To Love Oneself

by MercenaryGrax

As time goes by and Naruto's loneliness grows, he resorts to spending more and more time with a clone of Naruko, the name given to his Sexy Technique's form. Without friends or loved ones, he slowly begins to fall in love with her. What will happen when society shuns him for being with someone that is essentially himself, only different?

1. Chapter 1

A/N - Yep, another new story. Don't worry, I only had these two new stories planned. After this, I'll begin working on new chapters for my other stories again, I promise. lol.

Anyways, as you can see, this is a Naruto x Naruko pairing story with a unique twist: Naruko isn't Naruto's sister or a female version of him from an alternate dimension. This Naruko is actually a part of Naruto! I know this idea is bound to get me some grief from people in the form of flames and the like, but this idea just popped into my head and I had to roll with it.

Anywho, now that all that's been said, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of To Love Oneself!

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Chapter 1 - Isolation

Naruto sighed to himself as he left the Hokage's office, thinking about everything he had just heard. He definitely learned some things tonight!

First, it turns out that he is something called a jinchuriki, a person that houses one of the nine bijuu. Which bijuu did he hold? Why the most powerful of the bunch: the Kyuubi. This would explain why everyone was always calling him 'Demon' and treating him as if he didn't exist or beating him up for practically no reason. Damned bastards.

Second, he learned that the Hokage had been lying to him his entire life thus far. The Hokage knew all along that Naruto was a jinchuriki and yet he kept it secret from him, which was probably one of the worst decisions he could have made! Because of this, he decided that he could no longer trust the Hokage. After all, if the Hokage was lying about why he was hated all this time, then what the hell else was he lying about?! Did the old man know who his parents were and he just wasn't telling him for some fucking reason?!

Third, he learned that he would never be able to perform the regular Clone Technique due to having such a high amount of chakra and the fact that he'd never have the kind of chakra control needed to perform such a technique. If the Hokage knew this, he should have offered Naruto some kind of alternative rather than allowing him to fail the test three fucking times! After all, didn't some kid in the year ahead of him graduate despite being completely unable to use ninjutsu and genjutsu?! How the hell was that fair?!

Thinking about all of this, Naruto couldn't help but grit his teeth and clench his fists from all the fury he felt right now. Storming away from the Hokage tower as he made his way back home, he wasn't surprised to see some drunk come stumbling towards him with a rake held in his hand.

Sighing, Naruto performed the Shadow Clone Technique and told his clone to deal with the idiot while he slipped past the drunkard and continued on his way. As he walked, Naruto thought about his life and the fact that he was now truly alone in the world. Well, maybe not fully alone. He did still have the Ichiraku family as friends, but he suspected that they were only kind to him because he was a frequent customer at their ramen stand. He didn't count Iruka-sensei as a friend because he never really put forth the effort to get to know or understand Naruto as a person. Iruka wasn't exactly the fairest teacher either, treating him like a misbehaving idiot even when he tried his hardest in class to pay attention and do things right. It wasn't his fault that Mizuki was always fucking sabotaging him!

So, as he entered his apartment, he released a sigh and flopped down onto his couch. "I'm...really alone." he said quietly. "I wish I knew what to do."

It was at this point that he heard a voice in his head. "You have me."

Blinking in shock at the foreign voice in his head, Naruto jolted up off the couch and looked around. "W-who said that?" he asked aloud.

Giggling could be heard within his head from the feminine voice. "Summon a Shadow Clone and you'll see." the mystery woman said.

"A Shadow Clone?" he questioned curiously. When there was no response, he shrugged and formed the hand seal required before shouting out, "Shadow Clone Technique!"

When the smoke cleared, there stood one of his Shadow Clones, but instead of an exact copy of him, it was in his Sexy Technique's form. "Hello Naruto-kun." she said. "You may call me Naruko."

Naruto looked her up and down a few times before plopping himself down on the couch and bringing a hand to his forehead. "Great, I'm going insane. I must be."

The now named Naruko sat down beside Naruto and placed a hand gently on his leg. "No Naruto-kun, you are most certainly not going insane. But...you are lonely. Your desperate desire for a single friend that would never betray you, a friend that would always be with you and would cherish you for who you are...well, it gave birth to me. In a sense, I suppose I'm like an alternate personality now, but that's not quite accurate. I'm a new entity inside of you, given form and life by your special type of chakra." she explained.

Blinking in confusion at this, Naruto looked at her and frowned. "Special chakra? You mean the Kyuubi's?" he questioned curiously.

Shaking her head in the negative, Naruko gave her host a smile and patted him on the cheek. "No Naruto-kun. Something that nobody in this village knows about is that you possess what is known as holy chakra. It's a special type of chakra that can be used to purify people, exorcise demons, and perform other such miracles. One such miracle is giving me life inside of you." she explained.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at this as he looked into Naruko's eyes. "How come nobody's ever noticed such a thing before? Or...do people know and they just didn't tell me? Just like the Kyuubi…"

Naruko sighed and shook her head. "The Hokage likely knows, and I'm pretty certain our godparents know as well. But you already know the Hokage won't be honest with you, and our godparents have never been around to take care of you. So you wouldn't have been able to talk to them about this anyways."

Clenching his fists tightly, Naruto looked down at his lap and asked, "What about my parents? Are they still around? Did they abandon me? Where are they? What happened to them?"

The female clone of Naruto sighed and wrapped her arms around Naruto, hugging his head to her rather sizable breasts. Hey, they were fifteen years-old and she was a high C-cup already. Give her a break! "Naruto-kun...our parents are dead. Our father was the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. He's the one that sealed the Kyuubi within you. Our mother was Kushina Uzumaki. She was the second jinchuriki of the Kyuubi and she was a beautiful woman that was just so happy to be pregnant with you. Our mother could use something called Adamantine Sealing Chains that were strong enough to hold down the Kyuubi of all things. I'm sure you would have loved them both very much if they had lived."

Naruto was shaking from a mixture of grief and anger. "My...my own father sealed the Kyuubi within me? He cursed me to this fate? Why? Why would he choose a village like this over his son?!"

Naruko sighed and began to stroke her friend's hair gently. "He...was a fool that believed wholly in the village and its people. Our father truly believed that they would see you as a hero for holding the beast back from destroying the village. You should have been seen as a hero, true, but...you weren't. The higher-ups in the village made sure of that now, didn't they?" she asked rhetorically. "Truly, our father was a naive fool."

Sighing as well, Naruto nodded slowly and hugged Naruko gently, afraid that if he hugged her too tight, she'd disappear just like a regular Shadow Clone would. "What about our mom? Did she agree with his decision?"

Sensing Naruto's nervousness, Naruko placed a gentle kiss atop his head and giggled a bit. "You can hug me a bit tighter if you want to Naruto-kun, I won't pop immediately like a regular Shadow Clone would. It would take a fatal blow to make me pop." she said, giggling just a little more. "As for our mom, she argued against sealing the Kyuubi inside of you. She wanted to seal the Kyuubi within her again so that when she died, the Kyuubi would go with her. Our father wouldn't listen though. She eventually had to help him because they were running out of time to make a decision and he was the only one between the two of them strong enough to still do the sealing."

