Wakashudo

Rain pelted the mourners who had gathered to pay their final respects to the Third Hokage. The crowd was so large that it had spilled off the roof and into the streets. Naruto hadn't thought that there were even this many people in the village. He thought it was strange, comparing this funeral to his first. Everything was different, from the location to the weather. When he had been nine years old, one of his classmates had died. One day the kid hadn't shown up at the academy and two days later they were told he was in the hospital. The day after that he had died.

The whole class had been given the day off to attend the funeral and at first Naruto wasn't going to go. His classmate hadn't been a friend, but he hadn't been one of the kids who picked on him either. He had always just been there in the background. Iruka had insisted he come and had even bought a miniature version of the outfit he was wearing now.

That memory made him think of another nine-year-old who was standing next to him. Konohamaru had pretty much attached himself to Naruto’s side the moment he saw him. The kid had remained eerily silent, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him and his little fists clenched at his sides. Watching him from the corner of his eye, he saw Iruka lean down next to him and say, “It’s okay to cry.”

The little boy didn't respond and the blonde turned his attention away from him as the service began. It was a simple, but slow service. Two people said a lot of things that Naruto didn't listen to, he admired in his own memories of the old man. Then it came time for the flower thing and while Konohamaru was gone, Iruka leaned over to him and said, “Maybe you should have a talk with him.”

Naruto frowned at his old instructor, but he just gave him a look. After that, the service ended and the storm started to break. He was about to go over to his teammates when he felt a tug on his sleeve. Konohamaru stared up at him and said. “I don't want to go home. Can I stay at your place?”

The teen wasn't sure what to do. When the Third had been alive, Konohamaru had had an open invitation to stay at his place, but somebody else had to be looking after him now, right? Scratching the back of his head he looked around until his eyes fell on Asuma. “Maybe you should ask your uncle first?”

His friend glanced over at his uncle, who had gathered his team around him. “Okay.” Naruto watched as his young friend walked away his shoulders slumped, eyes downcast. There really was something wrong with him.

“Naruto Uzumaki,” the voice that had called out his name was unfamiliar and he turned to face a middle-aged man. Neither of them smiled but the older man held out a letter and said, “I was an assistant to the Third Hokage. He entrusted me to deliver this letter to you after his death.”

The teen hesitantly reached out and took the letter. He examined the plain envelope with his name on it and when he looked up again the man was already gone. “My uncle said it was okay,” Konohamaru said from behind him.

Turning, he hid the letter, although he didn't know why he felt the need. “All right let's go,” he smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.

The two friends walked along the rain slickened streets in silence. Naruto was uncomfortable with quiet as a rule, but even he couldn't think of anything to say right now. Entering his apartment, Konohamaru headed straight for his bedroom. Kicking off his footwear, he hopped onto the bed crossing his legs and resting his chin on his hands.

The older of the two leaned against the door frame and stared at his younger friend for a minute. “Do you want to talk?” Konohamaru shook his head no. “Are you hungry?” again he shook his head. “Do you want to train?” Naruto asked hopefully. Again a negative answer and the blonde sighed. There was only one thing left and he really didn't want to do it right now, “Do you want to do something from the book?” The little boy shook his head back and forth.

At a loss of what to do, Naruto retreated to the kitchen. Grabbing a soda for himself, he hesitated for a second before grabbing one for Konohamaru too. Coming back into his bedroom he placed the spare can on the nightstand before joining his friend on the bed. Cracking open his can, he stared at his friend who was picking at his toes.

Minutes passed with the only noise coming from the faint humming of the refrigerators motor and the sound of water rushing through the pipes. Then, Konohamaru spoke, “Do you think my grandpa hates me?”

The question was so unexpected that Naruto actually blinked several times to make sure he hadn't imagined it. “No, why would you think that?”

His friend didn't look up as he answered, “Well, I could've spent time with him the night before he died, but I wanted to stay with you instead.”

