A Home In A Person // Naruto

[ Chapter Five ]

The village that Team 7 entered is bustling with life. Adults were taking walks, children were playing, and the like. It's almost as if nothing shady is happening.

But of course, they all knew better than to not look underneath the underneath.

Naruto can tell by the way their shoulders tensed, eyes subtly looking around in fear. The children were following their lead, but they were more obvious about it, apprehension painted across their faces.

It made Naruto's heart clench. Whoever is causing distress in this village should be stopped. No one isn't supposed to be this way—they're supposed to be at ease in their own home, not in fear.

Unlike in Konoha where he has to live in the shadows, avoiding people as much as he could.

He shook his head, dismissing the memories. There's no time to be sorry for himself. Right now, these citizens need help.

“You noticed it too, right?”

The three genins turned to their sensei, a serious look on each of their faces. “Yeah, they're scared from the way they looked like they wanted to run away from the first signs of danger,” Sakura is the one who spoke, expressing what they found in their observations.

Kakashi smiled, feeling a sense of pride. “That means I've trained you well,” he said.

Naruto grinned, rubbing the underside of his nose. “Heh, well, we are trained by the best sensei in the world!”

Sakura and Sasuke nodded in agreement with the Uzumaki's words. Kakashi simply waved off the praise. But he couldn't help the warmth blooming in his chest. He did have the best students in the world.

“Alright, compliments can wait. We're here to investigate a case, so we should assign teams to search for any hints about those dark figures sneaking around at night,” Kakashi said, adopting his 'team leader' voice that requires them to listen.

“Sakura, you're with me. Naruto and Sasuke, you'll be sticking together. Don't be suspicious when gathering information,” he instructed.

Naruto nearly had the urge to groan. Seriously. He's with the teme? He spared a glance at him and sighed.

“Okay, now spread out.” The four of them walked off in different directions, going to their respective partners.

“I can't believe I'm stuck with you...” Naruto muttered, imposing his arms behind his head.

“Get used to it, dobe,” Sasuke replied as he keeps an eye around the village.

“And the teme speaks!” Naruto exclaimed, earning a glower from his best friend. He only grinned, filling it with as much smugness as possible.

“Shut up. We have to focus,”

“Sure, Duckbutt,” Naruto looks away with a chuckle when Sasuke shot him another glare. Ah, being the best friend of Sasuke Uchiha can give you wonderful perks such as joking about his hairstyle.

The two genins were silent as they scoured for information. Naruto is sad to announce that there is nothing of importance regarding the answers they gained from villagers who'd witnessed the shadows.

He pursed his lips, thinking to himself as he and Sasuke sat on a bench to organize their data.

“Do you think it's just a hoax?”

Sasuke thought for a moment before giving Naruto a rather doubtful look. “Maybe. It could be someone playing a prank on the village, but something about it doesn't sound right,” he answered.