Naruto: Secret of the Hidden Beasts
Summary: Slightly AU. We all know the legend of the Tailed Beasts, the jinchuriki, that at one time devastated the land. The nine Beasts were almost unstoppable, only halted by a sealing into a vessel that would carry that burden until it could be passed on. However, there are two jinchuriki that have been hidden from all, their powers unstoppable. If anyone were to find out about them, the consequences of their powers falling into the wrong hands would be catastrophic. The two vessels chosen this day and age were transferred to the Hidden Leaf Village, with the promise from the Fourth Hokage (whose wife was a pervious vessel for a jinchuriki and his son was the current vessel) that they would remain safe. Can the Hidden Leaf protect these two new vessels from harm?
Pairings: NarutoxGaara, SasukexSakura, ShikamaruxKankuro, KibaxOC, OCxOC, InoxSai, KakashixIruka, KotetsuxIzumo, RaidouxGenma, IbikixAnko, HinataxChoji.
Rating: M for lemons, cursing, blood, violence.
Chapter 1: Team Unlucky 13
~Flashback~
"Where are we going?" A small girl asked, looking up with crimson eyes at the old woman who was holding her hand. They had been walking for a long time, the number of doors they had passed being too many to count, and the corridors seemed to get longer and longer every time they turned down one. She was confused. Had she done something wrong? She surely hoped not.
"We're almost there child," the old woman answered with a smile. "Do not worry."
"Am I in trouble?" The young girl asked, eyes going fearful.
"No child. Quite the opposite. We are very proud of you," the woman replied.
The girl rubbed her belly, still feeling pangs of pain. She didn't remembered what had happened that made her stomach hurt like this, but it was very painful. She wasn't sure she could continue walking. The pain in her back also made it difficult to move, but she was a fighter. She'd make it through somehow.
Finally, they came to a large black door. The woman muttered something under her breath, and markings on the door lit up in purple light. Then, it was gone, and the door opened. The woman took her hand again and led her inside.
It was dimly lit in this new room, but not too dark to where the young girl couldn't recognize that there were people in the room, one she recognized better than anyone else. "Arielle!" She shouted, running over.
The other girl, slightly older than the first, turned in her chair slightly, lips breaking into a grin at seeing the younger girl. "Phoenix!"
The two young girls embraced each other, beginning to chatter excitedly.
"You know this girl?" The old woman asked, though she already knew the answer.
The youngest of the two nodded. "She's from Yukigakure. I met her one time when senpai took me there. We're friends. I see her a lot when sempai takes me over there."
The old woman smiled, though inwardly, she filled with dread as she looked upon the two girls. The older of the two had pale skin, ice blue eyes, and jet black hair. Oddly enough though, her hair was oddly streaked in pure white, something that few could explain. The other, smaller than the first, had tanned skin and also had jet black hair, but hers was streaked in a fiery red, complimenting her crimson eyes. The two were only about seven years old. 'To be so young and have to carry such a large burden,' the old woman thought sadly.
The two girls were sitting in chairs beside each other as the grownups talk. "Hey Phoenix?" Arielle asked. "Do you know why we're here?"
Phoenix shook her head. "Senpai didn't tell me anything. He said I would thank him for this later."
"That's what mine said!" Arielle agreed. "And he wouldn't tell me anything more."
"Lady Kusaki said I'm not in trouble, so it can't be bad, can it?"
"It isn't," Lady Kusaki answered, making the two girls jump and blush nervously. Kusaki smiled. "You two are not in trouble. However, you may not like what I have to say to you. It is…" she frowned. "Going to affect you severely. You see, we are relocating you two to somewhere different. A new town where you can live and learn many new lessons that we couldn't teach you here."
"Why?" Arielle asked.
"Because you are both special, and you know why you are special. In order to make sure you can control what you have, you must relocate." She smiled, though it was strained. "At least you'll be together," she said softly.
Arielle and Phoenix looked at one another. Why did that not make them feel any better?
~Konoha Academy~
"Alright class. We'll have two new students joining us today," the brown-haired male announced to the class. Arielle and Phoenix were standing behind him, hidden from the class. When they arrived on horses, people looked at them, some whispering and some pointing, and their gazes stayed locked on them the whole way to the Academy.
'Iruka-sensei' the teacher of the class they were in, gently led them in front of the class. Arielle looked bored while Phoenix was nervous. The older of the two grabbed Phoenix's hand, giving it a small squeeze. Phoenix smiled slightly but kept her head down as everyone stared at them. Why did her senpai send her here? She was comfortable where she was, she had friends, and she didn't have to deal with being new and having people judge her.
"This," he patted Arielle's shoulder. "Is Yukiokami Arielle." Arielle gave a small, bored wave. Great: people. She'd have to make friends with new people all over again, she wasn't particularly sure she wanted to do that. She didn't care for people, only her senpai and Phoenix. Anyone else was basically irrelevant. But, Phoenix was too innocent for her own good and would probably want to be as friendly as she could, meaning she would have to interact as well.
"And this," he smiled at Phoenix, who shied away from the looks she was getting. "Is Kurimuzon Phoenix. Please be kind and respectful to both of them. They are now part of Konoha and therefore part of the Will of Fire, understand."
"Yes Iruka-sensei," the class chorused.
"Phoenix, I would like you to take the desk between Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto," the two boys looked a bit shocked that they were getting split apart, but they knew better than to question Iruka-sensei. It was probably punishment to them since they were always sneaking out of class, so Iruka-sensei was probably hoping that since Phoenix was new, she'd be a border between them and maybe rat them out if she needed to.
Arielle let go of Phoenix's hand as the girl sat between the two boys. Naruto grinned widely at her while Kiba gagged. "Ew! I don't wanna sit by a girl! Girls have cooties!"
Phoenix glared at him. "Nuh-uh! That's not true!"
"Yes it is! Everyone knows that!"
"No it isn't!"
"Yes it is!"
"No it isn't!"
"Yes it is!"
"No it isn't!"
"Yes it is!"
"No it isn't!"
"Both of you quit it!" Iruka-sensei yelled, making the two of them flinch and duck their heads. Phoenix was blushing in embarrassment while Kiba stuck his tongue out at her.
Iruka sighed. "Arielle, I want you to sit between Aburame Shino and Yamanaka Ino," he muttered, pointing out the seat between the two. Arielle went to her own seat, watching Shino play with a roly-poly in rapt fascination. "Ooh! Cool! Where'd you find the roly-poly?"
"It was the one to find me," Shino answered, letting the small insect crawl onto his finger. "It was on the floor by my desk and just happened to crawl up here. He was lonely, so I decided to play with him."
Ino screamed in disgust. "Ew! Iruka-sensei, Shino's playing with bugs again!"
Arielle scoffed. "Snitch," she muttered. "No one likes a snitch."
"Iruka-sensei, it's my clan's tradition to associate themselves with insects. It's a part of my own special clan training to be a shinobi. Our special tradition includes the involvement of any and all things insect. I wouldn't be getting the best training I could if I didn't study the insects I find at the Academy," Shino explained.
Iruka-sensei nodded. "Shino's right. You'll have to deal with it Ino, because the Aburame clan specializes in an insect-based bloodline limit. If it helps him get better, than he's allowed to do so in order to further his own personal training."
Ino crossed her arms and glowered. Arielle rolled her eyes and went back to staring at Shino, who again played with the roly-poly.
About halfway through class, Iruka had to break apart Phoenix and Kiba, who had gotten into an argument about something or the other and had almost begun fighting over something trivial. He then had to corral Arielle, who had collected a big handful of bugs and stuffed them in Ino's shirt. He also had to take Naruto, Phoenix, and Arielle to the school nurse because they had gotten hurt; the three had seen a demonstration by a jounin and then decided to try their hand at weapon throwing by using each other as practice dummies: Naruto wanted to show Arielle that he could do it, and Arielle was convinced that she could do it better and persuaded Phoenix to try it as well. There weren't any serious injuries on the three of them, but he wanted to make sure everything was okay. Now that Iruka knew what Phoenix and Arielle were like, he knew they'd make a good addition to the class.
