Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Underneath The Leaves	By : ChaCha92 Category: Naruto AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 4798 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Don't own anything in the Naruto universe. Some dude in Japan does. Make no money on my stories either.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
As usual Kakashi is up early before Naruto the next morning. Going through his normal routine, he glances up from fixing breakfast when she enters the room, doing a double take before releasing a long, low whistle.
Naruto’s face is painfully swollen and she sports two real nice black and blue shiners. The bruise on her cheek isn’t as dark as her eyes, but is a dark enough wine color to be noticeable.
Pointedly ignoring him, she moves over to the coffee pot to fix herself a cup.
“That looks painful,” he observes as he resumes chopping the cilantro.
“Does it?” she asks with feigned innocence while pouring coffee into her cup. “I can’t tell because of the percussion drum beating a throbbing rhythm in my face in time with the massive headache,” she snaps sarcastically.
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” he mutters under his breath.
“In order to wake up on the wrong side you have to actually have fallen asleep,” Naruto grouses over her shoulder.
“You didn’t sleep?” Kakashi asks, pausing to scrutinize her in concern.
Turning around to face him, Naruto leans against the counter.
“Nope. The pain meds did squat. I couldn’t really lie on either side because that only made the throbbing worse. Lying on my back wasn’t much better as it plugged up my sinuses, either making it hard to breath or causing me to snore loudly enough to wake myself up.”
Pausing, she takes a long draught of coffee.
“I did okay sitting up and leaning against the wall, but every time I drifted off I’d slide forward, almost slamming down on my face again.” Sighing deeply, she adds, “I’m hoping to catch a nap later to make up for the lack of sleep.”
“It’ll have to be much later,” Kakashi states, plating their food. “A summons came from the Hokage’s office before you came out.”
Naruto closes her eyes and groans.
“Shit. Baa-chan isn’t going to send me out on a mission like this. That alone will piss her off and it’ll be worse once she finds out what happened.”
Pushing away from the counter, Naruto follows Kakashi out of the kitchen area over to the table. He sets their plates down and pulls out a chair for her before taking his seat.
“She may already know.”
Naruto eyes him skeptically.
“How?”
“Yamato had a mission this morning and may have already informed her before she could hear it from the grapevine.”
“I forgot,” she mumbles, closing her eyes briefly. “Better to have him tell it than to hear it from others.”
“True,” Kakashi agrees. “Aside from the summons, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“Hide and nap.”
“Hide?” he quirks a brow.
Naruto nods.
“’Cause just about everyone who was at the bar last night is going to be nosing around for what happened after we left. I’m pretty sure they’ve guessed I busted Genma for cheating.”
Kakashi scratches the back of his head.
“They know. We forced Aoba to tell us what was going on.”
Shaking her head and sighing in resignation Naruto continues eating in silence.
After breakfast both head for the tower. She scares the shit out of Kakashi when she loses her footing on the rooftops a couple of times and nearly falls off. However, she insists on sticking to the roofs to avoid being seen and questioned about her appearance. That strategy works well until they enter the tower.
Since Tsunade got tired of her shinobi being lazy and sneaking in through her window, she banned all entries that way unless it’s a genuine emergency, so Kakashi and Naruto have to walk through the building to get to her office.
Passing through the corridor near the Mission Room, they encounter Iruka. His smile drops along with the scrolls he’s carrying. Stepping over the mess he gently grasps Naruto by the shoulders.
“What happened to you?” he demands.
“A bad breakup,” she smiles wanly.
Reluctantly she quietly explains what happened the night before, including the latest fox cloak incident. When she finishes, he gently engulfs her in a hug.
“If you want to talk about it, find me, doesn’t matter what I’m doing, day or night.”
Pulling back, Naruto smiles reassuringly.
“Thanks for not immediately declaring an insane urge to kill Genma.”
“I’m not going to lie,” Iruka admits with a grim smile. “I really want to do that, but I don’t want to upset you.”
“To be honest, right now it hurts too much to care. I just want to be left alone to sort things out.”
Iruka nods his understanding and hugs her one more time.
“It’ll be okay,” he reassures her before releasing her so they can continue on to Tsunade’s office.
The busty blonde is bent over signing several documents for a waiting and equally distracted Shizune when they step into the office. At the last one, Shizune gathers up the sheets and starts walking toward the door, dropping the entire pile when she takes a good look at Naruto.
Attracted by the noise, Tsunade looks up, her scowl turning fierce.
“What the fuck happened to you?
Sighing wearily as Shizune gathers up the scattered documents, Naruto details the events of the previous night. Kakashi rounds out the explanation by filling in any additional details Naruto wasn’t present for.
When they finish Tsunade growls.
“Those two fucking bastards.”
“It seems it would’ve been better if you had broken up with Genma sooner so none of this would’ve happened, Naruto,” Shizune comments.
Naruto glares hard at the brunette.
“My broken nose should be sufficient enough punishment for my stupidity in staying with him,” she sarcastically retorts.
“I’m sorry, that wasn’t what I meant!” Shizune flushes in embarrassment
“Just because you had a shitty night, gaki, doesn’t mean you can take it out on others,” Tsunade snaps.
Naruto’s gaze drifts off to the side before sullenly looking back at them.
“Sorry for snapping at you, nee-chan.”
“It’s okay,” Shizune nods. “I better get going. Excuse me.”
As Shizune leaves the office, Tsunade rubs a tired hand across her eyes.
“This really screws up the mission I had ready for you. It was a two-man mission and now I’m going to have to give it someone else.”
“You could pair me with someone else,” Kakashi suggests.
“No,” Tsunade refuses, dropping her hand from her face. “Not with someone gunning for Naruto. I need someone trustworthy around the gaki and after what he pulled last night I don’t trust Sasuke with the job, not when he refuses to follow a direct order.”
