Chapter 100: Chapter 100
When Uchiha-kun grumbles his agreement, Kurenai begins wondering how easy it would be to sneak into the large compound. 'Maybe Naruto can sneak out?' she immorally wonders when Sasuke adds, "in return, I want my Sharingan Kakashi-sensei. You promised and I won't wait any longer."
"Fine," Kakashi dully agrees.
Before any more can happen, Sasuke also stipulates, "I may have a responsibility to the Dobe but I don't have one to a Kiri traitor." With onyx eyes of steel, he tells Haku, "call me crazy but I don't trust you."
"Fine," Kakashi agrees.
"Not fine!" Naruto breaks the bargain previously struck, saying, "Haku's my friend and I'm not just going to let him live on the street!"
"We'll find him another place to live," Kakashi promises, adding, "think of how much stronger our team will be if you and Sasuke-kun took this opportunity to make peace with each other."
"Sasuke-teme doesn't want Haku to stay, that's fine," Naruto agrees. "It's his house, but I wouldn't feel right about it. So, thanks Teme but Haku and I'll find somewhere else to live."
"Naruto," Kakashi attempts. "Try to be reasonable. You have my word Haku-kun will be fine and Sasuke-kun is your teammate."
Naruto knows that makes sense and struggles to sort his thoughts. Despite how much Sasuke-teme annoys the hell out of him, the spiky-haired blond does understand certain sides of the avenger. Kakashi's right, they both know loss and Naruto understands that to his core. But, what he can't understand is how someone who is so loved by everyone around him—who is so gifted—can act like a complete douche to everyone! While Naruto struggles for every friend, Sasuke-teme only needs to walk outside and nearly the entire village would love to be with him.
'Then there's Sakura-chan,' his mind angrily thinks. Though Naruto is supremely happy Sakura-chan is training with him now, and can't help but push himself that much harder because she's there, the pink-haired love of his life is, instead, in love with this arrogant ass for no discernible reason. It's the strongest reason for their rivalry. 'A now this extra pearly ass-wipe of a teammate wants to separate him and Haku? Not happening!' "I get that we're teammates Kakashi-sensei. We're shinobi of the Leaf so we have to work together, but we're different because I do trust Haku."
"Don't say I didn't warn you when he stabs you in the back," Sasuke retorts.
Naruto didn't see Haku's fist tighten as he proudly declares, "he wouldn't!"
The silence that follows is filled with stern glares, ended only when Kurenai turns to the elite Jōnin-sensei. "Kakashi-"
"There are more options than two boys living with you."
"I don't even want to know what you're insinuating," Kurenai naturally responds, though flooded with guilt. "But I believe I have a viable alternative."
KURENAI
"Of course," Iruka-sensei tells the group after a tearful Naruto hugged his favored Sensei, sweetly blubbering his apologies before they explained the situation. As simple as those two words, an excited Naruto and the ever-serene Haku have a place to stay.
The Umino residence was in the more economical section of the shinobi sector, clearly left to the devoted Chūnin from his deceased parents. It was a one-story three bed, two bath—not nearly as large as Kurenai's two-story home but the unkempt and wooded backyard was more than large enough for the boys to train in. The interior of the home was clearly a workaholics cave with stacks of books, scrolls of essays and student development sheets.
The Umino residence was also far from the main populous of Konoha, and as much as Kurenai tries to deny it, it's much closer to her house than Naruto's apartment. 'That's something, at least,' Kurenai muses. She was silent as the boys picked between two equally small rooms, nearly reflecting the equal war within herself. Like an unbiased observer, she observed a mental war between her body's yearning for sexual release with Naruto, and her moral integrity willing her to uphold decency and civic responsibility.
While Naruto was away on his escort mission, her mind ran the longest marathon on this single topic, going round and round looking for an answer she can live with, because while sex with Naruto is unbelievably marvelous, she still can't bring herself to tell her best friend—who's a sex goddess in her own right. It means deep down, Kurenai knows it's wrong and she just can't keep this moral burden up any longer. No matter how good it feels, she knows it's not right and while Kurenai still wanted several nights with him, it was beginning to feel like her nocturnal time with Naruto was numbered.
That was until her mental gymnastics is thrown for a loop with another point of contention: Naruto nearly died at the hands of Zabuza Momochi. With a highly intellectual, visually vivid mind, Kurenai can easily form mental simulations of what it must've been like for a genin, fresh out of the Academy, to face a seasoned black-list target in their bingo book… and her chest constricts her breathing at all the ways her bedmate could've died. 'He could've died… thirty-eight different ways I can think of…' and that thought makes her stressed and anxious.
It's simply ludicrous he survived and it's left her in an agonizing state of doom to the point that simply acknowledging his well-being with her eyes wasn't enough. Sometimes knowledge is a scary thing and Kurenai just needed an anchor, something to steady her. Wrong though it may be, right now, the raven-haired Jōnin needed to touch him… to feel his breath… his pulse… his heart.
Despite the circumstances, Kurenai had given herself permission to be free with this boy. She let him in, and to her grand astonishment, she's grown comfortable doing so. Her body needed to feel he's actually safe, and yet, she can't. For the foreseeable future, Haku will likely be in close proximity to Naruto and Kakashi has been mandated by the Hokage to take a more vested interest in Naruto's training. Sadly, the observation, 'he doesn't live alone anymore and he'll always have company,' feels like she's being sentenced to prison.
As the big-dick blond in question creates clones to retrieve the few belongings from his apartment, Kakashi lazily calls, "Haku-kun, I'll be back in a moment. I need to speak with Kurenai-sensei." Slightly confused, Kurenai follows the elite Jōnin outside to the unkempt wilderness that is the front lawn. When they were alone, he cuts straight to the point. "Whether it was your intention or not, you've undermined my authority as Team 7's sensei."
Kurenai expected this and respectfully explains to her senior Jōnin, "it was never my intention to weaken your place as their sensei and team-lead. This simply played out within our blind spot; yours as much as mine."
Though silent a moment, it's not tense before Kakashi points out, "with regard to Naruto, the third feels the way he does because of what he couldn't see in Orochimaru." Though unsure why he would bring it up, Kurenai agrees with a nod nonetheless. "But Naruto isn't Orochimaru. I've checked on that kid a number of times and despite his solitude, I felt comfortable he wouldn't turn to his hate."
"Is that why you're dedicating more time with Uchiha-kun," Kurenai asks, though she's sure Obito fits in there somewhere. "To curve his hatred?"
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