A/N: Apologies for the long wait. I was on a Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal binge in my free time, plus as one may guess IRL has been a bitch, especilly with Covid-19. At any rate, stay safe and stay well my friends.
Special thanks to Beta Reader, Kenchi Narukami, and all my faithful readers.
Chapter one: Pilot.
In a darkened cell, a number of figures could be seen, two of which wore blank masks with the kanji for 'Root' on their foreheads, and an aging man wearing numerous bandages with a deep scowl standing over the form of a certain inmate who was currently restrained by a straightjacket. The old man was none other than Danzo Shimura, head of the supposedly Defunct Root organization and member of the Elder Council.
"You have built quite the rap sheet. Assault, kidnapping, breaking and entering, and murder to name but a few. The problem is, is that all of the evidence is circumstantial, but if you were to sign a confession… I'm sure we can work out an appropriate plea bargain." Danzo spoke in an even tone, but his visible eye showed that he was looking down on the inmate like a roach that needed to be crushed underfoot.
The inmate in question chuckled darkly, smiling towards the elder as he replied "Crawl into a hole and die already. I'm not giving you anything, least of all a sense of satisfaction. I know if I confess to crimes I 'allegedly' did, then I'm dead. Go ahead, beat me, drug me, do your damned worst. I've already been through hell and back." Once he had finished speaking, the inmate forced himself off the ground and propped himself up on the wall behind him, revealing his face to be that of Naruto Uzumaki, who stared at the warhawk with a defiant grin.
"That aside… you don't care about any of those charges the Civilian council's trying to pin on me. What you really want… is the secret to 'that'." The Jinchuuriki spoke knowingly, as the Elder squeezed his cane tight, signaling the boy had hit the nail on the head.
"The secrets you have been withholding could lead to new breakthroughs in the Shinobi corps. And I will have them." Danzo spoke in a gruff tone, making the blonde scoff since he knew that the warhawk wanted said secrets for his own private military. If it weren't for this damned straightjacket and the drugs running through his body, he would have ripped out the old man's jugular by now.
One of the Root Anbu leaned over to his master and spoke "Sir, the investigator is approaching. We should leave." At that bit of news, Danzo growled in annoyance, but currently he had little choice since he wasn't authorized to be here. Still, he'd find a means to break the boy in time… or next time he could use the trump card he'd been saving for a much needed occasion. The warhawk and his guards quickly left the cell and shut the door behind them and vanished entirely as though they'd never been there.
About a minute or so later, the cell door reopened revealing a woman in black leather clothing who gasped in shock at the sight of Naruto's bleeding form, as well as the numerous syringes littering the floor. "Naruto-san! Who did this to you?"
The Uzumaki laughed morosely and answered "Doesn't matter. He'll just deny it and say it was the drugs messing with my head." At his answer, the woman clicked her tongue and muttered something like 'Those bastards.'
She then crouched down to meet him at eye level and asked "Who are you? Who am I? Where are we? And why are you here?" At her series of questions, Naruto rolled his eyes in annoyance but knew she was simply checking if he was completely lucid, and he currently had no choice but to comply with her.
"I am Naruto fucking Uzumaki. You're Naomi Misora, the investigator in charge of my case. We're in Konoha penitentiary and I'm here because I'm being charged for crimes I didn't fucking do." He answered, earning a satisfied nod from the black haired woman as she pulled out a pen and notepad.
"Correct on all counts, though your guilt or innocence is still up in the air. Still… I have taken note of certain… inconsistencies throughout the case. I want to hear the full story from you. I want you to start from the beginning and tell me everything. When did these 'events' begin for you?" She asked him, causing the blonde to sigh since he had been interrogated and mind-scanned repeatedly, he wasn't sure what she was hoping to gain from hearing his story, but he may as well oblige her.
"Fine. You want the whole story? It all started off something like this…"
Eight months ago.
"Here we go again. Just effing great." Grumbled the form of one Naruto Uzumaki as he drummed his fingers against the top of his desk, feeling deeply frustrated at having to repeat the Academy year for a third time due to his failure in the previous year's exam.
If it wasn't for that damned Clone Jutsu, he knew for sure that he'd passed. Since his 'teachers' weren't of much help, the blonde knew he had to find a solution himself, so he poured himself into his studies day after day… and eventually discovered the exact reason the Clone Jutsu failed him each and every time. It wasn't from a lack of training or effort, nor even a lack of Chakra control. He had always put in the tiniest amount of Chakra he could when attempting the technique, only for it to fail.
The fact of the matter was, is that his Chakra reserves were far too potent to perform such a basic technique. It was a known fact that there were numerous iterations of the Clone Jutsu so he requested Iruka to let him learn a more advanced version… and in response the Scarred Chunin replied that he 'wasn't doing it right' or that he 'needed to keep on practicing'. What a prick. There was no room for doubt that Iruka knew what the problem was, but he refused to do anything about it.
Without question, Iruka was planning on keeping him prisoner here in this damned class. The whiskered teen clenched his fist angrily wishing he could punch the bastard's teeth out, or better yet, make him choke to death on them. Unfortunately, Iruka was the one with the power here, he was a Chunin and in charge of the class, the blonde could voice his beliefs and suspicions to the Hokage, but he strongly suspected that anything he said would be shut down by Iruka who would spin a yarn and weasel his way out of trouble. Unless he had concrete proof, there was little he could do… for now.
Still, if there was one thing Naruto knew, is that most everyone has some kind of skeleton in the closet. He just needed to find out what Iruka's weak point was… then he'd get the last laugh. He scanned the classroom to take note of his newest classmates and hoped that some of them weren't total D-bags. He couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be a number of Clan Heirs in this year's class.
All of which he had previously encountered at some point or other, so he was fairly familiar with them. Most of them seemed okay… with the exception of a certain Uchiha. Enough said on that point. There seemed to be more than a few Civilian students thrown into the mix. One in particular he recognized almost instantly who so happened to be sitting between himself and Sasuke, though she didn't seem to be paying much attention to the raven haired boy.