“Sorry, Baa-chan,” Naruto mumbles
“It can’t be helped,” Tsunade waves off. “I will be making it very clear to Genma and Sasuke their actions are unacceptable.” Rising from her seat, she gestures to the sofa off to the side. “Get your ass over here so I can examine you.”
Naruto complies, moving to sit next to the blonde and holds still while glowing fingers aggravate her throbbing face.
“Who treated you?”
“Kagura,” Naruto promptly replies.
“I’m going to kill that airhead,” a scowling Tsunade growls.
“What’s wrong, Tsunade-sama?” Kakashi asks, stepping closer to the sofa.
The older woman blows out a harsh breath.
“The twit didn’t set Naruto’s nose right. Probably too busy running off her mouth again,” she grouses, rolling her eyes. “Now I’m going to have to rebreak Naruto’s nose and reset it.”
The redhead stares at her in horror.
“No fucking way…”
Looking at her grimly, Tsunade nods.
Closing her eyes and dipping her head against the anger boiling to the surface, Naruto takes a very deep breath and releases it slowly. She should’ve known better that even a broken nose couldn’t be simple.
‘If Baa-chan says she has to do it, it has to be done,’ she silently tells herself.
It takes a couple more deep breaths to compose herself enough.
“Can we just get it over with now?” she asks quietly.
Tsunade is relieved she already accepted the inevitable without argument.
“We need to head over to the hospital or we’ll get interrupted here. And the last thing we need is for one of our favorite council members to walk in on us.”
Rolling her eyes Naruto nods in agreement. Kakashi gently grasps her elbow and helps her to her feet before following Tsunade over to the hospital.
Keeping things low key Tsunade summons Shizune to assist her.
“What instructions did Kagura give you?” she asks, while they prepare for the procedure.
“Not much,” Naruto shrugs. “Between squealing about how romantic it was to have two guys fighting over me, she just said avoid bumping it and get some sleep.”
A blonde brow twitches in irritation.
“I’m going to kill the girl,” Tsunade growls
“If there’s anything left I’d like to have a crack,” Shizune drolly states.
“I may let you handle the whole thing,” Tsunade replies while settling on a stool in front of Naruto.
The redhead sits at the edge of the exam table wearing a hospital yukata backward over her clothes. She has her arms through the sleeves, but doesn’t bother tying it since it’s purpose is to keep the front of her clothes clean.
“Okay, gaki,” Tsunade begins. “Since your nose is already damaged, by rebreaking it I’ll be causing more and you’ll likely bleed a lot.” Turning to address Kakashi, she adds, “You need stay because Naruto will probably be out of it from the pain.” Refocusing on Naruto, she continues, “You are to stay home and rest. Frequently apply ice packs for about fifteen minutes at a time. Sleep with your head elevated to keep the injury from swelling further and affecting your breathing.”
Naruto takes a few moments to absorb everything Tsunade said.
“You won’t get a chance to kill that ditz Kagura because I’ll do it first,” Naruto growls.
Tsunade smiles fondly.
“Ready?”
“I’m ready, just not willing,” Naruto sighs.
Tsunade raises her hands to either side of Naruto’s nose.
“Try not to move or I’ll cause even more damage that might lead to surgery.”
Naruto begins to nod again, but is startled when Kakashi grabs her hand.
“Squeeze if the pain becomes too much,” he smiles at her.
Shizune stands on Naruto’s other side, holding a large plastic dish under her nose to catch the blood. Once she sees everyone is in place, Tsunade directs a minute amount of chakra to her fingertips and with a quick jerk deftly breaks Naruto’s nose with a loud crack.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Naruto barely chokes back a cry and holds her breath in an effort to ride out the agony. The pain is much worse than when Genma socked her last night. Kakashi’s grunt of pain brings her back to awareness.
“Breathe, Naruto.”
“Don’t hold your breath, gaki.”
Forcing herself to breathe, she eases up on Kakashi’s hand while digging her nails deep into the palm of her left hand.
Suddenly, a strong wave of nausea overwhelms her. With a shudder the only warning, she suddenly vomits into the tray with a loud cough.
“It’s okay, gaki, spit it out.”
Coughing out more bile, she feels someone’s hand gently but firmly pressing on her abdomen while another hand rubs soothing circles on her back. Finally she’s able to stop vomiting and opens swollen, watery eyes to stare into the disgusting mess that was once the content of her stomach. Adding to the gross sight is the blood dripping from her nose.
“Are you done, gaki?”
Naruto hesitates to gauge the state of her body.
“Yeah, baa-chan,” she hoarsely replies.
Shizune immediately switches out the dish for another clean one. Naruto spits into it a couple of times to get rid of the acidic taste before Shizune hands her a glass.
“Swish the water around in your mouth before spitting it into the dish. Then sip to soothe the burning,” the brunette instructs.
Wearily, Naruto complies before handing the glass back. Belatedly, she realizes Tsunade is holding the dish under her nose and Shizune is running around the room, so the one still holding their hand against her stomach is Kakashi.
“Are you ready for me to set your nose?” Tsunade asks.
“Yeah.”
The blonde gently grasps her nose again and realigns it back into place. It’s still painful, but after the initial break it’s tolerable. She doesn’t think it’s possible, but her headache is even worse.
Tsunade knits the bone back together enough to start the healing process.
“Okay, there’s one more thing I’ve got to do before I can send you home. Your sinuses are plugged up with blood and mucous. To improve your breathing I’m going to clear it out.” Tilting her head forward slightly, she warns, “It’ll feel uncomfortable because I have to direct it through your nasal passages down into your mouth and it might cause you to gag. You’ll likely bleed more once the obstruction is cleared, but in addition to helping you breathe easier it might ease your headache.”
“Okay, let’s finish this,” Naruto agrees wearily.
Raising glowing hands to the bridge of her nose, Tsunade lightly traces across Naruto’s cheekbones, back towards her ears and down to her jaw into her mouth.
