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Chapter 2 (Into the Village)

"Just like you to think of this Kakashi-sensei." The dog wagged his tail from side to side and yipped in response. "Bah, pervert." Naruto readied the chakra he needed to control the jutsu. "Hitoku henge no jutsu."

Poof!

A puff of transformation smoke obscured the young shinobi before it blew away on the breeze. A pretty girl stood in Naruto's place, and no she did not look exactly like the blonde either. Black hair hung loose to the shoulder and she was clothed in three-quarter length black cargo pants and belt, an orange Chinese collared sleeveless top, fishnet forearm protectors, and black sandals like Tsunade-sama's. The only feature that the chuunin chose to keep was his bright blue eyes. People would definitely wonder about the whisker marks on the girl's cheeks and the rare individual might have heard of the loudmouthed ninja from the Hidden Leaf. Therefore the unique characteristic was completely hidden by the jutsu for mission reasons, as well as his Hidden Leaf hitai-ate.

The small, spiral charms attached to his collar and belt swayed as the girl checked the contents of the pocket on his right leg (where the weapon pouch was). Satisfied, Naruto the girl dropped neatly out of his tree and onto the dirt of the highway, then starting walking in the direction of the village. The grey furred Kakashi leapt down beside him and became man's best friend, pretending to be the guardian of the lone girl. For a brief moment Naruto wondered whether the older shinobi would make a better pet than he was a teacher. He shook his head and grinned at the thought of the antics Kakashi could get up to as a dog, not to mention the drool.

Naruto looked down when the animal in question bumped the girl in the calf and tipped his head toward the gate. He followed his gaze and found the distance to the village shorter then the ninja had originally estimated. The wooden entrance was open to the morning traffic and a single guard stood post to one side, fiddling - Naruto noticed irritably - with the edge of a 'Come Come Paradise' book that was poorly concealed behind his back. The guy mustn't be regularly assigned early morning duties and so was expecting people arriving later on, rather than at the crack of dawn. Naruto threw the guard a sweet smile to disarm him of any suspicions - the guard blushed lightly at the attention - as the girl and grey dog passed him on their way into the village. It was not as if any shinobi could see through the jutsu unless he chose to release it, even with the aid of the Sharingan.

It was still too early to easily acquire information on the streets so the standard action was to scout and familiarize one's self with the terrain. Kakashi abruptly went missing from Naruto's side as soon as the duo was out of the gate guard's sight. Though disguised, the chuunin checked that no one was in sight then sought a foothold on a tiled roof on his left. There was a soft clicking noise as his sandals touched the ceramic but none of them was dislodged with his full weight. Luckily the building was higher than its neighbours were and allowed Naruto to quickly survey the immediate area.

He noticed that the village's layout was similar to Konoha, which gave him some relief. The last place they had visited had been entirely constructed of three storey buildings and hosted no alleys or backstreets for stealthy passage. It had frustrated Naruto no end, especially the time when he had accidentally angered a group of middle-aged woman by calling them elderly to Kakashi-dog. He shuddered at what might have happened if Naruto hadn't been able to ditch them by finding sanctuary underneath a street performer's makeshift stage.

The young shinobi dismissed the memory and jumped across to the next building, heading towards the centre of village as the sun's rays hit the previous roof's tiles. Naruto knew that the jounin was likely scouting the lesser known areas where a stray dog wasn't as conspicuous, which left him to explore the marketplace if this village had them. Sure enough, he soon reached a large open section of the community containing the noise and slow bustle of sellers and early customers and the girl dropped into a back alley.

The morning crept by quite speedily as Naruto spent the entire time wandering pass the different stalls, silently comparing the products to the stuff he had seen in Konoha. His ears were constantly pricked for any useful information that they could report back to the Godaime, yet by the time noon hit the streets the girl had not discovered any facts they didn't already know. The chuunin hoped that Kakashi had more luck than he did, which wouldn't be surprising as he was a really sneaky bastard when he wanted to be.

