Naruto: Knocked Off Course

by KCMC66

"Ninja take their fate… into their own hands." He shuddered at the memory, glancing down at his own dirty, bloody fists. Naruto punched again, feeling the freshly healed scars flex painfully on his back. Sending chips of bark and droplets of blood flying from the post. If others saw nothing wrong with taking their fate in their hands at his own expense, why shouldn't he.

3. Laying Foundations

CHAPTER 3

TITLE: Laying Foundations

---

The morning was never kind to Hinata Hyuuga. Particularly not today.

She wasn't surprised by the pain, although her lack of surprise was no balm for the stiff ache in her joints and muscles.

She woke with a groan, tenderly stretching her tired arms underneath the covers, rubbing them both up and down.

Hinata knew a bruise when she felt it, and to be honest, it surprised her that she didn't notice it before now. Although, when she remembered just how tired she felt last night, a part of her wasn't really surprised.

She turned in bed, wincing in pain at the burning throbbing mass of agitated flesh at the side of her head. Strands of hair wet with sweat stuck to the bruise, only increasing the intensity of the pain she felt on her face.

She recalled the injury with uncanny detail. An unorthodox roundhouse early on in her match against neji yesterday, designed to take her by surprise. It worked, and it was a solid hit...

'But he'll never get me with a kick like that again...' She swore to herself.

But now there were more important things to do right now other than thinking about her match with neji, and unfortunately for her, all of them required moving. Hinata groaned into her soft pillow as she strained to rise from her fluffy, comfortable bed and face the day.

She snapped into 'morning routine' mode, moving robotically as she threw her sore, skinny legs over the edge off the bed, she stretched her sore arms and torso as much as she could, bending low, high and everything in between.

She learned to stretch in the morning early on in life. No one taught her, but she learned the hard way when she injured herself during training a few years ago.

The days stretched on and on as she did her best to heal as soon as possible, if only to escape the look in her father's eye at her inability to participate in training. Apparently the only other thing more disappointing to her father than her typical training performance, was her performance while injured.

Hinata sighed at the memory, and with a new burst of energy she bounced off the bed as she headed to the bathroom to go about her morning routine.

When she was nearly finished she finally built up enough courage to face her reflection in the mirror. It wasn't as bad as she expected, but her face did bear the obvious signs of wear from a recent fight.

But save a few scratches and a busted lip, the only real injury she saw was the large bruise that marked the side of her head from ear to cheek. She tenderly touched the bruise, wincing at the hot throbbing pain that came from the gentle touch.

She waited for the surge of pain to subside, before she finally strode out of her bedroom and into her personal training room wearing only a drab brown crop top, and some shorts of the same color. The room was slightly smaller than the main training room she trained in the day before, but this one was was hers, and had a bit of equipment specifically designed for certain types of training.

She eyed the tall training dummy in the corner and shuddered.

'Ugh, why does it have to be so creepy looking?'

Every wooden limb shot out in different directions and each arm held a red wooden plate with boundary marks to indicate accuracy.

They were all connected to a regular man shaped dummy, its face detailed as to practice targeting specific parts of the head and face.

The uncannily human features, and almost grotesque appearance of the practice dummy always slightly unnerved Hinata. It looked like a man that suddenly grew a set of octopus tentacles from his back. But the odd look of the dummy was not without reason. The main purpose of the dummy was to train to increase speed and accuracy. The point of the exercise was to hit the targets in two sequences. First in a preordained order, then a specific number at random as fast as possible. The position the targets could be adjusted to accommodate for height or reach, or even to diversify or randomize the order and make the exercise even more difficult.

She changed hers every day for this very reason. Just to make sure that her never fell into patterns or bad habits that might follow her into training.

She flexed her sore muscles and clenched her fists tightly, the stinging from her palms reminding her of her injuries from the previous day. While she had been treated well since, her skin still felt raw, and she could feel the blisters and cuts beneath her bandages.

Hinata pushed her shoulders back and walked forward with her head held high. Knowing that she'd better get used to the pain sooner rather than later if she wanted to prove herself to her father.

She marched forward, staring straight at the dummy, and gave another quick shudder, trying very hard not to look at the face as she walked. The face did an great job of reminding her that one day she'd be expected to exchange lifeless dummies for real people.

As soon as she reached it, she sprang into action, pounding relentlessly at the training dummy's eight targets. She leapt through each katas of the gentle fist as fast as she could. Her unbound hair a whipping back and forth from the force she poured into her jabs, a dull thwack coming from each of the wooden plates with every impact.

'More.' She commanded herself.

She knew her father would expect more. So she went faster, moving from position to position remembering the practice her father ran her through almost every day.

She felt the pain in her hands increase as the bandages bled through, and she felt something in her brain desperately commanding her to stop.

She remembered her cousin Neji, watching him demonstrate as he flawlessly, effortlessly matched her father's speed. Striking each and every target with equal force.

She remembered the look of neji's face, she remembered the determination there. Also the pain, the anger, the hatred on his face...

She shook her head, clenching her teeth in exertion as her pace increased, 'Not fast enough.' She thought furiously.

She finished her last set with a final hard thrust, extending her palm outwards, her arm stretched out to its fullest extent, cracking the wood. Every target had a small layer of sweat and blood dripping from the targets, and she looked down at her hands and saw them both covered in blood, drops slipping past the thin, now useless bandages covering her fingers.

She sighed, 'I guess its time to change these out.'

The detailed image of the surface of her training dummy's target plate faded away as she cut off the chakra flow to her eyes, panting hard, trying to get her breathing under control. She waited for her body to calm itself, feeling her heart begin to slow, the sweat beginning to cool against her skin.

After a brief clean up session, she returned to the dummy, taking her stance. After a moment, she took a deep breath, feeling the cool morning air fill her lungs, and back out again. She opened her eyes and reactivated her bloodline, her vision widening, deepening as her understanding of the world opened up to her.

She could feel the chakra flow through her body, the living power ebb and flow. She could see the chakra in her extended right hand. The power to wound, to maim and kill, right there at her fingertips.

She glanced at the clock behind the dummy, waiting patiently until it reached the top.

'Five seconds.'

She wanted, hearing the faint click of the clock tick three times. Then four... three...two...one...

She exploded forward, her hands a flurry of motion and danger. Strikes bereft of chakra, but still powerful in their own right struck the wood faster and faster.

'Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen.' She counted as she passed the first hundred strikes, immediately shifting focus to remember the next pattern.

She didn't dare spare a single glance at the clock, devoting her entire attention to her 'opponent'. Top, upper left, lower left, right, left, top, bottom... the series continued. She glanced at the clock, seeing the hand tick past nineteen. She redoubled her efforts, fighting furiously against the heavy feeling of weariness in her chest and limbs. She continued, snapping her limbs out faster than she could see. She looked at the clock, twenty-five...

'Faster!'

Her chakra exploded, her heart rocketing in her chest as she flared her chakra out her palms like a roaring furnace. The pain in her hands flaring now, the pain spiking in intensity. She continued undeterred, the chakra in her palms exploding outwards, impacting the hard wood with the force of a sledge hammer. The wood dented and bent in the face of her raw physical strength, a final flurry of strikes sending splinters all around her.

She finally stopped, panting hard, bent over with her hands on her knees. She heaved, her lungs and body hungry for oxygen.

As she rose, she saw the carnage she caused. The dummy was destroyed, its limbs blow off at the elbow, and the floor was littered with splinters and chucks of wood of all sizes. This included the head of the dummy. Its vaguely human, now bloodied features staring back at her.

Hinata felt a cold chill of fear run through her, and that along with her fatigue was enough to send her to her knees.

Her knees impacted against the thankfully soft dojo flooring, and she panted, trying to reagin her fragile sense of composure. As she lay there she heard familiar footsteps, quick, but measured and thoughtful.

Knowing with full certainty who was about to walk through the door, she looked up, and saw the sliding door pull back to reveal her cousin Neji.

Ever since they were children the first thing she always noticed about him were his eyes.

It was a different time then, once they were a child's eyes, full of innocence and curiosity. Now they were different. Focused and more mature than before, but now they were also cold, driven, and so awfully bitter.

Many non-clan members are often taken of guard by the grayish hue all hyuuga clan members possessed, their eyes appearing alien, or strange. Some have even said that they were all the same.

But Hinata lived in a sea of them all her life, she knew that every one was different, and his were no exception. In an instant his eyes were focused on her, and Hinata just barely kept herself from flinching at his stare.

"Good morning Hinata-sama." He said stiffly.

And then he felt the hot, burning anger welled up deep inside her at his respectful, yet insincere choice in honorific he used, and she fought very hard not to let the emotion show on her face.

'He should be calling her cousin.'

Cousins, FAMILY... should not refer to each other in this way, she didn't quite know how or why she knew, but she did.

