The Color Blue

*~~*

Naruto was arguing internally as he led the leaf-nin down a nearly deserted road. He knew he had been harsh with them, but he was angry with them all the same. They were new to the Quadgram, and he had surprised them with his status here, but he thought they were taking it too roughly. Didn't they think he was good enough to achieve that kind of status?

Unable to think of an appropriate apology, he led them in silence until they reached an enormous blue mansion, almost a quarter of the size of Tigerdragon's mansion. Turning, he led them up the steps to the large, white door. He grinned as he heard them gasp behind him.

Reaching into his pocket, he fished out a set of keys and opened the door. The door opened into a large, comfortable living room. Couches lined the walls, and cushions lined the floor. Everything in the room was blue, in various shades, except for the walls and carpet, which were white.

Naruto gestured for everyone to take a seat and then headed up the staircase on the left corner of the room. At the top of the staircase, he could hear his friends whisper.

"Do you think we made him mad?" Kiba asked.

"I do not know. He seemed angry, though," Lee answered.

"Yeah, he's mad. He'll get over it, though. He'll be back to a happy idiot by tomorrow," Sasuke answered confidently.

"What's he got to be mad about? He lied to us!" Sakura fumed.

"He's angry because we don't take him seriously. He thinks we consider him a bad ninja; that he doesn't deserve his position here," Sasuke answered.

There was a tense silence after that, and Naruto left the stairs and headed down the hall to his old room.

As he opened the door to his room, he realized that he felt much better. Now they all knew why he was upset, and they'd stop treating him like an amateur. And if they didn't stop, he'd just have to teach them a lesson, like he had Kiba, Neji, and Sasuke once before.

Inside his room, Naruto started to rummage around inside his closet. Finding what he was looking for, he cheered and headed back downstairs, locking his door behind him.

As he descended the staircase, Naruto realized that the tense silence was still in place.

"Hey, guys!" he cheered, jumping down the last five stairs excitedly.

The leaf ninja jumped, surprised by Naruto's suddenly changed demeanor.

"Here you go!" he tossed several scrolls to some of his friends. The four kunoichi, Chouji, Shino, Shikamaru, Neji, and Kurenai each received one.

"Uh, what?" Ino pulled her scroll open with confusion.

"What are these, Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he leaned across Neji and looked at his.

"Scrolls, sensei," Naruto chirped.

"Obviously. What are they for?" he asked dryly.

"So you guys can train in taijutsu in your spare time," Naruto gave a giant fox-smile.

"Gentle-fist is taijutsu," Neji informed the blonde, throwing the scroll at his head. Naruto caught the scroll with ease and threw it back, hitting Neji smack in the center of his forehead.

"But it involves sending chakra outside your body, and you can't do that here," Naruto replied as the Hyuuga rubbed his forehead, pained look on his face.

"So why didn't I get a scroll?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Because you know some taijutsu, and they don't."

At that point, the familiar Guild kunoichi walked in the front door.

"Sorry it took so long," Oriole apologized, setting down four large, heavy-looking bags, "we couldn't carry this all by ourselves." She gestured at four other familiar Guild ninja who also entered carrying bags.

"Boar, Bat, Wolf, Squirrel!" Naruto grinned, walking around his friends seated on the floor to greet the Guild-nin.

Shikamaru and Lee, recognizing their leader's names, turned, wondering which ninja was which.

The seven Guild ninja entered, placing their bags by the door, and sat on the stairs. Naruto bent down and began rummaging through the bags.

"Ne, Sasuke-teme, what size are you?" Naruto called from his place by the door.

"A fourteen," he answered hesitantly. Instantly, Sakura, Ino, and TenTen began staring lustfully.

Suddenly, a pair of pants smacked him in the face. He pulled the garment down and examined it. It was similar to the pair he was wearing, only it was much baggier, and blue.

Sasuke stared at Naruto curiously, and caught the shirt that flew his way. It was high-collared like the shirts he wore when he was younger, and was the same dark blue as his pants.

"You like it?" Naruto looked up from the numerous bags. Sasuke grunted, and Naruto took it for a "yes."

Deciding that the current system was taking too long, Naruto lifted several of the bags and walked into the center of the room, where he dumped their contents onto the floor.

"Pick something out," he declared as he went to retrieve the remaining bags. Slowly, the ninja approached the pile of clothes in the center of the floor and began examining each article carefully. The kunoichi were especially excited about choosing new outfits.

After several minutes of frenzy, each ninja had several sets of clothing in various shades of blue. Relieved, Naruto scooped the remaining clothes into the bags and placed them back beside the door.

"Now," he announced, taking their attention off the clothes, "we need to decide where you guys will stay."

Everyone looked baffled.

"I thought we were staying at the mansion?" TenTen asked.

"Nope!" Naruto chimed. Everyone sweatdropped.

"Where will we be staying, then, Naruto-san?" Lee asked curiously.

Naruto pursed his lips, "Hmm…"

"You don’t know?!" Sakura looked outraged and concerned.

"Of course I know!" Naruto retorted fervently. "You'll probably stay with your squad leaders."