"Excuse me… are you Ann Takamaki?" The whiskered teen asked politely, the girl in question seemed to snap to attention after he spoke to her and then she turned her head towards him and gave a small smile as she nodded.
"That's me. I'm sorry but, do I know you?" She asked, since she couldn't remember if they had met before or not. He seemed familiar with her name at least.
The Uzumaki shook his head and replied "Nah. We've never met. I just remember seeing some magazines you were featured in at the library I frequent." He explained, making her giggle a bit since she suspected that was the reason he knew her name.
"I see. I bet you especially liked my swimsuit pictures." She spoke teasingly, making Naruto chuckle with a light blush as he scratched his cheek with a lone finger.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't look. You have a nice body." He spoke in a blunt tone, Ann blushed in turn and smirked. It seemed that this guy wasn't the shy type, but he didn't seem to be the type that only thought with what was between his legs. It was always nice to be complimented by an honest guy with no ulterior motives.
Before they could continue their conversation further, a new voice piped in "Yo Ann. Good to see you again." The two looked up and saw a guy with blonde hair standing next to their desk. Though on closer inspection, Naruto suspected that the guy's hair was dyed.
"Ryuji? You transferred here too?" Ann asked in surprise, the whiskered boy quickly guessed that they knew each other, pretty obvious since they addressed each other by name. Had they gone to a previous school together?
"Yup. I was sitting in the back. I saw that you were here and decided to say 'Hello' before class started." The boy now identified as Ryuji explained with his hands stuffed in his pockets, a friendly grin on his face.
"I heard some other students from Shujin would also be transferring here, I had no idea you were one of them. Still, glad to see at least one is a familiar face." The Blonde model spoke with a relieved look on her face. The former part of her statement reminded Naruto that some students were transferring to Konoha Academy, he wasn't sure why, but it probably didn't matter. They would still be his classmates.
"Hey dude. The name's Ryuji Sakamoto. Nice to meet ya." He stated and extended a hand towards the whiskered teen. Naruto gave it a firm shake before releasing it and replied "Likewise. You can call me Naruto Uzumaki.. You a runner?"
"Used to be. I did track and field at one time… but I don't wanna talk about that. How'd ya guess?" The runner asked out of curiosity, surprised that Naruto had picked up on that so quickly.
The whiskered teen answered back "You have a lean build. Good for running." Both Ann and Ryuji seemed quite impressed with his skills of observation with the latter asking "Are you a detective or something dude?"
"I wouldn't go that far. I just pay attention to certain details." Naruto answered with a light hearted chuckle, he couldn't remember ever being called a detective before… it was actually kinda complimentary.
"Umm, isn't that like, what detectives do? Pay attention to detail?" Ryuji asked as he scratched the back of his head making the other two blondes give some small giggles. The moment of amusement was broken when a hand slammed down on the desk in front of Ann making all three blondes jump slightly in surprise.
They all looked towards the source of the disturbance, and Naruto had to inwardly suppress a groan at seeing the form of one Sakura Haruno, a well known and hardcore Sasuke fan-girl, spoilt princess and overall pain in the ass. An annoyance that he could do well without during the school year.
"Can I help you?" Ann asked hesitantly, the pink haired girl giving off extremely hostile vibes. What was this girl's problem anyway? After giving a rude scoff, the pinkette spoke "Move it Bimbo. I want your seat."
Ann blinked her eyes a few times, her mind processing the fact she'd just been called a bimbo. That was not gonna fly. "Excuse me? Where the hell do you get off on calling me that? And I was sitting here first, and last I checked, there aren't any name tags on these desks." Ann spoke furiously, giving a scathing glare to the pinkette.
Before the rude girl could say anything else Naruto piped in "Back the hell off Pinkie Pie. Seat assignments haven't been finalized yet, so if you have a problem with the arrangements, take it up with Iruka." It was actually a lie since the seats were first-come first-served, but he knew that Fangirls were extremely gullible as they were hostile.
"Fine. We'll settle this later after I speak with Iruka-sensei." The pink haired Fangirl growled out before marching off to go find the Chunin in question. She would be his problem now.
"That'll keep her off your back, for today at least." Naruto muttered, earning an appreciative look from his fellow blonde. The model knew that if that little spat had escalated further, there would have been trouble.
"What was that all about? Ann wasn't even doing anything." Ryuji asked as he scratched the back of his head, looking towards the whiskered teen for clarification.
"She actually is. She's occupying the seat next to Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto spoke bluntly and pointed towards the guy Ann was sitting next to. Both Ryuji and Ann sneered at the sight of the emo kid, the aura around him being dark, gloomy and overall unpleasant.
"I'll explain in more detail later during lunch. You guys seem okay, so I'll be happy to show you the ropes." The whiskered teen offered, earning some nods of thanks from his two new classmates.
"That'd be awesome dude. I never lived in a Shinobi Village before, so I'm a bit out of my element." Ryuji admitted with a sigh as he kicked the air.
"That reminds me, why'd you transfer out of Shujin so quickly Ryuji?" Ann asked the former track runner in a tone of friendly curiosity since he had left a short while before she did.
"My mom got a pretty sweet banking gig in this village. Assistant manager or something for some private bank, so we packed up and moved here. What about you? I didn't think you'd be transferring here." The blonde athlete asked, prompting Ann to drum her fingers against the desk a bit before answering.
"Well, a short bit after you left, Shujin Academy's PE Teacher was exposed by an unknown source for abuse and sexual harassment charges. The whole thing caused a huge scandal and most of, if not the entire student body began to leave. Myself and Shiho included. She should be arriving here in a few days." Anne explained while Naruto listened into their conversation with interest, hoping to better understand his new classmates.
"Seriously?! Damn, I wish I'd been there to see Kamoshida get cuffed. That would have been epic." Ryuji muttered in surprise and amusement, glad that pervert had been punished.