She knew, and she hated that she was the only one who did.

She took a deep breath, calming herself. He might misplace her anger and think she was angry with him. Besides, regardless of her feelings, there were things that were expected of her, and she did her best to play the part well. So she did her best to smile at her cousin, "Good morning Neji-niisan."

Neji said nothing, quickly scanning her and her surroundings. He didn't need their "all seeing eye" to see the destroyed dummy behind her. His eyes zeroed back to her, "Hiashi-sama has requested your presence as soon as possible my lady."

Hinata swallowed thickly at the mention of her father, but nodded politely, and only moved once her cousin had left, walking back out the way he came. She did her best to calm herself, giving the destroyed dummy a wide berth before walking around to reach her bedroom.

She sat on the be with a sigh, waiting a moment before inevitably looking over at the dummy. It stared at the wall, its empty wooden eyes staring at nothing, Hinata looked away with a groan.

'Would it be out of order to ask Father for a another room to train in?'

It took slightly longer than usual to get ready to meet with her father. Mostly because of the need to cover up the bruise on her face. Enough members of her clan saw her as just a weak child already, and walking around appearing injured and beaten would do her no favors.

After a couple of minutes, she was making her way to her father's office. Dressed in her clan's formal wear she normally wore to her father's meetings or clan events. The Kimono was very similar to her cousin's typical wear, but heavier in weight, and darker in color. Made more for social gatherings and meetings rather than combat.

Her kimono flowed in the morning breeze as she fast-walked down the hallway that led to her father's private study. As she drew closer and closer, she turned the corner that she knew would lead to her father's office on the right, but her eyes widened when she saw who was there at the doorway.

They were faced away from her, but she recognized them as the pair that she met the previous night. Only with her well rested, and her mind clearer, she now could recall the man's name.

His name was Hyuuga Genzo, a nobleman who held a seat at the council of elders. If she remembered correctly his father was a famous shinobi who fought alongside Konoha in the first shinobi war.

Contrary to what one might think of such a figure, the man himself was actually quite boring, and rather weak compared to the shinobi of his peers.

In spite of what the man himself would prefer for the world to believe, Genzo was really just an ordinary man who inherited status and wealth from his father's funds earned in the war effort, and a handful of timely investments in war related products. He himself served in the second shinobi war, but was apparently injured in battle early on, and spent the majority of the war recovering.

He tended to drone on about superiority over the branch house, the status of the clan compared to the once powerful Uchiha clan, among other bits pointless jargon.

But it wasn't his father's legacy that helped her to remember him, but rather an old lesson her father taught her when she was younger. As a veteran of the second shinobi war, as well as Genzo's pedigree, the man possessed a stature and reputation in Hyuuga politics that was once considered above Hiashi's.

It was rumored that he would contest Hiashi's birthright and attempt to become clan leader by challenging him to a duel in the Gentle Fist.

The man was a 'hero' in his time, and by the time Hiashi reached the age of majority, the man had many backers that may have uprooted Hiashi and replaced him as clan head. Although rare, it wasn't totally unheard of, and Hiashi along with his entire family line may have perished if this ever came to pass.

But the Hyuuga elder was caught in a scandal including a young kunoichi and an illegitimate child. The scandal grew large enough to severely damage his once revered reputation, and later Hiashi was awarded the title of clan head.

Although the man kept his clan council seat, he lost a great amount of respect as a result of the incident. When telling the story, her father would always ask her what she learned from the story. When she said she didn't know, he hugged her and whispered the answer to her.

'The answer my little buttercup, is that love is a commitment. And one not so easily forgotten.'

Where she once found warmth and happiness at the memory, now she found only irony and no small amount of bitterness. The man and the girl standing at the doorway both looked back at her, both seeming a bit startled, and the girl more scared.

Once the man recognized her seemed to calm down a bit before greeting her again, "Ah yes Hinata-sama, we were just talking about you!"

Hinata smiled, but inside her, her stomach stomach turned, knowing that although likely said in a happy tone, did not bode well for her.

She bowed politely, a stark contrast to the pit of disgust she felt inside her.

'More schemes and whispers.' She thought.

"It is an honor to see you again councilman." Is what she actually said, not meaning a single word.

He nodded at her, unaware of her thoughts, then glanced inside the room and nodded again, making his way down the hall.

"Anyway, I have other business to attend to so I'll take my leave. Come Misaki, let us cease our procrastinating, and finish the paperwork that need to be done.'

Genzo walked off, Misaki following close behind, giving one last look to Hinata before walking off. Leaving her alone in the the hallway.

As the man turned the corner, silence reigned for a while, until a loud authoritative voice boomed from inside the room, "You may enter."

Hinata obeyed swiftly, sliding the door open, entering a large room that was, predictably, similar to the outside, only with a desk at the far end of the room, a short table with freshly made tea on it, finely woven pillows surrounding the table, and her father, slowly and meaningfully pouring the tea into the cup directly across from him.

He finished pouring the tea, only then looking up, his powerful eyes staring at her. She didn't feel the need to flinch at his look, hardly any fear or anger at all, but she did feel guilty when he looked at her.

When his grey eyes were fixed on her, she couldn't help but feel like he was disappointed somehow. Not necessarily in her specifically, even though they both knew that he was, but more like he would rather look at anything else, or maybe that he looked, expecting something else, but it was only her.

As her thoughts began to overwhelm her, she took the feelings and jammed them deep inside her, bowing as she knew she had to.

When she rose, he raised a hand to the pillow and the tea, and she walked over, and sat at the table.

She reached out and took a sip politely, holding the tea in her hand, as her father began the necessary bit of small talk before he delivered whatever news he was going to give.

"Thank you for obeying my summons as quick as you did. We have much to talk about." He said, his voice deep in thought and a bit of satisfaction in his tone.

"Yes, thank you Father." She replied.

Hiashi hummed, taking a small sip of his own tea before he spoke, "I've been told you've been working hard training in your own time."

She nodded, "I have, Father."

He nodded, "Your drive is admirable, and I hope you continue to work hard, but I wish you had told me so I can change the focus of our group training to focus on other things. It would be regrettable if your were to injure yourself just before the Genin exams."

Hinata's grip on the teacup tightened, and she took great care to make sure her tone was as on-combative as possible, "I can handle it Father."

Her father grinned in a way that reminded her of one of her old tutors when she gave the correct answer to a question that went unasked. Hiashi set down his cup and watched his daughter, more obviously than normal, "Would you like me to have someone collect that dummy from your room"

Her eyes narrowed slightly, knowing a blatant test when she saw one, "No father, I can do it. I wouldn't want you to waste your precious time or resources to something so simple."

Her father smiled again, and Hinata felt like rolling her eyes at the mind games.

Hinata set her cup down as well, fixing her posture, but putting on the most sincere confused expression she could, "Was this, the reason I was summoned father? After all you are free to come to me any time you wish."

In an instant his smile was gone, wiped of his face as if it was never there in the first place, "I think I would know what I can or cannot do in my own household." He declared sternly. And while a part of her tried to force her body to bow, to apologize and seek forgiveness for her petulance, she forced herself to remain staring, her face remaining frozen in a mask of defiance. She knew he'd calm down, all she had to do was wait him out.

It seemed to work, and his anger seemed to vanish with a sigh as he calmed down. Then he spoke, "Nevertheless, you are correct. There is something of far more import that I wished t o discuss with you."

Hinata nodded and waited to her what he had to say.

Hiashi took a moment before speaking, "You are no longer the clan heir."

The words hit her like a club slamming into her, the words shattering her dreams in one fell swoop. She was glad that they were sitting, as she would likely sway on uncertain feet if she stood.

She felt the inevitable pinpricks at the corners of her eyes, the inevitable tears the she refused to let loose. She took a long moment to breath looking down. Refusing to let her father see the defeat in her eyes, or for her to see the victory in his.

"Yes Father." She said quietly, not quite trusting her voice not to falter.

He didn't say anything at first, letting her suffer for just a moment longer before he spoke, "Understand, the clan head position is not lost to you."

Her spirits lifted, if only lightly, but he continued, "I will wait until the Chunin exams, then I will make my final decision."

He waited after that, seemingly waiting for her to respond.

She had to be the clan head. She was going to do so much, change everything. But none of that mattered if she wasn't the clan head. The elder council wouldn't listen to a thing she said unless she held that level of power over them. Even if she became Hokage, her clan would be lost to her.

So she nodded, and as he rose, she did the same.

"You may go." He commanded, and she obeyed, walking out and closing the door behind him. Her apprehension faded the farther she walked, and eventually she allowed herself to calm down.

She began the march back to her quarters, thinking back to Genzo and Misaki, wondering why they, of all people were there before her. Her father was a very punctual man, and hated when meetings ran too long, or overlapped in any way. So why were they still talking by the time she arrived?