The blonde blushed, remembering that night, “You didn't,” he trailed off. He was about to say that there was no way he could have known that his grandfather was going to die, but even his limited social graces knew that would be the wrong thing to say. “He said it was okay, remember?”

For the first time that day, his friend met his eyes. “I don't think he would've if he knew what we were doing.”

Naruto chewed on his lower lip thinking about that. “Well, Konohamaru, he did give me the book and said it was okay.”

The boy stared at him unblinkingly for a few seconds and then a smile slowly spread across his face, “Really?”

“Yeah, he gave me that book when I went to your birthday party.”

His friend stared at him for a minute and then quietly asked, “Really?” Naruto nodded. “I wanted to tell him but I was afraid,” Konohamaru said, then as if he flipped a switch, he broke into tears and shouted. “My grandpa's gone.”

The crying boy threw himself at Naruto, who had no idea what to do, he only had the vaguest memories of being comforted himself. Hesitantly, he put his arms around his smaller friend who buried his face deeper into the blonde’s chest. He didn't know why, but he started to rub Konohamaru's back and tried not to think about the snot that was probably going to end up on his good clothes.

Naruto wasn't sure how long his friend cried, but when the kid stopped, he looked down and saw that Konohamaru was asleep. Deciding not to wake him, he gently placed his sleeping head on the pillow and quietly left the room.

His shirt was wet, but fortunately, he didn't see any stains on it. Slipping it off, he was about to throw it in the clothes hamper when he felt the letter that he had put in his pocket earlier. Curious to what the Third would want to say to him, he took a seat at his kitchen table before opening the letter.

Naruto, if you are reading this then I have died. I've had no foreshadowing of it, but as Hokage I must be prepared to lay down my life for the village without hesitation. True leaders, and I do not only mean of just this village, must always put the welfare of those under him above their own needs and wants.

I leave with few regrets but no life is ever complete. My biggest regret will be not being able to see my grandson, Konohamaru, grow up. I know there are many that will take care of him, but I still worry. That is why I would like to ask you to remain Konohamaru's friend. I know it is a strange thing to ask, but as time goes on, friends sometimes drift apart. I merely ask that you go that extra distance to try to heal any rifts between the two of you that might arise.

As for your physical relationship, I do not know how far it has gone and I do not know where it is heading. However, as long as you two both agree, you have my blessing.

I have watched you from time to time play with my grandson and his two friends. I can see you generally care about them and that is why I'm confident in saying you will make a great Hokage one day.

Sincerely

Hiruzen Sarutobi

Naruto placed his head on the table, the Formica cool against his forehead. The last line had made him feel strange on the inside. Nobody had really believed he would be Hokage before and to have the Third say-so, well that was proof.

He heard Konohamaru coming down the short hallway and he hid the letter. His friend paused in the doorway, a soda in his hand. He took a sip before saying, “Sorry, I was acting like a baby.”

Naruto stood and smiled, “You needed it.” Now that he was feeling better himself, he had hatched a plan to lighten the mood. “Did I ever tell you about the time your grandfather visited my class for the first time?” Konohamaru shook his head. The blonde threw an arm around his shoulder, steering him back to the bedroom. “Well there was this one kid in my class that was always eating and he stole your grandfather's lunch.”

For the rest of the day the two of them swapped funny stories about the old man. Konohamaru knew more of them obviously, but in the end, he was smiling and Naruto did a mental victory dance. The teen didn't tell his friend about the letter.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three days later, Naruto waiting outside of the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. Spotting Iruka coming up the street, he waved like a hyperactive child. His old sensei waved back and they sat down together. After ordering, Iruka turned to his former student and asked, “I haven't seen you much since you graduated. What have you been up to lately?”

The blonde screwed up his face, like a child that had been told to clean his room, “Well at first they had us scouring the city to pick up any stray weapons. They don't want any kids hurting themselves by accident or something like that. How's the Academy coming along? I ran into Konohamaru earlier and he said he had to fix the chalkboard.”

