"Okay, kid, I've got a bet for you."
"Are you sure about this, Anko?" asked Kurenai Yuhi, looking from the blonde Academy student to her friend.
"A bet?" asked the boy, who stopped slurping ramen. "What?"
"I'll bet you can't cure or modify this cursemark," said Anko. "If you CAN, I'll buy you an extra bowl of ramen."
Naruto blinked at her, looked at the two of them, then shook his head. "Nah. I don't think so."
"Can't do it?" asked Anko.
"That's a triphasic cursed vampiric fuuinjutsu," said Naruto. "Do you have any idea what that'd take out of me?" Naruto went back to slurping ramen, not entirely sure what he'd said - just that it sounded right.
Anko exchanged a glance with Kurenai, who looked completely dumbfounded.
"Okay, maybe TWO bowls of ramen?" asked Anko.
"Nope," said Naruto.
"Three?"
"Nah. Ramen's good and all, but since I blessed Teuchi's kitchen for him - I get a discount anyway," said Naruto, nodding in the direction of the owner.
"He 'blessed' your kitchen?" asked Kurenai of Teuchi.
"Yes, if I make one batch of ramen, I end up with three," said Teuchi, grinning. "No idea how it happens, but you can guess how that affects my bottom line."
"Triple the profits," muttered Kurenai, now looking at the blonde Academy student in a different light. Maybe a fuuinjutsu master?
"So, if not ramen," said Anko, feeling desperate as the cursemark started paining her again. "Uhm. How about if I become your teacher? I could teach you all sorts of handy jutsu."
That offer got more of a thoughtful look from Naruto, but finally he shook his head. "I get the impression you'd not be available for long periods of time."
Anko grimaced as her plan of ducking out of the training was neatly shot down. "I'll do anything! I'll swear to be your teacher in everything you need. I'll be your maid, for crying out loud."
"Hmmm," hmmmed Naruto, thinking his apartment COULD use someone cleaning it besides himself every so often.
Seeing the reaction as hopeful, Anko charged ahead. "I'll throw in Kurenai here as well."
Behind the two, the Hokage held up a hand and faded into the shadows, the ANBU with him doing the same.
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Kurenai, missing the presence of a few others as her attention fully snapped onto her friend.
Anko leaned close and whispered. "Don't worry, we can both get out of it. We just go to the Hokage, the Hokage points out we're both jonin and can't be sworn to any kid's service. So we just clean the kid's apartment once and everything's cool."
"I've got a bad feeling about this, and I just made jonin," whispered back Kurenai. She was planning on pursuing Asuma Sarutobi now after all, and this might generate some rumors.
"Trust me," whispered Anko with a wink. "I know what I'm doing."
Naruto got a pair of napkins out, scribbled something onto them, then put down an "X" mark. Then he got a distant expression and just scribbled something additional.
Anko took one napkin, a flimsy thing that would fall apart when wet, and handed the other to Kurenai. All it said was that the undersigned agreed to be a retainer to clan Uzumaki under the heading of loyal ninja-maid.
"I'm really not sure about this," said Kurenai even as she made her own mark.
"What could go wrong?" asked Anko. "You know we've got missions and stuff."
Naruto took the two napkins back, looked at them, nodded, signed them, and looked a little startled when they flared with golden light.
"Uhm, what was that?" asked Anko before suddenly her shoulder erupted in golden light and she could feel the cursemark unravelling, shifting, splitting, and then reforming.
As the two collapsed, Naruto blinked. "Oh crap. I'm pretty sure that's not what was supposed to happen."
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(Posted Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:19)
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