The Color Blue
folder
Naruto AU/AR › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
18
Views:
1,513
Reviews:
3
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto AU/AR › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
18
Views:
1,513
Reviews:
3
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does. I make no money from this story. All other characters intended to be fictional, and any similarity between them and a real person, living or dead, is coincidental.
Chapter 6
*~~*
"Do we just go in?" Ino asked, curious. Naruto waited and held his tongue.
"Hm…yes, and we go forward," Kakashi determined from the map he had with him.
The group proceeded into the city, and the younger ninja found themselves gaping. It was already late out, with the sky the color of an old bruise, yet the street was bustling with people of all ages. Establishments lined the street, and vendors were eagerly hawking their wares from carts.
"Go forward, huh?" Sakura found herself saying sarcastically. There was only one street to walk on; it led straight from the gate to the center of the city. All the others streets were only alleys, with barely enough room for three small people to walk down at a time.
Kakashi gave the girl a stern look, or so she guessed, and walked up to someone who appeared to be native to the city. The man was dressed all in black, and was very old.
"Excuse me, could you please direct us to an inn for the night?" Kakashi asked politely. The old man grinned and, pulling a pen from his pocket, circled several spots on Kakashi's map. Thanking the old man, the masked jounin proceeded to lead the group to the closest circle.
"We're gonna get lost at this rate," Naruto mumbled pessimistically.
"Don't say that!" Sakura shrieked, smacking the chuunin on the back of the head. As the blonde winced and rubbed his head, he caught a girl with short, spiky hair watching them in the crowd. The group started to pull away, and Sakura smacked him again: this time for staring.
Now Naruto was sure of it; the girl in the crowd was following them, frowning the whole time.
As the group exited the long street, they found themselves in a very large square that was jammed with even more people than the street had been. Three other streets led off the square in the other three directions.
On the right side of the square was the closest inn. Several women in red tended the front of the shop, singing to customers in sweet voices, enticing them to stay.
Kakashi was only moments talking with the head of the inn before he marched back out.
"Crazy woman wants 1,000 yen apiece per night!" Even the copy-nin could be ruffled, it seemed.
The next inn was in the southeast part of the city. The group had to walk down one of the narrow alleys, which, to their relief, widened after they passed the first building. Again, Kakashi was only moments before exiting.
"They wanted twice as much!" he said, appalled. For twenty more minutes, the group found itself traipsing across the city in search of an inn. They were met with no luck. Each inn wanted as much as or more than the last.
And as they wandered across the city, Naruto watched the frowning girl follow them from a distance.
Finally, in the northwestern part of the city, Kakashi put his foot down. "We're staying at the next inn," he told them resolutely, "if we have to clean the whole place as payment." The other jounin-sensei found themselves astounded with the new, assertive Kakashi, and the others found themselves just a little frightened.
Unlike the previous encounters, Kakashi had the entire group enter the establishment. He waited patiently beside the counter, and a gray-haired woman dressed in blue approached, a shrewd look in her eye.
"Eight rooms," Kakashi demanded. A predatory smile lit the old woman's face.
"3,000 yen apiece, per night," she told him as she leaned against her counter. Kakashi looked as though he might explode from an apoplectic fit.
The old woman looked the crowd over carefully. They were obviously ninja, new to the city, who couldn't afford to pay for board. She wondered how she would use their services, since they had no other payment to offer.
The girls would likely do the dishes and cooking for her since those were the lighter tasks, but the boys could be of great use for the heavier chores. Each boy looked strong, she noted, but the one in green was obviously incredibly strong, and the large one looked very sturdy.
Suddenly a glinting light caught the woman's eye and she found herself gazing into Naruto's electric blue eyes. The woman jerked in shock, and she blinked harshly as Naruto flicked his gold earring again, making it flash in the light.
"Did…did I say 3,000? Oops, my mistake! I meant 300…yes, 300 yen." The woman apologized profusely, calling for a girl to take the nice ninja to their rooms and take their dinner orders. Kakashi and the others blinked in confusion as the woman bowed in apology, dropping her price and offering them the nicest rooms.
The ninja paid abruptly, splitting into two groups. Sasuke, Shino, Neji, Shikamaru, and the girls headed to their rooms to call it a night, while the rest remained downstairs in the dining area to eat and talk. The jounin-sensei sat at one table, and the chuunin sat at another.
"Wonder what that was about?" Asuma voiced as he lounged at the table with Kakashi and Gai.
"Perhaps they found it in their hearts to be compassionate to the down-and-out!" Gai proposed with wild hand motions.
