A/N
Man, I'm churning out these chapters. Go me! (Your reviews help with that a lot, though. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time!)
Do you think there's a Author's Notes: For Dummies?
Cuz I seriously don't understand how people can write multiple pages of them.
Enjoy! :D
Chapter 4
Naruto, 5 years old
It was getting ready to start raining again, and Naruto was heading home when he smelled it.
Naruto paused mid-leap, and came crashing down, somewhat ungracefully, on a roof. He rolled to his feet, grimacing in pain.
For a second... he had thought that he had smelled...
Naruto's training with the Kyuubi's chakra had done multiple things. For one, his sense of smell and hearing had been vastly increased to well beyond human range. Maybe not as strong as an Inuzuka, but pretty close. His pupil was now a dark blue vertical slit, giving him a slightly feral appearance. His whiskers had darkened just slightly, so that only he had noticed. The hair on the back of his neck stood out slightly, and his hair was slightly spikier than usual. And if Naruto didn't know better, he'd say he'd gotten taller too.
Naruto rolled his shoulders, grimacing at the intense itch, and watched as the burns on his legs and arms healed. He brushed off the dust and dirt, and leaped towards where he thought he had smelled it.
There. He found the smell, and leaped towards it, cutting across the roofs.
Naruto had recently taken to patrolling the village every day at dusk. His mom had told him that Minato had used to do the same thing, and now Naruto did it every day. It was soothing, really. Somehow, it made him feel close to his father, and relaxed him after a day of hard training.
Naruto slowed down as he neared a thick wall of trees, around which lay a small pond. The source of the smell lay right on the other side.
He paused as he came around the corner, the sounds of a girl sobbing reaching his ears. He stood frozen, taking in the scene.
She was young, around his age, with startling pink hair and fair skin. She was cute, Naruto decided, in the completely unbiased manner of a 5 year-old. She had her head buried in her arms, and her ankles and shoes were covered in mud. She had a long line of blood on her right arm, but no sign of an injury.
She seemed to sense his presence then, and looked up at him suddenly. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and one of her long locks of pink hair had fallen in front of her face. She pushed it back, and looked at him.
Naruto didn't really know what to say, now. He'd never really had any experience with kids his age...much less girls. Much less crying girls.
"Hi." He said. "My name's Naruto."
The girl looked surprised that he had spoken to her, and she looked at him warily. She sniffled, "Sakura."
"Hi, Sakura."
She moved her arms around to grasp her legs, and put her chin on her knees, not looking at him.
He moved to sit next to her, and they watched the pond as the first drops of rain started to fall.
"We're gonna get soaked." He told her.
"I know." She responded, not moving. He didn't move either.
"My mom's gonna kill me." Naruto continued, in the same matter-of-fact tone.
Sakura smiled for the first time, then laughed softly. "Mine too."
They didn't say anything more, just watching as the drizzle turned into a full-fledged downpour.
Some fifteen minutes later, the rain finally stopped, and they were still sitting in the same positions.
"Aren't you cold?" Sakura asked finally, removing a soaked strand of hair from her forehead.
"I don't really get cold." Naruto responded honestly.
"Me either." Sakura looked down at her arm, where the blood had long since washed away. The mud however, was still caked on, and now she was sitting in it too.
"Aren't you gonna ask me what happened?" She asked finally.
"What happened?" Naruto asked immediately, grinning slightly.
"I was shopping with my parents for Academy stuff." Sakura replied. "But a few villagers started yelling at me. A baker threw a jagged rock at me, and I moved my arm up to block it, but it gave me a long gash on my arm."
"Some ANBU came through and grabbed the man, but people were still muttering, glaring at me. I don't understand, what could I have possibly done to them?" She said this last part slightly hysterically, thumping her head back down on her knees.
"You're going to the Academy?" Naruto asked, surprising Sakura with his response.
She looked at him for as second, then responded, "Yeah. I wanna be like the ANBU, strong enough to protect the people I wanna protect." She said firmly, daring him to make fun of her.