He figured the older nin could not be too displeased if Naruto found a nice place to stay and, with any hope, a really good ramen shop. Naruto rounded a corner to enter the accommodation district and sauntered down the busy thoroughfare, gazing left and right as he went. It was almost at the end of the street when the girl found a place offering the two of the three things he wanted during his stay in the village. A comfy bed and hot baths beckoned to the young shinobi so Naruto entered the hostel and approached the service desk. He noted an advertisement of the accommodation's amenities and rules on the wall behind the counter, quickly reading through the list. The lack of one rule made the chuunin grin and he refocused on the male attendant.

"Do you allow dogs to stay here?" he asked politely.

The man nodded. "Yes, we do. We cater to shinobi as well as other customers and their animals are no hustle to us."

"I'd like to book a room for my dog and me, please."

"Certainly." The attendant opened a lilac book and flicked the pages until he found the one he was looking for. "How long will you be staying?"

"One, maybe two nights" Naruto replied. The Konoha duo couldn't continue the mission in the Rice Field Country for much longer if the Hokage were to receive their report with recent information.

"What name can I put on the booking?"

The disguised blonde was ready for that question. "Kitsune Moriko."

He scribbled down the details and then passed a key over the counter. "Room 3. Just down the hall and to the right." He smiled genially at the girl. "Please enjoy your stay."

"Thank you. I think I will."

The chuunin held the silver key lightly in his fingers and followed the directions the male attendant had given her. A right turn and an unlocked door later, Naruto stepped into a small but cosy room decked out in dark, neutral colours.

Naruto smirked absently. Kakashi could not be human while he stayed here, only because he had already declared having a canine companion. He had no doubts that the jounin would get him back for this but for the time being Naruto didn't particularly care. Voicing its displeasure at Naruto's negligence, his stomach growled loudly as he dumped his pack by the room's only bed. Naruto ignored it for a moment and moved towards the sliding door on the opposite side of the chamber.

It led to a stream-enshrouded bathing pool fenced on all sides, which the girl determined must be fed from underground hot springs if every room of the hostel had a private steam bath. Again his stomach protested and this time Naruto listened, the bath could wait 'til later on. Locking the door to his room behind him, Naruto exited the hostel and went on the search for a ramen shop.

He had made it along two streets without much success when a loud and familiar voice momentarily pushed food from his mind.

"Thanks girls."

A woman giggled. "Come again sir."

"Oh I will! You can count on that."

Naruto almost crashed into the old shinobi exiting a 'men's club' as he was about to pass the shopfront. Luckily his back was facing the chuunin as he abruptly stopped, avoiding the collision and tried desperately to school his shocked expression back to its normal state. After the years Naruto had spent with him, he was still amazed that Ero-sennin could get any useful information when he worked like that.

Fate decided to decree that the collision was going to happen no matter what.

The young girl unexpectedly felt very unbalanced as a very solid something thumped into his shoulder. There was no possibility of preventing the resulting crash into the back of Jiraiya.

Shit.

Naruto landed heavily on his arm and backside, grazing his palm on the street. It took a minute for him to realise that the smooth cylindrical mass that his back was currently draped over was Ero-sennin's scroll. He scrambled to his feet, mentally kicking himself at the compromising turn of events and quickly dampening his chakra from the old man. It was a damn great time for the concealing jutsu attributes to be field tested.

Jiraiya gingerly got to his feet from where he had been pushed front down and turned to confront his 'attacker'. The annoyed expression immediately dissipated when he discovered the culprit to be a young woman.

"Well, hello."

Naruto bent low in apology and summoned up the sweetest, flustered voice he could manage. "I'm so sorry, Jiraiya-sama."

The Sannin chuckled. "I'm sure it was an accident."

The teen nodded and promptly rolled his eyes, glad his face was partially hidden by the black hair and bowed head.

"I accept your apology."

