Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Academy
Iruka's day so far had been pretty interesting.
It was the last day of school before the Genin exams, and his senior class was so on edge it wasn't even funny. Even the normally kind and shy Hyuuga Hinata seemed to be ready to go off at the first person that got near her. He attempted to get their attention.
"Class…"
Nothing.
"Class!"
Still nothing. Sighing, he started to observe the class. First there were two girls, sitting and staring dreamily at Sasuke. Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, disgraces to the kunoichi world who worried more about their looks than their skills. Admittedly, Ino still had something to go on with her family techniques, but Sakura came from a civilian family and had no physical prowess whatsoever and her chakra reserves were embarrassingly low.
Sitting a desk behind them were Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji, the heirs to their respective clans. Shikamaru had absolutely abysmal grades, while Chouji's weren't much better, but after meeting with their father's about it, they didn't seem too worried. The pair of them where almost carbon copies of their folks, which slightly crept out Iruka.
Shifting his gaze, he saw Inuzuka Kiba and the Hyuuga heiress, Hinata. Both of them were ready to be Genin, but had some serious personality problems that needed to get sorted out.
Kiba was loud, brash, ignorant and full of himself. He acted purely on instincts and often got himself into trouble because of them.
Hinata, while proficient in her clans Taijutsu, the Gentle Fist, and her kekkai genkai Byakugan, she was extremely shy and soft spoken.
Off in a dark corner was Aburame Shino, heir to the Aburame clan. He was one of the few in the class that could pass as a true shinobi. Silent, skilled in strategy and logic and hid his skills from most of the class. His skills were rivalled only by those of Uchiha Sasuke's.
Said Uchiha had practically declared himself royalty and expected everything to be handed to him. Admittedly, he was a superb ninja, but his high and mighty attitude would someday get him into serious trouble.
When Iruka realized that still no one was paying attention, he sucked in a large breath ready to use his big-head jutsu developed just for situations like this when the door opened, and in walked a boy.
The first thing he noticed was the sword at his side and the way he carried himself, similar to how a jounin walked, silently and taking in their surroundings without people noticing. The boy walked up and handed him a slip of paper.
"A letter from the Hokage, explaining my joining this class," the boy stated. Iruka nodded silently, watching the boy from the corner of his eye as he read the message. Apparently Naruto was only there to get to know how the future Genin worked, as he would be taking the exam tomorrow.
"Ok Naruto, why don't you take the seat next to Sasuke," he said, pointing over to where the Uchiha was.
"… You mean next to the brooding emo-prince with the duck ass hairdo?" Naruto questioned in deadpan.
Almost immediately, the female population of the class minus Hinata started screaming for his blood. Kiba was rolling on the floor laughing while Shikamaru and Chouji were chuckling. Shino's lips quirked up into a smile, showing his amusement.
"ENOUGH!" Iruka screamed, his big-head jutsu kicking into overdrive. He turned back to Naruto, "Fine, please go sit with Shino over there. But first, why don't you introduce yourself to the class."
Naruto nodded and turned to face the class with a smile, "Uzumaki-Takezo Naruto at your service." He finished with a bow, and when he looked up he saw the gaping mouths of most of the class, as well as Iruka. Cocking his head to the side in confusion, he looked at Iruka for an explanation.
"Y-you mean… Takezo as in, the sword wielding clan Takezo? As in Takezo Kenji, Godaime hopeful after Yondaime? As in the Yondaime's teammate and second in command, Takezo?"
Naruto nodded and smiled, "Kenji is my otou-san!"
Iruka promptly fainted.
Naruto chuckled before he slapped him across the face, waking up the Chuunin. Quietly slipping up the stairs, he sat next to Shino and held out his hand, "Hi."
Shino eyed his hand for a second before shaking it, "Aburame Shino."
Naruto nodded and smiled, "Aburame clan, huh? I like you guys, silent, stealthy, known for finishing missions quickly and efficiently, all in all, picture perfect shinobi."
Shino nodded slowly, surprised that someone thought so highly of his clan. It was rare that people praised his clan as highly as the Hyuuga or Uchiha.
"You use Kikai to aid you in battle right?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"You know a lot about my clan, Naruto-san," Shino stated.
"Meh. Knowing your enemy and battling them are two totally different things. If the body isn't strong enough to counter what the mind considers a threat, you're dead."