Naruto blushed at the kiss, but found himself smiling all the same at the affectionate gesture from his newest/only friend. Listening to everything she said, he sighed and nodded his head slowly. "I see. Poor Mom." he said quietly. "I bet that couldn't have been easy on her."

Naruko shook her head and just continued to rub Naruto's back gently. "It wasn't. Our mother hated every damn second of it, but she knew there was no other choice but to seal the Kyuubi within you. You were the only one in the village that could possibly contain it. After all, only an Uzumaki can contain the Kyuubi."

Looking up into Naruko's eyes, it was obvious that Naruto was confused. So before he could ask the question, she beat him to it. "Naruto-kun, something you weren't taught in the academy, probably because the Council decided to remove it from the academy curriculum for some reason or another, is that the Uzumaki's were a clan once. They were wiped out however in one of the previous wars and the survivors were separated, each going their own way. Thankfully, Kushina was already in Konoha at the time, or she might have died."

Sighing, Naruko gently pet Naruto's hair and offered him a melancholic smile. "The Uzumaki's were famous for their skill in fuinjutsu, the Sealing Arts. They were also known for their dense chakra and their longevity. Many of them lived long lives and could perform some amazing feats." she explained.

Smiling at this information, Naruto couldn't help but feel a little better at the knowledge that he was from such an amazing clan. After a little while of just relaxing together, Naruto yawned and began to rub at his eyes tiredly. "I'm getting sleepy." he said quietly. "Will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone." he admitted, not seeing anything wrong with such a thing.

Naruko smiled at Naruto and helped him up off the couch. As she guided him to his room, she replied with, "Sure Naruto-kun. I'll even cuddle with you if you want?" she suggested, wanting nothing more than to bring comfort to her creator.

Naruto was more than happy to hear this and couldn't help but smile brightly as they entered his room. The two of them, not seeing anything wrong with it, began undressing and went about changing into their nightwear. When they climbed into bed together, Naruto couldn't help but notice that his nightshirts didn't fit Naruko very well. They were a bit too tight in the chest and it looked like the buttons would pop off at any moment.

Gulping as he stared at her, he found himself blushing and quickly turned away to try and hide this fact. Naruko, confused by this, wrapped her arms around his midsection and snuggled against him, her breasts pressing against his back and causing him to blush even more. "What's wrong Naruto-kun? Don't you want to cuddle?"

Nodding slowly, Naruto replied with, "I...I do. But...but…" Sighing softly, Naruto shifted until he was facing Naruko again. When she felt his erection pressing against her leg, he saw her gain a healthy blush as well. "S-see? That!" he exclaimed in a panic.

"I...I see. I didn't realize my body would arouse you. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea…" she admitted shamefully. When she went to get out of the bed, Naruto grabbed hold of her hand and kept her from leaving. Looking back at him, she frowned and quickly curled up against him again. "Okay, I won't leave Naruto-kun. I just thought that maybe...you were uncomfortable with me being in your bed with you."

Shaking his head in the negative, Naruto began to gently run his fingers through Naruko's hair and offered her a smile. "No...I want you to be here. I'm just...nervous. That's all. Plus, you're a really beautiful girl. And we're both fifteen… It's...well...it's only natural to get aroused like this." he said bashfully.

Naruko found herself blushing at his words, but smiled all the same. "Thank you Naruto-kun. If I were to be perfectly honest, I think you're attractive as well. As for the arousal...well, it'll go down in time, I'm sure. For now, let's just try to get some sleep. It's been a long day and you definitely need the rest." she said with a warm smile on her face.

Nodding slowly, Naruto slowly closed his eyes and began drifting off to sleep. However, right before he could fully drift off into Slumberland, he felt Naruko's lips on his cheek. This action caused him to blush again, but he didn't open his eyes. Instead, he let himself drift off to sleep, content to just lay there in Naruko's arms.

Watching as her creator fell asleep, Naruko sighed and shook her head sadly. This village has done far too much to you Naruto-kun. They really don't deserve someone as precious as you. We need to get out of this village and find someplace that will accept us both. But...one thing at a time. We need to become stronger first. We can't leave this village until the two of us can defend ourselves and each other from anything this village can and will throw our way in an attempt to keep their precious weapon from leaving. But don't worry Naruto-kun, together we'll grow stronger than anyone could ever dream of becoming. And we'll start by befriending the Kyuubi.

Three Days Later

For the past three days, Naruto had been something of a shut-in. He had only gone out to procure food and drink and spent most of his time secluded in his home. When Hiruzen had attempted to spy on Naruto to check on his status using his crystal ball, all he got back were distorted images and nothing more. After three days of this, he had had enough and figured it was time to check on Naruto to see if he was alright. It was also time to find out what the heck had happened in Naruto's apartment to prevent him from peering inside.

However, when he arrived at the apartment, he saw a note on the front door telling people that he was away at Ichiraku's and would be back later. Thinking on it for a moment, Hiruzen debated on following Naruto to the ramen stand to confront him directly, or perhaps investigating the apartment to see if he could gather any clues about what he was up to in here.

After a few short moments, the Sandaime Hokage nodded and used his key to enter the apartment. Shutting the door behind him, Hiruzen began to look around for anything out of the ordinary in the apartment. So far, he couldn't see anything that would prevent him from spying on Naruto, but that was just with simple observation skills. Walking into the kitchen, Hiruzen glanced around for a moment before making his way towards the fridge. Opening it, he peered inside and saw something that shocked him. Inside was fresh fruit and vegetables, non-spoilt milk, and many other such groceries that looked to have been freshly stocked. The shocking thing about this is the fact that Naruto hated eating his fruits and vegetables. He had tried numerous times to get the young lad to eat them, but he had put up such a vehement argument against such a thing that Hiruzen had no choice but to give up in the end.

Filing this intriguing information away for later, the Hokage proceeded into the bedroom and glanced around. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. However, when he went to examine the closet, he found women's clothing hung inside, along with a variety of new outfits for Naruto to wear. Curious about this, he proceeded to the dresser and pulled open the drawers before finding something that caused him to blush. Inside one of the drawers were neatly folded women's underwear: both bras and panties.

Quickly closing the door, Hiruzen turned around and walked over to the bed, sitting himself down upon it. Raising a hand to his head, he began to ponder what these clues could mean. Has a woman moved in with Naruto-kun? Or, Kami forbid, has he started to dress as a girl? Has his mind finally broken and he's lost all touch with reality? He wondered to himself.

Deciding to forego the search for what was causing his crystal ball to malfunction, the Hokage left Naruto's apartment and proceeded to make his way to Ramen Ichiraku, where he knew Naruto was likely to be waiting.

Naruto & Naruko

The Ichiraku's were concerned when they saw Naruto walk in with almost an exact copy of himself, only female, talking with her as if she were an entirely different person. Yes, this copy of Naruto was beautiful in her own right, but she was still just Naruto, wasn't she? So why was he treating her as if she were his best friend in the world right now?

Shaking that thought off, Ayame beamed at the two of them, which was still odd to her, and asked, "Hello Naruto-kun. What can I get for you today?"

Naruto blinked at this and looked over at Naruko, who simply shrugged in response to his unasked question. Looking back at Ayame, he nodded his head towards Naruko. "Just give me my usual two bowls of miso to start with. But, before you go to get that started, shouldn't you take Naruko-chan's order too?"

