I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.
"talking"
'thinking'
Chapter 12:
It all started with a simple question. In all honesty, it was a wonder that no one had brought it up over the last three years. To make it worst, it was the youngest person in the house that asked it.
Kohaku was now three and a half, meaning it was time for him to start preschool. Over the last week, the Uchiha house had spent their time preparing for it. Kurama and Sasuke had a fight over who would pick him up, but it came to a resolution when Naruto volunteered to do it. He didn't mind taking a bus to pick Kohaku up. Sasuke however, decided that Naruto would take the car to pick him up. The driver happily accepted this new part of his day. Now, everyone was gathered for an early breakfast. Kurama and Kohaku had managed to get later shifts to show Kohaku off.
"Are you ready for preschool, Kohaku?" Kaguya asked.
"Yup!" Kohaku said, taking a bit of his pancake. "Is Nawu going to school too?" Everyone froze at the question, especially Sasuke. He wanted to hit himself. Naruto was seventeen, nearing eighteen, but he wasn't going to school. All eyes turned to Naruto.
"Ah..." Naruto began. He turned towards Kohaku. "I don't go to school."
"Why?" Kohaku asked, tilting his head.
"Well, I've never gone to school before," Naruto said. "I...um... never got the chance."
"Then Nawu come with me!" Kohaku said. "Nawu and Ko-chan go to school together!"
"I can't," Naruto said. "I'm seventeen, too old to go to preschool." Kohaku looked down. "But I'll bring you there and pick you up every day! Then we can spend time afterwards together!" At this Kohaku smiled.
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While a maid got Kohaku ready, Sasuke took Naruto aside. "Have you ever thought about going to school?"
"Well yeah," Naruto said. "Sakura and her friends use to talk about their school lives all the time. But you don't have to worry. I'll be eighteen soon so it's too late for me to go. Besides, I don't have the money and I doubt I'd pass any entrance exam." He smiled. "I better go. We have to get Kohaku to school." Sasuke watched Naruto leave the room with a frown on his face. It wasn't right. Naruto deserved to go to school if he wanted to. The wheels in his brain began to turn as an idea popped in his head. No one saw the evil smile on Sasuke's face.
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Naruto sat across from Sasuke who was talking on the phone. Sasuke had asked Naruto to come to his office for a minute. He was just about to speak when his phone rang. After hearing Sasuke yell, without speaking loader than normal, at whomever was on the phone, Naruto wondered what Sasuke wanted with him. The angry look on the man's face scared him. Naruto knew the anger was at whomever was on the phone, but that didn't help shut down the nervousness he felt.
Sasuke hung up the phone, sighing. He looked at Naruto. "Sorry about that. It seems one of my underlings doesn't know how to do his job."
"It's fine," Naruto said. "What did you want to talk about?"
Sasuke pulled a folder from a pile on his desk and placed it in front of Naruto. "Take a look."
Naruto opened the file. Inside were a few pictures of what looked like a school. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw a piece of paper that had his name on it. It was a student information page. Almost all of it was filled out. "This is..."
"All you need to do is sign the bottom," Sasuke said. "And you can start school as soon as tomorrow."
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"I know that you want to go," Sasuke said. "Besides, a seventeen-year-old should be in school."
"But I've never gone to school before!" Naruto said. "There is no way I'd fit in. Besides, I'm way behind on whatever they are studying."
"I'll help you," Sasuke said. "And so will Kurama. If necessary, I can hire a tutor for you."
"I..." Naruto looked down. He knew that no matter how much he argued with Sasuke, the man would convince Naruto to go to school. "Thank you."
Sasuke smiled. "You're welcome."
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"Alright class," the teacher said. "We have a new student. Please welcome him." He motioned for Naruto to step forward. "Introduce yourself."
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said. He bowed. "This is my first time coming to school. I hope we can be friends." He smiled. Some of his classmates smiled back, but most were expressionless. Naruto briefly wonder if this was where Sasuke went to school.
"Alright," the teacher said. "Take a seat next to.. let's see... there is a free seat next to Gaara." Naruto followed the teacher's gaze and found a boy with red hair. There was black around his green eyes and a red tattoo that said love. The boy didn't say a word when the teacher said his name. Instead, some of the others whispered something that Naruto didn't hear. Naruto made his way to the back and took his seat next to Gaara. "Now turn to page 83. Gaara, Naruto doesn't have his books yet, so please share with him." Gaara opened his book and pushed it closer to Naruto. Naruto moved his chair closer to Gaara's. "In 1962..." And so, the history lesson began.
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Naruto ended up having four out of his six classes with Gaara. It seemed word of him sitting next to him in their first class had gotten around and Naruto was now sharing Gaara's books in each of their shared classes. All this time however, Gaara hadn't spoken to Naruto. Naruto also hadn't said anything to him except his thanks for sharing his books. The response he got was a simple nod. It was at lunch that he found out that Gaara rarely spoke to anyone. Some of his other classmates had asked him to join them for lunch and when Naruto saw that Gaara was sitting alone, he asked them if it was alright to ask Gaara to join them. A boy had said not to bother since Gaara was a loner and that it would just annoy the red-head if Naruto tried to squeeze his way into his life. Naruto had agreed to leave Gaara alone, despite his desire to befriend the boy.
