Last time: Shino stood up and turned to the Nara. "Lead the way."
He did, making sure that Naruto also followed him.
Naruto watched Shikamaru and Shino walk in front of him down the road. Shikamaru had insisted that the restaurant he was taking them to would be fine. Naruto was sweating slightly, and his stomach rolled with nerves and fear. He'd told them, at least a little, about what to expect. It seemed though, from how they reacted, that they didn't really understand what he'd been trying to say. Both of them had insisted that it would be fine, that it must be nothing. Naruto knew better though. The other two hadn't lived through twelve years of this treatment after all. He could already feel the glares and hear the whispers following him. THe boy focused on the ground beneath his feet and keeping the heels of his teammates just in his line of vision. Shino and Shikamaru were both quiet, thinking about what their blond companion had said. Shino was unsure as to the objectivity of the suggested treatment. The bug user would have to see for himself if Naruto had objectively noted the actions of people in the village.
Shikamaru however, was more willing to believe Naruto right off. He had watched the boy during their classes, as he watched all those who shared the room. He recalled, only vaguely, the first day of the Academy. Naruto had come in the room later than everyone else, shy and quiet. Shikamaru had been sitting with Choji in the back corner. Naruto had sat the middle, off to one side. Shikamaru had noted the shabby, worn cloths, and the way he had kept his shoulders curled in towards his body.
Shikamaru hadn't thought much about it the time, putting it off as first day nerves. But now, as Shikamaru examined his own memories, he recalled the way Naruto had shied away from everyone, even the other kids at first. Then a vivid scene of a teacher physically throwing the boy out of the classroom after he'd asked a question surfaced. The more the brunette boy thought about it, as they walked slowly through the town, the more things he could recall. He even remembered one substitute hitting the boy last year after he had answered a question no one else could. Shikamaru could have, but he chose not to. He knew that the question was to advanced for the class. Yet somehow, Naruto had know the correct answer.
He frowned, sticking his hands deep into his pockets. Why had he forgotten all these things? They seemed to glaring now, but at the time, it just seemed like Naruto was a troublemaker, goofing off and getting in trouble for it. He would have to watch, now, observe and then maybe ask his father about it. Shikamaru looked around their small group then, noting that while Shino was walking just barely behind and to one side of him, Naruto had hung back, almost not even walking with them.
Next, the Nara looked around them lazily. He saw far more eyes turned towards them than he had expected. Most of those who were watching them had dark, angry looks. A few people were looking at Shino and him with curiosity or mild recognition, but Naruto- he was receiving the more awful glares, accompanied by whisperes. Shikamaru couldn't hear everything that was said, but it was enough.
"That... thing is back." "Someone should do something, get rid of it." "...thought that demon had been dealt with." "I wish it would die." Yes, he would definitely be having a long conversation with several people. His father would be the first, tonight if possible. Tomorrow, he would try to get Ibiki alone, and then Shino after their training was done. For now, he would be trying to see what else he could learn about the situation.
They had reached the little BB-Q place that Shikamaru met Choji and Ino at. It was run by the Akimichi family, and CHoji's mother was often the cook. He slid open the shoji door and lead his two teammates in. He lead them back to his favorite table and pushed Naruto into the middle of the buthe. Shino took the other side of the corner booth and Shikamaru sat on the outside. Naruto was stuck between them. He was fidgeting, waiting for something bad to happen. When he saw a waiter walking over, he looked down and tapped out a quick rhythm on his leg. Shino subtly shifted closer to the blond, having also seen and heard the villagers reactions.
"Why if it isn't the Nara kid." Boomed the waiter, an uncle of Choji. "I didn't expect to see you today." Shikamaru just shrugged.
"Well, gotta eat sometime." The round man laughed.
"Too true. Who is it you've brought?" Naruto flinched and pulled his body closer.
"This is my genin team. Shino Aburame and Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto was now sure that something would happen. People all knew his name, even if they didn't recognize him. Surely, now the mistake of letting him in woud be corrected. The large man just smiled though.
"Ah, genin team. Your dad still hangs around with his genin team. Better get real close, these teams can last your whole life if you do." Shikamaru just nodded and then rattled off a list of foods. Shino listed only a few things, and when it came around to Naruto, the boy was looking horribly unsure.
"Uhhh... well..." He started, picking at his sleeve. Shikamaru decided to save him.
"Naruto would probably like the beef strips and takoyaki, with pork cuts, teriyaki beef and miso soup." He shot a glance at the other to see him nod.
"That would be good, thanks." After the waiter left, Naruto peeked over at Shikamaru.
"Thank you... I uh..." Shikamaru leaned back and closed his eyes.
"It's no big deal. I come here often enough to know what's good." Naruto just sat, looking between his lap, his team and the door. Shino showed an unexpected amount of consideration and steered the conversation away from Naruto for the moment.
"We came to discuss our selves. As I am often quite reticent, I will begin. You may ask questions for me to answer if I can." Shikamaru went with it and asked about his colony of kikai.
"My kikai are fairly strong for my clan, and I have been working on finding a way to use them to store chakra as well as consume it. I wish to be able to perform more jutsu in the future and would require more chakra to do so."
"Ok, so do you train frequently?"
"Daily, I perform a set of varied drills. They range from taijutsu, a few ninjutsu and target practice." Shikamaru huffed and made a face at that.