"Shh!" Iruka tried to shush his class, trying to get them to keep their voices down. "We need to move on from what I've just told you."
"But Iruka-sensei! You're a jounin now!" Naruto shouted, smiling cheerfully.
"Yeah! That makes you even cooler than before!" Kiba agreed.
"Its wonderful news Iruka-sensei!" Sakura said, smiling at him.
Iruka frowned. "Class, listen. I need you to pay very close attention to what I'm saying and please do not get too loud."
The class, all enraptured by their new jounin-sensei, all glued their eyes to their teacher.
Iruka sighed. "Class, I'm sorry, but this is my last week teaching all of you."
As expected, the whole class either burst into tears, began screaming and whining, or were too shocked to even speak.
"I know it's hard, but I can't continue to teach you as a jounin. I have new duties now," Iruka said over the roar of the class.
"That isn't fair!" Arielle shouted. "Naruto, your dad is Hokage! Can't he do something?!"
"Arielle-" Iruka tried.
"Yeah!" Naruto agreed, jumping to his feet. "We can go to his office now and demand he give Iruka-sensei his job back!"
Phoenix stood up on her desk. "Let's go right now!"
Iruka watched in slight horror as his class ran out the room, clamoring about how they would demand their sensei's job back.
"…You want me to what?" Minato asked, having not understood the first time. When 20 seven to eight year old storm into your office and two of them jump onto your desk and start screaming at you when you're trying to take a break from all your paperwork, you do end up getting a bit confuse and maybe a bit disoriented. So not everything was clear to him, even the babble of children.
Arielle and Phoenix stood on his desk, arms crossed, stern looks on their faces. Minato thought this was more adorable than anything, having 20 or more pre-genin storm into his office either eyes still wet with tears or trying to appear intimidating but looking like they were pouting instead.
"I said: our class wants Iruka-sensei's job back!" Arielle demanded, hands on her hips.
"Yeah!" Phoenix agreed, stance the exact same as Arielle's. "We like having him as a teacher! There's no one like him!"
Minato sighed. "Listen, you may not like it, but as a jounin, Iruka will be needed elsewhere, so he wouldn't have time to teach anyone. Not even part time."
"But he's special!" Phoenix protested. "Why can't he keep it?"
"It's complicated. But know that he cannot continue to teach you anymore. I'm sorry everyone, but that's the way it has to be."
The whole class pouted, some breaking into tears again. Phoenix sighed and dropped her arms to the side, those she was still glaring at him. Arielle was angrily stomping her foot.
None of them would be able to explain what happened next, probably because they didn't remember, or because they didn't understand what happened.
Arielle looked Minato straight in his eyes. "Give Iruka-sensei his job back!"
Minato froze, eyes going wide.
"Now!"
Minato nodded slowly, eyes going blank. "I'll give Iruka-sensei his job back," he murmured distantly. "Immediately."
The whole class began to cheer, happy that they were able to keep their teacher the way he was.
"Good news class. The Hokage has decided to make an exception and give me my job back."
"YAY!" The class began to cheer, jumping out of their desks in order to hug him and squeeze him tightly, happy he had his job as a teacher back.
Iruka however, felt a bit uneasy. Minato said he would think about giving him an exception in his job, but he hadn't decided when Iruka had gone to see him. How could a bunch of 8 year olds convince him so easily?
~Present Day~
"Arielle? Arielle! Arielle!" Phoenix shook her friend's shoulder, trying to wake her up. "Arielle!" She shouted, jumping on her bed. "Wake up! It's time for school!"
Arielle mumbled something into her pillow, turning over. Phoenix crossed her arms and growled. "Wake up Arielle! We are not going to be late for school!" She shouted right into a pale ear.
Arielle jumped, tumbling out of bed. She glared up at her long-time friend. "Phoenix!" She yelled. "What was that for?!"
"We have ten minutes to get to school and I will not let us be late! Get up!"
Arielle looked over Phoenix, who was already dressed and ready. She wore a short sleeveless black midriff shirt with standard fishnet armor underneath it. She wore short black armlets that only reached her elbow, fishnet shorts, and a short black apron skirt over her shorts. She had on standard sandals and wore a white headband that held back her long hair. On last, she had gloves with the fingers colored white.
Arielle groaned, getting up out of bed. "Alright. I'm up."
"Good. Breakfast is on the table and it's still hot, but you've got to hurry and eat it so we can make it on time."
"Yeah yeah," Arielle grumbled, pulling on her own clothes. She quickly dressed in an outfit similar to Phoenix, though she forwent the short skirt in favor of a longer fold-over skirt, the shirt actually covered her stomach, and she forwent the headband, pulling a scarf over her hair instead of the style Phoenix decided on. She wore the same style sandals as well, but she also pulled on gloves with the middle finger missing.
Arielle quickly finished breakfast, gulping a quick glass of orange juice, and the two headed off.
~Academy~
As soon as Arielle walked into the classroom, her eyes widened. "What the heck are you doing here?!" She yelled, pointing at the teacher and hissing like a cheetah.
Mizuki raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"
Arielle growled, crossing her arms. "Where's Iruka-sensei?! What are you doing here?!"
"Arielle," Phoenix tried, putting her hands on the other's shoulders. "Calm down. Remember? Iruka-sensei's last day was last week because of his jounin job. He's taking a genin team, so he's doing his own personal kind of training and looking over the requests for possible teams so that he could pick one! What did you think the party was for?"
"I dunno! Just to party?"
Phoenix shook her head. "I'm sorry Mizuki-sensei. Arielle is very forgetful sometimes. She's sorry she yelled like that, isn't she?" Phoenix hissed, shooting Arielle a glare.
Arielle gulped and nodded. "'M sorry Mizuki-sensei," she said quickly.
Mizuki just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just go take your seats and shut up."
Arielle glared at him and stomped on his foot, running off to her seat. Phoenix sighed and went to her own, whacking Arielle on the back of the head. "Baka!" she hissed to her friend.
"Whoa! Little feisty there aren't you babe?"
"This is just what I need," Phoenix grumbled, turning to a smirking Kiba. "What do you want Kiba?"
"C'mon babe. Why so glum?" Kiba asked, sitting in the chair beside her and practically invading her personal space. He was pressed against her side, Akamaru between them. The ninken wasn't crushed between them, but was still close enough to be pressed against her as well. Phoenix tried to move, but then she would have been squished against Arielle, and the older girl would have pushed her away and into Kiba, and she didn't want that. Kiba would use that as another point that Phoenix really did have a thing for him (which wasn't true).
"There's an obnoxious kid too close up in my personal space bothering me and I don't like it," Phoenix answered curtly, pushing him an arm's length away.
Kiba just kept smirking. "You didn't seem to mind it when you kissed me."
Phoenix began blushing. "I told you baka! We were playing Truth or Dare and I was dared to kiss you! It didn't mean anything!"
"Keep telling yourself that," Arielle sang to her left, throwing an arm around Phoenix's shoulder. "But you were blushing the whole night after that. I even heard you admit that you would do it again." Sure, Arielle didn't like Kiba, but she liked torturing her best friend by doing things like this.
Kiba's smirk widened as Phoenix's blush became heavier. "So you did like it?"
"No!" Phoenix protested, shoving him away. "I didn't like it!"
"Hey!" Mizuki shouted, causing everyone to jump. "All of you brats get in your seats now!"
Immediately, everyone got in their seats, some students stumbling over one another to get there. Mizuki nodded in satisfaction and smirked down at his clipboard. "Now, as you all know, you are all taking your final exams today, meaning you must all be able to manipulate your chakra in the most basic of ways in order to become genin. I know many of you, Naruto and Arielle included, will probably end up failing this test horribly, and I'll be stuck with you for who knows how long. So, to spare my sanity, you brats had better shape up and pass this damn test so I don't have to deal with you any longer."
Most of the class gaped, but others were used to it. Mizuki had talked to them like that whenever he had substituted for them, yet no one said a thing about him. And what could that do? Mizuki, as far as most of the teachers were concerned, was improving in his teaching skills, and just learning how to adjust. Plus, since Iruka-sensei had left, most of the other staff would probably think that they were just pining for their old teacher, so they couldn't necessarily tell anyone. They just had to deal with it.
