Naruto uchiha

Chapter 20

Hey guys chapter 20 is out

After spending the entire day with her, Naruto had decided to visit the local hot springs of the village to relieve himself of the slight soreness he was feeling in his body. It felt like ages since he had been to one. Even though, he was tired, Naruto had a wide smile on his face. He laughed softly on thinking of the fact how she'd made him feel and promised himself he would do everything to keep her safe and happy. As he was walking, he turned right and stumbled on to a kid who was running.

"Ouch... hey, look where you're going!" cried the kid as he massaged his rear. Naruto dumbly looked at the kid to tell him otherwise but stopped when he noticed who it was. The kid had short spiky brown hair, black eyes and a small chip in his tooth. He wore grey pants, yellow shirt and a pale green jacket with a dark green stripe down the middle. He also wore a long blue scarf around his neck. As the kid looked up, his eyes widened when he finally noticed who it was. Naruto simply smirked on seeing the look on Konohamaru's face.

"Naruto nii-chan? Where have you been all this time?" Konohamaru jolted up from the ground and went on to hug Naruto tightly. Naruto smiled and patted his head a few times before Konohamaru let go.

"Well, I can't really tell you that... Konohamaru. Village secrets and all... you know." Naruto replied apologetically. Naruto had met Konohamaru during his time at the academy a couple of times and much to his ire earlier, the kid practically worshiped him. However, thinking about it now only made him chuckle.

"Maybe now you can teach me some cool jutsus! You did say once I'm in the academy, you'll teach me!" Konohamaru stated ecstatically.

"How about sometime later? I'm really tired today and was on my way to the hot springs. I will come to your compound when I'm free and then we'll see what I can teach you, alright?" Naruto asked as he bent down to Konohamaru's eye level. Though slightly disheartened, Konohamaru instantly nodded to the proposal and ran along to meet his friends. Yet again, Naruto found himself to be looking at the kid's retreating form with a kind smile. The Sandaime Hokage had died sealing the Kyubi within him and had protected the village from a great disaster. It was because of the Sandaime that he had a parent still alive. He'd be damned if he couldn't at least look after Konohamaru from time to time. Turning back, Naruto once again made his way towards the hot springs.

About ten minutes later, Naruto reached his destination and after checking in with the receptionist, he proceeded towards the men's changing room. Once he had removed his clothes and placed it in an allotted place, he walked outside with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was momentarily surprised to see two more people in the pool.

'Great, just when I thought, I'd be alone...' Naruto thought. Since he could only see their backs from his position, Naruto couldn't really determine who the two people were. As he walked closer, the two people in the pool turned around on hearing the footsteps and they too were surprised.

"Shikamaru? Choji?" Naruto asked in surprise. He certainly wasn't expecting to meet them here.

"Ohhh, Naruto! It sure has been long!" Choji said with a wave. Naruto chuckled on seeing a packet of chips beside Choji by the edge of pool.

"Yeah, it has been..." Naruto replied quietly as he dipped himself in the warm water beside his two childhood friends. His body immediately felt highly relaxed upon feeling the warmth of the water and Naruto released a content sigh.

"I heard, you are a jounin now... Must be a lot of work huh?" Shikamaru questioned. He laid back more comfortably and gazed up at the reddish sky. This moment was sure relaxing, and he wished he could just spend the rest of his days like this. Alas, he knew for a shinobi, it was only a dream. Naruto hesitated a little for a few seconds but relaxed on seeing the look on their faces. And to his surprise, they did not appear to be mad at him.