As she walked, she passed she turned the corner to reach her room, only to see Misaki, now separated from the old man. She seemed to be doing chores like last night, only this time she seemed to be dusting.

She froze when Hinata saw her, only to quickly resume her chore with a new frantic energy she didn't see before, Her eyes fixed on the wall in front of her.

And then she saw the bruise only half covered by the sleeve of her servants uniform. The sickly purple contrasting heavily with the faded white of her kimono.

Hinata stopped, tracing her form to look for more injuries, but she found none. Deducing that the rest likely lay underneath her clothing.

Misaki squirmed under her stare, and eventually turned, fear, suspicion and confusion clear in her eyes. Hinata's gaze turned upwards to the seal on her head, and her heart burned to merely yank it off and wipe the seal from the face of the universe.

But as much as she willed it, the seal remained, and eventually the girl turned back to finish her task. Figuring that she was more than likely only scaring her, she turned and entered her room. Closing the door behind her.

She strongly considered going back to training, but the meeting had messed up her schedule, so she decided to get ready for the academy, where at least there was one thing to look forward to.

But as she lay out her shinobi wear she pondered one thing that had bothered her since leaving her father's study.

'What did Genzo mean when he said, 'WE were just talking about you.'? Did he or the council have something to do with his decision?'

She thought about it for a few seconds and then shook her head, laying out more of her things as she thought to herself, 'Doesn't matter. I'll just have to prove to them that I'm the best choice, no matter what.'

---

She pumped her arms faster and faster as she ran, her sandals slapping hard against the cobblestone as she followed the winding path. Her backpack swayed behind her as she made her way as fast as she could down the path, re-adjusting it a couple times, trying desperately to make it to the academy before her ultimate rival of love.

Yamanaka Ino.

Getting up early wasn't totally unknown to her. Ino and her constantly tried to one-up each other buy getting up early, but normally they'd give up around the same time, the lack of proper sleep eventually getting to them.

But today she got up earlier than she ever had, the sun barely cresting the horizon, shedding bright yellow and orange light all around her as she ran full sprint up the road to get to the academy.

She got up especially early today because lately Ino was using some hidden method, some trick to get to the academy earlier some days. She knew Ino wasn't getting up any earlier than her, because whenever she did, Sakura could tell.

Ino was notorious for requiring a full eight hours in order to function, and she noticed no new changes since she stared showing up early.

Sakura grumbled to herself as she sped along the path, 'I don't know how in the hell Ino's been beating me to the academy, But dammit now its my turn to spend some extra time with Sasuke-kun!'

As she made her was across town, she finally passed the last building on her route to the academy, at last reaching the doors and pushing them open to make it inside.

She took care not to disturb any students or teachers that happened to pass by, but eventually she was finally within sight of her home room class.

She immediately turned the corner, only to see Ino, grinning smugly at her from the comfort of her own seat.

Sakura felt like wailing out loud in despair as she panted hard, her exhaustion from the long run too much for her, and she sagged to the floor in disappointment. Now here she was, tired, embarrassed, and covered in disgusting sweat, and she still didn't make it here before Ino.

'Damn it! I'm too late. When I saw that the Yamanaka flower shop open I thought I had her beat for sure!'

Eventually, after taking a moment to regain her breath she heard a voice call out to her and looked up to see Ino, with that dumb cocky smirk of hers, but suspiciously far away from sasuke. Her seat being the one the nearest the door, and Sasuke's at the opposite side in his usual spot near the window. Where the boy currently sat, a hand on his chin as he stared out his window, not sparing a single glance to anyone inside the classroom.

Sakura frowned, her suspicion growing as she took a moment to gaze around the room, noting that they were still fairly early judging by the lack of people in their seats. Still frowning, she walked over to the seat next to Ino, intent on questioning her on why she didn't take the space she and Ino both coveted.

So she sat at the desk, setting her things underneath the chair that sat next to Ino. As she Ino, Sasuke and herself made up a little less than half of the occupants.

Sakura turned to Ino, greeting her, "What's up Ino-pig?" Ino rolled her eyes, "Not much forehead. Just waiting for class like everybody else."

Sakura frowned, and bit back another insult in favor proposing a question to the blonde, "How did you get here so fast, I know you'd never sacrifice your precious beauty sleep."

Ino smiled widely, and ever the drama queen, rested a dainty hand under her chin, blinking slowly, "Never." She replied.

"I didn't have to waste a single moment, I just convinced Naruto that it would be good "training" to carry me to the academy while running as fast as he could. I was here in no time at all."

Sakura raised her eyebrows, after all while Ino was still a young girl, and likely not very heavy, to beat her here when Sakura easily had a head start was nothing to balk at.

She looked up and saw Naruto, head in his lap and obviously tired. She looked back to Ino, a question in her mind that she always meant to ask but never go the chance to ask.

"Why him?" She asked

Ino hummed in confusion, so she rephrased the question.

"Why are you friends with that goofball?"

Ino huffed in dismissal, "Why not? He's...Fine." She said as she looked away.

Sakura frowned, understanding slowly but surely, that she wasn't getting the full story. Her brain tried to fill in the blanks in an equation that included her and Naruto, but she just couldn't find an answer.

Sakura definitely wasn't convinced that there wasn't some catch.

"You could've gotten almost any one of the boys in our class to do your dirty work, why settle for Naruto." Ino frowned as her head whipped around, her pale blue eyes narrowed, "Settle is a bit harsh, he's not so bad."

Sakura turned around to look at the boy, who still sat still, his head placed firmly in the crux of his elbow, soft snoring emanating from him. It was no secret that the Uzumaki was a a dunce, but he was no worse than a lot of the other boys in her class , but what really confused Sakura was why him above all the other dumb boys she could trick into helping her?

Naruto wasn't just the dead last of the class, she heard a bunch of other things. From pranks to assaults and tons of other delinquent behavior.

Sakura looked back to Ino, a dubious look on her face, "It's Naruto..."

Ino rolled her eyes, "Naruto's different than how he was when he was younger, I'm surprised you haven't noticed by now."

OK, now she was intrigued. Sakura looked back, inspecting the blonde just a little bit more closely.

To give Ino some credit, upon a second look she did notice some things. He seemed to ditch that annoying orange jumpsuit about a year ago, going for more of a burnt orange, and black hoodie.

It was still undeniably ugly, and he apparently kept the jumpsuit's orange cargo pants. But it was just a little bit more tolerable to look at now, and it at least seemed more appropriate for the surly blonde mystery.

Although Sakura didn't know him well,, she did know that, while sometimes annoying he was funny at times, and outside the classroom, he was a decent ninja at first glance. Especially with taijutsu, and as it turns out, he actually had a bit of a reputation of being especially brutal in a one on one match.

He tended to get in trouble a lot though, and for that reason among others, Sakura had stayed away for the most part.

She figured that someone like Ino would stay away for similar reasons. Sakura turned back to her frenemy, "I guess, but he's still annoying."

Ino snorted out a laugh, apparently not entirely disagreeing with her, "You really should give him another chance, after all, you have so much in common!"

Although she could definitely admit that she pretty much walked into that one, but even so, Sakura could feel a vein pop on her forehead at the rude remark.

Before she could retort their teacher walked in with all the silent but powerful grace of a real kunoichi, her chunin vest and padded shinobi clothing sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the sea of students. The whole of the class seemed to snap into attention, even Naruto straightened his posture at her approach.

Rei walked into the room, and went straight to the board, retrieving a piece of chalk, and turning back to the class, her eyes piercing as she seemingly searched the classroom for something.

She scanned the room, and she could hear Naruto obnoxious black jacket, and horrid bright orange cargo pants shift loudly as he stiffened, and Rei smiled, apparently finding what she was looking for.

She then smoothly turned, and began her lecture on chakra and ninjutsu theory as it applies to combined or improvised techniques used while in the heat of battle. While taking her notes on the honestly fascinating lecture, she felt a nudge from Ino, and turned to see her, much to her both annoyance and confusion, smirking at her.

Sakura turned back to the lecture, determined not to let her rival embarrass her in front of Sasuke.

"Shut it Ino-pig, I'm not gonna get in trouble becasue-

"Show up at the picnic tables at the end of lunch today." Ino whispered. Sakura gave her a questioning look, but Ino just turned away, staring to the front.

Sakura was confused, and a little suspicious, but mentally agreed to see what her ex-friend had in store for her.

---

Rei watched the children scamper off into the bright light coming from the playgrounds with a content smile on her face. It always gave her a strange sense of happiness watching the joy on their faces as their lunch broke up the dull monotony of drab walls and old, boring books.

