Chapter 36: A Date and a Reunion 1/2

I'm glad a lot of you liked what I did last chapter with Jiraiya, as well as Kirabi and Yugito. A lot of you are still rather irked at Jiraiya for his actions so far, and rest assured, he'll get what's coming to him, eventually.

So I know you're all probably very eager to see the Finals, given who will be fighting who. However, please bear with me, as the next couple of chapters are very important to developing some of the characters and things that are going to happen. I promise though, that the Chuunin Finals will be worth it, especially the first fight.

Nothing else to really mention at the moment, so let's get on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Assassin's Creed. They are the property of Misashi Kishimoto and Ubisoft respectively. This is a non-profit fan made fanfic. Please support the official releases.

Chapter 36

A Date and a Reunion

Hinata carefully sighted down an arrow nocked on her bowstring, before slowly letting out a breath and letting the arrow fly. She quickly drew another arrow from the storage seal on the grip and fired it as quickly as she could after the first one, repeating the process three more times in order to demonstrate her bow skill to her new extra sensei who Anko had hired to teach her.

Ryoushi, the hunter they had helped for their first C-ranked mission, watched the grouping of Hinata's arrows with a practiced eye, nodding as he saw her accuracy. "Well, you've got accuracy and a fair amount of speed. Both good traits for an archer who finds themselves in a fast-paced battle. But what I'm going to be teaching you will be pushing that to the next level," he stated. "I'm going to teach you how to shoot on the move and to fight in close quarters with your bow."

Hinata nodded in understanding as she moved to retrieve her arrows. "Like how you shoot your bow?" She asked him.

"To a degree. I can't teach you everything I know, not in a month, but I can teach you the start of what I know. And given your profession of being a shinobi, I think firing on the move will prove very useful to you," he said, before drawing his own bow and up to four arrows. "Watch me," he stated, as he held the arrows and the bow in one hand, drawing one arrow back with the other. Hinata watched as he began running to one side, drawing and firing the first arrow, and doing so rapidly with the others. He suddenly spun, drawing more arrows from his quiver as he dropped to one knee, firing the first of the new arrows, and then getting back to his feet, firing rapidly on the move again in the opposite direction.

When he finished his demonstration, he nodded towards the human shaped target, where his arrows had accurately struck every vital point, marked or unmarked. Hinata could only stare in amazement, looking from it to him as he put his bow back around his shoulders.

"Your first step will be learning to fire accurately while walking. When I see you're capable of getting consistent accurate shots over and over again, we'll move on up to running. Afterwards, we'll see what time we have left to train you in," he told her, as she nodded in understanding. "Now, let's begin."

At another training ground, Kurenai was starting her own lesson with Ino. "Genjutsu is perhaps the most refined and definitely the most subtle of the three major branches of shinobi arts," she told the Yamanaka. "It requires cunning and deception, as well as a strategic mind. You need to be able to hide your casting to fool your opponents into believing your illusion is real. And so that way, they are less likely to realize the truth and break it before you make your attack. But you also must know the right moments to utilize genjutsu, as simply throwing them out at random will not be as effective as casting one at the right moment. A single genjutsu can be more devastating than a dozen ninjutsu, if used properly."

As Ino nodded, Kurenai continued. "Considering your weapons, especially with Anko having you learn how to effectively use poison, you'll want to utilize genjutsu designed to either immobilize or distract your enemies long enough for you to deliver the poison without them realizing it. I have one in particular I'm rather fond of when striking at opponents," she said, a smile appearing on her face as she suddenly disappeared, and Ino suddenly found herself bound and restrained against a tree as Kurenai emerged from the trunk, a kunai in hand. "What do you think?"

Ino could only gape in surprise, as Kurenai ended the genjutsu, reappearing in front of her. "I didn't even see you cast it!"

"That's because I cast a genjutsu on you before the lesson even began," Kurenai said, smiling as Ino started in surprise. "You didn't expect it, and so you didn't see it until I made it obvious. This whole time, you were in my thrall and if I were an enemy, I could have ended you. That is the power of genjutsu when it is utilized properly. Now let's go over a few different genjutsu for you to start learning."

Ino nodded eagerly, moving to Kurenai as she pulled out an instruction scroll for a genjutsu.

In a third training ground, Jiraiya was studying Naruto carefully, who was demonstrating both his taijutsu and his skill with his various weapons. "Alright gaki, so you're good with your fists and with your weapons. We don't need to worry about that. How good is your chakra control?"