"We'll all travel to the big study room today. When your name is called, step into the room and wait for us to get your materials together. Once we do, we'll direct you on what you're supposed to do for your test. If you pass, you'll receive a head-band. However, if you fail, you'll remain a pre-genin and have to re-take the test again next year. Understand?"
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Arielle shouted, offended by his previous comment. "I will pass this test and become a genin!"
"Me too!" Naruto agreed. "Iruka-sensei agrees that I can become a great ninja if I work hard enough for it! I'll show you Mizuki!"
Mizuki growled. "Iruka-sensei was just giving you false hope so that you can get out of his hair! Do you really think a jounin like him wants to devote all of his time to a pre-genin brat like yourself?!"
"Yet your still a Chuunin schoolteacher who spends most of his days with pre-genin like ourselves," Phoenix grumbled. It took a lot to make the normally mild-mannered girl snap the way she did, so Mizuki probably pushed the wrong button. "What does that say about yourself?"
Mizuki growled at the three of them. "And all three of you are abandoned orphans with no parents to teach you right from wrong. What does that say about you three?"
"I happen to have a father!" Naruto retorted.
"I have enough manners without my parents to know how to behave myself," Phoenix said. "And I would strongly prefer it if you didn't make any crude remarks about me not having parental figures if you would please."
"Screw you baka!" Arielle shouted. "You don't know a damn thing about us!"
Mizuki opened his mouth to retort, but just then, another teacher stuck his head into the door. "Mizuki-sensei. It's time for your class to take their final. Please tell them to report to the correct testing area."
"Of course Fusaka-sensei," Mizuki replied politely. "I'll get them all lined up right now. Thank you for reminding me."
Fusaka-sensei smiled. "You're welcome Mizuki."
No one missed the lack of honorific or the flirtatious smile that was directed towards Mizuki. Something was there, but there was nothing they could do about it. They were just kids.
A little hesitantly, they all lined up in order to take the test.
~Arielle's Test~
"Yukiokami Arielle, for your final exam, you must successfully create a single Shadow Clone in your exact image. Using too little chakra will not yield satisfactory results. Using too much chakra will end up draining your own body and the Clone might disperse on you. This test was specifically designed to show us-"
"How well I can manipulate my chakra and my control over it. Blah blah blah," Arielle droned, already moving to make her seals. "I got this." In a puff of smoke, there were two Arielle's standing there, both smirking triumphantly, hands on their hips.
The other teacher in the room smiled, even chuckling at Arielle's impatience. "I guess we can call it. We have another genin on our hands."
"Yes!" The Arielle's cheered.
Mizuki held back a groan, instead pasting on a fake smile. "Congratulations Yukiokami Arielle. Please come up to receive your hitai-ate."
Arielle dispelled the clone and confidently strode up to the table, swiping one of the numerous headbands off the table. Grinning, she tied her headband around her neck, bowed, and skipped out of the room.
She didn't miss the frosty glare Mizuki gave her when she took her headband. It was borderline a murderous look.
"How was it?" Phoenix asked.
"I passed! I am a genin now!" Arielle cheered. She and Phoenix slapped high-fives, giving each other hugs.
"It's your turn Phoenix. And trust me, you'll do great," Arielle said.
~Phoenix's Test~
"Kurimuzon Phoenix," the teacher announced. "Your final exam today will be a test on creating a Shadow Clone in your exact image. Using too little chakra will not yield satisfactory results. Using too much chakra will end up draining your own body and the Clone might disperse on you. This test was specifically designed to show us how well you can manipulate your chakra and your control over it. If you pass, you may come up and receive your headband. If you fail, you will have to re-take the test again next year. Understand?"
Phoenix nodded. With a quick motion and a puff of smoke, another Phoenix stood there, smiling happily.
'Damn it,' Mizuki thought as Phoenix began walked to the table. 'She and Arielle both passed! I was hoping maybe they would fail so I could use them to get what I need!' He mentally smirked, giving her a totally forced smile as she took her headband and untied the current one she was wearing, tying her new one in its place. 'At least I'll have that failure Naruto to count on. That boy couldn't create a clone even if his life depended on it!'
~Naruto's Test~
"Uzumaki Naruto, Your final exam today will be a test on creating a Shadow Clone in your exact image. Using too little chakra will not yield satisfactory results. Using too much chakra will end up draining your own body and the Clone might disperse on you. This test was specifically designed to show us how well you can manipulate your chakra and your control over it. If you pass, you may come up and receive your headband. If you fail, you will have to re-take the test again next year. Understand?"
Naruto nodded, a determined look on his face. 'I can do this. I'll pass this test and become a genin, then soar all the way to the top to become Hokage, just like Dad! Believe it!'
'He's gonna crash and burn,' Mizuki thought. 'Become Hokage? What a joke!'
Naruto concentrated as hard as he could, summoning up his chakra in order to create his clone. In a puff of smoke, Naruto hopefully stared at the spot where his clone was…
Only to gape in shock. He messed up! The clone looked deathly pale, eyes wide and blank, and he just looked overall a complete mess, and only slightly like Naruto. The thing was even making odd gurgling noises as its tongue lolled out like a dog's would.
The other teacher sighed as Mizuki internally cheered. "I'm sorry Naruto," he said sadly. "But I'm afraid that we'll have to fail you. I'm sorry, but you cannot become a genin."
"B-But," Naruto stuttered.
'Time to put my plan into action.' "Now hold on a minute Iyemo-sensei. Naruto's really been trying to pass. Maybe we can make an exception for him."
Naruto looked up with hopeful eyes.
Unfortunately, Iyemo-sensei shook his head. "There were a lot of genin that didn't pass who tried their hardest, yet if we made him pass, we'd have to pass all the other pre-genin." He looked back at Naruto. "The decision is final. You've failed Naruto."
~Outside~
Phoenix could hardly contain herself. With a happy smile, she ran out of the Academy and into the yard, looking for her best friend. Spotting jet-black hair and white streaks, she began to run over to the tell-tale hairstyle when she crashed into someone. Pulling back, she was met with Kiba's smirking face. "What's gotten you so excited babe?"
In her happiness, it didn't even register that she didn't really like Kiba. What registered was the fact that she had become a genin, and she was proud she did so. So, her resulting reaction was purely by accident. He was the first person she ran into and she couldn't contain her excitement.
"Oh Kiba!" She squealed, throwing her arms around him. "I did it! I did it! I made genin!"
Kiba, shocked that Phoenix hadn't hit him yet or shoved him away, hugged her back. "That's great Phoenix. I guess that makes two of us."
"Huh? Two?" Phoenix pulled back, seeing Kiba hold up his own headband. Akamaru yipped happily, licking them both on the face. Phoenix gasped. "That's great Kiba!" She gushed, crushing him in another hug. This time however, she planted a big kiss on his cheek.
"Ahem," someone coughed irritably.
Phoenix and Kiba pulled away from each other, blushing, though Kiba was still reeling in shock. 'Phoenix…kissed me…on purpose!'
"Arielle!" Phoenix let go of Kiba and threw her arms around her friend. "We did it! We made genin!"
"I see," Arielle said curtly. "But why were you hugging him?"
"Because I was happy," Phoenix answered innocently. "I made genin and I was just happy, so I hugged him."
Arielle sighed at Phoenix's innocence. Her younger friend was still such a child sometimes, and it was hard to stay mad at her or her childlike innocence. "O-Okay," she mumbled. "C'mon. Let's go see Naruto."
"Okay," Phoenix agreed. She turned to Kiba. "Bye Kiba!" She said cheerily, kissing his cheek again without thinking.
Kiba was frozen to the spot, still shocked. Akamaru barked up at his master, trying to get his attention, but Kiba was still in his own world. A not so faint blush heated his cheek as he stared after his crush. 'Phoenix kissed me twice…in one day…on purpose! Maybe she does like me!'
"Naruto, guess what?!" Phoenix asked loudly, nearly jumping up and down in front of the boy.