Ayame looked a little unsure at this, but, not wanting to insult Naruto, she turned to Naruko and offered a polite smile. "Of course. What can I get you Naruko-chan?"

Naruko frowned slightly as she could easily tell that Ayame's smile was strained somewhat. It was obvious to her that this girl was concerned about Naruto's current mental state, so she knew they'd have to do some damage control here somehow. Still, the beautiful blonde teenager decided to say, "I'll take one miso and one pork to start with please and thank you Ayame."

Nodding, Ayame gave the orders to her father to get started on before she returned to the two Naruto's. Looking into Naruto's eyes, she frowned sadly at him. "Naruto-kun...are you alright? We haven't seen much of you these past three days. And now, here you are coming into our stand with a clone of yourself, acting like she's a real person and your best friend in the world. Did something happen that we need to know about?"

Sighing at this, knowing that it was bound to happen eventually, Naruto reined in his anger at hearing Ayame insist that Naruko wasn't a real person. Instead, he looked into the Ichiraku woman's eyes and shook his head. "I learned some things the other day, Ayame-chan, that proved to me that I can't trust even the Hokage anymore. He's been lying to me my whole life and I don't know how much else he's been lying to me about. And you know that I don't have any friends besides you and Pops. So...Naruko-chan was born. Please don't try and tell me she's not a real person, because she is her own person. She has her own personality and everything! So what if she's just a clone of me? I needed a friend to confide in and spend time with and now I have one!" he exclaimed, getting slightly frustrated towards the end of his rant.

Blinking in shock at this, the Ichiraku waitress was about to say something when her father announced that the orders were ready. So, quickly excusing herself, she got their orders and delivered them to the strange duo. Looking back and forth between the two of them, Ayame asked, "Is that why you got her women's clothing Naruto-kun? Because she's her own person and deserves to feel special, in her own way?"

Naruto chuckled sheepishly and nodded slowly. "Actually, since I wasn't sure of Naruko-chan's sizes, she went shopping for the clothing herself. I like what she picked out. The clothes look good on her. Just like I think my new clothes look good on me." he said with a nod, motioning to what he was now wearing.

Sure enough, Naruto had changed out of that hideous orange tracksuit he always wore and was now dressed in some casual clothing consisting of a black t-shirt with with the words "Life is Swell" on the front in neon-colored lettering. Due to the heat, instead of pants he was wearing a pair of beige shorts that went down past his knees. His shorts had many pockets lining them, allowing him to store a great many things inside of them. On his feet, he wore his usual ninja sandals that he always wore, as he hadn't gone shopping for a new pair yet.

Naruko, on the other hand, was dressed in a cute, green sundress with yellow flowers printed on the right side, spreading out as they went further down, almost as if they were being blown in the wind. On her head, she wore a straw hat to keep the sunlight out of her eyes, but also because she felt it matched her country girl ensemble a bit. Finally, she too was wearing a pair of Naruto's ninja sandals, having not felt the need to buy any new pairs just yet. All-in-all, because they didn't have anything big planned for today, she wanted to dress in something cute that she liked and just spend time with Naruto.

After looking them over, Ayame couldn't help but think about how cute they both looked. But then a question came to mind and she just had to ask it. "Naruto-kun...you two aren't on a date by any chance...are you?"

The two Uzumaki's froze at this and looked into one another's eyes before they began to giggle. Looking into Ayame's eyes, they both shook their heads in the negative. "No, no, nothing like that Ayame-chan. We're just spending some time together is all."

Unable to help herself, Ayame breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Naruto hadn't started doing something that would cause him to become even more of an outcast than he already was! When Naruko caught this, however, she narrowed her eyes and looked hard at Ayame. "Why do you ask Ayame? Would you have some problem if we were dating?"

Seeing the look in Naruko's eyes, the ramen waitress quickly shook her hands in front of her in a placating gesture. "N-no, of course not! It's just...I'm worried for Naruto-kun's sake is all. I don't want people to start treating him even worse because of this."

Sighing, Naruko shook her head and resumed eating for awhile until she finished her first bowl of ramen. "We are already without friends Ayame. Naruto-kun felt so lonely he created me. We are all that each other has. If the people of the village do not like it, then so be it. I, personally, couldn't care less what they think of me or Naruto-kun."

Before anyone could say anything else, Hiruzen Sarutobi entered the establishment and sat down on Naruto's other side. Without ordering anything, he looked between Naruto and his clone and sighed. "So that's what's going on then? I was wondering what you had been up to all this time that you've been gone Naruto-kun. I didn't expect this though." he admitted.

Scowling now, Naruto quietly finished the rest of his ramen and stared hatefully into Hiruzen's eyes. "What do you need Hokage-sama? I hope you aren't here to try and convince me to stop being friends with Naruko-chan, because that's not going to happen."

Flinching in shock at the look Naruto was giving him and the sheer amount of venom in his voice, Hiruzen soon found himself frowning as he let out a deep, frustrated sigh. I really screwed up. I am deeply sorry Naruto-kun. He thought to himself sadly before he began to speak to the young man. "Naruto-kun, what you're doing is not healthy behavior. Naruko-chan is just a clone, no matter what you may say or believe. It's not possible for her to have her own separate personality from yours, nor is it healthy to obsess over yourself like this. You need to get out there and make some friends Naruto-kun. You can't go on like this."

Clenching his fists tight, Naruto considered taking a swing at the Hokage, but he wisely decided against it. Instead, he settled for glaring at the old man. "Naruko-chan is her own person. I don't care if you believe that or not old man! And I'm not obsessing over myself, I'm just spending time with my friend. My only friend. Finally…" scowling now, Naruto punched the countertop hard and growled out, "I've tried making friends Hokage-sama. Nobody wants to be friends with me. Sasuke treats me like I'm worth less than trash in his eyes. Sakura's always hitting me when I try to be nice to her. Kiba's a damn asshole to me ¾ of the damn time. Shino won't talk to me. Shikamaru and Choji just stick to themselves...they won't talk to me either. I thought for sure I'd have the best chance of befriending them, but they didn't want anything to do with me either. Hinata is just...awkward. Every time I try to talk to her, she turns red, pokes her fingers together, and starts to mumble to herself before passing out. She seems nice enough, but if I can't hold a damn conversation with her, how can I consider her a friend?" he ranted angrily. "In short Hokage-sama, the only person I have now is Naruko-chan. So don't you dare try to take her away from me."

The Sandaime looked sadly at Naruto and nodded his head in understanding. "I see. I didn't know things had gotten so bad for you Naruto-kun. However…" Sighing, the Hokage rose from his seat and looked down at the teenage boy. "I'm going to insist that you start going to therapy with Inoichi Yamanaka, Ino's father. Your current behavior is unhealthy and I want you to be in top form for when your ninja career officially begins. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to Inoichi now for your first session with him."

Scowling up at the Hokage, Naruto shook his head in the negative and crossed his arms over his chest. "Not happening. I don't need any damn therapy. I already told you I'm fine with Naruko-chan damnit!"

