Hardened Heart |Sequel to The Strength of the Weak|

|12|

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Satomi wasn't necessarily happy with her living arrangement, but it would suffice until her house was fixed up. All she could do was remind herself that it could always be worse.

Naruto's apartment was as disgusting as she remembered it being, and it didn't seem that he cleaned up after himself until he physically couldn't move around anymore. Whether or not this was all an elaborate plan to get Satomi to clean his apartment, the Uchiha would never know. But letting her stay with him rent free was definitely worth the nausea she felt picking up Naruto's dirty clothes from the ground.

The blond knucklehead was nowhere to be found after bidding Sora a goodbye from the village. It turned out he would make a full recovery, plus Satomi was able to experience a real apology from the monk for destroying her house. She, of course, forgave him for the matter. It broke her heart to trudge through the remains of her parents bedroom, though, which had taken the brunt of the destruction, but she reminded herself that she rarely entered the bedroom anyways.

Naruto had kindly given her his bed to sleep in while he took the couch, though she doubted he would be comfortable sleeping like that until she had her home back. She made a mental note as she made Naruto's bed to bring her own bed to his apartment, if only for a little bit.

Satomi turns her head towards the window that she had opened as Naruto jumps through, a troubled expression darkening his face.

"Ryo for your thoughts?" she breaks the silence, emptying the overflowing garbage in the corner of the kitchen. Naruto glances at her in a daze, a frown prevalent as his eyebrows furrow. He finally sighs and plops on the couch, humming in what Satomi assumed was misery.

"I've been looking for the Pervy Sage for a while, but I can't find him anywhere! Grandma Tsunade won't tell me anything either, I think she's hiding something. He promised he would help train me for a while before his next mission, but it's like he disappeared," Naruto complains, shrugging off his jacket and throwing it on the floor. Satomi's eye twitches, since she was quite obviously cleaning up his apartment, before deciding against making a remark. It was his place, anyways.

"Well, Lady Tsunade does have every right to hide things from you. It kind of comes with the job," Satomi jokes, though it goes right over her teammate's head. She clears her throat, embarrassed from her failed attempt at humor. There was a reason she wasn't known as a funny person.

"I don't know, Satomi-chan, but I think I need to dig deeper. Really get Grandma Tsunade to let me know where the Pervy Sage is. Yeah, that's what I'll do," he convinces himself, clenching his fist with a determined smirk. Satomi didn't voice her objection at the idea, merely hanging up Naruto's jacket as she planned her next visit to the Hokage's office.

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"You're telling me that Naruto is going to come crashing through here sometime demanding that I tell him where Jiraiya is?" Tsunade questions rhetorically, taking a sip of her sake. Satomi nods silently, her hands clasped behind her back. Tsunade curses to herself as she places her glass down, with more force than necessary due to her annoyance, before narrowing her eyes thoughtfully at Satomi.

"I figured I'd let you know, since he seemed pretty adamant on bursting in here at any given second. He also seemed unusually concerned for Jiraiya-sama's well-being, which was the main reason I came here. How should I deal with him?" Satomi asks, trying to not overstep her boundaries. Tsunade doesn't answer her right away, making her uneasy from the incessant stare.

"Lady Tsunade...?"

"Ryouichi mentioned your take on the Bird Country situation to me. Care to elaborate?" she finally says, leaning back in her chair with calculating eyes. Satomi blinks at the sudden change in topic, before her confusion subsides. This had to do with Jiraiya's absence.