426Naruto was getting frustrated. And maybe a little worried. A little. Because Indra-nii hadn't stopped by since he'd gotten out of T & I. Was he really okay? Did he even want to see Naruto anymore?
Every time the thought crossed his mind, he'd shake it out of his head, violently. But that didn't stop it from popping in.
It didn't pop in so much when he was training, though. And now-a-days, he could walk on water as well as walls and trees, he could do every academy kata perfectly, was making progress on his own style, and had just found out he had a wind-natured chakra. That was cool.
What wasn't cool was how Kakashi-sensei was making him pass every single test the academy had ever given. He claimed Naruto had to know these things, that they were important. It was so hard to sit there and give every answer to every question… but if he didn't, he had to give Kakashi-sensei 20 hand-stand push-ups. Naruto's arms were getting awfully strong.
He hadn't been able to talk to Kurama (no, Kyuubi, he'd asked to be called Kyuubi) either. Which frustrated him like nothing else. Did the fox not want to talk to him? Rude.
All in all, some things were going great, but some things… really weren't, and if that didn't change soon, he'd find a way to change that himself!
He nodded and clenched his fist in determination.
"Naruto," the pleasant (too pleasant) voice of Kakashi-sensei behind him made him flinch. "I don't see you studying."
"I am! I am!" Naruto said, getting back to his scroll with the rest of his kage bunshin as they sat in a circle on the training ground.
"Good. Because for every question you get wrong today, you're going to add another leaf to your leaf-control exercise. If you hit ten, you'll do that while walking on trees. If you hit twenty, you'll do that while walking on water. You really don't want to know what will happen if you hit thirty."
Naruto gulped. He really didn't.
"H-hai, Kakashi-sensei." He nodded and pointedly focused on the scroll in front of him. He could swear he heard their sensei walk away muttering, "Catharsis." What did that even mean?
And where was Indra-nii? He could really use a rescue right about now…
xXx
"You know," Indra said as he appeared in the Hokage's office, nonchalantly leaning against the wall near the door, as if the ANBU weren't about ready to jump him. "I just saw an interesting client come to the tower."
Hiruzen didn't bristle, but it was a close thing.
"Appearing in this office like that is a good way to get killed," he warned. That was something he only reserved for people he trusted. Indra was not on that list.
The Uchiha shrugged. "Your ANBU can try." He said it like he didn't remotely care at all. The Third grit his teeth. What had Kakashi taught his students if Uchiha Sasuke had ended up like this? He needed to stop in on their training and see… and he was very much rethinking strong-arming one of his best ANBU captains to taking on a genin team. He didn't need three more trolls of Kakashi's caliber in his ranks.
"In any case," Indra went on, "originally, my team was sent on the mission to Wave. C-rank, bridge builder, right?"
Something about his absolutely uncaring attitude made Hiruzen narrow his eyes. "Yes."
"You know about the situation in Wave, right now, right?"
The Hokage's eyes narrowed further. "We have some suspicions."
Indra nodded. "In any case, my team survived."
What did that mean?!
"A C-rank?" Hiruzen asked, unable to keep the worry from his voice.
"It's all they could afford," Indra said casually.
A pause. "You want to go on this mission."
Indra tapped his chin. "Not really. Like I said, we survived the first time. And team 7 is stronger now."
Still… "What, exactly, will they be running into?"
The fact that Indra's smile had grown brighter worried Hiruzen for some reason he couldn't name. "Nothing much. A couple of missing-nin chuunin, Zabuza: Demon of the Bloody Mist, and his apprentice… Gato and his corporation." He just let that hang in the air.
Hiruzen cursed. "I can't send genin on a mission like that."
Indra's eye fixed on the Hokage, all nonchalance gone. "They need it, Hokage-sama." Oh, now he was being polite. "They need to understand what is out there and what they will be going up against. Also, Sasuke needs this to awaken his Sharingan if he hasn't already."
The Hokage thought about that. The time-traveler had a point, but… he shook his head.
Indra sighed, as if heavily put upon. "I can accompany them. Will wear any temporary seal you want, as long as it can be removed once I come back, if you're really that worried, but team 7 needs this mission, I cannot stress that enough."
And the mission needs team 7, Hiruzen heard the silent addition.
For several seconds, the two of them continued their battle of wills. Eventually, Hiruzen sighed. "I'll consider it."
Indra smiled again. No, seriously, it looked completely fake but still bright. Uchiha shouldn't look like that! No one should!
"Thank you, Hokage-sama!"
He disappeared. Didn't even leave any leaves behind.
