Chapter 4: First Offense

"Uzumaki! That is enough. Wait out in the hall." For what seemed like quite possibly could be the hundredth time, Naruto was forced to move from his seat and stand outside. He had no doubts that he wouldn't be allowed in until the end of class. Despite the rules of time outs only lasting fifteen minutes, they would forget he was there in the first place. Whatever. He'd just take his bag and study the notes Karin gave him. The sabotage attempts were nothing new to his person, as much as it pained his siblings.

Taking their complaints to Jiji did nothing. As much as he wanted to help them, the instructors would not listen. Not only that, but there were not enough instructors for him to replace them. It annoyed them all to no end. The least they could do was not yell at him just for dropping a pencil.

Honestly, he didn't do anything. He refused to talk to anyone in class in fear of a worse scolding. He always had his material out and ready. He even took notes and raised his hand to answer questions. Yet the smallest thing would set them off and he was tired of it. The only two options he could see were ship out or shut up, and if he wanted to become hokage, then he had to shut up.

In taijutsu they would set him up in incorrect forms. He fell for it the first time thinking that it was a new style. In less than a minute though, he found himself on his ass. Everyone laughed at him save for a few of the quiet students, and he refused to listen to his sensei's after that. It wasn't fair. More than half of them had clans to depend on, or were encouraged by their instructors. Not him. But who needed them?

He had Lee and his sisters. Lee practiced his taijutsu every day and would invite them over to train with him. It improved all of their work. Karin would normally bow out first, exhausted and wanting to return to her studies. Despite her high reserves, her stamina needed a lot of work. Yuko would last longer, more working on her strength and stamina training. They never left the field though, cheering on for Naruto and Lee to keep working hard. Lee was glad to have a partner who could keep up. Naruto was glad to have someone to teach him proper form.

They worked out a routine that would work out for them. In the mornings, Yuko would be the first to wake up and start on her dance routines as her warm up for the day. The music would wake up him or Karin at some point so they could finish homework or start on their own workouts. Naruto would always find time to water his plants. When it around seven, someone was already cooking breakfast and when they were done they would set out to pick up Lee. Lunch was their chill down period after classes unless they wanted to use the academy set of shuriken and kunai.

After school they would meet at one of the training fields or in the academy training halls. If it was the halls they would spend an hour working on precision and accuracy. Sometimes Iruka-sensei would give them tips if he was still in the building. If they were in the field, it was warm ups then sparring in pairs. After 30 minutes they would switch it up to individual practices.

Karin focused on chakra control to give herself a break and to try sensing their chakra. Two months into their first year of the academy she learned she had the makings of sensor type. Sometimes she would be reading a scroll or a book she checked out from the library to learn more techniques. Yuko worked on her stamina, normally by working on an original dance routine with music playing in the background. Then she'd work on strength.

Lee had his own special training that Naruto didn't know what to think of. It was ridiculous, but it worked well for his friend. As for Naruto? He would work through a few katas, shedding his jacket for the long workout ahead. He always changed his routine up so he could better his skills in different areas. One day it was taijutsu, another chakra control, and so forth.

It wouldn't be until after an hour they would start sparring again until someone tired out or it got late. They would head to dinner after, either at the apartment or at Ichiraku's. Sometimes they separated right after, Lee returning to the fields to do his workouts while the others focused on their studies for an hour. If they were at the apartment, they all would focus on their homework, helping each other out. Well… mostly Karin explaining the subjects to the trio.

They cleared out most of the living room so Naruto and Lee could focus on katas afterwards or Yuko could do her routines. Karin would throw questions at them as they did or she would quietly be reading a book. Sometimes she would convince him to come over and they would read together. Lee ended up staying the night if they stayed in the apartment, not that any of them minded in the least.

All this was the only reason he wasn't the dead last of his class. At least, not completely. Even though he would get correct answers, the instructors would find some way to mark him down. Sometimes they wouldn't even take his homework. At least they couldn't call him out in taijutsu. He was doing everything within academy regulations, he made sure of that.

He sighed, glancing over the notes, unaware of the time that passed. It didn't matter in the least, and he'd still have another class after this that would end the same way. Maybe if he just did nothing he'd be in less trouble. He thought for a moment before deciding against it. That would likely get him kicked out in less than a minute. Maybe he could talk to one of his classmates for the notes. If they didn't ignore him.

Last time he tried to ask a group they all ganged up on him, calling him names their parents would. Of course they would do that. He didn't know why they would think any differently. Who could he go to ask?

0o00o0

Aburame Shino was many things. However, a fool he was not. His clan was known for their logical thinking and ability to keep their emotions in tow. Logically, his academy years would go smoothly without much trouble. But there was an illogical fallacy in that thinking, and it had been the boy he chose to sit with on the first day.

Uzumaki Naruto was someone he did not understand in the least. The boy was quiet, and rarely tried to cause trouble in any of his classes. Yet despite that, many teachers looked at malice and even killing intent. Even his kikaichuu would warn him to stay away. For what he hadn't known.

