The other day I met Naruto at Ichiraku's and we sat down to eat. Shikamaru tagged along and he and Naruto appeared to get along nicely, well, after all, even in the anime, they were good friends. I was pleasantly surprised at how good Ichiraku's really was, I had miso ramen with eggplant (yup, had to try it, after all, Kakashi's favorite!) and even though I wasn't a huge eggplant lover in my past life, the ramen was divine!
After we ate we began walking around aimlessly, and I felt the villagers' stare at us. I hated it, made me uncomfortable. Naruto observed and I could see how bad he felt for that, but then Shikamaru decided to play tag and the tense atmosphere dissipated. Naruto ran in the front, and man, he was really fast! I was the last, Shikamaru in front of me, but then I saw it from the corner of my eyes. Silver hair on a building, I faltered a little and looked up, seeing a familiar ANBU, I waved and he waved back. So, I began running faster.
Father began teaching us more frequently, he also told us that the first year at the Academy, which was for civilians, would be boring for us. Apparently, that year was about making sure the civilians knew how to hold a kunai and a shuriken, how to write basic sentences, stuff like that. Stuff we knew. But apparently, the council was pressing father into putting us in the Academy, saying that we are genius Nara after all, which we were, but father wanted us around children of the same age group. So father would put us into that class. The council would be offended by that, especially since they wanted us in the real classes. But they wouldn't be able to say a word, since father would do just what they asked him to do. If it all played out well, we would end up being sent home and excused for the year. After that, we would get another year at home and we would enter at the age of seven in the real classes.
That was the plan and knowing father, it would work out perfectly.
Shikamaru and I both visited father at his office once a month, but we knew the council kept a tab on us. Sometimes I met Kakashi, sometimes we talked, but nonetheless, the year went on and one day we woke up standing at the Academy.
"Troublesome." we both muttered, but we didn't have a choice. As father planned the council threw a fit at him, but he played his role and we were out of those preparatory classes in no time. Lucky for us, those classes were the death of both of us, I mean… Who the heck holds a kunai by the sharpened side?
Anyway, we got our year off and so my mind decided to finally work a little and I realized, Naruto wasn't going to those classes and he needed them. Damn Naruto!
"Shikanaaaaai-chan." he whined as I dragged him down the streets. "I don't want to go, those classes are for idiots!" I turned and he gave me a frightened look. Well, I was pissed.
"Listen to me, you need those classes, brat!" I hissed. "But if I let you go in there I can clearly deduce that you would just walk out and not learn anything. So, I'm taking you home, you're going to learn with and by me." I told him solemnly and he slowly nodded, but he looked doubtful.
"Why would you do that?" he asked not looking at me, but rather at his sandals.
"Because you're a friend, idiot! Friends help each other." he looked up with an incredulous look like he couldn't believe my words. "Now come!" I dragged him further.
Training and teaching Naruto ended up being more troublesome than I anticipated. The boy had potential, that was clear, but his attitude was getting to my nerves. Luckily mother and father helped out and of course, Shikamaru tagged along all the time. After Naruto went home father came and placed a hand on my and another hand on my twin's shoulder and led us back in, where we began eating after a while.
"Why does everyone avoid Naruto like he's the plague?" Shikamaru asked out of the blue and father watched him intensely.
"Shikanai, Shikamaru… How do you feel about that boy?" I didn't expect that question, did Naruto do something wrong?
"It's not like we're gonna be buddies, but I wouldn't avoid him either" Shikamaru shrugged and told father, who looked at me and I nodded indicating I felt the same way. He smiled at us.
"I see… Then you should do what you want to do." he told us.
I knew that Shikaku was not against Naruto, but I didn't want a riddle as an answer. Heck. Do what we want to do? What does that even mean? He didn't even answer Shikamaru's question! Sometimes that man just loved to bug my brains out…
"You know you should aim for the center." Shikamaru told Naruto, who was trying to throw the kunai at the target board. Naruto threw another one, but it was still far off the center.
"Let's call it a day." father said behind us. "Good work, all of you." he smiled.
"But Shikaku-san-" father held up a hand stopping Naruto.
"I have to go to the office and Yoshino is still busy, so why don't you three head out and get something for yourselves?" he came closer and gave us money after that we began walking away. Father headed to the Hokage Tower, so, we began walking around to find a store since we decided to eat ice cream.
We found a store and Shikamaru went inside, Naruto followed, but I told them I'd rather wait for them outside, after all, they knew I wasn't picky nor was I an ice cream person. Vanilla would do nicely for me in any situation. Waiting for them I went to the side, watching as some people walked on the nearby stairs.
"You are making my job quite hard." I heard a familiar voice, and I turned to see Kakashi in his normal jonin attire, leaning against the store's wall, hidden in the shadows. "You told me to watch Naruto and yet I see you borrowing him almost every single day." he crossed his arms and looked at me.
"I didn't think you'd go through with that." I admitted. "After all, you got ordered by a child." he shrugged.
"Maybe I have nothing else to do." he commented, but I rolled my eyes.
"Please, you're an ANBU and your face is in every single bingo book, I bet you'd have better things to do." he looked at me amusedly.
"And you know me so well." I could hear the sarcasm.
"Of course." I grinned. "Anyway, I'm glad you're going through with it, Dog." I said honestly, I really wanted him to watch Naruto.
"Actually, it's Hound." he corrected me. "Captain Hound-13, if you want to be specific." oh, so that's how they didn't run out of animals. I get it.
"Should you give that kind of information to a six-year-old?" I asked him with a hint of a smile and he chuckled. Man, I loved hearing him chuckle. Well, it might have been an act…
"Probably not." he admitted and waved, confusedly I waved back, then he disappeared and the store's door opened, Naruto and Shikamaru walked out.
"Hey, we got you vanilla ice cream!" Naruto said with a huge smile and I thanked them, after that we began walking aimlessly, talking about our future shinobi career.
I'm really trying to put more and more of Kakashi in there, after all, he's going to have a key role in the future.
About the Academy, I know that's how it all happened in the anime, but hey, I'm messing a little bit with the story. There's the talk with the parents with Shikamaru and Shikanai, I took that out of the anime, and if I recall it correctly Shikamaru was older when he brought that problem up, but in here he brings that conversation on earlier, and thus that's the first hint that we're gonna have canon stuff going to the story in no time. But isn't the conversation familiar to Shikanai? Well, as I stated before, she watched Naruto only to the Pain Arc. So, she doesn't know that much, that episode is shown at the end or after the Pain Arc, something like that.
I still don't own Naruto.
Thank you for reading my story!