Hiruzen lamented the fact that he couldn't groan and hit his head on the desk. It sounded very appealing just then.
xXx
Ever since Ino had confronted Sakura the other day, she'd been thinking. Even Shikamaru had commented on her quietness. (She'd smacked him for that.) Choji had offered his last chip to cheer her up. It had surprised but pleased him when she'd accepted. (That comment on calories and working hard enough…)
She hated the conclusion she'd come to: that Sakura was right. The two of them had been shallow and terribly civilian. Honestly, Ino had never been so ashamed of her actions before in her life. She'd ignored a fellow ninja (in training, but still) and tried to force her own wants onto him without taking his into consideration. Once she'd put herself in his shoes, she'd been kind of disgusted at herself. She didn't like being disgusted with herself.
And then there were the hints Sakura had dropped, that Sasuke didn't value the same things she did. She'd sat down and honestly thought about what she valued after that, and had come to some… half-decent conclusions, because her family was definitely at the top of the list, along with her friends and Konoha. But then she'd asked Shikamaru and he'd told her she valued her looks more than anything. That had… hurt, honestly. Because yeah, beauty was important. Kunoichi and beauty went hand in hand for good reason. But for Kunoichi, beauty was a tool. For Ino, it had become a way of life.
She'd shrieked at Shikamaru for a good forty minutes for that. She'd have to make it up to him because, again, he wasn't wrong. Somewhere along the way, she'd… well, lost her way.
And she'd never forgive Sakura for realizing that first.
Although that just introduced the problem of what she needed to change and, well… how she should treat Sakura. Honestly, she didn't know the answer to that. So until she figured that out, she'd just fall back on normalcy and avoid her otherwise.
Except for this moment. When she hadn't been paying attention. And Sakura had already seen her, she couldn't back down now.
"Oi, Billboard Brow," Ino called out to her former best friend who was walking towards her a backpack on. And, her hair up in a bun. It… looked kind of good. Mature. Except for the 8-head instead of the 4-head, of course. She'd thought that had been particularly ingenious when she'd thought of it (but didn't really want to voice it right now, shame).
Said girl's eyes narrowed into a strange, complicated expression she didn't know how to interpret. Ino hadn't really known what to expect, but it wasn't that. She hated that she didn't know what to do with… all of this. Part of her wanted to rush forward and ask Sakura what was wrong (like she had that day Sakura had looked so beat up and bruised), but (again, just like that day) she firmly stamped down on that instinct. Even if she didn't know what their relationship was, as far as she knew they still weren't friends. She had to remember that.
(Even if it hurt.)
"Ino-Pig," Sakura said, but both of them knew her heart wasn't in it. At least she looked better… healthier. Not about to die on her feet.
"Where are you going?" Ino asked, refusing to let Sakura throw her off any farther.
"A C-rank mission."
They both sat there in silence after that, Ino waiting for more information and Sakura still shooting her that unreadable look.
"And?" Ino finally prompted.
Sakura shrugged. "It's outside the village. I'll be gone for a couple of weeks."
"Oh." The Yamanaka didn't bite her lip, but she wanted to. This was way too awkward, so she straightened and shook her head. "Your first one?" She wanted to ask about Sasuke, but that would just make it more awkward and make her feel even less mature than she already did.
Sakura frowned, but nodded.
"My team's already gone on one," Ino said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. It had been so boring, though, not that she'd tell Billboard Brow that. Team 10 had just escorted a group of merchants to Suna. They were allies with Suna, and the road wasn't known for bandits, so of course nothing had happened.
Shikamaru had been thrilled.
"Oh. Good. Glad you're back," Sakura said, then kept walking past the blond.
Wait… that was it? Ino cursed inwardly and bit her lip nervously. Sakura's change was so obvious. Ino wasn't sure she liked it, and not just because of Sasuke. No, she'd realized that Sakura was supposed to be insecure without her for support. She was supposed to be the little girl who got bullied. And while Ino was glad the pinkette didn't seem to be that girl anymore, something in her longed for those old days, when she'd been needed.
When had that changed? When Sakura had issued her challenge? Or long before that? Just recently? She wasn't sure.
"You think you're up for it?" Ino pressed. "Bandits and all? Most ninja make their first kill on a C-rank."
It was a low blow, she knew, but she wanted (needed) a reaction. She didn't get it.
"I guess I'll see. We've been working pretty hard, though."
'We' meaning her and Naruto (yech) and… Sasuke. Who had somehow become an elephant in a room.
Okay, enough of this. She opened her mouth to push farther (even if she knew she'd regret it in the future), but Sakura beat her to it.
"When I get back, Ino, can we talk?"
Ino felt her mouth close with a clop. She… hadn't expected that.
"About what?" she asked, suspicious.
Sakura took a deep breath. "I… I know our conversation the other day was weird. I mean, I was tired and you were… well, you." What was that supposed to mean?! "But while I don't regret anything I said, I do regret how I said it. And… I miss you, Ino. I miss our friendship," she shook her head. "I miss so much."