Naruto moved out of his stance, sheathing his ninjato on his back. "I've got both tree walking and water walking down pretty good, though I can still work on improving both. My control is fairly good overall, but the problem is I have a hard time getting really fine control over my chakra, due both to my Uzumaki genetics and the Kyuubi," he stated, knowing Jiraiya was aware of his burden and his clan.

Jiraiya nodded at that. "Uzumaki chakra is among some of the most potent and powerful in the world. It ties in with their incredible strong life forces, and what made them some of the most feared combatants on the field, when they're properly trained. But Kyuubi's chakra leaking into your own would make it even harder to control your chakra. Still, it sounds like you've got a good foundation so far on that front. How about your ninjutsu arsenal?"

"I've got Kage Bunshin down pretty well, as well as a couple katon ninjutsu and the basics of fuuton manipulation. Haven't gotten any ninjutsu there yet. And I know summoning jutsu as well," Naruto said, causing Jiraiya to blink and mentally frown at that last part.

"You know summoning jutsu already? Do you have a contract?" He asked Naruto.

Naruto just nodded at that, pulling the summoning scroll from one of his pouches. "Raphael-sensei found it during our mission to Nami, and gave it to Anko-sensei. She offered it to Hinata and I, and I took it. They're called fennec foxes, and they're highly skilled at information and intelligence gathering, as well as some being combat capable," he explained, holding the scroll up.

Jiraiya took it, looking the scroll over. "This must be a very old contract. I don't think I've ever heard of them," he murmured softly, still mentally frowning. He had wanted to have Naruto sign the toad contract like he had, as it would not only help him make a bond with Naruto, but could prove useful later in allowing the boy to learn an ancient and powerful style of jutsu that few could master. However, he also knew that the majority of summoning contracts were binding, and that the summons wouldn't allow their summoners to sign another contract. Still, he could talk to the toads and see if they would be open to the idea, and then hope perhaps these fennec foxes would be as well.

Handing the contract back to Naruto, he grinned. "Well, if you've already got summoning down, I guess I won't need to teach you that. So I guess I'll need to teach you something else…I know! You've told me you've been in contact with Kyuubi?"

Naruto nodded at that as he stored his contract away. "For a few years now. It happened after an accident during a sparring lesson in the academy. The seal was weakened slightly, enough for me to be able to contact Kyuubi. Since then, I've been trying to establish a dialogue with him, at the suggestion of Yugito-san," he said. "I'm hoping maybe to earn his trust so that we can work together, if the need arises."

"Hmmmm, and how is that going so far?" Jiraiya asked him.

"It's tough. Kyuubi has a lot of anger and mistrust towards humans. He seems especially angry after being sealed away in my mom, and…Mito Uzumaki," he said, hesitating slightly as he tried to remember the name of the first Uzumaki Kyuubi had been sealed in.

Jiraiya frowned at that, leaning back against a tree. "It was necessary to do so, in order to protect the village," he said.

Naruto shrugged. "I guess I could understand when it was first done, because he was used to attack the Shodai Hokage. But what about afterwards? Shouldn't he have been freed then, if he had calmed down enough to not want to attack Konoha?"

"Gaki, if we had let it go back then, even if it didn't destroy us, Konoha would be left without a jinchuuriki to stop the other village's jinchuuriki if they came after us. And even if they didn't, if we let Kyuubi free they'd try to seal it away to make another jinchuuriki. They'd fail unless they had an Uzumaki, but still. It's better if it's kept sealed away, for everyone," Jiraiya said.

Naruto frowned at that, crossing his arms. "The ends justify the means?" He asked quietly. "Many people have used that in history to justify all kinds of atrocities and horrors. I have a hard time agreeing with any means where other people have to suffer for the betterment of your own people or village. Not unless they were the ones who started it, and even then it depends on how far you go."

Jiraiya just groaned, placing a hand over his face. "Look, this isn't the time for a debate. I was thinking that we could practice you utilizing Kyuubi's chakra, so you can get more and more used to it. It'll be a powerful advantage when you're dealing with more powerful shinobi." He said, trying to move away from any debates or arguments that could ruin his chances of bonding with Naruto. He moved his hand down from his face, looking at Naruto. "Have you tried using his chakra yet?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not after the initial accident. His chakra caused me a fair amount of pain. And since then, I've mostly focused on talking to Kyuubi more than anything, trying to establish a dialogue or maybe some sort of working relationship."

"Well, that's what I'd like to focus on this month, if possible. Working on being able to use Kyuubi's chakra," Jiraiya said, moving to him. "Why don't you talk to Kyuubi, see if he's willing to help?"

