A/N: Hello everybody! Do you know flying over your bike's handlebars is fun? I mean, really fun. I mean, really, really fun. It was all "WHOOSH" and then "CRASH" and I liked it a lot. Can I do it again? Handlebar flying is cool. Not that I recommend it. I was wearing a helmet at the time so I was perfectly safe. WHEEEE!
Anyway, I'm back with the next installment. I'm kind of hyper right now and I'm trying to snap out of it by typing the next chapter. My profile was updated last chapter and now I'm a little more open. Not enough to give you my gender and full birth date, but still enough to give you a vague description of where I'm from. I'M AMERICAN AND PROUD OF IT! No offense to readers from other countries. I just have a lot of pride for my country. I don't really agree with what we're doing in the Middle East, but I generally like where I live.
Here are the responses to the reviews.
Demon of Konoha: I know; that's the perk of Naru/Hina fics. Instead of saying, "Does he/she love me back?" you ask, "How do we deal with my prick of a father?" or "How do I tell you my greatest secret?" That is one of the reasons I like Naru/Hina fics so much. In some cases, you have both types of questions on your hands. I mean, Hinata won't have a clue when Naruto truly falls in love with her because he masks his feelings so well. Also, Naruto would be too busy trying to figure out how to tell her to notice that she is shyly returning the feelings. When they get together, the story continues with internal conflict on both sides along with external conflict from the pricks who don't necessarily like the "demon" being happy, and Hinata's disapproving father; with "disapproving" being a grave understatement. I am going to really enjoy writing this. Hopefully, this doesn't start to feel like a chore instead of a hobby.
Trenchcoatgirl-Kyo: Okay, calm down, please. If you hadn't noticed, Shino is one of the two people in the class that actually see Naruto differently. Shikamaru and Shino are going to have a talk with him about this pretty soon. Also, no problem, I like to have feedback and I'm sure you do, too. I started to publicly respond to the reviews because I like to respond to people. I mean, you people aren't just words or numbers on the screen, aren't you?
LoveDetermination: I know; I like to type these things up. I don't update quickly because my reviewers tell me to, I update quickly because I want to. If I get overworked, I will stop for a few days, depending on the situation; then I'll jump right back in. I really like doing this once I get started. I also know what it's like to be in your shoes; waiting in vain for a new chapter doesn't seem too appealing to me. Also, do you really think so? I mean, I only thought of this a few days ago and I like doing it, but am I actually being good at it? Wow, thanks; I'm honored.
Dragon Man 180: To tell you the truth, that is the only way Naruto can take the blame. Since he's the only prankster, he's the only suspect; therefore, he gets the punishment. Naruto's "condition" doesn't help him very much, either. Also, I need to formally introduce Uchiha Sasuke as a prick before Naruto comes up with a clever prank. As for the hair and clothes thing, I've seen them both before, meaning I'll have to come up with something more creative. ; )
Dilandau-Baka: If they pulled stunts like that in your school, I would love to see it, especially if the rules in Naruto apply to the real world. Chakra and kunai flying everywhere you step; that would be absolutely fun (if you don't get hit).
Underdark Ranger: That is what I'm planning. I think Iruka didn't have a good chance to think about Naruto until the Mizuki incident. I think that Naruto will improve in a big way. Traps will only make this funnier, trust me. I think I'll do it! By the way, what's CANNON?
Samurai-lapin: Glad you like the story. I like it and I'm making it up as I go along.
Kitsu Maharu: Okay, bad grammar; do you know that you sound just like a friend of mine?
I like reviews. Thanks for the reviews. I like reviews.
Did I mention that last chapter's prank is my current masterpiece? I am not a prankster and that one just came to me one day a few hours after I typed down the materials. I need more ideas
Enjoy the sixth installment if "Cheerfulness Incarnate" Enjoy the Show!
(Chapter Begins, 3 years later)
Naruto pondered quietly as Iruka gave his extremely boring lesson. Naruto was glad he read this at home; it gave him the time to think about what to do to sustain his façade. Keeping it up isn't exactly he easiest thing in the world. Being what you aren't only brings trouble when you truly decide to let your true self out. Naruto has basically been keeping up the mask every hour of every day for the past three years. Naruto has already pulled a number of pranks on the populace of Konoha to keep his disguise constant. He snapped back into reality as Iruka said a statement regarding the next assignment.
