Chapter 9: A Bad Beginning Makes a Bad Ending

"Cui mali accumensa, peju finisci - It is as impossible that a system radically erroneous, once commenced, should end well, as it is that a mathematical problem, commenced wrong, should come out right." ~Sicilian Proverb

The days went by and the couple tried their best to get to know their son who obviously was very wary of them still. It seemed like no matter what they do, they could never have their son the way they wished. Orochimaru had come around, which made Naruto smile at the man as he was checked over. They had talked about the man's travels and Naruto told him stories about his missions (without the details) and the exams (which pained the couple when they listened).

Sasuke, Shikamaru, Shino, and Neji visited everyday with Itachi, Iruka, Kakashi, Gai, Ibiki, Anko, Genma, and Yugao. Even Neji's team mates visited as well as Shikamaru's. However, when Kiba had visited, Sasuke was inches away from killing the Inuzuka for outright saying that Naruto was careless for thinking that he could take a missing nin by himself.

Neji was being restrained by Lee and Gai while Sasuke was held off by his brother and Itachi.

"Kiba, Naruto is a jounin… just reminding you just in case you forgot. And also, Naruto has been killing missing nins for nearly four years now. The mission he was on just had more nins thrown their way and incapacitated Ibiki-san and Genma-san who were with him. He defended them while they were trying to save enough strength to move after they had been weaken from a lot of fighting and running. Keep your mouth shut before someone does it for you… permanently." Shikamaru said as he crossed his legs and arms calmly.

It made Kiba and Akamaru shiver in fright as the calm Nara looked ready to kill him if it weren't for the others who would stop him.

"Honestly, I thought the Inuzuka would have trained their children like their dogs. At least the dog was quiet and respectful. Tch. You indeed better listen to the Nara boy, brat. I'm tempted to stitch that lips of yours close right now." Anko threatened the paling Inuzuka while Akamaru was shivering in Hinata's arms.

Kakashi had intervened and said that it was best they leave Naruto to rest. In all honesty, he just wanted to leave before he killed the boy himself.

Everyone had said their goodbyes just in time as Tsunade came around to check up on Naruto.

The day before Naruto was to be released and Kushina had cleaned her son's bedroom (which was hardly dirty). Kushina had wondered how the room was kept clean when Naruto had not been there for nearly three weeks now. She had asked Minato about it and he told her that there are seals in the room that keeps the room clean even if Naruto was not around to clean it himself. Kushina was surprised when she had heard this and felt proud yet ashamed that her son was able to do seals and it was just now she had known of it depth.

While Minato was working and Kushina preparing for Naruto's return, Nuriko watched with anger as she was being ignored by her parents now.

Well, she wasn't really ignored, per se… But the attention she used to get from her parents weren't the same anymore. It was all about Naruto now. Naruto this… Naruto that… Nuriko was getting sick of it. Even her godfather was a bit off for some reason.

The Toad Sannin had been invited to dinner once after the Snake Sannin had returned and the atmosphere of the dining room was suffocating. Nuriko tried to lift it by chatting away with her parents and her godfather but the conversation never really rolled on like it used to. They would answer using a few words or just nod/shake their heads. She was getting frustrated by the day.

It went from bad to worse when both the other two Sannins had come to check on Naruto's room earlier for some reason. They had stayed for dinner with them and Jiraiya had arrived just before they sat down. Nuriko had never gotten along well with her godmother as the woman had always been busy at the hospital and as for the Snake Sannin, she barely knew anything about him except what they were taught in school.

She decided to remain quiet that night but could feel eyes watching her every move even if she didn't see it. She turned to her parents who looked so ashamed for some reason (Nuriko could guess why) and was all nervous throughout the meal.

"Naruto will be released from the hospital tomorrow, Kushina. We have moved his bed away from the wall so that we could place the machines that we still need to monitor Naruto's condition. He is out of danger but the wounds seem to refuse to remain close and any bursts of KI triggers his wounds to reopen. He wants out of the hospital and since you ordered him to remain here, he shall return and resume his rest in this household." Tsunade said as Minato flinched at the emphasized word.

Minato remembered that night vividly which never ceased to hurt him over and over again.