It’s strange and uncomfortable feeling stuff sliding through her head. When the first mass drops into the back of her mouth, Naruto chokes and gags, dissolving into a severe coughing fit until she spits the junk into the tray. With a disgusted look she notes that it’s even grosser than the remnants of breakfast that made a return trip a few minutes ago.
Tsunade repeatedly guides more of the blockage out until her sinuses are completely clear. As predicted, Naruto’s nose is bleeding like a sieve and Tsunade gently holds a damp towel in place to stem the flow until it finally stops.
Having noticed Naruto digging deep gouges into her palm earlier, Shizune takes the opportunity to treat the wounds. Because of the pain, Naruto dragged her nails from the heel of her hand into her palm until her fingertips were deeply imbedded. The damage was serious, but not life threatening, so Shizune merely uncurled Naruto’s fingers enough to stuff a thick wad of gauze in place until she could heal it without interfering with Tsunade’s work.
Kakashi watches the brunette treat Naruto’s hand while he continues gently pressing against the redhead’s stomach in case her nausea returned. His hand aches from her squeezing it, but as nothing was fractured he can live with it.
“Why are you holding Naruto’s stomach like that?” Tsunade asks while still holding the towel against Naruto’s nose.
“My father used to do this whenever I got sick. The pressure actually feels good against a heaving stomach, almost calming it,” he explains.
“It felt good,” Naruto mumbles through the towel. “Sort of relaxing.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” Tsunade mutters, lifting the towel away enough to check if Naruto’s nose is still bleeding. Seeing it finally stopped, she orders Shizune, “Hand me another damp towel to clean off the blood.”
“You’ll probably keep getting nosebleeds because of all the inflamed sinus tissue,” she warns while holding her chin with one hand and gently cleaning the blood with the other holding the towel. “That’s normal,” she assures the redhead. “As long as the bleeding stops within a reasonable amount of time there’s nothing to worry about.” Sitting back she drops her hands away, declaring. “We’re done.”
Naruto sighs softly in relief at those words.
“Like I said,” Tsunade’s gaze intensifies. “Get plenty of rest and avoid all drama and stress for the next couple of days”
“Easy for you to say, but I’ll try,” Naruto retorts half-heartedly. “I might have to go into hiding from all the busybodies that’ll come around to get the dirt on what happened.”
Tsunade sighs, heavily.
“Do what you have to, but keep me informed.” Turning to Kakashi she orders, “Make sure Naruto rests. I’ll be calling in Genma and Sasuke later today to discuss the proper behavior of Leaf shinobi and to make it clear anything having to do with Naruto going into demon cloak mode is strictly forbidden. I’ll be discussing the latter with Raido as well, but I know he’s not stupid like the other two.”
“That should help with my own discussion with Sasuke about following orders from a superior,” Kakashi smirks.
“I want to be a part of that discussion,” Naruto tiredly adds. “Sasuke needs to realize what’s at stake. Part of it has to do with minding his own damn business, but the rest involves my going into crazed fox mode.”
“You aren’t having that discussion today,” Tsunade states tersely. “You probably feel as bad as you look and need to go rest.”
Feeling too sick to argue, Naruto nods and pulls off the soiled yukata. With Kakashi’s help, she slides off the table and follows Shizune out the door while Tsunade stays behind to scribble down some notes on her chart.
Kakashi gently guides her by the elbow down the hall. Up ahead they see Shizune stop to briefly talk to Jiraiya. Before either can react, the sannin sees them and approaches. His expression morphs from pleased to shocked as he takes in Naruto’s appearance.
“Damn, what herd stampeded over you?”
“It’s a long story, Ero-sennin,” Naruto mumbles wearily.
Jiraiya studies her face a moment before suddenly busting out laughing while pointing.
“You look like Gaara’s long lost, uglier twin sister!”
Glaring death at the old pervert, Naruto growls low in her throat, barely hearing Tsunade’s voice from behind.
“Kakashi, catch her.”
Naruto’s world suddenly becomes unfocused and seeped in complete darkness.
Holding Naruto’s limp form against him, Kakashi looks up at Tsunade closing in on them.
“I just hit Naruto with a mild sleep jutsu so she won’t be tempted to kill the next idiot stupid enough to tease her about this right now,” she explains, glaring pointedly at Jiraiya.
Nodding Kakashi gently hefts Naruto into his arms.
“The gaki looked like she needed a couple of laughs,” Jiraiya protests. “What the hell happened anyway?”
Before turning and leaving, Kakashi smirks when Tsunade smacks Jiraiya hard on the back of the head.
“Quit being an insensitive jerk,” she scolds while grabbing his long ponytail and dragging him out with her towards the Hokage Tower.
Minutes later Kakashi arrives at their front door with Naruto without further incident. Gently easing her legs down, he fishes his key out just as Raido alights on the landing nearby.
“Need a hand, Kakashi?”
Nodding, Kakashi hands him the key before hefting Naruto back into his arms. Raido opens the door, allowing Kakashi to carry her directly into her room. With the other jounin’s help, they prop her unconscious form up on several pillows and blankets before leaving her to rest.
“Want some tea?” Kakashi offers once they’re back in the front room.
“Sounds good,” Raido agrees.
Several minutes later they both settle at the table.
“How is Naruto doing?” Raido asks.
Kakashi doesn’t hesitate to fill him in on everything that happened after he and Genma left the training grounds last night.
Raido looks appalled at what Naruto had to endure.
“Shit. It just went from bad to worse for her, didn’t it?” he asks. Without waiting for Kakashi to answer, he continues. “After I got Genma home I strongly suggested he disappear because there’ll be a long line of people waiting to kick his ass.”
“In all fairness,” Kakashi points out, “Genma isn’t solely to blame. He threw the punch that injured Naruto, but it was Sasuke getting involved that led to it happening in the first place. However, now that Tsunade knows the full story they’ll both get admonished for it.”
“It’s no less than they both deserve,” Raido snickers.
“You’ll need to stop by Tsunade’s office later today, by the way.”
