CHAPTER III

(Do Unto Others)

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oOo


People can be annoying, rude and uncaring of others, but in turn they to are treated with the same disregard. Often times it is easy to forget, that the person who knocked you over in a rush might be in a hurry to save someone's life or the person who caused a scene in the checkout line was just told they have six months to live. If we take a moment to give a little kindness…

Then maybe we'll find some in turn.


oOo

Sarutobi had been harder to convince that Kurama wasn't a threat than Kakashi had been. The best part was he could claim plausible deniability, because there was no way for "Naruto" to know who his parents were. Not that it stopped Kurama from figuring it out, but he decided it was better to keep up the guise of an idiot, than to be sent to the torture and interrogation. He didn't want to be accused of being an infiltrator and one look into his mind would make it impossible to prove that he wasn't.

He had bought himself some time by pulling the whole "clan business" card that everyone shoved in his face when they didn't want to explain something about their abilities to him. Come to find out, there were actually rules and laws that protected that information, but Kurama hadn't known that at the time. A lot had changed over the last few millennia and politics were way more corrupt now than they had been after the dawn of the shinobi era.

Not that he needed them to tell him about their clan secrets anymore. He probably knew more about their abilities and where they came from than the clan themselves.

One of the shop owners looked ready to jump him as he walked past. An elderly woman shook in terror before fainting and hitting the ground with a crunch and a dramatic cloud of dust. He had been getting the same varying reactions for the last couple of days, either hostile or fearful and he counted his lucky stars no one had acted on their manic trepidation of him. They were acting much like the days before they Kyuubi festival and it was only a matter of time before someone decides it's worth getting locked up or killed to get a shot in at the demon spawn.

Sum of the planet, there were some in every generation.

Pausing in his walk through the village, Kurama inhaled needlessly in exasperation and stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. The orange jumpsuit he had been wearing upon awakening, back in the land of waves, had been beyond saving. He now wore dark blue pants with a soft orange, mandarin collared tunic. Not unlike the ones he used to wear, in another life... He had carefully painted the Uzumaki swirl on to the upper arm of the sleeves, making clear he was holding tightly onto the title of clan head.

But that was neither here nor there and he had a little problem to take care of instead of muse over narrow minded fools.

"Rocks are not square, you know." Kurama said lightly and the box with large eye holes was replaced by two boys and a girl. One of the boys, the leader, was pointing at him, a too long scarf wound around his neck, missing front teeth and wearing goggles proudly. He was glad to note the spiky brown hair was no longer crammed under that ridiculous helmet the boy had been forced to wear. Moegi was tall for her age, her coppery colored hair in low pigtails. The final boy was the shyest of the group, hiding behind his glasses, flat, brown hair and a trail of snot running down his lip, evidence of his sinus issues.

"As cunning as ever Boss! But nothing could prepare you for this! Oiroke no Jutsu!" Konohamaru shouted and all three of them turned into buxom, scantily clad women.

"Well done. However, that jutsu doesn't work on me. What are you three doing here?" Kurama deadpanned, wondering why had his other personality been so naive and gullible. Even with how quirky shinobi of this village are, there was no way that teaching a nine year old how to turn into a nearly naked woman was okay.

"Ah, I knew you were good Boss, we'll get you next time for sure." He declared, putting tiny fists on tiny hips and standing as straight as he possibly could, all in an effort to make himself look taller.

"What are you three doing here? Don't you have training or class?" He asked good naturedly, trying to keep his annoyance from coloring his tone. It seemed to work, since Konohamaru became haughty, chin tilted up as if to look down his nose at Kurama.

"There are three reasons we're here, first is you promised to play ninja with us when you got back and also we wanted to see if the rumors were true and I have to say Boss… you look kinda like a girl, no offence."

"That's only two reasons." Kurama grumbled under his breath, not really in the mood to entertain the brats. However, a promise is a promise and they were endearing in away only a child could be. Far be it from him to disappoint not one, but three innocent and perfectly corruptible children. "Fine, I'll give you a head start to be fair."