"From what I hear, when the police took him away, he started to cry like a little girl." The model spoke with a hint of sadistic glee since the man had been trying to force her into relations with him. Fortunately it had never gotten that far, and will never ever happen.
Naruto took this moment to ask them and change the subject "You guys planning on being Ninjas?" The two transfers shook their heads in response with Ryuji speaking first.
"Nah man. I'm not into that whole cloak and dagger stuff. I'm here for the Civilian course. I hear couriers around here get paid real well. Might help me get back on track… small pun intended." The runner answered, prompting the whiskered teen to nod. He himself had spent some time working as a courier, pretty good job if you were fast and reliable.
"Same here on the Civilian course. Though I'm still planning to continue my modeling career." Ann replied with a sweet smile, since she really enjoyed her job, plus the pay was outrageously great here in Konoha for some reason.
Before their conversation could continue further, the classroom door opened, revealing the forms of Sakura who had a furious look on her face as she glared at the three blondes, while being escorted by the two Chunin teachers. One of which glaring heartedly at the Uzumaki with a look that said 'I'm going to get you'.
"Guess that's my cue to take my seat. We'll talk more later." Ryuji spoke as he walked away since roll call would begin soon. Both Ann and Naruto nodded and gave a quick 'see ya', all the while ignoring Sakura who stomped her way into an empty seat in the back while glaring daggers at Ann.
The whiskered boy then leaned over to Ann and asked her "Quick Question… you know how to sleep with your eyes open?" Ann blinked a few times in surprise at the unusual question, her silence giving him the answer he needed.
"You'll find it's a very useful skill." The Uzumaki muttered with a chuckle, but before Ann could ask him why, the roll call had begun. Once it had ended, the Chunin then began to write on the chalkboard and drone on about the Bloody Clan wars, beginning his history lecture.
As the minutes ticked by, Ann felt the urge to scream out of sheer boredom and despair as she impatiently shook her leg in place and tapped a lone finger on her desk. She checked over her shoulder and found Ryuji in a zombie-like state, he seemed to be half-asleep as he rested his head against his hand as some drool leaked from the corner of his mouth.
She then looked at Naruto and found him to be leaning back in his seat with his arms and legs crossed. However… he didn't seem to be paying any form of attention to the lecture. Now that she thought about it… she now understood why being able to sleep with one's eyes open would be useful in this sort of situation. It might be best to ask him for some tips later… if only to preserve her sanity. There was no way in hell she was gonna sit through a whole year of these monotonous lectures. It was the first day, and she was already contemplating on jumping out of the window. For now… she had no choice but to endure and survive.
Later. Academy grounds.
"Daaaaaaaamn it. That effing sucked." Ryuji complained as stretched out his limbs, making some popping sounds, with Ann nodding in complete agreement as they sat beneath a tree with a swing hanging from one of the overhead limbs.
"That's a whole hour of my life that I'm never going to get back." She whined as she absent-mindedly picked at her bento, her appetite having been lost after enduring that hell. Their newest classmate ate from his own bento and couldn't help but do his best to hide his laughter since he himself had a similar reaction in his first year, as did all the students in his previous two years at the Academy.
"Eh. You either learn to tune it out and drift into your happy place, or you can sleep with your eyes open. Either way, no one really pays attention to Iruka's lectures. If you want, I'll teach you how." The whiskered teen offered, causing both of the transfer students to clap their hands together and bow to him pleadingly prompting him to sweat-drop a bit at their newfound desperation.
Once the two transfer students regained their composure, Ann ran a hand through her hair and asked "So what was the deal with that girl from earlier? Why'd she want to sit next to that Sasuke guy you pointed out?"
At her questioning, the Uzumaki chuckled a bit and replied "Well my friends, that girl from earlier is known as Sakura Haruno, a member of the local wildlife of Konoha known as 'a Fangirl'. And Sasuke Uchiha is the current heartthrob of numerous girls who devolved into Fangirls and are desperately trying to hook up with him."
"Uhhhh. Why? Even at a glance I could tell that guy had a major stick up his ass." Ryuji muttered, prompting the Jinchuuriki to nod at his rather accurate assessment.
The whiskered boy took another bite from his bento then began to answer "Sasuke wasn't always like that. Used to be a time he was an okay guy. But that was before the Uchiha Massacre. His family and clan, murdered overnight by his elder brother Itachi, and ever since then, Sasuke has not only closed himself off to everyone, but seems to get off on being an ass to everyone. As for why the local fangirls are into him, it varies from case to case.
But the most common reasons are for his money. Sasuke is sitting on a pretty big pile of money, and an entire village district to boot. And a lot of people want to get a slice of that pie by getting Sasuke hitched with their daughters." After his explanation, both Ann and Ryuji nodded in understanding since they had heard a little bit about the massacre after moving into Konoha.
"Ya think he knows that?" The ex-track runner asked as he crossed his arms, leaning against the tree for support.
"Honestly speaking? He likely is aware to some degree, but doesn't really care. Sasuke doesn't really care about anything except killing Itachi or powerful Jutsu." Naruto answered in an uncaring tone.
"And these Fangirls… are they commonplace around here?" Ann asked in a slightly worried tone, she certainly wasn't looking forward to having to deal with more girls like Sakura Haruno. At her question, the Uzumaki replied "Depends. This year is by far the worst group I can remember. Last year's group wasn't as big or loud."
"Wait a sec, 'Last year'? You get held back a year or something?" Ryuji asked, taking note of what the whiskered teen had just said, earning a small grimace from the Uzumaki who answered "Been held back for two years now, this is my third one. Though not from a lack of effort."
"What do you mean exactly Naruto?" Ann asked, which caused Naruto to sigh a bit as he scratched the back of his neck. He took one last bite from his bento before sitting the now empty box aside and rubbed his palms together as he thought on how best to explain… he settled with by giving the basic rundown to avoid any possible confusion.