“Why if she knows the full story?” Raido blinks in confusion.
“She wants to remind you not to reveal to anyone that Naruto slipped into demon cloak mode,” Kakashi explains. “She knows you won’t say a word, but likes to make certain.”
“I can’t blame her. I’ll make sure to stop by and reassure the Godaime,” Raido nods. “I know Naruto is separate from the demon, but that was my first time seeing it come out and I have to admit, it was terrifying.”
“More so for Naruto,” Kakashi quietly admits. “It’s rare for her to lose her temper anymore, but it’s been an emotional couple of days before discovering Genma’s cheating and it was too much.”
“It could’ve become much worse quickly, couldn’t it?” At Kakashi’s nod, Raido sighs, “I won’t say anything. Naruto’s done a damn good job keeping the demon locked up and deals with enough stupid ignorants. She doesn’t need the mass hysteria that could occur should this get out.”
“Thanks. Naruto will appreciate it.”
“I better get going,” Raido states, glancing out the window and gauging the time. “The sooner I see the Godaime the better.”
Both men rise from their seats and head for the front door. Raido pauses on the threshold.
“I probably won’t have a chance to see Naruto for a coupled of days, could you please remind her she has nothing to feel guilty about? Their relationship failed because of Genma, not her.”
“I will,” Kakashi agrees before closing the door.
With nothing better or more interesting to do, Kakashi settles on the sofa for a nice afternoon in the company of his Icha Icha. It only lasts less than a half hour when peaceful solitude is broken by loud knocking.
Glancing at the door in confusion, he shrugs and decides to ignore them, knowing they’re not ANBU or someone he knows.
The intruder knocks again more insistently. Scowling he reluctantly rises from the sofa. He doesn’t want whoever it is to become more of a nuisance and risk waking Naruto. Opening the door he’s confused to see two chuunin whom he can’t remember either of their names standing on the threshold in awe of him.
“Um, pardon our intrusion,” one hesitantly begins. “May we see Naruto?”
Kakashi opts to be polite for once.
“I’m sorry, but she can’t come to the door right now. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Oh,” the chuunin replies in disappointment before an idea lights up her features. “Yes, maybe you can. Do you know if she crippled Genma?”
“Yeah!” the other eagerly chimes in. “How was he injured and how badly?” he asks.
Surprise at the odd questions quickly gives way to suspicion, prompting Kakashi’s eye to narrow.
“Why do you want to know?”
Emboldened, the male chuunin eagerly explains.
“There’s a betting pool at the Shuriken and the pot’s pretty big! Everyone’s anxious to know who called it.”
Kakashi’s deceptive smile and polite demeanor fool both.
“You’re acting like filthy scavengers instead of Leaf shinobi respectful of their comrades. If you or any of your other lowlife friends dares to come around again, I’ll gladly reeducate you on the proper demonstration of respect for your ranking superiors. Understand?”
Paralyzed by the killing intent radiating off the seemingly happy legend, both gulp and frantically nod their heads.
“Good,” he chirps before promptly shutting the door on them.
Within a short span of time Kakashi repeats the exact routine three more times with several other ninja barely acquainted with Naruto or Genma. He had to summon Pakkun to deliver a message to Shikamaru to see about getting his dad to reign in Shigure and the idiotic betting pool he started.
Once Shikamaru knew the entire story he sent a reply via Pakkun, promising he’ll do everything he can to put a stop to this nonsense for Naruto.
Satisfied this nonsense will stop soon, Kakashi dismisses Pakkun and settles back onto the sofa. He’s barely getting into the story when another knock breaks his concentration. With a vicious glare at the offending door, he stalks over, certain the ranks will be down a shinobi or two. He’s stunned, but no less irritated to find Sasuke on the doorstep.
“May I speak with you for a minute?” Sasuke asks, ignoring Kakashi’s irritated glare.
Stepping aside, Kakashi allows him inside
“Now is not a good time for visiting, Sasuke.”
“I wanted to see how Naruto is doing and maybe talk to her.”
“She’s fine, but needs to rest,” tersely assures him, still pissed at his behavior last night.
“I didn’t come to argue,” he sighs in frustration. “I just wanted to see for myself that she was okay after what Genma pulled.”
“What about what you pulled, Sasuke? You’re partially responsible for Naruto getting injured.”
Sasuke narrows his eyes at the jounin.
“Genma struck her not me.”
“That wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t fighting like common thugs,” Naruto’s voice startles them
Both men turn to see her leaning wearily in the doorway of the hallway.
Sasuke momentarily stares in shock then recovers his senses.
“I’m going to hurt Genma,” he growls, clenching his fists.
“No you won’t!” Naruto snaps, stalking over before he can retort. “It’s none of your business and you’ve got some nerve coming around with this attitude. It’s bad enough you insulted and belittled me, saying, as usual, I was doing a lousy job of handling things.” She stops right in front of him, glaring hard as her voice drips with sarcasm, “Gee, wasn’t it enough Genma humiliated me by fucking some bimbo in the park? Must not have been if one of my best friends thinks I’m too incompetent to manage my life.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Sasuke protests.
“Right now, there’s nothing you can say that I want to hear,” she tersely bites out. “You ignorantly exacerbated a situation that was fully under control. Even worse, you deliberately ignored a direct order of a superior ranking officer. You’re a Leaf shinobi and we both outrank you. You do what we say when we say it.”
Stepping closer, Naruto’s voice drops.
“You have no idea how close you came to dying last night or the massive destruction that would’ve resulted had Kakashi and Yamato not gotten me under control.”
Watching his face as her words sink in Naruto releases a harsh breath.
“Get out,” she orders. “We’ll talk more in a couple days, but right now I’m not in the mood to explain anything to you. Baa-chan wants to see you in her office immediately. I suggest you do it to demonstrate you can still follow orders.”
Sasuke glares at her, but acquiesces with a nod. Turning on his heel he leaves.
