Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… if I did, Shikamaru would be mine!! …but instead, it looks like he's gonna be with Temari or Ino (and not me, which SUCKS cuz I totally deserve him!!)

/goes into Shikamaru-fangirl mode/

Inner DramaQueen1193: Ignore her. My outer self is having some issues… anyways, on with chapter 2!

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Chapter 2: Meetings

The Sandaime Hokage had seen many things in his lifetime (his vast, huge, enormous lifetime, though he'd deny he was a day over 40), but he never thought he'd see this. Hatake Kakashi, a man who swore he was no good with kids, was asking him if he can take on an apprentice. And it wasn't just any ordinary pre-Genin kid; it was Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi vessel.

Sarutobi had to wonder why Kakashi would want to teach Naruto; after all, it was the jutsu that sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto that killed Kakashi's sensei, and one of the only people Kakashi had left. But one look at them gave him the answer.

Even though Naruto hid from the world and the pain with his mask of ignorance and happiness, he could still see the pain in his eyes. He saw the same pain in Kakashi's eye…and, at the rare times he saw it, in Obito's eye as well. It was a look of loneliness, of pain, of loss…it was a look Sarutobi was familiar with. He saw the same look in Tsunade when Nawaka and Dan died, and he saw it in Jiraiya when Orochimaru became a missing-nin and tried to kill him.

He knew that pain very well. He wished that the two in front of him did not.

He was glad, however, that both of them decided to try and trust someone again.

But there was a small problem…a problem that, unfortunately, he couldn't help.

"Kakashi, you know that no shinobi has had an apprentice since…since Anko. The Council won't stand for it; you know that."

The Sandaime had to shut his eyes to try and block himself from the crushing hope in Naruto's blue eyes. "But, Sandaime-jii-san!!! Can't I please be his apprentice??? He actually wants to teach me!"

"I…" Sarutobi started to say, but he just couldn't bring himself to deny Naruto. "I'll try to convince the Council, Naruto. But you have to be prepared to…well, you know how they are."

Naruto nodded, almost solemnly, which seemed out-of-place on such a rambunctious child, but the Sandaime Hokage knew that this was a sliver of the real Naruto showing.

Kakashi looked at the older man seriously and said, "They're bound to let me have an apprentice. I'm the last of my clan; they've been letting me have my way for years. Plus, I'm one of Konoha's top Jounin. You know, the Copy-Nin Kakashi and all? There's a reason I'm still a ninja even though I'm always late."

Sarutobi nodded wearily. "Aa, they'll let you have an apprentice, but they wouldn't want your apprentice to be Naruto. They'll try and convince you to take Sasuke on as an apprentice, because you both have the Sharingan."

Naruto's features darkened as he thought of Sasuke, the one everyone thought of as perfect. 'Stupid Sasuke-teme. He's so perfect. Everyone wants to be him, to be with him…why do they treat me differently? I'm like him…'

Noticing Naruto's worsened mood, Kakashi said hurriedly, "Well, I could always use other methods of persuasion…" An evil glint in his eye told the Sandaime that Kakashi was up to no good (again).

"What are you planning, Kakashi?"

Kakashi smirked, "I think it's best you don't know, Sandaime-sama. Anyways, even if the Council forbids it, I'll teach him anyways."

Naruto looked up, a small smile on his face. "Ne, Hatake-san?"

Kakashi glared down at him. "It's Kakashi, Naruto. Don't call me Hatake-san…makes me feel old."

"You are old, but that's not the point." He carried on, pointedly ignoring the silver-haired man's glare. "Do you need my help in…persuading? I've got quite the talents for…mischief and all that…"

Naruto and Kakashi shared an evil look, and Sarutobi shivered. He had a bad feeling about it all… two troublemakers like Kakashi and Naruto…and he knew that Iruka was close to Naruto, and Kami-sama, if Iruka joined forces with Naruto and Kakashi…

"Whatever you are planning, the two of you, don't do it. Let's try the legal way first, shall we?"

