Pits of indigo stared back at him, the glossy clear reflection of his own image. A messy mop of crimson hair stuck sat atop his head in all directions and angles. He was getting himself ready for the day, but really he didn't know why he was trying to fix his hair anymore.
Moving out of the bathroom of his home, he began cooking breakfast. A glance at his brother's room from the far end, the door shut as an indication he did not want to be disturbed in his sleep. Of course, he always woke up earlier than his brother to prepare both of them for the day. His brother could not cook for shit, other than throwing microwaveable processed food into the microwave and claiming that was "cooking", and proof of his ability to cook. The day followed like this: he would wake up early, cook breakfast, and train for half an hour until his brother woke up. Then they would head off to the Academy. It was a system that sat well for him, because he was sure as hell he wasn't going to leave his brother to do the task of cooking around here. A spell for disaster if his brother was left alone for five minutes unattended.
Looking into the fridge, he checked over the contents. There were only three eggs left, a carton of milk and orange juice. He checked the juice bottle. Still not there yet. His face turned down at the labeled date of the milk. There were only a few weeks left before it expired. Spoiled milk he did not want himself or his brother to taste. He held up the carton to feel how much was left. in it. Only about a fourth is gone. They should finish by then.
He only took one egg for himself and split the other two for his brother, before he took out the loaves of bread from the cupboard, wrapped in a plastic wrapper. They were popped into the toaster and dinged as it finished cooking. He spread strawberry jam and butter over them before beginning to eat, pouring himself a glass of milk and juice.
Finished, he also began to wash the utensils and plates. A glance over to the sink was proof of his earlier statement. Another reason why he did everything around here. His brother could not be counted to even wash the dishes from dinner last night.
With the task complete, he left the eggs, toast, and condiments on the dining table for his brother and left the apartment, locking it behind him. Just before he left, he returned to his room, retrieving a sallow aquamarine bag from the edge of his bed, placed in one of his old jackets. The material used to make it was high quality, though the rough texture and the material peeling showed its age. Unsnapping the bag's button, he checked inside it, before a satisfactory nod of his head deemed it acceptable, finally exiting out of his home.
The streets of his home were bright, filled with the small chatter of early mornings of early risers such as himself already at work or meandering throughout the streets to get to work, awash with laughing and playing and individuals young and old, of various ages and stature.
It would just be about an hour and thirty minutes before the Academy began. His time used to pass that was towards a densely populated area of green trees and freshly cut grass, no other people in sight. Exactly what he wanted.
The direction there was simple. Of course, he memorized it after all.
Even as he made his way through, the sight was always something he saw before. Not the same people, but in a similar experience, and one he didn't have any particular interest in. It was the same expectancy that he knew would never change. He paused momentarily when a ball rolled past him, and a group of other children scrambled after to retrieve it, his gaze barely following them with the same disinterest.
He continued down another line of apartments, voices began to grow farther away. He knew that this side of the district awoke much later, around the time when the Academy rang its bell. Another turn east, he found himself in a deadend. A thick rickety, wooden fence, the sour bright color of yellow burning into his peripherals, blocked off two sides of the house from either side. Above and beyond, he could clearly see the green hanging out like a stick. He had found his destination.
He readied himself stepping back a few meters, enough for a jog that would turn into a run, the momentum would be just enough for him to leap over the fence. He had done this before, and was sure of it.
With a few steps forward, the walk became a light jog, then a sprint. The fences around him became a momentary blur as just only a scant distance away from the fence, pushed himself off, the momentum of his forward sprint allowing him over and finally, past the fence.
The task complete, he turned to assess his new surroundings. The familiar foliage he grew accustomed to since he once discovered the place. His task was now to find the object that was located not so far from here.
Passing by bushes and trees, jumping over logs, and the rustling of wildlife, his eyes fell to a large bush attached and hanging off from two adjacent trees, he ducked under and found it.
Standing in the empty field of green was nothing but three logs hammered into the earth. Covering the brown body was a large circle, leaving only the single leg of its body sticking out.
The circle itself was a unique blend of colors and patterns. Red and white were the only colors that he could make out, done in a repeating process from the outermost edge to the middle. White, red, white, and so on and so forth, until the middle was just a circle of red, a blend that resembled a pattern.
Walking until he was facing the colorful mask of patterns at the same distance away, he unsnapped the aquamarine bag from his side, rummaging through it and taking out small contraptions. The first few in his hands were a four edged star, pointing north, south, east, and west, with the middle leaving a small hole in the middle for him to fish out. Black and grey in coloration, they were gathered in a small ring of wire, though it was broken, indicated by a part of it missing. The rest of the stars fell out into his bag. They were shurikens.
The second was a pointed tool. The ring from the edge functioned primarily the same as the four pointed star. Beneath it was the handle used to hold and pick it up, the red indicated where to hold, a small wrapping of cloth. Beneath the handle was the pointed tool, sharp from its edges to its tip. These were known as kunais.
He took out the stars and the pointed tool, watching the colorful faces of the targets, his memory of the prior week where he and his class were instructed as part of their test to throw these objects into the target, where their score would be then based on how close to the middle they were.
He drew three stars, snug in between his fingers. In his other hand, three of the pointed knives rested. He crouched down in a low position.
He gave a gaze to each of the three targets once more, then his hands shot forward.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
The stars and knives hit the middle of the patterned target. His brows narrowed the slightest bit, before stepping forward to check the results.
A frown almost instantly formed on his face from the first target. The shuriken was far off, hitting in between the target from the second and third of red and white. His kunai throw was far better however, though it still was not close either.