Closing the door after Sasuke, Kakashi turns to watch Naruto head over to the sofa and sink into the cushions. Leaning her head back on the backrest, she closes her eyes as he wanders over and sits next to her, mimicking her position.
“I didn’t think we were talking loud enough for you to hear.”
“You weren’t,” she replies, without opening her eyes. “A half hour ago Konohamaru stopped by my window after hearing about what happened last night.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t throw him off the ledge.”
“I was sorely tempted to, but he’s only a chuunin and I’m not sure he can even handle that fall sober, especially if I knock him senseless first.” With her eyes still closed she smiles at the sound of Kakashi chuckling. “I chased him off with the promise of giving him the whole story at a later date. It probably helped that I looked like shit while saying I didn’t feel well.”
“Probably,” Kakashi agrees.
“Not more than ten minutes later some jounin I barely know follows Konohamaru’s example and asked if I killed Genma.” Feeling Kakashi shift next to her, she finally opens her eyes to look at his angry face. “I take it you know what’s going on? The bastard was awfully insistent.”
Kakashi releases a frustrated breath.
“Apparently Shigure kicked off a betting pool over your breakup and the pot has gotten big. I already sent a message to Shikamaru to deal with his cousin.”
Naruto sighs and closes her eyes again.
“I chased the jackass off with the promise of sticking a rasengan in a very uncomfortable place and if that’s not enough, I’d ask my roommate to come talk to him personally.” Peeking back over at Kakashi, she quips in mock seriousness, “I think you’ve got a scary reputation or something because that jounin sure ran awfully fast.”
Both chuckle before she continues.
“About fifteen minutes before Sasuke showed up, it was a chuunin’s turn to knock on my window.” When Kakashi starts growling, she holds up a finger, “Wait, it gets better. The moment I pulled open the curtain the idiot blinded me with the flash of his camera.”
Without opening her eyes Naruto feels the intensity of Kakashi’s glare. Ignoring him, she goes on.
“When I could see well enough to open the window to ask what the fuck the idiot was doing, he had the nerve to ask what I did to Genma. Since he asked so nicely, I smiled and beckoned him closer to whisper it in his ear. After all, he seemed so eager for the inside scoop and I told him it wouldn’t do him any good for anyone else to overhear. When he leaned in close I grabbed the camera and shoved him off the ledge before slamming the window shut.”
“That’s my girl,” Kakashi grins when she holds the camera up as proof.
She smirks with her eyes still closed.
“I was sure you’d have heard the window slam shut, but that must’ve been when Sasuke arrived. So when I heard his voice I was so pissed by then I decided to take my frustration out on someone who thoroughly deserves it.”
“Understandably justified,” Kakashi agrees. “How are you feeling?
“Like crap,” Naruto easily replies. “And it’s not going to get better with all these idiots coming around.”
“There really isn’t anywhere we can go and hide in this village. We could try camping in the forest, but they’ll try tracking us. That mission this morning would’ve been the perfect escape.”
When Naruto remains quiet, Kakashi opens his eyes and looks over to see her staring at the ceiling, thinking.
“What’s wrong?”
Her head shifts to scrutinize him for a moment.
“I know a place we can go hide for a couple of days, but you’ve got to swear not to tell anyone about it, not even Iruka.”
“Why not Iruka?” he eyes her incredulously.
Looking away guiltily she reluctantly explains.
“It’s my secret haven to go think when things are bad or to think about things I don’t want to share with anyone and I don’t want Iruka to know where to find me. It’s my place to go when I’m really stressed.”
Kakashi lets the silence stretch out when she pauses.
“I honestly don’t want to share it with you,” she reluctantly admits, “but it’s not fair for you to deal with this shit surrounding Genma and I. So if you promise not to rat me out, you can come. Otherwise, we’ll just have to keep dealing with these morons for the next couple of days.”
Kakashi groans at the prospect and considers the situation. She has dealt with more emotional garbage over the last few days than is reasonable; she needs to rest. He’ll also end up killing someone over this idiotic betting pool. So, for the safety of everyone involved it’s probably for the best to comply with her wishes and go into hiding.
“It’ll stay a secret,” he agrees.
“Thank you,” Naruto sighs in relief. “We’ll have to rough it, but it’s secure and there’s a fresh water source nearby. Best of all no one knows about it.”
Intrigued, Kakashi helps her to her feet and they gather their gear.
“Do you think we should wait until nightfall, Kakashi?” Naruto asks while stuffing her pack.
“I don’t think either of us can tolerate any more idiots disturbing our peace until then,” Kakashi muses from the kitchen area. “I think that last one made twenty-two.”
“Fuck,” she breathes. “You’re right. Okay, the sooner the better. I think we’re going to have use clones as distractions.”
“We’d only need a couple. Too many and someone will notice.”
Still feeling sick, Naruto takes a breath and creates one at a time so as to not overtax her system. It takes some effort for her to make them uninjured to confuse their watchers. She got really dizzy after creating one and both the clone and Kakashi have to help her over to the sofa so she won’t collapse. After several minutes she pulls herself together enough to create another, worsening her dizziness and causing her to break out in a cold sweat.
“Don’t create any more,” Kakashi orders. “Two should provide a sufficient enough distraction.”
“Okay,” she agrees reluctantly because she seriously doubts she can handle a third.
Kakashi puts the two clones to work helping him finish getting everything packed into scrolls.
“We should probably lay low for three or four days,” Kakashi states as they work. “A snowstorm is expected to hit during that time, but we have the gear to weather it.”
“Besides,” Naruto wearily assures him, “We aren’t going to be that far from the village. We’ll be camping in the western forest, but it’s a quick sprint back into the village if we run into any trouble.”
An hour later they’re finally ready. Naruto still isn’t feeling well, but insists they go. The frequency of visitors wanting the dirt only increases as time passes.
