” The corners of his lips turned upwards and once again, the man wore a taunting and challenging smirk, so much like Shikamaru whenever his friend knew he had won, that Naruto had to physically restrain himself from reacting outwardly to it.
This time, Naruto watched with wide and curious eyes as they set their respective pieces onto the board and began to play. Naruto watched it from start to finish, entranced in the way the two minds were at work, as well as deep in his own memories filled with hurt and nostalgia.
This match would certainly be interesting to watch.