"That being the case, if anything ever happens to Naruto while he stays here, I will hold you both responsible. I am warning you, if he is stressed out and doesn't heal within a month as we prognosticate, I will pull him out of here and you will never get hold on him ever again." Tsunade added with a warning tone that made Minato, Kushina, and even Jiraiya freeze in their seats.

Orochimaru was passive as if he didn't care of the conversation that was happening around him while Nuriko was seething with anger.

"Why can't he remain in the hospital then? Wouldn't it be better off him being there so you could keep an eye on him?" Nuriko asked, shoving down her anger as much as she could.

"We could but he dislikes staying in the hospital as he reasons that it makes him more restless stuck in a white walled room for hours on end. Besides, as far as I know, you have nothing worry about. His bedroom is out of your way and you will barely be here while he is. Just think of it like how it usually is: him nothing being here even if he is. You have always been good at that, haven't you, Nuriko." Tsunade answered with a tone that Nuriko didn't like and worried the other adults bar Orochimaru who was smirking ever so lightly.

Instead of answering, Nuriko stood up and left the table and stomped up to her bedroom.

"Hmmm… What a rude child. I am guessing that she had little to no discipline growing up. Add Jiraiya's influence… No wonder she is the way she is now. She won't last a day outside these walls of Konoha if she doesn't shape up. So opposite of Naruto…" Orochimaru commented extemporaneously.

Nuriko threw herself on her bed and screamed into her pillow. She hated Naruto with every fiber of her being. If he stayed invisible like he had been doing all this time, everything would have not changed! Screw his achievements! So what if he was a jounin! She'll just ask her dad to let her skip the Chuunin Exams and take the Jounin Exams instead. She'll show him that she could be better than him!

Then she remembered that Naruto was to return tomorrow. She sat up and waited for the Sannins to leave and for her parents to be asleep. Then she'll go into Naruto's room and mess it up as much as she could without making any noise. Nuriko had a smirk on her face and prepared for her revenge.

She watched as the Sannins left half an hour later. Add another hour, her parents retreated to their own bedroom and she finally moved. Nuriko walked as quietly as she could through the hall and up the stairs to Naruto's attic bedroom.

Truthfully, she had never been there ever since Naruto had asked to move up there. And when she did get there, she was shocked to see how big the bedroom was and how occupied it was. There were shelves and shelves of books. It looked like a mini library to her. The whole place was bigger than her own bedroom which annoyed her first and foremost.

She proceeded to find the bed and saw it near the window. There were machines set up, which she decided to leave untouched (to not earn the ire of the Snake and Slug Sannins of course), a study table, and a medium size kotatsu a few feet away. She decided to mess the library first and leave the bed area last. Nuriko took out a kunai and as she was about to grab one of the books on the shelf, she was zapped by lightning, making her yelp and drop her kunai on the floor. Her hand had obvious first degree burns and the sleeve of her shirt was seared.

Nuriko cradled her hand in pain as she tried her best not to make any more noise less her parents wake up and look for her. She was no craven but for some reason, Naruto had made sure that even when he wasn't around, his bedroom would be protected. It made Nuriko wonder just what else Naruto did within the confines of his bedroom to keep it secured.

She stood up and went to the bed area, having grabbed her kunai with her other hand, throwing the weapon on the bed which bounced up and lodged itself on the ceiling. Nuriko's eyes widen. The hell?! Even the bed was protected?! She decided that it would be in her best interest to just leave so she did, totally forgetting the kunai.

The next day, Nuriko woke up and bandaged her hand as best as she could. She had no healing jutsus in her arsenal so she had to wait until she got a nurse to look at her wound. The thought about going to the hospital was saddening as she knew most, if not, all the nurses hated her, as well as the doctors.

When she got down to the dining room, the house was quiet.

Too quiet.

Nuriko entered the kitchen and saw a plate of food on the table. Her dad must have left early and it seemed like her mom wasn't around too.

…

Nuriko,

I prepared your breakfast left it for you when you wake up. I had to rush to the hospital to help with Naruto. His coming home today.

You father left earlier to finish his paperwork so he could come home early and have tomorrow off.

Love,

Mom

….

Nuriko was more annoyed than before. Her mom had gone off to care for Naruto since he was coming home.

"Ugh! Really?! What's so great about him anyway?! Take away the titles and rank and what is he?!" she yelled out.