"Ok, so…" Naruto was very quiet for a while, mostly listening. But eventually he started to chip in here and there. He never asked his own questions, but he did add a few comments.
Shikamaru took the next turn of 20Q.
"What are your ambitions?" Was Naruto's hesitant question.
"I don't know, maybe to just have a good, honorable career, and then retire and have a family?" He munched on his grilled shrimp. "I don't like putting too much effort into things, but if I have to, I will." Shino next inquired.
"Do you have hobbies?" It seemed an odd question coming from the more rigid boy. Shikamaru thought for a moment.
"I like playing Go and Shogi, especially with my dad. Cloud watching and taking naps are also on my usual list of things to do." Naruto cracked just a hint of a smile at his lazy answer. The blond was slowly letting himself calm. Nothing had happened, and no one was even watching their table. He munched on his meat slowly, listening closely to his team. Shikamaru was explaining some of his training to Shino who was still very still and quiet. Naruto could understand being quiet.
He let himself get lost in thought, thinking about the day. It was only about three in the afternoon, but he felt exhausted. He wasn't sure how he would be able to handle this every day. Ibiki truly scared him, and he already knew the Jonin had it out for him. He wondered how long it would be until Ibiki started using him to demonstrate torture jutsu or something like that.
He didn't understand why the Hokage and Iruka would have done this to him. Iruka even knew that Ibiki upset him. The scarred jonin was not the kind of man Naruto would have picked to handle any children, and certainly not himself. Would the man be horribly cruel to him? Would Naruto have to spend more time trying to get those healing jutsu to work on his own? Who would he be able to turn to if the man tried to ki-
"Naruto? Are you listening?" Shikamaru laid a hand on his arm, his face too close to Naruto's. Naruto couldn't hold back the flinch and the stiffening of his limbs at the unexpected touch. He saw Shikamaru's dark eyes sharpen.
"Oh, sorry." He hurriedly blurted out. Distract him. I can't really explain that reaction. "I guess the exam yesterday tired me out more than I thought." He forced a small smile and closed his eyes to hide the insincerity. Shikamaru frowned again, but sat back.
"Yeah, I guess. It's your turn." He gestured to the Aburame boy. "Shino asked if you have any particular strengths." Naruto blinked, and then wracked his brain.
"Uh… well, I am good with kunai and stuff. I ether get jutsu right the first time, or they don't work at all." He ruffled his hair. "I don't get it, but it always ends up that way." Shino seemed interested.
"In my clan, we have done many experiments dealing with chakra levels and their effect on jutsu. What had been determined is that often one's chakra levels denote what types could be used. Logic also showed that some jutsu could be used in ways to allow for larger amounts of chakra than they were intended to use." Naruto perked up at this.
"So you think that there might be a way to help?" The kikai user nodded once.
"It is a possibility." Shikamaru leaned back.
"I have access to some scrolls on chakra control and meditation to balance chakra. I can lend them to you, if you'd like." Naruto was astounded that both of his teammates were so easily offering advice and help for him. He was used to nearly everyone ignoring his problems, or enjoying his struggles. Iruka tried, but the Chunin was too involved in his work to devote the time it would take to make a difference. The Hokage was even more so this way. Being the leader of a military village left no opportunity to look after a single orphan boy. The blond boy blinked back wet eyes and focused on his food. He wasn't sure why these two practical strangers were being so nice to him, he only hoped it lasted. He would need something to look forward to with his team. Ibiki would not be that thing.
Authors note at the end! I just wanted to take a moment to address some things people have commented. First, the Sasuke chapter. I know a couple of people haven't liked it, but I do feel like it needs to be there. Later in the story, things with Sasuke's team will come up, and I felt it was better to show the changes and what happens as it happens rather than in a bunch of flashbacks later. I will be (hopefully) adding another couple of sections to Sasuke's part soon. That will probably help it all fit in better. Someone commented that they hoped to see Kakashi more. Sorry! But Kakashi isn't going to feature too much. He will be in the story. But the main focus of the story is Naruto and his team. They will encounter most of the other teams from time to time, but Sasuke's team and Naruto's are going to be around the most.
This is turning out kinda long... Sorry for that. Just a couple more things left. Where is Sakura? Well, for this fanfic, I couldn't fit her in in a way that I liked. I'm not too fond of Sakura at times, and I decided to leave her out. If you notice, Ibiki and the others have doubts about her being up to the task of being a ninja. They decided to fail her and remove her from the ninja program rather than risk her and her team's lives. So, Sakura might pop up at some point, but she didn't make the cut for ninja. Hinata's team placement is the last thing. A reviewer asked why she (quiet shy Hinata) was on a team with loud and louder Ino and Kiba. It is so the three of them can balance out each other. Yes, Hinata is reserved, and especially Kiba is loud. The idea is this: Kiba is energetic and wild, Ino is self confident and capable(but not really that loud). Hinata is horribly under confident in her self. Ino and Hinata can get along, both being girls, in ways that Kiba wont. Kiba can help by being loyal and fiercely protective of all of his 'pack'. Hinata might help tone down Kiba, and teach him some manners, while Kiba will help Hinata loosen up. The Hyuuga clan is the most formal and strict clan in Konoha, while the Inuzuka are the least. The Yamanaka family is more normal. The three of them together will balance out all these things eventually.
And now that that horribly long note is done, I will see you all next week! (Unless you get tired of the story. *cries in a corner*)