Kakashi creates a couple of regular clones to accompany Naruto’s shadow clones, wanting to reserve as much chakra as possible just in case. Turning off all the lights, they silently move onto the balcony since the late afternoon sun casts it deep in shadow. As an extra precaution, Naruto wraps her head in a dark scarf, completely covering her hair.
One pair of clones leaves through the front door and heads toward the market district. The other pair sneaks out through Kakashi’s bedroom window. Then Kakashi activates the wards on the apartment before they head towards the forest among the shadows, moving swiftly, but cautiously.
Their caution is rewarded when they realize they picked up a tail that wasn’t fooled by their clones. Their shadow is highly skilled because they can’t manage shake them. They’re further hampered by the fact Naruto is feeling too sick to enhance her senses and just can’t move as deftly as she normally does.
Finally Kakashi makes her wait in the shadows of the rooftop of a large apartment building. It’s ideal because there’s a water tower and the rooftop clotheslines are full of laundry, giving her plenty of hiding places while he deals with their tail.
As she waits, Naruto is grateful for the break because the short time they’ve been out already has worn her out. Her musings are cut short and her startled cry cut off when a strong hand covers her mouth and an arm wraps around her waist effectively pinning one of her arms to her side.
Struggling against her captor, she reaches down with her free hand to grab a kunai when a familiar voice stops her cold.
“What are you doing Gai?” Kakashi asks in exasperation.
Gai promptly releases Naruto so she can turn around and see him. Wincing at her injuries he then quickly apologizes.
“I’m sorry for startling you, Naruto-chan, but I didn’t want you hurting yourself trying to fight me off.” Turning to Kakashi, he explains further. “Ino sent me over to check on Naruto-chan. I knew something was up when you sent out clones before sneaking out and I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
Leaning heavily against the wall, Naruto slides down to sit on the rooftop. She props an elbow on a knee and cradles her forehead in her hand while they talk.
Kakashi sighs in resignation, knowing the other jounin won’t leave until they give him an explanation. At least they can trust Gai. Briefly he explains what’s going on and why they’re going into hiding. When he finishes, Gai nods in understanding.
“There’s no way Naruto-chan to properly recover if she’s constantly harassed over a bet. She can’t hide among our friends because they’ll be harassed when they can’t locate her at home. I’ll spread the word among our trusted comrades so when these people do start coming around they’ll be in for a very rude wake up call, especially if they knock on Iruka’s door.”
Kakashi and Naruto both chuckle.
“Thanks, Gai,” Naruto smiles.
“Have you notified the Hokage yet?” he asks Kakashi.
“Not until we get to where we’re going.”
Gai nods again and claps Kakashi hard on the shoulder.
“You should get going so Naruto-chan can recover quickly. The sooner you leave, the sooner you can return so we can hold our next challenge, my hip rival!”
Gai ignores Kakashi’s murderous glare to flash his famous smile and give him a thumbs up before disappearing from sight.
“A challenge is the least you can do for his help in letting everyone know about this mess,” Naruto muses while Kakashi glares after Gai. “Everyone already wants to lynch Genma, but add on a stupid betting pool, well, I pity anyone who dares ask them for the inside scoop.”
“True. Are you up to continuing?”
“No,” she admits honestly. “But I sure as hell not sticking around.”
Deciding against arguing, Kakashi extends a hand and helps her to her feet. They maneuver through the lengthening shadows of the village until they finally reach the forest edge.
Taking the lead, Naruto follows a convoluted path to a deep stream, walking the banks until they reach the waterfall that feeds it. They don’t immediately approach the waterfall until they verify no one has followed them. After determining the coast is clear, they finally approach.
Kakashi notes the water is emerging from the solid overhang of a stone cliff, indicating an underground source. The rock outcropping gently curves upward vertically from the ground on both sides before sharply tapering off at the top into the mountain to merge seamlessly with the rest of the rock face.
At the base, the rock outcropping bulges around and away horizontally for several meters. Looking away from this formation in both directions, the undulating vertical cliffs appear smooth with no visible cave entrances to mar the surface.
With the long shadows of the late afternoon sun he could be mistaken, though. Looking back at Naruto curiously, he wonders where the hell her secure haven could be. Underground?
Ignoring his confused expression, Naruto crosses the stream and walks along the narrow bank practically hugging the cliff. When she reaches the pool at the base of the waterfall she stops and leans in closer to his ear.
“Be careful because the rocks are slick from the water spray.”
Kakashi looks at her then at the waterfall, wondering what the hell they are doing. His reverie is broken as Naruto jumps onto a large boulder edging the pool off to the side of the waterfall. Leaning forward to press her palms flat against the rock face behind the waterfall, she steps wide from the boulder with one foot before completely stepping off. Hugging the wall she carefully shuffles through a narrow open space behind the waterfall.
Mimicking her movement, Kakashi shuffles along until he joins her to stand on flat piece of rock with barely enough room for the two of them to stand on. They are in a small alcove behind the waterfall that is in no way visible from the outside, leaving him wondering how she discovered all this.
“It gets a little trickier from here,” she leans in again to warn.
Nodding, he watches as she sets her hands and feet against the rock walls of the narrow space they’re standing on. Once she has a secure grip she looks up and begins making her way up, using her hands and feet to walk up. He notices she’s not using chakra, but understands if she does she’ll make herself dizzy again.
Kakashi watches her maneuver over a boulder partially blocking the narrow space overhead before she completely disappears from his sight. Giving her a moment to clear the obstruction, he sets his hands and feet before following, except he uses chakra to secure his grip. The space around the bulge of the boulder is not as narrow as it look and he’s able to use the top of the bulge to give himself better leverage as he continues up through the narrow twisting space.
Naruto partially sits on a boulder nearby as her emerges into an open space. Looking around, he takes everything in with amazement.
It’s a decent sized clearing abutting up against a concave section of the mountainside. The stream feeding the waterfall below them burbles out from a small cavern located about 30 meters from them, running parallel to the mountain.