"Rich, handsome, charismatic, genius, and a leader." Answered Sasuke who was standing behind her.

Nuriko jumped in fright as she saw her teammate there. Sakura had just arrived and stood beside the Uchiha.

"What are you two doing here?" Nuriko asked, looking at Sakura mostly.

"Kakashi-sensei sent us to fetch you. We have D-rank missions today." Sakura answered her friend then turned to Sasuke who was smirking.

"Sasuke-kun, what were you saying just now?" she asked which made the boy smirk further.

"The useless one asked what Naruto was without the jounin title and rank. So I answered: rich, handsome, charismatic, genius, and a leader… which he is since he had already led a team of jounins and chuunins before. He is rich on his own right aside from the fact that he has his share of inheritance from the Hokage. Naruto could buy the Uchiha district in a year or two if he wanted too. His missions pay him so much, not including the bonuses he receives from his clients for excellent work." Sasuke bragged which made Nuriko huffed in anger.

It was now obvious to Sakura that Sasuke was making Nuriko angry by rattling off Naruto's achievements to her face. If Nuriko wasn't her friend, she would have snickered a bit. But she didn't show any emotion and just sighed. She had come to realize that being on the same team as Sasuke wasn't as great as she thought it would be.

Sasuke wasn't mean but he would often point out her and Nuriko's mistakes, tell them how useless and a burden they were during tasks, and irritate Nuriko as much as he could every single day by speaking of Naruto out loud. Now that Sakura paid more close attention to her surroundings, she had noticed how Nuriko wasn't as popular to the adults as she was to their class… well, to Ino, Kiba, and her at least. The rest of their classmates had stayed away from their group and Naruto's group, not wanting to be caught in between.

The adults would often whisper to each other and look at Nuriko and shake their heads, as if she had done something wrong. The chuunins at the Mission Office also glared and sneered whenever they were there for D-ranks. And even those chuunins would tell Sasuke out loud about Naruto's previous missions when Nuriko wasn within earshot.

Sasuke smirked and turned to walk out the house.

"Hurry up. I want to finish the list of D-ranks in order to help Naruto home later." He called out which just blew Nuriko's top.

Again, Sakura sighed as she turned and followed the boy out, listening to Nuriko walk behind her, mumbling under her breath.

It was just then that Sakura noticed Nuriko's wrapped hand.

"Nuriko! What happened to your hand?!" she cried out, making Sasuke turn to look at them.

Sasuke walked to them and grabbed Nuriko's arm, pulling the bandage off. He then smirked before laughing as he released Nuriko's hand.

"I know that burn. That's a first degree burn from a lightning jutsu. And I'm pretty sure I know how you got zapped, airhead." Sasuke said as he turned once more and walked ahead of them, leaving a confused Sakura and an angrier Nuriko.

Nuriko bandaged her hand as quick as she could and turned to Sakura.

"Butt out, Sakura!" she yelled and walked ahead, making Sakura angry.

"Well sorry for being worried about my friend then!" Sakura shouted back and stomped pass Nuriko and caught up to Sasuke.

They're jounin sensei was waiting outside the Mission Office when they arrived. Kakashi eyed the three, seeing Nuriko's arm and turned to Sasuke with a raised brow.

"Five words: First Degree Burns, Lightning Jutsu." Sasuke answered the unspoken question with a smirk.

Kakashi eyed Nuriko who squirmed on her spot before turning to open the door and enter the office. They got eighteen D-rank missions and Kakashi dividing them into three: each having six D-rank missions.

"Alright, all three of you will do the tasks in your list. If you finish a task, proceed to the next one. If you can finish your tasks, proceed to report them in, receive your payment and dismiss yourselves. I'll be checking up on you three when you least expect it so don't stack off and do your jobs." He said as he handed them a list of tasks and turning to Nuriko.

"Head to the hospital and have you burn healed before you start your tasks. It will slow you down if you're injured." He added before he shushined out the office.

Sasuke didn't even argue and left as fast as he could as well. He already planned to be quick as he could so he could help out Naruto when he would be leaving the hospital.