Staring hard down at Naruto, Hiruzen quickly paid their bill before he grabbed both Uzumaki's by their shoulders and Body Flickered away, leaving Ayame staring after them in concern. Hokage-sama...all you're going to do is push Naruto-kun even further away from all of us. If only you would listen to him…

Yamanaka Home

Appearing outside of the Yamanaka clan head's house, Hiruzen knocked on the door rather hard while Naruto and Naruko scowled up at him angrily. When the teenage beauty known as Ino Yamanaka opened the door to see the Hokage there, she was initially in shock before quickly shaking it off. When she went to speak, she noticed Naruto standing there beside the Hokage with almost an exact copy of him, just in female form. Quirking a brow at this, she folded her arms under her bust and said, "What the heck is this Naruto? Couldn't get a girl for yourself so you decided to make one somehow? That's kind of pathetic, isn't it?" she taunted.

Naruko clenched her fist and was prepared to deck Ino for her comments, but Hiruzen's voice stopped her from doing so. "That will be enough of that Ino. Is your father home?"

Looking into the Hokage's eyes, Ino nodded slowly and turned to yell back into the house for her father. When he arrived at the door, he went wide-eyed at first before he bowed his head to the Hokage and offered him a smile. "Hokage-sama, whatever brings you here? And Naruto-kun as well?" Looking between Naruto and his female clone, Inoichi had a sinking feeling in his gut that this was going to be one awkward day. "I assume this has something to do with young Naruto-kun?"

Hiruzen nodded slowly. "Yes, it does. Perhaps the four of us can speak in private Inoichi?" he questioned.

"Ah, yes, of course! Please, follow me you three." the Yamanaka clan head stated before he led them into his home and to a room where they could be alone. Once everyone was seated, with Naruko and Naruto sitting rather close together, Inoichi frowned and looked to the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, perhaps you can explain the situation to me so I can better understand what I'm dealing with here?"

Before the Hokage could speak, Naruto began to shout, "He fucking dragged us here against our will! All because he wants me to get rid of Naruko-chan! She's the only friend I've ever had and I refuse to give her up. Besides, no matter what that bastard has to say," he said, pointing towards the Hokage, "Naruko-chan is her own person! She has feelings, she has a mind of her own, she can act independently from me, and more! If that isn't a real person, then I don't know what is! So you two can go to Hell because Naruko-chan and I are not going to stop being friends!"

Both adults were shocked that Naruto had called the Hokage a bastard of all things! Eyes wide and mouths agape in surprise, the two of them eventually shook it off as Hiruzen glared at the teenage Naruto. "That will be enough of that Naruto-kun! You're getting therapy for your problem and that's final! If you refuse, I'll strip you of your headband and you'll remain a civilian of this village permanently. Is that understood?!"

Before anyone could say anything, Naruko began to giggle before it erupted into full blown laughter. When she finally calmed down, she smirked at the Hokage. "Oh really? I highly doubt you would follow through with that particular threat, Hokage-sama. After all, Naruto-kun is the village's greatest weapon, isn't he? I know that's how you people see him. And, after all, what good is a weapon when it's left to rust away, forgotten by its master? No, face it Hokage-sama, you can't follow through with that threat. Naruto-kun is just too important to the village to be left to rust like that."

Flinching at having such a thing thrown in his face like this, Hiruzen tried hard to find the words to say, but when he couldn't, he released a heavy sigh and shook his head in disappointment. "Regardless, I'm ordering you as your Hokage to see Inoichi for therapy twice a week until you're better Naruto-kun. I have that right as your Hokage and if you disobey my orders, you will be punished appropriately. Now," turning to Inoichi, the Hokage offered him a small smile, "I'll just leave you three to it then. Goodbye my friend." and with that, the Hokage left to return to work.

Now alone in the room, Inoichi looked at the two Uzumaki's and frowned in thought for a moment. After a short while, he began to speak. "Naruto-kun, I know you may not care for the idea of therapy with me, but I assure you that it might help you in the long run." When Naruto opened his mouth to protest again, Inoichi held up a hand and offered him a smile. "Don't worry Naruto-kun, I won't try to make you get rid of Naruko-chan."

Nodding in acceptance of this, Naruto leaned back in the loveseat he was sitting in and leaned against Naruko for support. When Inoichi saw this, he nodded his head just slightly in understanding of their relationship. After a moment, however, he decided to ask his first question. "Now Naruto-kun, may I ask what took place between you and Hokage-sama that caused you to become so hostile towards him? From what I understand from word of mouth, you and Hokage-sama used to be incredibly close friends. What changed?"

Clenching his fists tight, Naruto shut his eyes tight and shook his head. "I had to find out from a traitor to Konoha that I house the Kyuubi inside of me. Hokage-sama's been lying to me all my life whenever I asked him why people hate me so much. On top of that...I'm 100% positive he's been lying to me about other things as well, such as who my parents are. I know he knows, but he won't tell me. How can I trust someone that won't be honest with me? How can I trust someone that would allow a fucking traitor to spill the beans about the Kyuubi to me, nearly getting me killed when I froze up at hearing said information, than confide in me himself that I house the Kyuubi so I'd be prepared for something like that?! No Inoichi-san, Hokage-sama cannot be trusted anymore. I no longer have any friends. Naruko-chan's the only one and I refuse to give her up."

Nodding in understanding at everything he had just heard, Inoichi jotted down some notes and released a sigh as he closed his eyes and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I see. For what it's worth...I'm sorry you had to deal with such a thing Naruto-kun. I agree that he should have told you much sooner, but Sandaime-sama is not infallible. He makes mistakes just like everyone else does. You can still trust him to have your best interests at heart Naruto-kun." the older blonde tried to convince his patient.

Narrowing his eyes at Inoichi, Naruto prepared to leap across the room and punch his lights out, but a hand on his calmed him down and he looked to see Naruko shaking her head at him, telling him not to do it. Instead, Naruto allowed her to do the talking this time. "Inoichi-san, please do not try to make us forgive the Hokage and do not attempt to feed us that garbage that he has our best interests at heart. We do not care if he's perfect or not. That is not what matters here. What matters is the fact that he clearly doesn't have our best interests in mind when he pulls stunts like this and chooses to lie to us about everything instead of fessing up and telling us the truth. Can you not see that?"

Inoichi listened as Naruko spoke and frowned in thought for a time. Interesting. So she really does think and act independently of Naruto-kun. It's almost as if she's another personality entirely. This would indicate that his mind has fractured enough due to some kind of trauma or extreme emotion that he eventually had to create this 'Naruko' in order to keep himself stable. Otherwise, he likely would have lost control of his emotions and hurt himself or those around him. I need to learn more.

"Alright Naruto-kun, Naruko-chan, I understand. I apologize. Now, can you tell me what led up to you creating Naruko-chan, Naruto-kun? How did she come to be your friend?"

Knowing he couldn't reveal the whole truth, as he didn't want anyone knowing about his unique chakra, Naruto decided to tell a half-truth instead. "After realizing I was all alone...I returned to my apartment and was about to just...break down. Then I heard a voice in my head...Naruko's voice. She instructed me to create a Shadow Clone, so I did, and she was standing there in place of what should have been a regular Shadow Clone." he explained. "We got to talking and spending time together, and the two of us became really good friends." he explained, making sure to leave out a lot of details that Naruko and he had discussed that night.