The second circle had far better results however. Both shuriken and kunai were close to the middle, just about reaching from the fourth of the innermost white, though he knew that his classmates could still perform the same action with better results.
The third and final circle was a mix of the first and second. Kunai close, but the shuriken hit the edge of the outermost circle.
He gazed at the targets once more, his mind flashing to the same test that was required two weeks earlier. The strong breeze blowing ruffled his hair and clothes.
The Target Test, it was called. A standard within the Academy and one of the prerequisites and requirements for graduation within the Village Hidden in the Leaves, also known as Konoha.
His test results were decidedly average. He remembered gazing at the flimsy parchment that held his score. 65.
Though he had passed as with most other students, he was far from the best, as a handful of other students that took the same test he knew had far better results. It enforced his decision from there on out to improve. Heading down to the foliage of his solitary practice destination everyday since the test had been taken.
He returned back to the distance required for the acceptable, and then repeated the action a number of times. Fishing out kunais and shurikens and throwing them towards the target, doing so until the bag was empty, then he retrieved his tools, looking at the punctured target.
His aim was off. A dissatisfied thought of one he could not deny, but unable to figure out why. Even when he threw with one hand, adjusted his position where to stand, and attempted to throw from different positions and angles, he could not figure out why his aim was off or on point at times. His gaze fell to one of the kunais left sticking out of the target, staring at his result, before taking it and pocketing it back in the bag. He would have to figure out why later. For now, it was back to home, where his brother would be waiting, and both would be off to the Academy.
Returning back to the fence to the other side, back to where humankind and their settlements laid. He retraced steps back to his home, passing by newcomers of the early morning, taking the stairs up to his home. From his pocket he retrieved the key, inserting it into the hole and twisting and unlocking the door with a click before pushing it in his home.
He expected to hear the familiar cry of his brother's voice. But he didn't. Walking to the living room, he saw that the breakfast he prepared the hour earlier was left untouched, the plate and silverware untouched. A frustrated sigh was released from his throat.
He made his way down to his brother's room past his, and, knocking on the door. "Wake up."
Nothing answered him.
"Naruto! Wake up!" He called again using his brother's name.
Silence.
No choice then. He took a hold of the door handle to his brother's room, twisted the handle, and opened it.
"Naruto! Get up-"
He paused. A strong gust of wind, from the open window blew in, throwing off blankets and knocking over a number of other adjacent objects strewn and lying about.
He expected to see his brother in bed, yet the only objects on it were the blankets and pillows. Not the body of his brother in sight.
Confusion weighed in. If his brother was not here, then where could he… No… Realization morphed on his face, and he slapped a hand to his forehead.
He gave a chuckle, looking across and over the populace and their humble settlements. Sky blue scanned the vicinity around, watching with a gaze of both perceptive awareness and enjoyment, a hum to his lips. He checked the contents of objects he had with him. Cans of paint, their silver metal canister giving off a sheen that blinded him just slightly. The colors they were filled with were blue, red, and black. A frown marred his lips. Wait a minute… he bought green, He could have sworn it was…
A scowl formed on his lips. Dammit. He forgot green, leaving it at home. His own excitement to create a vivid and vast image of colors, even waking up early to take advantage of the time, he had forgotten one of the colors he planned to use on this occasion. Oh well. At least he could save it for later.
He looked above him, where a part of the chunk of the rock of the mountain sticking out covered a portion of the golden sun shining in his face, and where a rope was tied to it. He tugged on the rope experimentally a couple times. He wanted to make sure that the rope was tightly secured up on the part sticking out and supported his weight. There had been times where the rope was not secured and had snapped, leaving him to fall the rest of the way down. He shuddered at the images within his memories. He did not want to repeat those, thank you.
He turned around to marvel at his own handiwork with a wide toothed grin. Faces of four, etched onto the mountainous structure. Their stern faces staring out over onto the village. He knew them as with the rest of the people below, and the entire village. This was the Hokage Monument. Known to honor and present each of the four faces to the village, it overlooked the entirety of Konoha, a clear view to all four faces. Each face was an individual known as the Hokage, an individual who ruled and was the leader over the village. Since of course, there were four faces, there were four Hokages.
Originally, there were no additions to the faces. The faces themselves were meticulously hammered and crafted to the most accurate visage of the individual in their lifetime. Eyes, hair, lips, and faces were all given detail to the best representation of them.
Shouting below snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked down to see shouts and cries, exclamations of surprise, shock, and anger. He couldn't hold it in anymore. Their faces morphing into one of disgust made his own face twist up into a howl of laughter.
While the Monument was no doubt a fine piece of art that told history, he could not help but add his own touches to improve them. He did not want to brag, but he considered himself an artist through and through.
So he did. Grabbing his buckets of paint and brushes, he added his own unique taste to each of the faces. He only pondered for a minute on what to put on them, before he dunked the brushes in and added a generous helping of acrylic to the stone visages.
He laughed once more, a mighty bellow with indignant cries of distress and anger at the boy as they pointed and shouted and screamed at him. He did not care. Their expressions only served to add fuel to his fire.
"Come one, come all! To Naruto Uzumaki's wonderful, amazing, extraordinary, spectacular paintings! Tired of the same old boring face of the Second, glaring down at you for your work in the morning? No problem! Here you go! Now he looks much better! With the expert touch of Naruto Uzumaki, the famed artist himself! Experience the first hand artistry done by yours truly!"