"I'm going to the academy too." Naruto smiled. "I hope we get in the same class!"
Sakura found herself smiling back. "Me too." She said, surprising herself.
"I've never really talked to someone my age before." Naruto said, surprising her again.
She looked at him cautiously, still wary of him making fun of her. "Me either." She said.
"Wanna be friends?" Naruto asked, smiling suddenly.
"If you're making fun of me, I'll kill you." She told him.
"What?" Naruto asked, confused. "Why would I make fun of you?"
Sakura studied him for a second more, then punched him in the shoulder. "Stop asking questions." Naruto rubbed his shoulder, and began to open his mouth again, but Sakura interrupted him.
"And yeah, I'll be your friend."
xxxx
Kiba sat by the pond, skipping rocks across the smooth surface. He was torn by indecision. He wanted to be the strongest Inuzuka ever, to make all those who made fun of him sorry.
Part of him wanted to do it without a ninken, to show that he was stronger even when working alone. But having a ninken partner was part of what made an Inuzuka an Inuzuka. And besides, Kiba was lonely, and he wanted a partner so bad he could hardly stand it. He wanted to be like the other kids, taking their ninken for walks, playing Frisbee, and training together.
But he didn't want to be rejected again. He couldn't stand the sight of all those puppies backed up against the wall. He was just a human, damn it! He was no different than all the rest.
And, Kiba decided, throwing his last rock violently, he'd make them see it. He had a good feeling all of a sudden, a warm feeling in his gut. He'd get a ninken partner this year, no matter what.
His mother looked up when he entered the room. She smiled, immediately grasping why he was there. "Trying again this year, son?"
Tsume, unlike most of the clan, didn't seem to have a problem admitting they were related. But Hana was always the special one, the one who got 3 ninken partners, the one Tsume was training to take over the clan one day. Even his mother didn't think he had what it took. But he'd show her, too, along with the rest of them.
Kiba merely nodded, trying not to provoke her.
Tsume gave a feral grin, and rose to her feet, beckoning him to follow.
She opened the door to the nursing room, holding it open for him. "Good luck." She said, grinning.
Kiba entered the room, and almost immediately, the dogs began backing up, whining. The pups cowered, hiding behind their mothers, ears back and eyes wide.
Kiba felt his heart drop. He had been so sure that this year it would be different. He had been determined to get a partner, but now, with them all cowering away from him, he just didn't see how he could.
Kiba lowered his head to his chest, feeling tears starting to prick at his eyes. He'd always be the loser who couldn't get a partner, he'd always be that freak who couldn't even get a dog to like him.
A sharp growl jerked him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see a white dog, the bravest mother in the group, growling at him, the only dog not backed up to the wall.
Kiba wasn't in the mood, and he found himself snarling back, revealing his fangs. The dog gave a startled yelp, and she dashed to the wall to hide with the rest of the dogs. Kiba stood frozen. When she had moved, she'd revealed one last puppy, one that he hadn't seen before.
It was tiny, pink, and could hardly be a day old. Its eyes were still closed, and it was laying on its side, chest heaving.
Kiba moved closer, slowly. The pup didn't move. Kiba moved forward slowly, and bent down, holding the back of his hand down to its nose. The pup sniffed his hand, not like it had any other choice, and Kiba froze in shock when a small, pink tongue, leaped out to lick his hand.
Kiba slowly picked it up, being extremely careful, when he heard the voice of his mother behind him.
"It's premature, Kiba. It's weak. That pup will probably die today."
"I won't let him!" Kiba swore fiercely, shaking his head for emphasis, while making sure not to disturb the puppy.
Tsume stood looking at him, a bemused smile on her face. After a pause she said, "If you say so."
"So I can keep him?" Kiba asked, holding the pup close to his chest.
She crossed her arms, and frowned slightly. "If he lives."
Kiba smiled from ear to ear. "I'm gonna call him Akamaru!" He said excitedly, racing from the room.