"We are studying bloodlines starting tomorrow so I want you to go home and ask your parents about your family line. I want each of you to create a family tree leading back at least four generations. I want a description of each of your ancestors and their special abilities, if any. This is due…"
Naruto stared impassively as he spaced out, pondering this new concept. "Four generations back? I can't even trace my family history one generation back, let alone four! How the heck am I supposed to do this?" Naruto started to glare daggers towards Iruka as the bell rang signaling break. Naruto left, never taking his eyes off Iruka as he left the room. Naruto's eyes shone with utter disgust for the teacher.
(Scene change, outside)
Naruto sat outside on his favorite swing watching the children outside. Even if Naruto couldn't trace his own family history, he had a vague idea about each of his fellow classmates. His classmates do not know about his data gathering but he reviewed the data as his eyes swept the playground.
He looked across the playground to see a pink-haired girl dressed in a red dress with slits down the sides. "Haruno Sakura; age 9; she has a tendency to be very violent when she doesn't get her way. Her once best friend and now greatest rival is Yamanaka Ino. She is a member of the Uchiha Sasuke fan club. She is deemed my not-so-secret "crush" to further hide my true identity.
He then looked at a purple-clad, blonde girl as thought up the next profile. Currently, Sakura and Ino were giving each other death-glares for some demented reason. "Yamanaka Ino; age 9; she is a member of the Yamanaka clan; a family that specializes in techniques that control and affect the mind. She is similar to Sakura in the sense that both can become very violent when things do not go as she planned. She was best friends with Haruno Sakura and is now participating in a rivalry concerning the love of the ever-popular Uchiha Sasuke. She is a member of the Uchiha Sasuke fan club. Her family is associated with both the Akamichi clan and the Nara clan."
After that, he looked towards another corner of the playground as he saw a boy and his dog; playing in the field. The boy was dressed in a gray, hooded jacket and had nails that seemed to look like claws. The dog was a white color with a brownish discoloration due to a dirty coat. "Inuzuka Kiba; age 9; he is a member of the Inuzuka clan; a clan who has an affinity with dogs. He uses his ninken, Akamaru, in combination with his family's ninja arts. He is usually loud and hyperactive, similar to my disguise; the difference being his is real while mine is a fake. He can be found "walking" Akamaru in the forest on the weekends."
He then looked over to see two figures next to a tree. One was lying on the grass, focusing on nothing in particular, except the clouds in the sky. The other was propped up against the tree, holding a bag of potato chips and eating them as he spoke between bites and swallowing. The figure lying on the ground wore a mesh top and a brown pair of pants. On top of the mesh top, he wore a gray jacket-like cloth. The other boy was dressed in a green top with the kanji character for "eat" on the front. They were having a discussion about something in particular but Naruto didn't care to find out. "Nara Shikamaru; age 9; he is a member of the Nara clan; a clan who has the ability to control shadows. His family is associated with both the Yamanaka and the Akamichi clans. He is very lazy and claims that most things are too "troublesome" to do. He is observant of many small details and he can develop strategies when needed. He enjoys playing board games such as go or shogi. His best friend is Akamichi Chouji. His favorite hobby seems to be cloud-watching. His grades are similar to mine, but he is much smarter than his grades say.
"Akamichi Chouji; age 9; he is a member of the Akamichi clan; a clan who uses their body's mass and shape as a weapon. His family is associated with both the Nara and the Yamanaka clans. He is constantly hungry and can always be seen eating a bag of potato chips. He is somewhat chubby and is offended greatly when someone calls him "fat." His best friend is Nara Shikamaru."
Naruto then looked over to another tree to see a boy in a high-collared jacket. The boy is also wearing sunglasses to hide his eyes from view. He is currently examining something on the tree, which Naruto assumes to be a bug. "Aburame Shino; age 9; he is a member of the Aburame clan; a clan who implants kikai beetles into their children to give the clan an affinity with bugs. He seems to enjoy collecting and studying certain bugs. He can "talk" to other bugs while controlling the ones he has in his body. He is not truly a sociable person, but he is observant and seems to notice everything. When one strikes a conversation with him, he does not say much more than a few words. He is a mysterious person."
Naruto then took a look up into a nearby building. He saw Uchiha Sasuke, eating an apple as he gazed, emotionlessly, out the window. He was wearing a blue jacket with a red and white paper fan on it. "Uchiha Sasuke; age 9; he is member of the nearly extinct Uchiha clan. They were a clan with the kekkei genkai, Sharingan. The Sharingan must be activated by the clan member and Sasuke has yet to activate his own. The Sharingan has not been discussed much, but it is rumored to be able to copy any technique that requires hand-seals. The entire clan was massacred by the prodigal son, Uchiha Itachi for some reason. Since then, Sasuke has been a royal prick and feels everyone is inferior. He has a fan club named in his honor which contains most of the female student body."