"Hmm…" Inoichi hummed as he jotted down some more notes. It seems he's displaying signs of Dissociative Identity Disorder, but it's a rather unusual case if that's what he has. Not only is he aware of this new personality, but she reached out to him and she can even possess a body of her own. If this is, indeed, DID, then I've got my work cut out for me. He thought pensively.

"Tell me Naruto-kun, have you tried to make friends with anyone from your class? Surely there's someone that you get along with?" Inoichi questioned hopefully.

Sighing at this, Naruto shook his head in the negative. "Inoichi-san, I don't have any other friends besides Naruko-chan. I've tried, believe me. But...either their parents warned them to stay away from me or they just...want nothing to do with me on their own accord. Sasuke's a jackass that's always treating me like I'm worth less than dirt. Sakura is ALWAYS hitting me when I try to be nice to her. Kiba's an asshole. Shikamaru and Choji ignore me. I've tried to befriend Hinata, but she turns red, start poking her fingers together, stutters, and then faints. She seems like a nice enough person, but if we can't even hold a conversation, how can I count her among my friends? Then there's your daughter…"

Inoichi frowned at this and looked at Naruto sadly. "How bad Naruto-kun? Please tell me."

Sighing sadly again, the younger blonde stared calmly into Inoichi's eyes and confided in him the truth. "Your daughter is the biggest Sasuke fangirl I know. But...with me…? She's spread some pretty nasty rumors about me before that got me in all kinds of trouble with people and made it even harder to make friends. On top of that, when I did try to befriend her, she...said some really hurtful things Inoichi-san. And trust me when I say this...you do not want to know what she said. It would only make you angry or upset or you'd claim that I'm lying. Hell, maybe all three at once." Naruto explained with a dry chuckle.

Looking straight into Naruto's eyes for any sign of deceit, Inoichi eventually decided that yes, he did want to know what his daughter had said. No, he needed to know. "Naruto-kun...I think I have the right, as her parent, to know what she said to you that hurt you so badly. If it's truly as bad as you say it is, then she will be punished accordingly, of that I can promise you."

Closing his eyes, Naruto gently squeezed Naruko's hand for comfort, smiling when she squeezed back to reassure him that it would all be okay. "She...she said a lot of things. There's the usual: "You'll never be as good as Sasuke-kun, Naruto, so don't even try!" "You're a loser Naruto! Why don't you just go curl up and die already?!" and so on. Then...there was the time where she decided to be so cruel as to approach me one day in class when I was trying to do my homework...and she said this:

"You know Naruto, I'm not sure why you even bother coming to class. You'll never amount to anything anyways. I'm amazed your parents even wanted to give birth to a loser like you. I bet they abandoned you at birth because they couldn't stand the sight of you. But if I'm wrong and it turns out they're actually dead, then I suppose we should be glad. They won't be making anymore losers like you!"

"She...said more, but I don't want to talk about it. It was a horrible day for me and nobody stood up for me at all. I was just laughed at by the class and treated worse than ever. I cried a lot after getting home that day." Naruto explained with a sigh. When Naruko hugged him tight, the whiskered blonde returned her hug and began to silently sob, unable to take it any longer.

Clenching his notepad and pencil tight in both fists, Inoichi couldn't believe what he had just heard. His little princess had said such cruel things to one of her classmates?! Why?!

Releasing a heavy sigh, the Yamanaka clan head rose from his chair and motioned for Naruto and Naruko to do the same. "That...will be all for now, you two. You should run on home or do whatever else you had planned for the day. I...have something I need to do." he said.

Naruko nodded at Inoichi in thanks before helping Naruto up. Guiding him out of the room without a word, she walked past Ino in the hallway and left their house.

When Ino entered the room to speak to her father, he looked into her eyes and shook his head in disappointment. "Shut the door Ino. You and I have a lot to talk about." Needless to say, Ino did not like how that sounded.

Four Days Later - Academy

Naruto and Naruko had visited Inoichi once more, as per their 'orders', and continued to converse with him about whatever the Yamanaka head asked them. Otherwise, they chose to be evasive with their answers or just remained quiet. After all, the two of them were still rather uncomfortable with the idea of therapy.

Thankfully, Ino had been out with her friends, likely to talk about Sasuke or to stalk Sasuke or whatever the hell those Sasuke fangirls did with their time, when they went to visit Inoichi the second time. Otherwise they didn't know if they could have resisted hitting her after remembering what they had in their previous session with Inoichi.

Later that day, after having their therapy session with Inoichi, Naruto and Naruko felt confident enough to wander through the village together holding hands. It was mainly just a trial run to see how people would react and to see what they'd do, if anything, to try and put a stop to his behavior.

Thankfully, the worst they received as they walked was some odd looks from people that didn't know what the heck to think about what they were seeing. Aside from those, they got the usual glares and mutterings that they were already quite used to. It seemed that now that he had his headband, they were going to leave him alone. At least, they hoped that was the case. Only time would tell.

Aside from that, the two of them had spent their days training as hard as they could to try and improve their skills to what they should be. Naruko had also taken to teaching Naruto about the fuinjutsu that their mother knew, though he still wasn't sure how he knew such information. Still, he wouldn't complain. After all, Naruto was learning new skills and getting stronger every day! Another discovery they had made was the fact that Naruko was capable of using their mother's Adamantine Sealing Chains. Naruto had yet to unlock that ability, but they were both happy with that discovery all the same.

Now, however, it was time for team placements. So, entering the academy, they made their way to their classroom and entered. Immediately they received looks of confusion, as well as the usual glares from Sasuke and Kiba. As they climbed the stairs to take a seat in the very back of the room, away from everybody else, they could hear the other students muttering amongst each other, all of them talking about Naruto and his clone.

As they were making their way up the stairs, one of the other students attempted to trip Naruto, only for Naruko to stop her dear friend and stomp on the boy's foot, eliciting a scream from the jerk. Afterwards, the duo went to their seats and sat down, both of them releasing a sigh of exhaustion. Turning towards each other, Naruto offered her an awkward smile before shrugging his shoulders. "Thanks for that Naruko-chan. I'm so tired of these jerks pulling stunts like that." he said.

Naruko smiled back and was about to say something before they heard Kiba's mocking voice. "What the hell is this you idiot? Couldn't get a girlfriend so you had to create one for yourself? Kami, could you get anymore pathetic?!" he mocked, causing the classroom to erupt into laughter.

The whiskered duo released sighs of agitation before tuning the class out and resumed talking with each other. "So, who do you think your team will be Naruto-kun?"

Closing his eyes, Naruto tilted his head and began to think on it. After a moment, he released another sigh and shook his head. "I don't know. But just you watch, I'll be put on a team with Sasuke knowing my luck. As for the third member of our team, watch it be one of his fangirls. We'll be a failure as a team for sure."

Naruko took a moment to think on it and decided that Naruto was probably right. "Considering that in the past they've put the lowest scoring student with the two best students...you're probably right. I'm sorry Naruto-kun." she said sadly.

Naruto shook his head and let out another sigh. "No, don't apologize Naruko-chan. It's not you who's at fault for something like that. If it happens, it happens. I just hope we get a good sensei, one that's not against me for what I hold. You know what I mean?"