"Hmm?" Naruto looked up, coming out of a stupor. "Oh. Hey Phoenix. Arielle. What's up?"
"We became genin," Arielle said slowly. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Phoenix said, excitement dying. "Didn't you pass Hokage-sama?"
Phoenix and Arielle were the only ones to call Naruto 'Hokage-sama'. It happened after an incident when they were younger. The other kids had teased him, telling him he would never be Hokage with the attitude he had, some even said he would never even make it to genin. But when he walked back to his seat after failing another jutsu, Phoenix and Arielle jumped out of their seats and bowed as low as they could, both trying not to smile as they did so. "You'll get it someday Hokage-sama," they had both said. Naruto had been overjoyed with the two and they had been friends ever since. Naruto had really appreciated knowing he had two supporters.
"I-I failed," Naruto mumbled. "Again."
Arielle and Phoenix gasped. "Oh no," Phoenix said softly. "Are you okay?"
"No," Naruto muttered. "I failed once of the most basic tests at the Academy. How do you think I feel?"
Arielle put her hands on her hips. "I'm sure there's something you can do."
Naruto looked to the other kids, surrounded by their parents, all being congratulated on passing and becoming genin. Yet Naruto was stuck here, still a pre-genin, and probably like that forever.
"Naruto."
Naruto turned to see his father smiling gently at him. Naruto dropped his gaze after a second, staring at the ground. "I'll never become like you," he said softly. "I'll never be Hokage if this is the best I can do. I failed the test again."
Minato bent on one knee and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto," he said gently. "You can become Hokage without having to pass a test as stupid as this one. I know you'd be able to do it. You're my son after all and you're your mother's son. You'll be able to do it. I promise you that you will."
Naruto still looked at the ground, shrugging.
"Oh Naruto," Phoenix said softly.
Arielle sighed. "C'mon man. You'll be the best Hokage ever." She bowed politely to Minato. "N-no offense current Hokage-sama."
Minato chuckled. "None taken."
He stood, helping Naruto to stand as well. "Now c'mon," Minato said. "Iruka-sensei said he'll meet us for ramen after you finished school."
As expected, Naruto jumped up at the prospect of ramen with his adopted big brother and his father. "Really?!"
Minato nodded, smiling at him.
Naruto grabbed his hand and forcibly dragged him to the school gates. "Let's go! Let's go! Iruka-sensei's waiting for us! I'm gonna out-eat him and break my record for how many I've eaten in one whole sitting!"
Minato turned to the two girls still standing there. "Arielle, Phoenix. Did you two want to come?"
"No thank you," Phoenix said as Arielle opened her mouth. "We've got to get back home."
"What?!" Arielle screeched, rounding on her slightly younger friend. "When did we decide this?!"
"We have chores to do, remember?"
"What chor-OW!" Arielle shouted, rubbing her injured side.
"Chores," Phoenix stressed, giving her a look.
Arielle grumbled. "Yes," she said through clenched teeth. "We have chores."
They watched as Minato and Naruto walked out of the gates.
~Later That Night~
"Phoenix! You've been staring at the window for the last hour! What the heck is out there that you're so interested in?!" Arielle shouted, forcibly turning Phoenix away from the window. They had done their chores, but even then Phoenix had been distracted. And she didn't make dinner and Arielle was hungry!
"Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking about Naruto. Maybe we should have gone to get ramen with them," Phoenix answered.
"Oh! Now you figure that out?!"
"Arielle, I'm serious! Naruto wouldn't just give up like that; we both know he wouldn't just let it go. I think he's up to something, and we need to see what's up."
Arielle sighed. "Why are you such an innocent young thing? I hate that you care about others so much." She stepped into her shoes. "Alright. Let's go."
Phoenix smiled widely at her. "Yay! Let's go!"
~Field~
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu," Naruto read. "Hmm. Seems simple enough. All I have to do is…Ah! This is my worst jutsu! But…I guess I should practice it…"
~20 Minutes Later~
Naruto was bent over, panting heavily as he attempted the jutsu once more. He fell back onto his butt, happy he had at least gotten one done. Now he had a couple more, but with this new jutsu, he'd be able to
"Naruto!"
Naruto looked up as Arielle and Phoenix ran up to him. Phoenix reached him first and put her hands on her hips while Arielle had her hands on her knees, panting as she tried to catch her breath.
"Naruto what were you thinking?! You stole the Scroll of Seals?! Do you know how much trouble you'll be in if you get caught?! They'll throw you in jail!" Phoenix shouted, whacking Naruto over the head.
"OW!" Naruto shouted, holding his aching head. "What was that for?! I was gonna put it back when I was done."
"Yeah…"Arielle panted. "I'm fine…Didn-Didn't just run all the way from my house to out here…without dinner…I'm good," she gasped.
Phoenix rolled her eyes, returning to the matter at hand. "It doesn't matter that you would put it back. Just the fact that you stole it says it all!"
"How did you even steal it?" Arielle asked. "I mean, isn't that place guarded by jounin? How did you get past the elite?"
"Well, it was easy," Naruto began.
Phoenix whacked him on the head again. "You idiot! That doesn't matter! You need to take the scroll back now else we'll all get in trouble."
"But look!" Naruto said, pointing at the jutsu he had just learned. "It isn't just one clone, it's so many! I'll probably be better than genin once everyone finds out about this!"
"Well…he does have a point," Arielle pointed out, looking over the jutsu.
Phoenix hit her over the head as well. "Don't encourage him! We need to return this before we get in trouble!"
"I will!" Naruto protested. "Just let me show you this one cool jutsu I learned from the scroll. It goes like-"
"Naruto! Phoenix! Arielle!"
The three yelped in fright.
Iruka landed on the ground beside them, hands on his hips in the famous teacher-pose. You never messed with the teacher pose. "It's all over now."
Naruto grinned and started chuckling. "Wow. Caught me already huh sensei? Sorry, but Phoenix and Arielle got to me first, but you found me before anyone else would. Though I guess that we shouldn't doubt you; you're the best!"
"This idiot learned a jutsu from the Scroll and he's so proud of himself," Arielle muttered.
"But I only had time to learn one!" Naruto whined.
'Naruto was out here all this time practicing. I can tell how hard he's been working. And Phoenix and Arielle…how did they track him so fast? They aren't sensory types as far as I know, and they haven't learned to track someone's chakra yet. How could they have possibly gotten here before I did?
"Why," he began slowly. "Do I just return from a mission only to find that the Scroll of Seals had been stolen? Naruto, I told you when we finished our ramen not to do anything rash! This is how you expect to pass the Academy? This was a stupid move! You'll all be in a lot of trouble if anyone other than me had caught you!"
"How did you find us?" Arielle asked. "How did you even know it was us?"
"Who else do you know that would do something like this?" Iruka asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've taught you all, so I think I would know how you function by now."
Phoenix bowed. "We're sorry Iruka-sensei. We didn't mean to cause any trouble."
"Listen sensei!" Naruto said happily. "I'm gonna show you guys my new jutsu, and then you'll tell everyone what I did and tell the teachers at the Academy and they'll promote me to genin and everything'll be alright!"
"Is that how it works?" Phoenix asked. "Do you only have to learn a jutsu from that scroll to pass?"
"Why didn't we know this sooner?!" Arielle shouted. "Do you know how many lessons we could have skipped?! Why am I always out of the loop?!"
"That's how it works, right Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked hopefully.
Iruka gasped. "Huh? No, it doesn't work that way. Where'd you get that idea?"
"Mizuki-sensei told me about it! Believe it!" Naruto answered. "He told me where to find the scroll, and this place…"
"Sensei?" Phoenix asked. "What's wrong?"
'Mizuki?!'
"You believed him?" Arielle asked incredulously. "Naruto, after all the things Mizuki-sensei had done to us, you believed him when he told you about the Scroll?"
Iruka looked at her sharply. "What? What do you mean 'after all the things Mizuki-sensei had done to us'?"
