The Fox and the Hound
Chapter 3:A Fox in Human's Clothing
Chapter Summary:Truth hurts and wounds deep. Sooner or later the truth about the demon fox would come and scar deeper than any physical wound.
Author note: We're just jumping right in here kids ;) enjoy …..*goes to happily munch on angst plot bunnies*
Naruto stared blankly up at the silver-haired Chuunin in the tree ahead of him. The man went on and on about the rules and how everyone in the village was forbidden to talk about him at all but it did not prevent them from trying to do something about it. Mizuki himself was tired of living a lie. And for the rest of his impassioned revelation of Naruto's true identity, Naruto's whole world went blank.
It could not be true, right? There was just no way it could be….but then again it all suddenly made sense. All the ambushes and hatred around his birthday, the way people just glared at him and made spiteful comments, and the sometimes altercations that had no reasons attached to them.
It now all made sense.
Iruka-sensei was saying something; pleading with Mizuki not to tell him, not to break the rule that the Third Hokage….The Third…had put down. Once it was out, however, the other Chuunin started taking side long glances in Naruto's direction to see his reaction.
He could not react. He did not know how to.
Naruto caught the movement from the tree. Mizuki was raising his large shuriken; spouting something to Iruka and aiming for his person. He was not sure what to do but the tried and true urge to run began to creep into his mind. Still he warred with himself, this could not be happening. There was no way what Mizuki had said was true. The silver-haired Chuunin had always disliked him….he had to be lying. But then why had Iruka panicked like he had? What rule was everyone talking about?
"They all want me dead. All this time, they just wanted me dead. Maybe…maybe…"
The shuriken was loosed and Naruto involuntarily flinched. He had waited too long again to respond to a threat. Once again he was going to pay for his lax attitude. But when he heard the shuriken hit he did not feel anything and opened his eyes to find Iruka, standing in front of him with the weapon embedded lightly in his back.
The Chuunin winced as he held himself up over Naruto, who at some point had hit the ground in confusion. Naruto stared up unblinking at the instructor he claimed as his favorite and could not tear his gaze away. Why had he just done that? What was wrong with Iruka?
Why was he still sitting there like an idiot?
Naruto fled. Like a coward he darted away from the situation with the scroll he had stolen slung over his shoulder as he moved. Naruto caught the sound of Iruka yelling after him and Mizuki taking up the chase. He could not care to listen to it all...all he cared about now was getting away.
All that work, Kami he was an idiot in the truest sense. Mizuki had tricked him…had used him. Once again Naruto had failed the Genin exam because of a stupid basic skill. He could not go back to Kakashi in failure so he had been open to any suggestion one of his teachers had given him.
And when Mizuki had told him what he could possibly do, he had momentarily been elated. "How easy!" he had thought earlier that evening. How many times had he snuck into the Towers? How many times had he gone digging through the records rooms to find information on his family? It was like an open book test! He knew the inside and out of that building and all of the traps laid in wait.
But now the excitement he had held of actually learning the first skill on the scroll during the hours he had gone unnoticed was plummeting. Naruto clutched at the scrolls handle tightly as he flew through the trees towards no particular destination. Everything was for nothing now. He had been played as the pawn that he was and everyone blamed HIM.
He finally came to a stop, grasping the scroll in front of him, panting and looking around frantically for a good place to hide. Maybe if Iruka caught up…no…no Mizuki had to be right. The Fox killed Iruka's parents and according to Mizuki he was the fox. Naruto shut his eyes tightly and shuddered.
"It all makes sense…."
Naruto froze and held his breath as he heard Iruka and Mizuki nearby. Mizuki was continuing to try to get Iruka to join him in his chase and Iruka kept refusing. He was refusing to believe Mizuki when Mizuki said Naruto was merely the fox. Finally Mizuki had enough of Iruka's interference and turned on his once-comrade; the same shuriken once aimed at Naruto was neatly aimed for Iruka who seemed winded from his first hit.
"Don't….don't let it happen. Don't. He'll say you did it. They'll blame you…"
He lashed out. He was sure Iruka probably hated him but he still felt attached to the older man who had kept an eye out over him at school. Had he done so on orders? Had the Hokage made him? It did not matter; if he did not do something Mizuki would blame him for the Chuunin's death regardless.
Sucker punches were good for throwing people off their balance and he got Mizuki good. Once e had he put to use what he had been practicing in the hours before Iruka had found him. He and a near thousand other him's went after the silver-haired man with desperation Naruto could not quite place. He wanted to keep going, to hurt Mizuki just as much as he had hurt Iruka and himself but he stopped and backed away. After a while keeping up the shadow clones made him tired so he stopped and observed Mizuki, now unconscious on the ground ahead of him. Iruka was silent behind him as Naruto panted and waited to see if the Chuunin was going to get up and fight more.
Naruto finally could take no more. He sat the scroll down between Mizuki and Iruka and took off again. There was no way he could go back now. There were probably ninja all over the village looking to kill him for stealing the Scroll. The fox, he was sure they assumed, had finally woken up.
