Ero-Sennin - 2

A seal?

He mentally groaned, 'Well I'll definitely have to look into this circus then...'

"He just showed up in a dust-storm, though I am not sure how." Hiroshi explained to the sage, "He may have some sort of illness or...well, it's hard to say."

Jiraiya nodded, "I think I may know what the kid's problem is. He certainly caused a bit of trouble for me."

He remembered the earlier incident when he had been brutally assaulted by a crowd of angry, naked women…all because of some red haired imp!

Naruto decided it was time to share his two-cents.

"Hey old man! Why the heck is your hair so long?" Naruto could no longer contain himself, "What are ya trying to pretend you're a girl or something?"

"You aren't exactly the definition of normal yourself kid." He countered, "You've got leaves sticking out of your hair like me, if you didn't notice. What is this? Lord of the Flies?"

"Hey!" Naruto stood up and pointed a finger at Jiraiya, "You can't talk to me like that old man! I'm going to be the Hokage someday!"

Jiraiya smirked, "Oh really? Then what are you doing outside of the Leaf Village, eh squirt?"

Naruto was fuming while Haku could only watch.

"I'm training that's what!" Naruto barked, nearly falling off of the cart.

"Right..."

Hiroshi smiled slightly; Naruto would never run out of energy.

"Naruto, sit down before you hurt yourself," The fat man admonished, "My apologies sir, he's had a difficult day."

Jiraiya shrugged, "Yep, so have I."

Haku was again keener to detail than his friend.

"Are you a ninja, sir?" Haku asked curiously, noting his forehead protector with the kanji for 'oil' on it.

The sage seemed to inflate, "Why yes! I am the Legendary Toad Sage Jiraiya, today gracing you with my presence!"

Naruto didn't buy it.

"You still look like a crazy old man to me..." He snickered.

Jiraiya snorted, "You're right, Hokage-sama, I'll deal with you later."

He then turned to Hiroshi, "I'm afraid I'm a bit behind on my research at the moment, but I'll come back in the morning to check up on the sand kid. And the smart-mouth too, he's strayed too far from home."

The pudgy man nodded, "I'd appreciate it. Will he be alright until then?"

Jiraiya was busy trying to air out a saturated note pad, "Er…yeah, just keep that squirt hydrated and he'll live. He's too exhausted to cause any more trouble."

The merchant nodded uncertainly and Haku looked curiously at the Toad Sage. He wasn't exactly what he had expected a ninja to be like and apparently Naruto shared his opinion.

Jiraiya departed, cursing under his breath that his notes had been ruined.

'Damn sand kid...'

The next morning dragged in slowly.

Sunlight peaked over the horizon and Hiroshi was snoring loudly. It had been a difficult night.

To his good fortune, Naruto managed to tucker himself out and fall asleep. Haku on the other hand kept a quiet, overnight vigil over the nameless boy even against Hiroshi's wishes. He was determined to make sure that he would be alright.

It wasn't easy. Haku had the task of giving the boy water, and at some points slipped in and out of consciousness while on watch. Hiroshi had gone through it as well, yet he would often wake up to the incoherent rambling of the red head and his thrashing.

The man could only wonder what made him suffer so. It appeared that Jiraiya hadn't explained enough when he said to keep him hydrated. In Hiroshi's opinion, he needed to be hospitalized; he was just that ill.

At one point in the night, Hiroshi thought the boy was dying when he suddenly began screaming bloody murder into the darkness of Kuro's streets. He had certainly given Hiroshi and his wards a good scare.

Naruto, however, almost immediately fell asleep again afterwards, and Haku was desperately trying to console the unconscious boy. Hiroshi wasn't sure there was much else they could do besides what Jiraiya had instructed.

Hiroshi had to wonder: Did the Legendary Sage in fact know what was afflicting the boy? He had only a brief look at him and had not made a big deal out of it, even though he appeared to be at death's door.

Or maybe the emotional equivalent.

Haku was still awake at daybreak.

He was slowly beginning to nod off as the sun rose in the sky. He was too anxious over the boy's condition to get any rest. Still, he began to succumb to the effects of his sleep deprivation.

Haku rested his chin against his chest. The bowl that had once contained water for the red haired boy was empty, and slipped out of his hands silently.

'I can't fall...asleep...'

Haku began to snore gently just as Naruto sat up and stretched. He looked over to Haku, noticing his predicament. He stood up and looked towards Hiroshi who was next to him on the ground.

'I guess I'll let them sleep. Now I have a chance to train!'

His definition of training was jumping around through the treetops until one could do it blind-folded. And so he went on his merry way. 'When I finish, I'll make ramen for everybody and see how the new kid is doing!'

Naruto leapt up into a nearby tree and wondered to himself if he would be able to show Haku to jump in the same fashion. It would be a helpful ninja trait.