Tsume found herself smiling, despite herself. "Good luck." She said, to the empty space where he had been.
Most of the clan thought of him as the fox, the Kyuubi. But she never could. His energy, his smile, his determination, his looks. His smell reminded everyone else of the Kyuubi. But Kiba always reminded her of his father. She smiled sadly, lost in memories, before she shook her head and sped up her pace. She was the Alpha, and she had no times for such things.
xxxx
"So all I have to do is focus enough chakra down into my feet to stick to the tree?" Sakura asked.
"Yup." Naruto confirmed.
Sakura put one foot on the tree, and was promptly blown backwards, the force of her chakra splitting the tree.
Sakura gritted her teeth and sat up, ignoring Naruto, who had promptly fallen over, laughing hysterically.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry." Naruto gasped in between breaths. "It's just...I did the exact same thing the first couple of times." He told her, still holding his stomach.
Sakura glared at him, then looked back at the blackened crater in the tree, which was now standing at a very awkward angle.
"I would definitely pick a different tree." said Kakashi, without looking up from his book.
Sakura studied the masked man, still a little surprised that he was teaching her.
Kushina, in turn, was studying Sakura. She was still a little amused at how Naruto had just brought Sakura over one day, to start training. Kakashi had immediately started training her too, as if it were perfectly normal for him to teach just whoever Naruto brought over.
It was also amusing that out of all the friends Naruto might've made, he just happened to make friends with one of his fellow Jinchuuriki. Kushina had wondered briefly if Naruto had known, then decided that he probably had. She wished Jiraiya had been here, so she could've seen his reaction, but unfortunately he was on one of his long trips out of the village.
Sakura was starting to get visibly frustrated on her tenth try, when she had yet to get even five steps up the tree.
Naruto was too busy training with shuriken, and Kakashi was too busy reading his book to notice, so Kushina stepped in to comfort the girl.
She brought the young girl a glass of water, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't get frustrated, Sakura. The more chakra you have, the harder it becomes to control. And you have a lot of chakra, a lot more than any normal shinobi."
"I do?" Sakura asked, surprised.
Kushina smiled, and nodded. "Nowhere near as much as Naruto, but way more than the average shinobi."
She turned to walk away again, but was stopped by Sakura's voice. "Just how much chakra do I have?"
Kushina turned around, and studied the girl critically. "By the time you're a genin, you'll probably have about 40 times as much as an average jounin."
"Really?" Sakura asked, totally shocked. "Then how much does Naruto have?"
Kushina grinned. "By the time he's a genin, he'll probably have about 100 times as much chakra as Kakashi, who's an elite ANBU."
Sakura's jaw dropped. "You're kidding."
"Nope." Kushina turned around. "You kids are special."
xxxx
Hinata tried not to let her frustration show as she rose to her feet, again. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't focus her chakra right. The Gentle Fist style used sharp jabs of chakra to close specific points in the chakra network. But Hinata just couldn't get her chakra to focus right, she didn't have anywhere near the level of control her sister had.
"Again."
Hinata settled into her stance again, concentrating. She'd get it right, this time. She had to.
Hanabi jumped forward, arm extended, palm open. Hinata met her halfway, desperately trying to focus her chakra into a sharp strike. But it was useless, Hinata's chakra came out as a pathetic wave, folding before the sharpness of Hanabi's controlled spike.
Hanabi's chakra spiked into Hinata's arm, knocking her slightly off balance, and Hanabi jumped up to perform a perfect roundhouse kick, the blast of chakra sending Hinata flying backwards.
"Hinata-sama!" She heard Ko cry out. With her Byakugan on, she saw him surge halfway to his feet, before stopping and settling back on his knees. Hiashi, clan-head, and Hinata and Hanabi's father, shook his head in disgust, and left the room.
Hinata felt tears begin to prick at her eyes, and she turned off her Byakugan. She just couldn't do it, no matter how many times she tried, she just couldn't control her chakra like Hanabi could!