"Alright!" Konohamaru exclaimed, fist pumped in the air before he and the other two took off.

Turning and taking after them at a sedate pace, he ran into something as he was about to round the corner. There was a soft 'harumph' and his hand reflexively grabbed onto whatever was about to fall.

Turns out that it happened to be one of his teammates.

"Oi! Watch wher-" Sakura paused and looked up at him, before looking away for some reason. "Oh, Naruto… huh, sorry, I was a bit distracted." She said, standing and tucking a strand of pink bangs behind her ear.

She really was beautiful, he could see why he had been attracted to her, even though he wasn't in full possession of his memories. The girl reminded him of the sakura tree Hei used to frequent outside his bedroom window. Delicate blossoms, but a strong inner core that had stood the test of time, not withering until long after his time.

"It's no trouble, Sakura-chan. I was in a bit of a rush myself, I had promised Konohamaru and his friends that I would play with them when I got back from our mission. How have you been?" He asked good naturedly, knowing that Konohamaru and his gang hadn't gotten too far yet.

"Alright, I guess." She said dazed, but seemed to snap out of it. "I just never thought I would see someone killed on my first mission out of the village, you know…"

"Death is never easy, but we all made it out alive and I'm grateful for that." Sakura seemed to liven back up after that and gave a smile Kurama hadn't seen her give yet.

"Thanks Naruto, that actually kinda helps." Sakura beamed, though he suspected it was to get him to stop worrying.

A scream from not too far away made his ears twitch and Kurama took off around several corners in the direction Konohamaru and his gang had vanished. Surprisingly, Sakura was quick to follow and the two of them skidded to a halt around a rather tall fence to find Konohamaru about to be assaulted by an older boy.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Kurama warned, crossing his arms to glower at the Sunagakure shinobi about to pelt his apprentice.

"And why not, he started it girly-man." The boy snarled, looking as if he were going to disregard Kurama and resume his attempt to pummel the academy student.

"Oh, there's several reason you shouldn't and him being the Sandaime Hokage's grandson is one of them." Kurama said dropping his arms from across his chest and stuffing them in his pockets, taking notice of the female Suna-nin standing behind her partner.

Now that he had a closer look, the girl was attractive in a warrior kind of way. She was blond, buxom, and knew how to jutt her hip just enough to look feminine, but still be battle ready. Her short skirt gave her lots of room to move and the top of the dress was low cut on the shoulders, but covered her cleavage. Under that, she wore bits of light mesh armor, indication that she was likely a ranged fighter.

There wasn't much he could see of the older boy, he wore black head to toe, a full body puppeteer's suit and had face paint that made him loosely resemble the puppets he likely commanded. His fist had lowered from where it had been poised above Konohamaru and what little color he had in his face had drained.

"Nobody want's start a war-" The chuckled nervously, trying to hint at her partner how serious the situation could get. "You should thank the nice man for the warning. Right, Kankuro?" She finished through clenched teeth, looking ready to clobber the puppeteer if he didn't let go of the kid.

The fabric of Konohamaru's scarf slipped through his fingers and the Hokage's grandson was set back down gently. Taking several shaky step away, Kankuro bowed and apologised for his grievances.

"It's alright, no one was grievously hurt. It would be remiss of me not to ask, but you do have the proper clearance to enter the village, correct?" Kurama inquired, watching Konohamaru slink behind him to join his friends who were cowering behind Sakura, trying not to draw attention to themselves.

"Of course, sorry I-" The girl started, having pulled the papers out and was about to hand them over when a cloud of smoke obscured their vision.

"KONOHAMARU!" Ebisu shouted, as if his entry wasn't enough to gain the attention of half the village. "What exactly do you think you're doing here." It was likely a rhetorical question, but Konohamaru answered smartly anyway.

