ACADEMY TOWN

Road 1

Naruto presses his back against a tree, remaining as motionless as he possibly can. Froakie mimics his every move. They poke their heads out from one side of the tree, then hide back, then poke their heads out from the other side before returning to their starting position.

Naruto leans down and whispers. "Find anything?"

Froakie shakes his head.

Sakura, contrasting Naruto's attempt at stealth by being completely out in the open, crosses her arms. "What're you doing?"

"Shh! I'm being sneaky, like a ninja. Pokemon can't run away if they can't see me." He looks around again, hunting for wild Pokemon.

"As if you could ever be a ninja; you're too loud." She shakes her head.

"Sakura-chan, not so loud. You'll scare the Pokemon away!" He says in a much louder voice than Sakura.

"Let's just get to town already."

"Easy for you to say." He points an accusatory finger at her. "You already caught one!"

The Cherubi on Sakura's shoulder snuggles against her cheek. "Cheruuuu."

Sakura aww's and kisses it on its little head. "That's because I know what I'm doing, unlike a certain someone. I'm going to Academy Town, you can stay here if you like." She turns around to leave the forested area and get back to the main Road, where Academy Town is not far off.

"Ahh, Sakura-chan, wait up!" Naruto chases after her, with Froakie hopping on his head to catch a ride.

Academy Town Pokemon Centre

"This is Hyuga Natsu of HyuTV, coming to you live with a very special guest!" The show's host introduces herself.

Before the camera can show who the guest is, the live audience swoons, very audible being comprised mostly of women, loud enough to talk over the host.

"You know him, you love him, it's everyone's favourite Elite Four member, Namikaze Minato."

The swooning and giggling intensifies. A bra comes flying to the stage from somewhere. A pair of boxer briefs also fly out, very possibly not belonging to a woman.

"It's good to be here again." Minato waves to the camera.

"And, ladies, I'm sorry to say that just like last time, Minato is still happily married." Natsu warns them.

The groans of disappointment that follow are deafening.

"That's right, Natsu." Minato nods. "Every day, I fall even more in love with my wife." He blows a kiss to the camera.

"Now, our sources tell us that your son is now a Pokemon Trainer; is that true?"

"Yes it is. He just set out a couple of days ago and I couldn't be more proud of him." Minato overenthusiastically waves to the camera.

"So what can we expect from the son of one of the Konoha Region's strongest Trainers?"

"I'm just as excited to find out as you are, Natsu. I can't wait to see how he and his Froakie will grow, and what other Pokemon he'll catch along the way."

Natsu turns to the camera. "You heard it here- right now all eyes are on Uzumaki Naruto with two burning questions: 'How strong will he become?', and 'Will he grow up to be as much of a hunk as his father?' I'm Hyuga Natsu and this has been HyuTV Live and stay tuned for Hyuga Iroha with HyuTV News."

Before they can roll for commercials, Minato steps up to one of the cameras, practically pressing his face against it. "Oh, and Sakura and Sasuke! Your parents miss you and love you very much! Okaybye."

-x-

Naruto groans and looks away from the giant TV mounted on the Pokemon Centre's walls. "He's so embarrassing!"

"I think he's really sweet." Sakura giggles. "Although… How did he even get there? He was in An Town when we left a couple days ago…"

"I don't know how he does it." Naruto shrugs.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura." The nurse at the front desk calls out to them. "Your Pokemon are ready."

As they head to collect their Pokemon, whispers and murmurs fill the area. All eyes are glued on them, or rather on Naruto. The name everyone just heard on TV, they hear live for themselves. The son of Elite Four member, Namikaze Minato.

Naruto lifts the collar of his jacket, not wanting the attention but it's too late for that. He speedwalks to the counter and grabs his Pokeball.

"Um, excuse me." The nurse puts on her best smile. "I know this might be too much to ask, but… Do you… think I could maybe get an autograph by Namikaze Minato?"

"I'll… ask him." Naruto says but he doesn't actually plan to.

"Oh, thank you! I'm such a big fan!" The nurse does her best to contain her giggling.

They take their Pokemon and make their way to the exit, trying to ignore the continued murmuring within the centre.

"What's everyone see in him, anyway?" Naruto grumbles. "He's just dad."

"What're you talking about, he's super handsome. Although he's nowhere near… Ah, Sasuke!" Sakura exclaims.

"Yeah, I know you like Sasuke." Naruto pouts.