She hated being weak, she hated failing her father, she hated losing to her little sister, and she hated crying. But somehow she couldn't stop the tears from coming, even in front of her sister.
She scrambled to her feet, and ran from the room. She needed to get out, away from that place, away from her perfect little sister.
"Hinata-sama!" Ko gasped behind her, but she didn't stop, she just ran. Out, through the gates, down into the street, determined to get as far away from the compound as she could.
As she ran, she kept her head down, tears streaming down the side of her face.
Suddenly, she ran into something full-throttle, crashing and falling to a stop. She looked up, to see a young boy, a few years older than herself, looking down at her. Behind him stood two of his buddies. The leader was holding an his arm out in shock, and down on the ground, his ice-cream lay from where she had knocked it out of his hand.
"Hey!" The boy grabbed her arm, his face livid, taking her off the path and into the woods, his two buddies behind him. "I paid good money for that ice cream, stupid!"
"She looks like Neji, I think she's a Hyuuga!" One of the boy's friends said.
"Yeah, I hate nobles like this." The three boys surrounded her.
Hinata felt the tears start to flow again, and she attempted to dash through the boys, back towards the street. But the boy she'd bumped into grabbed her arm, and forced her back into their circle.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going? Running off without even apologizing?" The boy grabbed her head and shoved her down on to her hands and knees. "Apologize! And do it properly."
"Apologize!" His friends echoed.
"I-I'm sorry." Hinata gasped out against her sobs, her voice coming out soft and weak. Like the rest of me.
"Eh? I can barely hear you. Say it like you mean it."
"I-I'm sorry." It came out weak again. "I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" She sobbed, terrified.
"Hey. Quit it."
The boys all turned around, and Hinata looked up.
Before them stood a young boy, around Hinata's age. He had spiky blonde hair, tan skin, and piercing blue eyes. He was wearing an orange shirt, with a blue whirlpool symbol on the front. His tan shorts had a belt looped through them, and a small weapon's pouch hung on each side. He was tall and skinny, almost as tall as the older boys.
"Huh? Who are you? You think you're some kind of ninja or something with those kunai pouches?"
The boy stared steadily at the leader, his blue eyes calm. "Something like that." He agreed, not breaking eye contact. Hinata found herself gasping in surprise; she'd never be able to stand up to someone like that.
"Eh? You messing with me? I'll teach you to make fun of me!" The bully swung at the newcomer, his fist aimed directly at the blonde's face.
The blonde caught the fist easily, then shoved his arm back. "All of you. Get Lost."
"Eh? Nobody talks like that to boss!"
"Yeah, he's taking us lightly!" The two cronies shouted, and all three of the older boys leaped at the blonde.
Hinata whimpered, but couldn't manage to look away either.
So fast she could barely see, the blonde punched the first bully in the stomach, causing him to fall over, clutching his stomach.
Then he suddenly appeared behind the two cronies, and smacked their heads together with an audible crack. They both fell to the ground.
Hinata gasped, not believing her eyes. Not even her half-brother, Neji, was that fast. And he was supposed to be the strongest Hyuuga in a generation.
The bullies struggled to their feet slowly. "Shit, let's get out of here!" They scrambled away, and Hinata thought she might've seen a small smile on Naruto's face, before it disappeared.
Naruto slowly walked over to her, and offered her his hand. She took it, immediately feeling the warmth of his hand, and the uneven bumps of his calluses. She blushed, and he gently pulled her to his feet.
"I'm sorry about that." He told her. Without even knowing why, Naruto lifted his hand, and gently wiped away the tears on her cheek with his thumb.
She blushed even deeper, feeling slightly faint, and Naruto couldn't help but think of how cute it made her look. She started to bow to him, "T-Thank you very much!" She gasped, but he had already caught her shoulder.
"Don't bow to me." He said gently. "I just did what any decent person would done. My name's Uzumaki Naruto, by the way."
"N-Nice to meet you, Naruto-san. I-I'm H-Hyuuga Hinata." She said, straightening up.
