"Talking"

'Thinking'

Jutsu/ Bijuu/ Summons

Flashbacks and Setting

I don't own Naruto or its characters

Chapter 6: Narumi's 1st Day

Beginning of the Academic Year

Narumi couldn't mask the excitement as she walked hand in hand with her older brother. She was finally entering the Academy! Her mind whirred through all the possibilities. She could make new friends! She could learn to be a kick-ass ninja like her brother was! Maybe she'd even meet a guy who would sweep her off her feet like she read in her little shoujo-manga.

Naruto was happy for his little sister, but couldn't help but worry. Though a lot of people respected his strength and saw him as his father's successor, they weren't so kind with his sister. A lot of people avoided her and alienated her, though most people didn't outright mistreat her, fearing Naruto's wrath. He had been ANBU for 3 years now, and he had continued to get stronger and develop a reputation during that time, now known and acknowledged in Konoha as one of its elite.

Narumi and Naruto soon arrived at the Academy, where a new batch of students were all present with their parents. Narumi didn't have her parents with her, but she didn't mind so much, as she had her reliable brother with her. He himself was only 14, but to her he felt an adult, as he carried himself like one, and everyone treated him as one. Well, other than Itachi nii-san, Izumi nee-chan, Shisui nii-san, and Mikoto oba-san.

She looked around for any familiar faces, and saw the Uchiha Sasuke and his mother, who she considered family. Many in the clan still disliked her though, as her continued affiliation with the clan only added suspicion and distrust to the intentions of their clan. Their reputation had taken a hit following the Kyuubi incident.

The 5 Uchiha who really knew her were very fond of the energetic red head though. It was hard for anyone to hate the girl when they really got to know her. She was kind, compassionate, caring, and loyal. Positive vibes all around.

When the Uchiha family saw the familiar red and yellow mops of hair within the crowd, they smiled and walked over to them.

"Naruto! Narumi! How are you two?" Mikoto asked as she greeted them with a hug.

"I'm doing quite well Mikoto oba-san. Looks like Narumi here is ready to start her journey as a shinobi. She's been talking about it non-stop ever since her birthday." He replied with a chuckle.

The Uchiha woman laughed softly. "Our Sasuke-kun has been quite excited to join as well. Something about proving himself or something." Sasuke had a good childhood mostly, but he struggled to prove himself to his father, who was too busy with clan head duties and overseeing the Uchiha Military Police Force. The younger son of the clan head was also constantly compared to the genius of his elder brother, and he was desperate to leave Itachi's shadow.

"Hey! Just wait and see. I'll show you I can be just as strong as Itachi nii-san!" Sasuke declared with all the conviction a 7-year-old could muster. Well, any 7-year-old that wasn't Naruto trying to reclaim custody of his sister that is.

Naruto gave Sasuke a smile. He saw the boy as a younger brother, the way Itachi saw Narumi as a younger sister. "I'm sure you will, Sasuke-kun," He responded in a genuine way. "Maybe if you and Narumi reach the top scores of your class, I could show you a jutsu or two."

Meanwhile, the new students in front of the school stared, and the students in the classes poked their heads out of the windows to look at the interaction between the two families. That new student was so handsome! The son of the clan head of the elite Uchiha clan had the looks to match his prestigious background. Many of the girls swooned. And he seemed to be familiar with the rising star and son of the Yondaime! He stole many of their hearts instantly.

"Really? You'll teach me jutsu?" Sasuke looked at Naruto with stars in his eyes. Sasuke looked up to Itachi more than anyone, even more than his own father, who even admitted that Itachi and Shisui were prodigies unseen in the Uchiha clan since maybe Madara. Naruto and Shisui were the only ones who matched up to that level, with Itachi claiming they were stronger than him. Sasuke didn't believe Itachi though.

"By top scores, do you mean in everything? Or top of the class in some categories? I think I could manage some." Narumi asked for clarification.

"I mean top scores like getting Kunoichi of the year." Naruto clarified. "It's supposed to be difficult. I want you to set goals that are difficult to attain, so you have something to work towards."

