Chapter 38: Preparations

Exiting the Academy, Anko asked "So, what should we prepare for this mission? I'm good on weapons and tags, though we could get Naruto to draw up a few more..."

I nodded. "Not only that, we need to prepare some more nutrient pellets, storage scrolls, extra clothes, as well as make some payments for the house. I would rather not pay large amounts of interest when we return..."

Anko sighed, before saying "I can cover one month; I have a little over a mil in the bank. Kurenai?"

Kurenai pursed her lips, saying "I only have 600,000 ryo..."

"I emptied my account earlier, but the Mitarashi Account should still have enough. So, you two go transfer the funds over to the main account, then meet me over at the Depot. I'll go see if Naruto can make a few tags."

They nodded, before making their way towards the bank. I sighed, realizing that the Compound was a drain of money, especially with only three people.

I made my way towards the training grounds near his apartment, and when I heard the familiar groans I smiled.

Seeing the blonde haired kid sitting on the ground, a few leaves surrounding him, I chuckled. Hearing me, he turned, smiling.

"Aunty!"

Running towards me, he stopped in front of me, his eyes glowing.

"Hey Naruto. Listen, I wanted to tell you something. You can't tell anyone about this, okay? Swear it."

Hearing my serious tone, he calmed down, before nodding. "I swear I won't say anything to anyone, Aunty."

Ruffling his hair, I said "So, I have a mission that's going to take me to far from the Land of Fire, for over a month, maybe two. Which means..."

Trailing off, I could see him grit his teeth slightly, making me pull him into a hug.

"I'll be back before you know it, Naruto. Really."

Waiting for him to calm down slightly, I pulled away.

"So, I wanted you to know, because I leave tomorrow. Which brings me to my next thing. If I buy some paper and ink, will you make me some tags?"

Hearing that, he looked at me in surprise.

"Are my tags going to help you?"

Hearing the expectation in his voice, I smiled.

"Yeah, they will. I told you, your tags are much better than the ones the Village makes."

He grinned at me, nodding. I smiled down at him, and gestured towards the exit.

"Well, I need to go to the Depot to pick up some last minute supplies, so I'll pick up some paper and ink there. Come on!"

He followed me out of the training ground, and as we were walking I noticed someone watching us, with a small amount of anger directed at me. Without letting Naruto notice, I looked around, only to see a small girl with deep, dark blue hair and pure white eyes glaring at me.

"Hey Naruto, stay here for a second will you? I gotta talk to someone really quick."

Seeing him nod, I flickered over to where the little Hyuga girl stood. Making sure we were out of sight, I looked down at her. She glared at me, before looking away.

"So you are Hinata Hyuga, the Heiress... What'd I do to earn your ire, hmm?"

Hearing that, she flinched slightly, before taking a deep breath.

"What're you doing with Naruto!?"

I tilted my head in confusion, before saying "I'm teaching him?"

She looked up at me, her gaze filled with disbelief.

"Why?"

Hearing that, I chuckled.

"Cause he's talented, and it would be a waste to let him mess around when he could be improving."

She continued to glare at me, before her cheeks slowly grew red.

"Could... Could you teach me too?"

Hearing her mouselike voice, I tilted my head in confusion.

"Doesn't your clan teach you?"

When I saw her tremble at that, I sighed. Really, clans are so messed up.

"Yeah, come here."

Saying so, I grabbed her before moving back towards Naruto.

Seeing me dragging the small form of Hinata, he tilted his head.

"Listen, she's going to join your training... probably. Training alone can be quite boring, so..."

He continued to look at her, and she slowly grew more and more red.

"Isn't your training more... individual based?"

Hearing his question, I tilted my head, saying "It doesn't have to be. For example, you can try and transfer the leaf to one another using your chakra. Or you can spar. being with someone makes training much better."

He nodded his head, before grinning at Hinata. "Will you train with me, Hinata?"