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"Absolutely not!"

"Preposterous! Kakashi, teach that demon boy? Out of the question!"

Inuzuka Tsume glared at the Elders. "It was the Yondaime's wish that Naruto be treated a hero. He obviously isn't, because some people are too thickheaded to realize that Kyuubi and Naruto are separate entities."

Akimichi Chouza said amiably, "The Yondaime was a good friend and a great Hokage. I, for one, will respect his wishes."

Mitokado Homura growled, "He's a demon child, and a threat to Konoha! We should've killed him as soon as we knew he was the Kyuubi."

A cool voice entered the argument. "Are you doubting the Yondaime's work? Are you saying that you have no faith in the jutsu of my sensei?"

Homura looked at the head of the nonexistent Hatake clan. "Kakashi, don't enter this argument. You are the last of your clan! Think of what everyone will say!"

"I don't care."

Aburame Shibi remarked, in his quiet, calm voice, "Most everyone here should duly note that the kikaichuu do not see Uzumaki Naruto as any kind of threat, and neither do the Inuzuka wolves. I was the one who caught the scent of evil from the Kyuubi first. Naruto has no evil in him; this I can tell."

Nara Shikato sighed. "Bothersome…but I believe in Shibi-san. That being said, let's move on…no Jounin has had an apprentice since Orochimaru. Should we allow such practices again, noting what happened to Anko?"

Kakashi opened his mouth, but Inoichi whispered to him, "I have a feeling that you won't have much say in this meeting. It is about you, and you'd be a little biased…it's best that you don't say anything." He said to the rest of the council, "I support the decision. I think it's best that the Jounin be evaluated first, in order to make sure that he won't do anything to the child. All of us tried to ignore the fact that Orochimaru was getting out of control. But Kakashi is stable; he wouldn't do anything to harm Naruto."

Utatane Koharu interrupted, "Wait a minute. Are you saying that the whole fiasco with Orochimaru was our fault?"

Hyuuga Hiashi replied, "No, Orochimaru became that way because of his jealousy towards Arashi for becoming the Yondaime. Everyone thought that Orochimaru would get the position, but instead, he was replaced, unjustly in his opinion, by a man younger than him. So he became obsessed with outdoing Arashi, by learning all jutsu possible…and it escalated from there. It isn't our fault; and I don't like it when you try to change the subject. I, personally feel that Sasuke should be apprenticed to Kakashi. I've heard that he probably will take title as Rookie of the Year; he's certainly advanced. I've yet to see much power in Naruto."

Tsume snarled at Hiashi, who curled his lip in reply.

The head of the Endo clan, Sachi, said, "Well, it seems to me that no one in the Academy taught Naruto well. From Kakashi's report, and the Sandaime's, the only one willing to teach him is the new teacher, Iruka. Of course he hasn't shown power; he's been given no chance to show it. No one has taught him to harness his chakra correctly. He may be the dead-last of the year, but I have a feeling that it's not something he could've helped."

Shibi spoke again. "I agree. I propose to let Kakashi and whomever else he chooses teach Naruto for a period of a year…a trial period, if you can call it that. If he improves, then maybe we can…revoke the anti-apprentice law. It would be a waste of a perfectly good shinobi if we didn't try. Naruto has potential."

Danzou, who had said nothing since the beginning of the meeting, started talking in his harsh, raspy voice. "Yes, he has potential to be a great shinobi. I've actually been thinking for a while, and Kakashi got to the idea before me. But I've been thinking of letting Naruto into ANBU."

"Absolutely not!" The Sandaime didn't even hesitate to disagree. "An emotionless shinobi is one thing, but an emotionless Jinchuuriki is another. If he is emotionless, if he has no bonds or connections, he can easily be taken advantage of. And that will not bode well for Konoha."