A small strip of land separates the stream from the outermost edge of the clearing, which is a solid rock wall approximately four meters high, curving slightly inward at the top edge.
Between the stream and the mountain lay a nice smooth expanse of soil large enough to build a decent sized home with enough room for a yard. In the nearest corner where he stands lay a tangled pile of dead trees. In the opposite corner are five large trees gnarled by the elements. Three of the trees grow bunched up together and the other two spaced further away.
With the main body of the mountain continuing it’s ascent far above them, Naruto is more than correct. It’s a secure location perfect for hiding away from the world.
“Night will fall soon and we’ve gotta get camp set up,” Naruto reminds him. Raising a hand, she points toward the trees. “We can set the tent in the space between the trees. With the expected storm it’ll probably get very windy up here and we can lash the tent to them for additional support.”
Kakashi nods and follows her across the clearing. As he gets to work setting up the tent, she attempts to help him, but is promptly steered with a firm grip on the shoulders by one of his clones away from the work area and forces her to sit down on a grassy slope nearby.
“Rest,” the clone firmly orders.
She blinks stupidly after the clone returns to Kakashi’s side. She didn’t even see him create the damn things, but there’s another clone already working with him. However annoyed she is at the man, she already feels relaxed just being here.
Gazing around for something to do that won’t get her in trouble she spies the pile of broken trees, realizing they have to get a fire started soon. On a previous visit she broke up some of the dead branches and left them for that very reason. She even cleaned up a very nice section of a tree trunk for sitting on.
Climbing to her feet she walks over and within moments finds what she’s looking for. Easing down on one knee she gathers some wood into her arms. Once ready she has to pause and close her eyes briefly against a wave of dizziness before climbing to her feet. After dumping the load she returns to grab more. Mentally she notes she’ll have ask Kakashi to store some in a scroll for later because once the storm hit it’ll be hard to dry them for a fire.
On her third trip she tries dragging over the tree trunk. Midway over she has to stop and rest for a moment because she’s already feeling worn out again. It isn’t so much heavy as awkward, but since she’s not feeling well it feels like it weighs a ton.
“What are you doing?”
She nearly crushes her foot dropping the damn thing when Kakashi’s angry voice startles her.
Busted, she smiles sheepishly.
“Setting things up for a fire.”
Growling, he grabs her by the arm and drags her back over to the slope, forcing her to sit down again.
“Stay,” he firmly orders.
With the help of a clone, he retrieves the log with the other clone following close behind with more wood.
The deepening shadows of the mountainside blankets the clearing in inky darkness, bringing a sharp chill to the air. Naruto searches for her rucksack and brings out her ANBU cloak. Wrapping herself in it she settles near the newly built fire cheerfully burning away the chill to lean against the log.
By this point Kakashi has set everything else up and is preparing dinner. Neither speaks, simply enjoying the quiet solitude in each other’s company and the gentle voice of the breeze against the mountainside.
She has no idea when she drifted off, but finds herself being gently shaken awake by Kakashi. After he hands her a plate of food, she groggily eats as he settles next to her with his own plate.
“I sent Pakkun to notify Tsunade of the situation,” Kakashi states after a few minutes. “I included the camera as evidence of what’s going on and the names of the shinobi bugging us so far. Her reply was a succinct assurance she’ll deal with the situation, but Pakkun said she growled worse than a bitch in heat not yet ready to mate.”
Naruto chokes on her food before finally breaking out in a laugh.
“Are you okay?” Kakashi asks, amusement coloring his voice.
She nods before hoarsely replying.
“Pakkun better not ever let Baa-chan find out he said that or you’ll be down a nin dog.”
“Assuming she could catch him,” Kakashi muses. “I also sent Pakkun to visit Gai and let him know we arrived here safely. Gai replied he’s already working on spreading the word, so by the time we get back this nonsense should be over.”
Naruto sighs in relief as Kakashi serves them both more food.
Settling down next to her again Kakashi continues.
“Tsunade sent Genma and Raido out on the mission she wanted us to take this morning.”
Naruto stops eating to gape at him stunned.
“She dressed Genma down royally for unbefitting conduct because he didn’t have enough self-control to avoid getting into a brawl with Sasuke. She also got after his ass for engaging in sex in a public park instead of keeping his pants zipped up long enough to reach somewhere private. She sent him on the mission to get him out of the village until things cooled down, but since it required a two-man team she had to ask Raido to go too. Apparently Raido wasn’t too happy about it, but Tsunade explained that right now he was the only shinobi that could tolerate working with Genma and who wasn’t involved in Shigure’s betting pool.”
“I’m going to have to treat Raido to dinner or something for his trouble,” Naruto mumbles.
“It should be fancier than ramen to make up for that,” he suggests helpfully, prompting Naruto to playfully nudge him.
Reaching over he musses up her hair.
“Sasuke apparently did follow orders and went to see Tsunade after stopping by to see us.”
Naruto gapes in disbelief.
“Will wonders never cease?” Immediately she corrects herself. “He does follow orders when he’s not personally involved. In his mind he mistakenly thought he was involved.”
“Tsunade definitely dressed him down for that and for fighting with Genma,” he points out. “Her main concern was making sure he didn’t get spiteful and let it slip you went into demon cloak mode. Apparently Jiraiya was there and explained what could’ve happened if your transformation had gone beyond one tail. He also suggested Sasuke should ask Sakura about when you faced off against Orochimaru on the Tenchi Bridge. Both Sannin explained if word gets out it’ll set off a panic that will lead to your death. Apparently he hadn’t realized how precarious your situation is.”
Naruto sighs.
“It doesn’t matter whether Sasuke realizes it or not, he wouldn’t have told anyone about it. He may have felt entitled to get involved in our fight, but he’d feel it’s nobody else’s business.”
“True, but it’s obvious we’ve a lot to talk about with him when we get back.”
Naruto simply nods in agreement. Noticing she finished eating, Kakashi collects her plate and starts cleaning up.