"Bluntly put, I'm taking the Shinobi course. Which doesn't so much rely on tests done on paper in order to pass, the real test is to perform what is known as 'The Three Building Blocks', a set of three basic Ninjutsu that all Ninjas should know.
First, the Henge technique which can be used as a disguise. The Substitution technique which can help you slip away in a pinch. And finally, the Clone Jutsu which can create illusionary duplicates to serve as decoys and distract the enemy. I mastered the first two, but I can't for the life of me perform the Clone jutsu because of the fact my chakra is so potent that it overloads the technique, even when I put in the bare minimum." At the end of his explanation, both transfer students hummed in thought at his words.
"Okay. I think I get the gist of it. But aren't there more advanced versions of the Clone jutsu? Can't you ask the teachers to learn one of those?" Ann asked, prompting the Uzumaki to burst out in laughter and then give a sardonic smile as he shook his head.
"Tried that. I even explained why and what the problem was. And those damn pricks won't do shit to give me a fair shot." The Uzumaki spoke in a clearly annoyed voice.
"Seriously? The hell's their problem with you?" The athlete asked with his eyes narrowing a bit, already not liking the sound of these teachers.
"It's mostly that asshat Iruka. He's had it out for me since day one and has been doing everything he can to sabotage me and keep me prisoner here." Naruto answered with a low growl as he inwardly promised himself that when he became Hokage, Iruka would be scrubbing toilets and performing gate guard duty without pay for the rest of his miserable life.
"That's not right! Can't you report him for this?" Ann asked, a flash of anger coming over her since this Iruka sounded like a bully, much like Kamoshida from her previous school.
"Without proper evidence I'd just be blowing smoke and the bastard can come up with any excuse he wants and the whole thing would be swept under the rug. Fortunately, I've been working on a plan to fix this… and I could seriously use your help if you're interested." Naruto spoke, hoping that they would agree to assist. While it was true he had only just met them, he had a strong feeling they were trustworthy.
Before they could give their answer, a new voice cut in and spoke "Excuse me. Sorry for interrupting." The trio looked in the direction of the voice and found a newcomer with short blue hair and wearing a cap atop their head.
"The hell do you want? You spying on us?" Ryuji asked in a rude tone as he glared at the stranger. In response, the newcomer adjusted their cap and replied "Not intentionally. I was already in the vicinity when I so happened to overhear what you were saying and it piqued my interest."
The blue haired kid then cleared their throat and spoke "At any rate, my name is Naoto Shirogane. A pleasure to meet you all. I am sorry for eavesdropping on you." Naoto's apology seemed sincere enough, so the three blondes accepted it, Ann however couldn't help but point something out.
"Wait… are you THAT Naoto Shirogane? One of the two detective princes?" The model asked, earning a nod of confirmation from the now identified detective.
"Oh yeah! I heard about you on TV. You're pretty famous. Aren't you rivals with the other detective prince? Goro Akechi?" Ryuji asked, earning an amused scoff from the bluenette.
"More like Akechi considers and proclaims himself to be my rival. Not that it matters to me, and I'm not really interested in being in the spotlight. I have a job to do as a detective, and so I do it. I'm not in it for fame or anything like that." Naoto replied casually earning a series of nods from the blondes since they could respect that.
"Now then, Naruto is it? If I may ask, do you truly believe that you're the only student in this school suffering from the machinations of corrupt faculty?" The detective prince asked in a serious tone.
The Uzumaki thought about his answer for a moment before replying in a sincere tone "I strongly doubt I'm the 'only' student that the teacher's have screwed over. And not to sound biased, but I am positively sure that I am a frequent target for the faculty."
"I see. I thank you for your candor. My main concern is as follows, if one teacher can sabotage a student without repercussions, then others may do the same to students they don't like, or may start catering to students they favor." Naoto spoke and gave a small tip of the hat, the words just spoken by the detective prompting the three blondes to nod in acknowledgement.
"Wouldn't surprise me. There are a lot of Clan heir's this year. Though if the teachers were to play favorites, they would definitely cater to Sasuke. Literally everyone is trying to get in that guy's good graces, most especially since the Civilian council practically bows to his every whim." Naruto mused aloud, earning a thoughtful look from the detective prince since the Uzumaki made a strong point.
"That was my initial deduction as well. I would love to investigate the possibility of corruption deeper, but the lectures here are… less than stimulating and seem to take up the bulk of the school period." The bluenette hesitantly mumbled out the end, likely trying not to sound like a complainer.
"That's a fancy way of saying they're shit. I think I lost a few brain cells sitting in that class." Ryuji grumbled with a loud sigh, his fellow classmates muttering their own agreements. The former track runner then realized something and asked "Hey Naoto. You in our class? I don't remember seeing you in there."
"Ah. I was in the far corner. You probably didn't take notice of me. In fact, I have been trying to keep my presence quiet here in school." Naoto replied, causing the three blondes to nod in understanding since the young sleuth's celebrity status might attract the wrong kinds of attention.
"Don't worry. We won't rat you out. And there's actually a way we can skip the lectures… by forming a school club." Naruto spoke up, earning the interest of his new classmates.
"You serious? I didn't know that was a thing around here. Didn't really hear much about any clubs." The runner mentioned as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Not surprising. People don't often officially form Clubs here, mainly either to focus on their studies, Shinobi training, or some other personal reasons. Anyway's club members get special privileges, one of which being that we can skip lectures so long as our grades are above a certain threshold. Only requirements are that we need to have five members minimum, and we need the signature of approval from a member of the faculty." Naruto explained with a large grin.
"Sweet! There's already four of us, so we just need one more to join up… what kinda club should we form anyway?" The track runner asked, the others thinking on the question a bit since they would need to agree on the type of club before anything else could be said or done.
The Uzumaki was the first to speak and suggested "How about a newspaper club? It would give us an excuse to investigate 'in search of a story' and all that jazz."
