Chapter one: Mizuto Akina!
I began this story when Naruto was still new -I believe there were only five or six volumes out at the time- and I have fixed and re-written this story countless times since then.
But now, hopefully, this will be the final version.
Also I do realize that this is not an original concept, but this was one of the very first major stories I had ever written, so I felt that it needed to be completed. Sort of a pet project.
Enjoy?
Disclaimer: If I owned it, then I wouldn't need to write fanfiction.
...
A young, violet haired girl suddenly awoke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily; her wide eyes faded from a deep crimson to their usual pale violet as wakefulness reached her mind.
"That dream again…" She whispered, falling back into her pillow; the girl covered her face with her left arm and sighed. After a short while she rolled over, glancing at the clock on her bedside table; it took her brain a long moment to register what the ticking numbers meant.
"I'm late!" She shouted and struggled out of the tangle of blankets on her bed. The girl finally escaped and quickly gathered up an outfit before running across the hall to the bathroom. She took only ten minutes to do what usually took half an hour then ran down the hall, snatching up her bento and a wrapped up rice ball from the kitchen along her way. The girl stopped only to put her sandals on in the entryway before heading out the door.
"I'm late for school! Bye!" She waved to a young, dark haired woman who was standing in the front garden, chatting with one of the neighbors. The woman, named Chiyoshi Mai, was the girl's godmother as well as her legal guardian.
"Have a good day, dear!" The woman waved back, a cheerful smile spread across her face.
The girl ran all the way to the school building, half-way across the village. When she finally reached her classroom she was surprised to see that the room was almost completely empty; only half a dozen students were waiting around the room, two of which the girl was very familiar with. The first was a boy with dark brown hair, tied up in a short ponytail on top of his head. The second was a boy with black hair which spiked up in the back, similar in shape to a duck's tail feathers.
She walked up next to the first boy who was hunched over the desk, his forehead resting atop his crossed arms. This boy was Nara Shikamaru. He was merely a lazy bum, but had also been her very best friend for most of her life.
Shikamaru was clearly sleeping, so the girl quietly slid up next to him on the long bench and leaned down so her mouth was only an inch away from his ear.
She smiled to herself before shouting. "GOOD MORNING, SHIKAMARU!"
The boy jumped up, his head nearly knocking into her's. He held his hands over his ears and turned to glare at the girl who merely smiled innocently at him. "Akina, are you trying to deafen me?"
"Sorry, Shika." The girl, Akina, tilted her head to one side, still smiling.
The other children in the room turned to send the two of them annoyed stares, especially the black haired boy who sat two rows forward. He not only appeared annoyed, but genuinely angry. Akina and Shikamaru ignored them.
"You're late." Shikamaru muttered in irritation and lazily rested his chin in his hand, elbow sitting atop the desk's surface. His dark gaze never once left the girl's face.
Akina stuck her tongue out and made a humming sort of sound. "I'm clearly not the only one. And you are not someone to lecture me about being late in the first place."
The boy shrugged his shoulders and leaned against the back of the bench.
"So where is everyone, anyway?" The girl asked, glancing around the room. "More than half of the class is missing, along with Iruka-Sensei."
Shikamaru closed his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "It's Naruto again. Everyone went to go watch him get his ass kicked."
The girl shook her head, causing her short feathery hair to float about from the motion. "What did he do this time?"
"Apparently he painted stuff over the Hokage mountain faces." The boy answered dryly, folding his arms behind his head. "I'm sure Lord Hokage and Iruka-Sensei are letting him have it by now."
After another moment the door to the classroom slid open, rattling loudly. Students filed into the room and quietly walked to their respective seats, followed by a man with hair similar to Shikamaru's and an old scar running across the bridge of his nose. The man dragged a boy with spikey blonde hair, who had been tied up with ropes, into the class behind him. When the two reached the front of the classroom the man made the boy sit on the floor and began to lecture him in front of the entire class.
Akina leaned over towards Shikamaru and whispered. "Was tying him up really necessary?"
"Do you think Iruka-Sensei would've gotten Naruto here otherwise?" The dark haired boy whispered back.
"Maybe not." She replied quietly, sitting back up straight in her seat.
After Iruka had finally finished shouting at Naruto he turned to the rest of the class and ordered them to line up in the middle of the classroom for a review of the art of transformation, the Henge no Jutsu. Most of the students whined and shouted out complaints, but did as they were told anyway.
"This is so troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled while he got up to join the line.