This was life, and he could see it no other way. Many saw him as a nuisance who tainted and desecrated the sacred monuments and others. So what? Naruto Uzumaki did not care. He wanted to enjoy life and live it the way he desired.
So he did.
"You brat!"
An indignant scream, one full of anger that all other screams and yells were nothing compared to this one. The cry was so intense it partially deafened him. The paint stained boy turned to where he heard the cry to see three men, all donning the same colored flak jacket and pants. Secured around their forehead was the headband, a piece of firm cloth with a metal plating. On the metal plating was an engraved symbol that resembled a bird. Its rounded head with a triangle for a beak. Despite the symbol's representation of a bird, it was far from it, being the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village, or Konoha.
"Get him!" Another cry from above him, and Naruto craned his head up to see a set of two Jonin and then to his left, another two.
"Ah, shit!" Naruto cursed. Fumbling with the rope securing him, he scrambled to pull it off. "Crap, crap, crap!"
Finally releasing himself, he stood on the perch of the bridge of the Third Hokage's nose. His would-be captives surrounded him, making sure he had no way out.
A Jonin, from to his right, smirked as he hung from the Third Hokage's hood. "Give up, kid. You're surrounded with no way out! Might as well go and surrender." He spoke in a dramatic tone.
A female voice sprung from above him. "Jinta! Don't enable him! Thanks to him, it took the entire two weeks for me to clean out my mother's shop when he paint bombed it!" She glared at the grinning blonde, who looked unapologetic. "We're taking you to the Hokage!"
Naruto grinned. "The old man? Yeah right lady! He enjoys this as much as I do! It's also not my fault your mom's shop was begging to be hit." He was telling the truth… sort of. But he swore the man's eyes twinkled when Naruto regaled him with tales of the various actions he pulled. Naruto knew the man enjoyed it, even if only just a tad bit.
The female Jonin's eye twitched. But before she could speak once more, another male voice sprung from below him, the Jonin hanging on to the Third's chin. "Enough. You have no way out, kid. Just make it easy for all of us and surrender."
Naruto looked at all angles, attempting to figure a way out. Only after a few seconds of studying his situation did he realize he had no way out. He swore under his breath. He raised his hands in surrender.
His action got chuckles from the Jonin. "Great. Now we can haul his ass to Lord Hokage's office." The female dryly deadpanned, her voice containing a hint of satisfaction.
Naruto's hands were in the air, yes, but he was also looking down, determining the best angle to jump and land. The jagged mountain of the Hokage Monument was crucial, as Naruto did not want to plummet to his death. Naruto calculated where to jump and land, sliding down the monument until he was ground level with the village, and then he could flee. Shifting his stance, he felt his pocket containing the remaining rope. He edged towards the Jonin on the right, still acting as if he was giving up. They did not notice. Good.
One of the Jonin's eyes looked to where he was, widening, but it was too late. Naruto jumped down, letting gravity do the rest. The group of Jonin on the right reached out for him, but their hands grasped air. Naruto let out a hearty whoop.
His stomach went up to his chest as the Jonin cried and screamed once more, jumping down on their own patches of jagged mountain to steadily catch the boy. Naruto quickly brought his last rope out of his pocket. Swinging it around to add momentum, he hurled it at a jagged piece. The rock held as the rope looped around, and Naruto slid down the rest of the way, his teeth clacking as he bumped into more of the jagged Monument. On his tail were the Jonin, determined and persistent.
Fifty feet… twenty feet. Naruto released the rope jumping down. The Jonin did as well. Naruto scrambled as he hit the floor, coming to a halt and saluting the crowd with a bow.
"Okay! Everyone! That's it for the day! Come again tomorrow to see Naruto Uzumaki give the Fourth Hokage a grand makeover!"
"You brat!"
Ah. Time to go.
He looked at the Academy, standing in front of the building. Grandiose and large, it fit more than a hundred or so students within its structure and sole purpose was to teach children of becoming a ninja, embodying the three core values: Love the village and hope to help preserve peace and prosperity, having a mind that will not yield, able to endure hard training and work, and be healthy in mind and body.. Founded by the Second Hokage, it was a massive complex, impressive and sturdy despite its age.
Entering into the building, he took a left and a right. A few steps brought him up to the hallways that he had long been acquainted with. He took a few steps forward, his eyes perceiving the other classrooms, before he entered one with the designation of a single letter and number 4-F.
The room was already filled with a number of male and female students, either chatting or simply reading. Some turned to see who it was when the door opened, turning away when they realized it was not their teacher and simply going back to whatever they were doing.
He took his seat from the far left in the middle desk down from the second row, kneeling his head down. He considered taking a nap, but could not shake the feeling of his brother, who was around the village causing mayhem whenever and wherever.
He debated on finding him, yet the other part of his mind was aggravated with him. His brother would always cause this level of stress and was perfectly content. He thought about letting his brother do whatever; he'll eventually return to the Academy. He always would.
A scowl formed on his lips, and he sighed. His inward debate roared with conflict on what to do and what to not do. His hands clasped across each other, processing, until he finally made a decision, standing up abruptly.
He was going to choke that idiot, resuscitate him, and then choke him again.
"Haru? Are you alright?"
Haru turned to see the auburn haired classmate and the girl who occupied the desk from behind him another row down, Nia Sasaki.
He knew her. She had been in their class since he and Naruto started, as with most other Academy students. Though Haru didn't know what to think of her, she had been on the more friendlier side of the spectrum. He didn't like her, but he didn't dislike her either.
Haru had his reasons and why. There had been many other students who attempted to act friendly or befriend him or his brother, only for them to stab them in the back later on.