Nuriko, however, sneered as she watched the leaves fall on the floor. She already knew that their sensei was going to be at the hospital, hanging out with her brother. The thought alone frustrated her more before she left the office, not speaking to her friend at all. Nuriko was not in the mood and the thought of Naruto just made her even more angry.

Sakura, who was left alone, decided to reevaluate her goals and plans… including her friendship with Namikaze Nuriko. Ever since Naruto's jounin rank was revealed, Nuriko had become distant, easily irritated, and, to quote a Nara, very troublesome. She left the office and concluded that she ought to finish her tasks first then reevaluate everything.

The whole day had passed on in a blur and Sasuke had finished his tasks in record time. He received his payment and went straight to the hospital and just caught up with the others who waved and greeted him.

As they entered Naruto's room, their friend was sitting up and smiling a bit at them.

"Hey, you guys came." He greeted them.

"Of course we came, dobe." Sasuke said with a slight pout that he would deny later on if asked.

The others laughed a bit before spreading out the room and packing up the things that had been brought for Naruto's use. Kushina had been packing the clothes when the rest had arrived and no one really spoke to her after politely greeting the Hokage's wife. Naruto's friends still were wary about the couple when it came to Naruto's person since they had known for a long time now that the couple had been neglecting their son.

Tsunade had arrived with Orochimaru, finding everyone waiting around the room for them to give the signal of Naruto's release.

"I told you didn't I?" Tsunade said with a smirk on her face while Orochimaru shook his head and chuckled.

"Well Naruto-kun, you are released from hospital confines BUT…" the man began and everyone listened in.

"You will remain in bed for two weeks until we say you can move about on your own. Your injuries have yet to fully close up and until then, no jutsus, no strenuous activities, no stress of any form or we will bring you back here again until you fully heal. Is that understood?" Orochimaru spoke seriously and Naruto sighed.

"Yes, I fully understand. I'm sure with everyone's help I'll be able to avoid all those… as much as possible." Naruto said with a smirk and everyone else smiled at him.

"We'll be coming along with you to your house so we can place the machines on you to monitor your progress. Your legs won't be able to support you since we have numbed them for you not to feel the pain of your strained muscles. Your arms can move but like Orochimaru warned you, you cannot strain yourself or even your arms will inflict pain on you, making your healing longer than it should." Tsunade said as Gai came in with a wheel chair which made Naruto sigh.

"Do I really have to ride that?" he asked with made the people smirk.

"It's either that or Gai or Ibiki carrying you home bridal style." Tsunade answered which made Naruto shake his head instantly and the others laugh.

"Fine then… stupid wheel chair." Naruto resigned himself and mumbled the last part.

Orochimaru himself moved and carried the grumbling patient and set him gently on the wheelchair.

"I'll push it myself. Who knows what you all might think of doing." Tsunade killed everyone's silent desire to be the one to wheel Naruto out the hospital.

When they reached the ground floor, everyone saw Minato dismissing a few ANBU and Naruto raised a brow when he noticed the Weasel, Cat, and Dog masks. Now that he was looking around, Yugao, Itachi, and Kakashi weren't there. He chuckled to himself as he knew that the three were assigned to keep watch as they walked towards the Hokage's manor.

Naruto had ceased calling it 'home' since he never really felt that it was home. The Aburame, Hyuuga, Nara, and Uchiha compounds were more of home than the Hokage's manor. Hell, even Gai, Ibiki, Kakashi, Anko, Yugao, and Iruka's apartments were home to Naruto than his own.

As the group made their way, the people around looked at them and waved at Naruto who smiled and waved back. One of the old ladies Naruto had helped a few times came close and gave him a bunch of flowers and a basket of fresh bread.

"Get well soon, Naruto-kun. We miss having you over for afternoon tea." She told him as the other old ladies waved at him.

"I will, Nanami-san." He replied and smiled at the old ladies before the group moved on.

When they were a great deal away from the women, Orochimaru smirked as he turned to Naruto.

"So, in your busy schedule, you still find the time to have tea and chat with the old ladies Naruto-kun?" he asked while the others snickered and Naruto blushed.

"Well, Nanami-san and the others have always been kind to me whenever I did D-ranks for them. I would finish early and they would invite me to tea and biscuits. Whenever I take breaks from higher ranking missions using D-ranks, I would always make sure that I do a few tasks for them. They had taken care of me many times before and spending an hour or two with them isn't that hard." Naruto said with a soft tone which made the others smile and shake their heads.