The blonde jinchuuriki nodded, and closed his eyes, moving into his mindscape. He glanced up as he appeared in the Assassin warehouse, before moving to the part of it walled off by the bars of the seal. On the other side, he could see Kyuubi lounging, the smoking ruins of a city in the distance.

The giant fox didn't even look at him, but spoke as he approached. "I heard what was going on. You're here to ask for my chakra," he said.

Naruto nodded quietly, standing a safe distance from the bars. "You're right, I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to lend me some of your chakra, and maybe help me learn how to use it?"

"And why should I? Why should I give you my chakra, or help you in any way?" The fox asked, opening an eye and glancing at him contemptuously. "You're the one who keeps me imprisoned. Why should I help my jailor?"

Naruto bit his lip, thinking, before shrugging his shoulders. "I can't think of a single reason why you should. Sure, I can think of reasons why I want you to, but not any reason why you should want to."

The Kyuubi studied him quietly for a few moments. "…how very interesting. Not only are you honest with me, but you continue to not demand the chakra from me. This is a change from your predecessors. Mito simply forced the chakra out of me with her seal and your mother demanded and blustered at first, then forcibly took it later. I'll admit, you have piqued my interest. Very well, young brat, I'll be willing to lend you my chakra and advice. But only if you agree to one condition."

"What is your condition?" Naruto asked him, feeling wary.

"If you never demand my chakra from me, I will continue to lend it to you, as well as whatever instruction and aid I feel inclined to give. If you demand it of me or try to forcibly take it, and thus prove you're worse than your mother and ancestor by being a hypocrite, I will deny you the use of my chakra for the rest of our days together," he stated, smirking as he saw Naruto tensing slightly at the jabs at his mother.

Naruto took a calming breath, as despite the fact he didn't like Kyuubi's words, he couldn't deny that his mother very well could have acted that way. He didn't know the truth of her interactions with the giant biju. Letting the breath out, he looked up at Kyuubi and nodded. "I agree to your condition," he said, holding out his hand and moving closer.

Kyuubi stared at him, before snorting. "Do not bother, ape. I doubt we'll ever get along enough for me to touch you without killing you," he said, lying back down to rest. Naruto just dropped his hand and turned, disappearing.

In the physical realm, Naruto opened his eyes, looking at Jiraiya. "He's agreed to help me, so long as I follow a condition he set. Nothing dangerous or worrisome," he added quickly, seeing Jiraiya open his mouth.

The sannin just closed his mouth, before shrugging. "Alright. So does he have any advice on how to draw upon his chakra and not your own?"

Inside Naruto's mind, said fox began to speak. "Due to the weakened nature of the seal, some of my chakra has slowly been leaking into your own. I can use this to push a bit more chakra out, which you can draw upon. Otherwise, you won't be able to draw upon it without forcibly doing so, which would violate our condition. I will start feeding you some now, and you can learn how to feel it and start adapting to it."

Before Naruto could respond, he blinked as he felt warmth spreading from his stomach, and moving throughout his body. He focused on that warmth, trying to pull on it, only to shudder as his body was slowly encompassed by an aura of red chakra, which fluctuated and wavered as it surrounded him. He hunched over a bit as he felt an ache sweeping through his body as well.

Jiraiya frowned as he watched this, seeing that Naruto was obviously in some discomfort, as the young genin slowly straightened up, panting slightly. "It's…not as bad as it was when I was younger," he said, doing his best to adjust to the feeling.

"Well still, let's not push things too far. If it starts feeling too painful, let it go. We'll work on building a tolerance over time," Jiraiya said, as Naruto nodded and rolled his shoulders, doing his best to get comfortable. "I'll look into other things to teach you besides working on your ability to use the Kyuubi's chakra, and we'll work on all that during the month."

Naruto just nodded, as he moved and shifted, getting a feel for the energy flowing through him. 'Thank you Kyuubi,' he thought, as he began trying to adjust to the pain and feel of Kyuubi's chakra.

Watching from the tree line, Anko frowned slightly at the sight of Naruto using Kyuubi's chakra, obviously under Jiraiya's guidance. She didn't like the idea of Naruto doing so without Yugito's guidance, or having a better relationship with Kyuubi. But it seemed that Jiraiya was pushing ahead, wanting to get Naruto used to the biju's chakra. She just had to hope he didn't push him too far and actually taught him something else besides that.