Ino stared in shock. Where had that come from? Last they spoke, Sakura had been ripping into her. So… what did this mean? She kind of hated the little spark of excitement bubbling in her chest. She missed Sakura too…
But she had to ask. "What about Sasuke?"
Sakura definitely stiffened and shook her head. "Like I said, I stand by what I said. What Sasuke-kun wants is his choice, not ours, Ino. We need to respect that. Besides," she looked down glumly, "our 'rivalry' made him hate us more than anything. Both of us."
The blond didn't wince, but she did draw in a breath through her teeth. It was close enough to a wince that she mentally kicked herself. Her dad was right, she needed more practice—more control.
And to be fair, she'd kind of known Sasuke didn't like their attention, but… she couldn't let Sakura (or anyone else) horn in on her man. She'd just figured she could address Sasuke's weird avoidance of attention later. But if he hated her…
"On top of all that, we're twelve, Ino. And we're ninja. We really should be focusing more on staying alive than boys."
Was it just Ino, or did she sound… bitter?
It had to just be her.
"I…" she started, but then took a deep breath. "Yeah. We can talk."
She didn't realize how much she'd missed Sakura's smile until she saw it for the first time in ages. Not the angry, competitive smile, but the warm, friendly smile that it had taken so long for Ino to coax out of the bullied little girl she used to be.
When had she stopped seeing it?
Inwardly, she cursed again. Twelve and thirteen-year-olds weren't supposed to be nostalgic! (That was what she was feeling, right? She thought so. Ugh.)
"Alright, then," Sakura said. "I'll drop by after I get back.
"Now, I'm running a bit behind. Worth it, but I gotta go or Sensei will make me regret it." She winced a little, shot Ino one last smile, and then ran over and up the side of the building. Like it was nothing!
"H-hey," Ino called, but before she could say anything else, her former (future?) friend hopped onto the roof and disappeared.
Ino was still learning how to tree-walk.
She just stood there, on the empty street, staring up at where her rival had disappeared. Sakura was a clanless ninja. She didn't have any special techniques or clan secrets to fall back on. Ino had been trained by her father—the head of her clan—almost from birth. She'd been told by everyone that she was talented, and had a bright future.
So… why did she feel like she was being left behind?
Maybe Sakura was right about how much their obsession with Sasuke had cut in on their training time…
And she hated that too.
xXx
Sasuke froze when he saw his older relative sitting on the ground next tot the gate and the old man who was Team 7's client. What was he doing there? Nothing good came to mind.
Naruto, who seemed to be trailing just behind him, had no such qualms.
"Indra-nii!" the blond yelled happily, running up to the man, who looked up and gave an Uchiha smile—which was to say a bare twitch at the corners of his mouth, but it was still something Sasuke remembered from his youth with most of his family members. He hated how that brought up painful memories and grit his teeth.
"Hey, you've learned to smile more," the blond menace said. Wait, he'd actually noticed that? Or did he just know Indra better than he should? And was that a good thing or not? Was Indra a traitor or not if he was just running around? What was going on?
"Hello, Naruto," Indra said pleasantly.
Sasuke grit his teeth and stomped up to them as Naruto grinned like the sun (no one should be that bright).
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Indra turned his eye to Sasuke and his expression cooled significantly. Why did that hurt? It shouldn't, so Sasuke shoved that down, completely ignoring anything Indra had said to him out of sheer spite.
"Sketching," the older Uchiha said, holding up a sketchbook and some pencils and… wait… those were…
"You drew those?" Naruto asked, frowning at the… things Indra had managed to put on paper. "What are they?"
Indra sighed. Somehow, that made Sasuke feel vindicated even if he hadn't been the one to trigger it. "They're team seven."
Both Sasuke and Naruto blinked.
"That's… us?" Naruto asked. "I mean, I guess I can see it. That pink smudge is Sakura, right? And is the orange and yellow one, me?"
Indra looked down at the sketchbook. "Yes."
"You're terrible," Sasuke said. "Why don't you use your sharingan?"
"Your gan thing lets you draw?" Naruto asked as if that were the most amazing thing the eyes could do.
Seriously, how did Sasuke end up with him as a teammate?
Oh. Jinchuuriki. Chakra powerhouse. Right. Still…
"I want to draw," Indra said calmly, pressing the sketchbook inside his poncho. Before their eyes, it disappeared. A storage seal? Sasuke kind of hated how that was a great idea. "If I use my sharingan, that isn't my own skill. For missions, that's fine. For fun? Not so much."
"But you're terrible," Sasuke stressed. Why would anyone want to do something they were terrible at?
Before anyone could say anything else, Indra vanished. He just… blurred away. What?
"Oh, great, Teme!" Naruto turned to yell at Sasuke. "You chased him away!"
Sasuke blinked. Had he? Really? Because that… didn't make sense… did it?