She dusted off her chunin uniform and walked over to her desk to sit, figuring that it was a good idea to get a head start on grading their daily homework, when she idly noticed a presence behind her.

She turned and saw Mizuki with his arms crossed, staring at her while he leaned on the far edge of her desk. Mizuki's eyes narrowed, and before she could say anything to address the man he spoke first, "Why him?"

Rei blinked at the sudden question, but she knew instantly who he was referring to. It didn't take a genius to notice the not so subtle friction between Naruto and MIzuki, and the subject of Naruto had obviously been a controversial talking point in between chunin instructors. Especially since Rei had began spending more time with him outside of class.

Rei just shrugged, "Why not?" She said easily.

Mizuki smirked, "Well, why not any other student that might also need guidance?"

Rei smiled graciously and shrugged again, "I believe that our resident 'master prankster' takes precedent over the typical student. Of all the ones that could be doing better in class, five are civilians that aren't cut out to be shinobi, two are just lazy, and one is deliberately failing certain tests to obfuscate his intelligence. Besides, any student in need of such counseling can find it here any time they wish." Rei gave her colleague a glib look, "And If you desire, I might be able to acquire approval to begin a remedial class in order to help said students. In fact, such a thing is surely within your power. If you should chose to do so." She said smoothly.

Rei noticed that Mizuki's smirk dropped slightly, possibly taken a little off guard at her response, but instead of backing down, he just chuckled at her suggestion.

Mizuki shook his head in dismissal, "There wouldn't be a soul in that classroom, if any one of those kids knew what that brat was."

Rei's calm features cracked somewhat, and she frowned, her eyes narrowing to slits, "Watch your tongue Mizuki..."

Mizuki chuckled again, louder this time, "I'm only saying what everyone here is thinking."

Rei narrowed her eyes past her brown bangs, trying very hard to decide if the chunin was suicidal or not, 'And that's exactly what might get you killed. Idiot.'

"That's dangerous ground Mizuki..."

Mizuki laughed long and hard at her, "I've always been on dangerous ground in this damn class. Sharing space with that—"

Rei stood up abruptly, scattering loose papers and books as she stood. Mizuki's face never lost his laid back smile, but she noticed how his eyes followed her hands very carefully.

"Hey, relax. It's just us friends." He drawled, his voice low and smooth as honey laced with poison.

She took a deep breath to calm her anger, and spoke in a measured but serious tone when she calmed herself, "Even between, 'colleagues', that doesn't make what you almost said, any less treasonous. Or deadly"

She sat slowly, and began the slow task of recollecting her scattered bits of finished and graded homework. Mizuki said nothing for a long time, and Rei chose to take advantage o the silence and continue grading, hoping that he would get tired of her and leave soon.

"Do you really think that kid has any chance of being a ninja?" He asked blithely.

Rei clenches the pen she holds in her hand tighter, doing her best not to look at him, knowing that it would only validate his continued presence, "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Mizuki goes quiet at that, and she hears him scoff at her as he begins to walk off. She just barely keeps herself from breathing a sigh of relief, and waited in silence as his footsteps became more and more quiet.

But then Mizuki turned, and this time Rei couldn't keep herself from turning too. He glared at her just like before, but for an instant, an unknown emotion flashed through his eyes too quick for her to recognize.

Mizuki looked away before he spoke again, "I know you must think I'm some kind of huge prick, but..."

The silver haired chunin looked her in the eyes again, this time his gaze was much more sincere than glib, "I already lost one person to—"

He cut himself off, and jerked his head away, "Ah, forget it." Mizuki stormed off without another word, and he was out the door before Rei could say anything more. She stared at the closed door for a moment before she heard the faint sound of small footsteps in the grass outside, speeding away just as Mizuki left.

Rei waited a few more seconds, expanding her senses with her chakra for a moment, if only to confirm there were no more eavesdroppers present. With a nod, the academy teacher began to pick up the huge pot her shadow clone left for her not ten minutes earlier. She glanced at the clock, and picked up the pace, realizing that her little chat with Mizuki had made her late for her meeting with Naruto.

She mentally cursed herself for letting time get away from her like that, and also did her best to mentally prepare for the certainly taxing talk she and her troubled student were about to have.

She marched to the back door, full, steaming pot in hand, and took a deep breath before walking past the threshold.

It had been almost five minutes now and neither of them had said a single word since they sat down at their usual spot.

Her suspicions about the identity of the eavesdropper was immediately confirmed the second she saw him sitting at the table. Naruto was obviously upset, with an open hand dug into his cheek, and the other picking at a loose crack in the old wood of the table.

Rei wasn't exactly in a great mood herself, the conversation she had with Mizuki definitely took her by surprise, and what was said very much annoyed her.

Talk like that regardless of merit or intention, had no place in the academy. Regardless of what she was brought to the academy to do, all students deserved to be treated the same. It was obvious that some that graduated weren't meant to be shinobi. That was what their jounin sensei exams were for, but she knew that some were destined to succeed. And it was the duty of herself and her colleagues to ensure the success of every graduate they possibly could.

As she stared ahead at Naruto, she could see the intensity in his eyes, the lines of hard work and exhaustion etched into his face, along with the edge of the scars he kept so carefully under his orange and black hoodie.

She saw only promise in Naruto, where others saw only problems, she saw potential, and she knew that others would see it eventually.

"What's shinobi supposed to act like?"

Rei looked up from her bowl of steaming broth and noodles, and saw naruto, with his bowl unsurprisingly empty, looking up at her expectantly. Rei smiled warmly at him, happy that, at least he was paying some attention to her lessons.

She noted the wording, and once again cursed Mizuki for his hasty words, and wondered idly if she should report the chunin to the Hokage. She decided against it, knowing that Naruto would really only be blamed for it in the end. Punishments for revealing triple S-rank secrets were rarely advertised to the public, and two chunin academy instructors disappearing, with a vague connection to Naruto would only cause more problems than it would solve.

She turned to pour him another bowl, speaking up for the first time in their little meals for the first time in what felt like ages.

"Well, that's not a very easy question to answer... But I suppose that depends on who you ask." She said as she poured the broth.

Rei went on as she continued to stir the bowl, "I can't really blame you for asking. Most of shinobi doctrine has to do with mainly strict shinobi conduct and duties, not necessarily day-to-day behavior." She said, adding the noodles and sauce to the broth mixture.

She placed the pots gently on the table, staring off into space as she pondered his question.

"Some would say that we should bear ourselves with distinction, like professionals. Others, that we should act as we please, no different than any other person. But I believe that it depends very much on the person."

The blonde squinted his eyes, sighing in an exasperated tone, "English please?"

She laughed, "Short answer, it depends, but if one defines for themselves what it means to be shinobi, I guess it means to do your best, and help as many people as you can."

Naruto paused before eating, opting to digest her words before the ramen for once. His chopsticks hung in the air for a moment before he dug in. A thoughtful look on his face before he stuffed it with noodles. And as quick as the silence left, it just as quickly returned.

Rei resisted the urge to sigh, feeling frustration well up inside her, but she ruthlessly squashed the feeling down, forcing the ugly feeling to disappear. She knew that it wasn't fair to feel frustrated that a boy that was ignored and quite frankly abused most of his life had trust issues when it came to teachers, and adults in general.

She was assigned specifically to address the rapid mood swings and changes in behavior that were observed in the young boy.

She could still remember the horribly misinformed file she received on her first day, and how hard she worked to fix the errors, the judgmental and discriminating statements and observations, as well as the paperwork that was needed to track down the editors of the horrid document and report them to the Hokage for the part they played in his mistreatment.

It was then that she knew that a small part of the Hokage would always resent the part that she played in the onslaught of paperwork that was brought to his desk. Even though it could be argued that she did only what she was ordered to.

But as she stared over at Naruto, all she felt was lost.

Lost on how to help him, or even where to start. She just wanted to help so badly it hurt.

'Kami help me.' She thought, staring at the boys that had already suffered so much, without anyone in his corner at all.

'And Kami help him too.'

---

'She's staring again.' Naruto thought, mildly panicking at the long stretch of silence.

'I. Am. Aware... You've said as much at least a hundred times by now. What would you have me do? Kill her if she's annoying you. If not than cease your mumbling and let me sleep in peace!' The fox snapped, his voice heavy with drowsiness, ready at any moment to dose off.

Naruto ate slowly, his stomach's voracious appetite nearly sated. He stared hard at his almost empty bowl, determined not to talk to his teacher anymore. He thought naively that if he asked a question than she'd be satisfied with that and leave him in peace, but predictably, it only made it worse.

Naruto snuck a glance here and there, and every time he saw her staring at him. Eventually he could feel the presence of the fox fully dissipate, any comfort from being accompanied by his reluctant companion. And like that, he was alone again.

Naruto remembered when he would visit Ichiraku's with Iruka-sensei, how happy he was back then.