The three looked down at the ground. "Mizuki-sensei," Phoenix looked at the ground. "He…He calls us names. And he yells at us a lot. He purposely fails us so that the other teachers lecture us and make us stay behind in school, and then he'll suddenly pass us so that the teachers think he improves. He insults us and says bad things about us all the time."
"What?!" Iruka was shocked. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Who would believe us?" Naruto mumbled. "Every time we said something, the teachers just assumed we missed you and…"
"Did he ever hit you?" Iruka asked through clenched teeth.
"No," Arielle answered. "He never went that far, but he has done some horrible stuff."
Iruka was shock still. 'Mizuki did all of that?!'
Something behind him made him tense. "Look out!" He shouted, just as a thick line of kunai came flying from the trees. He couldn't have dodged them all and protected the kids; he only had time to push them away and turn before the kunai impaled him. He was pinned against the side of the shack, bleeding from his leg and a wound on his arm.
"So," A sickening voice said. "I see you've found our little hideaway."
Iruka looked up, clenching his teeth. "So that's the way it is huh? I should have known!" He hissed, looking up into the tree line.
Mizuki looked down at the three children. "Naruto!" he called. "Give me the scroll now!"
"No Naruto!" Phoenix yelled, grabbing his arm. "Don't do it!"
"W-Wait a minute," Naruto stuttered. "W-What's going on here?"
Iruka panted, bleeding heavily from his wounds. He should have been faster; maybe he could protect them all and protect himself. "Naruto!" Iruka yelled instead of answering the question. "Don't let Mizuki get the scroll!"
Mizuki smirked.
"It contains forbidden jutsu that could put this village in grave danger!" Iruka continued through the pain. "Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself, for his own power!"
Naruto gasped.
"I always knew you were trouble," Arielle hissed. "I was right to never trust you!"
"How could you Mizuki?! Doesn't the village mean anything to you?!" Phoenix shouted, standing up. Naruto stood as well, growling.
"Naruto," Mizuki said instead. "Iruka's just trying to scare you because he doesn't want you to have the scroll."
Naruto looked up at him, shocked. "Huh? Uh-"
Iruka grunted. "Stop lying to him Mizuki! Don't let him trick you Naruto!" Iruka yelled to the boy.
"Naruto, Iruka's been our sensei for a long time," Phoenix pleaded. "Remember what Mizuki has been doing to us. He shouldn't be trusted. Don't let him get the scroll! We need to get away!"
Mizuki chuckled darkly. "Oh, I'll tell you who's really lying!"
Iruka's eyes widened. 'No! He isn't going to-' "No Mizuki!"
"They've been lying to you your whole life Naruto," Mizuki said. "Since the decree 12 years ago."
"What…decree?" Naruto said slowly.
Mizuki's smirk widened. "Everyone knows except you."
"I don't," Arielle mumbled.
Phoenix jabbed her in the side. "Arielle!" She hissed. "We need to go!"
"We can't leave Naruto here," Arielle protested. "Who knows what Mizuki might do to him?"
Mizuki continued as if he didn't hear what the two were saying. "Iruka's trying to hide it from you even now. He'd do anything to shut me up."
"What is this decree?" Naruto asked.
"Naruto! No!" Phoenix objected, pulling on his arm. "We need to leave now!"
Naruto ignored her pulling and stood his ground. "Why does everyone else know about it?"
"Don't tell him Mizuki!" Iruka yelled, his voice almost hysterical. "It's forbidden!"
"The decree is," Mizuki began. "We can't tell you that the Nine-Tailed Fox is inside you!"
"T-The what?" Arielle gasped. "Phoenix, where have we heard that?"
Phoenix was frozen, staring at Naruto in shock. "N-Naruto?"
Naruto gasped, eyes going wide.
"The fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village is inside your body. You are theNine-Tailed Fox!"
"STOP IT!" Iruka screamed.
"We've all been sneaking around, hiding things from you your whole life. Didn't you think it was strange how they treated you? How your father never did anything about it? Why he only intervened once in a while. Even he wasn't supposed to tell you about it. The people treated you like dirt, like trash, for just being alive!"
"No!" Naruto shouted, yanking his arm out of Phoenix's grip, his chakra going haywire. "No no no no! No!"
"Ah!" Phoenix cried, stumbling back. Arielle caught her, eyes going wide at the sight of Naruto. "Mizuki has gone too far," she whispered angrily. "Mizuki how could you!" Arielle shouted at the man. "How could you lie to Naruto like that?!"
Mizuki just began chuckled as Naruto began to lose control. "It's the truth! I'm not the liar. The Village is. I only wanted to settle his mind."
"Naruto," Iruka pleaded.
"That's why you will never been accepted in this village! Even your beloved sensei and father; they both hate your guts! But not as much as Iruka does! After all, the Fox inside you was the one to kill his parents!"
Iruka stood on shaky legs, holding his injured leg. Naruto…he couldn't lose his little brother. Not this way. He needed to get Naruto to understand that Iruka really did understand him and care about him.
~Flashback~
"Iruka," Sandiame said. "Naruto never had a mother, and with his father in a coma for that long time and then at the hospital for so long, it's like he barely has one as it is. They aren't there for him. He's shut out of everything and doesn't know why. Most people won't even look at him. How would you feel if everyone turned their backs on you? That's why Naruto gets into trouble, because he just wants to be noticed. It may not show, but he's always thinking about the family he doesn't have. Mother dead, father hospitalized and kept away from him; he's hurting inside.'
Iruka understood that feeling all too well. That's why when Sandiame-sama told him to reach out, to be Naruto's guardian while Minato fully recovered, he did. He became that big brother Naruto needed.
And right now, his little brother needed him.
Mizuki spun the large shuriken on one finger. "Say goodbye Naruto!"
"Naruto!" Phoenix yelled, grabbing his arm and yanking him away. She and Naruto began to run, Arielle following them, when Mizuki chuckled. "I forgot about the Hokage's two bodyguards. If you two want to die with him, then be my guests!" Mizuki roared as he threw the large shuriken.
The three kept running, trying to get away, but the worse happened.
Naruto tripped.
"NARUTO!" Iruka screamed as loud as he could. "GET DOWN!"
Naruto covered his head, waiting for the pain. Arielle shut her eyes, Phoenix watched the scene with eyes wide in horror.
She screamed.
When Naruto turned and opened his eyes, he cried out in horror.
Iruka had been hit.
Naruto could see the glistening metal of the shuriken sticking out of Iruka's back, and he could just smell the blood from the wound.
Iruka grunted, holding back blood he wanted to cough up.
Naruto could only stare at his guardian in shock.
"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Phoenix screamed, tears pouring out of her eyes.
"YOU BASTARD!" Arielle screamed to Mizuki as well, clenching her fists.
Mizuki clenched his teeth, shocked. Iruka took the hit made for the brat!
"Why?" Naruto whispered.
Iruka smiled slightly through the pain. "Because we're the same," he choked out. "I didn't agree to be your guardian just because the Third Hokage told me to, nor because Minato requested it. There was another reason. When I lost my parents, no one seemed to care. They didn't have time for me. They just forgot I was there. My grades dropped, I became the class clown; I just wanted them to see me. To know my name. My schoolwork wasn't good enough to catch their attention. So I did crazy things. And then I had to pay for it. It was hard. I know that's how you feel Naruto. You feel lonely and it hurts inside, and I could have been there for you more than I have."
"B-But, you were there," Naruto whispered. Iruka had been with him for as long as he could remember. Yeah, he did know the man wasn't his real brother, but he was close enough.
"It wasn't enough. I still saw the loneliness inside you, and I didn't do much else to help you," Iruka gasped out. "I don't want you to have to suffer that much. No one should be alone like that."
Mizuki chuckled, interrupting the moment. "Don't make me laugh! Iruka always hated you! He was orphaned because the Nine-Tailed fox killed his parents, and that monster is inside of you. He'd do anything to get that scroll away from you."
Naruto looked up at Mizuki, then to Iruka, then to Phoenix and Arielle. Without a second thought, he ran.
"Naruto!" Iruka yelled.
"Naruto!" Phoenix called after him, running after the boy.
"Pest," Mizuki grunted, pulling out more kunai. "You're next!"