"No, I mean Sasuke. He's here." Sakura points, drawing Naruto's attention to the door.

The sliding doors open to allow entrance for one Uchiha Sasuke to swagger inside with all the confidence in the world. He takes a passing glance at the ticked off Naruto and the fawning Sakura but quickly turns his gaze away in an attempt to ignore their existence.

In his leering, Naruto spots something shiny pinned to Sasuke's vest. A little badge in the shape of a book.

"AH!" Naruto shouts. "Is that the Academy Town Gym badge?!"

"Oh, wow, you already beat the gym, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura swoons.

"Hn." Sasuke flips his hair. "Of course I did. I'm not slow like you two."

He doesn't waste any more time on them and leaves his three Pokeballs on the counter for the nurse to pick up.

The nurse smiles as she takes the Pokemon for healing. "Congratulations. Please wait while we heal them." She places the Pokeballs on a belt behind her where they're taken somewhere to the back.

"Grrr!" Naruto grits his teeth. "Come on, Sakura, let's go beat the gym, too!" He stomps out.

"Please wait for me, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura waves while walking backwards, using every second she can to look at him.

"Hn." Sasuke doesn't even look back.

Academy Town Gym

This town doesn't have its name for nothing. It was first built around an institution for learning and this is exactly where Naruto and Sakura studied before becoming Pokemon Trainers. There're multiple schools and universities that specialize in teaching future Trainers but also less Pokemon-oriented professions, although these days it's always useful to have Pokemon around, whatever you choose to do with your life.

Due to their parents' influence, they studied in one of the most prestigious schools of which the principal is also the town's gym leader. Umino Iruka has made strides in the Konoha Region as a talented educator and talented trainer. He's often sought out as a tutor but his duties as gym leader unfortunately don't allow him as much time for teaching as he'd like.

Then again, being a gym leader is a form of teaching in and of itself. He gets to test young trainers and help them overcome their limits through an honest Pokemon battle.

Naruto and Sakura were lucky enough to be part of one of the few classes taught directly by gym leader Umino Iruka.

Today, they stand in front of his gym not as students but as official Pokemon trainers.

As procedure goes, they sign up and have to wait for their order. The gym allows a certain number of trainers to enter and observe others' gym battles as an additional learning experience.

This time, as luck would have it, the number of people allowed inside stops at Sakura. She's allowed to enter with a group of five but Naruto has to stay out and wait for his group of five to be allowed entrance.

"I'll see you on the other side, Naruto." Sakura waves as she enters the arena.

"Kick butt in there, Sakura-chan!" He cheers her on.

Since this will definitely take a while, Naruto takes this chance to play some games on his phone. It's not like there's much to strategize; he's got one Pokemon and the gym battle will be designed to give him a fair but difficult challenge as all gym battles do. Once they enter the arena, he'll put his faith in Froakie and his own quick thinking to overcome whatever Gym Leader Iruka throws his way.

While he sits, a figure very familiar to him approaches. An assistant teacher who worked closely with Iruka and his classes, Mizuki.

He takes a seat next to Naruto and brushes his silver bangs past his ear. "Hello, Naruto."

"Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto grins. "Hey!"

"I saw your and Sakura's names pop up. I can't believe you're already trainers." She smiles warmly.

"Sure are! And now we're gonna get our first gym badges, too." Naruto cackles in excitement. "Iruka-sensei's gonna be super surprised when he sees how strong I am."

"Speaking of surprises…" Mizuki leans closer and whispers. "Wanna know a little secret that we save for only the most special trainers? If you give me your Pokeballs, I'll go back to our offices and our nurses can give him a special treatment."

"Is that… legal?" Naruto squints his eyes.

"Oh, totally! But we don't advertise it because we don't want anyone to know, see? We only offer this to trainers we believe have the most potential."

Naruto looks over his Pokeball, rolling it around in his hands. "Hmm… I dunno, it sounds unfair. Bur if you're saying it, Mizuki-sensei, then it's gotta be okay!" Naruto hands the Pokeball over to his sensei.

'Just one?' Mizuki furrows his brow. 'I expected more but since he's Namikaze Minato's son, it's got to be a strong one. And to think he gave it up so easily.' He puts it on his holster in a way that the others in the lounge won't see and turns back to Naruto. "I'll have it back to you before Iruka comes back."

"Gee, thanks, Mizuki-sensei!"