It seemed like such a long time ago now, and Naruto could feel the memories begin to fade more and more every day.

His anger flared at the memories, and he felt the scars under his shirt burn. He looked up from his soup once more, watching her hawk-like eyes survey him. He snapped his gaze away, missing Iruka more and more every second.

For a second he could see him, not as he really was, but broken on the floor in front of him.

It was his fault.

His fault.

He felt the guilt so strongly that for a second, it felt almost as if it had just happened. Like those years of loneliness and grief were only a dream, and that it had only been a day before, instead of years.

He scratched at his shirt, suddenly feeling crowded and afraid for reason he didn't understand.

"Naruto?"

He looked up and saw Rei begin to rise out of her seat in alarm. He stopped the itching, placing his hands at his sides as non-threateningly as possible.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' He berated himself. It had been along time since anyone brought attention to his injuries. After all, he spent a long time trying to keep himself from drawing attention to them. It was normally only in private that he let himself feel the nagging rips in his flesh.

It was only when he thought too hard about what happened that it ever got this bad, and now Naruto just couldn't stop. He saw the blood, it was all over the table, all over his hands. In his hair, on his clothes, it was everywhere. He looked at his hands and immediately regretted it.

Dark dried blood caked his hands, blood and viscera under his fingernails. He covered his head with his hands, remembering just how long he spent in the bathroom trying to get the stuff out of his fingernail. He spent so much time there it was hard to distinguish his own blood from the stuff he was trying to get rid of.

He could tell he was making a scene, he could vaguely hear Rei calling out for him, and he desperately wanted her to stop. The last thing he wanted was attention, and her yelling was only making it all worse.

He clenched his teeth together, trying anything if only he could calm himself down.

"Stop trying to replace Iruka-sensei. You're not him." Naruto blurted. He clamped his mouth shut as soon as the words left his lips, Rei looking just as shocked as he felt.

He looked down, waiting for the shout of outrage and anger, but after a minute or two of silence, he realized that he would actually prefer to be yelled at.

After a minute more of agonizing silence, the quiet was interrupted by the sounds of clattering metal. Naruto looked up and saw Rei gather the pots and pans, her face impassive and still.

"No I'm not." She said, steadily gathering the items on the table, his bowl along with it.

She stopped packing her things for a moment, turning to look at him in the eyes, "And you aren't the nine-tailed fox."

Naruto flinched, not used to people mentioning his tenant yet. Rei didn't seem to notice, and finished up, placing the pots in a bag, slinging it over her shoulder and smiling at him.

"Well. Now that we've cleared up what we're not, let me tell you exactly who I am."

She bowed, "I'm Masako Rei, I've been a shinobi most of my life and I'm currently a chunin. I'm a decent academy instructor, and learn how to be a better one every day. And my goal in life is to teach people how to survive in this ninja world of ours."

She rose, straightening to her full height before gesturing to naruto. He complied after a moment, confused but strangely happy.

He stood to his feet fidgeting in place for a moment before speaking, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto..." He straightened and stood still.

Ever the instructor, Rei spoke up, "And what do you want Uzumaki Naruto? What can I help you with?"

Naruto felt excitement run through him, and a grin made its way across his face as he answered her, "...I wanna be the strongest ninja ever?"

Rei matched the grin, her happiness shining through her, as she walked around the table, laying a hand on his shoulder, "Then I am going to help you reach that goal. No matter what it takes." She knelt down, her face inches away as she stared into his very being.

"I want you to trust me Naruto. It's not gonna be easy, but I want to help you."

And he believed her, in that moment it all seemed to make sense. Why she had these meals with him, when other teachers wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole.

Kyuubi would call bullshit. If he was awake he would probably tell naruto to ignore her, or even give him things to say to make her go away.

The nine tailed fox, for all his faults, tended to be a good bullshit detector, and tended to spot when someone was trying to manipulate him.

But when Naruto looked into her eyes, he saw something that he only tended to see in his old teacher. Naruto seemed to remember the word from one of the few times he paid attention in class, 'Sincerity'.

Something about her in this moment seemed impossibly honest, and Naruto could see the raw emotion in her eyes when she looked at him. He felt his eyes begin to water, knowing in an instant what he was going to say.

He shouldn't, knowing exactly what would happen if he was wrong.

But Kami knew how much he wanted to believe her.

So Naruto smiled tightly, "Ok." He said, not trusting his voice not to crack.

Rei smiled even wider, "Thank you Naruto, really."

And at once, Naruto knew the name of the emotion he felt just then.

Hope, yes, that was it.

---

Sakura made her way across the lunch field, a bit too fast if you asked her, as Ino held her hand in a tight grip as she sped to Kami knew spotted various groups and clicks organized on certain tables and under trees as she passed them all by, led by the wrist by Ino. She blushed as she caught the strange looks some gave her.

"Ino where the hell are we going?"

Ino didn't turn around, but Sakura knew an eye roll when she saw one, "We're going to Naruto. I have some questions for him."

Sakura moaned in protest, "Why? Can't it wait?"

Ino merely shook her head, and after another minute of Ino leading a stumbling Sakura past the open field and towards the picnic tables behind the school. She eventually caught sight of naruto as he hopped off his seat at the table, where across from him was their teacher.

Sakura rolled her eyes, 'Probably just got into trouble again. Geez, this is gonna be such a pain.'

Ino waved at the boy with her other hand, "Hey, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto's head whipped around and gave a small smile at Ino, the lack of rudeness or sarcasm slightly surprising her. Even more surprising, was his move to wipe at his eyes, which on closer inspection, shined with unshed tears.

Naruto looked back at her teacher, wordlessly asking for permission, and Rei nodded her head. Naruto nodded back and jogged over to them.

"Hey Ino. What's up?" He asked cheerily.

Ino smirked devilishly "Aw Naruto-kun, I miss the days when you used to call me Ino-chan. I thought we were close..."

Naruto blushed and crossed his arms, "W-We are Ino. We're friends, I just don't call you Ino-chan any more."

Ino sighed dramatically, finally letting go of Sakura's hand to place a hand on her head, "I just miss it is all. I thought you cared about me."

Naruto tried his hardest to frown at her, but her words caused his face to redden even further, and his attempt to frown only ended up making his face look as if he were either severely constipated, or possibly about to explode.

Sakura giggled a bit when she realized why Ino probably hung out with Naruto so much.

'Poor Naruto. So easy to tease, he doesn't even know how in over his head he really is...'

She realized her mistake of drawing attention to herself when Ino grabbed her by the shoulders, leading her closer to the boy, "Anyway, this is Haruno Sakura. You know her right?"

Instead of answering, Naruto stopped, placing his index finger at the bottom of his chin, before getting way too close, appearing to be 'inspecting' her. Sakura could feel her own neck begin to flush, she clenched her fists in outrage, and prepared to slug the rude boy when he suddenly leaned back, and out of her personal space.

She was about to yell at him when he suddenly turned away from her, facing Ino.

"What's with the nickname?" Naruto asked.

Ino seemed just as confused as her, "...What?"

Naruto was either undeterred, or simply oblivious and asked again, "Why do you call her 'forehead'?"

Ino scoffed and Sakura felt the sting of the old insult resurface. It had been a long standing insult levied against her, so much so that when she was younger she used to wear a ribbon in her hair to distract from it. Instinctively she ran her hands running through her bangs, as if tugging on them would somehow make them grow longer.

"Well you've seen her, I know you've noticed it by now, you spent a good long minute just staring at it." Sakura gaped, both surprised that Ino would pull such a move, and also very embarrassed.

So that was why Ino was so eager to come up here, not to prove a point when it came to Naruto's apparent metamorphosis, just to use him to make fun of her. Her anger rose in a wave, and she prepared to clock the unsuspecting lackey when he spoke again, that dumb confused look still plastered on his face.

"I don't know, it doesn't look that bad. I mean I've seen worse. I once saw a guy in the market who looked like his whole head was a forehead." He said contemplatively.

A moment of unbroken silence passed, and while Sakura felt her face heat up at the complement and was about to thank the boy, and also definitely rub the complement in Ino-pig's fat face.

A look of shock and anger bloom on her blonde frenemy's face. Clearly expecting for the boy to side with her, rather than with her rival for love.

She felt giddy seeing just how angry and surprised Ino was, but when she looked at naruto, he seemed oblivious to the danger he was in, but also, serious, and a little confused. He was still staring at her, eyes not at all lustful or mocking, but genuine on a level she had never seen in the blond boy.

'He's... Being completely honest with me. He's not complimenting me at all.'

Ok, so he wasn't trying to make her feel better, but he was also deadly serious. He didn't see her as ugly becasue of her forehead, in fact he said he actually couldn't tell.