He felt anger forming, his mood souring. Though the other students were lost in their own devices, he was lost in a time where he felt nothing but rage, where he and his brother who thought those they considered friends turned their backs on both of them.
He would rather not think about that time, specifically.
As it stands, he and Naruto did not have friends within the Academy. He didn't know if Nia was attempting to actually befriend him or his brother and turn her back later on, being genuine, or was attempting to deceive him. Haru decided it was best to keep his distance but also be polite. He could not accuse her of her intentions.
Her black eyes regarded him with curiosity. "Where's your brother?"
Haru replied evenly. "Off doing a prank. I'm going to go get him."
She blinked. "Ah. Really?" She looked around, lowering her voice. "Are you sure? Mizuki or Iruka-Sensei is probably going to arrive and start class soon. Won't your brother arrive later? He did so two weeks ago."
Haru ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, but nobody else knows where that idiot is except me. I'm the only one who can get him." He decided to take the risk. Even if he did arrive late with his brother, he could always explain to Iruka-Sensei that he was retrieving his brother. If he hurried, maybe he could get his brother and then his brother would not have to suffer through another detention. Or he would. And Haru would have no choice but to wait until it was over and then they could go home.
She shrugged, a smile on her face. "Well, good luck. Hopefully, Mizuki or Iruka-Sensei doesn't arrive anytime soon."
"Thanks."
He exited the room, finding himself out of the Academy.
Well, time to search.
Iruka Umino adjusted the collar of his shirt around his neck, making sure it was snug before shutting the door to his home behind him with a click indicating that it was locked. He made sure he packed the necessary teaching tools. Though most of them were left in the Academy for the teachers to utilize for the next day, Iruka had brought some home simply to remind himself of what he was going to bring and to check if he was right.
It was what Iruka always did. Many would say that it was unnecessary, simply extra work, but to Iruka, it was how he remembered the schedule. The Academy, despite it not appearing so, was somewhat hectic. As one of the teachers to the Academy, Iruka had to follow the Academy's procedures, along with matters at home.
A glance to his side and he gave a wave to Shimo, his next door neighbor, tending to her garden. She waved back, and Iruka was back to walking.
He processed information of today's schedule at the Academy. They would go over the Transformation Jutsu, before the next day in which the final portion of the standardized testing would begin. Each student would have to successfully make a copy, a Clone of themselves. The Clone Jutsu, to be exact.
The Clone Jutsu, to put in a summary, was a copy of the user; a duplicate. Forming the hand signs of Ram, the left hand on top of the right, Snake, the hands of the user are clasped together, the left thumb being outside of the hand, and Tiger, the hands are together once more, with the thumb and forefingers straight up. Once the hand signs were complete, the user would create a lifelike clone of themselves. If successfully accomplished, the clone was the exact replica of the user; hair, mouth, facial features, and clothing. A living breathing copy.
It was one of, and the final portion of the standardized testing for the Academy students to graduate and become ninjas. The first, the kunai and the shuriken portion, otherwise known as the Target Test, was already done a month prior. Iruka had calculated and graded over at least twenty or so students in the past.
Iruka had been a genin one time as well, graduating within the Academy. Though he could have chosen the path of a ninja to partake in missions and assignments, he decided on a different route entirely. Instead, teaching aspiring students to become ninjas. The next generation taking over from their predecessors.
He opened his flask, taking a sip of coffee as he turned to the left. Mizuki should be no doubt at the Academy. His home was located far much closer to it. Hopefully, Mizuki was ready.
Yeah right. He snorted at the thought.
Mizuki was his best friend, but if laziness was a word and if the definition had a picture, then Mizuki would be the one on it. That man barely put a modicum of attempting to take over teaching. He applied as a substitute. A barely helpful one, if any. He remembered the Target Test and as he attempted to control his student's excitement, the man stood over to the side, watching with a smile.
Still, Mizuki was his friend, and if there was anybody he could place his trust to, it was undoubtedly him. If there was anyone he needed to talk to, then Mizuki would be there, ready to listen.
"Yahoo! Come and get me, suckers!"
A yell from the street across snapped Iruka out of his senses, followed by cries of anger. That yell sounded like… it couldn't be. He took a few more steps, crossing the street and pausing at the next one to see…
He palmed his face into his head, groaning, at what he saw next.
Naruto.
Naruto at first attempted to lose them in the crowd. He knew that it would not be certain, cursing as they took to the rooftops of buildings, fanning out to flank him, but at least hoping a few would lag behind.
They wouldn't.
The crowd split apart to let them catch him, eagerly looking to see him captured. There goes losing them. His face was still split in a wide grin. It just made it more fun.
Naruto took a left, then a right, and then slid under an open fence bottom to the other side, daring them to boldly continue. They did. Leaping over it, they landed gracefully, forcing Naruto to continue finding ways to elude capture.
Naruto continued sprinting down the middle, occasionally watching behind him to check his captors. They were gaining on him, Naruto realized. And just as suddenly as the chase began, Naruto began huffing and puffing, beginning to grow fatigued. The Jonin however, seemed to have an endless supply of energy. He knew that if this chase went on any longer he would gradually be unable to move any further and he would be captured.
He had no plans of that ever happening. He was determined to escape, either one way or the other.
As Naruto turned back around, his eyes widened. A man leading an ox carrying a crate was moving across the intersection, blocking his path. Naruto bursted into movement. With a push off his feet, his small frame, enough for him to slide past under the belly of the crate. Those behind him simply leaped over, while the others on the rooftop simply hopped to the next one.