The female Uzumaki sighed and shook her head. "Knowing your luck...you're going to get one of the laziest jonin in the village. All we can do is hope for the best, but I don't think our chances are very good Naruto-kun." she said sadly.

They would have talked further, but they heard what sounded like a stampede coming down the hallway. Turning towards the door, they both waited to see what the hell was happening. When Sakura and Ino appeared seconds later, getting themselves wedged in the doorway, the two of them sighed and went back to continue conversing with one another. However, as Naruko went to speak, she heard a voice from behind her speak up. "Hello N-Naruto-kun. W-who is this?"

Turning to look at who had just approached the two of them, they saw Hinata Hyuga standing there poking her fingers together and giving Naruko a look that Naruto couldn't quite pick out, but Naruko was easily able to tell was jealousy. "Hi Hinata." Naruto said, "This is Naruko-chan. She's my best friend."

Hinata slowly nodded her head in understanding, but continued to give Naruko a suspicious look. She looks just like Naruto-kun. Is she a clone…? But...she seems like she's her own person to me. There's more going on here.

"Is there something you needed from me? Or were you just going to keep staring at me?" Naruko asked with a frown on her face.

The Hyuga heiress blushed and began poking her fingers together again. "N-no! Sorry. It's just...y-you look a lot like N-Naruto-kun. I was w-wondering if you were a c-clone? But then again...you seem d-different from Naruto-kun, so I couldn't be sure. T-that's all."

Naruto sighed at this and nodded his head before he began to explain. "Naruko-chan is a clone, but she's got her own separate personality from me. She's her own person Hinata. Inoichi-san, Ino's dad, thinks I have something he calls Dissociative Identity Disorder. In other words...multiple personalities. Naruko-chan is my other personality." Naturally, he wasn't telling her the whole truth, nor was he lying to her.

Hinata nodded slowly before offering Naruko a small smile. "W-well...it's nice to m-meet you Naruko-chan. I'm g-glad Naruto-kun has a f-friend like you in his l-life now. I...I…"

Naruko sighed and looked Hinata in the eyes hard. "You...what Hinata? If you want to be Naruto-kun's friend, then you should just say so. But...if you're having a hard time saying it for some reason, you should tell us what's wrong with being his friend. Because we don't understand why nobody wants to be his friend."

Clenching her fists at her sides as tears began to pool up in her eyes, the fifteen year-old Hyuga heiress shouted out, "I want to be Naruto-kun's friend too!" catching everyone by surprise. "I'm sorry...if I have a hard time s-saying things. But I've w-wanted to be Naruto-kun's friend since he s-saved me from bullies on our first day in the academy! My f-family doesn't l-like Naruto-kun for some r-reason, but I don't care. Naruto-kun's a good person! So please! Let me be your friend too!"

The Uzumaki duo couldn't help but smile at Hinata and nodded their heads in the affirmative, making the Hyuga teen smile happily. "Of course Hinata. But...we'll have to work on your shyness and on your confidence. We can't have you being unable to talk to us all the time." Naruto joked good-naturedly.

Hinata blushed in embarrassment, but sat down on Naruto's other side and smiled at him. "T-thank you. And...I'm sorry if I'm not that confident. It's...m-my family."

Naruko nodded slowly in understanding. "I bet. Don't you worry, we'll toughen you up in no time. I guarantee it." she said with a grin.

Before they could say anything more, they heard another person's voice chime in on their conversation. "You've got your work cut out for you, but I wish you luck."

When they looked to see who had approached them this time, they were shocked to see Ino standing there with a very tiny smile on her face. "Ino? Why are you talking to me?" Naruto wondered, hoping she wasn't here to taunt him again.

The Yamanaka heiress sighed and looked at Naruto apologetically before bowing to him. "I'm sorry for how I've treated you Naruto. Can you ever forgive me?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked at Ino suspiciously. Before he could say anything, however, Naruko spoke up. "You're only doing this because Inoichi-san told you to be nicer to Naruto-kun, aren't you? You don't really want anything to do with him."

Flinching at this, Ino shook her head and sighed as she looked into Naruko's eyes. "Yes, Daddy got really, really mad at me after your first therapy session with him. I'll admit that at first I was against talking to Naruto...but when he threatened to have me pulled from the ninja program entirely, I really got to thinking. I...I realized that I've been far too cruel to Naruto. I don't want to be seen as a cruel, horrible person. So I promised Daddy that I'd apologize to Naruto and try to be a friend to him from now on. Is that so wrong?"

Naruko sighed at this and shook her head in exasperation. She wasn't sure if Ino could be believed or trusted, but when she looked at Naruto, she saw he was seriously considering what Ino had just said. When he opened his mouth to speak, Naruko reached over and gently grasped his hand, giving it a little squeeze to show her support of whatever decision he had come to.

"Ino...I'll forgive you on one condition." Seeing he had her attention, Naruto continued. "Just promise me that you'll never treat me like that ever again? I want to know I can trust my friends, including you if you're really serious about this."

Smiling at Naruto, Ino nodded once and bowed her head to him. "I promise I'll never treat you cruelly again Naruto. And...I promise that I'll be here for you if you ever need someone to talk to or spend time with. Finally…" Looking at the rest of the class, Ino shouted out, "if anyone wants to harass Naruto again, you're going to have to deal with me! Got it jerks?!"

Naruto found himself blushing in embarrassment, unable to quite believe that she had just done that. However, before he could say anything in response, Sakura shouted back at Ino. "Ha! What, Ino-pig? Giving up on Sasuke-kun so you can go after that loser?! How pathetic can you get?"

Ino smirked at this and shook her head. "At least Naruto says more to a person than 'Hn.'! He's also a lot nicer and doesn't ignore people when they try to talk to him! So yeah, I'm going to give up on Sasuke and focus on my career as a kunoichi. I'm going to be serious from now on and I'm going to be Naruto's friend. Got a problem with that Forehead?!"

The pinkette blinked in shock at this, unable to believe that her rival for Sasuke's affections would give up so easily, especially in favor of befriending the loser of the class. Unable to come up with a response, she sat back down in her chair and huffed in annoyance.

Smirking at her little victory, Ino turned back to the blushing Naruto and blinked in confusion. "Are you okay Naruto? You're blushing."

Naruko giggled and shook her head. "He's just embarrassed. We weren't expecting you to go so far for him. So...thank you Ino. Truly."

Ino smirked at Naruko and nodded once. "No problem. Also, Daddy told me about you as well. It's nice to meet you Naruko-chan. I hope we can be friends too?"

Genuinely surprised by this, Naruko blinked a couple of times in shock before nodding her head slowly and shook Ino's hand. "Sure thing. Thanks Ino-chan." Naruko said.

Before they could say anything further, Iruka entered the classroom and ordered everyone to take their seats. So, saying she'd talk to them later, Ino went and took a seat next to Shikamaru in the front of the classroom. Once everyone was seated, Iruka began to speak, droning on about how proud he was of them and talking about what it meant to be a ninja of Konohagakure. While most ignored him, Naruto and Naruko paid attention, despite how boring his speech was.