“Oh it's fine. We'll probably start classes again tomorrow, which reminds me,” he reached behind himself and pulled out a thin black book and dropped it on the counter.

Even though Naruto was no longer a student, the sight of the grade book filled him with terror. In the past, when that book had been brought out, he had been informed that he was either failing or about to fail something. “Why did you bring that?” he asked, trepidation filling his voice. There was no way he could be put back in the Academy, was there? He had, after all, completed the classes, if only barely.

“Take a look at the trio's grades,” Iruka said, stirring his miso ramen.

“Who?” Naruto asked.

“Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon, they're inseparable, which is actually kind of convenient. If I catch one of them doing something wrong it's a good guess that the other two are involved somehow.”

As if the book could bite him, the genin opened it carefully. The names of the students were in a column going down the side and the subject matters were written at the top. He easily found their names and traced their grades. With slight annoyance, he noted that even in the beginning their grades were better than his ever were. However, as he turned the page to their latest grades, Naruto noticed a sharp rise in their grades in several subjects. With effort, the blonde suppressed his smile of satisfaction. “They look like they're doing fine.” he said nervously.

“Yes,” Iruka said nodding. “At first, I thought Konohamaru might be helping Moegi with shuriken practice. Even though he's not supposed to have access to weapons, I'm sure he can get them, but then their grades started to improve elsewhere. At first, I thought they were just cheating off each other, but then they mastered the transformation technique at an astonishing speed, particularly the two with civilian backgrounds. So I came to the conclusion that they were receiving help from somebody else. You wouldn't happen to know who that would be, do you?”

Naruto gulped nervously, Iruka tended to give students a chance to come clean if he knew they had done something wrong. If somebody confessed, their punishment would be less severe. “Well, maybe I helped them with a few things but it was,” he trailed off. “I'm sorry.” his shoulders slumped ready for a lecture.

Iruka laughed, “I'm not upset Naruto. I pretty much knew it was you when they pulled out that Pudding Pudding Technique. That had your fingerprints all over it and while I'm not pleased about that, overall I would say you had a positive influence over them. So, do you think you could work on these other subjects with them? You know, the one where their grades haven't improved.”

Naruto was so relieved that he wasn't in trouble that he downed the remaining contents of his bowl. “Well I'm trying.”

“How so?” The older of the two ask.

Naruto grinned and showed his empty bowl, “Order me another and I'll tell you all about it.”

Three bowls later, Naruto left, leaving Iruka much poorer for his visit. He decided to go for a walk and enjoyed his last day before his sensei was going to start them on a training schedule again. It was then that he heard a very familiar voice call out his name. Turning, he saw the trio running to catch up to him, “Hey guys.”

“Hey, boss can you hang out. You don't look busy.” Konohamaru said panting, trying to catch his breath.

“I guess so.”

“Good, then you can show us that tree walking thing. Remember, you promised,” Moegi said with all the hope of a kid asking if they could open their presents.

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. It wasn't like he had forgotten, but now that it was show time he was suddenly nervous. How good could his plan be if he hadn't felt confident enough to brag about it to Iruka? “You know there's a lot of”

“Hey, you're not going back on your word, are you?” Konohamaru said folding his arms and trying to look intimidating.

The blonde felt his eye twitch in annoyance. “Fine, follow me, we need to find the right spot.”

The trio followed him into the woods like ducklings follow their mother as he searched for what he needed. He eventually found a fallen tree near a pond with a stream running into it. The blonde created a clone and jumped onto the log. “All right listen up, before you even try to start running up trees there are two things you have to do first.”

The three nodded eagerly and Naruto sent a silent wish that this would work in case anything was watching over him. “When you do a Jutsu like Transformation you channel your chakra to your center, but to climb a tree, you have to channel it to your feet.” As he was speaking, he was also doing as he was describing. “Then,” his cloned gave him a shove from behind, “you stick to the tree.”