"Aww man! I hate studying book stuff though! Ughhhh it's sooooo boring! I'll take training over nerdy book work any day of the week!" the red-haired girl was annoyed at having to study boring things like history.

"That nerdy book stuff might be the difference between a successful mission and a failed one, imouto." Naruto tried to reason. "Imagine going on a mission to broker a deal between the Daimyo and you offend him because you were ignorant of the history and relationship between his country and a neighboring one. Or maybe you run low on supplies and become forced to forage for food, but don't know what's safe to eat or what's dangerous. Maybe you don't remember the rules of engagement and spark a war between villages."

"Ok, ok I get it. Sheesh. Fine I'll try to work on my book studies too nii-chan." Narumi sighed in resignation.

"Good. Now remember, be friendly and nice, but don't let people push you around. Focus on your studies, and most importantly, don't be a fan girl." Naruto advised Narumi.

Mikoto also gave similar advice to her son, preparing him for his entrance into academy life, similar to what the other parents were doing.

A Chunin named Umino Iruka soon appeared at the entrance of the Academy and announced the classrooms for the new students, and ushered them in, as the parents waved goodbye to their children, wishing them good luck in their new chapter of life.

Narumi's Classroom

"Told you that was the wrong room baka." Sasuke told Narumi, rubbing it in her face.

"Sheesh, I said it was my bad. I got the numbers mixed up in my head." Narumi said defensively.

"That's why I said I should be the one to lead us." Sasuke reminded his redheaded friend, as they opened the door to their correct classroom.

The two friends were to last to enter their classroom, and everyone in the room turned their heads to see their classmates who came in late.

The girls thanked Kami. The Uchiha prince was in their class! This was perfect! Now they had the opportunity to make him theirs! They were annoyed to see his closeness with the redheaded bitch their parents told them to avoid though.

The younger members of the village were unaware of the fact that Narumi was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, as the Sandaime Hokage deemed the identity of their jinchuuriki an S-class military secret, hoping to avoid losing her to other villages. However, it didn't stop the older members of the village from encouraging their children to stay away from the volatile container, who they feared might release the Kyuubi at any moment, or at least be influenced into harming their children.

"Hey! Why don't you take a seat here?" Offers to sit next to them rang out from all over the room. Narumi smiled at all the offers, and walked up with Sasuke to take a seat at one of the seats that were left open. When the two friends reached the spot, Sasuke sat down next to a girl who looked like she won the lottery. Narumi tried to sit down too, when a bag was quickly placed in the seat.

"Yeah, this spot is taken." A girl told Narumi, with a scowl on her face. "Go sit somewhere else." She added, not bothering to mask her rudeness.

Narumi's heart sank a bit as she looked around for other seats, and saw the same uninviting look on every face, and sensed their negative emotions towards her. She tried to hold her forced smile, not wanting to show them how much it hurt her, but her lips shook as it began to falter. Luckily, she spotted the waving hand of her friend Hinata in the back who had a bunch of empty seats next to her.

Hinata was too shy; entering a room full of strangers, and being forced to sit so close to them was too much for her. Hinata had found a spot that was far from everyone else, where she could enjoy her space.

"Hinata!" Narumi cried out in relief, and ran over to take a seat next to her.

Sasuke saw how these shallow bitches treated his friend and got up from his seat and joined Narumi and Hinata, much to the chagrin of his new fan girls.

"Didn't see you there Hyuuga." Sasuke explained why they didn't just sit with her in the first place, as he took his seat. Her quiet demeanor really made her presence easy to overlook.

"I-it's ok Sasuke-kun. I'm just glad you and Narumi-chan are in the same classroom as me." Hinata told Sasuke and Narumi.

This was indeed a special classroom. Not only was Hinata in this classroom, but a bunch of other clan heirs were in this class. The Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, and Hyuuga Clan heirs were all in this class. Other children of clan heads such as Sasuke or the son of the Inuzuka Clan head were also in the mix. Throw in a couple children of civilian council members, and this class was already the talk of the school.

"Alright, everyone settle down." Iruka, the homeroom sensei of the class said, as he entered the class. Nobody listened except for Hinata. Iruka's eyebrow began to twitch.