Sakura... didn't know exactly how to feel about that.

Naruto scratched at his head, still staring, "Yeah, I don't know. It seems kind of regular to me. I mean, maybe whatever, or whoever made us isn't all that creative."

Sakura piped up before she could stop herself, "Naruto, you know I have pink hair right?"

Naruto blushed in embarrassment, stuttering out a few jumbled words in response, "I… Well—Y-You know what I meant!"

Sakura laughed again at the sheer absurdity of the situation she found herself in. The boy was unbelievably dense, but also honest, in a wholesome and sweet kind of way, so she couldn't really bring herself to feel angry at someone like that.

Ino glared at naruto, Naruto surprisingly dodged the swipe of her hand, but unfortunately didn't see the kick to his shin. Naruto yelped in pain, backing up to put space in between himself and the violent Yamanaka, "What the hell Ino!"

Ino crossed her arms and pouted at him, "You're supposed to be my friend. Friends agree with each other, Sakura's my rival, you're not supposed to complement her!"

Naruto raised his hands up in outrage, his eyes scrunched up in confusion, "I didn't complement her, I just told the truth!"

Sakura winced in sympathy for his foolish move of raising his hands, becasue Ino capitalized on the mistake, kicking the boy's other shin as hard as she could. Naruto yelled again, this time jumping back on his other leg, muttering curses under his breath at the pain in both legs.

"You're absolutely nuts! I didn't even do anything!" He bellowed.

Sakura smirked at the girl, "He is right you know." Ino's face snapped to the pink haired girl, her anger more and more evident, before it eventually faded. Ino sighed, "Whatever. What are you even doing having lunch with our sensei anyway?"

Naruto scowled petulantly at her, inching as out a foot away, keeping his distance, "What the hell makes you think I'm gonna tell you?!"

Ino snorted dismissively, "Oh man up you little baby, I barely touched you."

Ino turned away, beginning to walk back to the academy building, "And besides, its not like it matters much, you probably just got in trouble for some childish prank you pulled. Come on Sakura, lets go." Ino marched down the hill, eventually disappearing among the crowd of students.

Naruto looked dejected at her departure, looking on well after she left.

Naruto frowned, kicking angrily at the dirt, "I don't even do that any more." He said.

That statement also peaked her interest. He didn't seem exactly happy about it, and when she thought about it, it seemed to ring true. She couldn't remember the last time he got in trouble for pulling pranks since their first year. When he was in trouble it was really for taking back and fighting, but that wasn't uncommon enough to warrant his apparent exile from society.

Sakura looked on in sympathy at Naruto, who looked right now like one of the loneliest boys in the world.

"Hey, I was gonna go study for the graduation test..." She heard herself say. The question was open ended, and she hoped that he would receive it, and possibly accept.

Her hopes were dashed when naruto shook his head, "Naah, class is about to start, and we really shouldn't be late."

Sakura laughed, "Yeah, I think that would be better for both of us." Naruto laughed too, "Yeah, especially me. One more time and I think I'd end up as a stain on the wall."

They both chuckled at that one, mostly becasue it was likely just a little too close to the truth.

"What about after class? I still have some homework and I wouldn't mind some extra help." Sakura offered. Naruto laughed awkwardly, holding his hand behind his head, "Yeah, I probably wouldn't be of much help, and I have a training thing with a... a friend."

Sakura's smile dropped a little, "Oh." Was all she said.

'Although, if he didn't want to hang out he could've just said so..' She thought angrily.

Naruto smiled again, putting on his best grin he could for the poor girl, "Well, I'll see you in class."

A moment of silence passed between them before Naruto inevitably departed, jogging down the hill and towards the academy building just as the bell rang.

As Sakura stood there watching as the blonde mystery jogged inside, she couldn't recall the last time she was this excited or curious in something other than a good book.

It was possible it was because, right now, that's what he was to her. She couldn't properly say they were friends, but she was definitely invested in learning more about him.

Sakura's eyes shone with determination, because if it was the last thing she did, it was going to be to uncover the secrets of this particular book.

---

Naruto could feel the excitement run through him like liquid lightning in his veins as he ran down the dirt road towards the training grounds.

Its only been a few minutes since he'd been dismissed, and he could feel his legs start to ache from the running, but he didn't care at all. The mere thought of being trained by Tori, enough to fuel his race to the training grounds.

He followed Tori's instructions and directions, eventually finding himself at training ground 8, wide empty field with splotches of grass mixed in with mostly dirt and some mud. He stopped running, eventually finding the middle of the training ground.

Naruto stood there for what felt like an eternity, before suddenly he felt something tap his shoulder. Naruto jumped with a yelp, turning around to see a stoic and unmoving Tori behind him. And although he could never see her face, he got the feeling that there was a bemused grin under the mask she wore.

Naruto scowled at the ANBU, "What's the big Idea Tori-chan? Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?"

Tori shook her head robotically, "No, but if simply being startled runs the risk of a heart attack in a young boy, we have more problems than your training to deal with first."

Naruto crossed his arms in a huff, but relaxed a bit since she did mention training.

"So what are we doing today?"

Tori said nothing, turning away to retrieve a bag that was placed behind her. She retrieved a single rubber ball, and a wooden kunai. She tossed the ball into the air, letting it fall into her hands, before she threw it straight at Naruto. He tried to dodge, but the ball hit him square in the head, knocking his head back, and eliciting a curse out of the young boy.

"Dammit!"

Tori threw the kunai, hitting naruto in the arm. The dull rounded tip making contact with his soft flesh, then bouncing harmlessly to the ground.

"Language." Tori drawled.

Naruto grit his teeth in pain, this time censoring himself upon the sight of another wooden kunai in Tori's hand.

Naruto flashed an irate look at the seemingly nonplussed ANBU, "What the fricking heck Tori-chan?"

The bird-faced ANBU turned and walked away a few meters before she eventually spoke, "As you know, I've been keeping tabs on your training, as well as your match against Sasuke. But what you may not know is that I've also been keeping track of your other taijutsu matches, the ones I could watch at least. And while your training has helped you, you face one critical shortcoming."

Tori leaned forwards, the black holes in her mask baring down on Naruto, making him feel just a little too much like some kind prey, just waiting for a predator to just swoop down and devour him.

"You are no shinobi yet. Your independent training has help your stamina, and strength, but you lack in finesse and speed."

Tori began to pace, walking in a circle around the young boy. Naruto didn't let up his guard for a second, always tuning to face her.

'Good...' she thought. 'Perhaps this may ultimately aid him more than I previously surmised.'

"What did you learn from your match with Sasuke?" She asked.

Naruto perked up in surprise, realizing that he really hadn't thought too hard about the fight at all. He remembered he got some good hits in, but it didn't really matter in the end. He was beaten. There really wasn't much else to know. Naruto shook his head, "He was fast... And really good."

Tori nodded, "And..."

Naruto's face scrunched up into a irritated frown when she realized that she wasn't going to give up until he gave an answer she liked.

"Ummm, well he fought weird. He used a bunch of moves that I've never seen before..."

Tori nodded, "All Uchiha were classically trained as soon as they were able to walk."

The ANBU continued pacing, staring intently at the blonde, "This is one of several hurdles you must jump through to continue to grow stronger. There will always be individuals that have trained harder, longer than you. You have to learn to incorporate all your skills and understand your weaknesses if you are going to thrive as a ninja."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically, liking the way this was sounding.

Tori played with the kunai in her hands, Turing it over and over in between her fingers, "I am going to bombard you with various projectiles and objects. For everything you make contact with, I want five laps around the entire training field.

Naruto's enthusiasm crashed to the ground, and his mouth gaped, a shout of outrage on his lips when suddenly the kunai Tori was holding rocketed from her hands and into his thigh. The impact sent pain shooting up his leg, but it was nothing compared to sinking feeling in his gut at the realization that he'd just been hit twice now.

Tori stared down, giving a small laugh at the Uzumaki's plight, and in an instant he knew that Rei must've set this up to punish him for being late earlier.

Tori pulled out another kunai, "By my count you have ten laps, then I start throwing again." Naruto groaned in despair and resignation, and although he couldn't see, he could definitely hear the smile in her voice, "Begin."

---

Naruto was up to the third step before he fell off this time, the explosion of chakra sending him sprawling until he landed hard on the ground. Naruto cursed bitterly when he got up, lamenting the small progress so far.

It had been about a week since him and Tori started training, and about a week left until the test. Much to the relief of Naruto's poor poor legs, the conditioning training was lessened to more of a warmup, the rest of Naruto's time being taken up by him practicing a technique that she said would help his 'chakra control'.

He'd been at it for days, but Naruto had little success. Mostly because Tori left him to his own devices for this training.