"Probably?" Kiba muttered. Akamaru, who had somehow fit through the door, barked in agreement.

"Well, it depends," Naruto said, joining his old friends on the stairway.

"I don't think the sensei want to room with people younger than them," he turned to the four sensei, who were seated together on a couch. "Do you?"

Kurenai and Asuma gave embarrassed grimaces, and Kakashi and Gai remained silent.

"I didn't think so." He turned to Oriole. "Are there any free squad houses?"

"Two," she told him.

"Then you guys can stay together in a squad house. There should be plenty of room. Will you take them there, Oriole?" The black-haired girl nodded and gestured for the sensei to follow her outside.

"And the rest of us?" Sakura demanded.

"Hold on a minute, Sakura-chan, I'm thinking," he told her. He turned to Squirrel.

"Is there room in your squad house?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, there is one extra room," she answered him politely.

"Then Lee's staying with his squad leader," Naruto told the group. Lee stared at the girl intently.

"What is his name?" Squirrel tugged on Naruto's sleeve gently.

"Squirrel." Naruto snickered at the girl's surprised look.

"Well, I suppose we will figure a way around the name confusion. Somehow," she glared at the blonde and rose.

She turned at the doorway and gestured for Lee to follow.

"Go on, Lee, she doesn't bite," Naruto snickered. Perplexed, Lee grabbed his new clothes and followed the brunette out the door.

"Now, let's see," he looked back at the five remaining Guild ninja. "Boar, is there free space at your squad house?"

"Three rooms," Boar replied.

"Hm. Then Shikamaru should go, because he's in your squad. Who else?" he glanced around the room at the remaining ninja. "And Ino and Sakura should go."

"What?! Why do I have to go with Ino-pig? I want to stay with my squad!" Sakura railed.

"You want to stay with people as old as our sensei?" Naruto smirked as Sakura turned pink in embarrassment.

"I didn't think so. Stay with Boar's squad." Again, the squad leader asked for names before Naruto gestured for Ino, Shikamaru, and Sakura to follow the tall, sandy-haired ninja out the door.

"Fennec?" Naruto turned to the mischievous kunoichi.

"One room," she grinned sadistically at Uchiha. Naruto sighed and gestured for his friend to follow the smirking girl. Sasuke arched his eyebrow at Naruto as he walked out the door.

"What am I in for?" he asked the blonde seriously.

"Well, she hates you," Naruto said soberly, "so…utter Hell."

Sasuke stared at the girl with caution as she led him out the door.

"Wolf?" Naruto looked over at the tall, silent ninja. "Will you make sure she doesn't kill him?" Wolf nodded and followed the two.

"What about us?" Kiba waved his hand in the air wildly. TenTen, Neji, Chouji, Shino, and Hinata nodded.

"We still have that extra squad house, but it's small…so let's see," Naruto thought seriously. "Chouji and Shino, because you're on the same team…and TenTen and Kiba because you're on teams that live nearby Wasp's team."

TenTen looked mortified about sharing a house with guys. The others looked similarly uncomfortable about sharing a house with people they didn't spend much time with.

"Bat, will you take them?" Bat nodded and escorted them away.

"Sparrow?" he looked at the final Guild ninja.

"One: your old room," she said seriously. Naruto frowned.

"Well, who should get it?" Naruto gestured to Neji and Hinata.

"Whose teams are they on?" she looked at the two approvingly. She liked their silence much better than Sakura's loud mouth.

"Neji's on Eagle's team," Naruto pointed at the Hyuuga male.

Sparrow whistled. "You're setting him up for a lot, don’tcha think? Eagle's tough." Neji frowned.

"He can take it," he looked over at the jounin. "Can't you?"

"Of course I can," Neji snorted angrily.

"Good," Naruto nodded. "And Hinata," he pointed at the Hyuuga girl, "is on my team."

Sparrow whistled again, this time much louder. "Never mind him, you've really got some goals for her, don’tcha?"

Hinata blushed, but Neji looked confused. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"Fox's the strongest person here. If she's on his team, she must have a lot of potential." Sparrow gave the girl a broad grin. Hinata fainted.

Sighing, Naruto again raised his question. "Who do you want?"

"I'd better take Neji. I know how Eagle operates, and Eagle's squad lives close by. Besides, if she's gonna be on your team, she should live with your squad, right?" Sparrow reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess. Go ahead and take him to my old room." Neji followed Sparrow outside, and Naruto walked over to wake Hinata.

"Hinata-chan," he tapped her gently. Startled, the girl snapped awake, bumping heads with Naruto.

While Naruto hissed in pain, Hinata fainted of embarrassment.

Confused and worn out, Naruto lifted the unconscious girl and carried her upstairs to an empty bedroom. As he set her into the empty bed, he realized that he'd taken on more responsibility than he'd bargained for; Hinata was going to be a handful to train if she fainted all the time.

Tired, Naruto went back downstairs, shut and locked his door, placed the sacks of clothes out of the way, and returned upstairs to his room.

As he fell asleep on his bed, Naruto realized that he would have to begin their training tomorrow if Guild were keep Destruction in its place.

*~~*