Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

A/N: I would like the thank everyone that followed and favorited this story. As well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

"So, you leave tomorrow?" Asked Shikamaru. He and Naruto where currently laying in a lone field in Konoha. The former, taking a drag off a cigarette before handing it to the latter so he could take one too. Naruto didn't usually smoke, but he was leaving soon and wanted to enjoy his last few days with Shikamaru. He had also been very tense lately with the upcoming mission he couldn't help it. Smoking was something he did when he needed to relax, and he knew he did because he was certain this was going to be a very stressful mission.

"Yeah," Naruto replied, taking the cigarette from his friend and taking a drag himself before handing it back to him. "I'm already packed, so don't get your mother nagging me about it." He added, blowing the smoke out of his lungs.

"You know she only does it because she loves you and thinks of you as a son." Shikamaru replied, taking another drag from the cigarette. "Besides, if you've already done it then that means I don't have to tell the troublesome woman, which saves me a headache and time." Naruto let out a small chuckle at that before letting the comfortable silence fall over them. The only noise was the trees dancing in the wind as the two boys sharing the cigarette.

"Why don't you stay the night at my place?" Shikamaru asked, turning his head to look at Naruto. "I know that eventually I'll be joining you on the mission, but neither of us know when that will be. Plus, it will be a while before my folks can see you again, and we both know that they'll miss you a lot. It's also too troublesome to get up even earlier to meet up with you before other people come to see you off when we can all just talk at my house." Seeing Naruto hesitate, because even after almost 10 years of knowing each other, Naruto was still afraid of over welcoming himself into their house and have them stop loving him, Shikamaru continued. "My mom is making sushi tonight anyway. I know it's not ramen, but you need proper food before you leave."

"All right," Naruto replied, handing the cigarette back over to Shikamaru, who took one last drag before stomping it out and standing up. "Good, let's go then before she sends all of Konoha looking for us to get to dinner on time." Shikamaru said standing up and extending his hand to Naruto for him to take. Naruto did, and once he was standing, he wrapped his arm around Shikamaru, who did the same, and the walked like that to the Nara compound.

Naruto watched as the scene in front of him changed from clear open water to populated land. From where he sat on a small pontoon boat, Naruto could make out a large land mass with extremely tall buildings just along the horizon. If he focused, he could hear what he believed to be cars honking at one another, from what Tsunade had described to him. Naruto wore a long-sleeved orange T-shirt with black, baggie, cargo pants, a black belt, and black boots. Over his shirt, he wore a white sweatshirt. It seemed like something light to wear considering the snowy weather at the moment, but with Naruto's chakra and Kumura, Naruto was just fine. At Naruto's feet were two large duffle bags. One containing clothes and other necessities an ordinary person would need when moving, and the other containing various shinobi supplies. To Naruto's left was Jiraiya. he had one small duffle bag at his feet and was currently looking over a scroll. At the wheel of the boat was an elderly man, with long white hair and a beard. He wore some winter clothing and a hat to protect himself from the sun's rays, and from what Naruto could gather upon first getting on the boat, it was moved by a motor. Whether this was a gas-powered motor or an electric powered one he couldn't tell. (Tsunade had explained both to him, but he was still unable to tell the difference by the look of them).

Looking back at the land, which has now gotten much closer, Naruto could now see a port filled with many boats, which is where he assumed, they were heading. From where they were approaching the port, there seemed to be a restaurant attached, but Naruto could not be sure. They pulled over to the port, where the old man proceeded to dock the boat so Naruto and Jiraiya could get off. Each grabbed their respective belongings before thanking the man and existing the boat.

As Naruto followed Jiraiya through the busy streets of Japan, he couldn't help but be amazed by what he was seeing. Busy streets where filled with people, cars, and trains could be seen when they passed. People were walking around, their attention focused on what Naruto could assume were phones. It was early April, meaning that students were currently on break until the new school year started later that month, so the streets were very over-crowded. Naruto also took in the large buildings that he had to look straight up at to see the top. Through the glass Naruto could see that most people were looking at what he thought were computers and came to the conclusion that most of them were working.

While Naruto was amazed by the technology, he couldn't help but feel sad about all of the natural forest that seemed to be gone. Naruto could see a few trees here and there, but they seemed more for decoration and not for the wildlife that once lived there.

Naruto had to push these feeling too the back of his mind though, as he observed his surroundings and followed Jiraiya, looking for anything that would seem abnormal. Naruto followed Jiraiya to the subway station, where he was again impressed by the technological advances here. The way the subway doors opened and closed by themselves, the voice that came over the speaker at the station stating to and where the subway was going, and the speed that the subway was moving without any manpower was very impressive to Naruto. Yes, Naruto was briefed about all of this and told of it before he came over but seeing it all was another thing.