“Hey! I’m not an invalid!” Naruto protests. “At least let me clean up!”
He cheerfully smiles.
“If you move to do something other than to go to the bathroom or go to bed, I will hog-tie you to the log until bedtime.”
When she narrows her eyes and growls, he leans forward and lightly pats her head.
“Good girl.”
As he moves off to finish cleaning up, she sulkily pulls her cloak tighter about her shoulders and stares into the fire trying to think of other things besides the last few days.
That night Sakura has to pay Danzo another visit. She hates making so many frequent visits, but he prefers to be updated immediately on any new developments.
She already has too much shit on her plate and would’ve rather send an encrypted message than come over this late, but he constantly goes on about messages getting intercepted. As it is, he’s going bitch about the late hour. However, she was busy with her other assignment, maintaining a relationship with that dimwit Ritsu.
Grudgingly she admits it’s a ridiculously easy assignment, but it’d be a lot better if he were at least good in bed. She feels like she’s initiating a complete virgin every time they have sex and she isn’t even showing him a quarter of what she knows. However, she’s afraid of scaring him off if they get too kinky and that would definitely piss Danzo off.
“The hour is rather late, is it not?” his voice calmly admonishes ash she enter his study.
“Trust me, I’d rather be sleeping right now,” she bites out, rolling her eyes.
Danzo doesn’t comment further as she steps closer to his desk and plops into a chair.
“Anyway, I’ve got quite a few updates for you.” Without further preamble Sakura dives right in. “Well, the demon baka broke up with that loser Genma last night. Caught him fucking some whore in the park he’s been cheating on her with for the past couple of months. After she embarrassed his ass in front of everyone he followed her to a training ground when she took off from the bar. Word has it they were arguing when the Uchiha fag showed up and got into it with Genma.”
Arching her back she pauses to stretch one arm in the air while stifling a yawn with the other before continuing.
“They were going at it pretty good where Kakashi, Yamato and Raido couldn’t keep them separated. The baka apparently tried helping only to get her nose busted by a punch Genma was aiming at Sasuke. I happened to be there when that drunk Tsunade ripped into Genma for the fight and publicly fucking in the park. Then she ordered him to keep his mouth shut about the baka submitting to the demon.”
Noticing Danzo’s arched brow she nods.
“Yeah, the baka lost her temper and the cloak came out. Got only as far as one tail. The drunk is keeping that part hush hush, ordering everyone who knows to keep their mouths shut. The whole thing also sparked a betting pool at the Shuriken where the pot has gotten really big, so all these idiots kept bugging the baka and Kakashi where they’ve gone into hiding. No one knows where, though,” she shrugs.
Leaning forward to cross her arms on the desk and rest her chin on them, she smiles sweetly at Danzo.
“You’ll love this part. Part of the reason Sasuke even followed the baka and loser to the training ground is because he’s got a major hard on for the baka.” At Danzo arching another brow she nods. “Before the baka busted loser with his whore the rookies were speculating if she’d break up with him this time. I noticed Sasuke lusting after her for a while and had already suggested he tell her of his feelings for her. So I merely took the opportunity to remind him the baka was now available.”
“Interesting the Uchiha is interested in the Jinchuriki,” Danzo muses after a few minutes. “I never considered the possibility of the two becoming romantically involved, but it does offer some interesting prospects with the potential of future offspring out of the pairing. However, that is only a possible alternative for future. My plans are flexible to adjust for such contingencies.”
“I was thinking we can manipulate the situation so when we kill the bitch, we can pin it on that whore Genma,” Sakura suggests. “However, it’ll be a lot easier to off her if we let it slip into the gossip grapevine that Naruto becomes a demon when angry and it happened right in the village.”
Danzo carefully mulls over her words.
“Both scenarios work well in deflecting all suspicion of any ROOT involvement. However, I do not want to incite a mob riot that may lead to the Jinchuriki’s death. I do not believe the atmosphere is right to topple Tsunade-hime as well and allow me to step in her place. She is still too powerful and may be able to save the vessel. Even if the vessel still died, there would not be enough backlash to finish off the old whore either. Tsunade-hime would not rest until she uncovered whoever was responsible for the vessel’s death and that is one possibility I am not willing to risk.”
“The situation with Genma holds far more potential,” he continues thoughtfully. “There are enough people angry with him that no one would likely question his guilt. I feel part of the reason all attempts at killing the vessel have been unsuccessful is because there is always an ally around to aid her. He saved her from Sai’s second attempt. However, he is no longer her boyfriend. The only one left is Kakashi. He needs to be removed from the equation. Not killed, only incapacitated. As long as he’s capable he’ll do everything he can to protect her.”
“Incapacitating him is fine except he’s very strong and smart,” Sakura huffs. “And the drunk keeps them together as much as possible on missions for Naruto’s protection. Since they’re living together they’re practically together all the time.”
Danzo considers the problem.
“It is difficult to maintain vigilance constantly. It has to slacken sometime. It can also be arranged for Kakashi to be sent out on a long solo mission only he can do. By then Sasuke will be back in Tsunade’s good graces and allowed to act as the Jinchuriki’s bodyguard. If he is not, planting the suggestion in Koharu or Homura’s ear should take care of the problem. They are still sympathetic toward the Uchiha and would think it is a good demonstration of faith to have him protect Naruto.”
“Let’s not forget the baka is very forgiving and will go to bat again for Sasuke,” Sakura points out.
“Yes,” Danzo nods his approval. “Once everything is in place we will be in a position to take out the vessel and pin it on Genma’s jealous rage. Do what you can to set up the situation accordingly.”
Another thought occurs to him.
“Sasuke is very proud and may not like being scolded for defending Naruto when he believes he was in the right. So it may be time to offer him some assistance and friendly advice. I will handle that.”
Knowing she’s dismissed, Sakura disappears from the office, leaving Danzo alone to contemplate his next move.
- 13
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Underneath The Leaves