"I believe that shall suit our needs. I can easily handle the investigation part." Naoto spoke with a small smile, at which the others began to contribute their own ideas and how they could help out with the club. All the while, Naruto couldn't help but grin as he felt a certain kinship to his new classmates. It was the first day, and already they were bonding and talking about forming a club… there was just something about them that helped clicked.
"Hey Senpai. You know the school way better than us. Think you can help us figure all this shit out?" Ryuji asked with a broad grin spread across his face. And the whiskered boy then realized what the athlete had just called him and parrots "Senpai?"
"Sure. You're technically our senior, even if you were held back. So that makes you our Senpai." The blonde runner explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world with both Naoto and Ann silently agreeing with him.
The Uzumaki scratched the back of his head in mild embarrassment and spoke "I'm not much for honorifics, but call me whatever you want. Naoto-san… there's a question I want to ask you but I wasn't sure if it was okay to bring up."
The bluenette shrugged and replied in a kindly manner "Ask me anything you want Senpai."
The whiskered teen sighed, but since she said 'anything' he then asked bluntly "Are you a girl?" At his question, an animated gunshot came from seemingly nowhere as the detective prince stiffened up and gained a 'deer-in-the-headlights' expression.
"Where the hell did that come from dude?" Ryuji asked in surprise… but then on closer inspection, Naoto's face did seem oddly feminine. He actually thought the sleuth was one of those 'girly boy' types but now he was curious… Was Naoto actually a chick?
After a few moments of awkward silence the bluenette sighed and responded in a higher pitched and more feminine voice "It would seem I have been unmasked. How did you discern I was female so quickly Senpai?" She asked out of curiosity, and at the same time confirmed that she was indeed a woman.
"You have a sweet scent about you. Ann's scent reminds me of strawberry cheesecake. You? It reminds me of blueberries and rainfall." The whiskered teen responded, causing both girls to blush a bit.
"That's… quite the nose." The female detective muttered in shock and awe. And for some reason… she felt touched by the compliment. She then cleared her throat then asked a different question to change the subject "If you don't mind my asking Senpai, why does this Iruka target you specifically? What is it he has against you?"
The Jinchuuriki bit his lip for a second, he was clearly hesitant on answering but he decided that it'd be best if they heard the story directly from himself and not from… potentially questionable sources and then began to speak "I imagine it'd have to do with the fact I was born on October tenth, about fifteen years ago… during the Kyuubi attack."
At that, the three transfer students' eyes widened, even in spite of recently moving to Konoha, they were still familiar with the tale. How the Kyuubi no Kitsune suddenly appeared within Konoha and went on a rampage, killing many Civilians and Shinobi alike until the Yondaime Hokage supposedly killed the beast. "So you were born that night. What's the big deal?" Ryuji asked out of innocent ignorance, not really getting the larger implication.
Naoto adjusted her cap and explained "I did some prior research and learned that Bijuu are near impossible to kill by conventional means. Even if they 'die' they will eventually reform again. The only real way to stop them is to seal them away into a human host, a Jinchuuriki, which basically acts as both a walking prison for the beast, and as a valuable military asset and deterrent against other Bijuu and/or Jinchuuriki." At the end of her summary, the Uzumaki nodded in confirmation that it was all true.
He had already figured it all out ages ago since it didn't take much to connect the dots between his birth date and the Civilian populace muttering things like 'Kyuubi brat' behind his back. "But that doesn't make sense! If Naruto is as Naoto-san described as a 'military asset' then they should be training him to get stronger and control whatever abilities he may have, not sabotage him!" Ann snapped out angrily.
The detective 'prince' nodded her head in agreement and spoke "A valid point. Which suggests that the most likely explanation for Iruka's behavior is that the motive is a personal one. Senpai, do you know if Iruka lost his parents during the Kyuubi attack."
"Not sure exactly. I'm not friends with him or anything so I don't ask him stuff like that. But it is extremely likely. A crap-ton of people died that night." The Uzumaki answered with a shrug, his new classmates accepting his answer. There was an awkward silence in the air since no one was sure how to proceed next. But then a light bulb suddenly seemed to click over Ryuji's head prompting him to speak.
"Yo. This just crossed my mind since we were talking about clubs a minute ago. But how're we gonna get a teacher's approval? Especially if they have it out for Senpai?" The athlete asked, earning some thoughtful looks from the others.
"It might be possible for one of you to get the needed signature so long as you don't bring up my name. There should be at least one teacher that'll give the okay." The Jinchuuriki answered, providing a probable solution for them to solve that little issue.
"That could work. We can start working to form our club tomorrow. We'll split up two and two. One pair tries to find member number five, and the other gets a teacher's approval." The blonde model spoke with a cheerful grin, the others nodding in agreement since that would help speed things up a bit.
Ryuji then whipped out his cell phone and spoke "Mind if we share contact information to keep in touch?" With that, both girls pulled out their own phones to share their numbers and chat ID… but took notice that Naruto hadn't pulled out his own phone… unless he didn't have one to begin with.
"What's wrong? Don't have a phone?" The blonde athlete asked with a raised eyebrow, and in response the Uzumaki shook his head negatively as he answered "Nope. cellphones are pretty expensive, too expensive for my budget, and there's not that many people for me to call anyway." The last part came out a bit bitterly which didn't go unnoticed by his new friends but they made no comment about it.
Ann cleared her throat a bit and spoke up "If you want, I have a spare phone you can have. I kept it around in case something went wrong with my newer one. Should still work just fine." At her offer, the whiskered teen instantly perked up, genuinely touched by Ann's generosity.
"I'd appreciate that Ann." The Jinchuuriki spoke with a grateful smile. The blonde model smiled back and said "I'll get the phone set up and the charging cable ready for you tomorrow. If you need me to, I'll teach you how to use it."