Akina snickered at her friend's complaint, following him in line. "At least it's something easy."
The ponytailed boy just huffed at her response, shoving his hands into his pockets.
The first student in line was Haruno Sakura, a girl with long pink hair. Akina considered the girl to be a complete twit despite her high test scores; Sakura behaved in a loud and overbearing manner, which annoyed the violet haired girl to no end.
Sakura raised both of her hands, placing them together into the sign of transformation, and then poofed into a perfect replica of their teacher. Iruka nodded, told the girl she had done well, and wrote down the score on a clipboard.
The pink haired girl cheered and turned around in an attempt to get the attention of the boy behind her. Said boy merely ignored the girl and stepped forward to take his turn demonstrating the Jutsu.
This boy was Uchiha Sasuke, the black haired boy who had sat a few rows ahead of Shikamaru. Akina knew this boy very well, in fact. She and Sasuke were cousins, in a mildly round-about way; his father had been a cousin through marriage to Akina's own mother, Uchiha Ayame.
Sasuke raised his hands into the same sign Sakura had used and he, too, poofed into a perfect replica of their teacher. The teacher once again nodded and wrote down the score, just like before. The Uchiha boy quickly returned to his seat without a glance to anyone.
He is as social as ever. The violet haired girl mused, watching her cousin as he sat down and folded his hands together atop the desk.
The next student in line was Uzumaki Naruto. He had been untied by Iruka just after their teacher announced that they would do the review.
"This is a total waste of time, Naruto." Shikamaru, who stood just behind the blonde boy, complained.
It was then that a girl with long blonde hair leaned around Akina, practically pushing her out of line. "We always pay for your screw ups!" She whispered harshly to Naruto.
This girl was Yamanaka Ino. Her personality was similar to Sakura's, so Akina, of course, didn't hold any affection for her.
"Yeah-yeah!" Naruto waved the two off before stepping up to perform his own transformation. He placed his hands into the appropriate sign and then was surrounded by a small poof of smoke, just like the two before him had.
But this time, when the smoke cleared, it was not a replica of Iruka who stood before the teacher. Instead it was a completely naked female version of Naruto himself. Naruto struck a lude pose and blew a kiss at the teacher. This somehow caused Iruka's nose to bleed violently.
Naruto returned to his normal appearance and laughed, perfectly pleased with himself. "How do you like my Sexy Jutsu?"
Akina raised a hand to her forehead and sighed. "Death by nose-bleed is a good five or six points, but your execution was severely lacking, Naruto."
The blonde boy scrunched his face up at the girl, clearly not pleased with the rating. "Jeez, that's harsh." He whined, adjusting the goggles that sat on his forehead.
It took their teacher a long moment to recover, and to shove some pieces of tissue into his nostrils. The teacher once again began shouting at the boy, telling him that he was wasting his time with stupid and immature pranks.
Once Iruka had finished lecturing Naruto for the second time, the remainder of the class was able to finish the review in peace. Though many of them still complained, especially Shikamaru.
After her classes ended for the day, Akina wandered aimlessly around the village. She had walked home with Shikamaru at first, but his mother ordered him to do various chores, so they agreed to spend time together the following day instead.
The girl made a full circle around the village by the time it was dark and somehow ended up standing in front of the Ichiraku Noodle Bar. Her stomach growled at that moment, letting her know that it was time for dinner.
Akina shrugged her shoulders and walked towards the little building. "This is way better than Aunt Mai's cooking." She entered beneath the fabric door flaps and took a seat at the bar, her feet no longer reaching the floor when she sat on the barstool.
"Good evening, Akina." The shop owner, Teuchi, greeted the girl. "I take it you were left to fend for yourself tonight?" He chuckled and draped the towel he'd been wiping his hands with over his shoulder.
The girl smiled and nodded her head. "Shikamaru is doing chores and it's Aunt Mai's turn to cook tonight."
Teuchi laughed and nodded in return. "Then I will have your usual right out for you!"
"Thanks!" She gave a little wave and kicked her feet happily.
Just then two more customers walked in and Akina turned to see who it was. Naruto and their teacher, Iruka, sat at the other end of the bar.
"Oh! Hey, Naruto! I see that the Hokage faces are nice and clean." She sent the blonde boy a teasing smile.
Naruto scrunched his face and stuck his tongue out at the girl. "Yeah-yeah! Iruka-Sensei had me up there cleaning for the rest of the day."
The girl stuck her tongue out in return, then giggled. "Don't get so worked up over it. That prank was only a two at best." she held up two fingers in front of her face like the peace sign.
