A month passed since Haru transferred into Iruka's class.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened.
Just lots of studying and the usual bouts of crying. Haru's skills were improving little by little at least.
Haru didn't make any new friends. But that was fine with her.
She never did talk to Sakura again after giving her the handkerchief.
Ino ended up befriending Sakura, after all, made evident by the red ribbon adorning the top of Sakura's head.
What a relief.
It was another morning of class when Iruka showed up, looking troubled about something. He silently put down his instructor's documents, seeming to be deep in thought.
"Um…Iruka-sensei? What are we going to do for class today?" a student asked.
This snapped Iruka out of his thoughts. "Right. Class, today, we will-"
Puffs of colorful smoke ignited next to Iruka.
"What the-!"
As the smoke cleared, everyone could make out the figure of a small blond boy.
Standing atop the instructor's desk, the blond boy struck a dramatic pose with a wide grin.
"What's up! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! The future Hokage!"
Everyone stared at Naruto in bafflement.
Haru covered her face with her hands. - Oh no. Oh no. Oh nononononono.
Naruto kept his pose, sweat dripping down his face. He expected cheers, not stunned silence.
Iruka cleared his throat. "Everyone, this is Uzumaki Naruto. A new transfer to this class."
Naruto crossed his arms and laughed boisterously. "That's right! You guys are lucky to have me! I'm going to blow you all away!"
"Ok, Naruto, you can go take your seat now," Iruka said.
Naruto stared at Iruka in surprise. He couldn't believe that Iruka had actually let him off the hook instead of disciplining him for his elaborate and disruptive entrance.
After Naruto sat down, Iruka picked up his clipboard. "Today, we'll be reviewing the Transformation Jutsu. Please take the form of the Third Hokage."
Haru groaned.
Shit. Iruka was going to call her name and Naruto was going to see her! She needed to hide somehow!
Quick, Haru! Think, think, think!
After Iruka called some students up, the time came.
"Kuzumaki Haruto!"
Haru walked up front, holding a book in front of her face.
This was the old-school plain way of hiding yourself. The bookworm's way.
She put the book down on the instructor's desk so she could make the hand signs. She kept her back turned to her classmates, making sure that Naruto didn't see her face.
Transformation Jutsu!
Haru transformed into the Third Hokage. Only then did she finally face Iruka.
Iruka nodded in approval. "Good."
Haru picked up her book to cover her face again as she returned to her seat.
Once seated, Haru quickly switched her small book for a big textbook to hide behind.
Naruto didn't even spare her a glance.
The plan was a success!
Haru peeked out from behind her textbook to see what happened next.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
Naruto walked up front and transformed.
The clothing was on point. But the face was totally off. The Third Hokage did not have such a big nose and big lips. Such a poor imitation.
The class burst into hysterical laughter.
Naruto reverted to his original form, laughing and sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Pretty funny, right? I meant to do that!"
Iruka got furious. "Enough jokes! Naruto, you've been a student here for two years! Do it again, seriously this time!"
Naruto shrunk back, chastised. "Ok! Ok! Fine!" He transformed again, only to end up with the same terrible result.
Iruka blinked, as if unable to believe that Naruto was this unskilled. "Naruto…you…"
Naruto dispelled the transformation, facing Iruka with a pout.
All of the kids laughed. "Hahaha! What a clown!"
"Seriously? He's been here two years and he still can't pull off a simple Transformation Jutsu! How lame!"
Naruto winced and his lip trembled.
Haru pulled her head back, making sure the textbook completely blocked her view.
Naruto's pained expression…It hurt to look at.
Like looking in a mirror…
From that day onward, class became an intense evasion sport for Haru.
Haru made sure to keep a book in front of her face at all times.
Iruka never said anything. With Haru's adequate grades, he must've thought that she was just studying. Nowadays, it seemed that his attention was fully on Naruto anyway, having to drag the boy back to class for a harsh scolding on a nearly daily basis.
Naruto never spoke a word or even looked at Haru.
Luckily, the only people Naruto really paid attention to were Sasuke, his rival and his crush, Sakura.
Naruto would silently blush at Sakura whenever she showed off her smarts. While with Sasuke, he would lunge at him, shouting, "Hey, Sasuke! Quit being a jerk!"
