Vision of Truth I: Cat and Fox (Naruto)

Heroes

"I'm too tired to listen
I'm too old to believe
All these childish stories
There is no such thing as faith
And trust and pixie dust

I try, but it's so hard to believe
I try, but I can't see what you see
I try, I try, I try"

- "I'll Try" by Jonatha Brooke

Chapter 12: Heroes

"Zabuza's still alive," Kakashi announced.

My teammates and I exchanged shocked looks. We were gathered in a room in Tazuna's house where our sensei finally regained consciousness in the morning. He would need two weeks to fully recover. He explained that the needles the stranger had used could induce a death-like state without killing the subject. Since the man easily carried Zabuza away despite his weight and used a typically non-lethal move, we could assume the man acted to save Zabuza.

"I can still train you," Kakashi continued. To Sakura's protests, he said, "You've grown. Naruto, you've grown the most." He smiled at him through his mask.

"So, you noticed, Kakashi sensei," Naruto said. "Now things are going to get better. Believe it."

"I don't believe it," said a small boy standing in the doorway. "And nothing's going to be good."

Naruto pointed at him. "Who are you?"

"Inari, where have you been?" Tazuna said.

The boy ran into his waiting arms. "Welcome back, grandpa."

"Inari, that was very rude," said a young woman as she entered the room. "These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely."

Inari let go of his grandpa and looked up at the woman. "Mom, don't you see, these people are going to die? Gato and his men will come back and find them and wipe them out."

I snorted. "Thanks for your vote of confidence."

Naruto loudly protested this assessment. "This Gato or Blato or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me."

The boy cast his gaze down. "There's no such thing as a hero. You're just full of stupid ideas."

"What'd you say?!" Sakura grabbed Naruto to prevent him from charging at the kid.

I sighed. "Just ignore him."

"If you want to stay alive," said Inari, "you should go back where you came from." And then he walked away.

"Good thing I don't care about staying alive," I muttered.

Naruto shot me a look. "You're not helping!" He stormed out of the room after the kid. The rest of us exchanged uneasy looks. He returned a minute later, claiming he should go train. So we set off for the forest.

Upon stopping, Kakashi explained the basics of chakra control. Then he used his chakra to walk up a tree and stand upside down on a branch. He threw four kunais, one landing in front of each of us. "Use the kunai knife to mark the tree at the highest point you can climb without using your hands," he said. "Then try to get past that mark the next time and the next."

"Oh, I can do that already," I said.

"Then let's see it."

I bent down and picked up the knife. Then, taking a deep breath, I focused my chakra in my feet. I walekd forward, not stopping when I reached the tree. My feet stuck to the trunk as I walked up. I passed Kakashi, deciding to stop near the top. I marked the spot with the kunai and then climbed onto the nearby branch. "Easy."

"Very good, Katsumi. I will find soemthing else for you to work on later."

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed. "I can do that too!"