Danzou frowned and protested, "I'm trying to do it for the good of Konoha, and Naruto can be the ultimate weapon. He will get even more rigorous training in ANBU than what Kakashi could hope to provide."

Kakashi's fists were sporadically clenching and unclenching, and his eye was glaring murder. It was no secret to shinobi of higher-up positions (such as clan heads and ANBU) that Danzou led a group of renegade ANBU called Root. He knew first hand what ANBU does to shinobi, and Root was a division of ANBU that even he couldn't envision. If ANBU turns a person cold and uncaring, what would Root do?

Thankfully, Shikato spoke up. "He is too young for ANBU. Look at what happened to Itachi. I think entering ANBU at such an early age made him even more unbalanced, and Naruto is so much younger than him."

Yamamoto Riku stated, "That's all very nice, but the fact is, the more trained he is, the better of a shinobi he is, it puts Konoha in even more danger. Even if some people change their opinions about him, not all will. And who's to say Naruto will forgive all? He claims he'll be next Hokage, but will he really have the strength to put behind him all misgivings and misfortunes that Konoha has given him? Will he truly stay loyal? And if not, then why are we even arguing about this? He is dangerous."

Inoichi said derisively, "Every shinobi is dangerous! It's not just Naruto that's been given a hard time by Konoha! The only reason you doubt him is because he is a Jinchuuriki."

Riku gave Inoichi a cool look. "Exactly my point. He has enormous power at his disposal. At any moment, the seal could crack. If he is given more tools, he could use those against Konoha."

"Or he could use those tools to help Konoha," Sachi explained. "He is not such a fool that he does not notice the villagers' disregard for him, yet he still wants to be Hokage. He still wants to protect Konoha. Is it not enough proof of his loyalty?"

Shikato sighed as everyone around him erupted into argument. "So bothersome…"

Hiashi was still all for Sasuke to be apprenticed, and he had the heads of the Suzuki, Nakamura, and Yamaguchi clans behind him. Danzou was in favor of Naruto joining ANBU, but no one else really supported him. Riku, the head of the Yamamoto clan, supported the Elders in denying the request for apprenticeship and killing the Jinchuuriku. The rest, however, were siding with Kakashi.

The Sandaime stood up and yelled out in a regal, powerful voice. "Why don't we settle this in a simple way? All those in favor of granting the request for apprenticeship?" Kakashi, Sarutobi, Inoichi, Shikato, Chouza, Sachi, Tsume, and Shibi raised their hands. "All opposed?" Riku, Koharu, Homura, Danzou, Hiashi, Suzuki Akihiro, Nakamura Ayako, and Yamaguchi Daisuke raised their hands.

Shikato sighed again. "So bothersome…we've got a tie." He thought to himself, 'This is gonna be one long meeting.'

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Naruto was waiting outside the Hokage's office for hours. The secretary, Takeuchi Leiko, glared at him the entire time, and it did not help his mood. Then, Iruka entered the Hokage Tower to start his shift at the Mission Room. When he passed Naruto, he scolded indignantly, "Naruto! You skipped class again! You know you're supposed to pass in order to be a ninja and become Hokage! What are you doing here?"

When Naruto explained the situation to him, Iruka asked, "Why didn't you just ask me?"

Naruto's reponse warmed Iruka's heart. "You're so busy, Iruka-sensei! I don't wanna add on to your burdens and everything! Besides, I'm so behind on the basics; I won't be able to catch up in time unless I get a sensei who can teach me things from scratch."

Iruka agreed reluctantly and went off to his shift.

xxxAN HOUR LATERxxx

Naruto was getting really hungry; it was almost time for dinner for him. Thankfully, Iruka didn't forget about him. At his next break, he started walking towards the Hokage's Office with Genma and Anko.

Naruto was looking down, kicking his feet forwards and backwards, trying to ignore Takeuchi Leiko's glares. When Iruka, Genma, and Anko approached, he looked up and instantly brightened. "Iruka-sensei!" He leaped forward and caught Iruka by the waist in a hug. Iruka hugged back, smiling slightly. "Ohayo, Naruto-kun."