The boy sent her a sour glance. "Akina, I think your rating system sucks."
"Please don't encourage him." Iruka cut in, smiling helplessly.
...
The very next day Akina walked into her classroom early, which certainly didn't happen often. Her godmother, Mai, had woken her up and scolded her for always going to bed so late.
"It just feels weird being at school early." The girl muttered to herself, glancing around the classroom. She spotted a familiar girl with short black hair and happily walked over to her. "Morning, Hinata!" She smiled and waved to the girl.
"G-good morning, Akina." Hinata stuttered, smiling shyly up at the violet haired girl. She scooted over and motioned for Akina to join her on the bench.
Hyuuga Hinata had always been a shy and withdrawn girl for as long as Akina could remember. The two became friends a few years prior, after Akina had gotten into a fight with Hinata's older cousin, Neji.
Akina watched as Hinata snuck glances in Naruto's direction. She smiled knowingly at her friend. "So the final test is today."
The Hyuuga girl turned her attention back to her friend. "Y-yeah. I'm a little nervous." She pressed her pointer fingers together, a habit Hinata usually had when she was feeling insecure.
"Don't worry. You'll do just fine!" The violet haired girl reassured her friend, grinning confidently.
Hinata merely nodded, her gaze returning to the back of Naruto's head.
Him I'm not so sure about... Akina thought to herself, her own gaze turning to the blonde boy.
It wasn't long before the rest of the class and their teacher, Iruka, arrived in the classroom. Iruka explained that their final exam would be on the clone technique, Bunshin no Jutsu. Once their names were called each student was to go into the next room and create three clones of themselves, using this technique, in front of a panel of teachers who would record their score.
Akina waited patiently for her turn, watching as students were called out and later returned with Konohagakure forehead protectors tied around their heads.
"Mizuto Akina."
Her name had finally been called. The girl eagerly left her seat and headed to the room next door. When she entered, Iruka and one other teacher, Mizuki-Sensei, sat behind a desk in the center of the room.
"Mizuto Akina, you must create three clones of yourself using the Bunshin no Jutsu." Iruka explained, picking up his pen from the desk.
Akina nodded and placed her hands together in the correct sign; with a poof of smoke three copies of herself stood beside the girl.
Her teacher smiled after writing down the score. "Very good, you pass."
The three clones poofed away and Akina gave a little jump of happiness. "I did it! Yay!" She then reached out to take one of the blue-clothed headbands from the desk, but Iruka stopped her and Akina stared up at him questioningly.
The teacher then reached for something in the desk drawer. "I was given something special for you this morning." He pulled out a headband which had a deep purple cloth instead of blue.
The girl looked up at him in confusion, tilting her head to one side. "What's this? The cloth is a different color."
"This was your mother's. It was saved as a keepsake for the day when you would eventually graduate from the academy." Iruka handed the headband over to the girl, smiling proudly.
Akina bowed to her teacher and tied the forehead protector around her head. "Thank you, Iruka-Sensei." She then left the room and happily returned to her seat beside Hinata.
Mother…
"You did it!" Hinata cheered happily, but quietly.
"Yep!" The Mizuto girl replied, smiling cheerily.
But then her friend gave her a quizzical stare. "But why is it purple? I thought they were all blue."
Akina grinned proudly, touching the metal plate with the leaf symbol in it's center. "This is a keepsake from my mother."
"Oh." Hinata smiled sadly. "It's nice that you have something to remember her by."
The violet haired girl nodded and sat down next to her friend. She watched as more students were called out and eventually returned.
And then...
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
Naruto's name was called and the boy slowly rose to his feet.
"Oh, I hope Naruto will do alright." Hinata muttered quietly, starring at the boy with a worried expression.
Yeah, he's not exactly the best student here. But even with that thought, Akina smiled at her friend reassuringly. "I'm sure he'll do just fine!"
But, of course, Naruto was the only one who didn't pass.
...
The students and their families all stood outside in the academy courtyard, celebrating their graduation. That is, all except Naruto, who hadn't passed the exam. Instead the boy sat on a nearby swing, watching the other children and their families.
"Jeez, you'd think even he could pass a test this easy." Shikamaru grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Considering that even a lazy bum like you was able to pass?" Akina asked slyly, leaning over towards Shikamaru.
The boy just huffed and turned away, his cheeks slightly flushed.
"Poor Naruto." Hinata whispered sadly, gazing off in the blonde's direction.