"Hello Naruto, Sasuke-kun," a soft voice behind them said. Both of the boys turned to see their teammate land behind them. "Were you talking to Indra-sensei?"
Sensei.
Sensei.
She was calling him sensei!
Why was this his life? No, really, why?!
"Yeah! Before our jerk of a teammate chased him away!"
"You're my escorts?" their client asked in a shaky voice. "I am not drunk enough for this."
"Oi! You take that back you—"
"Naruto," a calm voice interrupted him. "Speak nicely to the paying customers." Everyone looked back to see Kakashi-sensei approaching, calmly walking along and reading his little, orange book. At least that shut the blond up.
"It's still weird to see you on time," Naruto muttered.
"He's been on time more often than not," Sakura pointed out.
"Yeah, but it's like… one of his things."
"Things?" Sasuke asked.
"I'm gonna die," the client (Sasuke probably should try and remember his name) muttered.
"Now, now," Kakashi-sensei said with an eye-smile, "you'll be just fine. This is, after all, a C-ranked mission. It's perfect to train little baby ducklings."
"We're not ducklings!" Naruto protested. "We're ninja, dattebayo!"
Kakashi-sensei turned his eye smile on them. "Then why does Sasuke have that hairstyle?"
Their client snorted (perhaps a little hysterically). Sakura looked about as offended as Sasuke felt, and Naruto just looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
"That it looks like a duck's butt sticking out of the water," Indra's voice said as he reappeared behind Kakashi-sensei.
"Hey," Sasuke protested. His hair did not look like a duck's butt, thank you very much!
Indra ignored him, focusing on the silver-haired jounin instead. "Sorry I'm so late. A black cat crossed my path and I had to go around."
Was it just Sasuke, or did Kakashi-sensei's eye twitch?
"You're not that late," their teacher said a little too cheerfully.
"I'll have to work on it," the older Uchiha shot back.
"Wait, Indra-sensei is coming too?" Sakura asked. Kakashi-sensei's hand tightened on his book. So he didn't seem like the whole 'sensei' thing either, huh? Maybe Sasuke had an ally against his older cousin in that…
Wait.
"No, way!" he and Naruto said at the same time, but with vastly different tones.
"Unfortunately," Kakashi-sensei said pleasantly.
"That's awesome!" the blond yelped.
No. It really wasn't. Why was Kakashi-sensei staring at him.
"I'm not paying for that, am I?" the old man asked worriedly. "I already gave Konoha everything I have."
"No. This is less official than that," the older Uchiha said.
"So… Indra-sensei isn't in trouble with Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked cautiously.
When Kakashi-sensei didn't answer, everyone turned to Indra, who tipped his single hand back and forth. "Not really. This is more to get me back into the swing of taking missions. I have permission—orders really—to be here."
"Unfortunately," Kakashi-sensei muttered.
"Although I'm not supposed to step in unless something serious happens."
"But we're not expecting anything serious," Sakura said with a frown. "It's a C-rank."
Was it just Sasuke, or did both of the Jounin seem a little too quiet at her question?
"Then I shouldn't have to step in," Indra said finally said.
"Hn," Kakashi-sensei said. Sasuke couldn't understand the look the older Uchiha shot him.
For once, Sasuke was thankful for Naruto's impatience when he cut in, annoyed. "So, are we gonna go or what?"
"I'm so gonna die," the old man muttered before taking a very long sip of his bottle as they all trekked out of the village.
xXx
AN1: Thank you for all of your suggestions for what you wanted to see. We will definitely be using many of them. :D Not all, we can't guarantee that, but some of them had us dying of laughter. Especially thanks to Storyman09 for the literal list of things he sent us.
AN2: *deep breath* Okay, so... for those of you who don't know, Quathis and I are married. This is literally a story for he and I came up with together. Thus, when he had a bleeding stroke last November, that put a damper on the story and while we tried to revisit it since, it hasn't worked until recently. He literally couldn't eat, talk, or breathe on his own for months after the fact. On a lighter note, he can now do all three. Talking is still something we're working on, but he can do it. Finances have been... rough. He's been in a Nursing Home an hour away from me for the last 9 or so months (give or take, not gonna figure out exactly when) and in the NCCU (ICU for neural patients) or the rehab hospital for the three or four months before that.
Progress has both been steady but slow. He's only gotten where he is through hard work and willingness to do the exercises he's been given by our rehab therapist. So yeah. We didn't mean to drop this story but... stuff happens. Sometimes really nasty stuff.
On the bright side, I did write a book for anyone who is interested (more information in my Discord, or you can message me there), and we've had some pretty amazing support from our community and families.
I hope you understand. Also, updates may still be slow after this for what I hope are obvious reasons.
Thank you for reading that novel of an author's note. :)
Discord: www. discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)