After a while, Iruka finally got into the team placements. Naruto and Naruko waited patiently to hear Naruto's name called, and when Iruka finally got to Team 7, he said, "Team 7 consists of Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. Your sensei is Kakashi Hatake. Heh, good luck with that one."

Hinata looked depressed at not getting to be with Naruto, but when she felt a hand on hers, she looked to see Naruto smiling at her reassuringly. "Hey, I'm sure whoever you're on a team with you'll do great. Me on the other hand? Team 7 isn't going to make it. They'll never work with me. Hell, Sasuke won't work with anyone period. If it gets too bad…" Naruto released a heavy sigh and shook his head. "I may have to speak with Hokage-sama about getting a transfer to another team." he said, speaking the word Hokage-sama with nothing but venom.

Curious about this, Hinata looked him in the eyes and was about to ask him why that was, but she soon heard her name called and quickly turned to pay attention to Iruka as he listed off her teammates and sensei. When she heard that Kurenai was to be her sensei, she looked positively giddy! But...she didn't like the fact that she was on a team with Kiba. That part bothered her.

Giggling at this, Naruko offered Hinata a smile and gently grasped her hand in support. "The only problem I can see with your team is the mutt. Maybe we can talk to Hokage-sama about getting Naruto-kun and the mutt switched out for each other?" she suggested.

Hinata giggled at this and nodded her head in agreement. However, Naruto sighed and shot this idea down by saying, "I doubt he'd agree to that so readily unless we gave our teams a shot first. But...maybe if you spoke to Kurenai-sensei and explained my situation to her, she'd be willing to talk to him on our behalf?" he suggested hopefully.

The Hyuga heiress nodded once before offering Naruto a warm smile. "S-sure Naruto-kun. I'll talk to her about i-it."

"Thanks Hinata…-chan." he said, the -chan suffix coming out a bit uneasily as he tested it out to see what kind of reaction he'd get from the girl. Of course, Naruto also wanted to see how it felt to say such a thing, and he realized that while it was a bit awkward, it wasn't all that bad.

Hinata, meanwhile, blushed a bright shade of red and began to giggle happily. He called me Hinata-chan! I'm so happy!

The Uzumaki duo sweatdropped at this, but decided to ignore it for now and focused on what Iruka was saying now. It seemed he was wishing them all luck now and was saying some other junk that didn't seem to be too important, so they ended up tuning him out until he left the room. A short time later, the senseis began to appear and take away their teams.

When Teams 8 & 10 were called, Naruto and Naruko looked down to see who their new friends' senseis were. Ino's sensei appeared to be a tall, bearded male that had a cigarette sticking out of his mouth. Meanwhile, Hinata's sensei was utterly beautiful, if they had to admit it to themselves. Her crimson eyes were a really attractive feature, at least they thought so.

When Ino stood up from her chair, she turned to Naruto and waved. "See you later Naruto. Good luck with your team! You're gonna need it." she said before leaving the room with Asuma and her teammates.

Hinata, on the other hand, smiled at Naruto and Naruko and said, "I-I'll see you both later. Take care and g-good luck." Standing up, she bowed to both of them before hurrying off to join her sensei and teammates.

Once they were alone in the room with Sakura and Sasuke, the duo couldn't help but sigh. Naruko leaned over and whispered in her best friend's ear, "We'd better get comfortable. We'll probably be here for a while."

Looking at who they were stuck in the room with, Naruto sighed and nodded slowly. "Wonderful. Hopefully they leave us alone then." he said quietly.

Three Hours Later

Three hours had passed without any sign of Team 7's sensei, Kakashi Hatake. To make matters even worse for poor Naruto, Sakura had insisted on driving both he and Naruko insane with not just her inane chatter in an attempt to get Sasuke's attention, but also because she insisted on making fun of Naruto in an attempt to make herself feel better after being ignored or even insulted by the object of her affection.

As annoying as she was, the Uzumaki duo did their best to ignore her and instead had brought out a shogi board and began to play with one another. At least this way they'd be sharpening their minds and doing something productive to pass the time, rather than brooding or talking incessantly.

When the door finally opened and Kakashi walked in, Naruto and Naruko chose to ignore the bastard for making them wait and continued to play their shogi game. Naruko was currently winning, but so far their win/loss count was even, so they didn't really have any big advantage over the other. Naruto and Naruko tended to employ differing strategies from one another, and each game they switched strategies as well to see what worked and what didn't.

As Kakashi looked at his team, he had to admit that he wasn't impressed. Though, when he looked up at Naruto, he couldn't help but quirk a brow at the female version of him sitting there. That must be Naruko. Hokage-sama doesn't seem to believe she's a real person, but judging from Inoichi's notes, she's just as real as Naruto is. I guess we'll see.

"Alright, from a first glance, I have to say that I'm not impressed. Meet me on the roof for a team meeting." the silver-haired cycloptic jonin said before vanishing from the room.

Heh. Well we don't think much of you either Cyclops. Naruto and Naruko thought at the same time before smirking at one another. As Sasuke and Sakura got up to leave, the Uzumaki duo continued to play their game. When Sakura yelled at Naruto to get a move on, the whiskered blonde waved her off before making another move in the game.

Sasuke scoffed and left the room, ignoring the three of them. Sakura, not wanting to be left behind by her 'darling Sasuke-kun' shot one last glare at Naruto before hurrying off after her crush. Once they were gone, Naruto and Naruko both giggled a bit before they hurried to finish their game. After all, they wanted to show Kakashi what it was like to wait for a while, but they didn't want to be dicks about it.

By the time they finished their game and had packed up everything, the two of them couldn't help but notice Kakashi standing in the corner watching them. "Your teammates told me you refused to follow them. We've been waiting a while for you. Any particular reason you chose to dilly dally instead of following my instructions?"

Looking at their sensei, Naruto and Naruko smirked at him. "Doesn't feel so good having to wait a while for someone, does it Cyclops? Maybe next time you'll be on time. Otherwise this is likely to happen more often. We aren't going to just sit around and wait for you all the time when we've got better things we could be doing sensei." Naruko taunted.

Kakashi sighed and rubbed at the back of his head as he tried to think of something to say in response to that. "You know, you should treat me with a little more respect. Both of you should. I am your sensei and if I so choose, I can have you two sent back to the academy to learn some respect there if need be."

Naruto sighed and shook his head in response to this. "Respect is earned, and you haven't earned it yet sensei. If you had arrived on time, that would have gone a long way in earning at least a little respect for you. But no, you came three hours late! On top of that, the first thing you do upon seeing us is insult us. So no Kakashi, I will not treat you with respect. You've got a long way to go before I offer you the respect you desire. And if you have a problem with my attitude, feel free to do what you will. I honestly just don't care at this point." he said before rising from his chair with Naruko doing the same. "Now, I believe we've wasted enough time already. I'll meet you on the roof."

The cycloptic jonin watched as Naruto and Naruko left the room before he released a heavy sigh. I've really got my work cut out for me with this team. Thanks a lot Hokage-sama. He thought sarcastically as he Body Flickered up to the roof.

Academy Rooftop

As soon as Naruto and Naruko stepped out onto the rooftop, they were on the receiving end of dual glares from Sakura and Sasuke. Shrugging them off, the duo sat down away from their teammates and looked at their sensei, waiting for him to begin.

