You can find the most interesting things in the trash.

It was a lesson that a young 7 year old Naruto had learned rather early. Of course when most adults ignored you, and almost every store either did the same or seemed to always charge you more than you had, you learned to adapt.

So thats why he was currently creeping through a back alley at night. He was looking through trash cans to see if there was anything interesting or useful. It was also how he stumbled upon a pair of objects that were to change his life.

A little way in the trashcan we was currently digging through he came across two little objects. They looked kinda like the fans he saw in shop windows. But these had some rust on them as well as scratch marks. WIth his curiosity peaked he picked up the small fans and was surprised to find cold metal meeting his fingers. Not to mention they weighed a bit more than he first thought.

He pocketed one of the fans and opened the other up to see that it was rather plain and covered in spots of rust. It was very unlike the other fans he had seen. Also he was pretty sureonly metal rusted. Was the whole fan made of metal? But fans were made with wood and paper weren't they? Now he was confused.

However before he could ponder further he heard the sounds of someone approaching and beat a hasty retreat. People just didn't like it when you rooted through their trash.

Back in the safety of his rather messy apartment, Naruto sat down on his second hand couch and took out the pair of fans again. It was rather strange what you would find on the trash. Who would throw away a pair of working metal fans? Sure they were scratched, and a bit rusty but that could be fixed couldn't it? They certainly seemed to open and close alright.

Naruto felt he needed to ask someone about this. However, ever since he entered the academy, everytime he went to the old man Hokage to ask a question his only answer would be to turn to books or his teachers.

Which left one source he knew he could turn to… but he really didn't want to. The man was really up tight, constantly interrupted his pranks, and worse of all, was so boring when he lectured. Naruto sighed heavily to himself. But he was also the only one Naruto was likely to get answers from.

Tomorrow he would talk to Iruka about this.

Iruka Umino had seen quite a few things in his time as a teacher. From fangirl brawls to an Inuzuka's dog actually eating his homework. However before him was something he thought he would never see.

Naruto Uzumaki, the troublemaker and the future deadlast of his class, was approaching him for help with something after class. The boy that goofed off during lectures and almost never turned in his class work was asking for help. Iruka couldn't hold back the urge to pinch himself, and the sting he felt told him that it was neither a dream nor genjutsu.

It wasn't that he hated the boy. He had at first, but after seeing himself so many times in the young prankster he found it rather hard to hate him. He was however very very frustrated with the young boy. He never seemed to pay attention.

Which is what made this extra weird. "Yes Naruto? What can I help you with?"

The boy looked kinda nervous and… anxious about whatever he was going to ask. He didn't do anything actually illegal, like steal the sacred scroll, did he?

"Iruka, I found these and wanted to learn more about them." the young boy said taking out a pair of beaten up fans onto the desk with a clunk. Wait a clunk?

The Chuunin picked up one of the fans and gave out a whistle as he opened it. "Naruto where did you find a pair of tessen war fans?"

"The trash." the boy admitted sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Really?"

"Yes! I don't steal, believe it!" the claimed angrily. Iruka just nodded. He was sure he didn't, but had to double check. It made him sad though. Both because his student went through the trash, and because someone would throw something like this away. With proper care they could be saved.

"Alright Naruto these are tessen war fans. They were made popular by samurai, and are used for a variety of reasons from being a covert weapon to warding off arrows along with other uses. Though they have recently seen some use outside of the samurai forces, its not much, and not many in this size." He stated. And for once Naruto was paying attention.

"These are actually weapons?" The boy looked a little skeptical.

Iruka decided that a lecture wasn't going to be enough and stood taking a fan in each hand and stood in the middle of the room much to the confusion of his student, but he ignored him for a minute as he took a breath and fell into a stance.