He finally stopped near the river. His body was screaming bloody murder for both the chakra he had just burnt through and for the absolute high levels of adrenaline still coursing through his veins. Naruto opted to scurry up a tree and huddled as tightly as he could in a crook of a sturdy, thick branch. He stared out into the darkness and wondered just why it had taken him so long to realize that everyone treated him like shit and there had to be a reason for it.
Long ignored memories of glares and names, of insults and punches ran rampant in his mind as he silently hugged himself up in the tree he had found. Even the long repressed memory of the old woman throwing him down an alley and threatening him should he return remained stuck in the perpetual loop.
What did this mean? Was he Naruto or was he actually the Nine-Tailed Fox? Why hadn't the Third told him? Was there actually a rule handed down by him limiting the whole village from talking about it?
Did Kakashi know? If he did not, did he now?
Naruto dug his fingers into his head. This was too much. He could not handle this. How was he supposed to handle this? They had all learned about the day the Fox attacked the village. The imposing thought of such a demonic creature, made entirely of chakra, had made most of them cringe in fear. The story of the Yondaime bravely going forward and defeating it made them all feel brave again and most looked up to the Fourth and his sacrifice for the village.
But if he was the fox…what kind of sacrifice was it? Or was he the sacrifice and the Hokage just prevented it and that was what made everyone angry? Was he a demon fox or was he a human? He was not sure what to think anymore and despite wanting nothing more than to ignore the man's words, they held merit. Everything made more sense with the Demon Fox in the equation.
An audible whine broke through Naruto's racing thoughts and he glanced down. A large German shepherd stood at the bottom of the tree sniffing at the base before glancing up in his general direction. The chocolate brown eyes met his and he froze. The animal sat down and wagged its tail back and forth slowly, barking up at him and cocking his head to the side.
"Riri…" Naruto whispered. The animal took it as a sign and leapt up to the branch Naruto sat on just as easily as Naruto himself had. Riri stopped just slightly ahead of him and lay down. Naruto could not resist and he rested his hand in the scruff of the dog's thick fur. He leaned back against the base of the tree and continued to try to calm his racing thoughts.
Riri eventually scooted closer, till he was between Naruto's legs and laid his head on the boy's shoulder. Naruto shuddered and wrapped his arms around the dog and clutched tightly, after all was said and done all he could do was cry. Shinobi did not cry, that was a rule he supposed, and he was sure demons did not cry either but he could not help the tears streaming down his face. It all just hurt too much.
"You'll still be my friend right Riri? You never hated me for being a demon?" Riri whined and pushed away a little bit. His large muzzle came up and began licking at the tears on his cheeks. Naruto merely balled up his hands in the thick scruff of black back fur. "That's all I ever was, a monster, Riri. They never told me…"
"No."
The word startled Naruto so badly he came up rigid and released his hold on Riri. He panicked and began looking around but found only the dog and himself. Riri cocked his head to the side and the dark black muzzle opened again and the word came out once more. "No. Not you."
"Riri?" Naruto sniffed uncertainly. Maybe he was just losing his mind and he was imaging things but he was pretty sure his dog had just spoken. "You can talk?"
"Pakkun can…" Riri's head tipped to the other side. "I can learn?"
Riri nuzzled around him again and Naruto found he could only hug the large dog tighter. The tears did not end and he still felt panicked and rushed. He should not be wasting time, he should be moving further away but he found himself glued to his spot.
"Sad." Riri whined in his ear. "What did silver-hair do to you?"
"He told me the truth…why people hurt me and call me names." Naruto snuffed and shuddered as the memory, only hours old, resurfaced. "He told me I was the Nine-Tailed Fox."
Riri growled low in his throat and it made Naruto cringed involuntarily. His dog probably understood now and would turn on him. Instead he felt the dog sniffing the top of his head, his nose rooting around in his hair.
"You don't smell like a fox." The dog sat straight and looked at the top of Naruto's head and then down to his feet. "No ears, no tails, no fur."
"He said something about it being sealed." Naruto frowned and glanced away, he really was not too sure of the specifics either. "But I was the nine-tails…the one that got the Yondaime and all those other people killed."
Riri snorted and shook its head as if he had something up his nose for real. He then laid his head back down in Naruto's lap. "Different, I think."
They were silent for a while when a thought struck Naruto like a ten-ton hammer. "Wait? Who sent you? Why are you here?"
"No one." Riri licked his hand comfortingly. "I heard ninja hunting. I went hunting for you. Heard the scar-face calling after you but he was hurt. So was the silver-hair."
"I did that." Naruto winced, feeling some of the pain in his fists from having gone at Mizuki so forcibly. If anyone from the village found him he was in a lot of trouble…if not dead.
"He attacked you first." Riri reached up and licked at his chin. "Defense. Scar-face was worried, kept asking the silver-hair why he had to tell."
"Scar-face hates me." Naruto mumbled, not too attentive to what his dog was calling his teachers. Any other time he would be elated that Riri could talk like Pakkun did. Now he just felt defeated and lonely…"I killed his parents."
"No." Riri growled again. "You are Naruto, not a fox."
"I don't know what to believe anymore." Naruto closed his eyes and pulled on his jacket, loose and somewhat torn from the night's activity. "I just don't know…"
"Kakashi-sama would know."