"I SAID EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN!" He yelled, using his jutsu which enlarged his head and amplified his voice with chakra. That caught everyone's attention, and they finally became quiet.

"Alright class, welcome to your first day at the Academy. I'm Umino Iruka, your homeroom sensei, and this is my assistant, Mizuki." He pointed a white haired Chunin who stood next to him.

"This school has produced some of the finest shinobi of our village over the years, and with hard work, maybe you'll be one of them." Iruka began. "We'll be covering the basics and forming your foundation in this first year, before moving on to more advance topics in later years. I know some of you come from clans and might be ready for more advanced things, but I want to get everyone on the same page, and it's an opportunity for you to brush up on and improve on the basics. I hope you are all aware that a firm foundation is the key for future growth."

He passed the floor to his assistant, the Chunin named Mizuki. "We'll be covering reading and writing, basic math skills, history, chakra basics, and intro to kunai and shurikenjutsu this year." Mizuki gave the floor back to Iruka.

Narumi groaned. This is not what she expected. Boring, boring, boring.

Iruka gave a quick glare to Narumi for the outburst before continuing. "I know many of you are excited to get started, but today is more of an introduction day. We'll shortly cover the syllabus for each course, and have a tour around the Academy to get you all familiar with the facilities. Before we start all that, we'll all be introducing ourselves, so that we can get familiar with each other. We need to know what to call each other right?" He looked at the students to make sure they were paying attention before continuing.

His eyebrow twitched in annoyance when he caught someone sleeping. It hadn't been 10 minutes since class, no, their Academy lives, began and someone was sleeping already. Unacceptable. He threw the chalk he was holding at a boy who had black hair tied into a spiky ponytail, resembling a pineapple. He woke up when the chalk hit him in the forehead. He sighed and slowly sat up.

"As I was saying, we'll be starting with introductions. I want names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams. Why don't we start with you, Mr. 'I'm gonna sleep on my first day of class'?"

The pineapple haired boy sighed. "This is so troublesome. Well, my name is Nara Shikamaru. I like to sleep, relax and watch the clouds, and to play shougi. I dislike troublesome things. Hobbies are the same as my likes. My dream is to become an average ninja and live an average life that's not troublesome."

Iruka sighed at the unenthusiastic introduction. This was going to be a long day.

In the Uchiha Compound

"I'm so fucking tired. We've been working double-shifts when we work at the police station, and they make us take mission after mission when we're not. We barely get any rest, working to protect and maintain the peace of this village, and how do they thank us? With looks of suspicion and distrust." A disgruntled clansman complained to another in a bar in the compound.

"We do the most work in this damn village! And we barely get thanked for it! I swear these people are so fucking entitled. We're the strongest clan in this village, and contribute the most to it too. We should be praised for our dedication, but instead these people look at us like we're criminals. Can you believe it? We're the fucking police!" An equally unhappy Uchiha replied.

The disgruntled Uchiha clansman continued, spurred on by his friend's agreement. "I can't believe they think we were responsible for the Kyuubi, just because we didn't suffer too many losses and the Senju Clan was wiped out. Not our fault they pushed us to the edges of the village, far from where the Kyuubi struck. As for the Senju? Man, I'd say they were already on their way out. They hadn't produced any notable shinobi since Tsunade. We got powerhouses like Itachi and Shisui. Not our fault the Senju got their weak-asses handed to them."

The unhappy Uchiha nodded in agreement. "This village is so full of shit. I can't believe that old monkey took the spot back as Hokage. If you ask me, it was time for an Uchiha Hokage. We were one of the founding Clans for Kami's sake! Instead, we had 2 Senjus and their lapdog Sarutobi as 3 of our 4 Hokages. Then they made a clan less orphan a Hokage, instead of one of ours."

"To be fair though, that clan less orphan was the strongest shinobi in our village." The disgruntled Uchiha commented.

"All that strength didn't mean anything when he died to the Kyuubi, now did it?" The unhappy Uchiha fired back.

"No. It did not." A different voice answered back.