"Hmm…I don't think so, Gai. She seemed very shrewd when she offered the first price, but then it seemed as though something had frightened or embarrassed her very badly," Kakashi pointed out as he gazed over the menu.
"Do we just go in?" Ino asked, curious. Naruto waited and held his tongue.
"Hm…yes, and we go forward," Kakashi determined from the map he had with him.
The group proceeded into the city, and the younger ninja found themselves gaping. It was already late out, with the sky the color of an old bruise, yet the street was bustling with people of all ages. Establishments lined the street, and vendors were eagerly hawking their wares from carts.
"Go forward, huh?" Sakura found herself saying sarcastically. There was only one street to walk on; it led straight from the gate to the center of the city. All the others streets were only alleys, with barely enough room for three small people to walk down at a time.
Kakashi gave the girl a stern look, or so she guessed, and walked up to someone who appeared to be native to the city. The man was dressed all in black, and was very old.
"Excuse me, could you please direct us to an inn for the night?" Kakashi asked politely. The old man grinned and, pulling a pen from his pocket, circled several spots on Kakashi's map. Thanking the old man, the masked jounin proceeded to lead the group to the closest circle.
"We're gonna get lost at this rate," Naruto mumbled pessimistically.
"Don't say that!" Sakura shrieked, smacking the chuunin on the back of the head. As the blonde winced and rubbed his head, he caught a girl with short, spiky hair watching them in the crowd. The group started to pull away, and Sakura smacked him again: this time for staring.
Now Naruto was sure of it; the girl in the crowd was following them, frowning the whole time.
As the group exited the long street, they found themselves in a very large square that was jammed with even more people than the street had been. Three other streets led off the square in the other three directions.
On the right side of the square was the closest inn. Several women in red tended the front of the shop, singing to customers in sweet voices, enticing them to stay.
Kakashi was only moments talking with the head of the inn before he marched back out.
"Crazy woman wants 1,000 yen apiece per night!" Even the copy-nin could be ruffled, it seemed.
The next inn was in the southeast part of the city. The group had to walk down one of the narrow alleys, which, to their relief, widened after they passed the first building. Again, Kakashi was only moments before exiting.
"They wanted twice as much!" he said, appalled. For twenty more minutes, the group found itself traipsing across the city in search of an inn. They were met with no luck. Each inn wanted as much as or more than the last.
And as they wandered across the city, Naruto watched the frowning girl follow them from a distance.
Finally, in the northwestern part of the city, Kakashi put his foot down. "We're staying at the next inn," he told them resolutely, "if we have to clean the whole place as payment." The other jounin-sensei found themselves astounded with the new, assertive Kakashi, and the others found themselves just a little frightened.
Unlike the previous encounters, Kakashi had the entire group enter the establishment. He waited patiently beside the counter, and a gray-haired woman dressed in blue approached, a shrewd look in her eye.
"Eight rooms," Kakashi demanded. A predatory smile lit the old woman's face.
"3,000 yen apiece, per night," she told him as she leaned against her counter. Kakashi looked as though he might explode from an apoplectic fit.
The old woman looked the crowd over carefully. They were obviously ninja, new to the city, who couldn't afford to pay for board. She wondered how she would use their services, since they had no other payment to offer.
The girls would likely do the dishes and cooking for her since those were the lighter tasks, but the boys could be of great use for the heavier chores. Each boy looked strong, she noted, but the one in green was obviously incredibly strong, and the large one looked very sturdy.
Suddenly a glinting light caught the woman's eye and she found herself gazing into Naruto's electric blue eyes. The woman jerked in shock, and she blinked harshly as Naruto flicked his gold earring again, making it flash in the light.
"Did…did I say 3,000? Oops, my mistake! I meant 300…yes, 300 yen." The woman apologized profusely, calling for a girl to take the nice ninja to their rooms and take their dinner orders. Kakashi and the others blinked in confusion as the woman bowed in apology, dropping her price and offering them the nicest rooms.
The ninja paid abruptly, splitting into two groups. Sasuke, Shino, Neji, Shikamaru, and the girls headed to their rooms to call it a night, while the rest remained downstairs in the dining area to eat and talk. The jounin-sensei sat at one table, and the chuunin sat at another.
"Wonder what that was about?" Asuma voiced as he lounged at the table with Kakashi and Gai.
"Perhaps they found it in their hearts to be compassionate to the down-and-out!" Gai proposed with wild hand motions.
"Hmm…I don't think so, Gai. She seemed very shrewd when she offered the first price, but then it seemed as though something had frightened or embarrassed her very badly," Kakashi pointed out as he gazed over the menu.