"No, no I can't…" Naruto began to shake his head back and forth forcibly. He had to bite down on the panic rising in his gut again. "No ….he…"
"Always helps when you are hurt." Riri whined, uncertain with the change of faith his master was showing.
"Not this time Riri." Naruto shuddered and drew his arms up to his chest. "I…I can't be sure. I don't know who knows and who doesn't and what they think and …."
"Okay." Riri's ears dropped a little as he interrupted Naruto's panic attack. He nuzzled back up to the almost-teenager and let the boy use him as a leaning post. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as the boy shuddered against him and clung to him like a lifeline. Normally his master was much more confident and willing to believe in others but this…this was something new. He was frightened, more frightened than Riri had ever seen him. If it made him feel better to stay out in the trees then they would stay there until he felt safe enough to return home.
It did not take long for the boy to lose the battle with his exhausted state and Riri felt the weight of the boy on him more so than before. He gently grabbed hold of his jacket and slowly stood to make sure Naruto was on his back evenly enough and then leapt to the ground below. He again laid and allowed Naruto to curl up against him, feeling much safer on the solid ground.
Much later in the night the sound of voices and the scent of humans turned Riri's head into the forest behind him. Naruto had finally fallen into a fitful sleep, not anywhere near restful, but it was better than just being unconscious. Ririshii stood carefully, to not disturb him and then quietly shook the dirt from his stomach. The blonde merely groaned and turned away from where he had been facing. He shivered in the colder night air and Riri whined. It was mid-January and the nights held a bit more bite to them than in other months. It was too cold to be sleeping out like this.
Riri quietly slipped into the forest's growth and started tracking down what he had heard. He began slinking closer to the ground as he got within proximity of what he was searching for. It was a group sent to look for the boy, to hurt or help him, Riri was not sure. He had to be sure before approaching anyone and he was not entirely sure Naruto wanted it to be anyone at all. The way he had acted earlier at the thought of even seeking out Kakashi or others told the dog he was uncertain about who to trust again.
"He went this general direction, I'm sure of it."
Riri hunkered down on his haunches and peered through the thick foliage he was using for cover. Granted that his eyes did not quite work as well as a cat's would in the dim night lights they were still good enough to make out what was ahead of him.
"I should have moved faster to stop him. I should have tried to stop Mizuki before…"
"What's done is done Iruka." And elderly man reached out and patted the scar-faced teacher of Naruto's from earlier. "There was little you could do to stop him in your state."
Riri waited as the two of them traveled closer to his position. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by a pack of dogs, all barking and wagging their tails at him. He snarled a bit and bared his teeth at the pack of Kakashi's and lowered his ears. So much for not being noticed until he was sure it was safe.
The two he had been focused on came his direction and a loud whistle caused the other dogs to scatter, save for the annoying little pug and Riri looked up above him. Coming down through the tree tops was Kakashi. It was the trio he believed his master trusted the most…or at least he once had. Whatever the silver-haired teacher had told him earlier had shattered all semblance of trust Naruto had with anyone save for Ririshii himself.
"Ririshii."
Riri sat down obediently and looked up at the silver-haired man he knew the best, Kakashi-sama, and cocked his head to the side. Kakashi merely knelt down a bit and scratched his ears lightly as he always did when Naruto was gone and it was just he and Kakashi in the apartment. But shortly after the man speared him with a look.
"Where is he Riri?"
Riri pretended to be dumb as he had for a while with Naruto. He was still learning how to speak as humans did, for his owner's sake. He cocked his head to the other side of his body. Kakashi frowned and poked him in his muzzle.
"You reek of him Riri, you know where he is."
"Speak you little mongrel." Pakkun growled at his side and nipped at Riri's front leg. Riri could not help but yelp and jump away from the older pug. Those damn little teeth hurt worse than anything the big bull dog could throw at him. "I know you can by now, you've slipped."
"Stupid pug." Riri snarled at him, lowering his muzzle down to Pakkun's eye level. He bared his teeth slightly and growled a bit more. "When I speak, I choose."
Pakkun was pleased enough with this and sat with his gaze now on Kakashi who had rocked back on his heels a bit. Riri straightened up and ruffled a bit at the thought that he had just given himself away.
"Great another one of you that can talk." Kakashi scoffed and poked the shepherd's muzzle again. "So Riri-san, start talking!"
"I found him first." Riri whimpered. "Scared, hurt, confused…"
"Riri was it?" The older man was coming forward. "Did he saw why he was scared? Why he was confused?"
"Silver-haired teacher called him the Demon Fox. The Nine-tails." Riri laid his ears back and snarled. "Talks in his sleep, says they want him dead, all this time they were trying to kill him."
The old man sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a bit. "I suppose it was the most logical conclusion for him to come to in light of it all."
"Truth then?" Riri did come to attention at the lack of denial. "Nine-tails?"
"The fox was sealed in Naruto as a baby, Ririshii." Kakashi took to scratching at his ears again with a gloved hand. Kakashi's gaze was behind Riri and far off. Riri wanted nothing more than to lead Kakashi to Naruto but he feared his owner's reaction. Naruto had panicked at the mere mention of his guardian.