Once that was settled, the small group exchanged some idle chatter, sharing some tidbits of personal information to get to know each other better, the atmosphere around them being warm and friendly. Almost as if they had been lifelong friends all along as they shared some stories about each other. Naoto talked about a highly unusual case where a man somehow ended up suing himself making everyone wonder how that was possible.
Naruto then shared some stories about his pranks, most particularly one of his most over-the-top pranks "... It took forever for the teachers to get the tiger out of the faculty lounge. Mainly because everyone was scared shitless about going near it." The Uzumaki explained to his new friends, with Ryuji bursting out in laughter at the story. Though Ann seemed much more skeptical.
"Where the hell do you get a tiger from? How'd you even get it in the school without anyone noticing?" The model asked, with Naoto wondering along the same lines, it just didn't seem physically possible.
"Both are trade secrets of a prank master." The whiskered teen replied in a cheeky tone, making Ann stick her tongue out at him in annoyance, still… It was a pretty funny story. The bell rang signaling that it was the end of their break period, making them all collectively groan since they'd have to return to class. "Once more into the breach." the Jinchuuriki grumbled as he and his newest friends began to make their way back inside the building… however they all stopped when they saw Sakura Haruno and a crowd of other girls were gathered in front of the Academy's entrance as they spoke to each other in whispers and low voices, an ominous atmosphere surrounding them.
"I don't like the looks of this." Naoto muttered as she adjusted her cap, her posture stiffening as she and the others slowly backed away, knowing full-well that rabid Fangirls, most particularly a mob of them, could be pretty nasty. She herself had once had a prior experience with such a mob in the past.
"We'll slip around the back. Less hassle that way." Naruto suggested as he began to sneak off to the side with his new friends following close behind him… until they were stopped by a loud screech that sounded like "THERE SHE IS!"
"Shit." The Uzumaki grumbled as a series of footsteps approached them, he could already guess that Sakura had formed a lynch mob with the other fangirls in order to attempt to intimidate or bully Ann, just for sitting next to Sasuke and refusing to give up her seat. "Just keep walking, don't acknowledge them at all." He quickly muttered to his friends as he continued to march off as fast as he could, trying his best not to break out into a full run as his classmates followed close behind.
"Hey! Don't you walk away from me! Don't you dare think for a second that you have a chance at Sasuke-kun!" The pinkette screeched out as she and her fellow Fangirls angrily stalked after the group of four, the Haruno's eyes locked squarely on Ann's back who was trying her best not to say anything, lest she make a bad situation even worse.
However, Sakura became even angrier at being ignored, then lunged forward and roughly shoved Ann from behind, knocking her to the ground and fall face first into the dirt. In the span of a second, Naoto, Ryuji, and Naruto turned to see their friend on the ground and as she lifted her head up, there was some blood dribbling down her forehead. In almost an instant, Naruto could only see red as he clenched his fist and socked the pinkette across the jaw with a haymaker, sending her sprawling across the ground as he shouted "FUCK YOU WHOREUNO!"
"The fuck is wrong with you people? Ann never did anything to you!" Ryuji shouted as he helped Ann to her feet, knowing she'd need to be taken to see the nurse. The other fangirls recoiled in fear at the Uzumaki's display of fury like the cowards they were. On the ground, Sakura began to roll from side to side, crying in pain from the blow as blood spilled from a busted lip.
"Shut up and quit crying, damn it. You got off easy." Naruto muttered as he cracked his knuckles, if the pinkette wanted to keep pushing the issue, he'd be more than happy to take another swing at her. However… it didn't seem she was done quite yet. In fact, even through her sobbing, it was plain to see she was smiling now. That didn't bode well at all.
"You… you've done it now baka! You have any idea who my daddy is? I'll make your life and that bimbo's life a living hell!" She spoke in a menacing tone, making the Uzumaki's jaw tighten since her father was the head of the Civilian Council. One word to her old man, and she could follow through on her threat… However he had some ammo of his own.
"Oh yeah? Go ahead? Call your daddy. I know some folks too, like the Hokage for instance. I'll bet he'll love to hear how you assaulted someone without provocation. All it'll take to prove it is a good old Yamanaka memory scan, and not even your daddy can protect you from that. You could face being expelled, maybe some time in juvie, and while you're sitting in a jail cell eating your roach infested gruel, all these other girls will be happy to see you gone since you're their biggest threat." Naruto spoke with a grin, his words finally shutting up the pinkette.
Sakura's face fell, her confidence now shot as she glared at the other Fan-girls in suspicion. Without a word further, she shoved her way past them, all the while grumbling under her breath. With their apparent leader now gone, the crowd dispersed allowing the four to breathe a sigh of relief. "That was… unpleasant." The young detective muttered as she helped Ryuji support Ann.
"Understatement of the century. That won't be the last time we hear from Sakura, but at least she's off our backs for now. Next time though, I'm not gonna let her suckerpunch any of us. Now come on, we should get Ann to the nurse's office, pronto." The whiskered teen spoke, with his friends nodding in agreement.
Naoto volunteered to escort Ann to see the nurse while the two blonde boys returned to the classroom… mainly to make sure the pinkette didn't try any more funny business. As they entered the Academy and walked down the hallways, Ryuji rubbed the back of his head and muttered "That was some pretty messed up shit."
"No kidding. We should keep our distance from the Fangirls. Most especially the pink bitch herself." The blonde grumbled in frustration as they continued on their way… until a female voice spoke from behind them asking "Excuse me, could you please help me?"
They both turned towards the new voice with annoyed expressions and found a slender young woman with crimson hair and a ponytail tied back by a big red bow was smiling softly at them, her smile seemed to falter a bit as she took note of their frowning faces and spoke with a small bow "I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you. I'm just trying to find my way to class."
The boys' expressions softened since this girl seemed nice enough, and she didn't seem familiar either. "Sorry. We're just having a bad time right now. A friend of ours got hurt barely three minutes ago. What's your name?" Naruto spoke apologetically, the girl bowed once again to him and Ryuji out of apology and politeness before she spoke.