"Nice to meet you too Hinata-chan!" He exclaimed, his face morphing into a wide smile.
Hinata blushed slightly at the familiar address.
"Hinata-sama!" Ko's voice cut through the trees.
Naruto's face twitched slightly. "You're a Hyuuga, so you'll be at the Academy, right?"
"Y-Yes." Hinata stuttered.
"I hope we're in the same class!" Naruto exclaimed, then dashed away, the abruptness of his exit leaving her gaping after him in surprise. Then she closed her mouth.
I hope so too, Naruto-kun. Hinata thought, just as Ko broke into the clearing. "Hinata-sama!" He gasped, catching his breath.
"We can go back now, Ko." She said evenly , turning, her back straight, her thoughts still dwelling on her mysterious blonde rescuer.
"Hinata-sama?" Ko asked, bewildered. But she was already gone, and Ko had to scramble to catch up.
xxxx
Six Months Later
It was the first day of the school year, and Hinata was nervous. So nervous that she left half an hour early, to the point where she had to stop at every opportunity along the way, just so she wouldn't be ridiculously early.
She had take what she had thought was a detour, and then ended up getting lost, and had to backtrack. She was still fifteen minutes early, and she hoped she wasn't the only one in the courtyard.
But no, she saw with relief, she wasn't the only one who had gotten there early.
xxxx
Naruto lounged against the brick wall, trying to look calm, trying to stay still, while inside his stomach was filled with butterflies. He'd woken up early, taken his time eating breakfast, and tried to drag out every task on his way out of the house. But it hadn't really worked, he'd been way too excited for his first day.
He looked up then, as Hinata entered the courtyard, looking around anxiously. There were already thirty other kids here, some of them older students, but most of them first-years.
For a second, Naruto wondered if she would recognize him, but then she caught his eyes, and she blushed deeply. He supposed that meant that she did remember him.
But then, behind her, someone else walked in.
"Hey, Sakura-chan!" He called, waving his hand.
xxxx
Hinata felt her heart begin beating again. For a second, she had thought Naruto was waving to her, and she'd been about to walk over. But then a young girl with pink hair had walked past her, calling a greeting to Naruto.
She stayed frozen for a second, watching as the girl, whose name she supposed was Sakura, moved over to talk to Naruto.
Naruto looked over, just then, and caught her gaze. He winked, flashing a grin at her, and Hinata felt all the blood in her body rush to her face, as she hurriedly looked down, pressing her fingers together nervously.
Had that wink...had that meant...No, She told herself, Naruto-kun was just being friendly. Still blushing, and feeling slightly feint, Hinata moved to sit with her back to a tree.
There was no way she'd be able to approach him now.
xxxx
Kiba fidgeted in his seat, impatient to start. Akamaru, perhaps the lightest puppy in the history of the Inuzuka, sat on his head. Kiba had picked a seat at the very back of the class, next to a big boy named Chouji who was munching on chips noisily.
The teacher, a scowling old man with a short white beard, was slowly calling the roll. Just then, the door opened, and a woman and her son were revealed.
The woman smiled nervously. "Hi, uh, sorry we're late..." She trailed off, and Kiba frowned. She had to be a civilian.
Suddenly the woman froze, and Kiba caught her staring at a young boy in the back. He was blonde, with light scars that looked like whiskers on his face. He was whispering to a young girl with pink hair, who was holding her hand over her mouth to stop laughter.
Kiba turned back around, to see the woman had now switched her gaze to the young girl. Then it traveled around the room, her expression gradually becoming more horrified. Her gaze paused on him for a moment, before moving down his row.
"Uh." The woman smiled, her face white. "N-Never mind actually. Come on, honey, you can start next year." She firmly pulled her protesting son away.
He was the first to go.
xxxx
One week later
Naruto frowned, fidgeting with his pen impatiently. Slowly the class had dwindled in size, to the point where only nine students remained.
Naruto grinned suddenly. There was no way it was a coincidence. That out of four first-year classes, all nine Jinchuuriki got placed in the same class. Perhaps the old man had arranged it that way.