"All this time around us and you still can't talk a straight sentence, you stupid mutt." Pakkun snorted up at him. Riri growled back and took his front paw and laid it on the pug's head, pushing the smaller dog to his stomach.
"You've yet to tell me where he his Riri." Kakashi interrupted their little dominance struggle. Riri whimpered and lay beside Pakkun. A dilemma is what he believed this was called. They were all looking to him; waiting for him to answer their questions and lead them to the boy they had been searching for.
"Riri…."
"Afraid to go back." Riri answered in kind. "Fears the Shinobi, fears Scar-face, fears you."
The last admission forced Kakashi's gaze to fix on him particularly hard. Riri knew it hurt the older man to hear that Naruto feared him…at least for now he did. Normally he did not.
"Confused…." Riri whimpered into the silence.
"What if just Pakkun goes with you?" The older man spoke up. His suggestion did have merit too. Naruto had never said anything about the pug that originally had been Naruto's favorite. Pakkun nodded and stood, Riri agreed as well and began retracing his steps back to Naruto.
When they came to him Riri came up and nudged Naruto's shoulder with his muzzle and licked at his ear. Pakkun only sat a few feet away watching with a sad look upon his face.
"Riri cut it out." Naruto mumbled and pushed the shepherd's nose away from his ear. "I'm tired…"
"Perhaps you would sleep better back home, Naruto."
Naruto came up almost instantly and his eyes turned to the little pug slowly and then back up to Riri. He backed all the way till his back hit the base of the tree and glared at Ririshii.
"Why didn't you say something, we could have moved…"
"Riri is worried about you, Naruto." Pakkun continued on, answering for the shepherd. "So is Kakashi."
Naruto hung his head and brought his knees up to his chest. He wrapped his arms around them and huddled in on himself. Riri whimpered at him and nudged his arm a little and stuck his nose under. Pakkun edged closer as well until he could rest his head on top of Naruto's feet.
"Iruka told us what happened Naruto-kun. He came to find us after you ran off." Pakkun began to explain. "Everyone knows that Mizuki tricked you Naruto. No one is angry with you."
"That's not true." Naruto whispered. "The whole village is angry at me almost all of the time."
"That is why Kakashi and I looked after you." Pakkun sighed and nudged at Naruto's hand, dangling in front of him. "Not everyone hates you."
"He will now." Naruto muttered from underneath his arms. "The Yondaime was his Sensei, Pakkun…."
"Kakashi-san always knew Naruto." Pakkun sat up and admitted to the boy. "He's always known what the Fourth did to you."
Riri picked up on the wording Pakkun had used. So did Naruto as his grip on his knees lessened a bit and the boy peered up over his arms at the pug.
"You had no choice in this and that does not make you the demon. People are just very ignorant. In time they will see what we all see…a good Shinobi that loves Konoha despite all of this. Anyway…" Pakkun snuffed a bit and smiled sadly up at the blonde. "We really want to see if Iruka told us the truth or not."
Naruto looked between Riri and the pug before finally taking the bait. "About what?"
"You used Kage Bushins…Quite a lot of them." Naruto darted his eyes away quickly, assuming it was bad that he knew something off of that scroll. "It is nothing to be ashamed of Naruto. That is a hard technique to learn and to have learned it in a few hours that is quite a feat."
"I don't think I could do that many again."
"Well no, not tonight at any rate." Pakkun huffed and stood. "But once you use it more and get the hang of it…."
"It's forbidden though…"
"No, it is advanced." Pakkun corrected him. "Some Shinobi are given access to those scrolls. You've just learned something most do not even attempt until they are Jounin."
There was a very long heavy silence afterwards. Riri wondered if Pakkun's attempts to put Naruto at ease were doing more harm than good in the boy's current state of mind. The boy huddled closer to Riri and leaned his head on his shoulder, eyes distant and unfocused on either of them.
"Naruto, please come back with us." Pakkun whimpered finally.
Naruto again darted his gaze away. Part of him wanted to believe the pug but all he could keep remembering was everyone else. He was sure Kakashi did not hate him…he had lived with the man for how long now? Still he had done something so incredibly stupid, not to mention he failed again, and there was just the slightest sliver of doubt. What if he was wrong? What if all this time the Hokage had made Kakashi as well?
"What if I brought Kakashi here?"
Naruto ducked his head again but did not refuse the request. He felt Pakkun's weight off of his foot and knew the pug had darted off to find the Jounin. Riri watched the pug retreat and then nuzzled under Naruto's arm.
"Poor pup…."
"So when exactly did he summon that dog, Kakashi?" Sandaime asked shortly after the pair of nin-dogs slunk off into the darkened forests.
"Around his eighth birthday." Kakashi sighed watching after the dogs. "He summoned him by accident when he had gotten ambushed by some overzealous villagers…the mutt's just stuck around since then."
"And you failed to tell me about this…."
"Never seen it with Naruto before…" Iruka was saying lowly, more to himself than the two present with him.