“Okay, can we try it now to,” Konohamaru said bouncing up and down on his heels.

Naruto jumped off of the log. “Go at it and when you think you're ready I'll give you a little push.”

Konohamaru and Moegi jumped up onto the log eagerly with Udon following reluctantly. All three had an intense look of concentration on their face as they started. Predictably, Konohamaru was the first to say he had it and promptly fell off the log at the slightest nudge, but was caught by the clone. Then Moegi channeled too much chakra into it and cracked the wood. He told her to let up, glad she didn't have to fall on her head to learn that lesson.

About thirty minutes later, they were still going at it and Naruto was getting bored. Besides the occasional push to either Konohamaru or Moegi he didn't have anything to do. Udon had remained silent the entire time and the blonde was starting to wonder if he was even trying.

“I think I got it,” the bespectacled boy said suddenly.

Okay, maybe he was working hard after all, Naruto thought. “Okay, here goes attempt one thousand three hundred and twenty one.”

“Hey, we're nowhere near that number,” Konohamaru said opening one eye to glare at him.

Naruto grinned to himself as he gave Udon a slight push. The boy didn't even sway. The blonde’s doppelganger gave him a harder shove from behind and still he didn't move. “Udon you have it!”

As soon as those words left Naruto’s mouth, the boy was bombarded with questions by his two friends. Udon smiled sheepishly and sniffed. “Try using half as much chakra as you would use to transform.”

Moegi and Konohamaru immediately shut up and then in unison shouted, “Ready!”

To the genin’s surprise, they both did have it. “Why didn't you tell us it was that simple?” Konohamaru demanded.

The young teen was having a very similar thought about his own sensei at that moment. “Well, no one ever told me.”

“Well, what's the next step anyways boss?”

Before Naruto could answer, Moegi interrupted him. “Can we take a break, I’m tired?”

“Yeah, me too,” Udon added.

“Come on guys, this is serious ninja stuff here. We can't just take a break.” Konohamaru protested.

“Do you want to go swimming in that pond Udon?” Moegi asked, ignoring her other friend.

“Sure,” he replied. “You want to join us Naruto?”

The blonde was taken aback by the question, “I don't have a suit.”

The orange haired girl grabbed his hand and pulled him along, “We don't either.”

Judging by the sound behind him, Konohamaru kicked the log in frustration and then ran to catch up to them. The girl let go of his hand about twenty feet away from the pond and at that point he still had not quite caught on to what was happening. Udon and Moegi both started to strip and that was when Naruto started to get nervous.

Sure, in the Forests of Death he had gone swimming in his boxers and he hadn't thought it was a big thing. Girls were different. Their underwear was different, and judging by the time he had accidentally walked into the girl's changing room before a swimming lesson, they very sensitive about the subject and he really didn't know what to do now.

“Hey Naruto,” he looked down instinctively at the girl and noticed that she was wearing… boxers. “Can you put my clothes over that branch there? I don't want bugs to crawl into them.”

“Yeah, mine too.” Udon added, holding his own bundle of clothes up.

He took both sets of clothes still slightly surprised. Sure, Moegi’s chest wasn't different than a boy’s right now, but it just seemed strange to him if nobody else.

Another set of clothes hit him in his head. “Put those with the rest.” Konohamaru shouted running by in a pair of black boxers.

He had to jump to place the clothes over the branch and after that he decided to join them. Considering they had complained about being tired, the two civilians were very active in the water. There was a lot of splashing and he even joined them in playing tag in the deeper part of the pond. Eventually, he ended up throwing one of them and then they all wanted a turn.

They all looked a little strange. Moegi's hair was wet, and while it was still somehow staying together, it was now sticking out from either side of her head. Konohamaru, like the others, wore his goggles for their proper use and every time he came to be thrown, Naruto remembered another time when he'd used them for something else. Udon just looked strange without his glasses and he wondered how ninja's with glasses handled swimming on missions.