Fatigue finally began to hit Naruto as he panted, windmilling his arms. Turning to his left, he swore.
Are you kidding me? A dead end?!
"He went this way!"
Naruto whipped his head around the direction of the voice. There was no option left. They would arrive here, realize that he was trapped and take him into the Hokage.
Once again, Naruto had no intention of it being that way.
His mind began to scavenge through in an attempt to process what to do next. Go the opposite way? No. They would grab him and that would be the end of that. Attempt to trick them by surrendering once more? Scratch that one off. They saw him do it at the Hokage Monument already, they would not dare to let such a trick happen again.
Think! Think! There has to be a way!
"The Transformation Jutsu is quite useful. You can transform yourself into an animate or inanimate object."
Animate… inanimate… That's it!
Thank you, Iruka-Sensei!
Nedo was a Jonin.
That all was there to say about him. He lived a fairly normal life. His parents were ninjas, along with his brother. They were a ninja family, if one were to put it in perspective.
Serving only three years, he had experience, though not as much as other renowned Jonin. Even so, he still had the experience of being one.
It was also said that he was one of the Jonin who chased the demon boy Naruto Uzumaki the most, in which his experience would do well to his capture.
Nedo took pride in it. There were times where he was able to capture or otherwise the boy eluded capture. He had successfully eluded more times though, frustrating Nedo to no end.
He would be laughing right now if the boy was not a pain in the ass.
Watching the boy round a corner, he shouted to his companions. "He went around left! Keep your positions! Rana! Stick behind me if he tries slipping away again!"
Affirmatives from each ninja involved were confirmed and the group turned left. Expecting to see the blonde, they instead saw the deadend of the intersection, a sturdy gray wall imposed upon them, with nothing else.
"What the hell? Where did he go?"
The Jonin looked around for the blonde. "He went this way. I saw him go this way."
"Where the hell did he go then?"
Nedo looked up to see the roof of the intersection. "It's possible he escaped up on the rooftop. Split up." He knew the blonde well enough, and that included leaping up on buildings.
A cry from the corner of the corner of the building brought them to attention as a small cat popped from underneath the floor, mewling as it stared up at them with sky blue eyes.
"Some gutter cat. Let's move on."
They watched the cat leave, before vanishing in a flurry of movement.
The cat continued to scamper down the road, looking around to make sure not a single soul was watching. Finished, the cat clapped its paws together. In a puff of smoke, it cleared, revealing Naruto Uzumaki.
"Suckers." He smirked.
Successful at avoiding the Jonin ninjas, none of them suspecting that he was a cat. It worked. There was an off chance that it would not be, and they would drag him back to the Hokage, but it was a success.
Naruto did not want to deal with the off chance of failure. It never turned out that way and he succeeded!
Returning to his jolly self, he put his hands around the back of his head, sauntering down the streets. A moment later, he slowed, his face marred in a frown.
He was sure that there was something today. What time was it?
Realization hit him as he began to sprint, panicking.
Crap! Today was another day of the Academy! So excited he was of his pranking accomplishment that he never thought to consider otherwise.
Not good! So not good!
Haru… Haru'll be pissed! He didn't want to imagine the look on his brother's face!
Naruto sprinted down the path, remembering the directions to the Academy, retracing his steps. Another turn to the east found him straining his eyes and… Yes! The Academy!
So… so close!
Naruto was just a few steps away when he barreled into a large figure. Hissing in pain, he looked up to see who he bumped into, only to shrink in fear, a smile plastered on his face. "Oh… Hi, Iruka-Sensei!"
It was simple to track Naruto.
He watched as the boy performed the Transformation Jutsu to allow himself to transform into a cat, fooling the Jonin, and then setting off afterward.
Iruka would have commended him if the blonde didn't cause a headache today.
As a trained ninja, even one that was not in active duty anymore, Iruka still had highly developed speed, far more than an average person. He got to the Academy far earlier than Naruto could arrive, sprinting across rooftops as a shortcut to get there.
After then, he waited for the blonde to come close to the Academy, making his presence known.
Naruto attempted to come up with excuses, blabbering away. "Uh, I'm sorry, Iruka-Sensei! Haru didn't wake me so I arrived late!"
Oh. He was going to enjoy this.
"Really now? I don't think Haru is that irresponsible and inconsiderate to only care about himself. In fact, I'm sure that he would wake you up for the Academy." A raised brow and a smirk was on his face.
"Err…"
Before Iruka had a chance to respond, a voice rang out. "Iruka-Sensei? Naruto?"
Iruka looked up as Naruto turned around to see Haru. "Haru. Where the heck were you?"
He didn't think the older brother of the two would be irresponsible in any sense of the word. So he was curious to know where he was.
Though he had a feeling he already knew.
Haru gave a glare at his brother, who at least had the decency to look sheepish. "Finding my brother, Iruka-Sensei. I didn't know-" A wince was given in response to a glare. "That he was going to paint the Hokage Monument in a rainbow instead of sleeping in and letting me wake him up." He turned back to the man. "Sorry, Sensei."
Iruka held a hand to his nose, frowning. "It's fine. Since you were looking for your brother, I'm not going to give you detention. As for you…" He turned to Naruto, who began to whine.
"Hey, come on, Iruka-Sensei! You always give me detentions! It's totally not fair!"
"Maybe if you were more like your brother, then that wouldn't be the issue."
"Ugh, why do you gotta compare me to Haru? I'm much better than him!" Said boy gave an eye roll in response. "Besides, how can he compare to…" The boy went off to an irrelevant tangent, speaking in a multitude of ways he was better than Haru.