"He does not seem to be a nin-dog so much as he's just Naruto's dog; a pet more than anything." Kakashi rubbed at the back of his head and kept his eye out for the return of Pakkun. "He stays in our apartment most of the time, or goes off to explore with Naruto late at night."
"More than a familiar than a summons, how interesting." Sandaime chuckled a bit. "How did he come up with that idea in the first place?"
"I taught him the summoning seals." Kakashi replied bluntly. "I only had him sign the contract with Pakkun so it is a mystery as to how exactly he went from trying to summon Pakkun to creating his own dog. I only taught it to him as a means of protection…"
"Which it seems to me it has worked to that end. Riri was the first to find Naruto. He must have heard all the ruckus we caused right after he got his hands on the scroll."
Pakkun landed quietly at Kakashi's feet and interrupted the silence that had fallen between the men. Kakashi glanced at the dog and looked behind him for the other two but saw no indication that the blonde and the shepherd had accompanied Pakkun.
"I can't pull him like I did the last time." Pakkun said quietly and Kakashi snorted a bit. He recalled the little four year old that Pakkun had forcibly drug into his reach in an alley eight years prior.
"Alright then, now what?" Sandaime sighed.
"I'll deal with it Hokage-sama." Kakashi pushed off from his leaning post and stretched a bit. "I'll report back to you when we get back."
Sandaime nodded and looked back to Iruka. "Come Iruka, let's get you actually bandaged up, not just patched so you can traipse around in the forests."
Iruka looked about ready to protest then bowed his head and turned to follow the Hokage, only taking a moment to glance back at Kakashi who was now following Pakkun away. Kakashi had understood what Pakkun was doing. The pug was unsuccessful in convincing Naruto it was safe so he was dragging Kakashi to Naruto.
This whole night was a nightmare. When he had heard about the stunt his roommate had pulled he had gone out solo to look for him; with little results. But when a rather bloody Chuunin had returned, scroll in hand; it became more worry than irritation that drove Kakashi to find the blonde. Iruka had explained what Mizuki had done….and Kakashi seethed. Something always seemed off with the Chuunin instructor and he always seemed obsessed with personal power. He had finally found a way to get at it without getting his hands dirty.
Why Naruto had listened to the man was a question Kakashi would later have to ask, but it was not a question that was appropriate now. Iruka's next words had been what Mizuki had told Naruto. Kakashi assumed sooner or later it would have come out; that many years without someone accidentally blurting out the truth about Naruto's role in the village had been a blessing, but now of all times?
He came to the river with Pakkun and sighed as he saw Naruto, head on his knees covered by his arms and Riri sitting right next to him; looking up only as they approached.
This revelation had devastated the boy; Kakashi could see it in his posture. Just as Naruto was starting to come into his own and stand up for himself, this came along and destroyed it all. As Riri had told them, this knowledge as well as the memory of what happened to him if he ventured out on his birthday, had led the boy to connect the two together. Naruto understood now all the threats and the harassment, not that it helped his state of mind in the present situation.
So naturally the reaction was to fear them. Now that he knew about it maybe they would be more liberal with the chasing and the beatings. Or they really would try to kill him in the fear that he would release the fox.
Kakashi strode over to where the boy sat and knelt down. Naruto had gone absolutely stiff and was waiting to see what the Jounin did before he showed his face. He only reached out and placed a gloved hand atop his head and waited. Cautious blue eyes peered up at him from above a sleeved arm.
"You okay?" he whispered as he ruffled the blonde spikes. Kami, the kid was looking too much like Minato-sensei anymore.
"I didn't…I didn't mean to Kakashi, I swear. Mizuki…he swore! He swore if I learned something from…."
"Iruka told us everything Naruto." Kakashi silenced him and the boy cringed beneath his hand.
"Is it true then?" Naruto suddenly sat up straight and Kakashi found himself speared eye to eye with the blonde. "Is that the reason everyone treats me like they do?"
"Part of it is true yes. The Fourth sealed the fox in you as a baby; it was the only way to stop the destruction of the village. But that does not make you the demon fox. The Yondaime would have never wanted anyone to treat you like they do; he believed they would see you as a hero in his steed….he was sadly mistaken."
Naruto only stared off into the ground. Kakashi was unsure what he should do about the sudden change in behavior but he decided that maybe it would be better for the kid to be home where he probably felt safer, less exposed. "Come on kid, let's go. It's cold out here."
"But the vill…."
"I won't let anyone touch you Naruto. We'll just go home and you can sleep on this."
Naruto stood and kept his head hung low but he came up to Kakashi and the older man slung his arm around the boy's shoulders to keep him within reach. Riri stood as well his tail wagging slightly as he positioned himself near Pakkun. The little pug jumped up onto the shepherd's back and they took the lead heading out of the forests back to Konoha.
"What do I do about this? It's like a different person took his place." Kakashi pondered as they went. He would take a few glances down at Naruto but Naruto did not look up from the ground. "Even when I first found him this scared personality did not stay longer than a few minutes before he decided to go forward. It's like he's paralyzed."
In all honesty this might be a harder thing to fix than any of them thought.
The next day that worry only grew. Kakashi stayed perched in his windowsill watching particularly nothing while the morning and most of the afternoon drug on. Pakkun and Riri had gone with Naruto into his room and not so much as a noise had been heard since they returned late last night.