Mizuki pats him on the back and heads back to where he came from, leaving Naruto unaware of his true intentions.

-x-

About half an hour later, the group of five exit the arena. Three of them have their shoulders slumped in defeat, clearly having lost the gym battle, but Sakura and one other boy walk out grinning and holding their shiny new badges.

Gym Leader Umino Iruka walks out with them. "Alright, the next five may enter!" He calls out and ushers them all to enter.

Naruto looks around nervously. Mizuki-sensei promised he'd be back before Iruka but he's nowhere in sight. He waits around for the other four to enter before approaching the Gym Leader.

"Umm, Gym Leader Iruka." He gets as close as he can and whispers. "The thing is, Mizuki-sensei isn't back with my Pokemon yet."

Iruka raises a brow. "Mizuki? Why is your Pokemon with him?"

"He…" Naruto looks around to make sure no one is eavesdropping. "He told me about the secret thing. That special service you give to awesome trainers, to get their Pokemon in better shape."

Iruka cocks his head in utter confusion. "Naruto, that's… not something we do. Are you sure Mizuki said that?" He kneels down to be eye-level with the young boy.

Naruto's expression gradually drops, now showing more fear than anything. "Uh, yeah? He… he said it's a secret that others don't know about."

Iruka processes the information given to him and whips his head around the man standing at the information desk, a chubbier man sporting a goatee.

"Daikoku, where's Mizuki?"

Daikoku scratches his temple. "Uh, I think he left a while ago? Didn't say where, though. Should I give him a call?"

"No, don't bother." Iruka shakes his head and turns back to Naruto. "Naruto, listen to me. Do your Pokeballs have built-in GPS?"

With shaky hands Naruto shows his phone. "Yeah."

"Okay, listen to me very carefully. You don't need to worry about a thing, alright? Just stay here and wait for me. I'll fix this, I swear." Iruka takes Naruto's phone and makes a mad dash for the door. "Daikoku, put everything on pause!"

Naruto tightly grips his jacket, unable to stop his body from trembling. "What have I done…"

Naruto's been sitting in the corner of the lounge for what feels like an eternity. Unmoving. Untalkative. He sits still, blank eyes staring at the ground.

Sakura's been trying to get his attention for a while but nothing seems to get through. He's entirely unresponsive and she's getting genuinely scared for him. She tries to approach him one more time.

"Hey… Naruto?"

No response.

She kneels down on the ground in front of him and gently places a hand on his knee.

"Naruto, please. Iruka-sensei said he'll fix it. It'll be alright."

"I messed up." Naruto's voice comes out hoarse from not having spoken in a long time. "I haven't even started to be a trainer and I messed up. I should just go back home."

"Wh- what're you saying?" Sakura stares at him in disbelief. "You can't quit now."

"Sure I can." He stands up for the first time and begins slowly dragging his feet. Shoulders slumped, head down.

"There's no way..." Sakura clenches her fist and grits her teeth. "There's no way I could ever love a Naruto who quits!" She yells out to him.

Naruto turns around with a baffled expression on his face. "What?"

Sakura wipes away a tear that had fall across her cheek and stomps up right to him. "You're always going on about how great you'll be, how you'll be loved by everyone. And I actually believed you despite myself. A Naruto that never gives, that pushes forward no matter what anyone says. That's the Naruto I've grown to admire. The Naruto who would go out there and do something about it instead of complain and quit." She takes out her phone and shoves it in his hand.

He looks down with a furrowed brow and sees the screen. "This is…" New life flashes in his eyes.

In preparation for their journey, they hadn't just activated their own GPS tracking. Their parents insisted they also share each other's tracking information in case they ever get separated against their will. Right now, beeping on the screen of Sakura's phone is Froakie's Pokeball.

"Please don't quit." Sakura abruptly hugs him.

Naruto freezes for a moment, never having expected this to happen. He quickly regains his senses and returns the hug before they separate.

"I won't. I'm going to get Froakie back!" The colour returns to Naruto's face as he finds his determination once more. He makes a mad dash to the door. "Wait for me, Sakura-chan!"

"Be careful." Sakura holds her hand close to her chest.

Academy Town Forest

Iruka tries to get back to his feet, panting and breathing heavily. His two Pokeballs lie by his side. 'Damnit, I messed up. I didn't bring enough Pokemon…'

Mizuki stands in front of him, a sinister cackle filling the air. "Is that all? The great Gym Leader Iruka defeated so easily. You really thought you could beat me in battle with a bunch of weaklings?! This is why I can't stand you, Iruka…"

"Why are you doing this, Mizuki?" Iruka pleads for him to see reason. "You've always been a caring teacher and a good friend."