He made a mental note to ask his sensei or better yet, Kabuto, who actually wore a pair. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen the nice Genin since the invasion. It probably wasn't a big deal since he couldn't remember seeing him before the exam either, but Naruto hoped nothing bad had happened to him.

After a while, the cold water drove them out of the pond. Naruto found a spot of grass where the sun broke through the trees. He sat down to dry off a little before putting his clothes back on. To his surprise, Moegi sat down next to him and then leaned into him. Udon followed suit on his other side. Konohamaru, not to be outdone, sat between the blonde’s legs and leaned back against his chest grinning up at him.

At first he wasn't comfortable, but after a little repositioning it was kind of nice. The blonde was not used to casual human contact. Growing up, the best he ever had was the occasional pat on the back or very rarely a hug from Iruka and even those had been rare.

They started talking mostly of inconsequential things. They started talking about the Academy, which hadn't changed since he graduated. Moegi hated that they separated the class into boys and girls when they learned about blending into the background. Naruto could sympathize since he always preferred to standout and assured her that the boy’s class wasn't any better.

When the subject turned to families, though, he was silent just like Konohamaru was. Still, he learned a little about his two other little friends. Udon had a two year old brother who might or might not attend the Academy depending on how his older sibling did. Moegi has an older sister who was as she described as a “girly girl” who was obsessed with clothes and boys. Apparently, her parents never planned to send either of their daughters to the Academy, but she had demanded it when she learned that her longtime friend and neighbor was going there.

Udon was the one that broke this blissful state by pulling away from Naruto and standing. “We have to get going Moegi or we will be late.” She sighed and pulled away too.

“Do you need some,” Naruto trailed off as Moegi broke into a sprint and then jumped, grabbing her shirt and pants from the tree branch. A moment later she did it again.

“Thanks for today Naruto,” Udon said as Moegi tossed him his clothes. “Tomorrow can you show us the next step?”

“If I don't have a mission.” Naruto answered as they left. Konohamaru stayed where he was, apparently in no hurry to leave. “So do you three go swimming like that a lot?”

“The public pool's always crowded.” The little boy tilted his head back and his dark eyes met his sky blue ones, “I thought it was weird at first too, but Moegi is special.”

That was one way of putting it the blonde thought. For some reason he couldn't picture any of the girls he knew running around without a shirt on no matter how young they were. Then, he said playfully, “Hey, are you sure you don't like her?”

Konohamaru rolled over so he could scowl up at him, “I told you she's just a friend.”

“It's alright I won't tell anyone.” Naruto added, teasingly pinching his friend’s cheek. The amused smirk on his face faded instantly when he felt a small hand plunge into the opening of his boxers. The small fingers felt along his scrotum, fingertips feeling his recently descended testicles. Blood instantly pumped into his organ, making it stiff as rigor mortis, “Quit it.” Konohamaru grinned and let his fingers trace up his stiffened shaft before grasping it, letting his small thumb rub the head. “Stop.” Naruto said firmly, pushing him away.

The dark-haired boy frowned confused, “I was just playing with you.”

The blonde scooted back before he took pity on him and said, “I know and it felt nice, but you can't do that in public. What if Moegi or Udon came back for something and saw us like that? Or somebody else?”

Konohamaru frowned, “I didn't think about that.” Then he brightened, “Can we go back to your place?”

“Yes.” the blonde's single word answer was heavily influenced by the fact that his brain was not receiving the accustomed amount of blood. They dressed quickly, both of them having to use the trick to conceal their obvious arousal although Konohamaru's arousal was significantly less obvious than his older friend's. The smaller one jumped onto the larger back for a piggyback ride. Naruto felt the little hard nodule press into the base of his back which only encouraged him.

Once the two of them entered the city limits, Naruto hopped up to the roofs for faster travel to the delight of his passenger. There were a few people who were actually up there with him working on their roofs and most of them took the time to shout at him. Not that he cared at the moment.

