I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

Class

Ryuu sat in his usual seat behind Sasuke. Within seconds, Ino and Sakura, two of the more talented girls in the class despite the fact that they cared too much about being attractive and not enough about being a ninja, sat down on either side of Sasuke, with Naruto, an orphan who everyone seemed to unanimously hate for no reason, seated on the opposite side of Sakura, who he had a mountain-sized crush on. Personally, Ryuu liked Naruto. His family had warned him not to talk to him, of course, but Shisui had told him that Naruto was hated for something he couldn't control. After hearing that, Ryuu had taken it upon himself to try and help Naruto, giving him what extra help he could manage in basically everything, since Naruto was usually ignored by the teachers, besides Iruka who spent almost as much time yelling at Naruto as he did teaching.

Sasuke didn't seem to particularly like or dislike Naruto, though Naruto saw Sasuke as his rival, and Sasuke saw Ryuu as his greatest challenge. He and Sasuke were fairly even with everything they did, besides taijutsu. Because Ryuu refused to attack, Sasuke was usually named the winner for that. The others who stood out in the class were a boy named Shikamaru who was a certifiable genius but who was too lazy to actually do anything, Choji who was rather large but who was extremely peaceful, not unlike Ryuu himself, unless called fat, at which point he would get very angry and beat up almost anyone who said it. Then there was Kiba Inuzuka who was from the village's dog handlers. They each had one or two ninken that they used as partners for everything. Kiba himself had his puppy, Akamaru, riding around on his head. Next was Shino Aburame, who stood out specifically for being so completely average that he was basically nonexistent. He wore a trench coat to cover his body all the time, except for his eyes, which were covered by dark sunglasses instead, and his messy brown hair. Ryuu wasn't sure what the Aburame clan was, but kept forgetting to ask Shisui. Ino was from the Yamanaka clan, who specialized in some kind of jutsu that let them read minds, or something to that effect. Sakura was over all very intelligent, but lacked any real drive or skill in anything but tests and chakra manipulation. Lastly, there was Hinata Hyuga. Him he recognized instantly by the way her pale eyes were constantly glued to the back of Naruto's head, to an almost creepy, stalkerish level. Not that He would ever use those words to describe Hinata herself. Timid, hiding, nervous, and lacking self confidence was more accurate. Her hair was kept in a short Hime style, and she was always wearing a sweatshirt that was probably a size too big. She was good though. Good at tests, good with weapons, good at hand to hand combat, when she wasn't too nervous to try. If she had confidence, she might have been one of the top in the class. The rest of the class was made of of the average, run-of-the-mill, stereotypical students who were practically clones of the students in the class before them. Ryuu couldn't remember many of their names, but he liked them well enough.

Ryuu looked to the door as Iruka walked in, taking care to check the top of the door for a chalk eraser or a bucket of water. That was Naruto's fault. He had a habit of pulling pranks on pretty much everyone. Not because he truly thought it was fun, or for entertainment. He did it for attention. He did it because if he didn't, almost no one would know he existed. Ryuu felt bad for him. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have no one. And he didn't want to.

"Good morning everyone," Iruka began. "Today, we're going to be learning the Clone Jutsu."

"Why that one?" Naruto asked. "Why can't we learn something useful, like the fireball jutsu, or some awesome Earth-Style jutsu. You know, something that you can actually use to fight."

"Shut up Naruto!" Iruka shouted. "I'm teaching the class and I'll teach whatever I feel like! besides, the Clone Jutsu is very useful in combat!"

"Yeah right!" Naruto retorted. "Maybe for hiding! Or running away!"

"Be quiet idiot," Sasuke said. "It's a distraction, allowing you to successfully land a blow without needing to expend the chakra required for a stronger jutsu."

Naruto stared at him for a moment before adopting a glare. "I know that!"

"Anyway, as I was saying, the Clone Jutsu."

Ryuu watched as Naruto tried for the fifth time to try and create a passable clone. He would give him points for stamina, but he was terrible at control. It wasn't the first time they had done the Clone Jutsu. And yet, still Naruto couldn't create one that was worth the amount of chakra it took to make. Finally, Iruka simply sent him back to his seat. Then, he walked to the board, drawing out a seal.

"Who can name this seal?" Iruka asked.

"It's a paralysis seal," Ryuu said, raising his hand.

"Can you tell me which?" Iruka asked.