Haru just turned to Iruka. "Should we just go?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Mizuki's probably waiting."
They entered, dragging one Naruto Uzumaki behind them.
"Iruka-Sensei. Where have you been? You're late… Haru? Naruto?" Nia watched them curiously, along with the remaining other students who arrived at the time of the debacle.
"Sorry about that." He apologized, setting down his tools. He turned to the white haired man at the front. "Thanks for taking over, Mizuki."
Mizuki smiled. Like with Iruka, he wore the same flak jacket and outfit. Unlike other ninjas who wore their headbands around their foreheads, Mizuki wore his as a bandanna, covering a portion of his head and hair. "No problem, Iruka. I just got done after..."
"Me, Sensei." Nia answered.
Iruka sighed gratefully. It meant that he could just deal with the remaining students, after "s", as Nia's last name started with "s". Mizuki was lazy, but he could be an effective teacher if he actually put his mind to it and put in some effort. This one instance did not change his mind about Mizuki, no.
"Okay. I'll handle the rest. You're free to go."
Mizuki smiled, handing the clipboard to him, the door shutting behind him.
He checked off the remaining students utilizing the Transformation Jutsu. Haru completed it, transforming to a perfect replica of him. Then came Naruto's turn.
He knew Naruto could do it. Naruto had turned into a cat after all.
"Alright! Here goes! Transformation Jutsu!" Naruto's hands switched to the hand signs of the Jutsu, his intention to be extra dramatic. A burst of smoke appeared, then came a voice.
A feminine voice.
"Iruka-Sensei~"
"Iruka-Sensei~"
Haru sighed. Great. Fucking idiot.
In place of Naruto and the smoke stood a female figure. Barely clothed in bra and panties, replacing the jacket and pants of the original, almost entirely naked, her long blonde twintails flowing down her rounded rear, breasts jiggling.
He transformed into Naruko. To accurately title it, his brother's female counterpart and weird perversion for turning into a girl.
Silence permeated throughout the classroom, as the other students could only stare in shock and terror at the blonde's Transformation. Nia covered her flushing face. Other girls, such as Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, and Hinata Hyuga were quite the same. The boys were similar, whistling at Naruko's form, except Shikamaru Nara, who simply rolled his eyes and looked away.
Iruka's mouth was completely open, his jaw open as his face was red.
The transformation popped as Naruko ended it, reverting back to the clothed boy who howled in laughter. "I call that my Sexy Jutsu! A variation of the old classic Transformation Jutsu! Am I a genius or what?!"
Iruka's eyes bulged in anger and rage, and Haru swore he saw a purplish vein bulge in his forehead, as soon as he snapped out of what he witnessed. "You damn, stupid idiot! That Jutsu is retarded and completely stupid!"
"But you fell for it, Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto continued to howl in laughter, singing, as Kiba Izunaka, who watched the entire conflict barely concealing his own giggles, howled in laughter as well. Soon, most of the entire boy population were laughing. Iruka screamed in rage at the sole cause, Naruto, while the girls rolled their eyes, as the class delved into pandemonium.
Detention found Naruto Uzumaki back at the Hokage Monument, where he stood on a ramp, a bucket of soapy water beside him, along with rags used for cleaning, following Iruka screaming at the entire class to shut up. He dunked a rag into the water, before bringing it up and scrubbing furiously against the Second Hokage's nose, where Naruto had painted a realistic booger. The Hokage was already informed, and Iruka decided the best way to serve his punishment was forcing the boy to scrub his hard work off.
Naruto vehemently objected, of course, only to be ignored.
"You're not going home until you scrub every last bit of paint off that Monument." He snapped at the boy.
Naruto shot a glare at the man above him, mumbling under his breath, which didn't go unnoticed by Iruka.
"What was that?" He raised his voice.
"I said whatever." Naruto scowled, rolling his eyes, dunking the rag with more force than necessary, splashing water on his jacket sleeve. "The only person who is waiting for me is Haru anyway!"
Iruka opened his mouth, staring at the blonde's expression.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
He knew that expression… It was one of hurt, anger, and pain.
Iruka found he could not scold the boy for talking back, so he merely looked at the village below. A feeling of shame washed over him, thinking back to the many pranks and mischief Naruto pulled, grating on the patience and nerves that Iruka and perhaps the others had. It was not his fault, was it? The blonde had tried his patience for such a long time that Iruka simply had no more to give.
He narrowed his eyes at a particular spot. There was someone gesturing wildly to him down below at the top of the Academy. He craned his head and narrowed his eyes for a better view. It was… Haru?
Iruka steadily found his steps, making his way down to meet the red headed boy, jumping down stalagmites. "Haru? What are you doing here? Naruto isn't done cleaning yet, if you were wondering."
Haru nodded. "I know. It's just… Can I help him clean?" He gestured to the blonde on top.
Iruka blinked. The look on the boy's face was adamant. "What? Why? It isn't your punishment."
"I know. It's just that I want to help him. It'll be faster if I also help clean it. That's not a problem is it?"
Iruka looked up to see Naruto scrubbing away.
"I said whatever. The only person who is waiting for me is Haru anyway!"
Only a consideration for a second did he nod. "Sure. Not at all. Get on a ramp. I'll level you up."
Naruto Uzumaki wished now that he never used that particular brand that clung to certain surfaces. Because if he didn't, then maybe the paint would not be so hard to clean as hell.
He finally finished scrubbing the booger off the Second's face. Looking to his right, he gave a sigh. On the First's face, he drew a pimple.