The unhappy Uchiha didn't notice the difference in voices. "Damn right it didn't. Just left us with a whole bunch of problems. Like his wannabe-Uchiha brats. Can't believe Fugaku lets that stupid Kyuubi brat enter our compound like that. Isn't he concerned at all that the Kyuubi might break out in our compound?"

"Not particularly." That third voice replied.

"Huh?" The two Uchiha clansmen said in unison as they turned around, finally realizing that someone else was standing behind them.

"Fu-Fugaku-sama!"

"Interesting conversation you were having there." The Uchiha Clan head commented.

"W-we were just discussing current affairs Fugaku-sama." "We were just worried about the clan you see." The two stammered out, trying to cover their loose talking.

"I see. Mind sharing your concerns with me? After all, it is the clan head's duty assuage concerns of the clan, is it not?" Fugaku asked in a calm tone, which only served to scare the two Uchiha.

"We were just discussing how the Uchiha Clan is not getting the proper respect it deserves. We have some of the strongest shinobi in the village, play the biggest role in its internal security, and we're the only surviving founding clan, but people look at us like we've done something wrong, and they don't treat us with the respect they used to." The disgruntled Uchiha clansman told Fugaku.

"That Narumi girl isn't helping. Her coming over like that is only making the villagers suspect us more of being behind the Kyuubi incident." The unhappy Uchiha added.

"I see. Your concerns are understandable. However, it is improper to be speaking like this in public." Fugaku told the two.

"Apologies Fugaku-sama. This won't happen again." The two quickly responded.

"Good. Now if you have any problems, or concerns regarding the clan, come speak to me." Fugaku told the two clansmen. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I want you both to come to the Naka Shrine tonight. We're having a meeting concerning clan matters." He turned around and to leave. "Don't worry about the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. She'll serve her purpose." He left with that cryptic message.

He had a rare smile on his face as he walked away from the bar, thinking about the fear the two Uchiha clansmen showed at his presence. 'I still got it' He thought to himself smugly.

"The Naka Shrine? Underground? Why are we having a clan meeting there?" The disgruntled Uchiha asked the unhappy Uchiha.

"I dunno. Guess we'll find out." He answered.

A few hours later, at the Academy

Iruka slumped over at his desk. Yup. It was a long day. Just as he expected. He had a strange bunch of students in his class. Some were too enthusiastic, some were too lazy, some had no personality, while some had too much. Some were too quiet, some too loud. There was no way all these kids were going to get along. He could already see the seeds of drama taking root as well. Why couldn't he have some normal kids for once?

Parents were gathered outside, waiting to pick up their kids from their first day of Academy. The newest additions to the Academy poured out of the class room when it was 3:30. One by one, parent and child began to go back home, and the busyness of the Academy slowly died down until it became quiet.

Naruto picked up Narumi from school and was walking her back home.

"So, Narumi, how was your first day of school?" He asked his sister.

"Ummm, it was fun!" she lied. Her fantasies of school life were shattered the moment she entered her classroom. She didn't want to worry her brother however.

"Is that right? Anything interesting happen today?" the blonde ANBU asked.

Her mind immediately went to the incident that happened a few hours ago.

Flashback

"Ok, now how about you go?" Iruka pointed at Narumi, indicating it was her turn for introductions.

Narumi stood up to talk. "Hi! I'm Namikaze-Uzumaki Narumi! Nice to meet you all! I like ramen, my older brother Naruto, and Hinata and Sasuke, and Mikoto oba-chan. And… oh! Shisui nii-chan and Itachi nii-chan too! I dislike mean people and bullies, and people who judge others before getting to know them."

A few of the people in the classroom felt uncomfortable, knowing she was talking about them. 'How dare she!' 'I'll show her her place!' 'Stay away from my Sasuke, you slut!', were some of the thoughts of her bullies.

"My hobbies include training with my brother, playing with my friends, and learning about seals! My dream is to become Hokage of this village! Oh yeah! And to become part-owner of Ichiraku's!" She concluded.

Iruka smiled at her enthusiasm and child-like innocence. His smile soon turned into a frown when laughter rang out through the classroom.