Kakashi himself had ducked out at some point to report to the Hokage. He told him Naruto was indeed back in the village but Kakashi had little luck convincing the twelve-year-old to do more than just hide in his room. The Hokage had nodded and said to give it some time and Naruto, they hoped, would come to terms with this new truth.
The Hokage had also handed him the blue cloth headband with a head protector attached. Iruka's word was enough for him and after looking over the tests himself, he had found that Naruto really had placed much higher and should have graduated anyways despite his failure to produce a regular bushin. In all honesty the boy had placed just below Haruno Sakura in the written portion of the test.
That did not really surprise Kakashi that much. Kakashi actually only wondered if the boy had passed the second time but had been failed with the rest of the group a year ago. Part of him wanted to give the head protector to Naruto and tell him as such, but the other part wondered if he would also figure out why he kept failing. So instead Kakashi had left the object on the kitchen counter and left it at that.
There was really no way to tell what Naruto would want now that he realized there was more behind the harassment than his pranking.
Finally in the later afternoon Kakashi noticed the door creeping open and waited patiently as a bleary-eyed blonde stalked out of his room. He blinked for a moment at the kitchen, and the headband still there, but then headed for where Kakashi was and sat beneath the window his head resting just behind Kakashi's back.
"So…." Kakashi gently probed a bit and waited to see if Naruto merely had wanted just to be near someone or he was ready to talk about it.
"I'm a jailer not a demon fox." Naruto whispered and ran let his hands fiddle with his coat sleeves. He went through more coats that way.
"Correct." Kakashi nodded and reached down to let his hand rest in the soft blonde spikes behind him.
"It kinda explains these marks on my cheeks."
"Yes, I guess it does." Kakashi smirked a little, an odd observation but it was one that apparently he had been mulling over.
"It's just…." Naruto shuddered a bit and clutched tightly to the coat hems. "It's a sealing jutsu right? What happens if…if it comes…"
"The Yondaime Hokage was a seal master, taught by one of the legendary Sannin's." Kakashi explained slowly. "I have little doubt that the seal will hold. After all is has for twelve years hasn't it?" He took a quick glance down, saw Naruto peering up at him and then went back to looking out the window. "There is no way the Yondaime would have done anything to endanger your life or Konoha…so I have faith in that seal… I have faith in you."
In the silence that followed Kakashi heard the tell-tale clicks of toenails on the Spartan floors of their apartment. He looked up to see Riri stalking towards the kitchen and then leaping up on his hind legs to reach the headband Kakashi had left there. The dog took it gently in its mouth and came trotting into the living room. Riri sat there; tail wagging, in front of Naruto waiting patiently for the boy to take the object from him.
Finally Naruto reached out and took the headband and fingered it lightly in his hands. He did not put it on but he did smile a little.
"They let me graduate?"
"Yes."
"But why? I can't make Bushins…I failed that part of the test and probably did really bad on the others."
"No. You actually came in second on the written exam behind Haruno. You only lost a few fights in the taijutsu portion. Technically they should have overlooked the Bushin failure and let you graduate. But I have a theory on the Bushin, had you ever bothered to ask…" Kakashi teased lightly hoping to get some rise out of Naruto. "Your chakra control is shit."
"Thanks a lot nii-san." Naruto huffed he put on the headband, looping it around his neck instead of his actual forehead.
"It's a rather common problem with people like you." Kakashi chuckled a bit glad to see Naruto did not take the insult to heart and had almost thrown one back in kind. "People who are larger capacity chakra users usually have control issues. I mean you passed me in chakra capability about a year ago…"
"Oh is that why I screw it up so….wait." Naruto sat up from the wall and really turned to face him now. "I have more chakra than you?"
"Yes. Did it not occur to you that you were basically learning a step up from a regular bushin? Instead of an illusion you were creating the real thing? The only reason Kage Bushin was so easy for you and Regular Bushin are so hard is the amount of control and the amount of Chakra being used."
"Then why is that technique on that scroll? I mean, if it's just a step up."
Kakashi smiled he had successfully gotten the kid's mind off of moping. "Like I said, the amount of chakra required. I can do Kage Bushin. However, if you and I each produced one and saw which one lasted longer, yours would win. Anyone trying to do what you just did last night, how did Iruka put it...a small army, would fall over from chakra exhaustion. "
Naruto merely blinked up at him, for a little while anyways. Soon a smile started to creep across his face and he was thinking one thing. Kakashi was going to pay for admitting that one but it was worth it to see the kid at least crack a smile.
"At any rate are you at least feeling better about all of this, Oto?"
"Hai, Nii-san. I think I get it now." Naruto nodded and began to pet his dog. "But…I don't want people to see me and be afraid or angry anymore. How do I do that?"
"That is something you yourself will have to come up with." Kakashi shrugged, pushed himself from his seat and stretched. "You are a Genin now, at any rate, and will be placed into a three man cell tomorrow. I think that deserves some reward."
"Great! Ramen." Naruto shot off for his room to change, Riri barking after him. Kakashi sighed heavily, shook his head and started heading out the window. Naruto would catch up and he had already made it clear where they were headed.