The already awkward situation became tense with killer intent, the tokubetsu Jounin directing his ire at Kurama so blatantly that even Sakura and Konohamaru's gang picked up on it. Kurama accepted the forms from the Suna-nin, glancing over them to confirm they were in fact in the village legally, before handing returning the documents.

"Uzumaki Naruto, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Temari. Perhaps if my Jounin instructor permits it, we shall meet again in the coming exam." He said cordially, trying to distract them from Ebisu's ranting, it was starting to take a dangerous turn.

"I-I don't care!" Konohamaru shouted, breaking what little face Kurama had managed to scavenge with the allied shinobi present. Konohamaru looked to be on the verge of tears, but was stubbornly holding them back. "I don't care what you think he is, Boss is strong and nice and he actually cares, which is more than I can say for you and the rest of this stink'in village." Konohamaru growled and Kurama sighed in exasperation when Ebisu opened his mouth to explain exactly why Konohamaru didn't want to be infected. Summoning the roots of a nearby tree, he paused just long enough to silently curse himself for not noticing their unwanted audience, before Ebisu found himself wrapped in roots, pinned to the ground and his screams muffled.

"N-Naruto! What are you doing?" Sakura demanded, though she didn't move to stop him.

Kurama let a malicious smirk play on his face as he intentionally ignored her, he reached down, retrieving the man's weapons pouch and the sunglasses off his face. Putting the sunglasses on himself, he pulled out the man's calligraphy brush, used for reports on Konohamaru and dipped it in the ink, drawing fake sunglasses on his face.

"Rule twenty-seven; a shinobi must never show weakness." Kurama quoted. With a flourish, he gave Ebisu dramatic, angry eyebrows and then stuck the handle of the brush up his right nostril. "Rule twenty-eight; If a shinobi shows weakness, it's probably a trap and if it isn't, take advantage." Kurama grinned and stood, dusting his hands, only to meet a glaring Sakura.

"Na-ru-to!" She took a swing at him and missed, almost stumbling into Kankuro and Temari. "Where do you get off attacking Konohamaru's tutor? Didn't you just get done telling those two what a bad idea it was to attack someone!" She shrieked, nostrils flared like an angry bull.

"Indeed, I did Sakura-chan. However, I find his punishment fit the crime, as it were. A childish prank for childish finger pointing. If Ebisu-sensei, is incapable of telling water from the glass it is contained, then I have a difficult time believing he is fit for the role of tutor." Kurama reasoned, all but spitting the title out at the man who was glaring whole heartedly at the reincarnated fox.

Oh if looks could kill… well, they could, but Ebisu was hardly in possession of such skills or the bloodline required.

"Kankuro, Temari, we're leaving." A deep raspy voice said from the branch above where Sasuke had taken residence. A short redhead dropped past Sasuke and landed lightly on the ground below the tree despite the large, encumbersome gord on his back.

"Y-yeah, let's go, Konoha shinobi are all freaks man." Kankuro muttered, likely just meant to be heard by his siblings, but Kurama heard none the less. The older boy began sweating nervously when the redhead stopped, glancing over his shoulder at Sasuke.

"What is your name?" He asked Naruto, clearly he hadn't been standing there the whole time, otherwise he would have known.

"Uzumaki-"

"-No. I asked, what is your name." He intoned, his voice level and devoid of all emotion.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, but a select few knew me as Kurama. Generally when requesting a name, it is considered polite to offer your own." Kurama challenged silkily, crossing his arms to retrieve a seed that was hidden in the crook of his arm where a strand of hair was tucked.

"I am Sabaku no Gaara… and you, in the tree, what is your name?" The redhead boy asked, eyes having never left Sasuke's.

Once Sasuke fully mastered the sharingan, that could prove to be a deadly mistake on the Suna-nin.

"Uchiha Sasuke." He gloated, arms crossed and a smirk playing on his pale lips. His fan club usually gushed about how stoic he was, but compared to Gaara, he was more like a hissing wet cat. However, there was an air about Gaara that said he could snap at any moment, with an ability to not outwardly show it that Sasuke lacked…

Kurama blinked and was surprised at himself for missing it. It wasn't Gaara he was picking that reading up from, but his two teammates. Gaara was like a scorpion sunbathing on a rock, you don't know it's dangerous until you step on it.