Shaking her head quietly, she turned away and headed off. Her students had started the day off learning from her, sparring and training like they normally do. Afterwards they had split up to train with their unique trainers. When they were done with that, she'd get Hinata for one on one training later, while Ino trained with her dad and Naruto with Raphael.

The thought of the Assassin made her grin slightly, as she remembered that tonight was the date that she'd been waiting for since the mission to Nami. She was a bit anxious about it, looking forward to it but also feeling nervous. She was nervous about ruining things, considering they were close friends and working associates and that this date, if it went badly, could make things very awkward between them, with that being the best case scenario. But at the same time, she enjoyed spending time with him, so she was looking forward to it.

Letting out a sigh, she pushed the date to the back of her mind. For now, she needed to focus on her planned training for Hinata, and worry about her date for later.

At the assassin headquarters, Raphael set aside another report from one of his contacts; the reports having backlogged a bit while Anko was in charge due to her also training and working with Team Eight. As he did so, he let out a sigh as he glanced at the other reports he still needed to go over. For the most part, there was nothing of serious note to worry about, beyond the latest report from Suna which indicated the shinobi of Suna were mobilizing in great numbers. When coupled with his own encounter with the Suna and Oto shinobi, it definitely raised concerns in his mind.

Pulling aside a few other reports he felt were connected to that situation, he set them all aside into one pile, in order to go over all of them together at the same time and finish connecting the dots. With that done, he leaned back in the chair at his desk, letting out a sigh as he glanced at a clock set up on the wall. He shifted a bit nervously, his thoughts drifting towards the date he had with Anko later that evening. In his time spent in Konoha, he had been forced to adjust to the different ways people here socially interacted, compared to back in Rome. And one of the biggest differences was their method of courtship. Except amongst nobles, here it was far more informal even when the objective was a true relationship and not a simple dalliance or fling. Raphael just hoped that the lessons he had picked up from numerous sources, including Mukei and Ameyuri while with them, would help him at least not make a total fool of himself. Especially since this date would either improve or cripple his already close friendship with Anko.

Getting up and stretching, he decided he'd get some physical training in before he had to go and help train Naruto, to try and help relieve some of his anxiety. Moving to one of the training dummies he pulled out his sword and settled into his combat stance, soon losing himself in the instinctive dance of cuts, thrusts, and parries.

That evening

Naruto did his best to stifle a groan as he headed back home after his first day of training for the Finals. His whole body still felt slightly achy from the exposure to Kyuubi's chakra, and that had been before he then had to go train with Raphael in taijutsu and kenjutsu. Having chosen to stay and train a little bit extra on his own afterwards, he was looking forward to a nice bath to sooth his muscles and clean himself of the dirt and sweat after a long day of physical and mental training.

Rounding a corner, he blinked as he found someone he wasn't expecting standing there, waiting for him. "Kiba? What are you doing here?" He asked.

The Inuzuka boy stood there, looking a bit uncomfortable as he pushed himself from the wall he had been leaning against. He didn't seem able to look at Naruto as he moved closer, his gaze constantly moving around to look at other things. "I ummm…I needed to talk to you," he finally said, standing a few feet from Naruto.

"Okay…what about?" Naruto asked, eyeing the boy before him. He was wary of him, as Kiba had done his best to harass and make fun of Naruto as well as challenge and attack him when he could. Yet now he didn't seem interested in that at all this time, as he stood before Naruto.

Kiba took a deep breath, as he tried to speak. "Look, it…it's about…I…okay, look man. This is about how I've been treating you. I was wrong, okay? I'm sorry. I've been treating you pretty crappy for years here now, and I'm sorry for it," Kiba finally got out, as Naruto blinked at that. When he opened his mouth to respond, the feral boy quickly continued. "I mean, part of it was my instincts screaming at me to beat you because you were a challenge, a threat to me. I'm the son of the clan head, you know? I need to be strong and tough, an alpha. And you beating me, it made you a threat to that. But even still, I should have had better control over my instincts. So I'm sorry, alright?"

"Okay, I get it. It's alright Kiba," Naruto said, a bit stunned that Kiba was apologizing. And he could sort of understand part of why Kiba reacted the way he did, even if it didn't excuse it. Feeling a bit curious about the sudden apology, Naruto decided to find out why. "What made you suddenly decide to apologize to me?" He asked.

Kiba shuffled a bit, finally looking at Naruto. "You saved my life. I mean…your clones did twice, and you did once, going after the Oto genin like that. So…that's why," Kiba admitted to him. "I guess…coming that close to death, and seeing you save me, even seeing your clones sacrifice themselves for me and my team…it kind of made me realize how shitty I've been. That's why I want to apologize to you. And hope we can at least be good comrades," he said, holding out a hand.

