Title: Stop…Restart It – Naruto

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Sparrow, Naruto

Chapter: 3

Word Count: 1382

Warnings: again, bad pacing.
AN: I spaced because wow has sleep being laughing at me. Enjoy.


"Alright, let's get down to business," Sparrow finally said, getting himself back under control from his bitching, much to Naruto's amusement. He had known the instant he had seen Sparrow that the ANBU was trustworthy and didn't see whatever everyone else saw when they looked at him. Not being called a demon was a welcomed surprise from an ANBU and one that he was going to enjoy outside of waiting for him to turn on him in some way.

"So, what's the first test?" he asked, digging around in his bag once more to find his lunch, wondering what Iruka had packed him, something that the other had the habit of doing along with the granola bars. It was always on the days that he hadn't had enough money to buy something cheap and filling and somehow, Iruka always seemed to know, without fail. Finding the scroll, his eyebrows shot up at the small note that came with it, telling him that he would need the extra fuel and to do his very best with his new tutor.

"Iruka is a sneaky little man, that's for sure," Sparrow drawled, catching sight of the writing and shaking his head with a smirk.

"He's one of the top pranksters of his age group actually," Naruto hummed, shaking his head with a slight smile on his lips. "The man can outshine me when he wants to. But his pranks are subtler, much more than a way to get attention. His are usually all about getting revenge against people, at least now days."

"Shit, I had forgotten that he had been a heavy prankster back then," Sparrow hummed, filing away the information that he had unintentionally gotten from the blond male. "He wasn't as big as you though. I don't think he ever had the balls to deface the Hokage Monument; multiple times for that matter."

Naruto just smirked, making his own notes about the man before him. "Yeah, well, with the way I'm treated, it was either go big or be squashed by depression. Might as well give them something to really hate me for," he said, shrugging before reaching up and tugging the goggles off of his head, tossing them onto his bag. "So, again, what do you want to do?" he prodded.

"We'll start with your knowledge of the history of Konohagakure," Sparrow stated, crossing his legs as Naruto offered him a bit of the bento that he had unsealed, shaking his head in response.

As Naruto ate, they went over the first Hokage, Hashirama Senji, and his time as their first Hokage and how he had created the village with Madara Uchiha. They discussed the final battle between them where they supposedly died, and how Tobirama Senju took over for his brother. They spoke about the wars that Konohagakure had been a part of and how Hiruzen Sarutobi had taken over before giving his seat to Minato Namikaze, the Fourth as many called him to the day.

They discussed the attack of the Nine Tailed Beast, The Kyuubi and why it had attacked the village on the same day that Naruto had been born, and how the Fourth Hokage had died killing the beast. Naruto admitted to Sparrow that something felt wrong with that part of the story and most of it felt almost as if it was missing important details and bits of information.

They moved on after a few moments of contemplative silence about that fact, Sparrow noting that Naruto was smart and could spot something wrong with a lie, even a carefully crafted lie like that one. They discussed the Third Hokages students, Jiraiya, Tsunade and the traitor Orochimaru. They talked about how Jiraiya had been the Fourth's teacher and how the Fourth had taught not only Kakashi but the lost nin Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara. They went over the wars in more detail and how things were now in the Land of Fire and Konohagakure.

"Well, you're quite knowledgeable about the history and the details of our village and how we relate to the rest of the world," Sparrow admitted, tapping his mask with a smirk and nodding his head. "You have a good mind, it's just a matter of getting your reading and writing abilities up to par with the rest of your age group. That's going to take time and practice but I have a good idea of what to do to encourage your learning for that," he stated, smiling slightly.

"And that is?" Naruto asked, uncrossing his legs and sliding to sit on the ground, putting his half eaten bento away for later. He couldn't chance getting sick just because he overate after all.

"I want you to keep track of your lessons, all of them, along with your missions and what you do in your day to day life. Be as detailed as possible and use a dictionary if you need to. I also suggest you start writing in a journal about any private thoughts that you have. As you write, you'll learn that it'll come easier to write your essay's to. Which I need to read since Ibiki say's they're really good," Sparrow stated, Naruto pursing his lips before nodding.

"I'll need help getting the notebooks since most times the shopkeepers don't want to sell to me," Naruto said in return, Sparrow nodding his head. "I have the money and the such, I'm just...not able to get it myself."

"Not a problem. I'll pick up some notebooks and drop them off at your apartment when I do," he promised, getting a nod from the young male before him. "I also suggest you start reading other things outside of books on jutsus and fighting techniques. I'll drop a few off with the notebooks," he continued, making mental notes to do that when he was done for the day with Naruto.

"Sounds like a plan. I keep trying to get my hands on books but it's rather hard to find a good book without it getting destroyed if I'm not careful to hide it and I only have so many storage scrolls right now," Naruto hummed, getting a nod.

"I'll see if I can't raid my library and some storage scrolls for you to hold them," Sparrow promised, sighing lowly. He would have a lot to change with the kid before him, a lot to fix. Starting with the clothes and the katas. So far, Naruto was on to a good start but was still behind compared to the rest of his peers. "Let me see one of your kunai," he stated, holding out one hand and wiggling the gloved fingers.

Naruto gave the other a look and handed it over, shifting on the ground, before he reached into his weapons pouch and removed one of them, handing it over. Sparrow looked over it, flicking it with one finger before running it over the edge, nodding his head in approval. "Iruka buys them for me when I have the money," he told him, shrugging one shoulder.

"He buys good stuff and you take pretty good care of them to," the ANBU said, smiling at his student as he handed the kunai back, tucking it away once more.

"He pounded the care and maintenance of my weapons into my head right along with aiming and how to fake my aim so it's off. Don't want anyone to know just how smart I am, despite my limitations of what I know and have learned so far because of my old teachers," Naruto said, smiling softly at the memories of those particular lessons held in Iruka's living room as they drank tea and ate snacks. Shaking his head from the memories, he stretched his arms up and gazed at his new tutor once more. "So, am I going to be able to learn who you are under that mask of yours?" he asked, smirking at what he could feel was a surprised look.

"Depends on how the mission goes, Naruto-kun. If we complete it and find the idiot who is trying to turn on the village, then yes, you will. Until then, you get to wait for it."

"Damn teases," Naruto huffed, making his tutor burst into laughter before setting him to show him his physical abilities.