Originally, the tables had been arranged in rows, with two or three people at each table. But now they had shoved all the other tables against the wall, and put two of the tables together. All nine of them sat around the large table, playing a card game.
Naruto wasn't playing. He had never thought much of card games; they were far too easy for him.
Their instructor had walked out this morning, and now the nine of them were left, unsupervised, waiting for an adult to come in and tell them what was going on.
xxxx
"Hokage-sama? You summoned me?" Iruka asked, stepping into the Hokage's office.
"Ah, Iruka. Yes, come in, sit down." Hiruzen gestured to the chair opposite him.
"What's this about?" Iruka asked.
The Third surveyed him over his clasped hands. "I think you know. This morning, Gallen handed in his resignation. I want you to take over his class."
Iruka scowled. "Hokage-sama, I'm afraid I must decline. You know I can't teach them, and besides, right now I've got what looks to be one of the most well behaved classes I've ever had."
"Why can't you teach them?" Hiruzen asked.
"Are you going to make me say it, Hokage-sama?" Iruka paused, and the Hokage said nothing. "Fine. They killed my parents, okay?" He said, slumping slightly in his seat.
"Nine babies, still in their cribs, managed to take out two adult Chunin?" The Hokage asked, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise.
"You know what I mean." Iruka said, disgruntled.
"No, Iruka. You know what I mean. They're just kids, Iruka. Not the demon they contain. Give them a shot; give them one week." he coaxed gently. "If you still think they're demons after one week, I'll let you switch back to your behaved class."
Iruka slumped even further in his seat. "I can't."
The Hokage frowned, then sighed. "I thought you were better than this, Iruka." He said sadly.
Iruka continued looking down at the floor. If there was one thing Konoha ninja couldn't stand, it was letting down their Hokage.
He sighed heavily. "Fine. One week."
"Excellent. They're waiting for you." The Hokage said, returning to his paperwork.
As Iruka closed the door behind him, the Third smiled. That was almost too easy.
xxxx
The door slammed open, and a teacher wearing his flak jacket and headband entered. He was young, tan, and had a scar running across his nose onto both cheeks in a straight line.
His mouth was set firmly into a tight scowl, and his eyes were smoldering. He tossed his briefcase onto the desk, then looked up at them.
"Well?" He asked, that one word sending shivers down their spines. All of them jumped up immediately, even Shino, and in seconds, three tables were pushed to the front of the room, in a half circle in front of Iruka's desk.
"You may call me Iruka-sensei." He said, his eyes still smoldering.
"I'm going to be honest with you...I don't want to teach you." They stayed silent. "I don't want to teach you unless you can prove to me that you're worth my time and effort."
Naruto didn't know about the others, but he knew that he was sitting up as straight as physically possible.
"Therefore, for the next week, we'll be moving a little faster than usual. We'll cover in four days what the other classes spend three weeks to cover. I see that almost all of you are from a clan. That's good; you'll need all the help you can get."
Iruka put his palms down on his desk, looming over it, and he looked each of them in the eye. "We'll be having a test on Friday. I'll tell you this right now; if even one of you fails, I'm done. You'll either have to get a new teacher, or..." he paused, a slight smile on his face. "They might just kick you out of the academy."
Silence.
"I hope your parents have taught you all how to read and write. If not, you have four days to learn. I expect you to be able to read the questions and write basic answers for the test Friday."
Iruka was a little disappointed to see that none of them looked alarmed by this prospect.
"Now. Someone tell me what you know about chakra. And speak up; your classmates will want to be able to hear you. Their career might just depend on it."
xxxx
Naruto rolled over in his sleep. Ever since he had first accessed the Kyuubi's chakra, had first felt it pouring out through his seal, he'd had weird dreams.
Actually, they'd been his first dreams. He'd never really had dreams before.
But now, he'd been receiving random thoughts, emotions and flashes of people he didn't know, houses he didn't know.
Tonight was even worse than usual.