Ryuu stared at the jutsu, thinking hard. They had learned it already. He just had to remember which it was. Finally it came to him. "It's the Unbreakable Chains seal. The more force you put into movements, the harder it becomes to move. But if you don't try too hard, movement is still possible, though restricted."

"Very good Ryuu," Iruka nodded. "And this?" He drew another, Sasuke's hand beat Ryuu's this time.

"Fire Suppression Seal," Sasuke said. "A high level seal created by the Hidden Leaf's Master Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin for the purpose of suppressing Fire Style Jutsus."

"Excellent," Iruka said. "How about a hard one?"

He drew a seal on the board that Ryuu didn't remember being taught. He stared at it for several moments. "It's a Contract Seal. It's placed on a shinobi who has summoned something into a battle. The seal then voids the contract the summoner has, releasing the summoning animal from their control."

"I'm impressed Ryuu," Iruka nodded. "That's right. In a battle against summoners, this could be one of the most useful seals you have. Having a summon could be the difference between victory or defeat. This seal can also, however, be used as a sort of block for a summoning jutsu itself, if used on the summoning animal. It would send the summoning animal back to its own realm, where it would be unable to fight. It would then be stuck there for a duration of time until the seal fades. Depending on the summon, the time varies. However, common lengths range from a half hour to a day."

"Sensei, quit joking around," Naruto spoke up. "Everyone knows Sealing Jutsus aren't really that useful in combat. That's why we should be learning Ninjutsu! Or even Taijutsu!"

"We just learned Ninjutsu and Taijutsu yesterday," Ryuu said. "Sealing Jutsu and Genjutsu are scheduled for today. You should pay attention, Naruto. My brother says the Uzumaki clan was famous for being able to use seals to fight. And besides that, if your opponent can't move, it's that much easier to fight them, right?"

Naruto stared at him for a moment before nodding and turning back around, remaining silent this time.

"Thank you Ryuu," Iruka said. "Alright, today, I'll be showing you a number of storage seals, and one low-level paralysis seal."

Ryuu stared up at the birds slowly circling overhead. He smiled slightly as a bright-colored one flew down to perch on his shoulder. He reached up, stroking its feathers lightly before looking back to the sparring ring. Iruka had finally given in to Naruto's urging to go over Taijutsu again. Naruto had payed perfect attention through the Sealing Jutsu portion of class, which was why Iruka decided to agree. Granted, it was at the rule that Naruto also had to pay attention when they went over Genjutsu as well. Ryuu doubted Naruto would be good at Genjutsu. He didn't seem like he was a Genjutsu type, since they were generally calm and controlled. But if Naruto was going to be able to use it, he was going to need to pay attention so he would know how.

Sasuke and Naruto stepped into the ring and Naruto reacted the moment Iruka began to match. He swung wildly, barely being more than a brawler, but it was a vast improvement from the first time Ryuu had watched them fight. He had taught Naruto a little Taijutsu after class a few days and he had picked it up well. This time, instead of being over in about two seconds, the match lasted thirty. Still, Sasuke won with only Naruto having broken a sweat. Next, Hinata and Ryuu were called into the ring. Ryuu sighed as his feathered friend took off and walked to the ring, Hinata stepping in opposite him. They had sparred before, so she knew she didn't have to be afraid of him fighting back. Really anyone fighting him was closer to them training to hit a very quick target.

"Begin!" Iruka said.

Hinata darted forward, jabbing a palm strike at him and he stepped out of the way, pushing her hand away and crouching just before her other elbow passed over his head. As he stood, she spun, kicking at him and he blocked it. Then, she threw another palm strike at him only for him to release her leg and grab her arm, spinning and sending her staggering out of the ring. She regained her balance and turned back to him, both making the Sign of Friendship. Then, they returned to the others as Sakura and Ino entered the ring, knocking each other unconscious, as always. Finally, the matches were over and they returned inside, Naruto keeping good on his promise and actively paying attention, even taking notes. Finally, the day ended and they all left the academy, Ryuu and Naruto heading to a field where Ryuu could train him without anyone watching. They started with Taijutsu, Ryuu teaching him for roughly an hour on that alone, then moved to Sealing Jutsus. Once again they trained for an hour. Then, they moved to the Clone Jutsu. Here Naruto began to fail miserably. Finally, after two hours, Ryuu called it a day.

"Keep working on it Naruto," Ryuu said. "I have to get back home to train with my brother. See you tomorrow."

Naruto waved as he left and Ryuu returned to his house, making it just in time to step into the training room at the same time as Shisui.

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