It had been about two hours since Tori left, and it was likely that she'd be back to make him go to bed. It was dark already, having spent all his time after finishing his exercises trying to climb this damn tree. It was the last thing she showed him before she left, and said that proficient training with this technique would give him better and better chakra control.

And hours later, and he was still only a couple of steps up.

With a growl of anger he swung his arms back, momentum and force righting himself, landing on his sore feet, and running full speed at the tree. He focused as he ran, feeling the chakra run down his body to his feet. He memorized the amount, and jumped from the ground, landing on the tree, feeling his feet catch on the bark, as he propelled himself forward— now up as he ran the length the tree.

He extended his leg, making the first step, then the second, then—

He slipped, feeling the world shift upright as he pitched violently forwards, slamming his head into the tree, before he fell unceremoniously to the ground.

He fell ass first, the momentum forcing him to roll away, eventually coming to a stop a few feet away. He lay there, massaging the growing knot in his head. He sat up with a raspy groan, and all he could hear was the sounds of nature, and the pumping of blood echoing in his ears.

He felt the pain fade as his typical fast healing set in, but with it came the voice, and Naruto missed the silence.

First it was laughter, deep and caustic, it vibrated through his entire being, spite and venom dripping from the bitter angry voice it came from. His vision blurred and melted in front of him, fading away to reveal the grinning face of the Kyuubi no kitsune, in all his terrible glory.

He was so close he could feel the hot breath from the creature, his face so close to the bars he was almost pressed against them.

The fox growled, deep and long, the vibrations shook his entire being, making him take a few steps back from the cage

"Do you know what true strength is Naruto?" The Kyuubi said.

Confusion replaced fear in his mind, and he relaxed a bit. Knowing that this was probably the start to one of his long, boring speeches.

"I heard that brat, and sit the hell down because you better listen to what I have to say!"

Naruto sighed, hoping that it was going to be some useful advice to help him climb this damn tree. But he obeyed, sitting down at the base of the tree he was closest to.

As soon as he sat, the Kyuubi began, "Strength is Autonomy."

Naruto quirked his head to the side in confusion, "Huh?"

Kyuubi rolled his eyes, "Autonomy is a lot like, Independence. The difference being that. Autonomy is the freedom to operate all by ones self. The power, to do what your want."

The great fox hummed in thought for a moment, "What do you think would happen if you managed to escape the village as you are now?"

Naruto frowned, "I'd be caught. Probably within a couple of hours."

The Kyuubi nodded, "Independence is the state of being isolated. The freedom to leave, to be alone. But not necessarily the freedom to remain alone. Autonomy is the ability to live and operate apart from anything else."

The fox's eyes grew distant as his mind went backwards in time, "I was Autonomous. I needed nothing. As a Bijuu, I need not eat, sleep, drink, or speak. I watched the mountains grow, kingdoms and civilizations grow and fall. I watched nature transform until it became the world as you and I know it today. Back then I ruled myself. I experienced the world free from the distractions and noise of humans. I went sometimes decades without coming into contact with any sentient beings at all." The Kyuubi closed its eyes as a wistful sigh left his nostrils, "Freedom along with silence, must be gifts from Kami himself. The bliss and peace they awarded me is without measure or equal. The freedom to walk the forests uninterrupted, undisturbed..."

He opened his huge eyes, the pupils dilating, "I had power. The world bent at my whim. I could destroy mountains, valleys, entire segments of the earth with a mere touch of my paw, nothing was beyond my reach or control."

And that's when Naruto felt it, the anger. And along with it, deep anguish and sadness, and it was then that Naruto realized how much the Kyuubi ached to leave the seal. How much it hurt for such a gargantuan creature to be confined to a seal no larger than a dinner plate.

The Kyuubi relaxed after a moment, looking at Naruto past the bars, his form puny and small in his eyes, "THAT, is what you need Uzumaki. And it can only be granted by you. You must fight to grow stronger, to someday leave the shackles that restrain you behind. Or you will remain here. Remain a naive fool with foolish dreams and foolish ideals. Here you will remain, a fool, and a slave."

Silence was the only response that Naruto had for all of that, "So, you're saying that Tori and Rei helping me is a bad thing?"

The Kyuubi sighed deeply, "I'd be a fool to say that it was, but the weakness lies in your dependency on them. It's crippling you, coddling you, tricking you into thinking that its okay to lean on these people."

Naruto nodded, he had gotten far on his own. It had been about four years since he'd been talking with the Kyuubi, and not in all those times had he led him astray. In his eyes, the Kyuubi was his very first teacher. The first he'd bothered to listen to anyways.

He taught him how to handle bullies, hecklers, training, even talking to the grown ups in the village. He taught him about who he really was, and past all the shouting, the name-calling, and the arguing, he was convinced that the Kyuubi really was rooting for him. In his own angry, loud, irritating kind of way.

The Kyuubi broke him out of his inner thoughts when he spoke again, "Lest your forget about what happened between you and that fool the Hokage."

Naruto's first impulse was to freeze up at the mention of the Sandaime, but his rage blew way past any reaction he might have had. In his mindscape he stared down the fox, his eyes narrowed and furious, "If you think I'd ever forget about that, then you're the fool, not me."

The fox brushed off the stare like it was a bit of dust on his fur. The Kyuubi sneered at him, "That bravado of yours is meaningless unless there's action behind it, and last I checked, there's one jutsu that many would consider easy, that is keeping you from graduating from you, 'academy'."

Naruto's stare grew in intensity, as now stomped forward, a finger pointing angrily at the fox, "You know damn well how hard I've been working to fix that! Hell, I'd be working on it right now if your hadn't brought me down here to lecture me!"

The Kyuubi huffed and turned away, "I wouldn't have to say anything if you'd merely do the bare minimum. There are those in you're class that couldn't even touch you in a fight, but can accomplish more than you can in this exact moment."

Naruto exploded, "And what exactly have you given to help me you lousy son of a bitch!?"

The fox grinned, "The very tool you take for granted at this very moment.

In an instant, the fox violently kicked him out of the mindscape, sending him back to his seated position under the tree. But it was only a second until he noticed it. Naruto stared at his arms, feeling the raw chakra pulse inside of them. He felt it everywhere. His arms, his legs, his entire body was thrumming with a rampaging energy—chakra— throughout his entire body.

He felt his heartbeat in his ears as he felt the adrenaline pump along with the chakra. He heard nothing but his heartbeat for a moment until the nine-tails spoke again, "This is the weapon I've given you. Your anger will e your strength. I can influence your techniques, make you stronger, all you need is to look within."

It was then that the Kyuubi left him, left the gift behind inside him.

He could do this, all he had to do was try. So he did, he shot up from the ground, and sprinted across the field. He felt the energy empower his movements, fuel the running engine inside him as he pumped his arms.

He could feel the chakra make him faster, stronger. After a second of running, he pivoted on his leg, turning 180˚, drilling a shallow hole into the earth.

Naruto grinned, 'This feels awesome! I feel like I can do anything like this."

"Not anything, not yet..." The Kyuubi rumbled.

Naruto turned his eyes to the tree, specifically eyeing the exposed bark from his third step up on the tree. He lowered himself onto the ground, getting into his runners stance before launching into a sprint.

He felt the wind beat at his face, the wind whipping his clothing, he ignored all of it. He focused on the tree, and only the tree as he ran.

The tree got closer and closer, until he finally leapt, his feet approaching the tree at an angle.

A loud crack echoed through the air, and naruto found himself bereft of the hot, powerful chakra, and also flying at an angle through the air. He felt dozen of branches break against him, scratching and cutting him at all angles, until he finally came to a stop when he his a branch that refused to break.

He got the wind knocked out of him on impact, so he laid there, wheezing and coughing.

He finally got air back into his lungs and sat up, only to find him on the top of a tree. He looked down, and saw that not only was he about ten feet in the air, but he also saw that the tree, or what was left of it, was cracked completely in half.

Naruto gaped at the tree, wincing as he felt something click when he opened his mouth too widely. So he just stared at the destruction he somehow caused.

Naruto groaned, leaning back into his bed of leaves and broken branches.

Well, at least he could confidently say that he accidentally created a new jutsu.

'One step forward, two steps back. Now I'm in a tree...' He thought ruefully.

He sighed, only speaking after a long moment of silence, "You know Kyuubi, you're a shit teacher."

The Kyuubi didn't speak for a long time, and Naruto could distinctly feel surprise, and then disappointment from the creature.

'Apparently he didn't expect this either.'

Naruto just shook his head at that. It was beginning to dawn on Naruto that is was possible that maybe the nine-tailed fox really might not be the best when it came to giving advice.

He may be pretty much made of chakra, but it didnt sound like he really knew how to use it like a human, only like a fox.

The fox in question snorted his attention turning from him, "Or perhaps, you're a poor student."