"And I hated every second of it." Mizuki grimaces. "But now, I can leave all that behind. With this Pokemon…" He takes out a Pokeball he'd yet to use, the one he stole from Naruto. "A Pokemon belonging to the son of Namikaze Minato's son; do you know how many people would love a," He opens the ball, releasing the Pokemon inside. In the usual glowing beam that shoots from the ball, the shape of a small frog begging taking form. "... A Froakie?" Mizuki stares blankly as the confused Froakie looks around. "A… Froakie. ALL THIS EFFORT FOR A STUPID WEAK FROAKIE?!"

Iruka snorts. "You didn't do any research. We teach that to kindergartners, Mizuki."

Mizuki roars in anger, calling Froakie back to his Pokeball. "You shut up, you pathetic-" He's interrupted by a rock hitting him on the head. "Who's there?!" He whips his head around to see Naruto standing on a tree root, tossing another pebble in his hand.

"You. Give me back my Pokemon, you bastard!"

Mizuki jumps back in surprise. "Wha- How did you find me?!" He damns an explanation.

Naruto holds out his phone, showing a satellite map of the forest with a single beeping red dot. "My Pokeball has GPS tracking activated, you iiiiiiidiot!"

Mizuki grits his teeth. "You little brat. Wasting my time with a single weak Froakie!" With all that he can muster, he throws the ball to the ground far from where they are. "I'll show you not to mess with me."

"Mizuki, stop!" Iruka calls out to his former friend. "It's not too late to stop this. You can still come back."

"... Come back?" He growls. "Why would I come back?! So I can continue being your lackey?! Forget it." He takes out two of his Pokeballs to send his remaining Pokemon into battle. "Purrloin, Falinks, go!"

The small purple feline and the six round Pokemon that act as one unit.

"Mizuki, what're you doing?! He doesn't have any Pokemon on him! You can't attack a Trainer directly!"

"Watch me." The sneer that creeps across his face sends shivers down Naruto's spine.

Never before had he seen someone this intent on doing another harm.

"Attack!" Mizuki barks the order.

Both Pokemon lunge at Naruto. The boy tries to get away but his shaking legs betray him; he barely gets two steps away when he steps on a rock, twisting his ankle and falling to the ground. He raises his hands to protect himself, knowing it's fruitless.

"NOOOO!" Iruka pushes himself up to his feet in an attempt to intervene, but it's already too late. The order's been given, the attack's been initiated. There's no way he'd be fast enough.

Someone else, however, is.

[Quick Attack]

Just as Purrloin and Falinks descend on Naruto, a blurr smacks right into Falinks sending it crashing into its feline companion.

Froaki hops in front of Naruto in his defence, panting from the exhaustion of his newfound speed.

"Froakie, you…" Naruto is on the verge of tears, "You learned Quick Attack? To save me?"

"Froa. Kie!" He gives a thumbs up, eyes still glued on the opponents.

"So the useless little Froakie wants to play?" Mizuki mocks. "Fine by me! Purrloin, [Sand Attack], Falinks, [Rock Smash]!"

"Purrrr." Purrloin extends its claws and digs them deep into the ground to get as much sand as it can to blind its foe.

Phalanx get in formation and prepare to hit with all their might.

"Froakie, [Quick Attack]!"

The frog darts off with lightning speed right into Purrloin, who's pushed back unable to properly land the [Sand Attack]. However, one of the six parts of Falinks sees an opening when Froakie shoulder barges Purrloin and connect with the [Rock Smash].

Froakie cries out and tries to get some distance between them.

"Froakie, use [Bubble] on Falinks!" As the closer target, he needed to force the Formation Pokemon away.

Mizuki can hardly contain his snicker, turning into an out right maniacal laughter that echoes through the forest. "You idiot! Falinks, [Protect], Purrloin, [Sand Attack] again!"

The six individual figures that comprise Falinks all bring their shields in front of their faces to create a forcefield that renders the [Bubble] ineffective. Using this opportunity, Purrloin digs its claws into the sand and sends it flying right into Froakie's eyes. This time he didn't have the opportunity to react.