While Naruto did indeed buy certain buckets of paint, the others were in the Academy, where they were kept in the storage room presumably for the purpose of redecoration.
Naruto debated on whether or not to use the Academy's stock or his own. After an initial, internal debate, he decided to go with his purchased ones. Besides, better now when he could otherwise forget about it later.
Unfortunately, the ones he purchased were the ones that clung to the certain surfaces. Oh how Naruto despised fate at times!
Well. The pimple was cleaned off. Naruto adjusted his goggles for a bit to wipe his sweaty forehead, looking down to the bucket, only to notice something moving, approaching closer as he bent down to dunk his rag. "Wha-? Haru?"
It was his brother, standing on another ramp. He smiled at him. "Yo."
"What? What are you doing here?" Confusion morphed Naruto's face.
"What does it look like I'm doing here?"
Naruto blinked. "You're here to help me clean? But why?"
"Well, duh. I want to help you finish it faster."
"Are you okay with that?" Naruto was uncertain. It was his punishment and Naruto wouldn't mind taking the due credit and responsibility. "I mean…"
"Why wouldn't I offer to help you clean if I wasn't here?" Haru rolled his eyes, smiling. "Come on, give me one of those rags. I'll work on the Third."
Naruto smiled, tossing the other rag to Haru. The two continued to clean, nothing but silence following them as they concentrated on their task.
As Naruto was finishing lathering the remaining paint on the First's Face, he turned to Haru. The boy was concentrating on his own task of cleaning his brother's mustache from the Third's face. For a moment, Naruto swore he saw red on his brother's knuckles. Haru turned to look at him.
"What?"
"What's that on your hands?"
"What's what on my hands? The rag you gave me. I'm holding it, you blind idiot."
Sometimes Naruto wished he could punch his brother.
"No. What's on your hand? Your knuckles?"
Naruto wasn't stupid. He knew he could be slow to understand information, but once he had a basic grasp on it, it made him quite keen. And keen he was to discover the small details, especially on his brother's hands.
"Nothing."
It wasn't nothing. Naruto saw him hide his hand away, and sighed. He knew what it was. He knew what it meant.
"Dammit Haru. I told you that you could just leave them alone, the same way they're leaving me alone! Why do you have to keep doing this?"
"Doing what?"
Naruto was tired of Haru playing dumb. Naruto did it just for laughs, for fun, for jokes, for humor. But Haru was doing it because he always felt that he needed defending. Needed to be defended.
It made Naruto feel like a baby who could not lift a hand for himself.
"You already know. Don't bullshit me." Naruto narrowed his eyes on his brother.
Haru paused in his scrubbing, turning to look at him. Indigo clashed with sky blue, returning the gaze evenly. "They deserved it."
Naruto scowled. "They left me alone! They aren't bothering to annoy the hell out of me anyway. They're assholes, yeah. But ignore them! They aren't worth shit trying to pick a fight! Oh wait! Scratch that!" He dropped the rag into the bucket. "You shouldn't be picking a fight anyway! You'll get kicked out of the Academy! Don't you remember last time-"
Naruto's explosive response brought the ramps to a rattle. The flickers of rage and anger from both boys simmering in intensity and heat. The flames in Haru's eyes had not died; Haru rarely faltered from an argument, but he murmured so softly Naruto could still hear it, interrupting him. "Shut up. I know."
Haru did not want to go back to that time. Neither did Naruto, but if Haru was not going to control his temper, then what Naruto could do?
He knew Haru thought he did whatever he wanted with no consequences, such as playing pranks and getting the attention of the entire village. It was a part of him that he could not deny.
But in that same vein, Haru was a hypocrite. He picked fights from other Academy students who mocked or made fun of him. Calling him a deadlast, a loser, and a list of other names Naruto remembered over the course of their Academy years.
He tried telling Haru. Plenty of times he told Haru to lay off and ignore the idiots in their classroom, but Haru was not the one to ignore barely concealed insults, especially directed towards Naruto himself.
Naruto loved his brother but also was pissed off with him at times. He was easily getting provoked, and for what? Insults towards him? Naruto dealt with that from the village on a daily basis.
Naruto glared. "Fine." He snapped. He was done arguing.
Haru stared at him a moment longer. The anger suddenly in him faded. "I can't." He said softly. "I just can't. You don't deserve that treatment. We already get enough crap as it is from the village."
He knows. He already knows. But what is Haru doing? It wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth fighting.
Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat. "Which is why I'm telling you to ignore them." He glanced at him. "Can you at least do it for me?"
The look on his brother's face said that he would not stop. Naruto hoped he did. It would do them no good once they graduated. "Fine. I'll try to ignore them, as much as I honestly want them to shut up about you and it bugs me to punch their face in."
Naruto nodded, then grinned. "Hey, maybe they don't like me so much they actually secretly really like me?"
It was a simple joke, one that made no sense, but it worked. The smile returned to Haru's face, along with a sarcastic laugh. "Ha ha. Let's hurry up."
This was how brothers worked. Naruto realized. Haru and him will disagree and bicker about a lot of things; they will even fight. This is common amongst siblings.
But to the things they had in common and shared? Naruto would have it no other way. It was another function of siblings, one that Naruto thoroughly enjoyed.
He smiled. He didn't know what he would do without Haru. He certainly didn't.
As they applied the wet soapy rag to clean the last bits of paint, leaving the Monument sleek and shiny, looking as if Naruto had never doused the faces in paint at all.