Naruto lifted his head to meet his sensei's gaze and coloured a light pink. Jiraiya was giving him the 'assessing' look. The chuunin cut off the mental tirade about perverted teachers storming through his thoughts. He bit his lip and deigned to use the 'embarrassed to be getting attention from a great shinobi' expression.

"I ah, I am honoured to be in your presence Jiraiya-sama." He was good at acting, if he could say so himself.

"Is that so? How do you know me if I may ask?"

"Um." Think quick Uzumaki. "My uncle has told me much about the Legendary Sannin of the Hidden Leaf. He said you were the best." I wonder if his ego will buy that.

Sure enough it did. "Ah, your uncle has a good head on his shoulders."

Right then his stomach audibly and noisily reminded Naruto of his previous activity, before the painful diversion of Jiraiya. The girl grinned sheepishly as Jiraiya laughed, and then it was the old man's turn to be faintly embarrassed as his belly also responded to the thought of food.

He paused, an affectionate smile flitting through his countenance. "What's your name?" The girl's tummy rumbling had reminded him of Naruto.

Naruto inwardly smirked. "Moriko."

"That's an interesting name. How about I treat you to dinner?"

"Really?" he said eagerly. Hang on, he better not be hitting on me. "Why?" Moriko asked a little wary.

"You remind me of someone I know" he grinned, "and we're both hungry."

Thank god he's not. "Alright."

"Do you have a preference?"

He shifted awkwardly as he told the truth, blue eyes flicking away. "I was looking for a ramen shop before I bumped into you."

"You're not from around here." The girl shook his dark head. "Well then, I just happen to know a place that sells decent ramen." The old shinobi walked off in the direction the young chuunin was originally heading. Naruto ran the few steps to catch up with him and slowed to keep pace.

The restaurant Jiraiya spoke of was situated on the corner that this street shared with the next one. He stepped aside to let Moriko go in first, the perfect gentleman. It was strange to know one side of the Sannin yet be treated entirely different. They sat in a small booth at the front of the restaurant which sided onto one street and put in their orders when a young waitress came to their table.

Naruto had to stop himself from rolling his eyes again at the joyful glint in the old shinobi's eyes, indicating his approval of their waitress. At least that was the extent of his show of perverseness, usually around Naruto his eyes would bug out and he'd start drooling. The chuunin reflected whether it was because Jiraiya was in the presence of another young female, who would probably take offence to his normal behaviour, and not Naruto.

They didn't have to wait long for their food to arrive, the delicious smells making Naruto's mouth water as the bowls were placed in front of them. His barbeque pork ramen looked good enough to inhale.

"Itadakimasu."

Naruto restrained from going into automatic mode, forcing himself to eat three times as slow. Jiraiya grinned and tucked into his own rice bowl. Silence reigned between the two for a few minutes before the Sannin broke it.

"Where are you from Moriko-san?"

"Fire Country originally" he replied absently. Naruto was actually thinking while he ate. His problem now was how he was going to leave without Ero-sennin getting suspicious.

"Originally?"

He looked up from his bowl. Something was different about those eyes. Damn it, I sparked his interest. "I travel a lot these days." True enough.

"What a coincidence. I do a bit of travelling myself." He put a finger to his chin. "Have you ever been to the Great Naruto Bridge in the Water Country?"

"I was in the Water Country last year. It is a magnificent bridge." Liar, you were with Jiraiya, but that doesn't matter.

"You know that bridge was named after one of my students, Uzumaki Naruto."

He finished the last of the noodles and affected an awed tone. "Really?" I wasn't your student back then. "He must be a great ninja."

"Well, I wouldn't say great." What! "But he's getting there."

I better be, I'm going to be Hokage. "You must be proud of him Jiraiya-sama."

"I am."

Scratch, scratch.

"Huh." Naruto glanced out the window and found a mass of grey fur pressed against the glass. What the hell? Kakashi? He checked the sky for the last rays of the setting sun, but they were gone. It was already dark and lamps had been hung outside shopfronts.