Following Jiraiya further, they both entered the subway, quickly finding seats and sitting down next to each other. They both returned their duffle bags to their feet and started scanning the subway. An automated voice came over the speaker announcing where they were going next, but Naruto could only pick up a couple of words here and there. While the language spoken in the hidden villages was extremely similar to the one spoken in Japan, there were still some differences. Naruto had studied the language and could read and write it fluently but hearing and speaking it was different since he didn't have anyone to practice with when he was learning it. But Naruto was confident that he would pick it up fairly quickly.

Jiraiya lightly tapped Naruto on the shoulder to get his attention, before grabbing his duffle bag and making his way to the doors, Naruto following in a similar fashion. As they exited the station and walked through the streets towards the apartment, Naruto observed and took in everything he could. What the people were wearing, the average speed in which they walked, which light where means what, what their body language said about them, and how they interacted who they were with.

Before Naruto knew it, they had arrived at the apartment complex, where a shinobi could be seen standing outside smocking. He stood at about 6'3 and had dark brown hair tied back into a ponytail that brushed his shoulders. He wore a long black sleeved shirt with a green vest over it. Similar to the Jounin ones, but only in color as this one seemed to be made to keep someone warm rather than store supplies. He had green eyes, and some stubble for a beard and mustache. He wore a Suna Haitai around his arm. Upon seeing us arrive, he stomped out his cigarette and waved at us in greeting.

"Nice to see you again Jiraya-sama." The man said, before bowing in greeting. "Nice you see you again to Haru, and as I've told you before, you can drop the sama." Jiraiya said in greeting, before turning to me. "Naruto," He said. "This is Haru. Haru this is Naruto."

"It is nice to meet you Haru-san." I said, before bowing to him. "It is a pleasure Naruto-san." He said, returning the gesture. "All right," Jiraiya said, clapping his hands together with a smile on his face. "Now that that is out of the way, why don't we make our way into the apartment to hash things out further?"

"Of course, Jiraiya." Haru said, making his way up the stairs, Jiraiya and I following in suite. He led us up to the third floor before unlocking the door with a key and leading us inside the room.

Walking into the room there was a small and narrow hallway before it turned into a bigger living space. To the right was a small kitchenette, with a counter, an island, cabinets, and a fridge, microwave, and stove. the kitchen seemed to have a black, grey, and white color scheme going on, with everything in here being one of the colors. To the left appeared to be a dining room, with a tradition Japanese table and seats. (I'm sorry but I don't know what they're called. I'm talking about the ground level tables and the cushion-things they sit on to eat.) Walking further into the apartment, there was another hallway that led to a bedroom and a bathroom. Straight in front the room expanded into a living room, with a couch, tv, and study desk, along with some other furniture. At the back of the living room to the right there was another hallway that led to another bathroom and bedroom. The walls throughout the entire apartment were an off-set white color with the couch in the living room being a dark brown, almost black color.

Naruto and Jiraiya both settled for putting their belongings at the end of the couch, before sitting down on the couch. Haru took a seat on the floor in front of them on the other side of the glass table that was also in the room. Relaxing into the couch, Jiraiya said "Thank you Haru for doing this again. It has made this whole ordeal so much easier."

"Hey," Haru responded. "I'm here for whatever you need me for Jiraiya. If that means helping to get the gaki situated for his mission, and gathering some information about the area, then that's what I'll do. It was really no trouble at all."

"Now," Haru said, glancing at his watch. "It is already 5 o'clock and I know you both have had a long day trying to get over here, especially the gaki with all of the information he has had to take in over here already. It really is a cultural shock. The fridge is already stocked with food, so I'll go ahead and make something while you two shower and settle into your rooms. Then, after we eat, we can catch the gaki up on the news and the heroes here, how it all runs. Then, I'll tell both of you the newest and most popular stuff that's been going on here, and maybe we can watch a bit of the news and call it a night. I'll come back here tomorrow, say around 7:30? We can get the gaki's records and papers sorted out, go into further detail about how things work around here, each hero, and other general things about the society. The day after that we can focus more on the mission and who he is going to interact with. That sound good to the both of you?"

Both Naruto and Jiraiya shook their heads, not seeing anything wrong with the plan that was set out. So, Naruto and Jiraiya grabbed their duffle bags and continued to the bedrooms, Jiraiya taking the one in the back of the house and Naruto taking the one closer to the kitchen, as Haru made his way into the kitchen to prepare the meal for them. It may have seemed like a rather calm night, but Naruto knew it was going to be long for him.

A/N: What did you think of this chapter? I know it is still early in the series, but who should Naruto end up with? Someone from U.A. or someone from the hidden villages? What do y'all think of Haru? I have in mind for him to be more of a temporary character, but did you guys want him to remain constant throughout the series? Did you want just glimpses of him here and there, or for him to just leave when Naruto has gotten used to living in Japan?

Updated: 5/8/20