The academy door opened to reveal one of Naruto's friends, Hyuuga Hinata. She was dressed in blue pants and a large light lavender jacket. "Hyuuga Hinata-san; age 9; she is a member of the most prestigious clan in Konoha, the Hyuuga clan. The clan is revered for their kekkei genkai, the Byakugan. I haven't gotten much information about the Byakugan. Hinata is my only friend and she has seen more of the "true" me than anyone else. She is terribly shy and stutters constantly. She is also the only female that is not a member of the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club."
Naruto then smiled, standing from his position, he walked over to Hinata only to have the bell ring, signaling the beginning of class. Naruto automatically headed to his seat at the back of the room, seating himself as Iruka began the afternoon lesson. Naruto, not knowing the details of some of the bloodlines, actually paid attention.
"There are many kekkei genkais within Konoha. The two most well-known bloodlines are the Sharingan and the Byakugan.
"The Sharingan has the ability to copy any technique that requires hand-seals to perform. This means that techniques not requiring hand-seals and techniques that are mastered to the point that hand-seals are not necessary cannot be copied. The Sharingan is able to hypnotize opponents slightly and allows its wielder to control the opponent's mind, if only slightly. The Sharingan has an advanced form which is unknown to all except the members of the Uchiha clan.
"The Byakugan has the ability to see in all 360 degrees, granting the wielder advanced sight. The Byakugan has the ability to see the tenketsu on you chakra system to halt chakra flow to a certain area. The Juuken fighting style is derived from the use of the Byakugan. Even a touch from a user of this style can be very dangerous since the attacks impact the internal organs of the wielder's target. Certain advanced Taijutsu techniques are also derived from the Byakugan. These techniques can completely halt chakra flow inside the body, rendering the target virtually useless in battle."
Naruto, noticing that Iruka had stopped, then took the information and stored it away. Naruto then acted like he usually did during Iruka's lessons. At this moment, Naruto was feigning sleep as Iruka caught sight of him.
"NARUTO! WAKE UP!"
Naruto then pretended to be shaken from a sound slumber as he "awakened." Naruto then looked around, groggily, while faking the entire process. The bell then rang, allowing the students to go home for the day. The other students rushed out of the room as Naruto sleepily walked out of the room, crashing into the doorframe in the process. Naruto heard a muttered "baka" as he continued his extremely convincing act. Once again, four eyes stared at him, puzzled by Naruto's actions.
(Scene change, a little later)
Naruto sat in his apartment reading hiss textbook on what he thought Iruka would teach during the next lesson. Naruto's apartment had three major rooms. The first major room was his bedroom, which was connected to the bathroom and the second major room. The second room was his living room, which was surprisingly neat for a 9-year-old's apartment. The kitchen was an attachment to this room, the cupboards stocked with ramen and the refrigerator stocked with a few groceries. The third room was his storage room which contained all Naruto's prank materials.
Naruto was very intelligent but he did not like to show it, afraid that he might have to reveal more if he even tried to reveal even the tiniest detail about himself. Naruto left the façade at his bedside, ready to be used at a moment's notice in case somebody were to rudely walk into his apartment. After securing the disguise, "Naruto" would beat the living crap out of the intruder.
Naruto, finished with his daily study, started to think about the ways to pay back Iruka for requiring him to do such an unfair assignment. He then thought of an idea. He snickered to himself and picked a few materials from his prank storage and went off to strike back at his teacher.
(The next day)
The village of Konoha was silent, slowly waking up into a new day. It is then an ear-piercing scream filled the air, instantly waking all the citizens in a half-mile radius. The center of this circle didn't seem too special, on the outside. The school, which happened to be the center of the circle and the source of the scream, looked exactly the same as it always does. A teacher named Umino Iruka caused the ear-splitting scream as other teachers came out to see what was going on. Iruka was already extremely late and he arrived hours later than he usually did. His bad day seemed to go from bad to worse as soon as he arrived at the school. Iruka screamed as soon as he stepped into his classroom to prepare for the lesson. To say he was shocked would be an understatement. His next scream was also heard a few seconds later.
"NARUTO!"
(POV change)
Naruto was blessed with an extremely powerful sneeze. He was walking though the forest alongside the village. Naruto wasn't planning to go to class today. Naruto walked in the forest because it seemed to calm Naruto down significantly. Here, he could definitely let the smile slip a little bit and let his stress out.