Then he took a step forward towards an invisible opponent and with a dual ZIIIIIP-CRACK he opened the fans with a flick of the wrist, noting they were a little slow. Though that could be a combination of both himself and the fans both being rusty. Another step forward and he pushed the fan in the left hand into the air with a flick causing it to flip in the air causing his opponent to follow the fan's trajectory up,. He capitalized on the opening the maneuver presented and slashed with his right fan and caught the falling fan with his left hand.. then pressed the advantage as he slashed and whirled with the fans, Then with a ZIIIIP-CLICK he flicked the fan in his right to close and knocked away the kunai going for his vitals and then leapt back to open up distance. The fan in his left hand went up and fended off a hail of shuriken then with another ZIIP-CLICK it closed as well. Now he was back in close. His opponent was trying to stab him with a kunai again. He decided to end it. He caught the underside of his opponent's wrist with his right fan then slammed his left fan into the inner elbow causing the arm to bend. He stepped into his opponent's guard getting a leg behind his opponent's and tripping him. The finishing blow came in the form of the right fan getting pulled back and coming down into the opponent's throat.

With a calming breath he stood and flicked both fans to the side without unfolding them and then tucked them into his belt before turning to his student. Who just stared at him in awe. "Yes they are indeed weapons."

He watched the boy's jaw work without a sound. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Surprised?"

"Yes!" The boy exclaimed with volumes that almost rivaled his pink haired classmate. "Can you teach me?"

"Naruto not only are you doing badly in class, you don't even try there. Why would I teach you something in addition to it ?" the instructor asked with a raised brow.

"But teach, your lectures are so boring." his student replied much to his ire. "If they were more like what you just showed I would pay way more attention." he added waving his arms in excitement. 'I mean with the slashes to the body and arms of your attacker and how you deflected those shuriken and the final stab after the takedown. Thats what I want to learn, not some dumb boring history that won't be any use to me now."

"Naruto if you do-" Iruka started as he entered lecture mode only to stop as his student's words sank in. "Wait you saw all that?" That was a surprise. Yeah it was a basic kata , but someone with no experience with the weapon, let alone someone without experience period, shouldn't be able to dissect it like that.

"Well yeah, It's what makes sense with the movements. It's practical. You need moves like that and jutsu to really win , not facts of a fight hundreds of years ago."

Now Iruka's brain was working overtime. Naruto seemed to be a Oratory learner. Maybe even Kinetic. He needed to see it and do it to learn it. It wasn't a conventional learning method outside of P.E. and Taijutsu. However it fit the blonde's personality. That might have been why… A plan dawned in his head.

"Fine I will teach you." he said with a smile as he watched his student started to cheer before he dropped the bomb. "However I have a warning and a price."

This sobered the blonde right up as he looked anxious at his teacher. "Warning? Price?"

"Yes, not every lesson I teach you about this subject will be fast, easy, or exciting. They will be long, arduous, and one at a time. Each lesson will make you proficient, but not perfect, before it ends." he stated with a serious look and was quite happy when the blonde nodded determinedly.

"The price is that you must turn in all your school work before each lesson. The work must be at least half way done, and most of it has to be correct. I don't want blank sheets, or pages filled with drivel. I want proof that you're trying. If you start slipping in class you will get no extra training. On top of that as the lessons continue I will up the price as is appropriate. Understand?"

And now Naruto looked like he wanted to argue. Then his eyes fell onto the fans still tucked into Iruka's belt, then to the place where Iruka's 'opponent' was 'killed'. He sighed and looked like he swallowed a lemon whole as he grumbled "...Yes."

"What was that?" Iruka said with a hand to his ear smiling a bit as he milked this.

Naruto sounded even less happy as he said "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now go home and rest and do the work I gave you today to the required amount and I will make a list of basic lessons that you can pick from tomorrow."

With that a grumbling Naruto left, and Iruka was left to contemplate his latest encounter with the boy. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

He took out the fans and looked them over. They were in rough shape but a little care they could shine again. He chuckled as he couldn't help but compare the fans with his wayward student. A fan like this could easily be used to bludgeon someone down. But its real power lay in their versatility, which could only be accessed if you bothered to unfold it. That was what he planned to do with Naruto. Even if it was panel by panel, spine by spine., he would unfold his student's will and see just how far it could go.

Iruka left the classroom with a bounce in his step. He had to take his own advice. He had a new lesson plan to create by tomorrow. This would be fun.