Shino nodded, "Wise statement." Shino was fairly impressed. It was rare to meet a child so well versed in the shinobi ways.
"Right-o class, time for some sparring. Head out to the training field," Iruka called from the front of the classroom. There was a mad rush for the door, people itching to get out of the stuffy classroom for a while. Naruto followed at a more subdued pace.
"Alright, time for some practice sparring. You can use Taijutsu and Kenjutsu, and only those two!" Iruka said, staring sternly at a few of the class, "Now apart from that, it is an all out match except for serious injury and death."
"Now, lets have Shino and Ino up first." The match was shamefully quick, with Shino delivering a simple backhand to Ino's temple, knocking her out.
It continued on in a similar fashion, except some fights were actually decent to watch. The fan-girls were beaten pathetically easy, which caused Iruka to sigh. "Okay next, how about Naruto and Sasuke?"
Naruto simply nodded and walked out into the field, while Sasuke smirked. I am gonna put this new kid in his place!
Seeing his opponent's expressions, Naruto let out a sigh as he took the Jato from its place at his waist and sealed it into a tattoo on his left forearm. Iruka watched in amazement, even he couldn't seal something like that into his own skin. He continued to study Naruto as he took out a scroll and unsealed an oak bokken, which was well worn.
Naruto looked over to the academy instructor, "Iruka-san, is this alright? Or do I have to use an academy bokken?"
Iruka just nodded, "Yours is fine."
The blonde nodded and shifted his stance, holding the bokken like a sheathed sword at his side.
"Whenever your ready, Uchiha-san," Naruto droned. His father had told him to not show his true personality when around people other than his teammates and people he trusted.
Sasuke immediately rushed Naruto. He threw a right hook at Naruto's head. Naruto easily sidestepped and thwacked Sasuke's thighs. His legs buckled as a numbing sensation passed through them. Snarling, Sasuke threw a roundhouse kick at Naruto's ribs, which Naruto avoided again. The blonde used the opening Sasuke left from the kick and quickly struck at Sasuke's other leg. The Uchiha's knee's buckled completely this time, and Sasuke fell to the ground with a loud thump.
Sasuke scrambled up to see Naruto walking out of the arena, "Don't turn you back on me, dobe!" He quickly threw his hands through a set of seals he had memorized years ago.
"Katon: Great Fireball!"
A large fireball flew towards Naruto, as he turned to see what had happened. Iruka swore and started the seals for a water jutsu to put it out. Naruto smiled as it got closer, the smile turning to a grin when it was about a meter away from him. He thrust his bokken at the fireball.
"Takezo-ryu: Dangan"
A burst of wind hit the fireball with enough power to disperse it instead of making it grow, which continued forward to smack Sasuke hard enough to throw him out of the ring.
Naruto glared at the Uchiha, Absolutely pathetic, to use a potentially lethal jutsu on a fellow shinobi because he can't stand to lose.
The blonde turned to see Kiba whistling and clapping loudly, with Chouji clapping as well. Shikamaru smiled at the blonde while Shino nodded, showing his approval of the ass-whooping.
"Yo, Naruto, come on over here!" Kiba shouted. Anyone who laid Sasuke out like that had to be a good guy.
Naruto smiled at the group of boys as he made his way to them. A wave of Killer Intent washed over him, and he slowly turned to see 99 of the female populace of the class glaring at him, all holding some form of weapon. Cocking an eyebrow, he disappeared from sight as they all lunged at him.
Appearing between Kiba and Shino, Naruto let out a huff, "God damn crazy broads. How do they expect to be kunoichi like that?"
Kiba laughed and clapped Naruto on the back while Shino merely nodded. After class was dismissed, the group of friends invited Naruto to come to a BBQ restaurant. Naruto spent the hours there getting to know his classmates, and immediately decided he wanted to be on a team with some of this lot.
Soon enough the sun started to disappear over the horizon, casting a red glow over the village. Groaning in relief as he stood up and popped his back, Naruto waved a disappeared in a flicker of light, headed towards the Namikaze Estate.
The surrounding forest was quite peaceful, and the last rays of sunlight giving it a breathtaking quality. Naruto slowed his pace from a jog to a slow walk to take in the sight before he reached a natural clearing.