Leiko whispered, "Monster," underneath her breath. While Naruto just stiffened and tried to ignore it (it had become a regular part of his childhood to hear such remarks), Iruka's overprotective nature reared its head. He growled menacingly, "What did you say?"

Anko and Genma noticed the dangerous glint in his eyes, and they decided to stop the situation before Iruka could kill the girl (no matter how deserving the girl was of death).

Genma laughed and tried to divert Iruka's attention from the girl, while Anko walked over to the desk and growled at her. "Hey, bitch, you might just wanna shut up before Iruka kills ya!" She took a kunai out and twirled it in her hand, before she struck out and caught Leiko's cheek with the sharp blade. "And you might just want to follow the laws, or you'll get more than that from me."

She turned away, ignoring Leiko's pained whimpers as she held her bleeding cheek in pain and shock.

Anko leaned in until she was inches away from Naruto's face. Startled blue met smoky gray. Anko smiled widely and said, "Hiya, kid! You're Naruto, right?"

He nodded, still shocked that someone other than Iruka-sensei was talking to him. 'Wow,' he thought, 'this is my day! I get a new sensei, and then this girl tries to talk to me…she looks weird, though.'

Anko smiled again and introduced herself. "I'm Anko…you can call me Anko-chan!! And that's Genma…he's insane."

Naruto sweatdropped and thought, 'You look more insane than him.' But he smiled and nodded, knowing that pissing off this crazy girl would be bad.

Genma protested, "Hey! I'm not insane! I'm just…special…yeah…"

Iruka and Naruto sweatdropped, and Anko cackled insanely. Naruto looked at Iruka in fear, and Iruka whispered, "Sorry…they're just like that. Well, Naruto, have you had dinner yet?" When Naruto shook his head, Iruka smiled and said, "Why don't you eat with us? It's time for our break anyways."

Naruto smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

Anko and Genma looked at the blond curiously. "What exactly are you waiting for, Naruto?"

Iruka opened his mouth to direct the conversation elsewhere (he knew apprenticeship was a sore subject for Anko), but Naruto beat him to it. "Kakashi-san is trying to get permission for me to be his apprentice."

Anko stiffened, and an odd glint came into her eyes, but Naruto went on, unaware. "He's actually willing to teach me! I mean, Iruka-sensei is willing to teach me, but now, someone else can teach me! Cuz, I'm really bad at the basics cuz Mizuki-sensei hates me, and…"

Finally, he noticed the odd look on Anko's face and stopped. "Anko-chan, what's wrong?"

Before she could answer, the door to the Hokage's office opened…

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A/N: Yeah, I know!! I'm so totally evil!! I swore I wouldn't do this (cuz trust me, I know how evil cliffhangers are; tons of the stories I read have cliffhangers, and I think they are so totally evil). But now I know how fun it is! (Please don't flame me!! I swear, I'm working on the third chapter right now!!)

Anyways, this is the version of Anko and Orochimaru I'm using. Anko became Orochimaru's apprentice before she became Genin, and when they left Konoha, she still wasn't Genin. When she came back, she was (of course) traumatized…took the Genin exam, and was in a Genin team with Iruka and Gekkou Hayate…I'm gonna estimate that Anko was around 13, and Hayate was 12. Iruka was 15 (since he was such a class clown, he failed a lot…). It's way different from canon, when they graduated from the Academy at: Anko-10, Hayate-12, Iruka-11. But then, that's why it's called fanfiction. I'm gonna make their Jounin teacher faceless right now…

By the way, Homura and Koharu are the Elders...the old people...I think they were the Sandaime's teammates. The OCs in this chapter are probably not gonna show up again...but if anyone has any ideas about them, tell me, and I'll see if I can put it in the story!

Well, anyways, review please!!! (and don't be mad!) NO FLAMES!