There were still going to be doubts, and Naruto would probably think up of harder and harder questions but for now he was satisfied with the answers he had been given. Kakashi wondered idly when he had time to study sealing jutsu, because his first concern had been what would happen if it was released or failed. Then again he now knew just how well Naruto could get around without people noticing him. He had gotten in, out, and had time to study the Sacred Scroll before anyone had come upon him. Who's to say what all he knew at this point.
And though he would not say so out loud, he had taken notice of the bright orange coat the kid had been wearing the previous night with a black t-shirt underneath. Naruto had snuck in, located, and then stolen the Scroll while wearing orange.
And it was a small wonder that Naruto had not brought it up.
"Okay, stupid ID photo, that's done. Made sure I was stocked up on everything. May or may not have bought a few more bowls of ramen…." Naruto went through his own mental checklist as he strolled leisurely towards the Academy. It was kind of nice not going in super early but then again he had been given the impression perhaps he should be prepared.
But doing all of those things were better than sitting in a room waiting to hear about their cells and who they would be paired up with. Naruto had already been thinking about it but did not like his chances.
Shikamaru and Choji, sure he would be elated, but he already knew that their fathers and Yamanaka Ino's father were close. They were their own cell and something told Naruto whoever was in charge of thinking up these teams would stick to tradition. As of late he and Kiba had really not been getting along so he really was hoping that Kiba was not it either. That left a couple of other choices. Some were okay and others he cringed.
So as Naruto came to door he was supposed to go to he did get an odd flip in his gut. One, he was sure someone was going to point out he was not supposed to be there. He did not graduate with the rest of the class. Two, he had not seen Iruka since a couple nights ago. He still felt a little guilty about the whole night. And he was still a little apprehensive about what it was sealed, as he kept reminding himself, inside of him.
"Heya Naruto."
Naruto turned and found Iruka standing behind him, kinda of bandaged up and looking a little sheepish himself. Naruto smirked a bit but he knew it fell flat. "Oh heya Iruka-sensei."
"About what happened Naruto?" The Chuunin began and rubbed at his ponytail. "You don't actually believe all that do you? That I would hate you?"
Naruto ducked his gaze and fidgeted under the attention. "No Iruka-sensei, not really, I just got so confused and I wasn't sure…"
"Well I don't." Iruka patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Just so you know."
"Thanks Iruka-sensei. You're alright aren't ya?"
"Oh this, yeah it's nothing. Come on lets go, everyone is probably waiting."
Iruka went in before him, taking on that persona of head instructor pretty well. Naruto took in a deep breath and just strode right in. He ignored all the gapes and pointing fingers and just sat himself right next to Shikamaru and Choji who were blinking in surprise.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Found out I really did pass." Naruto grinned madly. "Someone screwed up on my test."
"No way!" Choji leaned across Shikamaru and smiled happily. "We were afraid we were leaving you behind!"
"Nah!" Naruto grinned put his hands behind his head and tugged a little on his headband, tied around his neck. "Just late as always!"
Iruka cleared his throat and Naruto realized he was holding a clipboard in front of him formally now. Instead of giving some lecture or test, what usually happened when the clipboard came out, he began reading off team numbers and names.
"Team Ten: Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, Yamanaka Ino."
Naruto sighed; well that was no surprise to him. Shikamaru was groaning beside him just a little bit and laying his head down on the table in front of the three boys.
"Sorry about your luck man." Naruto patted Shikamaru jokingly. He could hear Ino a few rows away bemoaning her misfortune as well.
A few more teams were read off and Naruto kind of half listened. He was out the two he would want to be with but that had been guessed. He glanced around the room, there was not too many left from their little core group that Naruto knew that well…which could be a good thing. He could be on a team of people he did not know and get to know them.
"Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto perked up and started paying attention. Well here it went. "Haruno Sakura."
"WHAT!"
Naruto flinched, he liked Sakura well enough but like most of the girls in his class she was completely and utterly obsessed with Sasuke. Then again maybe she would calm down once away from the classroom setting…unless…
"and Uchiha Sasuke."
"WHAT!" Naruto momentarily leaped up on the desk in front of him. Great, just great, out of all of the assholes he got the king. Paired up with Sakura this was an utter disaster.
"No way! Forehead gets to be in a team." He could hear Ino going on as well.
"Oh I guess our teams not so bad Choji." Shikamaru elbowed Choji and smirked as Naruto glared back at him. "At least we're not stuck with Sasuke."
"I'll trade you for Ino." Naruto flat out offered.
"Nah, I think we'll keep her."
"Team 10; Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino."
"Oh come on Shikamaru. "
"No way. You're stuck with the emo." Shikamaru smirked. "And the fangirl."
Naruto merely seethed. Great, just great, now that he thought about it maybe Kiba would not have been so bad.
After all the names were read and things settled down some of the teams were gathering up together. Naruto frowned down at the first row where two of his teammates already were. Sakura was already trying to get Sasuke's attention and fawning over the dark haired Uchiha. This was a bad situation to be going into. Sakura loved Sasuke, Sasuke loved himself. Ever since the big 'massacre' the dark haired boy had become unapproachable. He acted like he was better than everyone in the class and was constantly moping or seething, Naruto could not tell which.