A hard punch to his jaw made him stumble, dropping the kunai. Reeling from the pain, he hissed as blood filled his mouth. He must have bitten his cheek. Growling, he looked down at Arielle, who had run after her two friends. How she had gotten him, he didn't know. But he would take care of her and her friends soon enough.
"NARUTO!" Iruka screamed after them.
Mizuki dropped down onto the ground, chuckling. He still tasted blood and his lip was spilt, but that didn't matter. "You know, once Naruto makes up his mind, nothing can change it."
"Naruto!" Phoenix called. "Naruto! Please! Come back!"
"He's going to use the scroll to take revenge on the Village. You saw that look in his eyes, didn't you? Those were the eyes of a beast."
Iruka hissed as he pulled the shuriken out of his back. "No," he said lowly. "Naruto isn't like that!" He yelled, throwing the shuriken at Mizuki with deadly accuracy. It went speeding by so fast, Mizuki only had seconds to dodge it. However, strands of white slowly fell to the ground, followed by pieces of cloth, and then his headband. Iruka had just given him a permanent new hairstyle. The bottom of his fringe had been cut, followed by most of the length and his headband. He looked just about bald on one side.
"You're a joke. A jounin? You? That's laughable. As soon as I eliminate Naruto and get the scroll, I'll be back for you. I'll even bring you those other two brats as a presents. It's the least I could do for the best little fuck I've ever had."
With that, Mizuki's eyes glinted and he smirked, disappearing into the trees.
Iruka wanted to go after him, but the blood-loss was making him dizzy; it was getting harder to move. But he had to go after Naruto, and after Phoenix and Arielle. 'I won't let you!'
"Naruto! Phoenix! Damn it you two! Get back here!" Arielle shouted after her two friends. "How are you so damn fast?!"
"Naruto!" Phoenix shouted. "Don't tell me you believe Mizuki's lies!"
A whoosh of air swished past her, making her stumble a bit as Iruka passed by her and caught up to Naruto, bounding past him. "Naruto! Everything Mizuki said was a lie! Give me the scroll! Hurry!"
'Huh? Why does Iruka-sensei want it so badly now? I mean, I know we're supposed to return it, but he told us to run with it before. Why does he want it now? And didn't he just get hit in the back? Why isn't he bleeding? How did he-oh no!'
"He's coming after you to take it away!" Iruka continued.
Naruto growled, surging forward and shoving his fist as far into Iruka's stomach as it could go. Iruka flew back and hit the ground, skidding in the dirt.
"It-can't be," Iruka panted, getting up onto all fours. "How did you know? Naruto! How did you know?"
A puff of smoke, and Mizuki was in his place, holding his mouth where he must have bitten his cheek again during his fall. "That it was me and not Iruka?"
Naruto chuckled, and in another puff of smoke, revealed Iruka in his place. The scroll had just been a large log, now casually lying on the ground near him. "Because I'm Iruka."
Mizuki stood, smirking. "You're a fool. Why are you protecting that freak?! He's the one who wiped out your family!"
"I don't care what you say," Iruka growled. "You're not getting your hands on that scroll."
"As if you could stop me! Don't you get it? Naruto is just like me!"
"How's that?"
"He wants the scroll for his own power and own vengeance. That's how beasts are. He'll pour all his rage into that scroll and destroy everything."
"He might," Iruka admitted.
From the safety of a large tree, Naruto gasped. "So it's true," he murmured. "Iruka-sensei never believed in me. He thinks I'm some beast. Some kind of freak!"
"That is how beasts are," Iruka continued. "But that's not who my little brother Naruto is. He's nothing like that. Naruto is one-of-a-kind. Works hard, puts his heart into it. Sure he messes up sometimes and everyone jumps on him, but his suffering only makes him stronger. That's what separates him from being a beast. So you're wrong; he's nothing like the Nine-Tailed Fox. He's Naruto Uzumaki…of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!"
Tears leaked from Naruto's eyes.
Mizuki stared at Iruka. "Hmph. You really believe that dribble?! You know Iruka, I was gonna save my little fuck for later, but I changed my mind." The second shuriken began to spin. "You are finished!"
"Sensei?" Arielle gasped, skidding out of the tree-line. "How did you-
Iruka gasped. "Arielle! What are you doing here?! You must leave now!"
"We can't leave you sensei!" Phoenix said, appearing beside her. "He'll kill you if we do!"
"Leave!" Iruka shouted. "I'll deal with Mizuki! You two go get help!"
"But sensei-" Arielle protested.
"Now!" Iruka commanded.
Mizuki smiled evilly. "Looks like I can get rid of most of the thorns in my side with one shot!" Mizuki charged.
Arielle grabbed Phoenix's hand, squeezing it as both girls stood protectively in front of their sensei. 'So this is it,' he thought. 'I only wish I could save these two girls before I die.'
In a flash, Phoenix growled and roundhouse kicked Mizuki before he could complete his move, Arielle following with an uppercut that had him stumbling back. Then, from the trees in a burst of anger, Naruto slammed his knee into Mizuki's gut, sending him flying back. The shuriken harmlessly cut through trees behind them, but that was it.
Iruka's eyes widened. 'Those three…and…Naruto!'
"Yay! Naruto!" Phoenix cheered.
"About damn time!" Arielle said, grinning.
"Not bad for three little punks," Mizuki grumbled.
"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei or my friends," he growled, eyes dark. "I'll kill you!"
"Such big words," Mizuki taunted. "I could destroy you, all of you, in a single move!"
Naruto raised his hands into a seal. "Take your best shot fool."
"Is he gonna…?" Phoenix asked.
Arielle smirked. "I think he's gonna."
"I'll give it back to you a thousand-fold!" Naruto finished.
"Let's see you try!" Mizuki shouted. "Show me what you can do Nine-Tailed Fox!"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Iruka watched with wide eyes. "Those aren't just illusions," he murmured. "Those are actual clones!"
"Yeah Naruto! Show Mizuki whose boss!" Phoenix cheered.
"That bastard's gonna get it," Arielle grinned.
"Let's do this!" The lead Naruto shouted, charging at Mizuki.
Mizuki screamed.
~Dawn~
"What's gonna happen now Iruka-sensei?" Phoenix asked, staring at Mizuki's battered body and giving it another kick. "What will happen to Mizuki?"
After the Naruto's had given Mizuki a good beating, she and Arielle joined in as dawn begun to break, kicking him and punching him while he was still down. Naruto had joined in again as well, and the three made it a game to see who could make him react the most. Arielle had won, but only because she got him in the groin.
Iruka sighed, scratching his head. "You three would be in a lot of trouble, but I think everyone'd be able to look past the fact that you stole an important scroll since you were able to take down a traitor to the Village. Mizuki will likely be put in jail because of it." Iruka sighed again. "Arielle, would you please stop kicking him?"
Arielle grunted, giving Mizuki one more kick, this time in the groin, and trotting back over to them. "Sorry. Had to get some of my rage out. I'm fine now," she said with a happy smile.
Iruka chuckled. "Well, I think there's one last thing to do."
"Burn Mizuki's body and forget this ever happened?" Arielle asked hopefully.
"No!" The other three shouted at her.
"I meant Naruto!" Iruka said, exasperated.
"We're burning Naruto's body?!" Arielle shouted horrified.
Phoenix sighed, whacking Arielle on the back of the head. "OW!"
"You idiot!" Phoenix screamed at her friend, pulling her ear.
Iruka rolled his eyes at the two's antics. "Come here Naruto."
"Hmm?" Naruto looked at his adoptive brother. "What is it Iruka-sensei?"
"Close your eyes."
Naruto obeyed, shutting his eyes. Phoenix smiled widely and Arielle yawned, though she had a smile on her face.
"Okay," Iruka said after a minute. "You can open your eyes now."
Naruto slowly peeked open his eyes, staring at Iruka, who was now missing his headband. Iruka smiled at him, Phoenix started to cheer, and Arielle grumbled "Bout time."
Naruto slowly broke into a grin, throwing his arms around Iruka. "I did it! I did it!"