"I'm very sorry to hear about your friend, and I hope they're okay. My name is Kasumi Yoshizawa, I transferred here at the last minute and… I'm afraid I'm a bit lost." She said and then presented a small slip of paper that had a class number… their class number.
"Oh. Seems like you're in our class. Name's Ryuji, and this here's my Senpai Naruto. We'll take you there." The runner spoke with a small smile, trying to act in a more kindly manner since this Kasumi girl seemed like a decent sort of person. She bowed once more to them in gratitude while replying "Thank you very much. We should hurry."
"Nah. It's not like we're missing that much anyway." The Uzumaki spoke in a dismissive tone, as they continued on towards their classroom, an animated question mark appearing over Kasumi's head since she wasn't aware of what he really meant.
"Erm… what happened to your friend anyway? An accident?" She asked out of genuine concern since it seemed to have greatly upset the boys. A large part of her wondering if there was anything she could do to help.
"No. She was pushed to the ground by a local bully. Sakura Haruno. A girl with pink hair and a nasty attitude. Can't miss her. You seem like a nice girl, so I'll warn you right now… don't go associating with any fangirls or the object of their affection, Sasuke Uchiha, aka the King of Brood. You'll know him when you see him." The Jinchuuriki spoke, while Kasumi didn't really understand the full scope of his warning, she nodded anyway.
The whiskered teen rubbed his temples, trying to soothe a headache forming in his skull, it almost felt like a jackhammer was going off deep inside his brain pan. He tried his best to ignore the dull ache and chalked it off as stress related, most especially from that incident outside. When they finally reached the classroom, most of the students had already taken their seats… and Sakura was now sitting in Ann's seat, which incidentally meant that Naruto himself would have to find a new place to sit to distance himself from the pinkette.
Hell, just looking at that smug expression on her face wanted to make him slap her silly, however, with Iruka in the same room, that sure as hell wasn't an option. As if sensing what his fellow blonde was thinking, Ryuji whispered "Come on dude. We'll deal with this crap later." The two blonde made their way to the back of the classroom while the red haired girl stayed behind as she silently stared at the pinkette.
"The hell are you looking at, bitch? You want to take my seat so you can sit next to Sasuke-kun?" Sakura growled out. Kasumi's eye twitched a bit, her fist clenching and unclenching as she muttered "Nothing… I'm looking at nothing." And then she turned on her heel to find another available seat, leaving behind a puzzled Haruno.
In the background, both Naruto and Ryuji settled into their seats, the former speaking "I hope Ann's okay." The former athlete nodded his head in agreement before replying back "Same, but Ann's tougher than she looks. I'm pretty sure she'll bounce back soon." And as if on cue, the blonde model herself appeared with the detective 'prince', looking patched up and a bit battered, but otherwise okay.
Ann sent a nasty glare to the pinkette and mouthed "I'll get you, bitch." Before angrily marching off to take a seat next to one Hinata Hyuuga while Naoto sat next to Shikamaru who was already fast asleep. The four friends all looked to each other and seemed to share a silent understanding between themselves, they'd gather again tomorrow to discuss their future plans surrounding their club. And with any luck, tomorrow would be better.
Later that day.
The rest of the school day had gone on without incident, and now the sun was slowly sinking down in the sky as Sakura made her trek home, all the while nursing her busted lip and cursing Naruto, wondering where he got the gall to punch her. It was just some bimbo that needed to learn her place. The Haruno took a shortcut down a dark alleyway that she frequented, all the while now fantasizing about her precious Sasuke-kun and having babies with him, she didn't take notice that someone was standing in her path, and she bumped into them making her fall onto the ground with a soft thump.
"Hey! What's the big idea?!" The Haruno demanded as she got up, and looked at the figure, their facial features obscured by a hood. They just stood there, breathing heavily which creeped out the pinkette. For the first time in a long time… she felt true fear and spoke "It… it was my fault. Sorry. I'll… just be going now." She turned around and began to walk away until a hand strongly clapped her on the shoulder and gripped her tight, cutting off her departure.
As a knee jerk reaction, Sakura smacked the offending hand away and screamed "Don't touch me you perv! All it takes is one word from me, and my daddy will throw you in jail!" The stranger said nothing and instead pulled out a louisville slugger from seemingly thin air, the sight of the weapon making the pinkette pale until she was white as a sheet.
With a sharp swing, the bat cracked her on the top of her head, instantly dropping her to the ground as blood leaked from the wound. The sounds of blows landing could be heard, along with bones crunching, after almost a minute long beating, Sakura was left twitching in a pool of her own blood, her arms and kneecaps shattered and her jaw broken. Her attacker dropped the bat and then departed without so much as a sound.
"So it begins."
The next morning.
Naruto yawned tiredly as he made the long march towards the Academy, feeling as though he hadn't even gotten a wink of sleep last night, feeling far too stressed and wound up to get any real shuteye. Still… yesterday wasn't all bad, he had made some new friends and they were already talking about forming a club together, as far as first days of the year went, it was a stark improvement over his previous two years, minus the altercation with Sakura. On another note… it felt pretty damn cathartic to slug the Haruno.
He stopped his musing when he approached the Academy grounds and found the student body were all gathered outside, and the Chunin teachers were talking with some Anbu. It seemed quite strange to him… had something happened? He spotted Ann and Naoto in the back of the crowd and approached them and spoke "Morning. Any idea what's going on?"
The girls turned towards him and cordially returned the greeting with the young sleuth answering "We aren't sure yet. We only just arrived. But if there is Anbu here, then something serious must be going on. In any case, the teachers told us to stay put for the time being." The Uzumaki hummed in thought as they had no choice but to wait. They watched as every few minutes the Chunin would escort a few students inside, and then bring them back out and fetch a new group.
Ryuji was one such student who was released, and took notice of his friends before jogging up to them to break the news "Guys! You're not gonna believe this!" He half-yelled as he ran up to them, his face covered in a light sheen of sweat. When he reached them he began to speak in a rushed manner "That Sakura chick was beaten within an inch of her life after school yesterday."