"Hey, don't worry! There will always be next time." Akina reassured her friend. "He'll get it eventually."
"I suppose you are right." Hinata replied, though she didn't seem to feel any better.
Akina sighed and shook her head, then seemed to remember something. "Oh yeah! Shikamaru, I'll be eating at your house tonight!" She smiled happily at her friend.
"Hey! When was this decided?" The boy asked in an annoyed tone.
Akina sent Shikamaru a dull glare, leaning towards him once again. "Last night, remember? We promised to spend time together after classes."
"So troublesome." He sighed and scratched the back of his head, his face once more tinting to a slightly pink hue.
...
True to her word, Akina had gone home with Shikamaru and sat down to dinner with his family. This was a normal occurrence at the Nara household, and the girl's presence was quite welcomed by Shikaku and Yoshino, Shikamaru parents. Yoshino, his mother, had always been particularly fond of the Mizuto girl; often wishing out loud for Shikamaru to marry Akina so she could then be her daughter-in-law. As it was, Yoshino already thought of Akina as a daughter and treated her as such, much to her son's annoyance.
"That was a really good meal, as usual, Mrs. Nara!" Akina chirped happily after finishing up her dinner.
"Why thank you, Akina. I'm glad you enjoy my cooking." Yoshino smiled politely as she began to removed the dishes from the table.
"Oh! Please allow me to help with cleaning up." The girl stood before Yoshino could answer and gathered her own dishes along with Shikamaru's, who had been sitting beside her at the table.
"Thank you, dear. You are always a great help, unlike two certain people around here." The woman sent a stern stare towards her son and husband.
The two males grumbled, sending each other pitiful glances. Shikamaru was the spitting image of his father, Shikaku, which was most evident when the two sat next to each other. Akina always found the resemblance a little humorous, since the two Nara men even shared the same lazy stare and lopsided grin. Looking at his father, she knew Shikamaru would grow up to be quite handsome, despite him being lanky and awkward at his current age.
"Akina, you be careful when you get married. If you don't take a good hold of the reins from the beginning, your husband will run wild and do as he pleases." Mrs. Nara warned the girl as they cleaned the dishes.
"I will try to remember that." Akina giggled, turning around to send a sly smirk in Shikamaru's direction.
The boy sent her a sour glare in return.
"Shikamaru... be careful when you get married. A strong-willed woman is good, but they can easily wear you down if you drop your guard." Shikaku whispered to his son, who merely nodded in confirmation.
"We can hear you, Shikaku." Yoshino turned to face her husband, hands firmly placed on her hips in disapproval.
The man raised his hands and quickly apologized. Akina couldn't help but giggle; it was clear to her who truly ran the Nara household.
After the dishes were finished, Akina joined Shikamaru up in his room. The two genin sat on the little outcrop of roof just outside Shikamaru's window and gazed up at the stars.
"So, what do you think the teams will be?" Akina asked, lying down on the roof next to her friend.
"I don't know. If it's with you and Choji I'll be fine, anyone else will just get on my nerves." The boy answered, giving a lazy yawn.
Akina turned towards the boy, giving him a serious stare. "But what if it is someone else? We'll be separated."
For a while he just stared up at the stars, silently, as if deep in thought. "Then maybe they wouldn't eat my lunch."
Akina punched him in the arm. "Jerk!" She then giggled when he made a pained face.
"Ow, that hurt…" Shikamaru muttered, rubbing his abused arm.
"You are such a wimp." The girl continued to laugh; teasing him was just so much fun.
The brunet rolled his eyes in response, and then glanced down at her with a more serious face. "What would you do? If you were teamed up with anyone else, I mean."
Now it was Akina's turn to look thoughtful. "I don't know… I suppose there's nothing I could do, really. I just hope it's not with Sasuke... or any of his fan girls."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes once again and sighed. "That's about half of the student population,"
The violet haired girl nodded and laughed again. "Meaning I'm in serious trouble!"
"That makes two of us." He nodded and yawned lazily.
Akina sighed and stood up from where she had been laying.
"You leaving?" The boy asked, looking a bit disappointed.
She nodded and smiled faintly. "It's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah." Shikamaru stood as well, preparing to return to his room.
As though on a whim, Akina suddenly stepped closer to the boy and kissed him on the cheek before turning to the edge of his roof and jumping down. She looked back only to wave to him before running off down the street.
Shikamaru watched as the girl's form disappeared around a corner, his face flushed red. "So troublesome." He sighed and returned to his room.