Iruka laughed. "I think some of the instructors at the Academy would love to hear this. But let me be the first to make it official. Congratulations Naruto. You're a genin now!"
Naruto began to laugh, throwing his head back in joyful mirth. Phoenix laughed as well, running over to hug Naruto and Iruka. Arielle just watched with a raised eyebrow. "I-I'm allergic to affection," she mumbled, blushing.
Iruka laughed at his students. 'Everything worked out for the better.'
~Two Weeks Later~
"Alright class," Iyemo-sensei said as he held up a clipboard. "This is the list of the official genin teams. You were grouped together based on your stats, attributes, and abilities. You will all be placed on three-man teams, and you will be led by a jounin. Here are the teams."
Arielle had her fingers crossed, hoping for all she was worth that she would be placed with Phoenix or Shino in a group. She didn't want a weirdo, she would kill Ino if they were placed on a team together, and if Phoenix and Kiba were placed in a group, she'd need to be there to make sure her friend didn't strangle the boy (or fall in love with him, but that was ridiculous. Her friend wouldn't do that!).
"Team Seven will be composed of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura-"
Naruto cheered.
"And Uchiha Sasuke."
This time, Sakura cheered.
"Oh great," Shikamaru murmured. "Those three on a team, and most of the good people have been picked." He scoffed. "As long as Choji and I stay together, I don't care who's the third person."
Ino was glaring daggers at Sakura. "How come she gets to be with Sasuke?! It isn't fair!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Get over it. What's so great about Sasuke anyways? I don't see what's so special about him."
Ino turned her glare to him. "Don't you dare talk about Sasuke like that! You'll never be as good as him!"
"Whatever," Shikamaru said absentmindedly.
"Ugh! You are so irritating. I hope I don't get placed on a team with you!"
"Team Ten," Iyemo-sensei announced. "Will be composed of Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino-"
Ino gaped as Shikamaru laughed. "What's that about not wanting to be on a team with me?"
"-And Akamichi Choji."
Choji shrugged, munching on his chips again as Ino groaned, both horrified and embarrassed.
"YES!" Arielle shouted happily, pumping both fists into the air. "THANK YOU COMPATIBILITY! I'M NOT WITH BLONDIE!"
Ino rolled her eyes. "I'd rather be on a team with Shikamaru then you any day!"
"Fine with me!" Arielle shouted back.
"Class!" Iyemo-sensei called. "I didn't finish. There are still teams to announce." He began to list again, but Arielle was in her own world, fingers crossed that she would get put on a squad with Shino and Phoenix. "Team Eight," Iyemo-sensei called. "Will be composed of Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata-"
"NO!" Arielle wailed. "I wanted to be with Shino!"
Phoenix patted her friend on the shoulder. "You'll still have me."
"I live with you," Arielle grumbled. "I get enough of you every day."
Phoenix pouted. "So you don't like me anymore?"
'Ah crap! She's pouting!' "Um…I mean, I do like you, but-"
"And finally, Team Thirteen."
The whole class gasped. Nothing good ever came from being on Team 13. It was an unlucky number and nothing goo ever came from being on that team. The members either all died tragically, became corrupted missing nin, did something stupid and let themselves get capture or ambushed by enemies and killed. The last team 13 had Orochimaru on it, and we all knew how that ended…
"Team 13 will be composed of Kurimuzon Phoenix, Yukiokami Arielle, and Sebasuchan Kasutieru," Iyemo-announced.
"Who the heck is Kasutieru?!" Arielle shouted.
A dark-haired, green eyed boy with olive skin looked her way. "It's Kas," he said smoothly, pushing his hair out of his eyes.
Arielle stared at him. "…okay. I can handle him."
Phoenix shook her head. "Unbelievable."
~An hour later~
Team 7 and Team 13 were impatiently waiting for their sensei's to arrive. All the other teams had headed out already but these two were left. Kas was taking a nap, Sasuke was brooding, Phoenix was doodling on the chalkboard, Arielle was making paper airplanes and throwing them everywhere, Sakura was sitting at her desk, and in true Naruto fashion, Naruto was setting up a prank. This would go well.
"Okay, I'm bored now," Arielle grumbled, throwing one last plane out the window. "Naruto, what are you doing?"
"They're late, and the punishment for that is a surprise!" He sang.
Arielle grinned. "I'm in! Let's go get some paint!"
"Yeah!" Naruto grinned, pumping a fist into the air.
~One Paint Bucket Later~
"Are you sure you should do that?" Phoenix asked, tearing herself away from her chalkboard drawing.
"It'll wash off," Naruto assured her climbing down from the small chair he was on.
"Hopefully," Arielle shrugged, kicking the paint can away.
Kas had woken up and was staring at her drawing. "What is this?" he asked.
Phoenix grinned. "That's a Phoenix and that's an Arctic Snow Wolf. They're both fighting an evil monster-thingy." She shrugged. "I lost a bit of creativity on that one, so it's just a big blob monster."
"I like it," Kas said after a minute.
Phoenix grinned.
"Can you believe that five years ago, she couldn't even draw a stick figure?" Arielle grinned.
The door swung open at that moment, but no one walked through. Naruto whined as the bucket clattered harmlessly to the floor, spilling purple paint everywhere. "Aw man!"
"You're gonna have to get up pretty early to pull one over on me like that," Iruka said, walking into the room with a grin.
"Iruka-sensei!" The kids chorused, except Sasuke, who just smiled slightly.
Iruka laughed. "Sorry about that you guys," Iruka said, stepping into the room and over the paint. "I didn't mean to be late by I was caught up something that I needed to attend to."
"Are you Team 7's jounin Iruka-sensei?" Sakura sked hopefully.
Iruka shook his head. "Sorry guys; I'm here for Team 13."
Kas and Phoenix smile and Arielle cheered. "That's great Iruka-sensei! You'll be teaching us some more!" Phoenix said happily.
"What about us?" Naruto whined. "There's no sensei as cool as you are!"
Iruka laughed again. "Sorry Naruto, but that's the way the teams were assigned. You'll have a pretty good sensei though. He's actually a friend of mine," he stepped to the side, revealing a silver-haired man with a mask covering most of his face. The only thing that could be seen was one stormy grey eye; the other was hidden by his hitai-ate, which was hanging into his left eye. He had a small book in his hands, but he tucked it away after a look from Iruka. "Maa Iruka-sensei, are you sure we can't switch? Your three look a bit smarter than mine."
"Hey!" Naruto and Sakura protested. Sasuke shot him a dark glare.
"Kakashi-sensei, I think they all look fairly smart," Iruka said, hands on his hips.
"Then can we at least do introductions together? I'm afraid that if they do something overly stupid, I might kill one of them."
Iruka rolled his eyes. "I assure you, you'll be just fine."
"…DO YOU TWO DATE?!" Arielle asked loudly and (almost) innocently.
Iruka flushed red and Kakashi-sensei smiled. "Nope…We're married." He said cheerfully, making Iruka splutter and blush.
"Why didn't you say something Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, pouting. "I thought you liked us."
"Really?!" Arielle asked with a big grin. "Sensei, why didn't you say anything?"
Phoenix hit her over the head again. "Iruka-sensei would have invited us to the wedding if he did get married. He was just playing with us."
"See?" Kakashi pointed out. "Smarter than mine."
"Again, you'll be fine Kakashi-sensei. Team 13, we need to go," Iruka said.
"Okay. Bye Naruto! Bye Sakura! Bye Sasuke!" Phoenix ran out the door, waving at the three.
"BYEEEEE!" Arielle shouted with an over-exaggerated wave, running after her teammates.
"See ya," Kas said, walking behind his two teammates. Iruka followed Kas out, after getting hugs from Naruto and Sakura and a wave from Sasuke.
~Training Field 8~
"Before we start an initial assessment, let's get to know each other a little better," Iruka began, sitting on the grass. "You may already know each other enough from class, but maybe there are some things we really don't know about each other. So, since we'll be working together so much, we should know each other really well."