His vision is blurry but he can still make out what's going on. He can still fight. He's not going to let anyone bully his trainer!

"Froakie, get 'em with another [Quick Attack]!"

"Froakie." The frog lowers his body and leaps with massive speeds, barely visible to the eye.

"[Fake Out]" Purrloin claps its hands, sending a sinister vibration through the air.

Froakie stops in his tracks, a primal fear overwhelming his entire body. Right now, every fiber of his being is telling him to run away.

"[Rock Smash]" Phalanx uses this distraction to land a direct hit.

From here on, it's a merciless onslaught. Either Falinks will defend and Purrloin- attack, or Purrloin will stop Froakie in his tracks and Falinks will attack. Froakie receives a vicious beating that no one should have to endure. By the end, he can't even see from so many [Sand Attacks] to the point where he's just pushed around by the two of them, unable to even defend himself because he has no idea where the attack is coming from.

"No…" Naruto's hands tremble. He knows what he should do; what every aspiring trainer learns from a very young age- to recall your Pokemon when they're in danger.

However, Froakie's Pokeball is far away and right now, he's not thinking clearly. It's one thing to be told something is dangerous but it's another thing entirely to witness it.

"That's right!" Mizuki's cackling continues to rend Naruto's ears. "Beat it to a pulp!"

Naruto grits his teeth. Enough is enough! He fights off the fear that holds him in place and the trembling that's been rendering his legs useless. He still feels every bit of it, but there's something stronger at play here- protecting others.

With a war cry, Naruto runs and covers Froakie's body with his own. He takes the beatings instead.

Purrloin hisses and continues to scratch away, but Falinks takes pause. It steps back in shock that someone would do this for their Pokemon.

"I won't let you hurt my Pokemon!" Naruto declares. "I'll always protect them. No matter what!"

-x-

"You're to never let anyone hurt me." Mizuki gets uncomfortably close in Falinks' face, or the largest of the six units that comprise Falinks. "You're to always protect me. No matter what."

-x-

Its training was very clear. Fight to the bitter end, do everything it takes to win, show no mercy. You don't matter. He was trained to be a tool used as are all Pokemon.

However, that's obviously not the case. This person… is putting himself at risk. For his Pokemon. He's protecting a tool when he could just go get a better one. Why?

"Falinks, you worthless sack of crap, what're you doing?!" Mizuki's spit flies out of his mouth as his rage grows the more this battle goes on. "I told you to beat them to a pulp! What's so hard to figure out about that, huh?!"

Falinks stares wide eyed at Naruto who continues to take on a Pokemon's attacks. His clothes are already torn and his body is severely injured and yet he doesn't let on. This boy… he actually cares.

"FALINKS!" Mizuki stomps on the ground. "USE [ROCK SMASH] OR I'LL THROW YOU AWAY LIKE THE GARBAGE YOU ARE!"

Falinks… does just as instructed. He goes in and attacks, but this time he chooses the target. Purrloin is sent flying through the air by a shield bash strong enough to break stone.

"Wha-" Mizuki blinks in disbelief. "WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!"

Iruka tackles his former friend and colleague to the ground, trying to grapple him and hold him in place. "Even your Pokemon see what a lunatic you are, Mizuki. To think I ever trusted you."

"And that's why you were so easy to trick!" Mizuki spits in his face.

No longer feeling his back pummeled, Naruto lifts his head to see Falinks now standing in front of him in defence. "You're… on our side now?"

Falinks lowers its head in shame. "Falinks." However, now's not the time for regret. It takes on a battle formation and charges at Purrloin. The feline tries to use its defensive strategy again but it only lasts for so long before Falinks lands a solid hit that breaks Purrloin's defences and knocks it unconscious.

Iruka, similarly, knocks Mizuki out cold, not wanting to deal with any of his crap again. He then runs over to Naruto and Froakie to make sure he's alright. Well, he's obviously not even remotely alright after everything that happened but at least he's alive.

"Naruto, can you hear?" Iruka turns him to his side so the wounds can breathe.

"Gym Leader Iruka." Naruto puts on a pained smile. "We won."

"Yeah." Iruka tries to return the smile but the guilt is far too strong for him to even fake it. His ineptitude caused this boy to be put in danger; even worse, he's the son of an Elite Four member. This is going to be a scandal the likes of which he's never had in his worst nightmares.

For now, though, he has to get this boy to safety, but he also has to drag Mizuki back to the authorities. He starts running all sorts of plans and calculations on how to get them both back to town but he doesn't need to for long.