"Well, now that we're all here…" Kakashi began, "let's begin with introductions, shall we? Who would like to go first?"

Sakura piped up at this point and asked, "Why don't you go first sensei? So we can see how it's done."

Naruto and Naruko sighed at this and shook their heads in disappointment. An introduction was simple enough to do. Likes, dislikes, that sort of thing. Ah well, perhaps this way they'd learn more about their sensei, they thought with a shrug of their shoulders.

The cycloptic jonin sighed as well, but he decided to just nod his head and get this over with. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. My likes? Hmm. I have a few dislikes. I do have some hobbies. Finally, my dream is…none of your business." he said cryptically.

The genin of Team 7 all sweatdropped at this, not quite sure what to think of their sensei's 'introduction'. When Kakashi pointed at Sakura and said, "You're up Pinky. Since you piped up first, you're lucky number one. Introduce yourself."

Sakura scowled at the nickname, but began to introduce herself regardless of how she felt. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I like...I mean, the person I like is…" Looking to her side at Sasuke, the pink-haired fangirl squealed giddily. "I HATE Ino-pig and Naruto!" she exclaimed, glaring at Naruto.

Naruto quirked a brow at this and simply shrugged it off. "Y'know...the feelings mutual. Just so y'know." he said boredly.

Clenching her fists tight, Sakura was about to go throttle him for being such a jerk, but Kakashi spoke up at this point, interrupting her. "What about your hobbies and dreams?"

You got lucky Naruto. Sakura thought to herself before she turned back to Kakashi and continued with her introduction. "My hobby is…" again, she looked at Sasuke and squirmed, giggling to herself in a manner that creeped Sasuke out. "Finally, my dream is…" Again she looked at Sasuke and squealed, this time louder than before.

Kakashi sweatdropped at this and shook his head in exasperation. Well that was informative. I've got a fangirl on my team. This can only end badly. Sighing, he looked at Sasuke and pointed at him. "You next Sir Broods-a-Lot."

Both Sakura and Sasuke scowled at their sensei for this nickname. Naruto and Naruko on the other hand were snickering, earning them glares as well. After a moment, Sasuke took a breath to calm himself down and began his introduction. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have few likes and many dislikes. My hobby is training hard to improve myself. Finally, my dream is to kill a certain someone and then to restore my clan."

Oh goodie! I have a mini-avenger on my hands! I hate my team already! Kakashi thought to himself with a sigh. Looking over at Naruto and Naruko to see them chatting away with one another, he pointed at Naruto. "You next Whiskers."

Naruto and Naruko blinked at this and both pointed at their faces. "Umm...which one of us? We both have whisker marks on our faces Kakashi-sensei." Naruto questioned.

Facepalming himself, Kakashi dragged his hand down his face and decided to just be direct. "Naruto, I meant you."

Nodding his head in understanding, Naruto began his introduction. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like Naruko-chan, ramen, and a few other things. I dislike most of the people in the village, including a bunch of my fellow graduates, my 'teammates' included." he said, getting scowls from them both. "I hate being lied to, and therefore I dislike Hokage-sama as well for doing just that to me. I could go on with my dislikes, but there's no point." Sighing, Naruto closed his eyes and continued. "My hobbies are few. You don't need to know about them. Finally, my dream? I'm keeping that close to the chest for now."

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask and contemplated saying something in regards to Naruto's disrespect towards the Hokage, but decided against it for now. Instead, he looked at Naruko and contemplated asking for an introduction from her as well. Sighing, he pointed at her and said, "Naruko, you're up."

Both Uzumaki's smiled at this and nodded in thanks to their sensei. "Thank you for treating me as my own person sensei." Naruko said sincerely. "Okay, my name is Naruko Uzumaki. I like Naruto-kun, various kinds of fruits and vegetables, ramen, and some other things. I dislike those that treat Naruto-kun like dirt. I also dislike people that treat me like I'm just some clone. I'm my own person damnit!" she exclaimed frustratedly.

When Naruko felt a hand on hers, she looked at Naruto and smiled thankfully at him for his support. Turning back to Kakashi, Naruko continued. "My hobbies include tending to our plants, reading, and a few other things. Finally, my dream? Well that's simple. I dream of having my own flesh and blood body someday so I'm not just an alternate persona inside of Naruto-kun."

Kakashi nodded at this, understanding dawning in his eye. It seems Inoichi was right. She thinks and acts for herself. She behaves differently from Naruto. Hokage-sama's wrong about her. Naruko is her own person. He thought to himself silently.

After a moment of silent contemplation, Kakashi clapped his hands together and smiled. "Well, now that introductions are out of the way, I'm afraid I have some bad news for the four of you. You aren't Genin yet." When Sakura went to interrupt him, the cycloptic jonin threw his hand up to silence her. "The graduation exam was just a test to determine if you had the potential to become Genin. The real test is held by each team's sensei. I should warn you though that there's a high chance of failure. Most Genin hopefuls that take this test fail horribly."

Waiting for that to sink in, Kakashi continued. "The test will be held tomorrow at 9 AM at the Third Training Ground. I would recommend skipping breakfast, as you're likely to just throw it all back up. I look forward to seeing the four of you tomorrow, bright and early." he said before vanishing in a Body Flicker.

Once he was gone, Naruto and Naruko looked to their teammates and considered telling them to be there at noon and to eat breakfast, but they knew their 'teammates' wouldn't listen to them. So, sighing in resignation at that, the duo just followed their teammates down the stairs and out of the academy building. Upon reaching the street, the duo quickly left, not wanting to deal with Sakura and Sasuke any longer than necessary.

"So, wanna go get something to eat Naruko-chan?" Naruto asked his friend.

Shaking her head in the negative, Naruko looked into her creator's eyes and smiled softly at him. "Naruto...we need to head home. We have something important we need to do and it can't wait any longer." she said seriously. Nodding slowly, Naruto was about to ask her what they needed to do, but she just grabbed his hand and said, "I'll tell you more when we get home. I promise."

"Alright Naruko-chan. I trust you." he replied as they hurried on home.

Naruto's Apartment

Upon reaching their shared apartment, the duo entered and locked the door behind them. Still holding Naruto's hand, Naruko led him into his bedroom where she sat cross-legged on the floor. "Sit down with your back against mine." she commanded.

Naruto nodded and sat down in the same position with his back resting against hers. "What now Naruko-chan? What are we doing?"

Naruko took in a deep breath and released it slowly. "It's time for us to meet the Kyuubi."

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A/N - And that's the chapter! Hopefully you enjoyed it. I had a bit of a rough time trying to write it. My mind just wasn't working properly. lol. But I worked through it and got the chapter finished at least!

Anyways, as you can see, a number of things happened in this first chapter. Hinata and Ino have begun to try and befriend Naruto, but for the most part, it's just him and Naruko against the world.

Just so you know, I do have a few things planned for this fic already. I also plan to reveal how Naruko knows so much within the next chapter or maybe the chapter after that, depending on how things go. But yes, there is a very good reason that Naruko knows all that she does, I promise! I think you'll love it too. Then again, maybe not. Who the hell knows? Some of you may end up guessing it for all I know. lol.

Anyways, I think I've rambled enough. Again, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.