"I'll start," Phoenix said. "My name is Kurimuzon Phoenix. In honor of the mighty bird that ruled over the land of old, I was named after the majestic Phoenix since from birth, I had an amazing amount of chakra and little control, though it wasn't good enough for much. In my clan, only the ones with the name Phoenix are the ones who are specially gifted, and I was one of those children; we only come around once every couple hundred years. I am originally from Yukagakure, though most of our Village origins trace back to Kagerō Village. I am twelve years old, and I moved to Konoha when I was about six or seven; my senpai thought it was best for me, and my family has been allowed a place to stay here if they want it; because of my sickly younger brother, they decided to stay while he recovers. They will be here once his health allows him." She looked at her gloves. "My family is a long line of ANBU hunter-nins, and I want to continue that line by becoming an ANBU when I get older, if only to continue the family tradition. I have a mother who was a medic, my father was an ANBU Black-Ops and a Hunter, and my eldest brother had made his way to Hunter when I left. I wish to continue that. My grandmother had fire-based chakra, and my grandfather was an earth specialist. My mother was water-based, and my father was also fire based. I should, theoretically, therefore be able to use fire, water, wood, and lightning chakra, which was from my great grandfather, though I haven't tested it yet. I live with Arielle in a small flat, and I usually keep her in line when she gets into trouble," Phoenix explained.
Iruka nodded slowly. There were a few things he did know about Phoenix since he was going to be her teacher, but he didn't know her ANBU dream, and he hoped she decided on something different. Being in ANBU…it would change someone as sweet as Phoenix.
"I'll go next!" Arielle announced. "My name's Yukiokami Arielle. Unfortunately," a dark looked overcame her features. "When I was young, back in Yukigakure, a mercenary was looking for something from my Village. It had something to do with my family, and my parents were slaughtered by him in cold blood. My dream is to find this guy and kill his family for taking my own. I'm twelve years old, and I live with my good friend Phoenix, Like her, my senpai thought it would be good for me to come here with Phoenix. So I did. My mother was a water style, my father was a wind style, my grandparents were wind, but my grandmother was also lightning. In theory and based on my last name, it is true that I should be able to use ice style since I have 'Yuki' in my name and ice is special to that clan. However, I don't really know that yet. Phoenix and I live together, and I am the more fun out of the two of us. I don't really like people, but I do have a close circle of friends…Um, I think that's about it unless you want to hear embarrassing stories about Phoenix," Arielle finished with a grin.
"No! It's Kas's turn!" Phoenix protested, blushing.
Iruka rolled his eyes. He didn't know much about Arielle's background, but it was just as tragic as anyone's history. He was glad that her coping methods for things were making a joke out of life, though she did it far too often.
"My name is Sebasuchan Kasutieru. I'm 12 as well. I have six siblings, and we all look alike. I'm the middle child, so everyone thinks I have middle-child syndrome, especially since I decided to become a shinobi. I really did it because when I'm with my family, I don't have a voice because of how alike we are. I use mainly genjutsu, and I am earth-based. In my family, my eldest brother and my youngest brother want to be shinobi as well, but I'm the only one who uses genjutsu mainly. My dream is to become jounin, settle down once I get tired of being a jounin with a pretty nice girl who likes to cook since I can't, and someone who likes to have fun-"
"Do you wanna get married?" Arielle asked seriously. "I do enjoy cooking and having fun. I play pranks and make some really great katsu-don."
Kas shrugged. "We'll see."
"We'll see?" Arielle repeated. "Excuse me, but do you see this?!" She gestured to her body. "I am a goddess Sebby!"
"Sebby?" Kas repeated.
"Sebby," Arielle stated proudly. "That is what I shall call you hence forth."
"I'm surprised you know the meaning of hence forth," Phoenix said. "You didn't know the meaning of contagious until Choji accidentally gave you the flu two years ago."
Arielle stuck her tongue out. "Oh whatever!"
Iruka laughed. "Alright you three. You all know enough about me, so we'll skip the boring part and get to the basic assessment training."
"Wait!" Arielle shouted. "One question!"
"Yes?"
"…Do you seriously date that Kakashi-sensei guy?"
Iruka blushed. "No! Let's just-let's just get to training!" He said, standing. He made a few hand seals and slammed his hand down onto the earth. It rumbled and bubbled until three equally sized mounds of dirt rested on the ground.
"Um…what? We're training with dirt? Why couldn't we have just dug some up? Why waste chakra like that?" Arielle asked. She then gasped. "Do we have to mold earth into something?! I do not want to do that! That's boring! Let's blow something up!"
"Yeah!" Kas repeated the sentiment.
Iruka rolled his eyes again. "No. Just go up to it and place your hand on it. You'll see what happens."
Arielle stared at a mound and kicked it. "I kicked it. Will that do something?"
The mound twitched.
"AH!" Arielle shouted in fear. "What the-"
The mound began to move, shifting and swirling until it moved upright, as if standing. The dirt constantly moved and re-shaped itself until it stood in a normal pose, but it's 'hands' were on its 'hips'. It then gained more shape, forming legs, arms, and indents for eyes. Then, it gained color, turning a pale brown color and lightening until it was a pale shade. Hair sprouted from the top, jet-black with ice-blue, and two blue eyes formed on the skin of its face.
Phoenix was watching in interest, poking at her own mound that began the same process. It grew to her height and twisted and turned, shaping into her own stance, arms at its sides. It didn't change color all that much, instead on into a lighter hue, but hair also sprouted from the top, also jet-black but with fiery-crimson streaks. Two crimson eyes, so identical, stared into her own.
Kas watched disinterested as his own mound began to move, taking shape like him, arms crossed. Black hair that was swept into his eyes formed over an olive-skinned face, emerald green eyes staring bored into his own. A hip cocked slightly as Kas looked his copy up and down. "Hmm. Cool. Never knew my hair was that shaggy. I should really get it cut."
Three identical clones stood across from the original. Iruka smirked. "Arielle, Kas, Phoenix. Meet your training partners for today: Phoenix, Kas, and Arielle."
The three clones smirked evilly.
"They're my own copies of you three, just enhanced with my chakra. You'll have eight hours to defeat your own clone, no switching. If you can, I'll treat you all to dinner after this so and we can start some official training and missions as a real team. If not…you won't like the punishment."
"Good luck," Phoenix-clone sang, eyeing her original up and down. "You'll really need it to beat me."
In a flash, Phoenix lost her friendly attitude and glared at her clone, cracking her knuckles. "I should be saying the same to you. A copy is never as good as the original. I'll have fun crushing you back into mud."
"Damn," Arielle said lowly. "That was harsh Phee. Remind me never to mess with you on a bad day."
"You look like you're having a bad everything," Arielle-copy scoffed. "I came from you? What a joke! You'll never be able to defeat me. I'm probably much more superior to you."
"Say that to my…our-face you mud-ball!" Arielle shot back.
"Make me!"
"I'll make you into a clay pot earth chick!"
"I'd love to see you try!"
"You do realize that you're arguing with yourself?" Kas pointed out.
"…Shut up!" Both Arielle's chorused.
"And you," Kas said, glaring at his copy. "I'll finish you in one hit."
"Just try it," copy-Kas growled.
Iruka watched the scene with interest. 'Let's see how well they fare against themselves. The clones are direct copies, but since they're enhanced with my chakra, they'll be stronger. And they'll know everything the originals know. This should be interesting.'
With a snap of his fingers, the doubles charged.
Me: I know. I know. No one stories AG! You haven't updated lately! Well, Abbehcakes and I have been talking and this was the product. So, leave a review and hopefully, you'll like it. Some chapters will go along with the plot of the show, so if you recognize some dialogue, I had to get it just right. Abbeh is also helping me to write this and it'll be under her username: abbehcakes if you'd like to support us there. Um, not really sure how well I did this one, but you guys'll let me know how you feel about it in a review, right? I know you will.
Chapters for the next three will be out pretty fast considering most of the next few episodes from Naruto are just little-bitty fillers, so those'll be out quick. If you like it, drop a review. If not, don't hesitate to turn yourself away instead of wasting your time flaming me. You'll just make yourself look ridiculous. Alright, enough of my ranting. I gotta go to work. *frantically typing*