"You? Hokage? You wish! Tomato!" The whole class, save for a few, began to burst out in laughter and began mocking her relentlessly, each one trying to outdo the other with a funnier and meaner way to mock her dreams and Narumi herself. Narumi's hopeful enthusiasm shriveled away again. She quietly sank into her seat. Her eyes began to tear up, and her lips began to shake, as she struggled to hold back the flood gate of tears. It wasn't supposed to be like this! The Academy was supposed to be the place where she began to make her dreams come true! Hinata was worried, and felt bad for her friend, and Sasuke was glaring daggers at everyone laughing.

Iruka tried to calm the class down, but to no avail.

Haruno Sakura, a pink-haired daughter of a civilian councilwoman, joined in, glad to finally not be the butt of someone's jokes, and happy to be part of the crowd for once. "Look! The tomato is about to cry! Quick! Get your cups ready! Maybe she'll cry tomato juice!" The class roared in laughter. Sakura felt good when her joke was acknowledged by the class. It felt good to be part of the cool crowd.

A pretty blonde girl, and heiress of the Yamanaka Clan, who had been sitting next to Sakura, looked at her friend in disgust. Yamanaka Ino had protected and rescued the pink-haired girl from bullies who made fun of her large forehead, and now here she was, doing the same thing to others. Ino hated bullies. She was one of the few students who weren't laughing.

"Sakura!" She hissed quietly, as she poked her ribs with her elbows. "What are you doing?!"

"What? It's just a joke. Everyone else thought it was funny. Don't be jealous just because you didn't think of it!" Sakura brushed off Ino.

"I can't believe you of all people are doing this! Can't you see how miserable she looks? She's about to cry!" Ino felt terrible for Narumi.

"Who cares? If she can't take a joke, she's probably a loser anyway. Besides, my mom told me she's bad news. Apparently, we should all stay away from her." Sakura told her blonde friend.

Ino had heard similar warnings to keep her distance from the redhead in the past. She was told she was dangerous. But Ino was an independent girl, and didn't just obey her parents blindly, especially if she didn't understand why. She hadn't ever really talked to the girl before, but she knew this was wrong.

Sakura soaked up the praises and positive responses she got for her joke, and decided to get more. She got up from her seat with her water bottle and went over to Narumi. "Hey tomato! Tilt your head a little to the side when you cry, will you? I do enjoy some freshly squeezed tomato juice!"

The class went crazy, and people were on the floor, howling with laughter. The Inuzuka Clan head's son, Kiba, was literally howling. Sakura saw this as a good sign and took it further. She put her open bottle and placed the opening under Narumi's eyes, who was bright red from the embarrassment. Sadly, with her face, round with baby fat, turning red to match her hair color, she did indeed look reminiscent of a tomato.

Narumi was about to burst out in tears, when she remembered her brother's advice in the morning. 'Don't let people push you around, Narumi.' She reminded her self. She gathered her breath and courage. She suddenly got up, and slapped the bottle out of Sakura's hands, and Sakura suddenly stopped laughing.

The pinkette's eyes widened when she saw a punch coming for her face. Her civilian reflexes were inadequate for her to avoid it, and took it straight to the chin. She crumpled to the ground. The class was silenced in an instant.

"Who said I look like a tomato!" Narumi screamed in fury, as she turned around to look at her classmates who had been laughing a few seconds ago. They saw the fire in her eyes, and swore her hair was starting to flail behind her. Most of them wisely shut their mouths.

Kiba, while very sensitive to the feelings of animals, and dogs in particular, was not very adept at reading the mood in human interactions. He still couldn't get the laughter out of his system and was still laughing. "Whatchu gonna do about it, tomato? Squeeze me into ketchup?" Some of the bullies regained their courage when Kiba mocked her, and began to laugh again, though some of them were a little nervous.

His partner, a white puppy named Akamaru, who was hiding in his jacket, barked at Kiba to tell him to stop. Akamaru could sense the killing intent and chakra that was subtly emanating from the redheaded girl. He could tell she was dangerous right now. Kiba however, failed to listen.