A collective "Holy crap." Came from Naruto and the girls who were taken by surprise by the news. "Yeah, that was my reaction too. Sakura's currently in the hospital, and it didn't sound good. I caught words like 'broken bones' and 'brain damage' from some of the Chunin I passed by on my way out. They're questioning students right now." The runner explained as he crossed his arms.
"Shit, did they say anything about a suspect?" The Uzumaki asked in a concerned tone since he had punched Sakura yesterday in front of numerous witnesses. In response, the former athlete shrugged his shoulders and replied "Dunno. They just asked some questions, a few of them involved the incident from yesterday. I wouldn't be surprised if they came to you… next." Ryuji mumbled more quietly at the end then pointed behind the Jinchuuriki.
Naruto slowly turned around and was met by the sight of a rather attractive looking woman with black hair, hazel colored eyes and black leather clothing who was accompanied by the Eternal Chunin Kotetsu and Izumo. "Naruto Uzumaki?" She asked him, earning a slow nod from the whiskered boy, prompting her to continue speaking "Naomi Misora, Konoha Police Force investigator. I'd like to ask you some questions."
Her tone sounded even and professional, which helped put him at ease. Seeing no other choice but to comply, the Uzumaki slowly nodded his head and followed her inside the Academy building, his friends watching his retreating form with worried expressions. Once he and his 'escort' entered inside the building they guided him into the teacher's lounge.
"Your teachers and classmates told me a lot about you. Called you a hellion on steroids. And mentioned something about a prank involving a tiger." Naomi spoke and gestured towards some claw markings on the nearby wall, earning a few chuckles from the blonde. She gestured for him to take a seat on a nearby couch as she made her way over to a coffee machine and poured herself a cup of the hot and bitter brew.
"Do you need anything? Water? Soda? Snack?" She asked in a friendly manner, prompting the whiskered boy to shake his head and politely decline. The Uzumaki's eyes flicked over to the Eternal Chunin who were standing near the lounge's entrance, silently keeping watch just outside the door to keep people from interrupting them.
"I'm dying to know… where'd you get a tiger from?" Naomi asked him with a small smile and sat next to him as she sipped at her coffee. Her voice and aura felt warm and pleasant, but he could tell she was watching and observing every detail about him.
"You're not here to ask about tigers." Naruto pointed out, prompting the investigator to slowly nod that it was indeed true… she was not. She was on the clock and had a job to do, but she didn't see any problem in trying to put him at ease. "No… I'm not. Heard you had an altercation with Sakura Haruno, just yesterday. And then after school, somebody almost beat her to death." Naomi spoke calmly, observing him and was a bit surprised when he looked her square in the eyes.
"Yeah. I did. I slugged her for hurting my friend. She deserved it. But I didn't beat her after school. I bet when her pappy found it, he put the lead out and scrambled the hornet's nest to find the 'who dunnit' and probably put me at the top of his suspect list. Well, it wasn't me, and I don't know who did it. You can have a memory scan done on me if you want." He spoke in a completely serious tone.
The investigator slowly sipped her coffee, finding no traces of deception from him, and that aside, he was willing to have a memory scan done on him, showing that he had nothing to hide whatsoever. She gave him a small smile and replied "I don't think that'll be necessary. But, please indulge me with this…" She paused at the end and got up from her seat, then approached something on a nearby table, a baseball bat in a long plastic evidence bag to accommodate its size.
"This was the weapon found at the scene. There are no prints, fibers, hair samples, scent traces or… anything really that could help identify Sakura's attacker. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing. Now, my question is… do you recognize it or know where it may come from?" She asked him, only earning a shake of the head signaling he knew nothing of the weapon.
She nodded in understanding and spoke evenly "Thank you for your time. You can go now." She gestured for the Chunin to escort the boy out as she sipped at her coffee, all the while contemplating the case as the blonde boy left her sights. It was no secret that Kizashi Haruno was as corrupt as they came, even in spite of an apparent 'lack of evidence' to the numerous crimes he was suspected of doing, or perhaps that only contributed more to his already questionable image. And he had no shortage of enemies either.
What really concerned her, was whether this was an isolated incident, or the start of something. And if it were the latter… just how far would this go?
Present day.
"... And that was the day we first met." Naruto spoke with a chuckle, a look of fondness on his face as he looked back on those days. If he knew then what he did now… he wouldn't have done anything differently.
"Indeed. Sakura's attacker was never found, they had vanished into the wind like a ghost. Sakura herself is confined to a bed, unable to move anything from the neck down, and has to eat her food through a straw. The only people that were concerned about what happened was her own family. Apparently bullies don't get much in the way of sympathy." Naomi muttered as she continued to jot notes down while not breaking eye contact with the Jinchuuriki.
"No shit. Out of all the Fangirls in school, Sakura was dead set on hooking up with her crush. But we both know how that ended…" He mumbled with an amused grin, feeling that what happened to Sakura was perfectly justified.
"Let's move on. What happened after that incident? More to the point, what happened with Iruka Umino?" The investigator asked with narrowed eyes, causing the blonde to sigh as he straightened himself against the wall, his eyes glancing down at the space between his feet.
"Iruka was always a damn parasite. Just some prick that managed to make it to Chunin and then started taking the cushiest and risk-free jobs a Ninja could take, like being a teacher at the Academy. After what happened with Sakura, things kinda settled down, became 'normal'... until our whole world was flipped upside down." He spoke, and then began to describe in detail what came after.
As Naomi listened to him, she had a strong feeling that the truth would reveal itself, one way or another.
End chapter one.
A/N: Yeah, I know. No Personas as of yet, but that'll change soon. I sincerely apologize for the long wait, and I fully intend to return to my other projects ASAP. Thanks for your patience. Reviews, Feedback, and Suggestions are welcome as always.