Any feedback is appreciated- either send me a message here on , or to my email (). I'll be checking both for reference, this particular scene takes place a few days before Naruto learns the shadow clone jutsu in the canon story, but I intend to go well into the Shipuudden story, maybe even all the way to when it ends. Also, I'm not going to pull punches, no pun intended. The maturity level of the writing will be up there, along with FMA, Death Note, and other series of the like. You have been warned.
P.S.- Any suggestions as to what to name the series would also be welcome, just send me a message with the Subject titled "Fanfic".
Chapter Three
October 16, 12 AK
11:15 in the morning
After watching the orange one's attempt, Nicholas began to understand the objective Kakashi had given. The trainee – Naruto Uzumaki, Nicholas believed his name was – had made a spirited attempt, Nicholas would give him that much, and while he may have been an idiot, Nicholas realized that he had at least some potential. The kid had managed to use the shadow clone jutsu, something that was all but unheard of for a beginner. A jonin level technique, it had taken Nicholas days to manage the jutsu, and it had been one of the last techniques he had learned. Not that it really mattered. Kakashi had managed to turn the move back on Naruto with a substitution jutsu, deliberately letting himself get caught by one of the clones and replacing himself with yet another clone, just as Naruto had closed in with a right hook to the face. After that, it had degenerated into a complete and embarrassing failure for the kid. It wasn't until the kid had gone for the object Kakashi had left behind – bait, obviously – that Nicholas had realized that the objective wasn't to defeat Kakashi – it was to steal whatever it was he had tied to his vest. As the kid was pulled upwards by the trap, Nicholas almost laughed aloud. No, this kid was hopeless unless he learned a lot of things very quickly.
As Naruto swung from the snare, Kakashi walked out of the woods. Frowning, Nicholas watched as Kakashi began lecturing the one hanging from the tree. That wasn't like Kakashi – even against rookies, he would leave himself that vulnerable. As that thought passed through his head, several shuriken and kunai buzzed from the forest behind Kakashi, and hit him with enough force to push him sideways several feet. An instant later, however, "Kakashi" was replaced by a log in a puff of white smoke, with the weapons that were meant for him buried inches deep in the wood.
Figures. If Kakashi let down his guard that easily I would have won a lot more of those sparring matches.
Seconds later, Nicholas heard a scream from the woods several meters north of where the log had replaced Kakashi.
Two down, one to go. That just leaves the Uchiha.
Looking around the training area, Nicholas spotted him about twenty meters south west of where the scream had come from. Kakashi was already there, and the two were going at it with taijutsu, and Nicholas was impressed. The Uchiha kid was actually pushing Kakashi back – while the jonin was taking it easy on him, it was still damned impressive, and as Nicholas watched, he had to wonder if someone had taught him that in the Academy, or if he had learned it on his own. He was doing pretty well, until he stopped to use a jutsu. Nicholas's grin got slightly larger; he had learned a long time ago that ninjutsu did not work on Kakashi in a one on one fight unless you did something to draw his attention away from you. As soon as the Uchiha had used the fire style jutsu, Nicholas knew it had been over, and had used a flash step to get himself down to the ground. There was really no point to sticking around, since Nicholas already knew how that particular fight would end. Readjusting Zanryu so that it wouldn't fall, Nicholas began walking home – he hadn't visited Naomi yet today, and he would rather cook her meals himself than deal with a mess the likes of which he had seen yesterday.
Short time skip – Roughly Seven Months
June 22, 12 AK
It was spring now – Nicholas's favorite season. Not too hot, and while it never really got cold here, it wasn't chilly at night anymore. As for fall, well, that had its own problems; at least he was getting a full night's sleep, something he had never taken for granted since his childhood. Thankfully, Naomi had learned to cook at least basic meals over the last few months, a skill that she hadn't properly learned before moving out of her parents' house the instant she had made chuunin and been able to afford the apartment. As far as Nicholas's work went, he had begun getting very well paying jobs after his brief vacation a few months ago – a desperately needed respite, since his nightly trips back in time had been eating away at his stamina for weeks before that.