Course that was nothing unusual, Sasuke had always been somewhat unapproachable. Being from a big Clan must have made him feel important. To have lost all that….
Naruto watched as a familiar face came to the room. He knew he must have taken on a devilish look because the scruffy bearded man raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Hello Asuma-san…."
Naruto still could not pass up the chance to torment a few of the other Ninja around the village and Asuma was target number one when he started getting out of the apartment. It was not that hard to figure out what would get the man's goat as much as those precious cigarettes of his so he naturally went for them…a lot.
He saw the man's hand dart for the pocket he knew he kept a pack and kept it there as he called out for Shikamaru's team. Naruto grinned even more. Now he had accomplices for later pranks against the bearded Sarutobi.
One by one team seemed to filter out of the room till only he, Sakura, and Sasuke remained. Naruto groaned and laid his head on the desk in front of him.
"I can't believe we got stuck with him."
Naruto glared over his arms at Sakura, babbling away at Sasuke's side. Sasuke had his arms propped up in front of him glaring at the blackboard. What way to go about this? Play the idiot or play the put off joker….
"You're not the only one pissed about this." Naruto finally snarled in their general direction.
"Should count yourself lucky." Sasuke snorted. "Still don't know how you passed but you did something didn't you?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Naruto grinned evilly down at him. Honestly he was never, ever, going to discuss what had happened to anyone but he knew he had taken on a Chuunin in a forest and out fisted him. The Kage Bushin were what Kakashi referred to as his trump card. Other Genin would not immediately know how to do what he had done.
"Ugh, dobe."
"Emo."
"HEY! Don't call Sasuke that…"
Naruto merely went back to napping. He had woken very early and he did not want to deal with either of them until he had to. He'd have to meet up with Choji and Shikamaru after their team had their first meeting and see if they had reconsidered his offer of trading.
Minutes ticked by and then an hour. Naruto was going to have to start doing things to the room to stop the boredom. He was already looking around idly looking for something good when the door finally did open a last time.
"You guys must be Team 7."
Naruto blinked and blinked but it was the same outcome.
"No way……"
"Meet me on the roof."
And then he was gone. Oh this was wicked. Naruto quickly jumped up and began clambering out the window. Screw the stairs; he'd get up there faster outside. He was surprised to find Sasuke doing the same. He growled, tried climbing faster, but the Uchiha still passed him by. Both of them came to the roof and sat around on the stairs while Sakura finally came up the old fashioned way.
Kakashi sat on one of the rails looking rather bored and unconvinced. He took to looking at each one of them before sighing, crossing his arms in front of him.
"This is how he acts around Gai-sensei." Naruto pondered while the Jounin seemed to be deciding what to do with the three of them. "So we're supposed to act like we don't know each other. Still this is so awesome. I've never seen Nii-san fight before…I don't think I've ever seen him train!"
"Alright let's start with introductions shall we?"
"Introductions? Well what should we say?" Sakura queried after glancing through the three of them.
"Oh you know, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, that sort of thing."
Naruto smirked happily to himself. This was EXACTLY how Kakashi-sensei acted towards Gai-sensei. He was going to weed them out. "Oh it's on Nii-san. I'm not like Gai….I'm worse."
"So why don't you go first, huh Sensei. Show us how it's done."
Kakashi and he stared at one another for a while before the older man sighed, leaned back and began to think on the matter.
"My name is Hatake Kakashi, my likes and dislikes, not really your business is it? I haven't really thought about the future, and as to my hobbies I have a lot of them."
"Reading mostly…."
"Your turn Blondie."
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I Love ramen, hate stuck up jerks," he smirked evilly to his left. "My one big hobby is growing plants..." he saw Sakura's head jerk his way at that one, good surprise them more. "And as for my dream for the future…."
Naruto had been thinking about this for a day or so now. He did not want people to look at him and feel fear or hatred. It was almost impossible right? There was really no way he could do that without some sort of miracle. Except….
His head turned behind him to the great mountain behind the Hokage's Tower. Four faces adorned the mountain and each one instilled great pride. That was the role of the Hokage, to protect and instill the village with hope. He wanted nothing more than to protect this village, despite there being so few who would want to protect him.
"Is to be Hokage."
Author note X2.: This one is slightly shorter than the others, yeah I know. *hides away extra angst bunny* but we all know what happens here...that much does not change. Now the tricky part. Yes little things here and there change in each little arc; one action has a wide spread reaction down the line. Wave would be the next up. Or Chuunin Exam. I've not yet decided which should be the next. Definitely doing the Chuunin just wondering if worth it to do the Wave arc.
Oh who am I kidding…. Probably be both. *holds up the angst bunny* and this little monster has been gnawing at me (Missing Moments might be a little insert here and there…scraps not long enough to be chapters and did not seem to FIT in any of the chapters so there might be interludes ;) . .. And ZOMG I found English Dubbed Shippuuden episodes online..Sweet mother of all that is holy. Giimmme!!!!