A large man, laughing, his long red hair cascading down his back. His body, while huge, didn't jiggle. It was all muscle. He had a chicken leg in his hand, and a glass of wine in the other.
An unnaturally solemn teenager with raven black hair, fiercely pelting a target with kunai.
A blonde woman slamming a door in his face.
Tossing and turning in a bed that wasn't his, blankets piled on top of him. Impatiently sweeping long, pink hair out of his face.
Pale, cruel eyes, looking down at him as he lay sprawled on the mat.
The solemn teenager again, walking on his porch. From the other direction, an equally solemn man, perhaps his father, came forward. He felt a flash of concern as they passed each other, not even acknowledging each other's presence.
Amusement, as a small white puppy barked fiercely, chasing a squirrel across the field.
A man in a huge coat and sunglasses, nodding to him. He felt a flash of pride, and looked down to where he'd willed the bugs to form the Aburame clan symbol. There wasn't a bug out of line.
An adult with a scarred face, sitting at a table. He had long black hair that tied back, and it swung around as he looked to where the door was opening, admitting a young blonde girl. "Your mom kick you out again tonight, Ino?" The man asked gently. "What a troublesome woman."
"You need to become stronger, Sasuke. I won't always be here to protect you."
A harsh beeping. No, wait, that was just his alarm clock. Naruto groggily reached over, and shut the stupid thing off.
He sat up, holding his head. "I've got a problem." Unsurprisingly, his bedroom offered no response.
"Did you sleep well?" Kushina asked, as Naruto stumbled into the kitchen.
"No." Naruto said simply, sitting down. He was scowling, like he always did when thinking hard.
"Um, honey?" She asked. No response. "Naruto!" She said sharply. "Fix your shirt."
Naruto started, looking up suddenly. Then he looked back down. "Oh!"
Kushina tried not to laugh as he figured out that not only was his shirt on backwards, but it was inside out too.
"Are you worried about that big test today?" She asked.
"That's today?" He asked, in mild surprise.
"It is Friday, dear." She said dryly. Sometimes she wished he was a little less like his father.
"Oh. You kidding? I'ma ace this thing!"
And other times, she wished he was a little less like her.
xxxx
"So did you give them your special test? How'd it go?" The Hokage asked, trying to hide a grin. It was hard though, with Iruka's excitement so palpable.
Iruka sat the file on his desk, sitting on the edge of his chair. "I gave them the third-year final. The third-year final!"
"And they passed?" The Hokage's pipe fell out of his mouth.
"Of course not!" Iruka laughed. "But look at these scores! Not a single one of them got below a fifty! Sakura got a 65! On the third-year final!"
The Hokage smiled. "I take it you're happy with the results."
"Happy? I'm thrilled! They've easily got the most potential out of any class I've ever seen!"
The Hokage grinned. "I suppose this is when I should say I told you so."
Iruka laughed. "I guess so. I also wanted to apologize for my behavior the other day. It was hardly appropriate."
Hiruzen waved that off. "Nonsense. It was perfectly understandable. I'm just glad to see that you've put your grudge behind you."
"Yeah." Iruka agreed. "But that doesn't mean I can't keep playing the 'hardass teacher'." He said. "It's too much fun."
"And it's apparently very motivating, as well." The Third said, waving his hand at the folder.
"Yes...well...I can't take all the credit. They're a very driven bunch of kids."
"And?"
"And I'm going to do my part to make them some of the best damn shinobi this village has ever seen." Iruka promised firmly.
xxxx
Whump.
Danzo whirled around, to see that a man had dropped through the window behind him, collapsing to the floor. He had blood trailing out of his mouth, and a long cut down his back.
"Shishui?"
xxxx
A/N
Yeah! How bout dat badass Iruka? ...And how bout dat cliffhanger...
I hope I laid some of your fears to rest concerning a certain Inuzuka. It just wouldn't be Kiba without Akamaru by his side...
Anyway, how'd you like the chapter? Thoughts, concerns? Talk to me!