Stay with Me
10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven
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[Uzumaki Naruto's POV]
Traveling at a leisurely speed sucked. Alas, I couldn't do anything about it as we couldn't rush Tsunade and cause her to change her mind. A lot of things happened after the talk I had with her. Shizune thanked me for bringing the old Tsunade back meanwhile Jiraiya wondered what I did to achieve that. The biggest changes happened to Tsunade, of course.
One of those changes happened to be her newfound interest in me. She might think she was being subtle, but my loner sense could easily pick up her gaze. Her eyes had been boring holes in my back for the last three days.
Neither Jiraiya nor Shizune seemed to notice. When I asked them if they noticed that Tsunade had been keeping an eye on me, they said that Tsunade might just be looking out for me. I dropped the matter entirely afterward, not wanting to open an entire can of worms that I was not yet ready to open.
When the sun set, we decided to build a camp. Jiraiya erected the tents meanwhile I prepared the food. My experience had taught me that letting others cook for me was begging for disappointment. As Shizune helped Jiraiya erect the tents, Tsunade sat next to me on the ground. She said nothing, content to observe the sizzling roasted beef.
"How have you been?" I decided to start a conversation to not make things awkward between us.
"I am better. I have been sleeping well," she said with a light tone.
"That is good to hear."
I didn't know what to say anymore. I was not the most sociable person. I could only talk to people when I needed something from them. I could technically force myself to socialize, but I would never do that. I hated forcing myself to fit in.
"How are the villagers treating you?" Tsunade asked, surprising me slightly. "Eh, ah, sorry. That was insensitive."
"It's cool. I am not that sensitive," I assured. "The villagers treat me like most people treat a Jinchūriki. It's nothing new. But who cares about them? Their lives depend on us. Their deaths barely affect us, but our deaths affect their lives greatly."
"Do you hate them?"
"I hate is a strong word. I have to invest my emotion in them to hate them," I chuckled. "I just don't like them. I neither go out of my way to hurt them nor do I actively help them. I am just being myself: living the way I deem fit."
Tsunade turned silent. I ignored it for a few moments but eventually turned to her in curiosity. She had a hesitant look on her face. When she met my gaze, her eyes steeled and she put her hand on my shoulder.
"You are not alone. You have me on your side."
I looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. She kept her stoic look but eventually crumbled under my gaze as her cheeks sported a faint blush. I didn't blame her. I would blush too if I said something that corny.
"Thanks, Tsunade. I appreciate it."
"Ah, right!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "How can you casually call Tsunade like that, brat? Aren't you afraid that she might pummel you one day?"
Before I could say anything, Tsunade scolded him, "Let him call whatever he likes, Jiraiya. It's not like I mind either."
"You don't?"
Jiraiya sported a bewildered look as he sat across from us. He quickly shrugged the matter off, though, as soon as the roasted beef was ready. I divided the meat evenly before we ate. Tsunade gave a fourth of her meat to me, saying that I needed to eat more since I was still growing. I accepted her offer gladly.
Halfway to finishing my meal, I noticed that she was looking at my plate. I looked at her empty plate and then realized that she might still be hungry. Sighing lightly, I stabbed a slice of my steak and then fed it to her. Her eyes reddened in embarrassment the moment she realized what she had just done. I assured her that I didn't mind, but her blush remained.
…
The travel to Konoha took us a little over four days. We stood before the gate around eight in the morning. The Chūnin guards stood straight the moment they saw Jiraiya and Tsunade. Jiraiya reveled in their admiration, but Tsunade remained stoic. We entered Konoha when the gate was opened. Everyone turned to us and whispered to each other upon noticing Tsunade.
We ignored the villagers and went straight to the Hokage Tower. Tsunade was stiff as she looked at Sarutobi's carved face at the Hokage Hill. That reminded me that I had lied about the old man's death. She had never talked about it, so I forgot about it.
Before long, we were standing in front of Hokage's office. Tsunade could no longer hide confusion. She looked like she wanted to ask Jiraiya something but held herself. She settled her gaze on the door to Hokage's office instead. When the door opened, she looked at Sarutobi as if she saw a ghost.