Iruka was settled by them, glancing at the skies. "Ah, it's getting late. Do you two want some Ichiraku? I'll pay."
Naruto whooped in victory while Haru simply chuckled at his brother's antics.
"Guess that's a yes."
The three found themselves at Ichiraku a moment later, the steam of the fresh piping hot bowls of ramen hitting their faces.
Iruka chewed on his noodles, swallowing, before pointing at Naruto with his chopsticks. "You know. I really don't understand you, Naruto. Why do you keep doing stuff such as defacing the Monument? I mean, you do realize who the Hokages are, correct?"
Naruto took a gulp of orange soda and nodded, twirling his own chopsticks around in his bowl of broth. "Well, duh. Of course I do. You've been teaching about the Hokages and who they were since the start of the Academy. Hashirama Senju. First Hokage. Founded the Leaf Village. Tobirama Senju, Second Hokage. Brother to the First. Founded Konoha Military Police Force. Gramps is Third Hokage, and he was known as the Professor, having knowledge of many powerful Jutsus. And the Fourth Hokage is a hero. Saved the village from the Nine Tailed Fox and is the Yellow Flash of the Third Shinobi War!"
Iruka nodded. He had the basics of all of the Hokages down. "All that's correct, the question remains, why?"
Naruto grinned. "Because I'll be the greatest Hokage. Stronger than Gramps. Faster than the Fourth! All of them! Then everyone will finally acknowledge me once I become Hokage! They'll have to!"
Iruka looked at Haru. To him, it just seemed so contradictory. He said one thing, yet his actions spoke another.
"Hey. Don't look at me. It's not my dream to be Hokage. I don't know anyone who respects the Hokages a great deal and also at the same time, defaces their faces." Haru stated the last part with a smirk, slurping the remains of his broth.
"Oh screw you, Haru!"
Iruka doubled over with laughter as Naruto shot a mock glare at his brother. He could never picture having a brother. Though in every sense he wanted one, he didn't. Mizuki was already enough of a brother to him.
A sudden realization hit him of the next day's events. "Oh. Do you two remember? You better get ready."
Naruto raised a brow. "Get ready? For what?"
Naruto couldn't have forgotten that easily, could he?
"The Clone Jutsu test tomorrow. I announced it for the last three weeks for you guys to study and perfect the Jutsu. Tomorrow's the day you guys are taking it."
"Eh?!" Naruto all but shouted. He whipped to Haru. "Why didn't you tell me about this?!"
Haru nearly palmed a face to his hand, giving a dry look. "I thought you would remember! You stated you were working on it for the last two weeks! There was no point in doing so since you were hyping yourself up!"
Naruto cursed loudly. "Son of a-! I forgot today! I swore I would do it whenever I have time! I have to practice on it now!"
Iruka smiled. "Hey, Naruto, that's good and all, but don't overdo yourself okay? You'll need energy for tomorrow. It wouldn't do you good if you just went tomorrow without any rest." He turned to Haru. "The older, more responsible brother? I'm entrusting this sacred task to you. Please take care of your brother and make sure he does not get into any more trouble."
Haru gave a dramatic flourish. "With all my honor and to the best of my ability, Iruka-Sensei."
Naruto gave a deadpanned look. "You know. I'm seriously debating whether you like me or not, Iruka-Sensei."
Haru laughed, as Iruka smiled. But all the latter felt was a burst of pain in his chest at Naruto's words.
He ignored the burning part of his stomach, sure it was not in any sense due to the ramen. "Hey, Haru. You should make sure that it's good enough as well, just to be sure."
"No problem, Sensei."
Iruka dropped some Ryo bills to pay for their meal, waving goodbye to them as he headed back to his home.
"You know. I'm seriously debating whether you like me or not, Iruka-Sensei."
It didn't vanish, even when he arrived back at home.
The night skies fell, leaving many of Konoha village's denizens to turn in for the night. The crowd dispersed back to their homes, while there were only just a small handful looking to take advantage of the night by heading into bars and pubs.
Mizuki Chusuke stood on the edge of the balcony of his home, watching the night skies with disinterest. A bottle was swung lazily in his hand.
"Mizuki?" The door creaked open.
Mizuki glanced inward to his home to see his fiancee, a dark haired woman with equally dark eyes. "Tsubaki? You should go to bed. Don't worry, I'll come after."
She nodded, the door shutting once more as Mizuki gazed at the midnight skies, then down to the village.
He released the bottle as gravity took it to the floor, smashing it to pieces, heading back inside to bed.
Soon, it would all be over.
Konoha would burn.
You guys may notice some things, or most of them are similar to the original, though this chapter introduces Haru and Nia, the first two OCs.
I repeat: Just because some plot points are similar as of NOW does not mean it is entirely the same. The following chapters will change certain characters.
Since Naruto has a brother, he will be different. With a brother, he'll bicker, get pissed off, and be argumentative. He'll not be made into a perfect character. Unlike most other Naruto sibling stories, his character will not be a carbon linear copy as in the original, and my aim is to show how Naruto would develop that way. Haru and Naruto will argue, fight, and not talk to each other in ways that normal siblings would.
Changes from original:
-Naruto is more creative on how to escape Jonin and other individuals as per being chased by multiple times in the past, thinking on the fly. This will play a role in how he fights, as well being a lot more observant and smarter, noticing Haru's bloody hands.
-Instead of Iruka's class being forced to do the Transformation Jutsu by Naruto being late, it was already assigned to them as a class schedule.
-Mizuki is introduced early as a substitute instructor to take over for Iruka and his best friend.