A paw scratched the window again and those black eyes stared at the young girl. Jiraiya chuckled. "He really wants your attention, Moriko-san."

Yeah, yeah, I know. "Of course he wants it." Naruto felt a little peeved that he forgot about meeting Kakashi at sunset, but his voice didn't echo the feeling. "He's my companion."

"Ah, I thought it strange for a young woman to be travelling alone."

Scratch... Scratch.

Naruto pretended to observe the grey dog for a moment, like how he saw Kiba do with Akamaru. "Right." Thanks for the escape Kakashi.

The disguised blonde turned back to his table partner. "Thank you for the meal Jiraiya-sama but Ginookami has reminded me of a prior engagement I must attend."

Jiraiya put on his widest, friendliest smile. "My pleasure, Moriko-san. It was nice meeting you."

Naruto waved and walked out the restaurant door, ruffling the fur on Kakashi's head as he joined her. That was a close one. If the conversation had gone on any longer, he felt he would have given his disguise away. Hopefully the changing affects of the transformation jutsu had fooled the pervert into thinking he was talking to the girl Moriko and not Uzumaki Naruto.

Five minutes later, he gave a wave to the attendant who had served him earlier and then collapsed onto the bed in the hostel room. The canine jumped upon the covers and promptly laid across the end of the bed, eyes closing in a resigned manner. Naruto grinned again; he had told the jounin his fate on the way back.

It was comfy lying there sprawled over the bed, but one look at the sliding door and the steam bath became overly tempting. He thought about releasing the jutsu but one low, vague and unexpected growl from Kakashi banished the idea. They had argued about it at the start of the mission, the disagreement ending with Naruto never changing transformations until they were away from civilisation. The girl shook his head, grabbed the soap from his pack, gathered up a towel and slipped outside into the humid atmosphere.

First things first. He slipped off his clothing and entered the bath and billows of steam. The fragrant soap Naruto had was to mask the chuunin's unique scent, a small block of it constantly kept in the outside pocket of his cargo pants. Naruto had never been able to stand strong perfumes but he could deal with the lemon soap.

He had been scrubbing for while when he heard the splashing of people entering water. It was the room to his right, his dampened chakra instinctively sensing five ninja with average chakra levels. Naruto could hear hushed voices floating across the privacy fence, but his sensitive ears picked up most of the words being spoken. The conversation could be useless to the mission but they were shinobi, and it couldn't hurt to practice his eavesdropping skills.

"Speaking of pets, hasn't it been three years since that brat came."

"Yeah, I've heard rumours of Kabuto not as secure in his position anymore."

"He would be pissed if he heard you say that."

"So." There was a grunt. "He ain't here."

"I'm not surprised though. Isn't he a prodigy or something?"

"Yep, a genius, said to rival him."

Geez, every one is called a genius these days except me.

"No one can rival him."

"It's rumoured that he desires him desperately."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he put the soap on the ledge. Please don't be talking about perverts. Having them as a sensei is bad enough.

"What the hell for?"

"Don't you know he has a kekkei genkai?"

He lazily waved his hands and fingers to and fro through the steaming water. I wonder what it is.

"He's just another sacrifice for his experiments."

"Not just another experiment, I hear he is his successor."

Someone snorted. "You mean body."

Naruto became immobile as some of what they were saying clicked. Genius? Kekkei genkai? Body? They're not talking about them surely.

"Where did the blasted kid abandon again?"

"Konoha."

"Same as him then."

"I've heard another rumour that he takes orders from the Uchiha."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably in the water. Is it possible they're talking about Itachi? He whined in his mind.

"Hmm."

A couple of painful memories escaped the prison Naruto had thrown them in.

"One of my bats was hiding in the same room when Uchiha-sama forbade him from touching him."

"Orochimaru was always a sick bastard."

What the hell?.!

. . . T B C . . .


Kekkei genkai - Blood inheritance limit
Hitoku henge no jutsu - Hiding/concealing transformation technique

Revised: Jan 2008