She kept her silence as we walked to Sarutobi who stood up to greet us. He had a smile on his face as he smoked on his pipe.
"Sensei, aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"Kuhuk-kuhuk! What…?"
Sarutobi was so startled that he choked on the smoke. He turned to Jiraiya and glared at him accusingly. Jiraiya waved his hands frantically, claiming innocence. He looked like he was going to cry.
"I may have a bad back, but I am still kicking, Tsunade," Sarutobi sighed. "Who told you that I was already dead?"
Before Tsunade could open her mouth, I confessed, "I did. A Ninja doesn't have to be honest, after all." Tsunade turned to me, looking betrayed. "I am sorry, sweetheart. I need that to pull you out of your blanket of misery."
"Oh… uh, okay."
Thankfully, she accepted my explanation quickly.
"Kuhum. Do you understand why you are brought here, Tsunade?" Sarutobi asked.
"To replace you?" Tsunade asked, unsure.
"Yes. I need you to replace me in the future and help me with my job as a Hokage as I will be training Naruto-kun from now on."
"You are taking a new student?" Tsunade remarked, surprised.
"Yes," Sarutobi answered simply with a smile.
Sarutobi turned to me and told me to wait outside for a moment as he wanted to talk about something I couldn't know yet with Tsunade and Jiraiya. I complied and got out of the room. I took out Minato's notes on Fūinjutsu and immersed myself in reading them. Time passed and Sarutobi called me back.
He thanked me for what I did and rewarded me with 900,000 ryo which was an A-Rank Mission payment. I idly noted how expensive it was to escort one of Konoha's prized Ninjas home. He asked me if I needed more reading materials, but I waved him off. The scrolls Minato and Kushina left behind were enough to satiate my thirst for knowledge.
"Naruto-kun. Since we are going to spend a lot of time training, why don't you stay at my house to make matters easier?" Sarutobi asked.
"I don't want to intrude, Sarutobi-san," I declined politely.
"Nonsense! Konohamaru has kept bugging me about you ever since he met you. He would be thrilled to stay in the same house with you."
Ah, that was two weeks ago. Konohamaru was a good kid, albeit a bit too loud. Anyway, that was more reason not to stay there. I couldn't let a kid bother me every day, begging me to teach him to be an awesome Ninja. Why wasn't the kid not satisfied with Kagebunshin no Jutsu?
"Naruto can stay with me at the Senju Compound," Tsunade said, dispelling the silence. "It is close to the Sarutobi Compound anyway."
Tsunade sent a look to me that told me she noticed my discomfort about the idea. I smiled lightly at her, causing her to also smile. I didn't want to be anywhere near Konoha's officials. I didn't want to risk them knowing everything I did.
"Very well, I will send my Anbu to move Naruto-kun's stuff to the Senju Compound."
"Good."
Wait. Something was not right. I thought Tsunade had merely offered me to stay with her to save me from Sarutobi's offer. She truly meant it! I couldn't let this happen. I didn't want my life to be intruded by another person. I wanted to be alone. Why couldn't they just leave me alone? I opened my mouth, but Tsunade's hand stopped me from saying anything.
"Stay with me, Naruto," she smiled.
I wanted to say something but eventually chucked it away into the trash can. I turned to Sarutobi and ran a hand through my hair.
"Let me accompany your Anbu to my apartment. I secure it with Fūinjutsu, so they would die if they forced themselves to enter," I said, hiding my defeat. "I also want to carry some of my private stuff myself."
"Porn magazines?" Jiraiya supplied helpfully.
"My research notes and parents' belongings," I retorted, glaring harshly at the sex offender.
"Lighten up, will ya?" he grinned.
Sarutobi chuckled before agreeing to my request. I left the room with the Anbu following me in the shadow and Tsunade left for the Senju Compound with Shizune to clean up.
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Honorary Mention:
Daoist Mufasa
Deividas Seputis
Faisal Salih
Florin Durbaca
Friday
Jamaul Pryor
Luck George
Luis Fabiano
Zion X