Haru didn't complain.
Good job, Sasuke and Sakura! Keep Naruto's attention all on you! Then Naruto will never know that I exist! Yeah!
"Kuzumaki Haruto and Uzumaki Naruto! You two will be sparring!"
Haru stiffened, her mouth running dry.
To avoid such a catastrophe, Haru did what she did best. "I forfeit!"
Iruka sighed, not surprised. "All right, Haru."
"What?" Naruto yelled in disbelief. "You're gonna give up without even trying? You're not even going to bother fighting me?"
Haru kept her back turned to Naruto and didn't answer him.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Haru kept walking.
"Oh! You think you're too good to even look at me, huh!"
Naruto grabbed Haru's arm, pulling her to face him.
Cerulean blue eyes stared into crimson red eyes.
Time seemed to stand still.
Naruto's eyes widened. "You're…"
Haru wrenched her arm out of Naruto's grasp and made a run for it.
"Haru! Stop! You can't just leave class!" Iruka shouted.
The blood rushed through Haru's ears as she kept running.
She had to get away.
Away from Naruto.
Away from being caught up in the throes of history in the making.
Away from danger.
"Hey! Hey! Wait up!"
Naruto skidded to a stop in front of Haru. "Wait! I want to talk to you!" he panted.
Haru only ran faster, leaping and jumping over Naruto.
"Crap! Will you stop for one second?" Naruto launched himself into the air, tackling Haru to the ground.
Haru squirmed around in Naruto's arms. "Ugh! Let go! Damn it!" She smacked at him with her hands.
"Ow! Ow! Only if you stop running and actually talk to me!" Naruto shouted back.
"Fine! Fine!" Haru stopped struggling. "Now get your hands off of me!"
Naruto let go.
Haru stood up and wiped the dirt off her clothes. She crossed her arms and frowned at Naruto.
Naruto was breathless and his eyes sparkled. "I can't believe it! You're real! I thought people were just messing around with me! I could never find you anywhere!"
Haru's eyes flitted to the side. "Yeah…Funny how we never ran into each other sooner."
Naruto stared at Haru in wonder. "So what're you? Some kinda copycat. Some wannabe me?"
Haru sighed. "No. I was born this way. Unfortunately."
Naruto leaned closer to Haru. He placed a hand on his chin and tilted his head, staring at her intensely. "Hmmm. Hmmm."
Haru backed away. "What? What are you looking at?"
Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We sure do look a lot alike…" He gasped. "Maybe we're long-lost siblings!"
Haru waved her hands in denial. "No! No! We are not! We are definitely not related at all!"
"How do you know that?" Naruto asked.
"Well…we have different last names!" Haru said.
"Kuzumaki…Uzumaki…Oh right." Naruto muttered.
"Even if we're not siblings…" Naruto bounced excitedly. "We could still be friends! Come on! Come on! Let's hang out together! I'll even share my cup ramen with you! "
It was quite an easy choice for Haru.
Being around Naruto was just going to make things worse for the both of them.
The villagers' suspicions would be confirmed that Haru and Naruto were closely related to each other.
A friendship between them just wasn't feasible.
And like hell, Haru was going to get involved with the main protagonist, a literal death and danger magnet.
Besides, Naruto was going to be fine.
He was going to have Iruka, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura. All of Konoha when he defeated Pain.
He didn't need Haru.
"No thanks."
Haru ignored the look of hurt that flashed across Naruto's face.
"What? But why?!" Naruto's shoulders slumped and his voice quieted to a whisper. "I don't get it. Everyone treats you the same way as me, right? Aren't you lonely too? Doesn't it hurt a lot?"
Haru gritted her teeth. "I could deal with things just fine on my own. I don't need anyone else."
Naruto stiffened. His face fell and his lip trembled.
"Fine then!" Naruto screamed. "I wouldn't want to be friends with a jerkwad like you anyway!"
Naruto turned away and ran off.
Haru could've sworn she saw tears running down his cheeks.
Haru jerked her head away and turned around, continuing to walk.
No good will come out of us being together. It's better for us this way…
Haru's vision blurred.
She wiped her eyes with a hand.
Damn it. Why were her eyes getting so watery all of a sudden?