Falinks helps lift Naruto up, being very careful not to cause him any more pain.

"You want to help?" Iruka asks.

Falinks nods.

"Alright then." He goes on to get Froakie and Purrloin in their respective Pokeballs, and throws Mizuki over his shoulder. "Let's go."

Academy Town Pokemon Centre

Naruto has a very common dream. The usual nightmare of running in a dark alley. Or is it a forest? Sometimes it looks like a street, it's hard to tell. Either way, he's running from… something. Or maybe he's running toward something. It's so hard to tell. Maybe it's both?

In his dream, he runs up a flight of stairs thinking he can outrun or catch up to whatever is running with him. It's probably a shortcut. He knows he can run fast and can skip several flights of stairs but for some reason he gets tired after barely five steps.

He begins crawling up the stairs, not even able to stand. Desperately trying to fight his way to the top but the more he tries to more he feels his strength draining. He can almost touch the final step. He stretches his hand but his body gives away and goes limp, sending his sliding down.

Before he can get far, someone grabs his hand and pulls him up. Naruto tries to look at the figure but the sunlight's getting directly in his eyes. He can only vaguely make out a lean male build, the most distinguishing and recognizable feature being somewhat long spiky hair.

Before he can make out who it is, it ends.

Naruto snaps awake and jostles in his bed, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He looks around in a panic, remembering everything that happened with Mizuki and Iruka-sensei. Whatever happened, it's apparently long since passed since he's in a hospital bed.

"You're awake."

He whips his head to the voice coming from the corner of his hospital room. There, Sakura is sleeping on the sofa with a blanket draped over here, while Iruka sits in the chair.

Iruka stands up and walks over to Naruto with a grim expression which he tries to mask with a comforting smile. "Good. We were beginning to worry."

"Iruka-sensei, what happened? Where's Mizuki?" Naruto tries to sit up but Iruka places a hand on his shoulder to stop him, leaning him to lie back on the bed.

"He's dealt with. I told the police what happened. You won't have to worry about him for a long time."

"I see." Naruto relaxes lightly before he remembers another reason to panic. "Froakie! What about-"

"Froakie's already recovered." Iruka reassures him. "He's been waiting for you, too. Someone else has been, too, actually." Iruka motions to the bed next to him, behind which a familiar figure appears. Or rather, six familiar figures that act as the same entity. Falinks walks up to Naruto's bed, the biggest one holding its Pokemon in its hands.

Falinks holds up its Pokeball with eyes pointed downward.

Naruto blinks a few times to take in the scene in front of him. "Are you… giving me your Pokeball?"

"It's been quite nervous about it. It wants to apologize for the role it played."

Falinks nods its head.

"You did save me in the end. I dunno what happened with you and Mizuki but… you wanna change right?"

Falinks nods.

Naruto reaches down and pats it on the head. "Alright. Then let's kick butt together." He takes the Pokemon and recalls Falinks inside. "Welcome to the team."

Iruka smiles. "I'll get Falinks transfered over to you. It might be my last act as Gym Leader." He stands and begins walking for the door. "Be sure to get some rest."

"Yeah." Naruto nods as the words sink in. "Wait, what do you mean 'last act'?"

"I made a huge blunder, Naruto. I allowed Mizuki to act as he did while I was none the wiser and a Trainer got seriously hurt because of my ineptitude. It's only natural that the Pokemon League wouldn't look kindly to that."

"But…" Naruto grips onto the sheets with all the might he can muster. "You're an awesome teacher and an awesome Gym Leader! I can talk to them, maybe I can get dad to-"

"No." Iruka cuts him off. "None of that." He turns to the boy and smiles a defeated smile. "This is how it should be; don't feel bad about it, alright? I'm sorry you got caught up in everything."

"It's unfair…" Naruto mumbles, hanging his head in defeat.

Iruka walks out the room silently. With the clack of the door closing, Sakura stirs from her sleep. She rubs her eyes and stretches from the uncomfortable sofa. That's when she sees Naruto sitting in bed, wide awake.

She immediately runs to him and hugs him.

"You dummy! You had me so worried!" Her voice trembles.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I promise it's the last time."

Pokemon teams
Naruto: Froakie - Falinks

Sakura: Chikorita - Cherubi

Sasuke: Litten - unknown - unknown

Itachi: Skitty (presumably)