A Growing Affection

Chapter 28: Bearing the Noise

Naruto looked over at the clock when a knock at his door woke him. 3:27 AM. Whoever it was knocked again.

"Jus' a minute..." he groaned, pulling a white tank top over his bare chest, as he swung his feet off the bed. His first attempt to stand failed, but he managed on the second try. The Genin trudged over to the door, and pulled it open.

"Gramma Tsunade," his head cleared slightly when he saw who was waiting, "Uh, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry to wake you, Naruto," the Hokage seemed apprehensive, "But I needed to speak with you right away."

"Sure," he murmured, confused by her unusual attitude, "Come in."

The doctor looked at her young charge's room, unable to hide her disapproval at its fairly dismal condition. She sat down in the chair sitting beside his tiny table, and indicated he should sit too. Stifling a yawn, the teenager complied, dropping onto the edge of his so very inviting mattress.

"Naruto, there is a mission," Tsunade started hesitantly, "A very important mission. And one of the team leaders has requested you personally..."

"A mission?" Naruto jumped up and started towards his armoire with a broad grin, "It must be really cool for you to wake me up... like this..."

He trailed off as his brain caught up with the rest of him.

"Wait, a mission now?" he turned back to her, looking confused, "But I'm leaving for the Chunin Exam in a couple of hours."

The leader of the Hidden Leaf Village sighed. She started to say something, but Uzumaki got there first.

"That's why you came here at three AM," he deduced, no small feat for him, "You're gonna order me to skip the Chunin Exam and go on this mission."

"No," she said gently, "I'm going to ask you to skip the Chunin Exam and go on this mission. You have waited long enough for this second chance, and you have more than earned it. We can find a way to do this job without you. So I'm giving you a choice.

"Besides," she forced a smirk, not willing to give him too much, "If I force you to do this against your will, you'll be distracted, and worth less than usual."

Naruto let the jab pass, considering what she had said.

"Can you at least tell me what this mission is?"

"No," the Hokage shook her head again, "This is need-to-know only. If you choose to go on to the Hidden Mist Village, I cannot risk you knowing."

He digested that, adding it to the rest.

"Is it really that important?" he asked quietly.

"If we succeed, it could change the world," she said firmly, leaving him no doubt as to her earnestness, "And in the worst possible failure scenario, we will be in almost the same dire straights we faced when I took over."

Naruto sat back down on his bed, looking at the floor. She waited, unable to see his face.

"Alright," he whispered, then he looked up, determined, "Alright I'll do it."

"Naruto, are you sure?"

"Yup. I mean my mom stayed a Genin, and she won your respect. Besides, there'll be another exam in six months."

He forced a chuckle, "It's the sort of choice a Chunin would make, right?"

She smiled slightly, and nodded.

"Naruto, I promise that whatever it takes, I will see that you participate in the Hidden Cloud exam next spring. Even if I have to bust Hinata, Sakura, or Shikamaru back to Genin so they can be your partners."