"Zabuza's alive," Naruto shouted as he snapped up and wide awake.
"Oh, is that so? How did you come to that conclusion?" asked Kakashi, the man was propped up against the wall opposite Naruto. He was covered in blankets and looked a bit pale. Even with that, it didn't prevent the man from reading his favorite porn book.
"My quest updated," said Naruto, blinking away the last vestiges of sleep and closing the message.
You've slept in a bed. HP & CP are 75% restored.
"Quest?" asked Kakashi, closing his book.
"Oh, now you're interested? Where was this interest when I tried to warn you and the old man days ago?"
"You couldn't warn me as we left the village?"
"By then it was too late and this game thing seemed determined to prevent me from telling you about it. It's totally fucked up," Naruto explained unhappily.
"I see. Hmm."
"So what did I miss?" asked Naruto.
"I have chakra exhaustion, you had a pretty severe concussion. You're just lucky he hit you with the flat of his blade or he'd have cleaved you clean in half."
Naruto swallowed thickly. "That bad, huh?"
"Probably, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Zabuza will be out of commission for a while. It will give me time to recover and train up you three a bit more. You'll have to deal with his accomplice, you and your teammates anyway. So prepare yourself mentally, if you thought I was tough on you before that will be nothing compared to what's coming."
"You've never been tough on us, how much worse could you possibly get?" asked Naruto flatly. "And you're still lazy."
"Really, when was the last time you check my status?"
Naruto shrugged. "Not since I first told you when the old man asked but it doesn't change the fact you're still lazy."
"Oh, is that so? Do me a favor and check my status again?"
Naruto frowned but observed the man anyway.
Status: Sharingan (+2 DEX & +3 INT & +1 WIS per Level), Genius (+10 WIS per level, +25% experience gain to all skills), Perverted Sensei (-25% effectiveness to teaching, -10% experience to teaching skills).
"Okay, you're not lazy despite what I thought but you're still the biggest pervert," protested Naruto, crossing his arms in defiance.
Kakashi sighed. "Fine, I'll try to work on that but at least I'm not lazy anymore right?"
"How does that even work? You've barely taught us anything."
"I don't have to teach you anything more than what you've already learned. I show up on time, make you all train. That's really all it takes to not be lazy."
"But the guidelines from the old man . . ."
"Mean nothing, they are a guideline to what you have to learn at some point in time from me. There is no timeline with them."
Naruto couldn't help frowning again. "So where are we anyway?"
"Tazuna's home."
"Where are Sasuke and Sakura?"
"Downstairs."
"Are they okay?"
"Yeah," he answered then reopened his book signaling an end to the conversation.
Naruto wanted to keep questioning the man but figuring he wouldn't get any further answers let it drop. Taking a deep cleansing breath first Naruto stood and left the room, his stomach demanded satisfaction.
In the kitchen, Naruto didn't find his teammates, only Tazuna drinking coffee at the kitchen table and a young woman doing dishes.
"Yo," Naruto greeted them in a Kakashi-esque manner.
"Oh, so you've finally woken up, feeling alright?" asked a surprisingly sober Tazuna.
"Yeah, I heal fast."
"You must be Naruto-kun, I'm Tsunami," the woman greeted him, drying her hands then walking over to greet him properly.
"Nice to meet you," Naruto replied, slightly unsure of himself or of how he was supposed to respond. Friendly and cordial was a mystery to him and honestly made him feel a bit suspicious of her ulterior motives.
"Are you hungry? We weren't sure if you were going to wake up today?"
"Sure . . . um, where are my teammates?"
"Sasuke-kun said something about training and Sakura-chan followed him," replied Tsunami, quickly returning to the kitchen and beginning to cook.
"What are you making?" asked Naruto, he'd recognized some of the things she was doing, specifically the scrambling of eggs but she had no idea why she was dicing vegetables or shredding some cheese.
"A veggie omelet," she replied, smiling happily as she continued cooking. "Have you ever had one?"
Naruto shook his head, watching her closely in an attempt to learn the recipe. An effort he succeeded in.
After eating, Naruto returned upstairs to see if his sensei needed anything. Seeing his sensei buried under several blankets and snoring gently, Naruto quietly pulled on his jacket and went out to train with his teammates if he could find them. Otherwise he was content to train on his own.
Naruto came across Sakura first, she was leaning against a tree, heaving deep breaths and dripping in sweat.
"Yo," he greeted her, not sure how she'd respond.
Sakura looked up and glared at him, like he was intruding.
"So, still mad, right. I'll just get out of your way."
Sakura sighed. "Wait."
Naruto paused in his turn, only to look back at her slight suspicious once again.
"I'm sorry I've been so cold to you," she said softly. "I don't like that you view me like that. I didn't want to believe it might be true. Then I met that Tenten girl at Higurashi's."
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