I saw steam rising from her head, and chuckled. She nodded her head, before looking at the ground, shuffling about.

His grin widened, before her jumped up. "Haha~ I'm going to be the next Hokage, you best believe it! What about you, Hinata?"

I continued walking, allowing Naruto to barrage Hinata with questions as we walked. I had a smile on my face when I heard her simple, short answers in her small voice.

Making our way towards the Depot, which was the store that sold all kinds of gear that Shinobi needed for missions, we eventually sat on a bench out front of the store, watching the various people walking on the road.

We only had to wait a few minutes before Anko and Kurenai showed up. Seeing the new addition to the group, Anko sighed while Kurenai gave me a wry smile.

"What?"

"Are you just collecting children at this point?"

Hearing Anko's question, I smiled at her, saying "You can just think of it as practice for the future~"

She bit her lip at that, before turning.

"Well, the ryo is moved. We should be good, what with the 2 mil in the main account. We should be back before the funds run out."

I nodded, before looking at Kurenai, who was sitting next to the two kids.

"You mind watching them while we get supplies? Anything you need?"

She shook her head, before giving a gentle smile to Hinata.

I smiled at that, before dragging Anko inside.

"Alright, go grab nutrient pellets, some paper, and ink. I'll go get some scrolls..."

Nodding, she moved off to onside, which was lined with small bottles.

Making my way towards a shelf, I looked for the storage scroll section, before taking three. I already had three, and Anko and Kurenai should have at least one on them.

Rejoining Anko, I made my way over towards the clothing section, just grabbing an extra outfit for each of us, as well as some small soap pellets.

Checking out, the whole thing came to 40,000 ryo, meaning I emptied my wallet and Anko's.

Sighing, we exited the store, noticing that Hinata was now standing in front of Kurenai, going through the basics of the Hyuga style.

Hearing us exit, Kurenai looked at us, smiling.

"It seems Hinata here will be quite the good sparring partner for Naruto! She may even help him create a good fighting style! After all, not many can spar against the 'Number 1 Technique'."

I scoffed lightly at that. Number 1 Technique? One of the moves was to spin in place like an idiot. I remember just waiting for my teammate to stop before punching him in the face after he was done.

However, them sealing your tenketsu points was something that made you improve rather quickly. After all, you either had to finish the fight quickly, learn to fight with blocked chakra flow, or get better at avoiding them.

I nodded, before smiling at Naruto.

"Alright, here you go. Whatever you think will be useful, go ahead and make. though please make a bunch of explosive tags, cause I need them..."

He nodded, a gleam in his eye when he saw the stack of paper and jar of ink.

Leading everyone back to the house, I told them to go outside and train or relax while I made dinner.

I was a little miffed, after all I bought a lot of ingredients, thinking we would have a mission maybe a week long. Instead, we would be gone for well over a month.

Looking at the meats and vegetables I had bought, I sighed, before deciding to make a feast.

Grabbing the large cuts of beef, I looked through the spices I had, deciding to go for a simple dry rub, consisting of paprika, cumin, and some oregano. Carefully chopping the oregano up, I placed it with the paprika and cumin in a mortar, before grinding everything up.

Applying the rub to the beef, I let them sit in the rub, before looking over my vegetables. Seeing the amount of lettuce and spinach I had, I decided to just go for a salad as a side. I could add in diced tomatoes and peppers, adding both flavor and color.

Nodding, I smiled, setting about making an early dinner.

Humming to myself, I slowly grilled the beef, before chopping and preparing the salads. It was a simple meal, and it didn't hit everything I thought you needed in a meal, since I didn't have any grains. However, it would do.

I felt great breaking in my kitchen, feeling that this first meal would be quite good.

Going outside, I told everyone that the food was ready, and watched as they made their way inside, expectant looks in their eyes.

Setting plates in front of everyone, I watched as they dug into my meal, and I smiled.

Already, my dream was slowly coming true.