Entering his apartment via its little balcony, he tossed his passenger onto the bed. Konohamaru bounced once on the bed and grinned up at him. “Hey, can we try something new?”

Naruto blushed slightly, “Sure, whatever you want.” He almost regretted those words the moment he spoke them.

“Great! Take off all your clothes and then lie on the bed with your head on your pillow and your eyes close.”

The older of the two was definitely regretting his words now, but he wouldn't go back on them. Still, for some reason it seemed to take him longer to strip than it did for his little friend. Naruto had to admit, though, once he was lying there it was kind of exciting not knowing what will happen next.

He felt more than heard Konohamaru climb onto the bed and a second later the boy was straddling him over his thighs. A moment later, he felt his little friend start to creep up the length of his body. The kid paused just below his elbows, pausing for what seemed like an eternity before saying, “Keep them closed.”

Naruto didn't even attempt to hide his grin, but he was totally unprepared for what happened next. Something brushed up against his lips. It was soft and warm in a way which was definitely not a little penis. For some reason, he suddenly thought of Sasuke, which was an image he would have preferred not to have at that moment.

Opening his eyes, he suddenly realizes why he had thought of his friend and rival. Konohamaru was kissing him. He tried to pull away, but he couldn't go too far at the moment. “You were kissing me?” he said answering the unasked question.

His bed partner frowned, “Yeah, I know. Couples do it all the time in the park. It looks like fun.”

“Konohamaru, were both guys. We can't do that with each other.”

His friend frowned, “Why not?”

“Well, you're only supposed to kiss a girl you really like.”

“Can't we just practice on each other?”

Naruto didn't have an immediate answer to that. That kind of made sense, it would be like sparring which was just a way to get used to fighting. Another part of his mind objected and a third part commented that his second kiss had already been with another guy. Still, he had already had Konohamaru's dick in his mouth, so would his lips really be that bad? “We tell nobody about this?”

“Of course.” his friend’s grin at that moment rivaled any of the blondes. Then their lips met again and Naruto gave his third kiss to Konohamaru.

Neither of them really knew what they were doing and both of them just tried to copy what they had seen others do. Unfortunately, breathing was not something that could be easily observed and after a few seconds of rubbing their lips against each other, they had to breakaway. Naruto stuck his tongue out to wet his lips and Konohamaru chose that moment to reengage their kiss. They both broke away laughing.

“That kind of tickles.” the dark-haired boy commented.

“Really?” the blonde asked. “Stick out your tongue.”

The boy did as he was asked and Naruto stuck his own tongue out. At first he hesitated, but saliva wouldn't be the first one of his fluids on this tongue. Hesitantly, he ran the tip of his tongue along his friend’s until he ran into his upper lip. It was strange, but kind of nice.

“Did you like that?” Konohamaru nodded, his cheeks darkening a little. “Open your mouth.” Naruto laughed as his friend opened as wide as possible, “Not like that. Just a little.” he showed what he meant.

The next time they kissed, Naruto pushed his to``ngue into the smaller boy’s mouth. At first it was just the tips that touched, but since they were just practicing, he felt like experimenting. The teen explored the top part of his mouth, from the back of his teeth to the soft part in the back. He even explored the gap between his friend’s teeth where he recently lost a tooth.

When they had started his erection had faltered but had not gone limp. With the mouth exploration it returned to its full glory, even if that was only four inches. He was able to free his arms fairly easy and first he threw them both around his partner, pushing him closer to him. His friend’s erection pushed against his stomach. Then, he drew one of his hands down his bed mates back, intending to relieve himself.

A second before his hand would've left Konohamaru's butt cheek, the boy broke their kiss. “Can I do it? I want to try something.”

Naruto barely had enough time to nod when their lips were pushed together again. With his mouth occupied and his hands now on Naruto's shoulders, he didn't seem to have anything free to do the deed. A moment later, Konohamaru prove that theory wrong.

