A few hours later-
It never ceased to amaze Iruka, the adaptability of children. He mused as he sat at the desk across from Naru, watching her hand as she absently put her pencil to the paper he had provided so that she could practice writing. They had been in the room together for no more than ten minutes in which time he had set everything up and shown her how to hold the pencil in her hand then written his name in a splendid display of skill.
The letters were small, neat and tidy, and had an almost scroll-ish look to them.
Yet the second he had finished writing his name down, instead of 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over his awesome skills Naru had simply taken the paper, looked at it for a second then applied her pencil to it and had written out her name in a similar style to his own- thoroughly shocking him right down to his toes.
After he had let her write her name several more times, he had then taken the paper from her and looked it over with a slightly disgruntled look on his handsome face then looked back at her. His dark eyes just slightly narrowed. If not for the look on her face earlier in the class room he might be tempted to think that she had been pulling his leg or something about not knowing how to write.
But she hadn't been joking around. And she hadn't been lying either.
The way she had tried to hold her pencil earlier proved that much. But he found it peculiar that she should know the alphabet, and even know how to spell yet have no common knowledge of how to apply the letters to paper to form words up until now. Not only that but the rate she picked up on things was abnormal as well. Was it possible that Naru could perhaps be a genius?
Her monsterous display of strength earlier could prove an asset in Tai Jutsu. It could also mean that she knew how to use and focus her chakra. And the way she seemed to absorb knowledge not previously known to her could also mean that she was capable of understanding and unlocking Jutsu's that may have been lost to the village for many, many years.
She could become a medical nin that rivaled only the legendary sanin Lady Tsunade!
Or a seal master/ breaker.
His excitement was mounting more and more by the minute he looked at her as she snatched the paper right out of his hand and continued to write down her name over and over again until half of the page was full before saying, "I think I've got it down now."
"Really," Iruka said as she set her pencil down and started to get up out of her seat when he asked, "Could I ask you something?" It seemed kind of dumb to simply ask her permission but well, dammit, before his parents had died they had beaten manners into him- so old habits died hard. Besides, some of what he may ask about her might be considered too personal to answer. So having her permission was for the best.
Naru looked at him, her violet eyes boring a hole through his head as she silently nodded then sat back down in her seat.
"You have a grasp of the alphabet, or at least I assume you do-"
"You're not wrong but please get on with it."
"How is it that you have a grasp of the alphabet but no knowledge prior to now of how to put it to use on paper?"
"Oh that. That's partially grandpa's fault." Naru said as she glanced towards the class room door.
Following the motion of her head, Iruka also glanced in that direction and nearly banged his head on his desk when he saw the Hokage peeking in with a curious look on his face. Obviously wanting to know how things were going. "He taught me the alphabet, math, how to read and a few other things... But he sort of forgets the smaller things if he isn't reminded. Sadly I'm kind of the same way. I understand things well enough once I'm shown how to do them. But- if a person who is unknowledgeable of something is given a task they know nothing of how to complete. Well, things just go badly for them. Especially when they are left to figure things out on their own."
"I've never been to a village before a few weeks ago when grandpa came for me. I've lived alone in a small building that was barely more than a shack. So I have no previous knowledge of school, socializing, or anything else. I get annoyed easily. And frustrated even easier. Up until now, what I've learned about the world has been limited only to that shack and the plants and animals that grew and lived around it. I survived by learning to mimic certain behavior patterns. So... I don't really know what I'm doing here. But grandpa feels that it's in my best interest to be here. And so far he's proven to be someone that I can trust."
Iruka listened carefully as his mind turned over every little snippet of information and nodded his head, knowing that he would have to take the information given to him into consideration when teaching her otherwise she would fall behind and asked one last thing. The thing that had been bugging him the most so far. "Naru, why does it say on your papers that you're a boy when it's obvious to me that you're a girl?"
Naru blinked at him, obviously startled by his question before replying in a somewhat hesitant tone, "Grandpa said that it was a game. But I caught on a while back as to why grandpa decided to make everything into a game. It was so that I wouldn't catch on that I'm supposed to be hiding."
This had Iruka sitting up straight in his seat rather quickly, his senses on the alert now. "Hiding? Hiding from what?"
Naru opened her mouth to reply when suddenly the Hokage stepped into the room and shouted, "Naru!" Causing the girl to look at the elder for a moment and then sigh and get up out of her chair and bow towards Iruka who got to his feet and looked back and forth between the two curiously as Naru finally said,
"Sorry sensei. I'm afraid that I've already said too much as it is. Thank you for teaching me to write." And with that she walked across the room to where the Hokage stood and took the hand he held out to her even as he continued to glare at Iruka before turning his back on the younger man with his silk robe swirling around him as they both disappeared from Iruka's sight.
Leaving him to wonder what the hell would have caused the Hokage to act like that.