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Naruto was enjoying his fifth day at school when the door of his current class slammed open. A boy with short golden-brown hair and slightly tanned skin stood in the doorway. He had a toothpick in his mouth, a pointed tooth peeking out as he chew on it. His golden eyes moved around the room until he found Naruto. The boy smirked. "Looks like we have a newbie."
"Shukaku, nice of you to join us today," the teacher said.
"I thought I'd stop by and see how things were going," Shukaku said.
"Just take a seat," the teacher said.
"Sure, teach!" Shukaku said. He moved his way to the back and stood before the girl sitting next to Naruto. "Move." The girl quickly grabbed her stuff and moved to the only empty seat in the room. Shukaku sat down, putting his feet up on the table before him. The teacher just rolled her eyes before continuing the lesson.
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Naruto sat with some of his friends at lunch. A sudden noise caused Naruto to stop talking. Several pairs of eyes turned to look at Shukaku and another boy who was on the floor. A tray of food was at Shukaku's feet, upturned. "Well?" Shukaku asked.
"I'm sorry," the boy said.
"Sorry?" Shukaku questioned. "You think an apology is enough? There's ketchup on my shoe."
"I'll clean it," the boy said, reaching for a napkin.
Shukaku bent down, taking the boy's chin in his hand. "I think not." He stood back up. "Lick it." The boy didn't move. "I said, lick it."
"Aren't you going too far?" Naruto asked, loudly. The kids at his table gasped. "It is just ketchup."
"Oh?" Shukaku turned towards Naruto. "So the newbie's a hero? How lovely." He walked over to Naruto and raised his foot. It was the shoe that had ketchup on it. "Then you clean it." Naruto grabbed his water and poured it on the shoe. As the water seeped through onto his sock, Shukaku's smile disappeared. He grabbed Naruto's arm, pulled him forward and slammed his knee into his stomach. Naruto coughed, falling to the floor. "Learn you place, brat."
"Better here than in your messed up world," Naruto said.
Shukaku slammed his fist into Naruto's face. "Since you're new here, I'll forgive you. But I expect your friends to teach you the rules. Or I'll have to just show you who you're messing with." With one last look at Naruto, Shukaku turned around and walked out of the cafeteria.
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"What happened?" Kurama asked.
"It's nothing," Naruto said. He had a bruise on his cheek with a cut on his lip.
"Obviously something happened at school," Kurama said. "What was it? Are you being bullied?"
"No, it's nothing like that," Naruto said. "I... I don't want to talk about it." Naruto bowed slightly and walked away.
"You'll have to talk to someone," Kurama whispered.
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"So you defending someone you didn't know from a bully," Kakashi said. "And in doing so, you got hurt." Naruto nodded. "Does this have anything to do with Dani?"
Naruto flinched at the name, but nodded. "I don't know why, but I thought about what Dani would have done had he been alive and in my place. Before I realized what I was doing, I was standing up to Shukaku."
"I see," Kakashi said. "Do you regret it?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, I... I don't."
"And the reason you didn't tell Kurama or Sasuke what had happened was because you feel guilty? That you enjoyed the power that saving that boy gave you?"
Naruto looked down. "I don't know."
"What you did wasn't wrong," Kakashi said. Naruto looked up at that. "Had I been in your place, I'd have done the same."
"But no one else stood up to him," Naruto said. "They just sat back and watched!"
"Fear held them back," Kakashi said. "They must have faced his wrath enough times to give into him. As the new kid, you haven't tasted the fear he has instilled in them."
"So you're saying I should be a coward and let him do what he wants?" Naruto asked.
"You are not a coward and neither are they," Kakashi said. "They simply grew up in a sheltered world where they are forced to give in to such a powerful force. You on the other hand, has faced far worse. You are capable of overcoming such a thing."
"I don't understand," Naruto said.
"You don't have to," Kakashi said. "Shukaku has his reasons for what he does. Though, that doesn't make him right. There may be something in his past that makes him believe he has to use violence to get what he wants. Know this, violence only leads to pain, just as revenge only continues in an endless cycle. Neither is ever the answer."
Naruto smiled. "Thank you."
Kakashi's eyes closed and Naruto could tell that he was smiling too. "You're welcome. I suppose I'll see you next week?" Naruto nodded. "Then have a good night." Naruto stood up and headed for the door. "Oh and Naruto?" Naruto turned around. "Trust may be earned and not given freely, but think about the price that suits that trust." Naruto looked confused, yet Kakashi didn't say another word. Naruto closed the door quietly behind, said a quick good-bye to Tenten, and got in the car, ready to go home.