Walking up the stairs to the top of the Hokage cliffs for his daily ritual of watching the sunrise, Nicholas mouth twitched upwards, forming a smile for a brief second. Contrary to what Nicholas had expected after watching the debacle by the memorial stone a few months ago, Kakashi had accepted those three as his genin. Just when he had thought he finally had a read on the man, Kakashi had surprised him yet again. Although Nicholas himself had gotten back from a mission only yesterday, though, he had been hearing very interesting rumors over the past month, both inside and out of Konoha. Most interesting of all were the whispers of the Chuunin Exams being held soon – Naomi herself had passed the one that had been held prior to his arrival in Konoha, and the one afterward had been held in another village, all but guaranteeing that Nicholas wouldn't have been able to watch. The rumors about this one, however, said that they would be held here, in Konoha. Just in case the rumors were true, Nicholas had put in a request for another brief vacation, or at least to be given assignments that would only take a day or two at the most as soon as he had gotten back the day before. Hopefully, he would be getting an answer later today.
If the other rumors he had heard since getting back were also true, however, Nicholas wondered if Kakashi would nominate his genin for the Exams. No, if even half of what he had heard from Naomi about the Exams hadn't been exaggeration, even Kakashi wouldn't be that crazy.
June 26, 12 AK
"You're insane."
"Possibly, but I think they'll be up to it. If not, then there's always next year."
Nicholas shook his head as he and Kakashi walked down the dirt path to where the jonin had told his students to wait almost an hour earlier. Kakashi, as usual, was reading out of the book he habitually carried. Nicholas simply had his arms crossed and hidden in his sleeves, enjoying the sunlight as they walked.
"Maybe, but there won't be a next year if they're dead. Yes, I've heard the rumors about the mission your team took on in the Land of Waves, and while that was impressive, it will be child's play compared to this. Naomi's told me about what all the others have been like – I'm surprised that they don't have as many fatalities as they do."
"You sound just like Iruka. As it is, it's up to them at this point. All I can do is put their names forward, they make the actual choice of whether or not they actually take it. And besides, you and I had been going on missions worse than that by the time we were their age." Kakashi said, turning a page in his book. Nicholas just stared – reading with only one eye was as good as wearing a blindfold, and Nicholas always half expected Kakashi to end up walking into a post or some similar object every time he opened that book when he was walking.
"All right, I get the message. For the record, though, you were born during a war and had a shinobi as a father, and I had been an orphan on the streets ever since I was four whose parents were rice farmers. Also, no, I was still in training then. I really don't think that using us as comparisons for what those kids should be is a good idea, and I fully expect this to backfire on you. That being said, good luck – you'll need it."
With those parting words, Nicholas used a quick flash step to propel himself off of the dirt path; the bridge where Kakashi's team was waiting had been in view, and while they hadn't seen him yet since they were busy bickering, Nicholas didn't want to push it. Kakashi already had his hands full with that group, and any distractions would be extremely unwelcome at this point, especially if they went with Kakashi's recommendation to take the Exams.
July 1, 12 AK
3:00 in the afternoon
As much as he liked Naomi, he still had trouble understanding her much of the time. A perfect example of this was her renowned knack for surviving the wilderness with next to nothing but only rudimentary cooking skill which had been learned with great difficulty. Another was her tastes in friends. Just as he was he was leaving her apartment after dropping off some food, Naomi called for him to wait.
"Sorry, I almost forgot – Anko said she was looking for you."
The hair on the back of Nicholas's back went up at those words – whenever Anko wanted something from him, it usually meant trouble. Freezing as he was stepping out her apartment door, Nicholas grudgingly turned to face her. After a brief pause, he spoke.
"She….. didn't happen to say what she wanted me for, did she….?"
"No. She said that she had stopped by your house, but that you weren't there, and she couldn't find you in any of your usual places in town"- There had been good reason for that; Nicholas had taken to simply enjoying the forest near his house after meeting Might Guy, one of Kakashi's friends – "and at first she thought you were out on a job, but knew you weren't out on a job after checking in with a few people. Other than that, she just left me an address and asked me to say she'd meet you there when I saw you."
Dammit. How the hell did she find out where I live?
He had worked painstakingly hard to keep that information a secret from Anko, and now that she knew, that meant that it would only be a matter of time before Guy found out as well. Nicholas shuddered at the thought. Either way, there really wasn't any avoiding it at this point. Resigning himself to it, Nicholas held out his hand.
"Alright. You said she wrote down an address, do you still have it?"