He walked into a clearing with surrounding trees and shrubs. Naruto sighed contently as he sat laid down and watched the sky. He saw the clouds pass by, fluffy and free up in the vast blue sky. Naruto's built up tension seemed to seep into the earth as he gazed blankly in the sky. He chuckled as he thought about his actions and a certain lazy academy student. His eyes began to droop shortly after and he drifted into a deep slumber.
Naruto woke up a little while later. By the position of the sun before and after his nap, Naruto concluded that he was asleep for about 3 hours. He started to head back to the village to eat lunch and see the fruits of his labor. As he walked, he gradually placed the pieces of his mask back into place. By the time he saw the village through the trees, his costume was back in place. As soon as stepped off of the dirt of the forest onto the stone of the street, a voice called out.
"There he is! Get him!"
Naruto looked behind him to see a chuunin pointing at him and calling into the sky. Naruto instantly smiled and began to run. Behind him, Naruto can see about 3 chuunin and 2 jounin coming after him. They were getting closer after every step. Naruto noticed this and formed three hand-seals; the Hare, the Ram, and the Bird. One chuunin dived forward, attempting to pin down the infamous prankster. He was extremely surprised to note that he fell through the prankster's body and hit the ground with a loud "SMACK." Naruto then stopped and turned around, grinning at the shinobi that was sent after him. Naruto was entertained by the group as they made numerous futile attempts to grab the loud academy student. They landed in a large heap inside of Naruto's silhouette. Naruto laughed and ran off releasing his technique. He stopped near his house, saying one thing as he stopped.
"That was too easy."
"Oh, was it, Naruto?"
Naruto looked shocked as he did a quick seal and turned around. There, standing in front of his apartment, was Iruka, looking pretty mad as he grabbed his ear and dragged him to the academy.
(At the academy…)
Iruka continued to lead Naruto by the ear to his classroom. Naruto screamed in protest as he thought about his trick. "You must be one lousy ninja if you can't detect this one, Iruka-sensei. I mean, I'm pretty sure that a few students detected this as soon as they walked in. I knew you were bad since the first day, but this is ridiculous! Now, Iruka-sensei, you are going to pay for it."
Iruka and Naruto reached the classroom and Iruka opened the door to see…
(POV change)
That the room was perfectly fine, not a speck of pink to be seen. Iruka stared in shock as Naruto restarted his protests.
"You were saying, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto said smugly with a hint of anger. Iruka just stared impassively as he recalled the events of the day.
(Flashback)
Students filed in as he grumbled to wash off the paint, armed with a scrubber and a bucket. Most of the students were instantly blinded by the wave of color from the pink room. A few people's reactions caught his attention. The Haruno looked annoyed as she compared the room's color with the color of her hair. The Yamanaka laughed heartily at her rival's reaction to the color of the room. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at the color and traversed to his seat, which was also colored pink. The Hyuuga widened her eyes in surprise before covering her mouth as she gasped. The Akamichi almost dropped his bag of chips as he walked in, a chip halfway to his mouth. The Inuzuka began to snicker as he went to his seat. The Nara muttered a quick "troublesome" before heading towards his seat. The Aburame came in, raised an eyebrow, and slowly went to his seat, sitting down as he remained silent. The other students rushed out of the room shortly after coming in. The reasons behind the retreat were either laughter or blindness. Iruka furrowed his brow as he threw the scrubber into the bucket and starting his day.
(End Flashback)
Naruto started to walk away as Iruka grabbed him again.
"Naruto! Get back here!"
Calmly, Naruto turned around and asked a single question.
"Why? I have no reason to be here right now. I'm going home." Naruto turned around again and walked away, leaving an extremely confused Iruka next to his open door.
(End Chapter)
Translations:
Shogi: Japanese Chess
Kekkei genkai: Bloodline limits such as Byakugan and Sharingan.
Sharingan: Mirror Wheel Eye
Byakugan: Literally "White Eye." In the manga, it's "Evil Eye"
Baka: Idiot, Moron, etc.
(End Translations)
A/N: This is my attempt at a longer chapter. It took twice as long and the final exams at my school do not really help much. I'm sorry it sucks. I'm sure this chapter is very bad compared to my others. I hope you like the next one. It will be a continuation of this time frame with Naruto and the others still 9 years old. I made Naruto extremely smart and the promised confrontation between the observant ones and Naruto will be in the next chapter. I just couldn't make the events click together enough to let it happen. By the way, if you're wondering about the clothing that the rookie nine is wearing, I took the actual clothing that they wear when they were older and described those sets of clothing. I'm sorry. Another thing, Iruka is still a prick to Naruto and he still pranks him to pay him back. My hyperactivity has worn off and I'm a little tired. Thanks for reading! Stay tuned until next time!
-omegaguardian