Now the question was, had he stepped on the proverbial scorpion?

"I look forward to facing the two of you should you enter the exams." With that, the three of them turned, the two older ones more stiffly than their younger brother and left.

"You two had better hurry or we're going to be late to the team meeting." Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pokes and vanished from the tree.

"Sorry Konohamaru, we will have to postpone our game." Kurama apologised and Sakura smiled at their pouting faces, rubbing Udon on the head before linking her arm in Kurama's.

That was odd.

"Naruto, do you mind if I call you Kurama?" She asked as she led him toward the bridge they met at just outside of training ground seven. She brushed her hair out of her face and gave him a shy glance.

"I do not mind, Sakura-chan, you are a comrade after all." He wasn't sure what she was doing, before the mission to wave she hardly noticed his existence unless his loudness annoyed her. Perhaps she was fishing for information or was insecure about her placement on the team again. It was just as likely her thoughts were still lingering on experiencing death for the first time.

His comment seemed to do something as she gave him a smile before taking off.

"Race you!" She giggled and Kurama smirked.

"What's the hurry, we'll still beat Sensei there." He challenged, even though he took off after her, ignoring the few people in the streets that were glaring hostility at him.

He needed to be more careful. Ebisu was just one example of how quickly a situation could turn bad. Though the tokubetsu Jounin had enough sense to not physically attack him, it was clear with how he almost slipped up and revealed his secret that the man wasn't thinking rationally. If his appearance could entice a reaction of that caliber from someone who is regarded as being level headed, then who knows what the villagers were planning.

Dodging a rock lobbed at him by a vendor as he raced to catch up with Sakura, he concluded it wasn't going to be pretty.


oOo

Sasuke hated many things, his brother, sweets and idiots; in that order. However, his view on Naruto being one of those three was quickly dwindling, though his hatred for the insufferable fox container was not. What was worse, the idiot was proving to be far smarter and cunning than he had before and it left Sasuke wondering how the once-blond had hid it so well.

How had he gotten so strong, so quickly?

He had cut Gatō to pieces as if he were a pig to the slaughter. It took their Sensei explaining it for the second time before he could even register that it was Naruto of all people who killed the man. He had missed the other boy using whatever technique it was that hacked Gatō down to size, but Kakashi stated that whatever it was, was powerful.

If the dobe could do that, then what else was he capable of?

Then he saw it, with his own eyes, rising from the ground like the spindly tentacles of a kraken to insnare Ebisu. The tokubetsu Jounin didn't stand a chance. If he had blinked he would have missed it, one minute the man was standing there about to blab S-rank secrets and the next he's on the ground cocooned in roots.

Naruto hadn't even twitched. If it wasn't for the fact there was literally no one in the village who could have done what he did, Sasuke would doubt it had been Naruto who did it. The childish prank that followed was more along the lines of what he expected from his teammate and it only eased his nerves partially.

There was only one other person in their village that had the power to control plants and even then it was only wood based ones. So how did Naruto inherit the ability? Was it a kekkei genkai like their Sensei said, or was it something else? There were rumors the Snake Sannin was attempting to artificially create kekkei genkai before he turned traitor. Had Naruto or one of his parents been an experiment cooked up in a lab? Could he gain that kind of power, however artificially, for himself?

Snorting to himself as he settled on the bridge, he pushed it from his mind. It wasn't as if he was ever going to get an opportunity to find out, so there was no sense in focusing on it any longer.

Their Sensei had better hurry and get there, the exams were going to be interesting this year and he was not going to miss out on a chance for a promotion. He didn't have time to get distracted from his goal, even if said distraction was his apparently powerful teammate.

He would not loose, not to Naruto or his brother.


AN: Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think!