"I'll show you who's a tomato!" Narumi screamed in rage, as she jumped down several rows of seats to pummel Kiba. He had thought she wasn't a threat since he was a boy and girls are weaker than boys. He was also from a shinobi clan known for being vicious scrappers, while Sakura came from a civilian family. His misogynistic theory was immediately thrown into doubt, when he felt Narumi's fist sink into his cheek. He was beaten savagely, unable to defend himself, despite his best efforts.

Iruka didn't stop the fight right away, as he thought Kiba needed to be taught a lesson, and waited a few seconds before going to break up the fight. When the two were separated, Narumi stormed back to her seat, greeted by Sasuke who gave her an approving nod and a grin, while Hinata looked worried, probably worrying about the repercussions of assaulting the children of 2 high profile families.

Kiba returned to his seat too, dusty and frazzled from the can of ass-whooping he received from the toma-, I mean, scary girl in his class. Seemingly a victim of his self-fulfilling prophecy, he did indeed have something like ketchup leaking from his nose. The class learned from Kiba's mistake, and decided to be more subtle when mocking Narumi.

The Nara boy, who had been one of the students not laughing, had observed the whole thing while pretending to sleep. 'What a troublesome class.'

Flashback end

"Hmmm, nothing in particular." The redheaded girl lied. "It was just introductions and stuff ya know. Standard stuff. Iruka sensei just showed us around and introduced the syllabuses for the courses.

Naruto could feel she was hiding something but decided not to worry about it.

There was a storm brewing, one he would be pulled into it in the near future.

*Author's Note*

Hi everyone! Thanks again for reading another chapter!

I was reading through your reviews, and I noticed I made some mistakes in my previous chapters. I wrote Asuma as being Hiruzen's grandson, when we all know he's actually the Sandaime's son. I also made a mistake writing otouto when referring to Narumi, when it should be imouto. This is similar to calling Kushina, dad instead of mom, and can be immersion breaking for many, including myself.

I'd like to apologize for these mistakes, and I made sure to go back and fix these errors. I want to take the time to thank and appreciate the people who brought this to my attention. You guys are helping me polish my story and make it better. I try to proofread my stories before posting them, but these things somehow slipped by. I guess it's an effect of my greed to write these chapters quickly and post them as soon as possible. I'll try to be more careful next time, and please feel free to let me know if you spot any similar errors!

Regarding Naruto's pairing with older characters, such as Shizune, they will be de-aged somewhat. I'm not gonna turn people like Tsunade into a 20-year-old, but I might make characters such as Shizune somewhere around 25 when she is introduced into the story, while Naruto might be around 19 by that time. Whether it's Mei or Shizune, I'm not going to have the age gap be beyond 8 years. So don't let that be your deciding factor in writing off a candidate.

Also remember Naruto is a young man who hasn't had parental figures in his life for a long time, and may quite possibly be drawn to older, more mature women, seeing younger girls in a similar way to the way he views Narumi. Not saying that's definitely going to be the case, but it's a scenario for his psychological state of mind that I'm considering if I pair him with an older character.

Anyway, here are the results for the pairing vote.

Shizune 10

Samui 10

Tayuya 5

Anko 4

Kurotsuchi 3

Yugao 2

Ryuuzetsu 2

Temari 2

Mei 2

Kurenai 1

Izumi 1

Mabui 1

Fuu 1

Yakumo 1

Shizuka 1

Hana Inuzuka 1

Yugito 0

Princess Koyuki 0

Ayame 0

Also, I might need your opinion on another important pairing. Who should Narumi end up with? Obviously, I don't want to leave everything up to your votes, as it makes the story more predictable, but I'd like to hear some opinions. I have a basic storyline already, but I'm also coming up with the story as I write as well, and having some ideas to consider will help me brainstorm.

Here are some considerations:

Shikamaru

Sasuke

Chojuro (Maybe if Naruto is paired with Mei)

Kiba

Omoi (Maybe if Naruto is paired with Samui)

Suigetsu

Gaara

Other (Your suggestions)

Anyway, thank you once again for your time and attention! Please vote and review! Hope you all have a marvelous day! Until next time!