Naruto slowly moved closer, and took it. "We were always comrades Kiba. No matter what," Naruto said, as he shook the Inuzuka's hand.

Kiba gave a weak grin. "That's good to know," he said, before his grin grew more cocky. "Don't think I won't stop challenging you though. I still got my reputation to worry about."

Naruto chuckled a bit. "I could always use a good sparring partner," he said back, pulling away from Kiba. "I wouldn't go challenging Hinata-chan again though, if I were you. She's still angry about your last spar."

Kiba winced a bit at that. "Yeah, I think I need to apologize to her too…and then probably see a doctor afterwards when she's done 'accepting' my apology," he said, rubbing his arm in memory of the pain from the last time he and the former Hyuuga fought. "Good luck in the Finals," he said, as he started to move away.

"Thanks Kiba," Naruto said, watching the boy leave. Smiling a bit, he turned back towards his apartment, feeling a bit lighter now.

Meanwhile, Anko glanced at herself in the mirror, looking over her outfit and makeup to make sure everything was fine. For her first date, as Raphael requested informal attire, she had dressed in a knee length skirt, boots, and tank top, with a short jacket that reached to slightly below her breasts. Her hair was in its normal spiked high ponytail, and she had put on some light lipstick and eye-shadow, keeping it simple. The last two she had to borrow from Kurenai, and get her help in applying the right amount, considering she had never bothered with makeup before.

She glanced away from the mirror as Hinata came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a bathrobe with a towel around her hair. She smiled as she took in the appearance of her guardian, sensei, and big sister figure. "You look great," she said with a smile.

"Thanks," Anko said, adjusting her jacket. "I haven't really had any need for 'date' clothes before. Hope he likes this."

"Oohhh, don't tell me Anko Mitarashi is nervous about something," Hinata teased, as Anko just playfully shoved her.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, causing Anko to start and nervously check herself again, before going to the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened it, smiling as she saw her date.

Raphael stood on the other side, wearing slacks with a button down shirt with the top couple buttons undone, and a casual blazer. His hair was combed and styled, pulled loosely back in a small ponytail at the base of his neck.

Grinning, he pulled out a bouquet of flowers made up of some lilacs, orchids, and lilies, which he held out to her. "For you," he said, his eyes slowly looking her over before moving back to her face.

Anko smiled as she took them. "Never figured you for the bouquet giving type," she said, giving a sniff. "Just let me put these in water, and we'll get going."

Raphael nodded, following her after she gave a nod to him and stopping in the living room. "To be honest, giving a bouquet is actually one of the more basic things someone in my world who was going courting was expected to do. I simply thought you'd enjoy it," he said.

"Wow, that really sounds old fashioned," she said, putting the flowers in a glass with some water. "Though to be fair, I think the daimyo and other nobles still do that to. So, what are we doing for our date?"

"Well, I know you probably were expected some whole big deal, but I figured it'd be better to start off simple, and…well we'll see about the next few dates," he said with a smile. "But for tonight, we're going to get some dinner, see if there are any good movies at the theater, and then I thought end the night with a nice walk. If all goes well," he said with a smile.

"Sounds good to me. I never was one for really snooty restaurants anyways," she said, stepping back over to him, before calling out. "Hinata, I'm going out! Make sure you get lots of rest for tomorrow!"

Hearing Hinata let out a yell of confirmation, Anko grinned as she looked to Raphael. "Shall we?"

Raphael smiled as he took her hand. "We shall," he said, leading her out of the apartment, stopping so she could lock the door. "Hope you've got plenty of room for dinner."

Anko just mock gasped and lightly pushed him. "I hope you're not making a comment about my weight, good sir," she said.

"Not at all my dear," Raphael said good-naturedly. "Though I do enjoy a woman with a healthy appetite."

Anko giggled as they headed towards the restaurant Raphael had chosen for dinner. "If they've got dango, I definitely will," she said with a smile, looking forward to the evening.

Elsewhere, Gaara sat on the roof of the apartment building his team was staying in, staring up at the moon above as he did so. It was one of the few times 'mother' was silent, the other times usually being when he was killing someone. Since arriving in Konoha, 'mother' had been even worse, thanks to feeling the chakra of two other jinchuuriki. 'She' had been screaming for their blood above all else, wanting them dead. It had only been the promise of blood through other fights in the forest, the preliminaries, and the upcoming finals, that had kept her at bay.