Despite everything else, Naruto was still had his kind and gentle side. Kushina and Minato smiled sadly as they listened to their son speak of others caring for him when they couldn't have done so.

"Well, since you're in a wheelchair at the moment, you'll fit right in with them." Teased Sasuke and the others chuckled/snickered while Naruto huffed.

"Just because my legs are a bit debile at the moment, it does not mean that I'm old and would fit in as you put it, Sasuke." Naruto retorted and the group laughed again (the Namikaze couple just chuckled awkwardly).

When they reached the Namikaze manor, they all saw Nuriko who was with Ino and Sakura which made Shikamaru and Sasuke groan. Nuriko eyed her brother before huffing and entering the gates with the two girls right behind her.

The whole group didn't even bat an eyelash and just proceeded to enter. After reaching the living room, Orochimaru and Tsunade had went up ahead to start the machines first before hooking them up on Naruto. Minato, Kushina, Gai, Ibiki had gone up with the two Sennins as well.

"So dearest brother, how does it feel to be home?" Nuriko inquired as she sneered at Naruto who rolled his eyes.

"Correction, this isn't my home, Honorable daughter. Secondly, being alive after a mission outside Konoha, facing dangerous nins, fighting them, and surviving, I feel very blessed. Though I can't say the same thing for an amelus such as yourself. I highly doubt you'd last an hour outside the walls with you being the dead last of your batch." Naruto taunted back.

Anko couldn't help but laugh at what Naruto said. The rest who understood what Naruto had called Nuriko had laughed as well. Only Nuriko and Ino were in the dark as what Naruto meant by that one word he had used.

"What did you just call me?!" Nuriko hissed but Naruto smirked.

"Chill out Namikaze… I know you didn't even understand what the word I called you was so you can't really get mad, now can you? And take that supercilious look off your face. You have neither skill nor talent to back it up so stop pretending to be something you're not. We both know your brain doesn't even have to cells to rub together." Naruto told her which caused Anko and the other to laugh/snicker once more.

Iruka had chosen to remain silent and not say anything but he was trying to hold back his own laughter.

Sakura who knew the meaning of the names Naruto called Nuriko bit her own tongue to not laugh at her friend while Ino remained confused.

However, before Nuriko could even say anything, the rest of the adults returned. Ibiki lifted Naruto this time and they all climbed the stairs to Naruto's attic bedroom/library.

The genins plus Anko and Iruka occupied the kotatsu while the rest were surrounding Naruto's bed as Orochimaru and Tsunade hooked the machines on Naruto. The boy in question had sighed for a moment before looking up and smirking. He turned to look at Nuriko who was by the door of the room.

"Oh, just to remind you, Honorable daughter… Less you wish for your whole arm to be fried, it would be in your best interest to refrain from attempting to destroy my possessions then leaving evidence lying about." Naruto said as all eyes turned to Nuriko who looked red with embarrassment and anger.

Ibiki looked up and saw the kunai that was lodged on the ceiling. He turned to Anko who nodded and stood up to use Ibiki's ready hands and lifted her to pull out the kunai and handed it to the Hokage who was in disbelief for a moment before looking angrily at her daughter.

"Nuriko, you and I will be having a long talk later after dinner. Best be ready to explain to me and you better not lie. I will know if you do." Minato warned Nuriko who paled.

She had never seen her father angry before, let alone angry at her. Nuriko turned to look at her mother only to see that she too was angry and disappointed at her as well. Nuriko swallowed and nodded before proceeding to leave the room.

"Do not leave the house. You will stay in you room until we call you for dinner. Do not even attempt to escape. I will be very disappointed if you do." Minato added before he turned to look at Tsunade who had hooked the last wires of sorts that monitors Naruto's heart and pulse rate.

Yes, disciplining Nuriko would just be one of the changes they needed to do.

Nuriko who had staggered back down to the second floor, had paled even more. She was in trouble and if she even thought of escaping, she would probably be punished harsher than she imagined. When she had attempted to destroy Naruto's belongings and got burnt for it, she didn't think it would make her situation worse than it already was.

But apparently, her situation could and had gotten worse.