Naruto just wheezed out a long tired sigh, laying his head back into the crushed leaves an branches

"Oh, go fuck yourself Kyuubi."

---

Hinata was very careful to make as little noise as possible as she crept behind tree after tree. It was especially hard in the forest, where a plethora of leaves and branches littered the ground, each snap of a twig, or the crinkling of dead leaves heralding her approach.

So she held a hand over her mouth as she held her back to a sturdy tree as she watches as leaves and debris from the trees around her continued to fall to the floor. He heard Naruto grunt in pain somewhere above her.

Hinata forces herself to remain still and silent as she just stood there, her mind racing after what she'd just seen

As a Hyuuga, Hinata had many years of her life studying and observing chakra. It was one of the many advantages to her clan's bloodline limit, the ability to see chakra.

And Hinata was more than certain that as far as she'd heard, she'd never knows chakra to change colors, much less behave how she had just witnessed.

Hinata whirled her head around, her Byakugan activated as she searched Naruto's form for injuries, but also to scan for that strange chakra she just saw. Surprisingly, she saw no noticeable injuries, and no trace of the bright orange chakra she saw.

Hinata relaxed with a deep sigh, then she covered her mouth quickly in an effort to suppress the noise. She waited, but after a moment or two of nearly complete silence she finally let herself calm down.

Just as soon as she did, she heard another noise as she heard the noses of leaves and branches rustling, then a short yelp followed by a loud thud. Hinata turned, and instantly crouched down as she saw a familiar flash of orange then the sound of Naruto groaning in pain.

Hinata's eyes widened, and watched in complete disbelief as Naruto just got up, stretched, and then launched himself at another tree. Her feet were rooted to the ground, as she stared ahead, watching naruto just... get up, from what definitely should've been serious injuries, and almost complete chakra exhaustion.

Hinata wouldn't in her wildest dreams consider herself a doctor or nurse, but she didn't think she had to be to know that Naruto should be dead right now.

But despite herself, despite everything she just witnessed, she felt her lips tug upwards into a nervous smile. It struck her that in this moment, this close to her Idol, she didn't feel afraid at all.

She was definitely worried, and a little shaken, but she despite herself, she could only feel inspired. More so than she thought she might be, after watching naruto for as long as she had been.

Hinata loved watching him train, to watch him get up again and again was truly inspiring. It was why she came, that and also to fool herself into thinking that she'd finally work up the courage to finally talk to him.

Hinata glanced around her, specifically eyeing the splintered tree, 'Maybe right now is not the best time...'

She shook herself out of her stupor, realizing that she had been there for too long now. Her father had made good on his promise to inspect her and her sister Hanabi for the title of clan head. He attended every match between them, and constantly provided input for training.

Mostly on the behalf of her sister; the preferred heir, but for her occasionally.

Her and her sister hadn't sparred in a while, and Hinata had really been preparing for this one in particular, as it was meant to be a test of their progress so far.

Hinata dreaded the matches between her and her sister. When her mother was still alive, it felt like the both of them were really close, but ever since her passing, the rivalry between them seemed more and more personal.

Hinata had nothing but love for her sister. Beyond all the pressure put on her by her father and her clan, Hanabi would always be her sister, and nothing would change that. Just like Neji would always be her cousin, even though it felt like those facts, once immutable truths, felt muddled by the interference of the responsibilities she had to carry as a result of her status as clan heir.

Or rather, her previous status.

She turned around to leave, but not before taking one more peek at Naruto, watching him rise from what had to have been his hundredth fall, and almost instantly get back up again.

She smiled, 'Father may be certain that I'm not fit to be the clan heir, but maybe its not too late to make him regret it.'

And with that encouraging thought, she swiftly made her exit from the training grounds, slowly at first, eventually breaking into a run. Her training garb flowing in the wind behind her as she ran.

'Thank you Naruto...'

---

Naruto slammed back down to the harsh forest floor, dust and leaves dusting his face as he landed awkwardly on his head and back. He flopped to the ground on his side, the grunt that passed his lips a mixture of pain and deep frustration.

'Just a few more steps..'

Naruto picked himself off the floor as quickly as he could, which probably wasn't very quick at all. Eventually he got up, stumbling to his feet as he panted in exertion.

He took a handful of quick breaths, consciously taking deeper and deeper ones, before taking off into a run as soon as he caught his breath. He forced himself to calm down, trying as hard as he could to visualize what Tori showed him.

The ANBU raised a foot in the air, her left hand clenched into a half ram seal. She pressed the raised foot to the tree, and steadily walked up the tree slowly.

Almost effortlessly she shifted her feet so her body hung in front of an open mouthed Naruto as the young blonde watched Tori stand parallel to the ground, her right arm facing the ground.

"Imagine yourself using your chakra to stick to the surface of the tree."

Rei then turned to face the ground, and smoothly walked from the tree, back down to the grassy floor of their training ground. Naruto just continued to stare, but he did close his open mouth with a quiet pop.

Tori stared at him, and Naruto he didn't know any better, He'd think that he heard the ANBU give a short huff of laughter.

But before the blonde could call her on it, she began to walk away, leaving him next to the old oak tree, "You have a few hours until its time for you to head back home, please try not to damage anything while I'm gone."

Ad that was how she left him, and he tried valiantly to attempt exactly what she showed him.

After about a second, Naruto leapt and landed his foot on the tree, his stomach lurching, the abnormal vertigo of the movement making his head spin as he felt his sandal catch on the hard bark of the tree.

He did his best to keep his momentum, and swung his other leg forward to continue the climb...

'Brat...' A familiar but anger voice growled.

'Huh? What? No!'

Naruto foot slipped and his world quick flipped as he quickly righted himself, only to face-plant hard against the tree.

He bounced away from the tree, and landed hard on the ground.

His hands raised to his face as he cursed loudly in anger and pain, as if his hands covering his face would somehow soothe the pain in his head and face. After a few seconds of writhing on the ground and making sure he wasn't bleeding, he heard the voice again, 'I thought I warned you of the folly of listening to those humans...'

'What the hell are you talking about you damn fox!?"

The Kyuubi growled angrily, and Naruto felt the fox's chakra surge inside him, 'I warned you that trusting the humans was folly. I have told you time and time again where to find power. Why do you continue to ignore my wisdom?'

Naruto felt his own anger rise at the fox's words "Wisdom!?"

The irate Uzumaki then felt himself being pulled deeper inside his own mind, and this time he was prepared, if not a little shaken up by the transition that had him face to face with the fox once again.

Naruto ignored the feeling of fear in his chest and pointed angrily at the snarling fox in front of him, "It wasn't 'the humans' that exploded me into a tree, and it wasn't those pesky humans that made me trip face first into a tree just now!" Naruto yelled.

The Kyuubi snarled in anger, "You misunderstand me, stupid boy..."

The fox growled angrily, and his angry scowl contorted into a vicious sneer, "Unless I am mistaken, you're lack of control over my chakra... Your failure, is the very reason you are in this situation is it not?"

Naruto's eyes widened, as flashes of gore and a bloodstained hitai-ate went through his mind. Naruto felt tears prickle at the corners of his eyes and he rubbed at them vigorously, "Fuck you."

The fox just laughed at him, and Naruto felt the connection break. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the clearing.

Naruto scowled, the memory fading from his mind.

Naruto stood still, and turned to stare at the tree for a long moment. After a minute of silent staring, the blonde smirked, "I think you misunderstood me you dumb fox bastard!"

His words got the expected response, and he felt the fox's anger spike. Naruto ignored the fox and just squared his feet, facing the tree.

"If you think I'm giving up on using your chakra, you've got another thing coming. But I'm gonna do it MY way!"

He heard the Kyuubi growl in protest, "Foolish boy..."

He shut the connection, ""Screw you. I've worked hard to get this far, and if I'm gonna get any further I've gotta do it myself. So yeah, screw you. Screw you, screw them, screw anyone that says I can't do this."

Naruto eyed the tree that now lay in half, looking around until he found a suitable replacement. He found one, zeroing in on it.

Naruto shook out his arms and legs, digging his heels into the ground, "I swear to Kami and everything else that I'll pass this damn test if its the last thing I do."

And then he ran, then he jumped, ran, and fell. In that order, all the way until he could see a familiar silhouette appear for him.

It was about 30 minutes before Tori came for him, but it was 10 minutes before that when he made his fourth step up the tree. He didn't say anything to Tori about it, but he swore to himself that eventually, he'd make it up the rest of that tree. He didn't care if it took him the rest of his life, he'd climb that tree, he'd perfect that damn clone jutsu and he was gonna be one of the strongest ninja the world had ever seen.

You'd better, fucking, believe it.

---

A/N- Betas requested. Hope you enjoyed the story so far. This'll be a LONG one lol.