The first thing Naruto noticed was the water running around and through the clearing, which had red wooden bridges built over them at certain places and was edged by smooth, grey stones. Naruto looked a little closer and noticed that there were fish swimming through the streams.
The main house was partly on the land, partly above the water. It had pale yellow walls and traditional roofing, the support beams and roof brown giving the small mansion a traditional feel to it. There were a few rail-less balcony's that sat over the water, decorated with stones and plants.
The lush shrubbery that surrounded the estate was amazing. It was mostly green except for the few plants here and there in autumn colours, giving the house a warm feel. Separated from the mainland via the streams was what looked to be possibly servant quarters, maybe even a dojo. It connected to the main house by a smaller version of the arching red bridges.
Naruto walked up to the main shoji and slid it open. Naruto slipped inside and toed off his boots before stepping up onto the tatami floor. The receiving room was fairly small, walled off by fusuma that were decorated with a forest scene. Smiling, he slid open the nearest one and walked into what seemed to be a simple gathering area. In the small alcove that was in one of the walls, a scroll was hanging, flanked by a pair of candles, which held the Namikaze spiral on it at the top and what seemed to be a creed below it.
Continuing past, he slid open the shoji and walked out into the roofed hall which was open on one side, the stream easily accessible, while on the other was a series of 3 shoji which led to different rooms. The first was a simple sitting room, possibly used for tea ceremonies or other such things. The next was a blank, empty room with nothing in it. The third was a study, judging from the empty shelves and desk situated in the room.
Following the hallway around the corner, he saw a small island across the stream, situated next to a small waterfall where the some of the water came from. It was filed with rocks and had a single bonsai on a slightly elevated part. Smiling, he turned back and continued down the hall, opening doors to find two bedrooms, a training dojo, much to his delight, and a storage.
He headed back to the sitting room and went through the fusama on the other side, which led to an indoor hallway, which connected to the kitchen, a bathroom which was in the traditional style of a small area to wash oneself off, which had been modernized to be a shower, and then hop into the nearby onsen. Further down he found the hall was connected to the storage room on the other side of the house.
Continuing his exploration, he found several more bedrooms, each in a similar design, the only difference being the scenes on the fusuma walls. As he explored, he realized he was going to need to buy a fair amount of furniture, as most of the stuff here, despite being unnaturally free of dust and grime, was old.
He finally got to the bridge that connected the main house to the smaller one on the other side of the stream, and found he was right in the fact it was a servants quarters. What surprised him was the fact the place looked recently used, when he had been under the impression that the Namikaze estate had been sealed off since the Yondaime.
"Hey kid."
Naruto spun around and had his katana out, aimed at the throat of his would-be attacker, only to find Kenji and Sarutobi standing with amused expressions on their faces.
"Err, hey, Kenji-tou-san, Sarutobi-jiji," Naruto said, slipped the Jato back into its normal, colourful sheath.
"Naruto-kun, I forgot to tell you that the Namikaze clan has a family that work form them, essentially servants, but Minato and his family before him treated them as if they were Namikaze."
Naruto nodded, that explained why the place was so clean, "So who are they?"
"Their family name is Kazama," Sarutobi started, "They were sworn to the Namikaze clan during the times when chakra was barely known, let alone used. They are basically an extended part of the family, like the Hyuuga Main house and Branch house, without the seals."
"Oh," Naruto said. "So, where are they?"
Kenji spoke up here, "Sarutobi dismissed them earlier, and I think they went into town to do some shopping." With Naruto's nod, he continued talking, "By the way, I am going to be staying in town until the day after you become a Genin, so tomorrow we are going shopping. I wish your kaa-san were here, she has much better taste than I do."
Naruto snorted before it became a full blown laugh. That was an understatement. Kenji had wanted to buy a loincloth for when it was too hot in the summer. She beat that out of him quick smart.
"So Naruto, pick out a room and use your mission sleeping bag for now. I'm gonna go catch up with the Ino-Shika-Chou gang, they always know the best place for sake."
Kenji ruffled Naruto's hair before bopping the old man on the head with a "Remember what we talked about," before he left via the trees.
"So Naruto-kun, did you make any friends at the Academy?"
"Oh yeah…"
Takezo-ryu: Dangan – Takezo School: Bullet
Shoji – Washi Paper Door/Room Divider
Fusuma – Opaque Rectangular Door/Room Divider
Tatami – Straw Woven Flooring Mats