Naruto’s erection was plastered against his stomach and when he felt something cool slide beneath it he was surprised to say the least. Then he recognized that it was a foot and he was even more surprised. The toes wiggled their way down to the base of his shaft before slipping up between the big toe and its neighbor.

Konohamaru started a pumping motion and every time he reached the pace of all of his foot blood pressure against the tip of Naruto penis. The feeling was strange while also being pleasant. After a few strokes, his other foot got in on the action as a sort of backstop. His friend broke the kiss as a blissful expression crossed his face as an orgasm had him. His partner exploded seconds later, too soon to tell if he liked the new methods.

The smaller boy rolled off of him and onto his side. They both laid there for a minute. Naruto had just decided to bestow the title of the most surprising academy student on to Konohamaru, who said while laughing, “I can feel it on my toes.”

Given recent events, the blonde was able to extract what “it” was easily. Not wanting a stain, he sat up and to grab some toilet paper when his curiosity got the best of him. Glancing down at his friend’s feet, he saw the now familiar milky white liquid on the top of his friend’s feet. Curiously, he craned his neck around to take a look at the soles. There were a lot more of his baby makers here. A particularly large drop was dripping down his toes and was in danger of landing on the sheets.

Without thinking, he put a finger out to catch it. Konohamaru pulled his feet away giggling. His reaction was way out of proportion to the small action and that was when the blonde realized something. The Third’s grandson was very ticklish when it came to the bottom of his feet. He grinned sinisterly and went on the attack.

Two minutes later, Konohamaru was panting again, a grin plastered on his face, but this time it was caused by something a little more wholesome than an orgasm. Of course, Naruto had to remind himself that he had either just rubbed off sperm onto his hands or into his friend’s skin. He didn't know if sperm was like lotion which could get into your skin.

“Can I move in with you?”

“What?”

“Can I stay here all the time?” Konohamaru rephrased his question, looking a way.

“I don't think you're uncle would be okay with that.” A small smile crossed his lips as he remembered being little and asking Teuchi if he could live at his stand.

“I don't think he would care.” The boy paused and then added, “I don't think he likes me.”

“What makes you think that?”

“The way he acts. Grandpa worked a lot, but when he wasn't he would do stuff with me. Sometimes we would kick a ball around or even wrestle like we just did and sometimes we just talked. Uncle Asuma doesn't even ask what I did when he comes home.”

Naruto had no idea what to say. “Maybe,”

Konohamaru cut him off with an outburst, “He forgot my cake.”

“What?”

“For my birthday party, he forgot to pick it up. Then yesterday he yelled at me because he tripped over my sandals in the entryway, but I put them where grandpa always told me to put them. I doubt he even knows my friends names.”

The genin was about to ruffle his friends hair affectionately, but then he remembered what was on his hand and patted his thigh instead. “Maybe we can get the same setup we had with your grandfather.” Konohamaru didn't say anything to that.

After a few minutes they started to get dressed. When his friend hopped off the bed, he left several faint footprints on the floor. Ordinarily, Naruto would have pointed this out, but he didn't think the boy would find it funny now.

Fully dressed, the smaller boy asked, “Can you walk me home?”

The blonde smiled weakly, “Sure, just let me wash my hands first, they're a little sticky.” The moment he turn on the faucet there was three distinct knocks at the door. Thinking it might be his sensei, he called to his guest, “Can you get that?”

A moment later he heard Konohamaru surprised voice, “Uncle, what are you doing here?”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authors note: Originally I was going to have Naruto thrown off of the cliff earlier and as a result be hospitalized earlier. That would mean he wouldn't be there to save Lee and the entire Sand team would be thrown out of the exam. This would of course change the entire invasion arc but, I chickened out in the end.

The final votes are in and winter is Healing, after the battle on the bridge Naruto learns that Inari is still only half healed pairing Naruto X Inari. A Darker World came in a close second and I was happy to see Springtime Love have more support than I thought it would, that is one story I am different going to write eventually. Don't look at me like that I like odd but reasonable pairings.