He had discussed it with his parents and they couldn't give him a straight answer. The only thing he knew was the boy had very little family and that everyone thought of him as a monster. It made no sense logically. The boy had done nothing wrong, so why was the hatred towards the boy so strong? He got in trouble just for adjusting in his seat, something he's seen other kids get away with. Notingly, his sensei's attitudes seemed to influence what the others thought of their classmate. Few remained unfaltered by their opinions.

He was curious about the boy. Once in a while he would ask some of his kikaichuu to watch over him. They were discomforted for a while, before buzzing softly. The boy had shown no harm in the least. Whenever he was sent out he would just look over notes or practice a kata. He took his training far more seriously than some of the civilians he's seen. Perhaps he would keep an eye on the boy, if only to solve his own curiosity.

0o00o0

"Nee, people are really loud today," Yuko blinked as they walked through the village. No one had paid them any attention.

"The faster we get to the training field the better," Karin sighed. "Don't pay them any attention." She was getting antsy. More ninja were in the village and she could see a good number of them gathered. She'd rather be somewhere with peace and quiet.

Lee and Naruto nodded quietly, following the girl to the woods. Yuko was more hesitant, glancing back at the villagers. Without another word, she chased after the trio, not wanting to be left behind. She couldn't help but think they were missing something.

0o00o0

"Kakashi."

"Hai, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi glanced down at his crystal ball. He knew about the trio's new training efforts, along with their newfound friendship with Lee. It only seemed to grow day by day. However, he was worried. Documents had recently been found stolen, and for all he knew the enemy would still be around. "Iruka went to check on the children… but I believe another pair of eyes would be necessary."

"Ma, I haven't seen my kawaii siblings in a while. I wouldn't mind in the least."

"I do not believe they know that you've departed from ANBU. They'll be surprised to see your face," a chuckle escaped his lips.

0o00o0

If there was ever a day that could go from bad to worse, Naruto decided this was that day. Well… that could describe a lot of days in his life, but this had to be down as one of the top ten at least. It started off as a normal training session. The sun was setting but they thought staying out a bit later would go fine. At first it was. They got to work on how well they could perform in the dark, when Karin had sensed a group of ninja heading their way. They all assumed it was just someone's team coming out for late night training so they began to pack up their things.

Everything seemed harmless at first. Then someone had tossed a kunai that scrapped against Karin's cheek. Karin yelped, clutching her cheek at that when Lee tackled her down. More projectiles were thrown when a shuriken embedded itself in Yuko's shoulder. She cried out as they all gathered around each other. Naruto checked on her shoulder. They hadn't learned to patch wounds greatly, but the least he could do was wrap it.

"Nee nee! W-who are you?" Yuko called out, flinching from the pain in her shoulder. They hadn't gotten used to cuts yet.

"T-they're surrounding us," Karin whispered. "It's the real deal."

"Do you see an opening?" Lee asked.

"Ma, I wish I could say."

"W-what do they want dattebayo?" Naruto mumbled. Yuko just kept him behind her, not wanting to find out. They wanted to hurt her family. She couldn't let that happen.

Another array of projectiles were flung their way, forcing them to jump up into the air. The next thing Naruto knew, Lee went sailing into a tree. He gulped, unable to trace any movements. "L-Lee-kun."

That wasn't the end of the onslaught. Before another word could be said, a blast of water send all three of them flying against the forest trees. A lone shinobi stood in the middle of them. "So this is all Konoha has to offer? Four shrimps?"

"W-what… what is a Kiri ninja doing here?" Karin was wide-eyed, struggling to stand upright.

Yuko grasped her injured shoulder, glancing around at the others. They were in no ways close to enough to reach each other without the shinobi interfering. And there were likely more hidden in the shadows if Karin's report was right. She hissed and let out a curse. "D-darn it."

"Lee-kun watch out!" Naruto cried, barely catching the group of shuriken heading straight for him.

Lee groaned, still dazed from the tree blow. Upon hearing Naruto's cry he glanced up and yelped, ducking down. Yuko glanced around, trying to find an opening to reach her friend. Before she could even run, kunai planted in front of her while another set pinned her dress to the tree. She cried out as they scrapped her skin.

"W-we can't take on people like this," Karin looked wide-eyed, pressing close to the tree. They were still tired out from training on top of everything.

"We can't even run dattebayo…" Naruto gulped. Another strong gust of wind forced them against the trees, causing them all to cry out in pain.

Yuko winced, barely managing to glance around. "Karin-chan… Naru-chan… Lee-kun..."

More than anything, Karin wanted to run at this moment. However, the amount of openings limited as she could sense more chakra signatures approaching them. They were trapped whether they liked it or not. She glanced at Lee, who was still trying to stand weakly, and gulped. He seemed to have taken the brunt of the damage of the assault. Damn it. She couldn't do a thing about it.

Suddenly, the forest began to light up. A bright flash of fire heading at them from above. The Kiri ninja had a smirk on his face before shunshining away. Barely able to move, they could only watch as the fireball headed straight for them. Naruto closed his eyes tightly, already feeling the heat that would hit.